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WHO AM I?

JB Guest Jul 16, 2003 8:16 PM	Essay 1: WHO AM I? The Issue of Identity During the Era of Globalism and Post-colonialism THE SCOOP: Here are some questions and thoughts to help you to begin thinking about your own identity in relation to the era of globalism and post-colonialism. Do NOT answer them point by point. DO think through them and then SYNTHESIZE them into your own short personal essay and post them here. THEME: While it’s easy to say, “I’m an American,” there are actually many global interconnections we share through our family histories and social confluence. Explore how these come into play in your own identity. 1) Were you raised in an homogenous or multicultural environment? Explain. 2) What do you know of your family’s histories? Where did they come from? Why did they leave? 3) In what ways were colonialism or imperialism involved in your family histories? 4) What are early memories of encountering someone culturally different than you? Or what was your family’s response to difference? 5) How do politics, history and the influences of foreign culture come into play when conceptualizing your identity? 6) How often do you think about native people from the Americas? Are they at all relevant to your life? 7) How does your American education impact your identity and perceptions? 8) What cultures other than the ones connected to your ethnicity influence your life? How? 9) As an individual during the era of globalism and post-colonialism, who are you?
Natalia Guest Jul 17, 2003 5:53 PM	First of all I do not consider myself an American (let's just say I'm not even a permanent resident). I consider myself Russian, or at best, Russian-Canadian; since Russia is my original country of birth, and my first authentic culture that influenced me a lot; and Canada is a place where I spent most of my teenage life, and I just love it for what it is. I was raised in both homogenous and multicultural environments - born in Russia, moved to Israel at the age of seven, (lived there for three years), then lived in Canada for another six years; and three years ago moved to LA. However, until I started college, I was only friends with other immigrants from Russia and the republics of former Soviet Union, since these were the people I could relate to the best. I know a lot about my family and my family's history; and all of them were from all over Russia and Ukraine; and one of my grand-grandfathers was from Poland. My grandmother is originally from Kiev, my other grandmother is from Saratov; my dad was born on the Sakhalin Island of the Kuril Archipelago, and my mother is from Voskresenk (a small town near Moscow). My dad was the first and only person to actually immigrate to another country because of his dissatisfaction of the communist/socialist regime; and even now he doesn't even want to go back to visit. I've never met a person with such hate towards the place and the system he grew up in. I actually went back to Russia for a couple of weeks this year, and last year as well, and even though I consider myself Russian, I found out that my behaviour and mentality are still vastly different then those of the real Russian people. So I guess I'm a psychological mutt of some sort (which is not bad). To answer the question of "who am I" - is simple - I'm just a being formed by circumstances and people of my life; the the world itself; I don't especially care much for the whole political and economical aspect of it (however I do not undermine their importance) - I just concentrate on my own little circle of family and friends, and try to build my own "mini-society" to function it; the whole "right political cause", "fight for freedom", "no war", "let's help the starving children" and the lets-hold-hands-and-sing-for-world-peace mentality irritates me because there is no right and wrong, and people will always have wars, because that's just the way they are, people function by the "kill and be killed" mentality, hence I think the whole liberalism ideology is nice, but naive, because it will never work, and it doesn't matter whether we live in the era of globalism or post-colonialism, or what ever else, because we're all gonna die anyway. -Natalia
Natasha 1 post Jul 17, 2003 7:46 PM	First of all I do not consider myself an American (let's just say I'm not even a permanent resident). I consider myself Russian, or at best, Russian-Canadian; since Russia is my original country of birth, and my first authentic culture that influenced me a lot; and Canada is a place where I spent most of my teenage life, and I just love it for what it is. I was raised in both homogenous and multicultural environments - born in Russia, moved to Israel at the age of seven, (lived there for three years), then lived in Canada for another six years; and three years ago moved to LA. However, until I started college, I was only friends with other immigrants from Russia and the republics of former Soviet Union, since these were the people I could relate to the best. I know a lot about my family and my family's history; and all of them were from all over Russia and Ukraine; and one of my grand-grandfathers was from Poland. My grandmother is originally from Kiev, my other grandmother is from Saratov; my dad was born on the Sakhalin Island of the Kuril Archipelago, and my mother is from Voskresenk (a small town near Moscow). My dad was the first and only person to actually immigrate to another country because of his dissatisfaction of the communist/socialist regime; and even now he doesn't even want to go back to visit. I've never met a person with such hate towards the place and the system he grew up in. I actually went back to Russia for a couple of weeks this year, and last year as well, and even though I consider myself Russian, I found out that my behaviour and mentality are still vastly different then those of the real Russian people. So I guess I'm a psychological mutt of some sort (which is not bad). To answer the question of "who am I" - is simple - I'm just a being formed by circumstances and people of my life; the the world itself; I don't especially care much for the whole political and economical aspect of it (however I do not undermine their importance) - I just concentrate on my own little circle of family and friends, and try to build my own "mini-society" to function it; the whole "right political cause", "fight for freedom", "no war", "let's help the starving children" and the lets-hold-hands-and-sing-for-world-peace mentality irritates me because there is no right and wrong, and people will always have wars, because that's just the way they are, people function by the "kill and be killed" mentality, hence I think the whole liberalism ideology is nice, but naive, because it will never work, and it doesn't matter whether we live in the era of globalism or post-colonialism, or what ever else, because we're all gonna die anyway. -Natalia
Mary Jane 3 posts Jul 19, 2003 12:58 PM	My great grandparents on my fathers side were from Mexico. I'm not sure about my mothers side of the family. I know they are from Mexico too, but I'm not sure which generation. I really don't feel much of a direct physical connection to Mexico, cause I've never actually been there. I do feel a connection to some of the stories and Mexican beleifs that my Grandma has told me about. I've always talked to her a lot since I was really little, but since it was her parents (my great grandparents)that she tell's me about, I still don't feel like there's a direct connection. I've always wanted to go to New York. A lot of the people I know or have met in the past that are interesting are originally from New York. There also a lot of artists and other creative people that are originally from New York. I have heard that New York has a lot more resources for artists as far as stores and that kind of thing. Also Paris, for it's very art-friendly reputation. Unfortunately, I think after being used to living in the valley/big cities I don't think I would enjoy the more rural areas of the country. As far as the rest of the world I'm pretty open to visiting any of them. I may even be wrong about the rural U.S. areas. After basically living in the valley my whole life, I'm pretty open to any place that isn't in California. I would have to say I know very little about just about all of the areas of the world, except for the part I live in. I have read books, seen brochures and looked at pictures of all different kinds of places. I have also known people who have done lots of traveling and they have told me a lot of things, but I can't really take anybody's word for it because I think that is the kind of thing that someone has to experience first hand. I think there are a lot of areas of the world that choose to live their lives very simply and those places are often depicted as being lower that ours somehow because they are not as corporate. I understand that there are a lot of places in the world that are very poor and don't have enough to eat, but there are also cultures that have what they need and don't feel the need to constantly consume and depleat their resources the way that Americans do. We might be able to learn from these cultures, but instead we often look down on them and confuse them with those that are living in poverty. In a way there are foreign cultures which have in some way influenced me through music, art, food and politics. There are musicians that come (or their ancestors come from) places all over the world that I listen to. I've heard a lot of Japanese music at the end of Anime films that I can totally get into even though I have no idea what they are saying. I have also heard some German and Russian music that I love. The Russian lyrics were translated to me by my ex and I really liked the music and what the song was about. There's also a website I checked out once that had some great Chinese music. It was so calm and melodic. I wish I could remember what the website was. I've definitely seen art from all over that I love and what's great is the way that a visual can cut through any language or cultural barrier and effect someone emotionally. I have had limited exposure to foods. Mexican food of course, Persian food, Russian food, and I'm suspicious about Chinese food because it has become so American that I wonder how many Chinese people actually feel that it's true to the recipes in their family. I'm interested in world politics and not just America so in that respect I always keep other parts of the world in mind, but I don't think I have learned enough in-depth info to really be influenced by it. Yes there foreign cultures which probably have a big impact on my life in ways that aren’t as obvious. Americans have stolen so much language alone from other cultures that I don't even realize it. There are a lot of English words that are derivitive or exactly the same as terms/words in French, Spanish, Italian, etc. We should all be able to have our individual cultural identities, as well as be a part of a much larger culture. To do the opposite, in my view is a little too close to assimilation. We should all know where we came from and have a strong sense of ourselves. At the same time, we should respect other peoples same and different cultural identities. I think we can definitely learn from each other without being forced into each others cultures or beleifs whether they be physical, spiritual or anything else. Note: Mary Jane is my screen name from when I signed up months ago. My name is Rosemary Rodriguez and the next time I post It will be under that name.
SPIRITUALHANDS01 1 post Jul 21, 2003 1:04 AM	We all have beginnings but where is mine? Its not in a country far off somewhere overseas but my only beginnings are here in the USA. For the duration of my life I have been here. My Parent though come from a different place. Im not very complicated to understand. Who am I? I am a lost historian and to know me is to know my past which in my opinion, is filled with more holes than a mole hill. My father is decease as of 11 years this date. What I know of him from past talks with my mother is that he was from Arkansas. One of his accomplishments was being musically inclined, hence his reason for joining a band and making an album way back when(if im not mistaken). My mother of course seem to be a walking book of past struggles. Being born out of wed-lock she was raised in Lousianna, being the hardest worker on her family's farm. Being the oldest child, she worked the hardest from sun up to sun down with almost no break. She explained to me how racism was still rampant and how she was force to repair the clothing of white people from the city. When she met my father they left for Los Angeles. When I spoke with my mother about the past she was still very vague about what happened back then. Today from time to time she still seems bother by the issue of racism, more over,(for example) if this situation happened it's because of this race, etc., and so on. As time goes on and I experience many people of different races and backgrounds as I work in the military, I share that with my mother. More and more here ideas become more rational to where she now can phrase things: (this is not a race issue but a people issue.) I still questioned her about our last name (Scoggins) seeing that this is not the typical black last name. She really had no answer for me. I know something is missing and I'm still searching for it. Who am I? I am a pioneer walking this world today who is constantly finding more answers to this question. Wars will come and go in this life time and so will the struggle to find out who we are. As for me, my war continually wages, and I know the out come will be good, for to me I would rather die with identity than to die a ghost. David Scoggins
Kylie FS 1 post Jul 21, 2003 1:44 AM	I am African American born and raised in Los Angeles California I’m creative and quiet I usually keep to myself meaning I don’t think out loud. I was always encouraged to learn about other races due to the fact that my mother and father where both into the “hippy” thing in the 60 and 70’s. My family history is a bit foggy it seems I am more than just African according to my mother I have ancestors from Hispanic to Native American Indian and French descent. My father’s side seems to start some where around New Orleans and end up all around America. I was told that both sides of grand parents left the south for the same reasons Blacks usually did in the early 1900’s better jobs and to get away from lynching of Black people. As for politics I would have to say right now I’m young and could really care less because no matter what I say or others our government will do what ever they want that’s the facts and I’m sticking to it. Later, Kylie
JB 435 posts Jul 21, 2003 7:29 AM	Good beginnings people! Kylie, push to answer some of the questions.
SeanL 1 post Jul 22, 2003 2:56 PM	WHO AM I? I grew up in Ontario, California. My neighborhood was primarily Hispanic and African American in population. There were a few Asian families in the neighborhood as well. My father is Mexican and my mother is Irish, German, and Dutch. I don’t know all of the exact bloodlines of my Mexican origin. I know that we aren’t from Spanish decent. There were kids from many different ethnicities and cultures in my neighborhood. I had friends that were Mexican, Indian, Swedish, Asian (Cambodian and Japanese) and African American. I got to interact with their families and cultures. I especially enjoyed eating over my friend’s houses. I got to taste and eat food from around the world. My friend’s families thought it was cool that I was the only “white” kid that would tolerate and eat their food. I feel lucky that I had the opportunity to grow up with so many beautiful cultures in my life. My Grandfather’s family came to America in the early 1900’s. They were a wealthy family. They came to America to expand their business and industry. My grandfather’s family comes mainly from Ireland but is also from Holland. My grandmother’s family is from Germany, and fled to America sometime during World War I. My great, great grandfather from my grandma’s side married an Indian woman. So her side of the family has some Native American blood. I think I’m like 1/100 part Native American. I don’t know that much about my father’s family origin. My Father’s father came to America for work, but his family still lived in Mexico. I think he hopped the border to get over here. No joke. My Father was born in Mexico but was raised in America since he was two or three years of age. Out of his family he is the most conformed to popular American culture. My Grandparents on my father’s side can barley speak English. I can’t speak any Spanish, so I have never been able to communicate with them. I’m not close with them at all and sometimes I refer to them as my “Mexican Grandma” or Grandpa. My first memories of meeting someone culturally different from me were when I was a young child. I can remember visiting my Dads family for the first time. In my own household I was raised with my mom’s culture. My dad didn’t want to speak to me in Spanish as a baby. My mom wanted him to so that I could culturally identify with my Mexican heritage. When I went over to my Grandparents house I knew I was different. Besides the obvious skin and hair color differences that I observed. I was treated differently then some of my cousins (all 57 of them) that are Mexican. My mom wanted me to embrace my Mexican culture and family. I was different then the rest of my family. Politics, history and foreign cultures shape and I interact with my environment. World politics affect my daily life in many ways, so in a sense I use them to conceptualize my identity. History is important to the future so I can learn a lot from studying it. Foreign cultures often influence my own personal style, tastes, design and worldviews. All these things allow me to compare my own personal culture to others. With this I am able to conceptualize my identity. I think about Native Americans mostly when I have to study them. I don’t really think about them that often. I am aware what happened to the Native American people and how it is still negatively affecting them as a group. Native American history and culture are disappearing. Native Americans are relevant to my life because it lets me see the effects of colonialism on the people that are native to the land that is being colonized. Everything that exits in America today first had to replace what once was. Everything I love and enjoy had to first destroy what was before it. Maybe my apartment building is build over a Burial ground? Most of the land we have today used to be inhabited by someone else. I think it’s very relevant to our modern society that we realize this. “The education process is above all the means by which society perpetually recreates the conditions of its very existence.” -Durkheim My American education is a huge impact on my identity and perceptions. Education is a major socializing institution. It shapes our views, perceptions and opinions of the world. We learn to conform and take roles. The significance of having an American education is that I have been taught American ideals and values. I have been socialized as an American male. Through this process of socialization I might have certain ethnocentric views. I would say that Asian culture has had a major influence on my life. I love the art, cinema, music, fashion, philosophy, architecture and design. I practice martial arts and try to apply some of the principals I learn into my daily life. Another culture that I think is beautiful is the Mexican culture. I have a connection with it on some levels. I enjoy learning more about it and spending time with my dad’s family. I love the food, art, music and women. I am an individual in this world that is uniquely shaped by my experiences and influences. In this era of globalization I have been influenced by many cultures and societies. As technology advances and global communication becomes increasingly easy, I can communicate with people from around the world. This gives me an opportunity to connect with and appreciate many cultures. As an individual I am able to open up an endless amount of information on many different cultures. Designers and design constantly inspire me from the international design community. I think this new level of global communication and collaboration helps create innovative and fresh ideas.
Brent M. Bowen 1 post Jul 22, 2003 4:30 PM	American? What is the true meaning? I’ve dug deep into my heritage or should I say I called my grandparents and asks some more questions about my family after last week’s class. I was born and raised in Washington State in a homogenous environment. My parents both have German in their blood and their great, great, great; grandparents came over through Canada to live the American dream of freedom and to become land owners, (Farmers.) Me myself was not really raised around a multicultural environment unless my cousins who are half Korean would count. No, we were just farmers living off the land and loving every minute of it. Fresh air, full stomachs And smile’s on our faces. Our family has been in America for many generations. On my Fathers side they were Pastors and some of the bad rooted ones were bootleggers. All White, never really mixing the pot, (To my knowledge.) They mostly came here for money, land, to help, or whatever there personal drive was I just know they weren’t happy where they were other wise they would have staid. With colonialism happening plus imperialism running wild I’m sure it gave my family’s a little help on getting out the door. That’s what that drive is that I was speaking of earlier. Without that who know what would have happened to my family. On my Fathers side his great or however many greats grandfather was actually a chef on Columbus’s ship so I know my family slowly at different times began to start the big journey to America. Living up north gave me a bit of flavor to multicultural differences but I guess anywhere in America you will run into other types of people. T.V., movies, and newspapers have always showed they different types of people and cultures living within this country. My family never taught me any different to any of these people. They raised me in God’s way of life and God doesn’t see color just Man and Woman. Difference is only in they eye of they beholder, we must appreciate all differences to learn and grow off of each other. Politics and the history of foreign culture’s come into play in terms of conceptualizing my identity a whole lot being that all of my grandfathers up until my generation, have been in all of the American wars. It effects me even today by never knowing my grandfather and my dad not knowing his since they all died in some form of war. It shapes me into a true American in a lot of ways being that I will always stand up for this countries rights and honor and respect the men and women who have died for this country to keep it true and wholesome for generations to come. It also hurts me to see people not respecting our country by littering and coming into or country not understanding its history and or respecting it. When I leave America some day and go to China I show them respect by following their culture and rules. I would learn their language and respect it to the up most. I would not demand that they know my language and I would not do things that were legal here in America but not there. It’s in the same aspect of honoring and respecting another person’s home. This is why I also feel for the Native Americans. Their way of life effects me a lot and everything they went through and what they got in the end. Being raised up in Northern Washington we still see a lot of Natives still living in peace and harmony as much as they can get off of the land the way they lived hundreds of years ago before we came over and destroyed there lands and raped there women. It sickens me to think that the world is full of people who only look out for themselves. That has no morals or honor in their life. These are the people that believe they control the world. Some day they will know better. American education will impact us all who grew up through the system. Since I cant relate to any other forms of education I feel that they only teach you what they want you to know. It sad to think that when I’m a parent I have to send my kids to a school that teaches them complete and utter BS in most areas of their education. Things that I don’t believe in or that I feel is even true but they force you to think this way like it’s facts but in all reality they are not. Scientists prove themselves wrong every year but 20 years ago it was a fact. Yes, I feel this education has impacted my life for good and wrong. If they won’t teach God in the Schools then I feel they shouldn't teach Darwinism. They are both a religion because they both explain creation, why should we have one but not the other? Asian culture and or Hindu culture as well has a wonderful philosophy on life. Living it and breathing it in its true manner. Their culture has impacted me a lot in a since that their way of life helps me to find my true self. They say look at the trees and the birds and all of God’s creations to understand life. Knowledge and wisdom is all around you written in the stars and the wind. They helped me grow towards understanding God and finding my true self in which God created me to be. As an individual in this era of globalism and post-colonialism I feel I’m here to listen to the world and see it for what it really is and where it’s heading. I can only hope my opinion counted more. We must respect our land because we can not survive as a human race without it unless we were half machine. I tend to stick to the people that think like me and stick to nature. Their going to do what there going to do regardless of us so I must do what I must do. Reach out and pull the people to shore that need a helping hand. Last Edited Brent M. Bowen on 22-Jul-2003 4:36 PM
JB 436 posts Jul 22, 2003 8:01 PM	Very thorough and compelling responses from Brent and Sean. Keep 'em coming people. Prove the theory that says waiting to the last minute gets the adreneline flowin'.
xavier 1 post Jul 22, 2003 9:05 PM	I was raised in a multi-cultural home. My parents where born and raised in Cuba and left for poliical reasons. I do not consider myself Cuban-American and i do not agree with others using that type of expression. Once you are a citizen of the United States you are by all accounts American. This is not to say that you should not give up your roots of your ancestors or belittle the fact that you have a different ethnicity but to embrace it as part of this great United States. After reading Edwerd Said's essays i found myself getting angry at the total lack of the greater picture that this man lacks. The world throughout time has always been about conquering and surving to keep ones nationality alive. But I think we should all look into ourselves and ask what are we doing to make "our own lives" and "our own families" better. Am i bettering myself? Do I support and care for my loved ones? Am i being the best person I can be without criticizing everything that is wrong? Well, in my opinion I am doing everything that is possible to enrich myself with every facet of life. Here in the U.S. we are allowed to do these things. I love other cultures and I love visiting ne places. Europe is one of my favorite places to vacation. but even there I realize how good we have it hear and i find myself the older that i get appreciating our lives here. So to end, What a great country this America. If you dont like it then leave! P.S Julie. Maybe a spell check program on this message board would be great. its not that hard to do and would probably be benificial for all your classes. Just a though.
Billy Hobson Guest Jul 22, 2003 9:22 PM	As I have said before, I am a complete white kid. Born in Virginia, in Henrico County , Richmond, I lived in a culturally drained state for three years. Those years being my first, they didnt affect me that much. I moved to Los Angeles and first embraced the multicultural experience. Living here, its hard not to be in direct contact with different cultures. I think its a shame that some areas, like Virginia, are so opinionated and traditional in the ways of cultural diversity. I enjoy learning from people that aren't exactly the same as I am. My background is mainly Scotish/Irish and British, with a bit of German thrown into the mix. I'm pretty sure the reason the left these areas was to Colonize the newly found Americas. My ancestors were a colonial family, and most of our family outcroppings live in the same areas they originated.
Billy Hobson Guest Jul 22, 2003 9:30 PM	Sorry about that...To continue, I dont feel that politics affect me directly, because im not really too interested in it. I know that sounds ignorant, and maybe it is, but seriously, its a lot of bullshit, for the most part. I appreciate what freedom i have, and that I have a voice in society, but id rather leave it alone. I do believe that foreign culture has a huge impact on me, especially socially. I admire European countries for their beauty, and for their culture. Anythiny thats different from what i am used to is amazing to me. I am really into fashion, and most new fashion trends come from Europeans countries, so it impact on the american market is in my interest.
JB 437 posts Jul 22, 2003 9:30 PM	Billy, I know you are preparing for your teaching topic, so take another day. Then explore some of the other questions that you didn't touch on in class.
Billy Guest Jul 22, 2003 9:42 PM	Again sorry, i keep hitting a wrong button because of my erratic typing. I dont think much about native american people in my day to day life. Im pretty self centered. I'll try though. I promise. As for my American education... CRAP!!!!!!! Anything I haved learned up until college is pretty much useless, excluding the english, history, and simple mathematics. No higher learning in this country. i have a theory that California Public High Schools are simply there to babysit all the idiots who would rather smoke weed and party that get create coherent sentences with real words. That, and to get children used to working a 9-5 job. Welcome to the real world baby. And Gray Davis' budget cuts on public schools...dont even get me started. I am who I am, Billy Hobson. I like to be entertained, but not with generic American bullshit, but with ideas and films that make me think. I enjoy fashion and taking care of myself, unlike the common man. I am a BMX racer, a videographer, a boyfriend, a student, an intelligent human being( I hope!?), a giver, a listener. I am a lot of things, I dont catagorize myself. I am open to anything, bring it to me and I will try to understand it and embrace it.
Yen Bao Guest Jul 22, 2003 11:25 PM	Since I was little, my grandma had always shared our family history with me. From my grandma I found out my father’s family was originally from China. They were force to re-locate to Vietnam because of the family business. After awhile, Vietnam went into war and under the control of communism, so my family had no choice but to stay, because we were not allow to go anywhere else. I don’t really know a lot about my mom’s family, all I know are she is pure Vietnamese. My family was desperate to leave Vietnam because it was impossible for them to feel the sense of belonging staying in a place where communism is in control. Communism, a system of government in which the state plans and controls the economy and a single, often authoritarian party holds power, claiming to make progress toward a higher social order in which all goods are equally shared by the people. After the war, all of our family's business and money were taken away by the government. At my age of eight, our family moved to U.S. and decided to stay permanently. I only considered myself raised in America, but I'm not a pure American. My family believed I should have a strong Asian culture even living in America. Therefore, I was raised under multicultural environments. Chinese, Vietnamese and American culture environment created many arguments and different in opinions between my family and I. My family believed they are very open minded, without knowing that they are very stubborn. In their mind, they always make the right judgments simply because they are older and had more experiences. We were forced to listen and respect their decision without speaking our reason and logic. Considering that I was born in Vietnam, I never feel connected to my country. And I have never been to China because I was raised and educated in America. In my mind, the definition of identity they taught me is a little different. It does not match what I learn from the America society. The only information I learned about my home country is from family.
ADR 1 post Jul 23, 2003 12:08 AM	I was born in Los Angeles to Mexican parents who came to America in search for a better life. When I turned two years old, my brothers who were seven and five at that time were starting to have problems at school with gang members. My parents could not afford to live in a better neighborhood so my dad made the decision to take us to Mexico. We lived in Mexico for six years, my first language was Spanish, and I had no recollection of the American life. I connected only to my Mexican family because I knew no different. At the age of eight my parents decided to come back to Los Angeles to give my brothers and I the opportunity we deserved as Americans. Coming to Los Angeles was a complete culture shock for me. I spoke no English and I had to start attending a school where there was an infinity of different races and cultures. I had a difficult time adjusting to the style of life and learning the language. I can admit that I wasn’t happy for a few months but once I adjusted I grew to love Los Angeles and the diversity in it. I guess I can say I’ve lived in both homogenous and multicultural environments. My grandparents from my Fathers side were both from a tiny town in Yucatan called Vaca. My Dad’s dad came from a wealthy family and this wealth came from his great grandfather who arrived in Yucatan from Czechoslovakia (for unknown reasons). My grandfather married my granmother who came from a very poor family of “Mestizos” (people of combined Indian and European extraction.) My grandparents on my Mothers side were from the city of Merida in Yucatan and so were their parents. We are not sure exactly were my mother’s great grandparents come from but we think they were from Spanish descent. I am not too interested in politics at this moment. I am aware that they play a huge role in our lives but as of now I chose to ignore. I know that my opinion is important but I also know that the government can give a rat’s ass what I think! (I’m sure that maybe as I grow older this will probably change! And I’ll probably begin to care). History and Culture are very important! I don’t know enough about both as I would like but I look forward to learning more and more. I think growing up in Los Angeles and my American Education has made me very open to others. I appreciate everyone’s culture as much as I do mine. I have a huge appetite and will not turn down a plate of food (well…except for meals that contain animals that I’ve had as pets..!) I love the mixtures we have here in America and I am very much influenced by other cultures by their art, fashion, music, architecture, and food. Who am I? I am a Mexican-American, appreciating life, appreciating love, and most of all appreciating people. -Alma R
Armen Pogosyan Guest Jul 23, 2003 1:35 AM	Do I consider myself as an American? Well I am an American citizen. I’ve been living here for 10 years now. I guess I can call myself an American, but on the other side I wouldn’t say I am. I was born and raised in Armenian. As an Armenian my first language was Russian. Yea, I lived in Armenian but I didn’t start speaking Armenian till I was about 4. I was raised in 2 different cultures. They are kind of alike but just different language and a slight different life style. My mom was half Russian and half Armenian but they would speak just Russian at home and around family friends so I started speaking Russian. My moms’ side of the family lived about an hour away from the capital of Armenia where my dads’ side lived in the capital, city of Yerevan. My moms’ side was originally from Ukraine and my dads’ side from Armenia. My moms’ dad got a better job in Armenian so they moved out from Ukraine and my dads’ parents were already living there. In 1994 Armenia went through some bad changes. The life style changed. We would get few hours of power and water a day. Things got very expensive. A lot of people moved out of the county just like my family and me. Life in Armenia was already difficult after the Genocide in 1915. Now I’ve been living here for about 10 years. I go to school and work at the same time. I’m a regular American every day of my life go to work pay my taxes and come back home. But I like to call myself American Armenian.
markus biren Guest Jul 23, 2003 1:51 AM	I am definitely an American but, i consider myself an american-jew. I've been brought up with a whole nother culture while living in the states. i was born and raised in LA and only traveled as far as Canada until the age of 18 when i went to Israel, ( ill get back to that trip later). most of my back round is through my mothers side, my grandmother was pregnant and was held in a concitration camp, she escaped and started traveling through Germany to get back her freedom. she has no idea at that point where the rest of her family is or if they are dead or alive. she had a husband and 3 brothers and still to this day she still doesn't know what happened to them. A German family brought her in to hide for as long as she needed and till she can get out of the country safe. during that process she delivered my mom and raised her there for only a few months. she finally got out and made her way in to Montreal, Canada. she had 3 more kids and now they all except my mom live in Israel. my dads Russian and his family also immigrated to Canada where he met my mom and moved to la. when i think about my religion a feel like there are two kinds, Israeli and Jewish most people don't see it like that cause they don't know the difference, when a person is Israeli they have a whole different attitude, its almost like they are still living in Israel , alit of things that come out of there mouth are really bold, and to some its offensive. They don't mean to put people down they just say everything that's on top of their mind. my mom speaks fluent hebrew and she speaks it all day at work, it seems like everyone in hebrew except me. i could only speak and understand a little bit. she travels to Israel a few times a year and she still lives the life of judiasim. i go with her to temple on major Jewish holidays and i usually just stand there while everyone is reading the torah, i don't believe in much but i do it to make my mom happy. when i was eighteen i traveled to Israel to see it for my self and what a life it is there, its a big party life and clubs and bars are open all night till the morning and you can drink no matter what time it is or even how old you are. ive never showed my identification for alchohol, cigarettes or getting into bars. people don't even start going out till like 2 in the morning and at five in the morning there is traffic. so i realized at that time thats why my mom wasnt so strict on me going out late or drinking as long as i got my school work done. ive been witness in a bomb scare on the beaches of telaviv, Israel and it wasnt a pretty site, there was so much panic and i don't know how so many people can live around so much terror. that's when i wanted to leave and go back home. i don't think much of politics, and i hate it. politics are ruining this world and the highest power of people think they can play another role of god.
Ben S 1 post Jul 23, 2003 12:34 PM	Although I wasn't raised in a multicultural environment, I was however exposed to different cultures through lots of travel. I don't think it was the same for the rest of my family. The majority of my traced family goes back to Germany(of course there are other races involved along the way). One half of my family became farmers in Ohio and the other side of my family went to Seattle, Washington. Both happened in the early 1800's. The reason for moving hasn't been clear to me and I feel it is just something that has been lost through the generations. This makes it tough for me to know what kind of influences, as far as colonial in imperial there were upon my heritage. Growing up partly in Washington, I was exposed a little bit to history of the Native Americans there. For the most part I find it is an unfortunate situation for the Natives of the area. There reservations used to be poor and reflected on their lifestyle and appearance. Currently though, I think things have gotten better through the use of legal gambling. Native Americans are able to provide for their entire community and their reservations have become better places for them to live. I think I have always been exposed to other cultures and I feel it has been very fortunate for me. I don't even remember the first time I was around someone culturally different than me. I think it has made me open to new ideas and people. The experience of other cultures and people have helped me create a better understanding of who I am as well as my place with others. Looking back now, my early education was very sheltered from the reality, or should I say brutality of history. It wasn't until seeing stories on the Discovery channel that I heard about the things that really went on in history(i.e. Colombus). I feel that I have been sheltered from certain truths which now looking back, makes me upset with the ideals and half truths I was tought. It is important for me to be as informed as possible of the world around me. Wether obvious or not, I know that all these foreign places have influence on the way I live.
Indra 1 post Jul 23, 2003 12:40 PM	I always ask my parent about their past because I feel it's important to know where you come from. My father was born in Paris. He recieved his PhD in economics at an early age and had an itch to travel. After a short military service, he started working for a bank that was expanding worldwide. They offered lucrative positions starting banks in southeast Asia, but because it was viewed as dangerous, no one stepped up to the job. My father saw it as a great excuse to travel and immediately signed up. You could say my father was directly involved in economic colonialsim because he set up French banks throughout Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Philippines, and Indonesia; where he met my mother. My mother worked as a receptionist at a hotel where my father stayed. My mother grew up in a lower class family in Yogyakarta, central Java. She was affected by imperialism because she was actually born under the Japanese occupation of Indonesia. After a while, they got married and moved to Singapore and I was born. When I was four we moved to the United States. I never really realized I was different from everyone until about fourth grade. We went to a predominately white school and I got teased alot for looking different. My parents told me to ignore them and be proud of who I am, which am still trying to figure out. Sadly, the only reminder of the Native Americans I get is when my brother smokes his american spirit cigarettes. One culture that greatly affects my life is the Chinese culture. Spending many years in Singapore(last time I checked 75% Chinese) my family made several friends who were Chinese and celebrated many Chinese customs and holidays with them. I get more excited about Chinese New Year than the other one. I have been to 10 countries on three continents and I plan to see more. In today's era of globalism, I describe myself as a world citizen.
kristen 1 post Jul 23, 2003 1:25 PM	When I was in 4th grade my teacher was leading the class in a discussion about family history and lineage. She emphasized the importance of finding out about as much as possible about our ancestry. I then raised my hand and informed my teacher that I was adopted and knew nothing of my biological lineage, using slightly a more primitive vocabulary, of course. She then remarked, ¡§Well, that is unfortunate. You will never really know who you are.¡¨ I then replied, ¡§I know who I am, I¡¦m Kristen, duh!¡¨ I believe this is the smartest thing I have ever said. I could tell a long tale of immigration and lineage, but it would be for my adoptive family, and I¡¦ve always thought like I am faking it when I do that. My parents never forced their own background on me. My history as I know it only goes back 20 years. I was raised mostly in small towns with a palpable lack of cultural diversity. Looking back I think my parents did everything they could to surround my sisters and I with other cultures. We would travel outside our small town often and were always encouraged to make friends with children from different cultures. Our home itself was very multicultural in that there were always people over from different countries for whatever reason. I often think of native people from the Americas, but not because they are native people from the Americas. I happen to have a friend whose family is native American. Through the years she has showed me things that her tribe has made for her and has told me stories about her visits back, which always interest me. I think my American education certainly has the ability to effect my perceptions; but I always remember to keep an open mind of different points of view when learning things. I also check the validity of the information if it seems too incredible or biased. To answer the very complex question posed to me of ¡§who are you?¡¨ I would have to simply reply, I am me, and that¡¦s all I really have to go on. I have never felt deprived because I do not know my actual lineage, nor do I really feel a need to know my biological history, beyond just general curiosity.
Keila B 1 post Jul 23, 2003 3:00 PM	Who am I? A very good question to ask considering I am still trying to figure it out. I was raised in Mexico City from birth to the age of five and a half. I lived most of those years with my Dad's Mom and the rest with my mother and her family. My Dad brought me and my brother to live in Los Angeles just before I turned six. Although I was so young, moving to a whole other city, state, and country for that matter was the most exciting thing for me. Culture shock? Not in the least I absorbed everything that I could. From when I first moved here to now (24), I feel that I've grown up in a multicultural environment. My family in Mexico, one half, my mothers half, they were Spaniards. My Dad's half, Irish, Spanish, French-Canadian, South American, Mexican-Indian, American Indian. My Step-mom's Family, Scottish, English, Russian, And French-Canadian. And then my Dads and my Step mom’s friends, well they were considered family too and they were from all over. Growing up with different foods, different traditions, and different languages was a lot of fun for me. I came to America because my Dad wanted a better life for me and my brother. He felt that if we had stayed in Mexico, we wouldn't be able to leave and educate ourselves to become more than what everyone else had settled for. I have no desire to go back to Mexico. Well, maybe to vacation along a beautiful ocean coast. I don't speak spanish fluently either. I do however understand and do speak a little. If there is any language or culture that I would like to learn more about, I think it would have to be the East Asian culture, China, Japan, Thailand, Mongolia, along with a few others, intrigue me a great deal. I would love to learn the Japanese language and to learn their ancestral culture. From what I do know about it, it seem to be very beautiful. As a child, my education sucked. I went to public school. The majority of my teachers (elementary through high school) disliked me. Probably because they thought, that I thought they were a joke. They were correct. I had challenged them to teach us things that were more interesting, or if maybe they would assign more physical projects instead of reading and writing assignments. They brushed me off and said that they weren't allowed to. I hated school because it was boring for me, but I loved it at the same time. I would have liked to have gone to private school. Even though at the time that I was in school I couldn't fathom the idea. It sucks that students are required to fulfill certain classes. It's like being force-fed something you don't like. I think that if the educational system displayed classes in a more appealing way, students would be more apt to learn and further their education. School might be attended like a party instead of looked at as a prison or punishment. I am a legal resident of this country, and I plan on becoming a citizen before this year is over. Am I an American? I don't think that you have to be a citizen to be an American. Being American in my eyes is a mentality a state of being, not a piece of paper or green card. If being an American means that you have pride for what this country stands for then, I don't know. I think that there was a time when I could have said that I was proud to be an American. Right now, I think I feel that our government isn't dealing a fair hand to its people, or the rest of the world. Growing up, my Dad told me two things; you don't talk about politics or religion with anyone else except those close to you. Believe what you want, it's nobody else business but your own. And have respect for others views just as you would want them to respect yours. I do this. Keila B.
brain jelly 1 post Jul 29, 2003 5:12 PM	Twenty short years ago I was born in Waterbury Connecticut, and at about age 4 my mother and I moved to a small town called Bethpage on Long Island, NY. It definately wasn't the most culturally diverse city on Long Island, but it's a place I like to call home. Go figure, you'd think it's the complete opposite because it's New York. There was infite amounts of racist comments about African Americans and various ignorant remarks I'd heard every day, but I ignored it probably because of the morals I'd been raised with. At age fifteen, though, I began work at McDonalds in the next town over which had an extremely abundant Arabic population, so I'd been overwhelmed by the diversity I'd been working with. Then I moved to Manhattan for the School of Visual Arts. When people call New York the melting pot of the world, it's definately no exagguration. I'm a mutt. My grandmother is nearly 100% Italian, her parents are from Sicily, and my Grandfater is English and Scottish. My other Grandparents are Sweedish, Dutch, and part Cherokee Indian. Although I'm only about 15% Cherokee, I think it's cool so I always say that I am. My Grandmother actually used to tell me all the time about how her family was poor when they first came to America. The only toys she had were marbles, I think she loves to remind me. Her parents (my great grandparents) came over to Ellis Island from Sicily, unreal. At age eleven, a kid a few years younger than me from Japan moved next door. The first day I remember going over to talk to him in his backyard he was playing soccer, which became our only means of communication. My mother and father always told me how lucky I was to have a best friend from another country, but I never understood why. I did think it was the coolest thing in the world and I quickly became his role model; teaching him to play hockey, basketball, and every single curse that ever existed. The candy we ate had little Japaneese characters on the packages and the Nintendo we played (Super Fraicom) was red. Like little kids would normally do we became mesmorized in each others cool toys. His father unfortunately had a contract here for only about 8 years I believe, so by the time it was up he was pretty much a normal american 15 year old. I hope to visit him in Osaka soon as we still keep in touch. My girlfriend is half Mexican, half Spanish. My grandmas response was, "Oh they're good wives they can cook" which I thought was pretty hilarious. I think my mothers still getting used to the idea, not sure though. I'm both the first grandson, and I'm pretty sure the first one in the family to date a race other than white. It's hilarious though the birthday her family just threw for me was basically a fiesta with pinatas and loads of carne asada. I consider myself an open minded person and when it comes to both politics and immigration, and I'm by no means middle of the road. A few years ago I actually attended a Ralph Nader/Green Party political rally in New York City which I thought was just amazing. This was at around age 16 when absolutely nobody in my family was anything other than republican or democratic; I actually convinced my mother that year to vote for him. I've always been the oddball amongst the racist friends and I always had a fairly big diverse group of friends despite the small amount of diversity in the town I grew up in. Completely. Being that I'm the smallest percentage Cherokee I still like to read about them and am disgusted by how the few that are left are treated by both the government and a good percentage of society. I think that American education is generally slowly becoming more liberal. Although I still find it unreal that the history books are fairly ignorant, I think it gives me that much more motivation to research our faults and to keep my eyes open to other forms of media. As I said before, being that my girlfriend is Latina I wake up to culture every day. It's in the food I eat, some of the gifts I buy, and even the way her family and I can connect through jokes. Living around LA also I now feel that I'm fortunate enough to have taken four years of spanish in High School. In the ideal religious-american population as Said was saying how god is somehow tied in with freedom and being a good citizen, I'm an extremely radical one at that. As an artist ideally I like to philosophize, and am by no means religious or a "good american." Living in Manhattan I was greatly influenced by 9/11; my uncle being a Queens firefighter. After having been forced to retire because of his breathing problems, he found out there was in fact espestis in the soot during the cleanup effort. Since childhood that was the occupation he'd lived for and it was all taken away by idiots. Although I'd been extremely radical earlier on in life, being in 9/11 changed my life as an "American" forever.
Chedder(peter) 1 post Jul 29, 2003 6:45 PM	My blood line is russian with jewish ancestory. I wouldn't consider myself russian but american because I have never been to russia. Yet i do speak the language somewhat it dose not consist in my everyday way of living. My family raised me in the San fernando valley. I was friends with a multiple group of races. Sense I have lived in california all my life i consider myself living in a multicultural society.In a sense I am homogonous when i at home because my family is just that my family no outsiders and at home we are russian's who speak english. My earliest memories of encountering someone cuturally different is living next door to japanese people and my dad speaking russian to them and them replying in japanese like they understood what each other were talking about. The influnce of politics in my family is they had to leave russia from communisum and religous freedom in a sense. On a daily basis I am forced to deal with a person who ancestory orignated before europeans invaded the americas. My fiance is Native american some of her family still live on reservation do the dances and everything. That is hard with me because she has no political veiws she is all about love and doesn't care about politics can give a rats ass. I know there is no orignal american.
Ernie 2 posts Jul 30, 2003 10:58 AM	As Julie already knows (I’ve been asked before, and am partial to the answer) I consider myself an American, but am Mexican. When asked where my parents, and grandparents, and great grandparents come from my answer is the same. My parents, born here in California, my grandparents, born here in California, and my great grandparents, also born here in the US, back when it was Mexico. My ancestors were scattered around the western US (California, Arizona, Colorado, Texas, etc.) All areas that eventually became the US. If you go back far enough you will hit South America, but for the most part in and around the western United States. As far back as I can remember culture never has had an, [nor do I see any reason for it to] influence my decision to treat someone different. It always came down to the way person treated me. I never cared about culture, or where the person came from, or their beliefs, as long as they treated me with respect or gave me my space to let me be who I want to be, and act like I wanted to act. As I grew up, I learned to respect (if not respect, tolerate.) someone else’s beliefs, and understand that as long as there wasn’t any direct contact/confrontation everything was cool. My family (my parents in particular) also treated them as my friends, not looking at their cultural differences. Unless of course that was my parent’s job, to keep it among the parents, and let me discover it for myself. When I grew up I learned respect for the country I live in. I might not have liked what went on before, lord knows having a quarter of your country taken away (and more then that when it comes to the native Americans), and more importantly knowing how and why it was taken away can tend to upset me from time to time, but the pluses do outweigh the cons. Now, Ever since I learned that there is more then one answer to any solution I’ve always tried to research an answer rather then find it, which can be a little hard when it comes to history. Finally, the Interests I have in other cultures stem from personal enjoyment. The Asian, Egyptian, French, Mayan, and Native American cultures all fascinate me and have something I want to learn about or explore. They also allowed me to appreciate what I didn’t know, their art, their style of living, their place in society, and how they respect other cultures. Last Edited Ernie on 30-Jul-2003 11:00 AM
Francisco 1 post Jul 30, 2003 11:24 AM	To tell the truth I really do not know that much about my family’s history, which I feel ashamed to say. I really never bothered to check it out. My mother was born in El Salvador, and my father in Guatemala. From what I know, their family’s generations have been descending there for years. My parents growing up in South America didn’t grow up with much. Not really materialistic, but with the greed to learn, by going to school. I never really asked my parents why they left, but I have a feeling it was for a better life for them, and later on for my sister and I. During my early childhood I was fluent in Spanish and did not know English that well, but during kindergarten, I took ESL classes and started to learn English which took time but I finally got it down, but the funny thing is that my Spanish started to fade. During those years as a child I remember playing with kids from different backgrounds, and I never really cared how they looked like. Just as long as the nice, and friendly. I feel my parents are really cool in my words because the respect all the decisions I make and who I associate with. I feel they let me learn on my own, which is cool because I wouldn’t want them telling me how I should view people. During my years of school, I feel that my education has giving a better understanding on how to view the world, and how to respect people, and the cultures they come from. Having gone to school I have met a numerous amounts of people who have impacted my life. I have friends of all different races and creed’s, which makes me, respect them, but also intrigues me at the same time. Its give me understanding, and it makes me who I am today. I feel native people from the Americas have influenced my life, but even people that are not natives, also have in some other way. I feel that the united states attracted my mother and father which gave them a better understanding that growing up in a different country would not only benefit them, but their children as well. The Effects of being selfish can benefit countries, but at the same time can easily demolish them as well.