Author: patel.4066

Text Review of Born a Crime by Trevor Noah – Parshvi Patel

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Many people know Trevor Noah as the host of The Daily Show for his wit and comedic skills, however many people know very little about apartheid in South Africa and Noah’s experience wirh it.The text I will be reviewing is Born a Crime by Trevor Noah which follows the story of Noah’s childhood in South Africa during apartheid. Apartheid began in the 1950’s shortly after South Africa gained independence causeing the native Africans in the country to live in poverty while a few white individuals took over the government and ensured that white individuals in South Africa would remain superior to all. Along with separating each person into racial classes, apartheid made it a capital offense to have a mixed child, and Noah – whose mother is a Xhosa African and father is a Swiss German – committed his first crime by being born hence the title of this memoir. Noah’s book enlightens the reader about poverty and the role it can play on a person’s life when they are treated as a subaltern who is ritualistically silenced. 

Throughout the novel there are many instances in which Noah talks about the poverty his family and him lived in and how he was the “other” in both his neighborhood and also the white citizens in the country. As a mixed child, Noah decided to identify as a black man, however it did not change the fact that whenever someone viewed Noah, he was treated as the “other” due to his differences. As a subaltern, Noah wanted nothing more but for his voice to be heard and leave the poverty his community was subjected to due to rulers who did not represent them. Noah partook in many activities such as pirating cd’s and other illegal activities in order to make some money. 

Noah was almost always treated as the odd one out and he fought hard to get out of the situation he was put in and although he did go on to have a great career as a comedian, it does not change the fact that he was “othered” due to a circumstances beyond his control, but Noah is proof that one can only be “othered” if they give that power to the “one”. 

History.com Editors. “Apartheid.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 7 Oct. 2010, www.history.com/topics/africa/apartheid.

 

Diary of Systemic Injustices- Parshvi Patel

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For my showcase on systemic Injustices, I would like to talk about racial profiling specifically agaist the Muslim community. Racial profiling and stereotyping has always been common in the United States, and the sad reality is that many minorities face harsher charges just due to their race.Minorities are typically profiled due to prejudices that are stemmed from stereotypes. For example, after 9/11 many Muslim, South Asian, and Arab (MASA) men were suspected of causing the attack and as a result many Musslim men are still perceived as a threat and profiled by the police. Recently I heard about a story that occurred in a middle school that truly broke my heart. A student was running late and forgot her lunch, so naturally she called her parents and asked if one of them could drop off her lunch for her. Her father was on his way to work and came to drop off her lunch at school but when he tried to enter the building, the woman at the front desk asked him to wait outside. Confused, the father asked if there was a reason he had to wait outside and was told that he is not allowed in with no further explanation. Shortly after being asked to wait outside, a white woman came to enter the building and the father told the woman that parents are not allowed into the building. The woman found this ridiculous and went to the front door anyways and was immediately let in. The only reason the father was not allowed in is because he had dark skin, big muscles, and appeared to be Muslim. The woman at the front desk profiled him as dangerous simply due to the negative stereotypes she had about Muslim men. The reason this story broke my heart is because he was just a parent attempting to give lunch to his daughter. He was immediately profiled as a threat to the building and even had the school resource officer come outside of the school to check him for any weapons and identification before he was allowed in. Instances like these tend to be considered isolated or local issues but they occur everywhere throughout the nation. Muslims in this nation, and throughout the world too, have been classified as “terrorists” or “criminals” and they are systematically oppressed and ignored for no apparent reason. In order to change this mindset people have about the Muslim community I think it is necessary for an increase in educating people about different cultures. For example I may not be Muslim, however, I have the basic decency to learn about their culture instead of automatically judging them based off of prejudices and stereotypes that are thrown at them for no reason.  

 

Here is a link to read more about Racial Profiling since 9/11:

https://www.aclu.org/report/racial-profiling-911-report

References:

Moghul, Haroon. “The Unapologetic Racial Profiling of Muslims Has Become America’s New Normal.” Quartz, Quartz, qz.com/665317/the-unapologetic-racial-profiling-of-muslims-has-become-americas-new-normal/.

“Muslim Profiling.” Center for Constitutional Rights, 9 Oct. 2020, ccrjustice.org/home/what-we-do/issues/muslim-profiling.

Week 5 Context Research Presentation- Parshvi Patel

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Hi everyone, this week’s reading is Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. The book is about the Igbo people and how colonialism and Western culture affected their lives. Colonialism has always had a tendency to harm the people that are being colonized and this is also the case with the Igbo people. In this book a common theme is how traditions and culture face an impending change due to European influence. 

Western culture has a tendency to be very dominating in nature, for example when colonists went to other countries, they forced the natives to assimilate to Western culture and when immigrants immigrate to Western countries, they are expected to assimilate to the cultures and traditions there. Due to the dominating nature of Western cultures and traditions, many immigrants end up in a position where they try to battle the changes they are experiencing causing a great deal of inner turmoil. 

These feelings of distress are also found in Okonkwo who tries to resist the changes that are occurring around him while also trying to adapt to the changing environment that surrounds him. The Igbo tribe has many cultures that were challenged when the colonists arrived such as having no government or ruler that had full control over the tribe, but instead a communal decision making policy. 

Another part of their identity that changed when put under European influence was their religion. Traditional Igbo religion has a creator god named either Chukwu or Chineke, and also an earth goddess named Ala, along with deities and spirits and ancestors who  would protect their living descendants. Their religion, as ancient as it was, was affected by Christainity and there were many instances where the Igbo people ended up converting to Christainity as the Western influence grew stronger and stronger. 

 

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Igbo.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 22 May 2020, www.britannica.com/topic/Igbo. 

“Igbo Culture & Traditions: Igbo Cultural Organisation Rheinland-Pfalz – Hessen E.V., IGBO Wiesbaden – Mainz.” Icogermany, 27 Oct. 2018, icogermany.de/igbo-culture-traditions/. 

Skerry, Peter. “Do We Really Want Immigrants to Assimilate?” Brookings, Brookings, 28 July 2016, www.brookings.edu/articles/do-we-really-want-immigrants-to-assimilate/.