Author: budzinski.6

Text Review: This is Us

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Text Review

Show: This is Us season 3

This is Us is a show about the Pearson family and goes back and forth between the past, present and the future of their lives. The family is composed of Mom (Rebecca), Dad (Jack), a daughter (Kate), a son (Kevin) and an adopted son (Randall).  Randall was left at a fire station and taken to the same hospital where Jack and Rebecca were after having just had triplets and losing one of the babies. Rebecca and Jack saw Randall and felt as though it was meant to be and decided to adopt him. An important part of the story is the fact that Randall is black and grew up surrounded by all white people. This aspect introduces a lot of conversations about racism, power and identity.

 

Throughout the show there are many examples of racism and lots of open discussions about race  in general. The viewers see how being the only black person in this family affected Randall as a child as well as an adult. One example from the show of when Randall experienced racism was by his own grandmother. The grandparents had never been supportive of Rebecca and Jack adopting Randall and when the grandmother came to visit she brought gifts for all the children. She bought Randall a basketball assuming because of the color of his skin he would play basketball. This is just one of the examples of how Randall experienced racism and was treated differently than his siblings.   

Randall not only experiences racism, but he struggles a lot with his identity. This was a topic we focused on this semester. I noticed how Randall compares to Deming/Daniel from The Leavers by Lisa Ko. Both Deming and Randall experienced a transracial adoption, and were not only adopted but surrounded by people of a different race. We see in This is Us and The Leavers how a transracial adoption can cause an identity crisis and confusion for a person. In Season 3, when Randall is an adult he admits to his brother that he has always been trying to find where he fits in. Randall feels he doesn’t fit in with his all white family, but also feels like he doesn’t fit in with his black friends since he comes from a white family. 

I would highly recommend this show due to its open and honest conversations. This is Us brings up the topics of racism, power, and identity in a very relatable and effective way. I think the creator of this show wants the audience to question how they are living their life and what racism or power people may project onto others without even knowing it. The creators also make the audience question how to end racism and what we can do to make everyone considered equal.    

“Yo, Is This Racist” Advice Column- Emma Budzinski

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“Yo, Is This Racist?”

by Emma Budzinski

November 9, 2020

The world we live in today contains a lot of racism and we can ponder the question “yo, is this racist”, to a lot of things. For me, I have always thought of racism as judgement casted onto the “minority”, or even the “other” solely because of their race or color of their skin. It is sad but the “other” of our world, and the people who I think experience the most racism are black people. I believe we can all think of racism a bit differently and have even experienced it differently throughout our lives. However, historically black people have experienced more racism in our country and still experience racism today.  

The official definition of Racism is “discrimination towards another person because of their racial or ethnic group”. During 2020, the fight for justice for black lives has increased significantly. We have gotten to a point where enough is enough. Two of the major recent events potentially relating too racism this year include the death of Breonna Taylor, a black female, and the painting of a racist term on a symbolic campus rock at Kent State University. As we look into these events, we will think about the question: Were they motivated by racism? 

Breonna Taylor 

As, I hope, most of us know, Breonna Taylor was killed in her home by police officers on March 13, 2020. Police entered her home on a drug investigation. This search ended with Breonna Taylor being shot repeatedly six times but the police. CNN reports the night of Taylor’s murder. They discuss Walker, Taylor’s boyfriend’s perspective, as he was pre

sent at the scene the night of Taylor’s murder. CNN states “Walker — still unsure who was outside — opened fire as the plainclothes officers burst through the door, the boyfriend has said. Mattingly was shot in the leg, though Walker’s attorney disputes it was his client who shot him. Walker has cast his gunshot as a warning, aimed at the ground to scare off the intruders, but Mattingly claims that wasn’t the case. As soon as they breached the door, hesaid, he saw two figures 20 to 25 feet away and his eyes homed in on the tip of Walker’s handgun barrel”. From this we  know that Breonna Taylor and her boyfriend thought the police were  intruders in the house, thus, Walker’s reasoning for shooting his gun. Walker was warning whoever was there. After Walker shot off his gun the police shot fire 32 times, ultimately killing Breonna Taylor.    

Months after the death of Breonna Taylor, those anxious and curious about the incident discovered not a single police officer involved that night was charged with the death of Taylor. The New York Times reports, “A grand jury weighing evidence in one of the country’s most contentious police shootings indicted a former Louisville police detective on charges of reckless endangerment on Wednesday for his role in the raid on the home of Breonna Taylor, but the two officers who shot Ms. Taylor six times faced no charges.” Many were upset by this decision and we can only ask ourselves if this was the right decision to be made, or what decision we think they should have come to? If it were up to me, I think the police officers not only should have been fired but also charged with killing Breonna Taylor and served jail time. I do think there are a plethora of better options that the judges could have come to, and the one they did come to was not just for the life of Breonna Taylor.  

Breonna Taylor’s death and how it was dealt with is a very big discussion and would take more than one article to fully cover. This case and the George Floyd case have caused a lot of protests and fight for justice in America today. But I do not believe Taylor’s case is unique which is something that is bothersome. An article from The Nation talked about the Breonna Taylor case and how common an occurrence like this is. Elie Mystal said, “Police break into black and brown people’s residences, unannounced, all around the country”. I found it interesting that she specifically mentioned “black and brown“ people in her statement. This makes me ponder the question of racism even more. I find it sad that we can say that this is a common occurrence in our country. I feel we need to have a bigger discussion about racism and how the police may or may not play a role in that. Breonna Taylor’s death is just a small glimpse into a world full of racism we are living in right now. Though it may not be as widely covered by the news, black people are being treated  unfairly, murdered innocently, and/or judged wrongfully for the color of their skin each and every day.

Kent State University 

During these controversial times with racism towards black people in our country, we have seen the fight for justice. Unfortunately, this country has also seen the opposite and how disgusting some people can be during this time. Recently at Kent State University, the rock was painted with “White Lives Matter”. Not only did students paint this inappropriate saying on the rock but, they painted over “Black Lives Matter” and other sayings that students had painted on the rock to show their fight for justice. The case of Breonna Taylor and the painting on the Kent State rock begs the question, Do these two events relate to one another? Currently the news has been filled with many events like these that seem to relate to each other making them feel like a snowball effect, one after the other. The major events of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor sparked a fight for justice in our world, resulting in both positive and negative outcomes. The Kent State rock being one of the negative events we have seen after the Breonna Taylor and George Floyd case. After the rock was painted at Kent State, the University came out with a statement which said, “Messages that are intended to be upsetting and hurtful are unconstructive and do not reflect our core values as a university”. I think this response was appropriate for Kent State to make as a first step towards justice for black people, especially those in their community. As far as I know Kent State has not done anything else with the rock or students. I feel Kent State should make some sort of action because of how disturbing the messages were and the fact that it happened more than once. I do not know what the best decision would be to make and think it requires a bigger and longer discussion. 

Racism 

So the question is, is this racist? Was Breonna Taylor being killed based on her race? Would it have been different if she was white? And was painting “White Lives Matter” on the Kent State University rock a racist act? What were the intentions of the students who painted this onto the rock? There are a lot of questions to be asked, and I do not think I could come to an answer by myself. I think the most important thing we can all do is start having conversations with others. Talk to your family, friends, co-workers and even strangers. Open up the conversation on what racism is in our world today. 

In my opinion, and my opinion only, I do see both of these acts to have racism within them. It is hard for me to believe that the police officers did not judge Breonna and her boyfriend, based on their skin color while in the house or even before entering the house. I just think about how the outcome may have been different if Breonna Taylor would’ve been a different skin color. I believe they judged Breonna and possibly her boyfriend from the moment they heard the color of her skin. It is my opinion that they walked into that house with racist thoughts and went in with preconceived judgements towards Breonna solely because of the color of her skin.

I also believe students painting the term ‘White Lives Matter’ on a symbolic university rock is an act of racism. This case is more clear to see because the saying has been coined as racist. On SPLC, it says “Formed as a racist response to the Black Lives Matter movement, White Lives Matter (WLM) describes itself as ‘dedicated to promotion of the white race and taking positive action as a united voice against issues facing our race’”. It is evident ‘White Lives Matter’ is a racist term. A disturbing term showing how sick people are that they are bothered by the thought of black people being considered equal as everyone else. The movement of ‘White Lives Matter’ shows how most of the white race sees itself as ‘The One’ and superior to other races, specifically the black race. I do not understand what kind of issues are facing the white race they would be trying to fight, and I think white supremacist feel threatened by Black people fighting for equality.   

Moving Forward 

I think as a country we have a lot of work to do in order to move forward and improve. When I think about it, it is really awful that we still have so much racism in our world, and judge others based on the color of their skin. Why would we not all be looked at equally? This is a concept I do not understand. I crave for equality and the end of racism in our world. So, first how do we address the Breonna Taylor case? I personally believe it was just for so many Americans to protest and speak out against this event. However, as I said before I do think the police should have been charged for the murder of Breonna Taylor. It doesn’t make sense to me how we could still have something like this happen today. As for the Kent State rock being painted with very inappropriate terms, what is the best way to address this? I do not know if they should remove the rock, keep it, fence it off or even put up security cameras. It is hard when Kent State does not have any way of finding the students who painted ‘White Lives Matter’ onto the rock because I feel the most fitting action would be to punish the students who did it. My best advice to all of you would be first, start with yourself. Are you ever racist towards other people without even knowing it? Think about yourself and change your own actions. Then, start the conversation. Be the one to open up the conversation about racial issues in our world today. Talk to those around you about these important topics. Don’t pretend they do not exist. Then, be the change. The world can only get better by each of us fighting for justice and doing the next right thing so everyone can be treated equally and fairly.

 

Diary of Systemic Injustice Showcase- Emma Budzinski

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At the beginning of the semester, one example of Systemic Injustice that I learned about was the painted rock at Kent State University. If you do not know, the rock that is typically used to show school spirit was painted over with violent and inappropriate things multiple times. I not only transferred from Kent State but have a lot of friends there that are students, and the Assistant Dean is a family friend. What happens at Kent State affects a lot of people I know, and I feel I am still tied to Kent State since I went there for 2 years and still have a love for that University. 

The inappropriate paintings included “White Lives Matter” written on the rock at Kent State University multiple times even after the University sent out emails to try to stop this. Since this, Kent State has considered removing the rock, fencing it or putting up a security system. There was also a protest at the campus because of the rock being painted over with “White Lives Matter”. 

This is impacting a lot of my friends and family at Kent State and the campus of Kent State. I believe Kent State is making the right decisions with what to do after these occurrences happened. However, I do not know what the students who painted the rock could do to make it right. Them painting the rock showed injustice and painting over “BLM” with “White Lives Matter” was wrong in every way.

This is impacting the campus of Kent State University and a lot of the students there. When I went to Kent State I never experienced racism and injustice like this from other students or the university in general. I hope Kent State can find the right way to handle this situation and stop the rock from being painted over like this again. 

After going back, now a couple months after this incident, I was able to find new information. Before school started multiple black students who attend Kent State painted on the rock with Black Lives Matter related things. At this time in the world we were and are still having a fight for justice and Black Lives Matter. However, after the rock was painted over with White Lives Matter related items a total of 3 times. I was not able to find out if Kent State has come to a decision on if they will remove the rock or not. I think they are still trying to decide what the right thing to do is for something that has never happened before. The rock started off as something for sororities or fraternities to paint on in 1987. It slowly became something anyone could paint for anything, but now students have taken it too far in an inappropriate way. This to me relates to Othering because obviously some students at Kent State feel as though they are higher up, and the “One” compared to other students and can do anything they want.           

White Lives Matter' painted on Kent State U. rock: a 'direct threat' to black students | The College Fix

https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2020/09/09/white-lives-matter-repeatedly-painted-over-kent-state-rock/

 

Context Presentation- Emma Budzinski

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This week we are reading Interpreter of Maladies, which is made up of multiple short stories. After reading all of the short stories, the one I found myself interested in the most was “Sexy”. This short story was told from the point of view of Miranda who is, from what I understand, a middle aged white woman from Michigan now living in Boston. This story focused on Miranda’s life, and we learned a lot about her and the relationships she has. 

The story centered around the different encounters Miranda has with a man named Dev, and how that relationship is affecting other aspects of her life. The story starts off right away with the topic of cheating, and this is very much carried throughout the rest of the story. We hear the different sides to the story of cheating, and the different perspectives of those involved. I really liked how this short story really focused on this point, and every storyline somehow connected to a story about cheating. 

We mainly got to hear the perspective of Miranda, who was seeing a man who was married. But, we also got to hear Dev’s perspective of being the one cheating on his wife with another woman. Lastly, we heard the perspective of Laxmi’s cousin whose husband cheated on her after being married and having a child together. 

I enjoyed the way this story was written and the back and forth of who you felt bad for and who you agreed with. I also felt I could relate to this story and the general theme of being a female and the different stages of relationships we go through in life. I think all of the women reading this story can relate to Miranda, Laxmi and Laxmi’s cousin in some sort of way.  

This short story really showed how different perspectives can change your view, and how the reader feels. This short story also shows how different encounters can change the rest of your life. We saw Miranda’s life change after she had the small encounter with Dev in the store and we saw how Laxmi’s cousin’s life changed forever after her husband had a small encounter with a woman on an airplane.