Abdallah Safa, Period 2, 2/26/21, Day A

 

Abdallah Safa, Period 2, 2/26/21, Day A

• What are your thoughts and feelings about issues of inequity, oppression, and/or power?

Through some readings of fiction that involve the oppression of masses I have been thinking a lot more about the balance of powers within the world as a whole. If we take a step back and look at the numerous cases of oppression within the United States alone you almost get overwhelmed with the amount of problems and seemingly low amount of solutions. You begin to think how has so much time passed, yet some are still fueled by animosity to oppress others. It is hard to ignore the little resistance in the defense against the Capitol Hill Raiders, an armed angry mob with the intent of potentially harming the leaders of our country compared to the gruesome measures taken to stop BLM supporters. This is just a glimpse of the issues regarding oppression within the United States alone, if we zoom out and look at the rest of the globe we do not even compare to the levels of oppression faced in other parts of the world.

One such example I will be taking from the story of Francis Ngannou which he shared on the Joe Rogan Podcast. In Cameron where he was born and raised he witnessed the lack of hospitals and treatment for his dying father, he felt powerless as all he could do is watch and wait. Worried sick that history would repeat itself with his mother he escaped from Cameron and went through a gut wrenching journey and faced more oppression than most could imagine. With Immigration guards holding all the power even if you needed the water and money to cross the Sahara alive they would not care, anything you had was theirs, anything you wanted to keep should be wrapped in plastic swallowed and looked for later.

As I zoom out and look at the rest of the world it is hard to not get overwhelmed by the infinite number of cases of oppression. The problems fought about within the United States begin to look obsolete compared to those struggling in foreign waters. They fight for a chance at what we have here. If we struggle to fix oppression within the United States, how will we help those who are truly oppressed, I would not be surprised if the problems within the United States were the only ones Americans cared about. I would not blame them either but the ignorance angers me because the more we zoom out the worse it gets. If the oppressed became the oppressors would they be the villains or the heroes trying to break the cycle.

• How do you reflect critically on your own beliefs, assumptions, values, and experiences, and how these can influence your perception of self and others?

Throughout my childhood I was raised in an extremely diverse neighborhood, when I visit family in Ohio I realize how unique my situation is within Brooklyn. To meet and become friends with a variety of different races and cultures seems extremely odd in different parts of the United States. Whether it be Elementary School where I went to a predominantly Asian school where I picked up on Asian culture whether it be the media like manga or Asian snacks at lunch time. My experience of being surrounded by an entirely different culture allowed me to learn that culture and increase my understanding of others. Alongside the little niches within my Arab Culture I have come to learn to never judge from the outside looking in. Things such as manga or aloe vera drinks from Asian culture or certain odd Arab dishes like hummus may seem straight up weird until you try them out.

Thus, my experiences of different cultures starting with Asian culture alongside the realization that my culture may seem odd allow me to perceive others and their cultures with an open mind. My values align with the embodiment of New York as a city; that cultural dishes should be monetized and instead of separation and animosity between unfamiliar races/cultures we should divulge and experience the thousands of years of work needed to form that culture. We possess an immense opportunity where within the United States we can experience foreign treasures in the form of food or media, we should use this power to bring Americans closer together and grow more culturally accepting.