Erika Hulse

Professor Stephanie Maenhardt

English 1050

26 April 2017

Diversity Issues Reflection

Why is being categorized as being different in a high social class status glamorized, but

being different in a low social class looked down upon? Diversity is an extremely versatile and

situational definition. Someone in a high social class might be a huge role model if they are

bilingual, but if someone is in a lower social class and speaks two different languages they are

often ignored or not looked at as highly. Diversitys definition can pertain to many different

situations. To narrow it down, we are looking for the definition of diversity in a social setting.

Diversity can be specifically described as the differences between race, ethnicity, social class,

and gender. Diversity can be used in a good way and used in a bad way. Business organizations,

schools, and sports teams might want a more diverse group, which is when diversity is a good

thing. The misuse of diversity is when organizations and companies discriminate against the

diverse people, which inhibits their participation. There is no legitimate hierarchy of what aspect

is most discriminated against, but there is still prevalence of discrimination in most diversity

aspects.

To narrow down focus, the concept of ethnicity is not only widely discriminated, it also

has a cloudy definition. Race and ethnicity are often mistaken for each other. Race is all things

physical such as, hair color, skin color, eye color, etc. A person can have only one race, but can

have different ethnic backgrounds. Ethnicity refers to the nationality, culture, language, and

ancestry. Discrimination occurs when someone has a different ethnicity. More importantly,
discrimination occurs against those who speak a different language, have a different nationality,

and someone who practices a different culture.

Being able to speak a second language can be a good thing for some people, but a

negative thing for others. When someone of a higher social class, or more specifically someone

who is white, has the ability to speak a different language they are never questioned about where

they are from. They do not have to worry about being a possible suspect in a crime they know

nothing about, or having their credibility and judgment questioned. People who are ethnically

different from a white person, often times are able to speak different languages and not praised

for their abilities. For example, Gloria Anzaldua in the excerpt: How to Tame a Wild Tongue,

she explains how being able to speak a different language, in her case its Spanish, she was

punished and shunned. She tried to correct a teacher when the teacher pronounced her name

wrong and the teacher told her to go back to Mexico if she didnt want to speak like an American

(Anzaldua 521). Gloria grew up confused about why her language was such a bad thing. She was

even physically punished for speaking Spanish at recess. Not only does speaking a different

language put someone at risk for discrimination at school/public places, but having to switch

back at home also puts them at risk for being questioned by their family. An example from week

14, Amitava Kumars excerpt: Passport Photos, in Reading Culture explains how the phone

company, Sprint, threatens the Spanish-speaking customers. Sprint is informing them of a plan

cancellation if they do not get their checks in on time. On the other hand, the English-speaking

customers were given gratitude letters about how happy the company was to be serving them

(Kumar 515). This is devastating because some of these people who speak different languages

have no idea that this happens, and others are aware but have no control and no means of getting

around it.
 Having a different nationality puts people at a huge risk for diversity discrimination. This

is often times mistaken, or not fully understood. Nationality is the actual geographical area of

which someone is from. Nationality discrimination can be explained by the immigrants from

Angel Island discussed in week 2. When someone is fleeing their place of origin and going

somewhere to make a better life for themselves, they do not expect to be treated like a prisoner.

The immigrants at Angel Island were held at San Francisco Bay, where they were held and

questioned just as if they had committed a horrible crime. This process did not just last a day or

two, the process for some immigrants lasted weeks, months, and even years (Lum). The

immigrants are still affected, as well as the family members who are aware of what happened.

Also, discussed in week 2 was Ellis Island in New York. Mary Gordons excerpt explained a lot

of what her ancestors went through being immigrants. She noticed that when work was needed to

be done, they brought the immigrants through with little question, but when things were going

well and economy was up, they were very strict. Immigrants waited for days in a long narrow

hall (Gordon, 433). It is amazing the sacrifices people went through to possibly just be sent

away. Gordon also mentions that the defects the immigrants were being sent away for were

marked on the clothing for everyone to see. Lastly, a big discrimination of nationality we see

today is when a big organization or company purposefully doesnt hire someone because, for

example, their name came from a certain geographical region, or say, they had an accent on the

phone. A lot of times people do not realize that what they are doing is wrong and can really

affect someones life.

Culture is such a beautiful and diverse thing, which is why there is room for people to

discriminate. The food that is eaten is also part of someones culture. This also includes what

might be available crop wise, as said in Amy Chois article introduced in week 7. Americans
take for granted the lack of worrying about crops and not having to rotate them to eat

accordingly (Choi). Adding to this, in week 7, Cassidy mentions that we have something like a

wet market like the Chinese people do, here in the United States, but its not as popular

because a lot of Americans usually resort to fast food, which is completely true. Americans

abuse the opportunities of food, so that, like Cassidy says as well, home cooked meals are old

fashioned. In week 8, Michael shared images that evoked so much emotion. They showed that

even though these people had cultural differences, they were able to put them aside and focus on

helping each other because it was the right thing to do. It is very relieving to feel that there are

good people in the world and people who are willing to not be like the rest and help when

someone needs it most. I have mentioned this many times before, but I do not have a specific

culture, or anything that I can really define myself as. Many people resent those who have strong

cultural backgrounds, but I am so infatuated with the idea. I have always wanted some external

source of happiness and I never grew up with it, but I know it is not too late to explore.

To conclude, people who are diverse ethnically have had many hurdles that should not be

present, unless they were present to everyone. People who are ethnically diverse deserve a lot of

praise and appreciation. I admire people who are able to speak a different language, are able to

say they are from a different geographic region than me, and especially those who are able to

follow their culture and beliefs. Before this course, I believe that I felt this way, but I had never

talked about my feelings, or wrote about them in this case. My thoughts were always in the back

of my mind and not really being shared, but I am very grateful for the opportunity to have been

in this class. I have learned more in depth about diversity and ways to engage critically about

different representations of such. Every week I learned more and more, which helped my

understanding of why some people act the way they do to those who are more diverse. Not only
was I able to engage in other work and others ideas, I was able to engage in my own ideas and

relate them to the diversity around me. I feel more comfortable in a diverse group because I

know that, for the most part, there is no judgement and that everyone is welcomed to their own

opinion. Lastly, I think by far, I have been able to realize and examine a social groups power

over another based on many aspects of diversity. People who participate in discrimination do not

think anything is wrong, and most often times sweep it under the rug. In this case, and at this

moment in time, we as Americans are no longer able to sweep it under the rug. We need to be

accountable for actions and embrace diversity and love one another. We cannot progress as one

nation if we cannot love one another for the differences we all have.
 Works Cited

Choi, Amy. "What Americans can learn from other food cultures." Ideas.ted.com. N.p., Dec.

2014. Apr. 2017.

George, Diana, and John Trimbur. "How to Tame a Wild Tongue." Reading culture contexts for

critical reading and writing. Boston, Mass.: Pearson, 2012. 521-27. Print.

George, Diana, and John Trimbur. "More than just a Shrine: Paying Homage to the Ghosts of

Ellis Island." Reading culture contexts for critical reading and writing. Boston, Mass.:

Pearson, 2012. 431-434. Print.

George, Diana, and John Trimbur. "Passport Photos." Reading culture contexts for critical

reading and writing. Boston, Mass.: Pearson, 2012. 514-517. Print.

Lum, Lydia. "Immigrant Journeys of Chinese - Americans." Angel Island: Immigrant Journeys

of Chinese-Americans. N.p., n.d. Web. Apr. 2017.