Jason Huang Period 8 12/21/21

 Jason Huang

Period 8

12/21/2021

Modern Mythology 2022

Socio-political Consciousness

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

When I think about inequity, the first thing that comes to mind is racial inequity. Racial inequity has been a problem for some time and from the looks of it, it will continue to be a problem for the foreseeable future. Discrimination and stereotypes play a huge factor in racial inequity. Ever since the beginning of 2020, it feels like there has been an increase in hate crimes and rallies for fairness, justice, and for fair treatment. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, people would sometimes threaten, physically harm, or even assault Asians because these people use Asians as a scapegoat and blame them for starting the pandemic, even though it was out of their control. Even before the pandemic, there were many stereotypes and rumors directed to many different races and groups of people. Although I’m aware of these stereotypes, I’m unfazed by them and most of the time, I will ignore them as they don’t characterize who I am. Sometimes stereotypes may be hurtless, but sometimes stereotypes may affect one’s way of living whether it causes harm or makes them feel insecure. Personally, I’m aware of the racial inequity problem, but the only way to fix it is an attitude and personality change from the people, which seems nearly impossible.

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 the years, I’ve finally realized now that I can be easily influenced by others' opinions. Even though I’m aware that stereotypes may not be true, I acknowledge them and keep them in the back of my mind. When I face Asian stereotypes directed towards me, I react very differently depending on who it's from. When it comes from a friend, I would likely ignore it since it's a joke. But when it comes from a stranger or an adult, I would question why they would do something like this. When I was young, my parents easily influenced my beliefs and even sometimes my assumptions of other people because I held them very highly and found their opinions very trustworthy. When I would walk down the streets by myself, I would often be scared or shaking if I encountered a scary looking person or even a group of people walking together and even avoid them sometimes. But as I got older, I found what I did in the past foolish because I would stress myself for no reason and also it didn’t seem right to label someone without them doing anything. Also, I started forming my own opinions and for the most part, disregarded what my parents said in the past. Now, I know not to jump to conclusions and assume things based on one person’s opinion because it just sets a prejudice that is uncalled for.