Author: mcintyre.259

Text Presentation – The Blind Side

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The movie Blind Side is a film summarizing the start of Michael Oher’s football career and background. The story depicted the intersection of two very different realities. Michael Oher, a young black boy, born into the world of a drug addict mom, a runaway father, foster homes, and a gang infested neighborhood. Leigh Ann Tuohy, a blonde white woman, lives the American dream, a lavish life many people dream of.

A scene that stuck out to me was the poem Michael wrote when he changed schools. It was called White Walls and it quoted “I look around me and everything is white. White walls, white paper, and a whole lot of white people.” Michael was not able to voice the feelings he felt about his current situation of moving somewhere where he felt out of place, so instead he wrote. He wrote as though he felt that he did not even recognize his own reflection. Who was Michael and what was his purpose here?

Michael experienced a plethora of micro aggressions at this new, predominantly white, high school. The movie shows most of these racist comments coming from Michael’s own teachers. For example, a teacher listened to his letter pouring his heart out about the struggles of being a black student at this particular school and the only comment he has about said letter was if any of it was spelled correctly. This is injustice that occurs regularly in the American school system: giving up on minority children that never even had the chance to start.

Michael faced many issues throughout his upbringing. Even things as simple as being unable to do his own laundry. This is a problem many children face that most privileged people would be unable to fathom. Kids from lower class backgrounds frequently miss school for fear of being bullied for smelling bad to their classmates due to their lack of access to washing machines and bathing resources. This work inspires many from more privileged backgrounds to consider the struggles, prejudice, and racism that children from lower class black communities face, especially when being transferred to white areas.

Context Presentation: Indian Partition and Interpreter of Maladies

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Jhumpa Lahiri’s short story collection “Interpreter of Maladies” examines the lives of many Indian Americans with reference to the current sociopolitical state of the new world. In short, these short stories are the telling’s of identity crises among those who were shocked by western ideals and society.

More specifically; “When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine” delves into bias and discrimination. “Interpreter of Maladies” analyzes how western culture affects Indian values related to religion. “Sexy” examines how a young American woman is drawn to an Indian man for his exoticism. “A Real Durwan” examines how a group of Indian immigrants’ outcast a woman for being of lower class because she reminds them of a place in societal culture others wish all of them to be. “Mrs. Sens” examines the resentfulness and stress of adapting to western culture. “The Third and Final Continent” looks into how adopting and embracing western culture can lead to a resentment towards Indian culture.

In Summary, these stories were written in response to The Partition of India of 1947. The release of control over India from the British empire lead to the development of Pakistan, populated by mostly Muslims. The Republic of India was populated mostly by Hindus. It was those in power such as Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who believed that in order for peace to be possible, Muslims would need their own state. Millions and millions of people were found homeless because of this. Most were forced to flee the country because of growing tensions and violence. This began one of the greatest migrations in human history. Many attacks of terror were performed by both parties. The brutalities and unrest became abhorrent. Pregnant women had their breasts cut off and children out of their stomach. Abductions, massacres, and sexual violence ensued. Even now 50 years after the Partition of India, Pakistani extremists have performed attacks on Indian territory.

Such ensued what is known as a “mutual genocide”. This event, in turn, forced many Indians out of their country to find new homes. The effects this has on their identity is described by Lahiri in “Interpreter of Maladies”.

 

Works Cited:

Dalrymple, W., Mishra, P., & Coll, S. (2015, June 22). The mutual genocide of Indian partition. The New Yorker. Retrieved November 6, 2021, from https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/06/29/the-great-divide-books-dalrymple.

1947 partition of India & Pakistan. The 1947 Partition Archive – Spotlight at Stanford. (2017, June 12). Retrieved November 6, 2021, from https://exhibits.stanford.edu/1947-partition/about/1947-partition-of-india-pakistan.

 

 

Diary Of Systemic Injustices Showcase: Global Warming on Indigenous Communities

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The building of the Keystone pipeline was approved under president Donald Trump on March 24th, 2017. The pipeline would be built over the land of the territories of numerous tribes from the Dene and Creek Nations to the Omaha, Ho-chunk and Panka tribes.This is just one example of countless instances of American legislation dishonoring the sovereignty of Native Americans. Tribes who spoke with officials were reduced to speak to those of the lower level.

The pipeline not only proposes a serious threat to their livelihood, but that of their land. Climate
change is affecting Indigenous communities at a much higher rate than their counterparts. Native
Alaskans are being hit most severely by the extreme ice melting. Pacific islanders are being most
affected by the super tropical storms. Indigenous people in the rainforests of South America have
been experiencing rapid destruction of their environment by logger companies. Indigenous
people of North America are most impacted by forest fires, chemical spills, and oil spills. Many are forced to migrate and move out of their homes and in turn adapt to modern western society. Indigenous culture is disappearing at a rapid rate.

Indigenous people will be the first to be impacted by climate change because they are
considered the subaltern. Similar to Spivak’s subaltern, their voices are silenced by those in power and able to make a change. Meeting with low level government officials reveal that indigenous voices are not valued or heard. The passing of the pipeline bill by the house, senate, and president completely silences every protestor and petitioners voice.

This issue becomes systemic because of the lack of protection and lack of legislation put in place
to prevent Indigenous people from being impacted by climate change. It is easy for colonist
oppression to occur because of categories of identity such as skin color, hair color, clothing, and
Geographical region.
In order for this to change, the voices of Indigenous people need to be amplified and
upheld by those in positions of power. Indigenous people would need to be granted resources to
participate in positions of power. This is not the land of The United States. The United States has no rights to this land or the resources on it.

 

United Nations. (n.d.). Climate change for indigenous peoples. United Nations. Retrieved
September 26, 2021, from https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/climate-change.html.
January 20, 2021 M. D. (2021, June 30).

What is the Keystone XL Pipeline? NRDC. Retrieved
September 26, 2021, from https://www.nrdc.org/stories/what-keystone-pipeline

Native American tribes unite to fight the Keystone Pipeline and government ‘disrespect’. The World
from PRX. (n.d.). Retrieved November 6, 2021, from https://theworld.org/stories/2015-02-
19/native-american-tribes-unite-fight-keystone-pipeline-and-government-disrespect.

Flavelle, C., & Goodluck, K. (2021, June 27). Dispossessed, again: Climate change hits Native
Americans especially hard. The New York Times. Retrieved November 6, 2021, from
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/27/climate/climate-Native-Americans.html.