I found today's workshop presentations on Arab Americans very interesting. The first group that presented on teaching ideas gave a very thorough explanation of the similarities between the Muslim faith and Christian practices. Some of these I had not considered, but had in my own mind exaggerated the difference between the two faiths. Although I doubt that the percentage of Whitworth undergraduate students who are Muslim is very large, learning about another faith in relation to my own was very enlightening.

It made me think of a passage in The Reluctant Fundamentalist where Changez discusses the work ethic and attitude of his immediate supervisor, a vice president of the Underwood Samson firm, "I could not respect how he functioned so completely immersed in the structures of his professional micro-universe" (145). This valuation firm manager seems to be allegorical for the American public. We go about our days unaware of political happenings outside of our personal realm of the workplace or classroom and refuse to explore information on religions and cultures other than our own. An ignorant respect of "other beliefs" is not what is necessary for multicultural intellectual harmony. An informed interest and reverence must come first.

I missed the first half of the Saudi Arabian Women forum last week. I was walking to the gas station on division to break a twenty so I could do my laundry, and there at the gas station I saw my friend Stephan for the first time since Winter. Stephan is a homeless homie of almost fifty, and he’s still out living on the streets of Spokane. I hadn’t seen him since before Winter last year, so naturally I asked him if he wanted a smoke and then hung out with him for while. Even in his his predicament Stephan is full of stories and wisdom, and one of the stories he told me this time has just as much to do with CRT and our literature as that lecture with the Saudi women.

He told me about one encounter he had with some white supremecist teenage boys. Stephan is African-American, Haitian and Jamaican to be specific, and doesn’t appear to be all that physically powerful. He’s getting older, and how many teenagers pick fights with 49 year-olds? Well this group did. He says he was walking down Division at night when a group of teenage guys pulled over their truck, got out, and headed towards Stephan shouting about how racist they were and how they didn’t like “niggers out on the streets”. Stephan isn’t one for swearing, so he just says,” You all don’t need to be messing with me.” The boys didn’t heed his warning and one of the took a swing at Stephan’s head. Stephan’s quick even in his old age, so he was able to dodge the hit and trip his attacker. Then he dropped his pack right in the street and said something along the lines of,” Bring it”. The guy he had just laid out on the street got up and ran back to the others, who all retreated back to their truck. So 49 year-old Stephan scared those teenagers off singlehandedly. I am still appalled that there are people out there who would want to rough up such a cool guy as Stephan, and with the terrible reasoning that he’s black. CRT tenet no. 1: “Racism is ordinary” is surprising to me, and something that I don’t usually consider. Life is shielded in the pine cone curtain.

The Order of Myths: Racism and Traditionalism in Mardi Gras

My initial response to the film, “The Order of Myths,” was shock. I was almost incredulous to learn how much racism is involved in the events of Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama. I had no idea that Blacks and Whites held their own celebrations and parades, chose separate kings and queens, and that the two parties have only recently made motions to put aside their differences and integrate. As the movie stated, Mardi Gras is one of the last strongholds of segregation between Whites and Blacks. What has caused racism to persist to such a degree in the South even to this day?

Could it be for economic reasons? Perhaps the Bigwigs who make a profit off of Mardi Gras fear that integration will take a toll on revenues collected from the celebration. The film mentioned that in 2004, they brought in a total of $227 million. Perhaps the economic differences between the Black and White social classes is one reason causing a rift between the two sectors. I noticed that in the film, the portions featuring the White king and queen were all about expensive outfits and elaborate, ornate balls and festivities, while the portions portraying the Black king and queen often discussed how expensive it was for them to be involved and definitely seemed to imply that they did not have the financial means that the White party had.

I feel that the main element that has kept racism rooted in Mobile’s Mardi Gras for so long is traditionalism. Some of the film discussed that southerners are hard-core traditionalists. A large amount of what they do is tied to history or past events; for example, they like to dress up to the same degree that their ancestors did. In fact, they rarely even trim back trees whose roots grow through and mangle the sidewalk, because they value their “roots” (I think this pun was intended). In addition to these traditions, one elderly man interviewed in the film made quite clear his opinion that Mardi Gras should remain as it is. This reminds me of a parable in the Bible that Jesus tells in the book of Luke, comparing the pharisees to old wineskins. Just like new wine cannot be poured into old wineskins because the wine will ferment and expand causing the already stretched wineskin to burst, the pharisees held so tightly to their laws and traditions that they would not accept Jesus’ new message of salvation and freedom. I feel that southern traditionalists act the same way, in that they cling so tightly to tradition that they miss out on something new and better that is in store for them and the good of society – and that is a unified, integrated nation that actually puts into place the freedom and equality for which it supposedly stands.

The Order of Myths

This movie shocked me. I had no idea that there was somewhere that this much segregation still existed, and not just racism, but hierarchy. Honestly, I would be embarrassed to be part of the white party of Mardi Gras. One thing that really surprised me is how open they were about the segregation. Their excuse was that things had always been that way, but I think that is ignorant. I think instead of owning up to the fact that they are racist and looking bad they just say " This is how its always been."

One thing that really surprised me was how at the tea party the only people that were serving were the blacks. This in itself should be an obvious racial problem. It was the same way when the white queen needed help with her dress. The seamstress was black, but she of course would not be at the white queen's mardi gras party. This all seems so strange to me.

Then to add to it the only mardi gras party that was started to stop the segregation and include whites and blacks was put on by blacks. If we go back in history it was the whites that first "segregated" against the blacks so it seems to me that they should put out an effort to stop it now, but clearly they are not. However, the blacks are, which does not seem very fair or make sense.

Ray -> Extra Credit

In the film Ray we see an African American boy that has gone blind grow up to be a successful musician and overcome adversity and tough life events. Through watching this movie it taught me that music can be very influential. Music can be a great way of bringing people together and facing racism.

In the clubs that Ray played in he would incorporate all different types of music, which included orchestra, country, jazz, and gospel. While playing this music he fought against segregation. This reminded me a lot of what Brianna and I found when we were doing research for Arab American music for our presentations. Both of the artists that we researched focused on incorporating different music, and the lyrics focused on peace, global unity, and acceptance. Their goal is to bring people together. This kind of reminded me of how Ray is remembered in the movie. Even though he dealt with drugs and other problems through his hard work and life story he has been remembered as a great musician that also strived to make a difference against segregation.

This can be tied into CRT number 5. CRT number 5 says that each individual has a different background and different story to contribute to history. I think with Ray's story he obviously has a unique background, but also with how he incorporated orchestra, country, jazz, and gospel it shows that he respected all different types of music and knew that they all had a place. I think this is how it is when it comes to different races too. They have all contributed to history and all have a story. It seems like people like Ray and the Arab American artists recognize this more than others.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist

The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid is my favorite book that we have read this semester. Not only is it a very interesting and compelling book, but it is also very uniquely written. The Brooklyn Rail describes it as "Fascinating, haunting...what makes this novel such an absorbing read is the unsettling dialogue it creates within the reader. its minimalism, which leaves room for argument, also renders our complicity, forcing us to actively talk back." This novel forced me to form my own opinions and challenged me to think more critically on certain issues. It also gives readers a sense of what it is like to be a Pakistan living in America. For example,e Changez declares "being of a suspect race, I was quarantined and subjected to additional inspection"(Hamid 157). Personally, I have never had this problem, because I am white, but I have friends who have undergone situations like Changez experienced. It is not fair to be discriminated against because of race, but I see where people think more inspection is necessary in order to maintain security and safety. However, this has led to many stereotypes. Changez is often looked down upon or treated differently because of his race. He states "you should not imagine that we Pakistanis are all potential terrorists, just as we should not imagine that you Americans are all undercover assassins"(Hamid 183). People often make the assumption that because someone if Pakistani, then they could be a terrorist. Loewen frequently talks about these sort of stereotypes throughout Lies My Teacher Told Me. Loewen believes that teachers and textbooks do not teach about this sort of thing and instead spend time on issues that are less relevant.
I was shocked when I read the part about Changez's reaction to 9/11. After watching the twin towers collapse on television, he smiled and said "Yes, despicable as it may sound, my initial reaction was to be remarkably pleased"(Hamid 72). This is because he was "caught up in the symbolism of it all, the fact that someone had so visibly brought America to her knees" (Hamid 73). His reaction is surprising to us, but Americans are often not so innocent themselves. For example, U.S. troops killed Osama this past week and millions of Americans are rejoicing and celebrating his death. Newspaper headlines range from "Burn in Hell" to "The Bastard id Dead." People are reacting to this situation just as bad or even worse than Changez reacted to 9/11. The reason that these topics are so interesting to us is because "Emotion is the glue that causes history to stick"(Loewen 342). When things in history affect us emotionally, we are more intrigued by it. We want to learn more about it and we become very emotionally when the topic comes up.

Twilight LA Presentations

Urban art is an incredibly fascinating subject. Previous to the presentation that explored urban art, I knew graffiti as only the illegal acts of defiance by disgruntled gang members attempting to "stick it to the man". My definition could not have been more off base. Art in itself is a difficult thing to define, its beauty is often in the eye of the beholder and that makes the judgement of "good" or "bad" art a task for the well-trained eye. Yet I would never have dreamed that even trained eyes would look towards the walls of urban buildings at what I deem to be unintelligible scribbles in order to find great works of art. Symbols and messages leap through what cannot be simply labeled vandalism and the artist brings insight to the everyday world by choosing a gallery open to all at all times: walls. Bringing art to the audience for which it was intended seems like such an obvious idea, but graffiti and street art are really the most effective in presenting a meaningful gallery to the masses. The "Do Not Enter Project" done by Dan Witz was especially fascinating to me. Altering an everyday and even common place object in order to present a message is perhaps the cleverest of ways to develop art. It was all very interesting and exciting to learn about.

The presentation on social concerns including gang violence and class structure also destroyed a few of my stereotypical presuppositions. Specifically the data relating poverty and low income to rural and urban areas was most powerful. Whether I was conscious of this or not, I realized through this presentation that I had always associated gang members with the lowest possible economic class and families trapped in poverty. However, as demonstrated by the data shown, both poverty and low income families are more prominent in rural areas rather than the urban centers that so often house gang activity. I also realize that I had always assumed that gang members, who were often school drop-outs, were not only poor but less intelligent people as well. In Deavere's book, the interview with Twilight Bey completely disintegrated that idea. Twilight describes himself as having "twice the knowledge of those my age and twice the understanding of those my age"(254). Knowledge that does not come from textbooks or standardized testing is no less valuable. The kids involved with gangs are learning to survive and that skill is more needed to them than being able to write a superb essay. Coming from my privileged background, at least it is in comparison to most others, this kind of survivor mentality is completely foreign to me and I am glad that I am now better able to understand it, however inadequate and small that understanding may be.