Brian Lum, Period 7, 5/13/2022

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

When I think critically about issues of inequity and oppression, I end up remembering that I, as a middle-class, suburban student, lack a lot of understanding on many social issues simply because I have never had to go through them myself. For example, I have never experienced extreme poverty, facing eviction or living on the street in a tent and whatnot, so while I can understand the pain and pressure of those who face such issues, I believe it is difficult to truly quantify such issues without going through the same experiences myself. The closest I could get to truly understanding such experiences would be to listen to an account of someone who has been there themself. 

In the middle of writing this blog, I decided to ask my mother a 20 year-old question: where were you on 9/11? She replied with an answer that made it seem like it happened yesterday: she was on the F train with my father, traveling to a government office to apply for unemployment benefits (she was pregnant with my sister at the time), when she saw the second plane hit the tower. She turned to my father and told him: he was half-asleep at the time and thought she had gone crazy. Long story short, the government office was closed, the subways were closed, my parents met an 80 year-old man who was struggling to get home due to those closures and came across their neighbor at the time who helped all three (I guess four including my sister) to get home safely.

It might not sound as awe-inspiring as someone accounting their race out the towers as dust surrounds their point of view, but it still seemed unreal to me. Sure, I could memorize the “September 11 Attacks” Wikipedia page or even endlessly scroll through video camera footage of the tragedy on Youtube, but they would never feel as vivid, as personal, as the bizarre adventure my mother described to me. And that is just her account 20 years later: what if I could be in her shoes? How would I feel?

This contrast, between understanding an event and personalizing the experience, is what I believe drives, if not, fails to prevent, a lot of policies (or lack thereof) that end up being detrimental to a certain community. A prime example of this is corporations and politicians approving pipelines that are detrimental to Native American communities, from putting their water supply at-risk for pollution to potentially destroying sacred cultural sites. I bet if those individuals in charge of such an operation grew up in those kinds of communities or experienced their culture first-hand, they would have acted differently. 

As for me, I just want to increase my understanding of the issues like inequality and oppression that different people face even further. By talking to other people who have faced such issues before, I aim to deepen my comprehension of social issues going into university. I might not be able to fully realize their significance, but I bet I could get quite close.

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

Sometimes I look back on my experiences in elementary school, being one of the only Chinese students in my grade. I vividly remember my teachers making me feel as welcome as possible: once during third grade, my teacher invited my mother to talk to the class about Lunar New Year and its significance. I look back on that moment fondly. On the other hand, students in the school used to make some real classy jokes about how my eyes were slanted, imitating me by stretching the edges of their eyelids, and saying “ching chong” and other derogatory terms around me. As I progressed through middle school and high school, so did the maturity of the students around me and those “jokes” eventually stopped. 

Thinking back on those times allows me to connect with others who may have faced some kind of discrimination in the past, from fellow students to people at my church. Yet it also reminds me that there are still others that are willing to help make life for those kinds of people more manageable.

On the subject of personal beliefs and values, looking back on some beliefs I used to hold but do not anymore as a result of learning from others reminds me of my ability to change and reminds me that people around me can change as well. I can’t ever be perfect, but I can acknowledge and learn from my mistakes. Going forward, I hope to become more understanding and sympathetic as a result of this.