Author: swart.50

Text Review-1984 By George Orwell

by
The book 1984 takes place in an alternate version of England. In this book, the world has been divided into three major superpowers who are all engaging in minor battles for trivial parts of the territory. We follow the protagonist, Winston, throughout the entirety of the book. Winston questions the society he lives in, the hyper surveillance, and censorship to which the government conducts. This book does an amazing job of covering themes that we have seen all throughout this year. One example that really stuck out to me was the existence of the Proles. The Proles are semi-citizens in this dystopian society who are not educated and are given few rights. This is a clear societal divide on many levels, the members of the proles view the members of the inner and outer party as completely different humans. To touch on the inner and outer party, the inner party is the inner ring that truly runs the government and is behind the severe government surveillance. The outer party is a group of people who are educated and attempted to be brainwashed by the inner party. These outer party peoples experience heavy surveillance and are given almost no privacy. These different and clearly defined social groups allow for many instances of “Self” and “Othering” to occur. All three of these groups view induvial in the other as a member of the inner party or a prole; instead of viewing them as another human being. I think this goes great with the work of Hegel and the danger of viewing someone else as another. I think the other wants to question the authority around and to question what true freedom is. I believe that 1984 does an amazing job of showing how othering can lead to mass amounts of injustice and great differences in power.

Diary of Systemic Injustice Showcase- Income Inequality and Education

by

For my showcase on systemic injustice, I choose to talk about the extreme cases of income inequality from my hometown. I live in Southeast Ohio which is part of Appalachia; this region is one the most negatively affected by the opioid epidemic, loss of factory jobs, and poverty. All of these factors lead to a segregated society between those who are financially stable and those who are not. This difference in stability leads to different treatments for each of these two groups. Those who have financial stability are seen as intelligent, good-mannered, and bound for a good future. On the contrary, the kids who do not have financial stability are seen as unintelligent, immature, and or ill-tempered, and often referred to as “Rutters” a derogatory term stemming from the last name of an infamously impoverished family. These extremely different treatments lead to systemic discrimination against those who are less fortunate, which in turn, becomes unequal opportunity.

I saw this trend occur many times during my time in high school. I knew many acquaintances and even some friends among the “have not” group who would be discouraged from attending college or seeking further education. This behavior toward them would turn them to local jobs or ,too often, to illegal activities to support themselves. Further discouragement would take place in being denied jobs because of their last name, or being discriminated against for the clothes they wore, the car their parents drove, and/0r the reputation of their elders. The children I knew who were part of the “have nots” were often stuck in this cycle of poverty and drug usage which, sadly, likely encompassed their parents and grandparents as well. This lack of generational stability often led to toxic communities that offered very few good role models and would affect many children in a devastating way.

An example of this devastation would be the recent killing that took place the first week of March. Two middle school students were spending time together after a school day, During this time, they somehow came into the possession of a fire arm. One boy ended up shooting and killing his 11 year old friend. This killing is believed to have been an accident, however, Hocking County is no stranger to accidental or unintentional homicides due to extreme negligence.

Another instance of this happening occurred when two fellow students who were part of the “have not” group from my high school were convicted of the murder of a mother of four by throwing a log off a tall cliff. The log landed on the mother killing her instantly. This generational instability creates communities dividing over such tragic circumstances. The kids born into families with history of poverty and drug usage run the risk of being seen as future murders, drug dealers, and criminals. Facing discrimination from many within the community and from a young age often instills a feeling of “I am what they say I am” in those who are affected by it. I believe these individuals are being defined by one repetitive story riddled with hardships. The “have nots” do not get the privilege of being seen as unique persons. The categorization of those who are impoverished leads to systemic injustice through institutions and psychological attacks by many of those around them.

https://www.athensnews.com/news/local/child-shot-in-nelsonville-dies-overnight-in-hospital/article_33af2404-ed01-5c2e-b087-46b619b82086.html

https://www.today.com/news/ohio-teen-pleads-guilty-charges-after-log-kills-mom-4-t191954

Chinese Parental Culture- “The Leavers” by Lisa Ko- Nathanael Swart

by

The Leavers by Lisa Ko follows the story of a young boy named Deming Guo. When Deming’s Mother leaves and he ends up in a foster home, Deming, who is an Asian-American, is forced to deal with many cultural differences between the traditional Chinese parenting styles that he experienced as a child versus those of his foster parents. Now, we will look at a few traditional Chinese parenting cultures to help us better understand some of the changes Deming experienced.

One example of a difference between US and Chinese parenting styles is the perceived strictness and emphasis on academics by Chinese parents. Deming is seen as someone that is supposed to be good at math and is labeled with this stereotype because of the accomplishments of those who look like him. This stereotype is believed to have come from the fact that Chinese parents are often seen as parenting with a more authoritarian style (Parentingscience.com 2019). This obviously is not always the case, but being somewhat authoritarian as a parent is seen as less taboo in Asian cultures compared to Western cultures.

Another example of a cultural difference is the traditional Chinese emphasis on the family unit and the defined roles of said unit. According to (Scroope 2017), Chinese families often adopt the Confucian view of families which focusses on the importance of maintaining a good family relationship. This would be difficult for Deming as he struggled to have a close relationship with his biological family.

Finally, Chinese parents tend to do more for their children and prepare less for them developing independence. As we learn early on, Deming fends for himself quite often. This cultural taboo would have made Deming an outlier in comparison to other Chinese families.

Deming was not raised in a traditional Chinese family, however these cultural differences still presented obstacles for Deming to overcome. Cultural differences can always create barriers

 

Work Cited:

“American and Chinese Parenting Styles.” American and Chinese Parenting Styles | International Programs, 29 Aug. 2011, https://international.uiowa.edu/news/american-and-chinese-parenting-styles#:~:text=Confucian%20culture&text=Chinese%20parents%20want%20their%20children,bring%20honor%20to%20the%20family.

Dewar, Gwen. “Traditional Chinese Parenting.” What Research Says about Successful Chinese Kids, Feb. 2019, https://www.parentingscience.com/chinese-parenting.html

Scroope, Chara, and Nina Evason. “Chinese Culture – References.” Cultural Atlas, 2017, https://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/chinese-culture/chinese-culture-family#chinese-culture-family