Transcription (also embedded within the video):
S. Seth: All right hey guys. We’re gonna break up the podcast into three sections today. Racism, corruption, and intersectionality.
M. Hopkins: Okay so hey guys. The first thing that I want to discuss is something that is very valid and current to the situation that our world is in today and that is how the COVID-19 pandemic and how it has affected different minority groups in the United States due to systemic racism. So I found this statistic online that showed approximately 98 out of every 100, 000 African Americans have died from COVID-19 which is a way higher statistic than any other minority group that has suffered. And my biggest takeaway that I found from this was that African Americans along with other minority groups have had a higher rate of not being able to afford any health care and that dates back to before the COVID-19 pandemic even began. And this was reported by a medical social worker who does research on poverty and inequality issues. So that’s what stuck out to me, was that everyone who talks about the COVID-19 pandemic only goes over how it affects people of certain ages or with certain health conditions. But it also goes deeper into that with different minority groups and I think that’s what is overlooked in society. It’s no secret that healthcare has been unaffordable for many people in the lower class of America and that especially includes African Americans so therefore it is African Americans and other minorities who struggle to receive top quality treatment in care at hospitals since statistically, they make up much of the lower class along with other minority groups. And those people are the people that struggle to recover from illnesses such as COVID-19 because they’re living in poor conditions in society. If an individual were to be admitted to the hospital without insurance in this case which would be an African American person who has the highest rates of people who are uninsured in America. They would be required to pay the entire medical bill which is much more unaffordable.
A. Roden: These minority groups also are more likely to live in crowded areas and work in places that can’t be carried out remotely so when we all went into quarantine, they still had to go into work. So they were more likely to get COVID. They also are more likely to use public transportation than white Americans which adds to higher rate of infection.
S. Seth: I think this example makes us redefine what racism is based on One and the Other characterizations and how single stories play into that. Another example that relates to this has to do with the gun violence happening in Portland, Oregon that puts police officers and victims at high risk. The continued number of riots and gang violence related to increased percentage of homicides affects many victims who are of color. Ironically, there’s only 5.8 percent of black people who live in the city and within last June and this June, 42 percent of victims killed due to homicide were black. So this One and the Other relationship is further tied into that and it’s further demonstrated in the graphic novel March. It puts more biasedness in the short story Recitatif. So I think racism can be linked to corruption. So an example is the Taliban’s quick dominance and control of Afghanistan after the withdrawal of American troops. So when the Taliban took control, immediate effects were observed such as foreign currency cut-offs and the education remaining inaccessible for most women. Their overarching power, strength in numbers, and lack of equality overwhelmed the Afghan citizens so this further again demonstrates One and the Other characterization opposed than Okonkwo’s fall, Okonkwo’s presence in Things Fall Apart. This fall in power compared to the Taliban’s rise in power further portrays signs of corruption and biasedness present.
A. Roden: And something you pointed out when you talked about bias within the African American community I wanted to point out that they have suffered unfair treatment in the legal system for decades and they’re more likely than white Americans to be arrested and once they’re arrested, they’re more likely to be convicted and sentenced to longer time. And this kind of relates back to John Lewis’s March when black people were being arrested for no reason. Obviously a lot has changed and gotten better since then but there’s still, we still see racism. We still see police brutality among black Americans, inequality that has have still been carried out onto present day.
M. Hopkins: I think you had an interesting point there. I also agree with that and I also think that in this case like in America with systemic injustice and racism that exists, the African Americans are the subaltern in society while they’re trying to speak up and defend the rights. It’s been a struggle in the past year and a half, especially with police brutality becoming a rising issue because of the racial divide that the country is now in. I also think it is hard for the government to see these protests to try to put an end to the systemic injustice because prejudice does not just go away as we know. And there lies the question who the subaltern is, which in this case is African Americans and other minority groups in America.
A. Roden: Yeah that’s that is a good point and something that we tried to do so there isn’t much of there’s less of this subaltern and there’s less of this Othering are the protests that were happening especially after the death of George Floyd. There was peaceful protests all across the U.S., that I mean still go on now to spark change in America’s justice system. And this also reminds me of John Lewis’s idea of non-violence. Something that I found within the LGBTQ community. Although they like have equal rights as anyone else in America they still suffer from discrimination and unequal opportunity is a big thing. 68 percent reported that sexual and or gender identity discrimination has affected their mental health and 43 percent reported that discrimination has affected their physical well-being compared to
you know like just because they feel they are not as accepted and it’s harder. It’s more difficult for them to fit into society. So there was this. An example of this one man who explained how he would never be fired for being gay. But when the men at his firm go out for drinks, they don’t invite the women or the gay men, which eliminates opportunity that could lead to a promotion. And so he describes how he has tried to change certain attributes about himself to seem more masculine so that he can be invited out for drinks that lead to you know promotions and he can have more opportunities. So it relates to this idea of intersectionality because many members of this community feel like they have to hide who they really are to receive the same treatment and receive certain opportunities as someone who’s not in the LGBTQ community.
S. Seth: Yeah so intersectionality is based on that story, can relate to gender and orientation and how that affects one’s actions. It’s seen in the Persepolis film, novel when it comes to gender and religion, happening to Marji, and also in The Leavers when it comes to the intertwinement of race, culture, and language seeing in Deming. This further brings about biasedness and also ties into some signs of corruption presented in other people’s perspectives.
M. Hopkins: I think all these concepts also relate to each other with talking about the LGBTQ community. I think that it’s very similar in a way to the African American community as well as the Afghanistan people. I think they all relate in a certain way by fitting into the phenomenon of Othering. Because all these individuals and like groups of people, hard to find as labeling themselves as not fitting in within the norms of a social group or society. So I think that also statistically when these groups you talk about like the LGBTQ community of people saying how being gay has affected their mental health or physical health. I think that it’s true just within society as a whole and it’s due to inequality and prejudice that has existed in our country and around the world.
A. Roden: Yeah I agree with that.
S. Seth: So this can further characterize single stories what we learned at the beginning of class. So from racism to corruption to intersectionality, all these like we said are intertwined and relate to biasedness.