Latino Homosexuality

One of the most interesting topics that we studied in this course was the topic of homosexuality. The articles we read about comparisons between Latino and American homosexuality, and the idea of Latino "Machismo" really intrigued me simply because of how foreign the ideas seemed.
The idea that a man's homosexuality in itself is not a defining character in Latin America is unimaginable here. Instead, Latino males are judged on their power rather than their sexuality. As the readings put it, there is more of an emphasis on object aim (what you want to do with your sexual object of desire) rather than your object choice (what you want to do said acts with). This is extremely different from here, where people don't really care what a homosexual man does with another man; more important is that he bares the title of "homosexual."
Although this seems a little less judgmental than the way we view homosexuals here, in fact it may be just as judgmental or more. The reading talks about how the idea of "machismo" plays a huge role in Latino culture. Rather than ostracizing homosexual men like American culture, Latino culture generally looks down effeminate, or "passive" men.
The roots of these cultural and societal beliefs are very interesting. Even though America shares such geographical proximity to Mexico, their cultural views on homosexuality differ so greatly. Therefore, I would not be surprised to find a migration of people from America to Mexico, or vice versa, to fit into a society whose views they find themselves more comfortable with.

post 4 Disney

Reflection post on Disney
I never realized until we watched that movie in class just how sexist Disney movies are. Shows like Americas next top and others of the sort have always bothered me because of the role they present for women. My girlfriends all follow that show and revere the characters. They love it- like an addiction. Personally I don’t understand how people can watch the crap and I say this all the time. I feel like people should be offended by shows that like that tell girls that people skinny and pretty having a good smile is something worth devoting their life to. Disney movies I feel promote these values from an early age. They tell girls that need to be beautiful and accommodating for people to like them. The girls in Disney films are often powerless, needing to be saved by the hero of the story. Usually they are easily won over and treated somewhat as a prize.

Post 3 (playing with fire)

Reflection post on “playing with fire” specifically the interview with Maria.
I found myself a little confused while reading this interview. I understood that Maria found the need to justify her feelings of attraction towards other women in the context her family, religious and cultural values, but I don’t agree with her perception of the male. In the interview she says she took on the role of the aggressor and told her first girlfriend not to look at other boys. She then goes on to essentially say that she always kept multiple girls on lock. In some ways I can see how this is taking on the role of a male, but in other ways I think this demonstrates a distorted and unfriendly view towards men by Maria. She brags during the interview that most other men would be jealous of her because she’d taken the virginity (vaginal penetration) of 7 girls without having to marry them. This part especially confused because I don’t think this is a natural impulse of men – to take virginity. I was actually a little bothered that someone would have this impulse and I wondered after that comment if Maria justifies all her actions by calling them male. I wish the interviewer had brought up this idea more: the jaux de postion between Maria’s perception of males and typical actions of males.

Final Reflection Post

After reading the articles on sterilization in California, I was shocked. I had no idea that these kinds of procedures were still being forced on people even into the 1970s. I always thought of forced sterilization as a thing of the past. It is also saddening that it took so long for laws to be made that establish fair methods of acquiring consent. The law even had to emphasize that doctors needed to get consent, and cannot do the procedure without it. I found this ridiculous that doctors would abuse their power like that for the sake of their anti-immigrant and racist beliefs. They also would sterilize people in asylums or prisons that they believed had diseases that could be passed on genetically. Thus, society was aiming to create a perfect race, free from foreigners, uneducated people, mentally diseased individuals etc. This is one of numerous examples of the concept of white supremacy that we have encountered in this class.

I feel like this issue specifically approaches the events that happened during the Holocaust. In concentration camps, the Nazis would perform experimental medical procedures on Jewish people. They believed the Jewish race was not worthy of being in their society and thus used them in these experiments. Although sterilization is not as severe as what the Nazis did, it is on its way there if we let it continue. This is also an example of the subtle discrimination that it characteristic of our country. It was found that most of the sterilizations occurred to Latina women that were asked for consent right before or after labor, when they were not thinking clearly. They were also told that they would be cut off from welfare if they did not undergo this procedure. This type of discrimination, if we let it go too far, can evolve into a repetition of history. To me, it is unbelievable that these types of things still exist even though we have seen the consequences.

Reflection #3

It was discussed in discussion whether or not kids should be taught certain "adult" themes via Children's literature such as "Smoky Night" a story about the Los Angeles riots. While books like these may not seem appropriate for kids that aren't directly experiencing things like this, I think it might be beneficial for the child to broaden his knowledge a little bit in terms of knowing more about the world around him and learning to embrace it. None of my family had the luxury of being shielded from violence and danger when they were growing up. So it's very lucky for me to have grown up in a safe atmosphere and have my child do the same, however I don't think its smart to isolate and avoid teaching about the bad things in life just so my child rests easy. Im not saying I want to drop him off in a bad neighborhood and see if he survives for a learning experience, I'm just saying I don't think I'm protecting my child by not letting him read a childrens book about Rioting, rather the opposite.

Reflection of A Day Without a Mexican

This film was very powerful because it brought to light an extreme hypothetical that has undertones of reality throughout the movie. This would never happen (hopefully) however the situation showcases the views and perceptions of many people towards Latinos. A lot of people wont come right out and say what they think about Latinos whether positive or negative from the get-go, but that doesn't mean that these misconceptions are not thought, and advocated. When the Mexicans disappeared people realized that the jobs that they do because they are thought to be stupid or whatever are in actuality jobs that only they can do. A hard work ethic is not easy to come by and Latinos namely Mexican Immigrants put up with sub standard pay and harsh working conditions because they really don't have a choice, they do what they need to do because they have family members that they wish to take care of. Aside from the working class of Latinos the film showed many prosperous Latinos that disappeared and that had major contributions to the society. This film reprimanded any and all people who takes Latinos for granted and seems to think that A Day without a Mexican will be a good one.

reflection #3

I wanted to bring up the movie we watched that brought up the issue of illegal aliens in the United States.  People that want all illegal aliens found, kicked out of the country and want a "fence" put on our borders don't know how much our economy depends on these people.  This film showed us what would happen if all of the "Mexicans" all of a sudden just vanished and were gone.  All of the the small jobs that a lot of people don't think of and a lot of major jobs and domino effects would occur that would hurt the economy greatly.  Mechanics, friends, husbands and also people like border patrol policemen would all be gone and/or lose their jobs.  I think that this video was a very important bit of information to show people the consequences that would follow what would happen if we were to get rid of all the illegal aliens in the United States.  The jobs done by these illegal aliens allow our food to be purchased at the low prices they are sold at and allow large farming companies to hire cheaper labor to sell their products at a lower price.  

Reflection 3: Prof La Fountain-Strokes Lecture

The lecture by La fountain-strokes was a great lecture. I think that many people assume that because I am Latina I should know a lot about my culture, but in all honesty I don’t. The professor said many concepts and terms that were used in by different Latino communities that I had never heard of. What is interesting, is that in Mexico, or in my family, a pato is someone that talks a lot, however, in Puerto Rico, pato is what they call homosexuals. Marica, is a term that we use in Mexico, to call homosexuals, but there is a work that is similar to that, which my mom use to use to refer to me. I was raised with three boys, and all of their friends, so I was somewhat of a tomboy. My mom used to call me a Marimacha, if you break that word up I is Maria and Macho and they make Marimacha. There are many derogatory terms used, but I know that sometimes people don’t always use them as bad terms but sometimes they are said in a joking manner, however, I don’t think the queer community accepts these because they are referring to them.

I have a gay cousin in Mexico and many people in our family, especially those in Mexico constantly tease him behind hid back. I do not want to make a general statement that applies to all Mexicans, but in my family, it is very hard to accept my cousin. I think that is because they are very close-minded and because they don’t know what it feels like to have homogeneous emotions. I think it is even harder for his father to accept him because my uncle is a machista, which is a term that Dr. La Fountain-Strokes mentioned to us as well.

Reflection 2: On Prop 187 film

I want to reflect on this film for two reasons. One of the reasons is because I attended a bilingual school for 9 years. My grammar school started in a Mexican neighborhood in Chicago, it was only a pre-k program for Spanish speaking children. It expanded to third grade in the same facility, which was in a church. After about 7 years, it moved to down town Chicago. Because it moved it expanded all through sixth grade and eventually 8^th grade. My three brothers and I attended this school, but now that my brother is older he constantly tells my mom that sending us to a bilingual school was a terrible decision. I am in Education 118 “Teaching in a Multicultural Society” with Professor Moje, where I am doing my final essay/project on bilingual teaching and learning.

I do think bilingual education is important for those students who need it, but I never needed it, therefore, I want to find if other students like me, were better off not attending a bilingual school.

The lady that did her interview in Spanish, said many things in which she contradicted herself. First of all, she along with her friend, organized the parent programs, in which they supported the needs of Latino parents. Secondly, she said her interview in Spanish, but didn’t support bilingual education. One thing I wondered was, did she not think that if students don’t learn both languages they will end up like her and only be able to speak one language? Also, the white teacher with the glasses, also bothered me. I feel that teachers like her, may be good teachers but also, their personal feelings may not allow them to reach their students at the level that they could be.

I want to be a teacher for the beginning years of my career. I would like to teach at my grammar school, because I think that many schools in urban cities need bilingual teachers to educate bilingual children. I think the Prop 187 video was a great idea, I will be referring to in my essay. I hope that after the essay, I can have a clear stand on this issue.

reflection #2

In discussion last friday, we began to discuss whether or not young kids should be talked to and told about real issues, or if they should be shielded from the "bad" parts of the world, and let them figure them out as they go.  In my opinion, I would have to say that I personally would like to let my kid know about some of the truths about the world and not shield him/her from those issues.  Kids are a lot smarter than people tend to realize, and can comprehend much more than we think.  Talking to a kid about what they might encounter in life is a good idea, it will help them to know more, and maybe be able to prepare themselves, or just have some common knowledge on the subject going into it, rather than just trying to find out as they go, encounter whatever it is that they are going to encounter.  

Final Reflection Post

Although we watched this movie a few weeks ago, I'd like to comment on the movie, "A Day Without a Mexican." I'd never seen a 'mockumentary' before, so the style of the movie was very different from any type of film that I'd seen before.

I found quite a few parts of the movie humorous, although I'm not sure if my classmates thought the movie was quite as funny. I think that the movie did a good job of showing how absurd it is that some people think that all the problems of the United States, mainly California, are caused by Latinos, or Mexicans. I think that many people take for granted how hard many Latinos work in this country to provide for their families. This film brought out a lot of the racial and stereotypical undertones that I believe still prevail in today's society. The one scary part about the mockumentary is the fact that while this movie was full of satire, there are many people that truly do think like the characters in this movie, in particular the grown son of the crop worker.

I believe this movie showed in jest many of the problems of American society, and how without Latinos the country would not run the way that it does. While to me, a day without Mexicans sounds absurd and ridiculous, I can only hope that eventually everyone in this country will have the same view. But until then, films such as this one will need to be made to call people out on their racist and stereotypical behavior, however masked they believe it to be.

Sterilization

After hearing about the forced sterilizations of poor or people that are not smart, I was personally shocked at some of the facts and stories that I heard.  Hispanic, latino and other women that were found to be using, or thought to be using, the welfare system for money were forced, convinced, or just had the sterilization surgery performed on them without them knowing is just wrong and shocking to me.  Women being asked if they wanted the surgery while they were in extreme amounts of pain during labor and they gave consent to it, only because they were in an extreme amount of pain.  

Some arguments for the sterilization of these people were that it would improve and/or help overall public health by not allowing people with mental diseases and/or illnesses to reproduce.  Personally, I would have to say that that is a horrible way of looking at that "problem" if you even call that a problem, people with mental health problems cannot help it, they had no choice, they were born with their illnesses.

I would have to say that I agree with the court case that says spanish women and other non-native speaking people know exactly what they are giving consent to, and to not have it done to people, without them knowing what is being done to them.  What was done to the poor, and non-native english speaking women in the past was a horrible thing to do, and I am glad that it does not happen anymore.

Reflection Post #3: "Sterilized in the Name of Public Health"

I found the article, "Sterilized in the Name of Public Health: Race, Immigration, and Reproductive Control in Modern California," to be one of the most interesting articles of the semester. I liked the history of sterilization and all of the controversy that has erupted throughout the United States. I was personally in shock after learning about how doctors would deceive Hispanic women just because they needed to meet quotas. All of the plaintiffs in the Madrigal vs. Quilligan case were asked for consent during unreasonable times when the women were in severe pain. Sometimes they did not even have the women sign consent forms. The doctors automatically assumed that these women could not make decisions for themselves. They completely disregarded how their patient's feelings, which is, morally, supposed to be their largest concern. I cannot believe that the plaintiffs actually lost this trial. The doctors' actions were completely immoral and discriminatory. These actions show how racism is still very much present. People may hide it more, but it is still active. Actions such as these are unwelcoming and make the United States an unattractive place to live. Immigrants cannot even catch a break in healthcare. 

Another aspect of this article that was interesting was how states tried to justify the practice of sterilization. They claimed that they were trying to help out humanity by not allowing those with a mental disease to reproduce. It is shocking to think that states thought they were going to make a positive difference in society. They are making the decision as to whether or not an individual would be allowed to reproduce. The individual's opinion did not make any difference, and the state would decide whether or not they could have a family. I cannot believe that it took so long for people to speak out against these procedures. They were implemented during the 1900s, and the trials did not take place until the 1970s. This shows that state officials were able to easily manipulate the public through their justifications. People only began noticing that these procedures are actually a punishment when a trend among Hispanic patients became apparent. 

Overall, I think the outcome to the Madrigal vs. Quilligan trial was very significant as measures were made to make sure that Spanish-speaking patients will know exactly what they are agreeing to. In addition, I think that a three-day period between signing the consent form and the actual procedure is very smart. Patients will be able to thoroughly think through their decision, rather than jumping right into the surgery. 

Reflection Post #2: "Fear and Learning at Hoover Elementary"

I thought this movie was very powerful as it displayed the effect that Proposition 187 would have on the public. Mayra, a young fifth grader at the Los Angeles Hoover Elementary School, was the main focus of the movie and she was followed throughout the movie at her school as well as her own home. I have never heard of a young girl with so much ambition and hope for her future. You could tell that she truly wanted to make a difference in her community. She was originally from El Salavador, and she made it very clear that she did not want to be sent back. Despite these constant worries, she continues to elucidate a sense of optimism in everything she does. Her fourth grade teacher says she performs her very best at school. It is quite astonishing to watch such a young girl maintain such a positive outlook on life when, at the same time, she is spending her time at home alone because her mother is often working to bring in a decent amount of money for her family. Mayra is surrounded by a community that is hurt by inequality, yet she remains very hopeful. I think that many young children who are born in America should watch this film and learn how Mayra views school. There is a large number of elementary school students who take their education for granted. They need to realize that a good education is such a gift, and they should take full advantage of what they are given. Living in El Salvador, Mayra is able to compare communities, which makes her so thankful to be in America.

In addition, I thought that the difference in Proposition 187 views among the teachers was very interesting. I could not believe one of the teachers (I cannot recall the name) who was pro-Proposition 187 even though she worked with the kids who would directly be affected. She had no problem stating that illegal immigrants should be sent back to their home country. I was so surprised by the extreme statements she expressed throughout the interview. If teachers deal with the same students on a daily basis, they must form some type of relationship with their students. This teacher seemed so emotionless like there are worse things in life. 

Overall, this film provided such a great insight into Proposition 187. Viewers are emotionally touched by this film as you see who this proposition would directly be affecting. I loved Mayra's personality and character. She has an incredible amount of determination that will definitely take her far. She does not deserve to be kicked out of an education she takes so seriously.

Professor Stern's Health Care Argument

Professor Stern discussed in lecture that Senator Clinton's Universal healthcare plan is a better proposal to address the United States' healthcare crisis.  I concede that mandatory mandate on all citizens is key to keeping insurance cost down (because youth people are healthy and will pay into the system without spending much) and allows all citizen coverage.  However a mandate does not address the concept that the Federal Government can mismanage its finances, which would ultimately drive cost up and mandate all citizens to increase payment because there will be less finances for subsidizes.

I feel Obama's Universal Access Plan is best because it forces the federal government to compete against insurance companies.  The federal government would subsidize its insurance rates forcing all other insurance companies will have to innovate and adapt lower coverage packets.  His plan utilizes key capitalist traits that have built the US economy, open competition amongst companies for profit.  Obama's plan would harbor competition and if the federal government enters another financial crisis, insurance rate will stay competitive.

Also I agree that a mandate on child health coverage will allow all children the ability to receive healthcare.  If all capable parents are mandated to pay for universal child coverage, no child would be shut out if in need!

Reflection 3

Just a personal reflection…
My parents immigrated from Korea to the states in the early 80s knowing little to no English. They both worked low income jobs and it was hard for them to transition into the American culture. When I was growing up, I was taught Korean first, English second. I remember my parents telling me that when I went to Montessori School, I would talk to my teachers in Korean, not knowing the difference between the two languages.
Then my parents decided it would be a good idea to send me to Korean school. I attended Korean school for six years, but during that time, I had no desire to learn to read and write. I just wanted to play (hahaha, what kid doesn’t?). I guess you could say that I comprehended the basics of reading and writing but it was still really hard for people to understand what I was writing and it was hard for me to fully comprehend what was going on in conversations. In middle school and high school, I remember wishing I knew how to speak, read, understand, and write fluently. It was especially embarrassing when adults (especially my parents and grandmother) would talk to me in Korean and expect me to understand and respond back in Korean. I would usually respond back in English or use Konglish (kind of like Spanglish). This drove me to sign up for the Korean classes here. So far, I’m glad I made the decision to take Korean.
I think there is definitely a desire in our generation to learn our family’s heritage, culture, and language. Unlike the time when immigrants that came to America tried to assimilate into the “American way of life”, there is more emphasis on being different and preserving the cultures.

Mass Consumption

Going back to Unit II, I want to address and discuss the ideology of mass consumption.  Mass Consumption can be simply defined as a concept that middle class to migrant workers are no longer working and producing enough resources to survive and to be self efficient.  The concept promotes consumerism and the desire for someone to obtain expensive resources. Personally this concept has led to American capitalism and greed and the current American financial crisis.

Most people, specifically Americans, have had a drive to consume products and services.  In the past, many Americans worked long hours to earn as much income as possible to increase their propensity to consume.  Over time Americans, including myself, have grown to become materialistic and desire to consume materials above their means of income.  Combining Americans desire to consume above their means with the high availability of subprime loans-  a loan accredited to individuals in risk to default- will equate to a crisis amongst financial institutions.

Overall Mass Consumption is not necessarily a negative ideology because it has helped the American economy become the largest in the world; however, Americans careless management of credit debt along with greed has attributed to a limited access of money to be able to consume.  This limitation will ultimately decrease Americans' ability to mass consume within the near future.

Reflection Post #3

After hearing the second lecture from Professor Stern about HIV/AIDS in the Latino community I was able to draw a lot of connections to the topic of the Cuban migrations presented by Professor Pedraza earlier this semester. These connections deal mainly with the third wave of Cuban migrations (Los Marielitos) and the AIDS outbreak that followed shortly in the 1980s. The third wave of the Cuban exodus was dominated by single males, many of them being homosexual. These men wanted to leave Cuba mostly because of political persecution much like the people in the other waves, but also probably because of some discrimination based on sexual orientation. Reinaldo Arenas follows this pattern because he mainly wanted to leave Cuba to escape the Communist government that didn’t allow him to openly write and publish his works. A less significant, but still important reason for his wish to depart from Cuba was because he was labeled as a dissident for openly declaring his homosexuality. Arenas and many of the other Marielitos left Cuba to escape one type of persecution only to be faced with another potent type of discrimination in America. Instead of being political prisoners, the Marielitos along with the rest of the homosexual community in America was stigmatized by the outbreak of HIV/AIDS. The fear that followed the outbreak of HIV/AIDS had very negative affects for the homosexual community and especially for the Marielitos. It must have been almost impossible for the Marielitos to adjust to new culture, language, and set of values, while being basically quarantined by heterosexual Americans. So little was known about HIV/AIDS when the outbreaks first occurred and I think that many people probably avoided openly homosexual males at all costs for fear of contracting the disease. People like Reinaldo Arenas were allowed to speak, publish, and record their ideas freely, but at the cost of being alienated from the very people that they were trying to reach with their message. Arenas was eventually able to obtain critical acclaim, but only after his death and after the initial hysteria surrounding HIV/AIDS had died down. All of the people involved in the four waves of Cuban migrations experienced extreme hardship both before and after the migration, but I think that Marielitos had to overcome more discrimination than any other wave. The fear of the unknown in America crippled the Marielitos in terms of both ignorance towards the culture and lifestyle of the immigrants as well as the lack of education surrounding the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Reflection Post #2

I was intrigued by the lecture about the stereotypes and struggle for equality faced by Latinos in the United States health care system. I have been learning a lot about the health care systems of the United States and the world in another class and the topics in both classes are very much aligned. The root of the problem of the United States health care system boils down to its inability to provide adequate coverage to the entire population, and the impoverished population in particular. The lecture by Professor Stern mentioned that 22% of the Latino population lives below the poverty line and many of these people fall through the cracks of programs like Medicaid that are meant to provide health care for those who cannot afford to purchase private insurance or don’t receive employer based health coverage. This number was a 2003 estimate and is now much higher as nearly 40% of the Latino population in the United States is currently living below the nationally established poverty line. Many portions of this demographic are unable to receive health insurance of any kind and as a result are forced to perpetuate the cycle of a polarized health care system that provides grossly unequal access to care. I believe that the problem faced by Latinos in the health care system stems from the same stereotypes and discriminatory practices that hinder the Latino population in other fights for equality. A history of oppression continues to affect the way that Latinos are viewed in multiple facets of society including the available access to health care. Actions taken against Latinos in the past such as the typhus quarantines in El Paso, and the recurrent theme of ignoring health issues raised by workers affected by harmful toxic pesticides built a platform of discrimination that helped shape the structure of the current health care system. Those afflicted by poverty are constantly overlooked and forced to live the unjust stereotypes of the past. These stereotypes can be blindly applied to an entire group, in this case the majority of Latinos that are not living below the poverty line. This is evidenced by the 63% of working Latinos that are unable to receive any access to health care. I think that many Latinos and Latino immigrants in particular are faced with a double edged sword when it comes to the health care policies of the present. Choose to Americanize and face the drastic lowering of health statistics, or refuse to Americanize and face the same stereotypes popularized in the beginning of the century.

On Professor Carrol's Lecture

For my final reflection post, I have decided to lend my insight on Professor Carrol's lecture on Rasquachismo and "A Day Without A Mexican." I understand that a lot of you are not familiar with lectures in the humanities. With Social Sciences (like our class), and Natural Sciences, lectures are rather straight forward. We get slides, people often say "You will need to know this for the exam" and such.

Since I am in the humanities, I have had my share of lectures and classes like Professor Carrol's. With humanities, the point of the instructor is to help students create their own ideas. Humanities explores things such as art, literature, philosophy, and things that are often completely subjective. Things cannot be straight forward in humanities lectures because, frankly, the humanities are not that straight forward.

So, what does this have to do with class? Through this paper, Professor Carrol was explaining that "A Day Without a Mexican" is in itself rasquachismo, in the sense that it was taken from the play "A Day of Absence." I think we can all agree on that. However, the manner in which she presented it should be viewed as her expressing a theory, like a literary theory presented in a paper.

I implore you: Do not be upset with Professor Carrol's lecture. She taught how anyone in the humanities would have taught. Like stated before, the humanities are designed to help people create their own theories on the subjective. So, be subjective.

Questions for Friday Discussion: Sterilization

• What was the significance of the 1909 sterilization bill in California? What do you think were the intentions behind this bill?
  
• Do you think the 1917 amendment made sterilization seem more justified to the public?
• How did other states, such as New Jersey and Iowa, feel about sterilization?
• Why was California able to continue sterilization procedures for so long? 
• What trend did Popenoe discover about the individuals who were being sterilized?
• What were the reasons behind the sudden rise in sterilization during the 1970s?
• What happened during the Relf v. Weinberger trial, and what conclusion did the judge make about the number of poor people being sterilized?
• What major observation did Dr. Bernard Rosenfeld make about the County General obstetricians?
• What similarities did all of the plaintiffs' stories share during the Madrigal v. Quilligan trial? What does this show about the views of the major institutions who deceived these women?
• What were the results of the Madrigal and Quilligan trial?

Questions for discussion on Friday

Ching
Multicultural Children's Literature as an Instrument of Power

How does the author define the terms:
Assimilationist pluralism and Multiracial democracy as framing categories within multicultural education? (Hint page 487)

Now that we’ve answered this question which framing category do you find better- if any?

What do you feel about ‘Smoky Night’ substituting racial harmony in the place of reparation?

Final question from this reading: The author claims that ‘Smoky Night’ cannot awaken young readers to the economic and social conditions that continue to ghettoize urban pockets of America and that create the substandard social connections that catalyze violent upheaval. Do you feel that children’s texts should educate youngster’s about the hardships in life or do you think it is more appropriate to shield children from the hardships and evil in life? It is my opinion that the author is a little biased because they assume the former view.

Question for Isabel (if we have time): have there been any studies done that focus on the cognitive internalizations of these texts. If so, what are the differences in having main characters act as subjects as opposed to objects? Do kids pick-up on these differences between narratives?

reflection 2

Back in early November, there was a lecture and readings about immigrants in the classroom. While immigrant students may have a drive to study more, not cause problems in class, and do well in school, I feel like this all depends on what age the student is and how long the immigrant has been in the United States. In my perspective from what I have seen at the schools I went to, I noticed that immigrant students entering high school that have recently come to the United States have a drive to succeed in school, because their parents had sacrificed so much for them to have a better life than they ever did. They have a better understanding of what is important and how much better their lives will be with education. These students do not want to disappoint their parents. However, I have also noticed that when the immigrants come at an earlier age, like elementary school, they start to assimilate into the American society, their accent goes away, and it becomes almost impossible to differentiate them with other American kids. These kids do not have as strong a sense of responsibility that the older immigrants do.

The Politics of Language Lecture (#3)

Another lecture I really enjoyed this year was the lecture by Teresa Satterfield on Spanish linguistics. I thought this was a great lecture for several reasons;

1. Professor Satterfield was a fun, funny, and interesting lecturer.

I thought she was one of the best lecturers we have had all year, and I got the feeling that most people liked her as well. She was a good speaker and she kept the lecture, which had the potential to be sleep invoking, lively, interesting, and relaxed. It was easy to understand her, and he slides were easy to follow as well as easy to takes notes on.

2. The material, despite initially sounding boring, was actually quite intriguing.

When I saw that she was going to be speaking about linguistics, I was thinking, "Oh great! A lecture on linguistics!", but after learning more about linguistics, I found that it was actually pretty cool. For example, I really liked her discussion on children learning multiple languages. I find it amazing that kids can learn 5 languages at once, and it is also fascinating how the father has to speak the minority language in order for the child to comprehend it easier. It almost like kids have an inherent patriarchal mindset, which is something I didn't know linguistics studied.

3. Her stories and personal references made the lecture more meaningful.

I really like her stories, and she was so funny telling them. It made the lecture hit home more when she told stories about her encounters with matters relating to linguistics, like the story about when she was in the super market and the little Latino boy was talking to her in Spanish, and he said, "Mom, this black lady is speaking Spanish!" and she told him that anyone could speak Spanish. She also brought in her brother, who doesn't speak Spanish, and how that related to Linguistics issues as well. The discussion on Regaeton was also very cool, because of how the Spanish language is almost evolving because of its interaction between different groups of people.

Overall, I thought it was an outstanding lecture and I learned a lot from it, and it also gave me a greater perspective of language. It definitely gave me some motivation to take one of her classes.

Cuban Immigrants (#2)

When Silvia Pedraza first came in, I thought it was going to be another boring history lecture, but I quickly realized that she was actually an interesting lecturer, and she was presenting some fascinating information about Cuba that I had never heard before. I found that she was funny, and a good story teller, and unlike some lecturers, she had my attention for the entire time. I was really intrigued by her personal involvement in the first wave, and how she was in that national magazine. I thought it was really easy to retain information from her lecture as well, because although her slides did not have all the information on them, they had the main points so I was easily able to follow along and take good notes from her lecture.

One thing I really liked from her lecture was some of the things she said about Fidel Castro and communism. I agree with her political stances against communsim, and really appreciated her vigorous assault of it, but one thing I found interesting was what she said about Fidel. I never knew the backstory of Fidel, so I found it interesting that he was a charismatic soldier who gained support from the people by fighting their former dictator. She also said that even after he announced that he was communist the people still loved him because he was charismatic and a good speaker and leader. She said that throughout history men have been able to lead people with these character qualities and abilities, even though they could be a communist or a dictator. She drew reference to Hitler and the way he captivated the German people to do his will. I think she makes a good point on this, and I believe people are to easily influenced by charisma and good speeches, and we should try to trust our own beliefs instead of being influenced by the influential.

Obama's Cabitnet (3rd Post)

I want to point out a recent article I came across which talks about Obama's Cabinet. You can access the link here:http://chinadaily.com.cn/world/2008-11/23/content_7231295.htm
The article gives the list of current appointees to Obama's Cabinet and some of the front-runners for positions still to be filled. I am bringing this article up for two different purposes.

1: What happened to Bill Richardson (a Latino) who never pulled through with his bid for the Presidency?

2: How will immigration policy be formed under the Obama administration?

Commerce Secretary
-- New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is expected to be tapped as secretary of commerce, NBC News reported.
Richardson, a former United Nations ambassador and energy secretary during President Bill Clinton's administration, had been an early supporter of Obama after dropping his own presidential ambitions.
If confirmed, Richardson's appointment would make him the first high-profile Hispanic leader in the Obama Cabinet.

This appointment would make Bill Richardson the most influential political leader for the next four years. Here's a Youtube video which adequately explains his background:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-EnOE3UNhg


Homeland Security
-- Janet Napolitano, the Democratic governor of Arizona, is under consideration to head the US Homeland Security Department, a sprawling agency formed to bolster civil defense following the September 11 attacks. "She's in the mix. She may be the front-runner," a Democratic official said. Napolitano, 50, is a former US attorney for Arizona and state attorney general, giving her law enforcement experience and is as governor of a state bordering Mexico, she also is closely involved in immigration issues which also come under the Homeland Security Department's purview.

I personally endorse Napolitano for Secretary of Homeland Security. I remember back about 2 years ago when there was some bogus legislation about building a border-fence along the ENTIRE U.S./Mexico boarder she was a main voice against the building of such a fense. She was also famously quoted for saying "You show me a 50-foot wall and I'll show you a 51-foot ladder."

To be consistent, here's some Youtube content for Napolitano:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieLhFrqfqBg

What do you think about these candidates? Are there any other candidates which you would think largely interact with Latin@s and thier political issues?

Discussion questions for Friday the 20th

Latino Leadership Development

1. What is a community leader/ how is this role obtained?

2. As highlighted in the text what is one of the Latino populations biggest obstacles/ weakness?

3. What laws furthered the false notion that Latinos were/ are a threat to the well being of the nation?

4. Why are student organizations so important?

Young People as competent citizens 

5. What are some common misleading images of young people of color according to the media, social science and professional practice? 

6. Can you explain the reasoning behind the national homicide rate falling 20% and the coverage on youth homicide increasing by 721% on television network news program?S Why are these statistics dangerous?

7. What do you think is the most beneficial outcome from youth participation?

8. What are some obstacles for youth participation in community change?

9. Why do you think american society views youth as victims or problems rather than as competent citizens?

10. Why is population change significant when discussing the themes of civic engagement and civic disengagement?

Reflection Post 3 - Fishbowl Observations

The reason I have chosen to write my final reflection post on the Fishbowl discussion we had in last weeks discussion (11/14), is because I actually believe that this type of discussion is more beneficial to discussion section, despite what many others in discussion thought.  I know that many of you thought that the fishbowl disengaged more people than it did engage but I don't necessarily think the positives and negatives can be seen so "black and white".

First of all, the students in the middle of the fishbowl are obviously engaged if they are being forced to discuss amongst a smaller group of people.  Secondly, the notes/observations that we were to keep track of really helped the "outsiders" stay in the loop and what not.

The first question on "Discourse - What was being said?" was beneficial because as I took notes from the outside, I felt as if I were in a mini-lecture.  I don't know how others feel about this statement, but I actually like the "teacher lectures and the student takes notes" model.  So for me to sit on the outside and observe what was being said on the inside, actually engaged me as I took notes on relevant information.  Furthermore, I know that when I was in the inside of the circle, it felt good to be one of those contributing and answering questions.  I think that for students who are good note-takers, this is a very easy way of learning.  Some examples of the information I took away from the outside are: 1) One group discussed a study which involved observing Latino children/teenagers in and out of the classroom.  Those in the inside talked about how Latinos may interact with one another as well as others in a public setting (i.e. - the scenario in the mall).  Furthermore, they discussed several research methods and how to infer data from observations.  2) The other group I observed talked about the Fishbowl itself and whether or not it brought advantages/disadvantages to our ways of learning/discussing during discussion section.  Some commonly held views held were against the Fishbowl because of the awkwardness that may have arisen, as well as the disconnect that some students felt from the outside.  Some felt severely disconnected and disadvantaged from not being able to contribute while not in the inner circle.  However, as I stated earlier, I do not believe this to be a severe negative.  Overall, I believe the inner circle can help because it engages those who are otherwise quiet throughout the entire discussion section.

Furthermore, not to knock anyone, but while observing we were asked to observe "Positionality/Identities - Who are the people you are observing?" While jotting down thoughts on this question, I found that their were certain peoples thoughts that I really appreciated and trusted while others may have been less thought out.  I definitely gained a sense of who was knowledgeable on the subject.

Lastly, we were asked to observe "Space and Time - What type of space have we created today" as well as any other additional observations.  While writing down comments on these criteria, I observed the different sectors that the fishbowl created and I judged whether or not I was in favor of the fishbowl discussion.  My thoughts on this were: By putting people in the middle, they were definitely on the spot.  They were responsible for answering all the questions on their topic.  For me, this definitely made me feel more comfortable, despite the fact that people were observing us and taking notes.  This is definitely different for our class setting as we usually only a select few are engaged in the discussion.  Although I was in favor of the fishbowl, I definitely won't disregard the fact that it may not be as beneficial to all as it was to myself  The different setup may have connected some people while disconnecting others.

Just in case you couldn't tell my stance on the Fishbowl, I enjoyed it and felt very comfortable in the inner circle, participating quite a lot.  Although I had no previous experience, I was very engaged as I enjoy responding to questions in group discussions.

Reflection Post 2 - A Day Without A Mexican

"A Day Without A Mexican" was very appealing to my likes because I really appreciate the idea of taking serious and relevant information and making it into a parody.  During high school, I absolutely hated politics, but once I was introduced to Jon Stewart, I grew quite a liking.  Furthermore, shows such as South Park, Family Guy, and The Simpsons, even manage to incorporate satire into their shows.  To me, this is the best way of informing people of serious issues because people like comedy and the arena that these rather boring political issues are brought into changes my whole perspective on my ability to withstand such issues.

Tying satire back into the film screening, there were many key points to be taken away.  Although the introduction begins with a woman waking up flustered as she does not know where her Mexican husband has left too, the dramatization sets the tone for what is to be an informative parody on immigration issues currently taking place in the U.S.  

The main purpose of the film was to portray how the U.S. economy would be deeply affected if the U.S. were to eliminate illegal immigrants.  However, the film points to the work these immigrants do and how their contributions without a doubt outweigh the "cons" of allowing immigrants into our country, specifically Latino immigrants.  Although the film touches on aspects of Latino contributions, it makes note that in whatever case, immigrants in this country are not as derogatory as they are helpful.

On a final note, whatever the scene may be, the points to be made were that without immigrants, and specifically Mexicans, the economy would be seriously hurt.  Despite controversy over "illegals taking Americans jobs," the film shows how the economy is very well off distributing the jobs they do to these hard-working immigrants.  Whether by calling these illegals, "aliens" or calling a Honduran or Guatemalan a Mexican, the film addresses these issues by showing the widespread ignorance of Americans, specifically in California, who fail to see the large contribution that these immigrants make to the U.S on a daily basis.  Contrary to popular belief, without their contributions, Americans probably would not fill the void to be left from eliminating these immigrants. 

On that note, I would like to conclude by mentioning one last time how effective satire/parody is in the academic arena.  I specifically found "A Day Without A Mexican" to be very informative and a lot more interesting for the way the ideas were presented.  I strongly believe that films should be introduced to all courses in this manner.  By presenting important issues is a satirical manner, helpful, interesting knowledge can easily be attained. 

Reflection Post 3-"A Day Without a Mexican"

About three years ago my sister, our friends, and myself were walking through a video store trying to pick a movie to watch that night.  After searching and searching my friend stumbled upon "A Day Without a Mexican", initially when we all saw this we couldn't stop laughing because it honestly felt like a joke.  My sister and I picked the movie, telling our friends jokingly that "they will learn to respect us!".  After watching it back then I kind of just took it as a funny, satirical movie.  I still to this day find it amusing but also that there is a message behind all the "jokes" of labor, LA traffic, etc.  

As we have learned through out this course and I am sure as many of us have heard within the past couple of years, there is this idea that Mexicans, or Latinos, are taking all the jobs from "hard-working Americans" and the Latinos are hurting our economy.  However, it seems that people tend to look over the little fact that these "illegal aliens" are doing all the jobs no one would ever really want to do; however, this doesn't make it right for their mistreatment with wages and what not.  Nonetheless, people tend to not see how the Latino population, especially the undocumented immigrant, is a huge driving force not just in California's economy but in the United States economy.  

I love how the movie showed that Latinos contribute a lot to society, more than those would want you to think that is.  Also, I must say I was a little disappointed that no one was laughing at some parts in the movie.  I don't know if it was because you didn't want to be there or for some other reason.  Or maybe I thought it was funny because of the connection to LA with its traffic and tremendous Latino population.  Either way, I really liked this movie for both its message and humor.  Its nice to learn something and also get a kick out of it too.

Discussion Questions for 21 November

Hey all,

These are my discussion questions for the film "A Day Without a Mexican" and the article "Raquachismo: A Chicano Sensibility." These questions will be used on Friday.

A DAY WITHOUT A MEXICAN:

1. What is a farce? How is this film a farce?
2. What are the different views expressed about hiring undocumented/Latino workers? (Think about the Senator, the Farmer, the TV News Manager, and others).
3. What does the Orange Farmer say to the reporter about Mexican field workers in California? Do you agree with this statement?
4. What are the different plays on group names used by non-Latino characters? Why did the filmmakers include this aspect in the film?
5. What is the contrast between the demonstrations at the beginning of the film and those toward the end of the film? Do you think that sort of change would actually occur? Why or why not?
6. What idea does the film ring up about a person’s cultural identity? Do you agree? Why or why not?

RASQUACHISMO: A CHICANO SENSIBILITY

1. What is rasquachismo? (p. 477) How can this ideal help or hurt Chicano empowerment?
2. What examples does Ybarra-Frausto give to differentiate between Medio (Low) Rasquachismo and Muy (High) Rasquachismo? What does this say about the concept of Rasquachismo?
3. What are the three characteristics of Rasquachismo that Ybarra-Frausto points out? (p. 478).
4. How did the described man from “Barrio Loma Linda” personify Rasquachismo? (P. 479).
5. What is the idea of “hacer rendir las cosas”? What are the examples that Ybarra-Frausto gives? (P. 479)
6. What does Ybarra-Frausto claim to be the origins of Rasquachismo? How is this right? How has Rasquachismo changed since its inception?
7. How does the excerpt from the carpa show on page 480 reflect the idea of Rasquachismo?
8. What was the reaction to Rasquachismo by those in the Chicano Movement? In contrast, how did “more traditional” Mexicans react to the term “Chicano”?
9. How did actos both celebrate and break through the idea of Rasquachismo?
10. How do figures 5 & 6 on page 483 reflect the idea of Rasquachismo?

See you all Friday,
Mark Navarro

Reflection #2

jhdguas

Fishbowl!

Hi everyone!
I wanted to thank you, again for participating in Friday’s fishbowl discussion. As promised, I will sum up some of the points I made at the end of class. Please use this space to provide additional feedback, reflections, and observations on your experience with this activity.

In answering the question, What type of space did we create/participate in on Friday’s discussion section?, I proposed the following observations based on Elizabeth Moje’s article, “Powerful Spaces: Tracing the Out-of-School Literacy Spaces of Latina/o Youth:”

A space influenced by institutions: we are at the University of Michigan, which implies a relationship between UM and education/learning

A space influenced by time/temporality: our discussion section length (50 mins); but also, how did your observations/comments in class differ from what you may have thought at the beginning of the semester? Or, how have you changed based on your experience in this class?

A space influenced by things material/physical: your level of comfort varied (depending on whether you were in the inner circle or outer circle); differences between being an “observer” vs. being the “observed.”

A space influenced by identities: how was our space complicated by identity? Which identities did you prioritize? What assumptions were you making about other people’s identities? Which identities were less obvious or not really addressed?

A space influenced by power: your relationship to each other and to me (GSI vs. student); what other power dynamics did you observe? How do these power dynamics affect your participation in class?

Also keep in mind that these categories often overlap.

I look forward to reading your responses!
-Isabel

Discussion Questions

Here are the discussion questions for Friday based on "Powerful Spaces"

1. How was this experiment conducted?
2. What kind of researcher is Professor Moje and what does that mean?
3. What is a space?
4. What does Professor Moje mean by having people’s identities varying based on time and space?
5. How is this applied to Latinos and what we have talked about before, examples?
6. When the youth took a trip outside of their community, how did they classify the other neighborhoods?
7. What are people’s reactions when someone of the Latino community starts to spend time with people of a different space?
8. What are your feelings on that?
9. At the mall what were people’s reactions so see Moje with a large group of Latino youth?
10. How did the youth themselves comment and judge others?
11. What does it mean to be “other” and be “othered”?
12. What are the characteristics of Virnot Street and why is it important?
13. How is it related to Aztlan?
14. What are the advantages of a virtual (internet) space?

Discussion Questions for Friday- Latinos and Well-Being

Here are some of the discussion questions for Friday based on the reading:

- How have the number of child abuse and neglect reports and out-of-home care changed over the past decade? How many of these are children of color?

-What are some of the factors that contributed to the increase of child abuse/neglect reports?

-What about the number of children entering out-of-home care?

-Why is the term "Latino" a problem in child welfare studies?

-What are some of the main differences between welfare assistance assessment of ethnic children and Caucasian children?

-How do you think it can be changed/remedied?

-How has the role/composition of the Latino family changed?

-What issues to they face?

-How do the authors pose some systematic solutions to those changes?

-What are the authors' overall feelings on child welfare for Latinos?

-How do they think that it can be improved?

-In what way does having immigrant parents affect the children?

-Who are the first people that Latinos go to when they see that a child has strange marks/bruises?

-What is the general opinion that Latinos have on child abuse within Latino homes?

-What are the implications of taking away a child from their Latino home?

Reflection Post 2

Listening to the past few guest lecturers have given me some things to think about that I find pretty interesting. More specifically, because I'm taking a linguistics class that Professor Satterfield teaches, I want to comment on her lecture a little bit.

I found a lot of things that she talked about similar to the topics that we cover in her class. One thing I found particularly interesting was the theory of code switching, and how some people criticize those who use code switching frequently, deeming them "ni-lingual", which I find completely untrue and unfounded. I feel to be able to code switch while maintaining both forms of grammar for each language is really an acquired skill- I would love to be able to seamlessly code-switch at some point. These bilingual speakers (because I believe that they are bilingual) will become increasingly more pertinent to our society, no matter how monolingual the government tries to make this country.

Another thing that I found interesting that was just commented on was the concept that the third generation of native speakers no longer knew how to speak Spanish fluently. This was also applied to my grandfather. His mother was Spanish and Mexican, and spoke fluently, but as he was growing up, he was taught to not speak Spanish, because that meant that he would be discriminated against, and I believe that he carried that train of thought with him throughout his entire life. None of my aunts and uncles or my mom know how to speak Spanish, and I remember my mom telling me that I could try speaking Spanish with my grandfather, but not to get my hopes up, because he has always associated speaking Spanish with a negative connotation. Seeing some of the things brought up in lecture apply to situations that I have experienced is really interesting, and makes these issues that more relevant for us to learn.

On Learning Spanish in the United States (A Reflection of My Mother)

I wish to reflect upon the act of speaking Spanish here in the United States.  Listening to Monday's lecture, I was reminded of my own family: My Grandparents are natives of Mexico and Southern Texas, both using Spanish as their primary language.  The first three of their four children were all expected to learn and use Spanish in the home and to use English outside of the home.  Then my mother, the last of the four children, was taught only English.  To this day, my mother speaks very little Spanish.  I began to wonder why.  Why, after having three completely bilingual children did my grandparents only teach my mother English?  Even more so, why did they only teach her their secondary language?

After several attempts over the years to get an answer from my mother (out of my strange childhood desire to learn Spanish and her disappointment when she could not teach me), I have figured that it was a combination of a few things:

First, the matriarchal idea of raising children is usually not only a responsible of the mother, but also older sisters.  My mother has two older sisters, and each one had a hand in raising her.  Knowing that she would need to learn English for school and other social events, they perhaps saw it more beneficial to use their efforts to only teach her English.  This would also explain why my mother has the best English grammar of all of her siblings (I notice these things, and I often get awful stares when I try to correct my family's grammar).

Second, my mother is the youngest of the children.  Being the youngest myself, I am aware that we are often (for lack of a better word) spoiled and things are generally made easier for us.  Rather than putting the "baby" through the hassle of learning two languages, my grandparents perhaps decided only to use their efforts to teach her the language that she would most need.

In both points, I realize the notion of English being the language "needed" in this society.  I now realize that our generation and many more to come are going to be just like my mother: only learning and using the language that we "need," thus tearing ourselves farther and farther from our roots.

Latino Sexuality Reflection Post

After reading the articles and listening to Professor La Fountain Stokes, I gained an understanding of social norms in Latino society and how they compared to American society. It shocked me how Latinos viewed homosexuals in two categories, which determined if they were stigmatized by society or not. This is so different from the ideals of people in the States. Here, people either discriminate against all homosexuals or support all homosexuals. There is no differentiation based on what role they play in the relationship.
Therefore, in Mexico and Central America there is no clear-cut support or criticism of homosexuals in general because some are accepted in society and some are not. It leads me to question then what are their views on gay marriage and gay rights? If the dominant male is not stigmatized while the passive one is, it confuses me how the public can support or go against their rights as a couple. The varying views on homosexuality in the Latino society contrast with American ideals, which open up a wider range of social political differences.

Reflection Post 2

I want to do a reflection post on our Detroit Field Trip to Mexican Town last weekend.  When I first learned that we were going there at the beginning of the semester my initial thoughts were something along the line of "been there done that"; however, I was somewhat excited for the field trip.  I have been going to Mexican Town for over 10 years now with my family whenever we need certain specialty foods that American markets just don't have.  I love driving through the area looking at the murals and the little shops and restaurants because it reminded me of being in California. 

However, I really appreciated the fact that we were able to walk around the area with a native of the town and also to see his work.  My favorite piece over the past years is the last one we saw where the men were picking the corn during the day and the women making the tortillas early in the morning.  I really like the piece because of the colors and how the story of the workers is not only a Mexican or Latino story, but an American one.  Of how the man would work and bring home food (money) for the family and the woman would prepare it.  Granted some may view it as sexist, but for some odd reason I think thats why it appeals to me.  

Before the field trip, I had no prior knowledge of the birth of this little town within Detroit. The roles the Mexican/Latinos played in the early history of the Big Three and other jobs in Michigan such as agricultural were new to me too. I always find it interesting how one can live close a place for so long and know so little. 

Discussion Questions for Friday

How does the structured meaning of homosexuality in the European-American context differ from that of the Mexican/Latin American sexual system?

 

Who receives the stigma for being a homosexual in Mexican/Latin American culture? And how is this different from what you know about the stigma homosexuals face in the European-American culture?

 

What is the meaning of the cochon? And what significance does this term imply in the Latin culture? Conversely, what is the meaning of machista? And what significance does this term imply in the Latin culture?

 

How is dominance and passivity entwined into determining masculine and feminine roles in Latin Culture?

 

What are some derogatory words used in Latin culture to describe homosexuals? For example, Americans commonly use “fairy”, “sissy”, etc.  Also, what do these terms imply about homosexuals in Latin culture?

What can be said about the typical male homosexual transactions in Mexican culture? How is this different from the permissive family life of white middle-class gay men and lesbians in the US?

 

Explain Carrier’s research on mestizo homosexual men in Guadalajara.

 

Explain the meaning of “bisexual escape hatch”.

 

Define: Internacionales

How are White Americans experiences in establishing an openly-gay-identity different from those of Mexican/Latin Americans?

 

According to Hector Carrillo and Horacio Maiorana, what are the 2 categories of individuals used to describe homosexual men in Mexican/Latin culture? Also, what are the other 3 categories used to describe homosexual men in Mexican/Latin culture who DO NOT participate in this gay Latino subculture, but rather assimilate into the dominant European-American culture of the US? Compare and contrast the different categories (specifically the first two in relation to the latter 3).

 

Why is lesbianism less appropriate in Mexican/Latin culture, despite the tolerance of homosexuality?

 

How did the power struggle that Moraga illustrates affect her balance between commitment to the family as well as her religion? Furthermore, how did it shape her future lesbian experiences?

 

How do the words “playing” and “fire” represent metaphors for Chicana and Mexicana lesbians?

How do Mirella’s experiences as an adolescent reflect the dominance men held in society in contrast to the subordination women experience?

 

How do Mirella’s grave concerns about being pure and keeping her virginity reflect how women were viewed in Mexican/Latin culture?

 

How is Maria’s desire to playfully act as a male representative of the superiority of males in Latin culture and the inferiority of females?

 

How does Maria and Josefina’s lesbian relationship differ from the homosexual transactions we previously saw?

 

Do you think virginity was a topic more sought by lesbians than homosexual males? Explain.

 

 

What is the LGMNY?

 

What does Sylvia Rivera suggest is the reason for the intolerance/mistreatment of transgender communities?

 

Who participated in the Stonewell riots? Why did radical straight men and women living in the Village at that time aid the street queens?

 

Why did they keep going back for more?

 

What was it that Rivera worked so desperately to achieve, even landing her in prison?

 

Who is Randy Wicker?

 

What does Rivera explain is the reason for transgender peoples to work on street corners?

 

Who is Jean O’Leary?

Discussion Questions for Friday

Hey these are just a few questions I came up with, I just got out of class and now I have to go to work?  I will post some more in a few hours! 

What is recognized as the 'real' Spanish?

What is bilingualism?  Also why have some authors like John Lipski claim bilingualism is dead?

What usually happens in the US to the third generations of an 'immigrant' family?

Why is it easier for second generations within an 'immigrant' family to be bilingual?

Despite the limited information regarding the linguistic origin of 'Spanlish,' should Spanlish be recognized as a third language?

Why is the bilingual practice of switching from one language to another despised, and users viewed as nonlingual?

Why has sexual orientation differently stigmatized in Latin America and the US?

Why were there prevalently more lesbian academic literature than male homosexuals during the 80s and 90s?

Reflection Post 3

Now that we have finished Unit 2, I want to reflect back on it.

Learning about the Cuban Exodus was really interesting to me. I remember hearing about Cubans crossing through the waters to try and get to the U.S. but I never understood why. The four waves as a summary seemed a little simple at first because we had only covered the main points of it. After the lecture through the readings and researching online out of curiosity, I thought about it more in depth and how overwhelming it must have been for both the Cubans and people in the U.S. at the time...

Also last week on Thursday I went to a play in East Hall about a Cuban who wanted to come up to the U.S. and become famous as a rapper in New York. He told his story with a Cuban-American from California he met along the way in a bilingual-rap-comedy show. I know it seems like a contrast to the Cuban Exodus, but I found it very interesting that this man, Julio, was really struggling in Cuba like many other Cubans during the exodus - and that Cubans are doing everything they can to make a better life for themselves in the U.S. I think the relation between the two is very similar, and I found it extremely interesting especially since we had just finished Unit 2.

Latinos and The Election

Hi everyone.
I'm doing my final project on this, but I also thought it would make a great discussion question to blog about.

What is the role of the 'Latino vote' in the upcoming election?

Since I'm researching this topic I'll provide you with some major point that the experts discuss which might stimulate your response to this post.
They are:
1. Latinos are an important 'swing vote'
2. Latinos are not a homogenous group in terms of political ideology
3. Mexican American presidential voting patterns (who they vote for) is close to or the same as the general American public.
4. Other social identities may play a larger role than the Latino identity. For example age and socio economic status.

Is any of this data surprising?
Why do you think a Latino might vote for Obama?
Why do you think a Latino might vote for McCain?
Do you think there are any other important questions or phenomenon to observe?

Also, if you respond to the post after the election, share your opinion about how the 'Latino vote' influenced the election results.

Additional Key Terms for Unit Two

Hey everyone,
Below are the Key Terms and definitions all of you came up with in discussion section. Feel free to add others! And please remember that you will have to be more specific when defining any of these terms on the Unit Two exam--always relate the terms to the larger class objectives (i.e. the Latina/o experience)
-Isabel
p.s. You can also check out the terms and definitions from my other sections by clicking *Section A* and *Section C*

From Lecture:
[]-Globalization: increasing influence that people from different parts of the world have on each other*
*note from your GSI: Is this all it is?

From Discussion:
[]- Flexible Labor Pools: groups of people that can be moved based on where labor is needed

[]- IRCA: (Immigration Reform and Control act) 1986, Requires employers to prove employees legal working status*
*note from your GSI: What else did it do?

[]- Push/Pull Factors: Factors that make people migrate from one country (push) to another (pull)

[]- National Origins Act: established strict migration questions* in 1890 census, a border patrol & also made Asian exclusion a federal policy
*note from your GSI: Did this act establish questions? No...it established ___[who can fill in the blank?]___

[]- Transnational Corporation: corporation that is based in the US but has factories in other countries to get their full product*
*note from your GSI: Are these corporations only in the US? What did you all mean when you stated "to get their full product?"

[]- Homeland Security Act: created US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Act (ICE) & merged into Homeland Security*
*note from your GSI: When did this happen? Why?

Reflection Post 2

So far, I feel like I have gained alot more knowledge about the Latino community/communities within the US. Prior to taking the class, I had known a few general ideas about some of the things that we have discussed. I especially enjoyed learning about the the Young Lords Party among the Puerto Rican community and their struggle and fight to get what they believed in. To me, this marks a crucial point in the history of all Latino Communities because it began building a true foundation for establishing a Latino voice in the US.
I have also enjoyed learning about the Cuban Exodus and Revolution recently. In my Spanish literature class we just finished studying the Spanish-American war and how the Cubans were involved with that. Now studying the aftermath of that and where the Cuban community has grown toward is really interesting to me, everything is tying in together. It makes what we are learning/discussing in Unit II more appealing, and makes me appreciate a little more the life we have here in the US after understanding the struggles the Cubans went faced/are facing.

Discrimination

One of the aspects of today guest lecture on discrimination that really resonated with me was the topic of intra-group discrimination (ex. discrimination between latinos) and inter-group discrimination (ex. whites discriminating against latinos). First of all, during lecture the speaker mentioned that darker skinned Latinos face more discrimination in the United States, demonstrating a form of intra-group discrimination. However, from the reading for last week, we learned that in fact darker skinned Cubans faced similar discrimination in Cuba from their lighter skin countrymen, demonstrating a form of intra-group discrimination. This suggests to me that there may be international discriminatory factors that pervade our societies. Rather than simply looking at discrimination by region or even by country, we can observe discriminatory trends on a global basis. Because of this, some forms of discrimination that we may view as "intra-group" or "inter-group" may be classified as such only because of the region in which they occur. This occurrence seems to especially hold true in the case of skin color, where all over the world, darker skin people seem to face more discrimination.
Another concept that I feel was not mentioned much in lecture was the effect of context (geographical location, demographics, etc.) Although the effects of language, phenotype, and gender on discrimination were mentioned, I strongly feel like context of the discrimination may be one of the biggest factors in the manner in which it occurs. For example, discrimination faced by a Latino laborer in New York would probably be less severe than the discrimination faced by a Latino worker in a Texan border town. This would be due to the fact that Latino immigration is a much bigger issue in those areas, and people would correspondingly have much stronger feelings about it. Therefore, I believe that the context in which the discrimination occurs may be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, factors in how severe the discrimination is.

Central Americans - Discussion Questions

The article states that in the past 7 years, over 500 thousand Salvadorians and 220 thousand Guatemalans have immigrated to the US. What push/pull factors may have motivated these immigrants?

In the past two decades, Central Americans have become a growing minority in America, and along with Mexican Americans, generally attend inner city schools. Among these two groups, which group tends to perform better in school?

Unlike Mexico, some Central American countries are war torn and politically unstable. How does this affect Central American immigrants work ethic and determination to succeed in school? How does this differ from Mexican Americans born in America?

Suarez mentions in the article that Central Americans “generally perform better in schools and certainly experience different kinds of problems than castelike minorities, such as blacks, Mexican-Americans, and Native Americans”. How do the problems Central Americans have differ from these other groups?

Why did bilingual teachers like teaching Central American students so much?

Although Central American students were hard working and dedicated to their studies, they were discriminated against by the schools. In what way were they discriminated against, and what was the cause of this discrimination?

Why was Suarez so surprised that so many Central American students stayed in school?

The majority of Central American students had one or more members of their family still living in Central America, and reports say that immigrants from El Salvador alone send between 350 million to 600 million dollars a year to their families. What mentality do a lot of Central American students have that could explain the aid they send back to their home country?

How does this sense of duty or responsibility correlate to “survivor guilt”, a condition first described by Bettelheim?

How did economic difficulties for the immigrants affect their hopes of “becoming somebody”?

2nd reflection post - scarface

Cuban 3rd wave and Scarface the movie. When doing my readings this past week I felt slightly familiar with some of the material as though I had learned it before. I didn’t realize until discussion however that this familiarization was from cinema and not another classroom. Scarface is a movie about on Cuban immigrant’s rise to power in the Miami drug scene. The movie opens with him and his friend coming to Cuban in the 3rd wave of Cuban immigration after the revolution, also called the Cuban Crime Wave. He faces the struggles of a new arrival to the country working dead-end low-paying jobs. His frustrations grow until his first career opportunity is presented to him – drugs. Because this is the first opportunity he has seen for a job with upward mobility, Scarface takes his role head on. This kind of off-the-boat ambition shaped a view of immigrants. Scarface had little or no chance to become a somebody in the US legitimately. He little education and few marketable skills. The drug industry, however, ignored that- it was the only way he could see himself rising to power in his new home. I can remember being young and naïve as a 10 year old in a tiny white town in NH and wondering if this is why negative stereo-types existed. If maybe people were driven into these roles in the dangerous fringes of society and then hated for their role. This all goes back to the invisible immigrants versus hyper-visible immigration that was discussed on the first day of class. The first wave of professionals coming from Cuban was relatively invisible, but the third waves which was saturated with criminals made a bad name for all Cuban immigrants.

Discussion Questions for Friday

Hey guys, I know this is a little early, but I decided to put up the discussion questions for this Friday. I may add more after lecture on Wednesday, but for now here they are:

Despite the political and social racism that the Mexican Americans faced, they were crucial to the development of many of Michigan's industries. What are some of these industries, and in what ways did the Mexicans contribute?

In what ways did Mexicans try to integrate into American culture, and in what ways were they barred from associating themselves with other Americans?

What did the government do with the Mexican workers during the Recession, and what was the result?

Why did the government implement operation wetback?

What different kinds of racism did Mexicans face here as opposed to in Texas?

How much did they make, on average, and did any of these jobs pay better than the others? Why do you think this was so?

Were Mr. Chavez’s kids allowed to go to school?

In the Cuba article, what are some of the differences they describe between refugees and normal migrants?

What were some of the characteristics of the first wave of Cuban immigrants?

Second wave?

Third Wave (Mariel Exodus)?

Fourth Wave?

What were some of the similarities and differences in ideology between the first and last waves?

What were some of the racial issues that Cubans faced, specifically during Fidel's revolution and after running away to the U.S.?

In Wednesday's Guest Lecture:
-He said that the majority of Mexicans who came to MI worked in beet farms. What were some of the reasons he gave for why sugar became so popular in the United States?

-What was the New Deal, and why were the majority of latinos left out of it?

-What was the steriotypical role of the Latina during the women's rights movement, when middle class women were leaving home to get jobs?

-What is repatriation, and what were Frieda Kahlo and Diego Riviera's stance on it? Why?

Young Lords in Puerto Rico

I would like to reflect on the Young Lords’ independence effort within homeland.  Despite the FBI’s infiltration in the party, the Young Lords were destiny to fail to spark insurrection in Puerto Rico.  The first reason is because the party went to Puerto Rico with a set agenda.  In the barrios in the US, the Lords became popular because they provided the people with services they requested, the street cleaning, morning breakfast, etc…  The party never surveyed Puerto Ricans to identify the main issues prevalent to the people.  Since the Lords never directly rallied the people to promote community needs, they were greeted as foreigners, specified within the video shown in lecture.

Another reason the Lords were ineffective was because radical movements work best when local leaders organize and unite the community under one identity.  The Young Lord Party was already established as an US youth movement for latinos in urban barrios.  The PN or PPD are prime examples of local movements gaining ground for unity and progression among Puerto Rican islanders.

In general, the Youth Lords’ inability to shift their focus from what they believed Puerto Rican islanders needed, to providing services similar to the tactics provided within the barrios, led to their fail.  The party’s collapse was proliferated because of such failure (within Puerto Rico) and inner party decaying.

Discussion Questions for 10/10

How do you think the conception of the American immigrant has changed (or stayed the same) since the early days of immigration around the time of Benjamin Franklin?

How has the anti-immigrant sentiment grown over time? Do you think that immigrants had a harder time in the past or in the present?

How does the American stance on immigration policy differ from that of other countries in terms of what bodies control the immigration standards and the strictness of enforcement of these standards?

What did the Constitution originally have to say about the controls that federal and state governments have over immigration law?

What major change in immigration policy took place almost immediately after the end of the Civil War?

What factors led to the record amount of immigration just before World War I in the United States?

What was the significance of the Immigration Act of 1924 (also known as the Johnson Act)?

Why do you think that European and Asian immigration was so severely restricted by quotas following WWI, but Mexican immigration was encouraged?

What is the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA)?

How did IRCA pertain especially to Mexican immigrants?

How many people are estimated to reside in the United States illegally?

How do economic forces and public policy work together to form patterns of international migration?

How does the percentage of foreign born citizens currently residing in the United States compare with other years in the 1800s and 1900s?

What are the four historical lessons that prove to be helpful in understanding American immigration and the policies that manage the inflow of foreign born workers?

What types of occupations are the most common for foreign born workers in the United States?

Which states are the most popular in terms of foreign born residents, and why do you think these states are so popular for immigrants?

How do educational requirements create a polarized spectrum in terms of available jobs for foreign born workers?
How has the enforcement of Border Patrol changed over time and what else besides Border Patrol does the article specifically mention about what the President believes is the best way to fix immigration policy? Do you agree?

Why does the President believe it is important to take a comprehensive approach when considering immigration policy instead of using partial policy reform tactics?

What measures have been taken since the inception of IRCA to help prevent illegal immigrants from entering the United States? What measures have been taken to hold employers accountable for hiring illegal workers?

Late Reflection Post : (

My reflection post is about the poem we read by Gloria Anzaldua. This poem was a piece of writing that bothered and stuck with me long after I had read it. As the poem begins it sets a mood over-developed self-righteousness. This quickly moves to sentiments of disrespect and perhaps a little disdain. It had me confusedly thinking back to the treaty of Guadalupe hidalgo I had just read – was this poem referring to the “Mexicans” or “savage tribes”? It had me wondering how the US government had referred to the native Americans as “savage tribes” in a treaty with Mexico who I’d thought no longer viewed the natives as savages now that they “had souls”.
When I read the line about courts and land grants I knew the poem must have referred to the interaction between American soldiers and Mexican citizens. This was even more confusing since it seemed to me the duty of the army in the southwest to uphold order and the treaty. Instead this man in a position of authority was waving a document of Mexican rights as he drove them off their own land.
When I reached the final stanza the entire feeling of the poem shifted. It moved away from contempt for fellow man to hatred for some species of animal. The line “the boys wouldn’t look me in the eyes” helped a little I suppose with my disgust of the American army but still the imagery was heart-wrenching. As I first read the treaty of Guadalupe I thought how the Mexicans had it luckier than the Puerto Ricans; they were given instant citizenship if they chose while the Puerto Ricans had had to work through “the labyrinthine logic of American law” to get theirs. But this last stanza had me thinking maybe the Puerto Ricans had it less-un-lucky only to be looked at with an attitude “at best one of ignorance and, at worst, one of disdain” because at least they weren’t being lynched and raped and suffocated by the ass of a self-righteous army officer.

Kritik of El Plan Espiritual de Aztlán

El Plan Espiritual de Aztlán and ultimately the idea of Aztlán is a great nationalist ideology.  The ability for a national movement to self identify its beliefs and pride is key to spark a revolution.  However, in addressing Professor Cotera's challenge in lecture to analyze the implication of the El Plan Espiritual Aztlán,  the ideology of Aztlán could not go any further than promoting self pride for Chicanos because Aztlán maps an imaginary homeland.

If  the United States Federal Government were to acknowledge El Plan Espiritual de Aztlán, it would only define the Chicanos' ancestry.  The plan does not challenge the Federal Government to give back any stolen or concurred land.  The Plan's demand for the government to acknowledge Chicanos' indigenous root will only further perpetuate the inferior notion that Chicanos are not Americans and not equivalent to citizens.

I believe that El Plan Espiritual de Aztlán should have either went further to challenge the American Government of land rights (similar to what some Native American did within the Supreme Court) or emphasized that their heritage with the land should at least grant them equality with whites.  Self pride may be essential to organize people but to claim change within a prejudice society it is necessary to organize and redefine the status quo!

Other Political Organizations We Haven't Talked About Yet

LULAC, Young Lords, UFW, and other very meaningful groups have already been mentioned in our class. However I'm still waiting to hear about NALEO. Which is the National Association of Elected Latino Officials. They are a non-partisan groups whose goal is to integrate Latinos s programs promoting the integration of immigrants into American society, developing future leaders among Latino youth, providing assistance and training to Latino elected and appointed officials and by conducting research on issues important to the Latino population. Right now, they are very involed with the whole voting process and are trying to get many non-English speakers to vote in the upcoming election.

Another note worthy group still unmentioned is the Congressional Hispanic Caucuss. Which aims to make improvements in the U.S. and Puerto Rico which affect Hispanic Communities. One of thier notable members has been Bill Richardson, who was the chair in 1984.

The groups I've mentioned didn't come about until 1976 which is perhaps the reason why we haven't heard much about them in class. We've seemed to be grogressing chronologically and seem to be at around the early 1970's at this point. The only reason I am introducing these two groups into the discussion is because, I've usually heard about them in the same context as the other groups like LULAC and UFW and would like to learn more about the histories of the two groups.

Discussion Questions from monday's readings

Who were the Young Lords and what were some of the things they did around the community? Why did they decline? What were some of their platforms?

What did the women in the Young Lords think about abortion?

Who is Cesar Chavez?

What was Alianza’s grito?

Who did the La Razas have tension with? Why did this party decline?

What was the significance of the Chicano Power?

What happened during the youth conferences?

How were women involved in some of these movements?

Reflection Post - Mexican-American War

In my reflection, I would like to discuss the Mexican-American War lecture by our guest lecturer Anthony Mora. I found that his lecture was quite outstanding and gave a lot of valid and interesting information about the Mexican-American War that is usually not seen in history books. He showed us how the Mexican-American War was much different than what U.S. historians have led us to believe and in fact, the war was not nearly as glorified and noble as our media has showed it to be. Although he made many good points and showed an abundance of supporting evidence, I felt that his lecture was too biased against the Americans and the way conducted ourselves during that time period. Yes, Davy Crockett was a Mexican citizen and quite possibly surrendered to the Mexicans, but Professor Mora did not give any information or evidence where Davy Crockett actually got his fame in America for his tremendous bravery and citizenship. Davy Crockett was not the only overly biased argument in his lecture either. The American army, he explained, did very horrible things to the Mexicans during the war, and he made it very clear that the U.S. government was not sensitive to any of the rights of Mexicans. I am no expert and I know very little about the Mexican War, but it just seemed to me that the only items he brought up bashed America, and he gave very little counter evidence to any of his points, of which, I'm sure, is plentiful. I thought his lecture was very informative and interesting, and it gave me a new look at the war, but I believe he could have done a much better job giving all the evidence.