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For this assignment, you will be asked to write a 3-full page paper, in the form of a Diary Entry, from the perspective of someone of a Race different than your own. This means that if you are of African-American descent, pick someone who is either Muslim, White, Latin (etc.), assume their “Racial Mentality” and “Ethnic Identity,” then answer the questions listed below. Remember this is a “Diary Entry,” so please provide personal feelings and thoughts, in the viewpoint of the race you are assuming.
If you are assuming a characteristic of someone who’s viewpoints are vastly different from your own, I encourage you to be as true to your characteristic as possible, but to also provide a paragraph at the end of your paper explaining your own personal viewpoints. I understand it can be frustrating expressing “extremely bigoted viewpoints,” (which can come about if you are assuming ideas/thoughts from the Alt-Right group) therefore I encourage you to freely express yourself at the end of your paper, so that you are not bottling up unneeded frustration about this assignment.
Assignment Questions
- What will come up for you when confronted with daily events that target your group? (i.e.: someone being shot, deported, denied access to middle-class housing neighborhoods, etc.)
- How is your community reacting to your presence? (i.e.: staring, commenting, spitting, etc.)
- Listed below are specific governmental policies/social reform groups that are currently impacting multiple racial/ethnic groups around the country. Indicate how one (or more) event impact(s) your daily life.
Current Governmental Policies/Social Reform Groups and Their Impact on Specific Groups
- (Muslims/Latinx/etc.) Wall on the US/Mexico Border: one of the biggest topics in politics currently.
- (African Americans) Black Lives Matter: the perception that African-Americans are indiscriminately being shot by police.
- (White Americans) Alt-Right: the perception that White Privilege is being infringed upon and need to be protected.
(Student A’s Last Name)
1
(First Name, Last Name)
(Class and Section Number)
Dr. Wayne Downey
(Assignment Due Date)
Perspective Paper #1
There are plenty of great opportunities for my family and I now that we are in America,
and our journey to the land of the free was not an easy one. I am originally from Mexico and
some years ago traveled across the Rio Grande with my family in order to seek a better life than
what we previously had. It is not easy being a Mexican within the United States as it is hard to
endure the daily judgements I receive from others due to the fact I am an immigrant. I have had a
hard time finding work but I am willing to pick up pretty much any work offered to be to provide
a means for my family.
There is much fear in my community of Mexicans who live in the states now due to the
new president. A daily fear lives inside of me that I am afraid to tell my family of, and that is
being deported back to Mexico. I come from a very violent city in Mexico and cannot afford to
see my children grow up in that kind of society. I have tried several times to apply for citizenship
to the United States, but the lines are outrageously long, and I am always being told that another
person is in front of me when it is my turn to be called. I imagined a completely different country
before I am here, one where opportunity was everywhere and equality as well.
I have been denied access to job promotions in the places that I have worked because I
am not a citizen. I am being confined to working in the fields at some local wineries and I must
work from 4am until 9pm daily. The days are getting longer and the work is getting harder, but I
must push through these struggles to continue on for my family and I. I have been trying to save
up as much money as possible with what little dollars that I have in order to move out from
where we are right now. I am currently living in a 2 bedroom apartment and am sharing it with
(Student A’s Last Name)
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another family because they are in a similar situation as us. In total we have 5 people living in
this apartment and it’s hard getting any kind of privacy. The neighborhood is very rough and we
do not let our children out past dark because of the gang activity that happens outside our
windows.
I am constantly watched by people when I go out for work, as they drive by in their fancy
cars and stare at me. I have been called horrific names by young college kids who drive by such
as “Beaner” or “Spick.” I have even been called a “Wetback.” These names do bother me, but I
know I am doing right because I am outside and working hard and will not let these simple
words get to me. I come from a very bad area and these words are child’s play to what I have
endured, I have seen and heard things as a child that no person in their lifetime should have to
witness.
The DACA reform is very much so hurting myself and other Mexicans that are trying to
work here in the United States. The president has been very harsh in his comments about how he
views Mexicans and this is very disheartening hearing that from the leader of the country I reside
in. DACA has been now drawn out in terms renewing permits and it is making thousands of
people just like me become unemployed. I know that I will do whatever I have to do in order to
provide for my family, but turning to crime within the streets of my community is a very
daunting thought to me. President Trump has a strong emphasis on Make America Great Again,
and for me I am trying to do that and he does not see the helping hands he is turning away by
doing what he is doing.
A very scary idea is this idea that the president wants to build a wall dividing the United
States and Mexico. This is scary because not only would it create a physical wall between the US
and my home country, but it would also create a social wall even more so between our groups. I
(Student A’s Last Name)
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already deal with discrimination on a daily basis and if this wall is built I will be looked at as
even less than I do now. I am very scared of these next 4 years with this president because of the
way he portrays Mexicans, he makes it seem like we are all drug runners and criminals which is
simply not the case.
I honestly wish there was more attention to others wanting to come to the country in
regard to the struggles they will have to face. I first heard about America as a young boy and
thought it was this fairy tale place of hopes and dreams. I am now here as an adult and every day
is a constant struggle to prove myself equal among others. I have a lot to offer to this country and
I just wish they would let me show them what I can do. There will always be that drive within
myself to push through these problems because no matter what I will always try my hardest to
become a citizen and become a true American.
That is my perspective as a Mexican person who came to America to live a better life and
now I will give you my take as a White man who was born here in the states. My name is Kyle
Colquhoun and I am actually a first generation American on my father’s side. I have half of my
family from New York, and the other half from England. I live in California and I see firsthand
how many people try to come to this country in order to live a better life. It really makes me sad
to see how many people are turned away when all they want to do is contribute and make this
country a better place to live in. I think that the discrimination is out of control now that Trump
is President, and it makes me even more sad is the favoritism between groups. I honestly think
just because I am White I am given plenty of more opportunities than Hispanics. There needs to
seriously be some kind justice done from the top down because the way society is laid out right
now, the weak get weaker and the strong get stronger. It just really saddens me because how
simple a skin color can be, and how much it can affect someone’s life. I feel that if someone is
(Student A’s Last Name)
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able to do the same job as you, then they are just as good as any other person no matter where
they come from. It is also really sad that we live in a world where the president can just be
outright prejudice and get away with it, what kind of just society is that?
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