Perception of Life in America

 Representation is very key especially in the media. The images we see depicted through the media plays a huge role in shaping our views and well as even our identity. In the past, most kids preferred white dolls compared to black dolls because there weren't  enough black dolls on the market. There was also not much black representation in the media. Once you start to see people like yourself represented positively in the media, it builds up one's confidence and hope into achieving or attaining such greatness. In recent times, the media has depicted an image of Kamala Harris and a young girl's shadow. She represents change and possibility to a lot of young girls. This is similar to how most black people felt about Obama becoming the first black person to be the President of the USA. Representation in the media is very important and should not be underestimated with regards to its impact especially on the younger generation.

Students do experience isolation and marginality. This can be based on class, "intelligence", country of origin, race and many others. People tend to feel comfortable hanging in groups with people who they have a common thing with. Sometimes, we categorise people based on how we perceive them without necessarily making room to get to know them. In the case of Gonzalez, it was the categorization of students into two groups based on who is most likely to go to college after high school with the white students being dominant in one group over the other group that had brown/black colored kids. There are times the very system which is supposed to help one ends up fighting against the individual. It is unfortunate but it happens in our world today and that is the reality. It is important to be open and welcoming of other groups despite their background, class or how we perceive them. The opportunities we grant people within our circle should also be extended to others who are not in our circle and yet may be in need. Once we tend to open up our circle, there is a lot we can learn. It is also essential to stand up and speak out when others suffer marginalization or are treated badly. We cannot pretend to not be affected just because it  is not us.

The decision to change one's name or not is very hard and mostly up to the individual. Personally, I will prefer teaching people how to pronounce my name than to perhaps change it to an entirely different name. In some cultures, names have a deeper meaning and thus, shortening the name takes the meaning out of the name. Todd changed his name due to the difficulty in pronunciation. He could have chosen to stick to his original name and perhaps teach people to pronounce his name correctly. However, his need to be easily adapted into a new culture played a huge role in this change. 

I do accept this description of privilege for European American. This is because they do not have to deal with the system fighting against them based on their color. They have the same features or similar features as the dominant group. It is okay for such groups to talk about not "seeing color" when nothing is fighting against them. They are not judged by how they look or represent themselves in society regardless of their economic means. An European American  who perhaps is not rich and engaging in drugs  can walk at night in a hood  sweatshirt and not be profiled but the same cannot be said of a black person. A person of color regardless of his position in the society, can easily be profiled by the police just because of the color of his/her skin.

Majority of immigrants come from developing countries. The top five countries that immigrated to the USA include Mexico, China, India,Philippines and El Salvador in 2018. This was through a Pew Research.  Overall 28% of immigrants are from Asia, Mexico 25%, Europe, Canada, North America 13%, Caribbean 10%, Central America 8%, South America 7%, Middle East and North Africa 4% and Sub-saharan Africa 5%. Immigration laws emerged in 1965. With time, the number of immigrants in the United states have increased and account for 13.7% of the country's population. Most immigrants about 77% reside legally in the USA. However, 23% are illegal with the majority migrating from Mexico. There have been changes to government policies over the years as well.  A recent one was done under the  Obama Administration which is the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) for illegal immigrants.Some factors that account for the number of immigrants from particular countries or regions include war or conflict.  Thus, such people settle in the USA as refugees from their countries. Countries like Democratic Republic of Congo, Burma, Afghanistan and Ukraine have its citizens settling in the USA. Other groups migrate for a better opportunity or life compared to their home country thus, inadequate human and economic development is a factor that causes people to migrate. This could be the need for a better education or even work. Most people from Asia migrate due to the USA being a hub for technology. People tend to have different reasons for migrating to the USA, it can be personal or based on external factors.

 

 

 

 

 

References:

 

1. Pew Research Center. Key findings about US Immigrants. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/08/20/key-findings-about-u-s-immigrants/

 

2. Pew research Center. How US Immigration Laws  and rules have changed through history. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/09/30/how-u-s-immigration-laws-and-rules-have-changed-through-history/

 

3. Francesco Castelli, Drivers of migration: why do people move?, Journal of Travel Medicine, Volume 25, Issue 1, 2018, tay040, https://doi.org/10.1093/jtm/tay040

4.Lustig, M. W. & Koester, J. (Eds.). (2006). Among Us: Essays on identity, belonging, and intercultural competence (2nd ed.). Boston: Pearson Allyn and Bacon.