Author: knudsen.41

Text Review – Kelsey Knudsen

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Text Review of The Help

The movie The Help is a fictional story that takes place in Missouri in the 1960s, during the Civil Rights Movement when African Americans were often considered “the help” to White people, particularly in the south. However, a daughter of one of the White families, named Skeeter, is an author who is determined to write a book regarding the lives of these African American women who cared for Skeeter and others ever since they were children. The purpose of writing this book is to bring attention to the mistreatment of African Americans in the U.S. even though they have only provided for White families in a kind manner.

There are clear identities at play here that fit the criteria we have covered throughout this course. Considering the history of the treatment of African Americans in the United States, particularly in the 1960s, we know there was clear systemic injustice at play. African Americans were not provided an equal opportunity, which rendered the countless instances of African Americans being “the help” for White families in America. Therefore, there was a clear label of the Other placed on African Americans in The Help, which emphasized the realistic label of the Other placed on African Americans in the real world during the same time period. The Help clearly depicts how White people held a greater power over African Americans through socioeconomic status. For instance, all of the White families are extremely wealthy and have secure jobs, meanwhile, the African American women live in small homes with many children and struggle to feed everyone.

Regardless, an interesting aspect of The Help is the effort Skeeter makes to help advocate for the African American woman that cared for her in her childhood. I found this section of the plot interesting considering it was frowned upon for White people in the south to stand up for African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement. So, why do you think the author/director incorporated the help of a White woman to advocate for African Americans? What message do you the author/director was trying to send to the audience through the plot of The Help, if any?

“Yo, Is This Discrimination?” – Kelsey Knudsen & Kim Merrick

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“Yo, Is This Discrimination?”

Kim: At this point, we all know what COVID-19 is and how it has affected many lives. But what people don’t know is the origin, but many have tried to say it was by no accident. The Coronavirus has been around for over a full year now and there are many phenomena of how it came about. 

Kelsey: Yes it is definitely a hot topic in today’s news, and it is sad the way it affected people and shut down a lot of things. There are many sources that provide some good insight on where and how the virus came about. A poll of over 1,195 people concluded that “a 57% majority of Americans describe the coronavirus pandemic as a natural disaster. And that is believable, but when we look at what the other 43% said…

Kim: …we can see that  43% of people say that they believe a particular organization or people group is responsible. In response to an open-ended question, most in that group specified China, comprising nearly 1 in 4 of the total survey”. 

Kelsey: This statistic is insanely high, how can people just believe this without proof? There are so many questions that can be asked as to why and how? If you look at the virus it is in fact a lot like the flu. In an article that was posted by OSU, it conducted an interview that said that “It turned out that the stereotypes and beliefs that people already had about Asian Americans were more powerful in predicting stigmatization than other factors”. 

Kim: This statement goes well with our understanding of the danger of a single story. When people only believe one side and don’t try to understand all perspectives things like this pandemic escalate. For instance, we have this quote posted from our president, who added to the heat of this dilemma and is promoting this hatred. Someone who is of a high authority like the example below should not be one of the people to be spreading this rumor. 

Kelsey: Yes, there have been many instances where our former president added some hatred comments on this topic that were directed toward the Asian community. If we look at this video quickly we get to see his actions and comments on this subject.

https://youtu.be/7DbgSMD847Q

Kim: It is now over a year later into the pandemic and many Americans are still continuing to blame China and the Asian community for the outbreak. How sad is that?

Kelsey: Exactly, and imagine how their community is feeling after all of the attacks against them and all the hatred they are facing. 

Kim: Another instance of their community being attacked is right under our noses. In my neighborhood, there was a house that was shot at 17 times, and it is believed that it’s because an Asian person is being hosted there. A new study that is based on the police department statistics across U.S. cities found that “there was almost a 150% increase in anti-Asian hate crimes in 2020, while overall hate crimes fell by 7%.” These numbers reflect a growing trend of discrimination against Asian Americans during the coronavirus pandemic.

Kelsey: Wow, who would do that to an innocent family, and destroy their home just because the shooter believed a rumor of the origin of the virus. Looking into it the people that live there have been residents for many years and have never been known to have any enemies until they started to host an international student who happened to be from China. It was concluded that they were targeted for allowing the enemy to reside among them. This shooting definitely added to that statistic above, which is way too high for any community. 

Kim: I agree, if you think about it even if the virus started in China, people here in America or other countries that are Chinese or Asian have nothing to do with the virus. So why should they be disrespected and looked down upon?

Kelsey: If you think about this, they are being put down constantly and hated upon every day for a virus that is going around. If it was me, I would feel like I am an “other” or a subaltern.

Kim: That is just what I was thinking, we have been studying. Many people are treating a lot of Asian/Chinese people as the other because they are believed to have created this inconvenience and everyone hates them for that. As being an “other” they have not had the chance to try and rebuttal all these assumptions and acquisitions.

Kelsey:  It is as if the community has dehumanized them. People are concluding that the Chinese are the “others” and that Americans are better. There is a lot of hate right now that possibly started from a single source, that has now spread like a wildfire. 

Kim: Exactly, this reminds me a lot about a topic that we covered in class. The dangers of a single story. 

Kelsey, I agree, look at how fast this whole pandemic spread, took about a year to get a hold of it, but yet the assumptions and rumors are still going. 

Kim: That is very sad, and if you look, the people who shot the house are believed to be troubled white men who have previously had an encounter with the police. This is discrimination and violence against all Chinese people, no matter where they came from or who they are.

Kelsey: Wow, so these people were singled out and are being forced to take the blame for a virus that is global at this point. And has no proof of being started in their “community”

Kim: This not only makes it where certain people are against the Asian/Chinese community but the whole world has many of these people, nearly 50% of people were quick to blame one community.

Kelsey: It is the sad truth, that this is happening in our community, and across the world, and it is getting worse, we need something to put an end to this.

Kim: It is difficult to find people who will stand up against a whole crowd but when there are I have hope in us. I was reading a news article that said “Senate Mitch McConnel said that “Committing a crime against anyone because of his or her national origin or race is deeply wrong and antithetical to our founding principles”. This was addressed after another mass shooting that seemed to be a hate crime against Asians.” 

Kelsey:  The impact of these people being shot at and being targeted shows how much hate is centered in the world against the Asian community. 

Kim: I can see that when this behavior is allowed and promotes this blasphemy it strengthens the hate community and enforces their behaviors and actions against the Asian/Chinese community. 

Kelsey: Looking at all of the hate and how people are getting treated sickens me.  

Kim: We know the systemic injustice in America upon the Asian American community is prevalent, however, there have also been many instances in other countries where the Asian community has experienced the same hate for the start of the COVID-19 virus. 

Kelsey: Yes, this is unfortunately accurate. For instance, when the pandemic initially began to break out, according to BBC News, “Anit-Asian racism has been reported in the UK and elsewhere, and now French Asians have complained of abuse on public transport and social media” (BBC News).

Kim: This is unacceptable behavior. There needs to be a changeset in motion in order to stop this discrimination from happening. The woman on the left is crying because she attended a rally that was organized to help spread awareness for this Asian hate and the violence, as we can see it has been a traumatic and emotional discriminational situation. 

Kelsey: You are absolutely right. In fact, as the hate crimes in the Asian community continues to intensify, actions by the government need to be carried out to help protect the Asian community. Enforcing legal punishment is one step the government can take to help stop hate crimes in the Asian community across the globe. 

Kim: I completely agree, and I feel it is also necessary that the government begins to advocate on behalf of the Asian community to help others understand that blaming the COVID-19 pandemic on Asians is completely unjustified. 

Kelsey: Yes, I believe that advocating for the Asian community and highlighting the consequences of these despicable actions will allow members of the Asian community to feel more at ease and protected by the government. 

Kim: There are community leaders that are calling for “greater enforcement of existing hate-crime laws, better connections with local police departments charged with investigating hateful incidents, and other Americans to consider the impact of their words and actions”. This was stated in an article that was focused on how the Asian hate community needs our support. And just a simple thing as watching what we as Americans spread with our words is very important. 

 

                                                                                 Photos from:

https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/05/12/covid-19-fueling-anti-asian-racism-and-xenophobia-worldwide

https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2021/03/18/amid-rise-in-anti-asian-attacks–advocates-call-for-black-and-asian-solidarity-

Reports of Asian American hate crimes rose nearly 150% in major U.S. cities last year – CBS News

Resources

Abdollah, Tami, and Trevor Hughes. “Hate Crimes against Asian Americans Are on the Rise   Here’s What Activists, Lawmakers and Police Are Doing to Stop the Violence.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 4 Mar. 2021, www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/02/27/asian-hate-crimes-attacks-fueled-covid-19-racism-threaten-asians/4566376001/.

“Mitch McConnell Says Asian Americans ‘Should Not Have to Experience Discrimination.’” Yahoo! News, Yahoo!, news.yahoo.com/mitch-mcconnell-says-asian-americans-211838977.html.

Page, Susan. Exclusive: 43% of Americans Say a Specific Organization or People to Blame for COVID-19, USA Today, 22 Mar. 2021, 9:00AM, www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/exclusive-1-in-4-americans-have-seen-asians-blamed-for-the-coronavirus-in-recent-weeks/ar-BB1eO5ig#image=BB1eOf9N|4.

The Ohio State University. Study Reveals Why Some Blame Asian Americans for COVID-19, The Ohio State University, 23 Oct. 2020, news.osu.edu/study-reveals-why-some-blame-asian-americans-for-covid-19/.

“Trump Defends Calling Coronavirus ‘Chinese Virus’ Because It ‘Came from China’ after ‘WH Official Calls It Kung Flu’ – The Sun.” Hot Fashion News, 18 Mar. 2020, hotfashionnews.com/world-news/trump-defends-calling-coronavirus-chinese-virus-because-it-came-from-china-after-wh-official-calls-it-kung-flu-the-sun/. 

“Coronavirus: French Asians Hit Back at Racism with ‘I’m Not a Virus’.” BBC News, BBC, 29 Jan. 2020, www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51294305.

Context Presentation for “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” – Kelsey Knudsen

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As the main capital city of the Punjab province and the second-largest city in Pakistan today, Lahore has an immense amount of history leading to its wealth and commerce in Pakistan’s society. However, during ancient times, the history of Lahore is incredibly vague with little to no written proof of the events that led to the city of Lahore. In 1947, Pakistan achieved independence from British rule which lasted for about a century (Javed, Nasir, and Sana Riaz). The colonization and Partition of India and Pakistan has played an important role in the structure of Pakistani cities such as Lahore. The recent shift of power away from Britain has caused various issues in Lahore such as, “lack of integrated urban development policies, unchecked urban growth, overlapping jurisdictions of land governing authorities and ineffective building control..” (Rana, Irfan Ahmad, and Saad Saleem Bhatti).

Along with the increasing variability in urban development, the economy in Lahore, Pakistan has grown immensely since turning away from British rule. Particularly, the study of finance and accounting has had an uptake in interest from citizens residing in Lahore, Pakistan. Furthermore, “..Islamic nations have been mostly left out of the accounting development research…” (Ashraf, Junaid, and WaQar I. Ghani). Therefore, countries like Pakistan have had to hyper-focus on building up their economy from neglect resulting from colonization. However, in hopes of building up the economy in Lahore, there have been educational disadvantages. Regarding the available education in Lahore, “members knowledge of developments in the international sphere may not have been well developed…” (Ashraf, Junaid, and WaQar I. Ghani). So, there was little educational opportunity provided to the citizens in Lahore, Pakistan.

Lahore’s potential economic and urban growth but contradictory lack of educational opportunities formulated the idea of finding education in a different country, which is substantial to the migration of many Pakistan citizens. Also, the historical significance of British colonization and Partition has affected the city of Lahore and its citizens such as Changez in the book The Reluctant Fundamentalist. Changez migrated to the United States of America and studied finance at Princeton University, which is likely related to the economic and urban state of Lahore, Pakistan at the time.

 

 

Works Cited

Ashraf, Junaid, and WaQar I. Ghani. “Accounting development in Pakistan.” The International Journal of Accounting 40.2 (2005): 175-201.

Javed, Nasir, and Sana Riaz. “Issues in urban planning and policy: the case study of Lahore, Pakistan.” New Urban Agenda in Asia-Pacific. Springer, Singapore, 2020. 117-162.

Rana, Irfan Ahmad, and Saad Saleem Bhatti. “Lahore, Pakistan–Urbanization challenges and opportunities.” Cities 72 (2018): 348-355.

 

 

 

 

Diary of Systemic Injustice – Kelsey Knudsen

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According to The Guardian, the Iranian women’s Alpine skiing team was scheduled to go to Cortina d’Ampezzo in February 2021 to compete for a championship. The coach of the skiing team, Samira Zargari, was unable to attend due to her husband’s refusal. According to the current regulations, “..under Iranian law, a married woman cannot obtain a passport or travel outside of the country without her husband’s permission” (The Guardian). This Iranian law places an incredible limitation on married women’s rights. Regardless, the Iranian government is similarly structured to the government of the United States. The following link lays out the foundation of the Iranian government:

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/tehran/inside/govt.html

Among this traveling limitation placed on women, there are many other regulations Iranian women face such as strict dress code and the inability to watch men’s sporting events (The Guardian). The laws placed by Iran’s government have an immense impact on women’s lives, such as not having the freedom to dress how they want and not being able to live the way they desire. I believe such regulations clearly identify the population of women as the ‘Other’ in Iran’s society in comparison to men. Furthermore, the Iranian government has composed heavily restricting laws on women only which is a form of Othering. Therefore, systemic injustice is clearly at play because the implementation of these limitations is done so through the Iranian government where civilians have little power over controlling such regulations.

The emotions of women in Iran can be explained through the several years of protesting by women and men about civil rights and socioeconomic instability. Most protests have been carried out peacefully and yet, there have been many instances of the government detaining protesters. The following link displays a video of protesters in Iran being ambushed by Iranian enforcement along with the text explaining the situation in further detail:

https://iranprimer.usip.org/blog/2020/dec/14/iran-human-rights-2020

There has been a long-standing conflict in Iran centered around these issues for many years now, so I feel the only way for things to start turning around for the better would have to include new laws and regulations set by the Iranian government. However, with religion having such a critical role in Iranian society, I believe this adds an increasingly large obstacle for women to achieve basic civil rights in Iran. For instance, religion could be used as an argument to limit the rights of women which has been done in the past.

Work Cited

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/18/iranian-womens-ski-coach-barred-from-going-to-world-championships-by-husband