Paternalistic Approach

It is interesting to me that as a society, we are able to withstand the idea that the educational system is inherently unequal and choose to do nothing about it. Those that received the short end of the stick are the people of color.

In contrast, when the issue at hand affects the majority’s interests, especially those that negatively affect the majorities perceived notion of fairness in college admissions, all hell breaks loose. People then begin to cite “reverse discrimination”.

It goes without saying that this accusation carries more weight than if used by people of color.

People that are against affirmative action usually state that one of the reasons they are against it is because it “stigmatizes” the minorities that are being granted such an opportunity.

The reasoning goes: Apart from “reverse discrimination” affirmative action is not a good solution because it “stigmatizes” minorities as not having the ability to achieve such levels of success. Everyone at the school will think that they are not there for their “smarts”, but are there because of their color. We do not want them to suffer from stigmatization so affirmative action is not the best solution.

I strongly feel that as a person of color, I am already “negatively stigmatized” as being a thief, rapist, stupid and unable to perform in higher education. Even with these ever-present pre-conceived notions about me and people of color as a whole, I feel that if given the opportunity, and the resources, I and every other person of color could perform just as well or better than all of the people that make up the majority.

With this reasoning in hand, I would suggest that the majority STOP using a paternalistic approach to de-legitimizing affirmative action and begin to acknowledge that until the proverbial playing field is equal, racial minorities need some help. If this help comes in the form of affirmative action, I will take it!

The Balance

It goes without saying that striking a balance in life as important as it is difficult. My struggle is especially complicated.

I play many roles and struggle to keep everything balanced on a daily basis.

It is usually the case that I must decide between reading my school material and reading my son & daughter bedtime stories. This decision is difficult but I sometimes choose the former.

In deciding to stay at the library reading my school materials, I am in a roundabout way choosing what is best for my kids. I surely miss reading them bedtime stories but also take heart in the fact that what I’m doing in the library is in the end seeking to improve their life.

It is my hope that my present decisions help build my kid’s character in that they see how one must strive for what is important.

I hope to give my kids a greater opportunity in life and hope that I make the best choices in pursuing a balance that is sometimes not in their favor.

City Council

After recently attending a San Jose City Council meeting, I've come to the conclusion that for the most part, the council meeting seems to be a ceremonial show that is put on for the sake of perceived transparency.

The truth is most decisions are made before the item comes before the council for a formal vote. This is merely a formality to the decision.

As the Mercury News stated in an editorial, council member Dave Cortese expressed [his] “outrage over how city council members use so-called ‘recommendation’ memos to establish the council’s position before public hearings take place”. I strongly agree with Cortese and believe that these memos dilute the democratic processes that are in place during the ceremonial council meetings.

The Blame Game

I am currently taking a course titled US Law & Society in which we analyze societal ills such as poverty and discrimination.

I have become extremely irritated with white students when they say something silly like “if you live in a poor neighborhood, you should move” or “if you work hard, you will escape poverty”.

Comments such as these are made from their comfortable position in society. They assume that people of color are in their current precarious position simply because of bad choices. They refuse to accept the possibility that past bigotry has an affect on the present state of society.

When trying to explain such an emotional issue such as poverty, people of color usually cite bigotry or discrimination as ‘one’ source of their misery. This day and age, bigotry is more covert. The golden age of bigotry has long since passed.

In response to such comments from people of color, younger white people usually make such comments as “you are poor because you want to be”. What they are trying to say is do not place blame for your situation on other groups, specifically ‘us’. I ask this otherwise controversial question—who else is their to blame?!

To put my situation in perspective, imagine us sitting in class, surrounded by students of different races. For the sake of discussion, we will assume that in order to get into San Jose State University and more specifically in US Law & Society, each student must jump 20 ft. high. Students of color and white students alike need to jump to the same level of 20 ft. This seems fair enough.

Now imagine that the students of color are jumping from within a 10ft hole and are expected to jump the same height and if they don’t, they are seen as lazy. This hole represents bigotry, poor schools, poor libraries and a host of other issues.

Does this seem fair? Now as you sit in class and look over to the student of color, imagine what it took for this student to get where he/she is to be sitting in the chair next to you.

It is time that in classes such as these and in society in general, we begin to recognize that a large part of the reason people of color find themselves struggling is because of White people’s past actions, their covert bigotry and a system of government and economy that is geared to benefit them and only them—usually at the expense of people of color and less fortunate white people.

Hope

It is my hope that the Republicans lose hold of their power in Congress. I think that a divided government is necessary during this crucial time in our history in which we are at a crossroad—will we choose the same uncoordinated path we’ve been on or our we ready to reclaim this countries ideals of truly helping the world.