I decided to write the family history paper on my best friends family because I was extremely interested in her culture. Her family is from Armenia and has accomplished a lot in order to be successful in the United States. Two members of her family were involved in the Armenian Genocide, and lived to talk about it. When the family made it to America they thought all their problems would be solved, but in fact they were even worse. The family was discriminated against because of their different culture and ways of life. Even today this family finds themselves slightly discriminated because of their darker skin and acents.
My family has lived in the Cleveland suburbs for over 200 years. Politically every one in our family sees things differently; very rarely are two peoples political opinion's be the same. I know this because when our entire family gets together politics always comes up and there is always a heated argument, it is entertaining sometimes. However, in our household our political views are the same. I do feel that my race, sex, and gender have provided me with advantages and ways I have inherited privileges because of my family history. My family would be considered middle class. I definitely think my gender has something to do with privileges I receive. My sisters and I have never had to do any yard work or any hard phyisical labor around the house. My brother on the other hand has to do a lot of yard work and misc. outside chores with my dad. My sisters and I then have to do things around the inside of the house. Although I live near Cleveland which is known for being more of a diverse city, my city is not diverse at all. Most families that live in my city are white middle class families.
After this week, and the class as a whole I feel that my understanding for different cultures is a lot clearer. I feel that I have a good amount of background knowledge and understanding of different cultures. I also have more of an appreitiation for the people who worked so hard to get those equal rights. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcom X, and Rosa Parks to name a few commited there lives so that African Americans today can walk around in a world with out mass amounts of discrimination. They did a great job at fighting for those rights, however other cultures are still discriminated against today.
I found it interesting when you said your brother has to do all of the outside work and your do the inside work. This is something that has never changed. I live on a farm and being the only boy I have to do all of the outside work with my dad. My sisters have to watch my younger sister and clean the house. The only time I see a girl outside is if they are in a swimming suit mowing the lawn because they want to get sun. I think that my sisters could easily do some more work outside but because they are girls my dad will force them to do anything outside.
ReplyDeleteI like how the class allowed for us to investigate families of choice. i think that if more people were interested in other families such as yourself peoplewould be more understanding of each other. I found tou results to be compelling yet similar to how many foreign countires have oppression. I believe America was built on this, immigrants trying to create a new life for themselves and fleeing oppression.
ReplyDeleteI also think that many of the times people forget how fortunate we are to have people from other countries come to live in America. It diversifies us and unites us culturally by creating an enviromental for which some of us prefer to live in. I enjoy hearing people's stories about their families because you realize that they value the same things you do just in different forms.
ReplyDeleteI would like to say that when I read that you did your family history project on your friends family, I was really impressed. The fact that you went out of your way to learn the history of your friends family shows how good of a friend that you are, and that you are interested in how her parents and grandparents came to have what they have. I think if I am ever faced with another project such as this, I am going to use one of my friends' families and learn their rich history.
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