#racialcaucus

The thing, Asian people are still viewed as inherently foreign and as a result, are not as integrated into American culture except as stereotypes and cliches.  What we want the rest of America to know is that we are a diverse group of people. The word “Asian”, which is used liberally to describe anyone “oriental” or “brown” looking (btw, don’t call us oriental) is a hugely broad one that encompasses many ethnicities with diverse cultures.  We’re not all math and computer whizzes.  We’re not all quiet and socially awkward sidekicks.  We can speak English, maybe better than you.  We don’t dream of marrying white people (although people have different preferences).  We don’t all read manga, or watch Bollywood movies, or sing karaoke.  And although our cultures may have stringent beauty standards, those beauty standards don’t necessarily mean we want to look Caucasian.  Although we’re lumped into one category - Asian - we’re not all the same. 

Being a “model minority” my group wasn’t able to come up with many negative stereotypes which was both good and bad. Good because of the whole positive stereotype thing. Bad though, because that stereotype put a lot of pressure on me growing up. People always assumes i was “smart” or good at math just because I’m Indian. That made me feel below average a lot of times since I wasn’t always the smartest or the best at math in my class. I’m glad I got the opportunity to experience it though, because it pushed me to work hard and really try my best to excel.

When we first came into the Hispanic/Latin@ caucus group, the first thing we all noticed was the size of our group. There were only three members in our group, which symbolized the fact that we aren’t always represented the way we should be. We all discussed when was the first time we noticed that we were “different” and it surprised me how much our experiences we’re different yet the same all at once. Two of us were born out of the country, which allowed us to have almost the same feelings towards when we first realized, which was when we immigrated to the United States. While being in this group I was able to see how even people that have things in common can also differ so much. Compared to my other classmates, I had a very smooth transition and fit in quite well. Being different has never bothered me, and I’ve never really paid it much mind. Most of my friends are of a different race and I’m treated as If I was one of them always. In my group we discussed that others didn’t often feel that way, and I felt lucky to be one of the few that did feel comfortable wherever I was, surrounded by anyone. I enjoyed hearing everyone’s experiences very much, especially the people out of my caucus group. Hearing stories in their point of view was one of the highlights of this assignment. It let all of our voices be heard, which I think is something that is always necessary. 

When it was announced the class was going to split into two groups to form caucus groups, you could say I was uncomfortable...scratch that I was uncomfortable. Growing up in an area that was so racially diverse and held so many cultures it wasn’t so weird being all together. I guess you could say I was always happy being one of the crowd, going unnoticed and going about my own merry way. Having one group physically standing and moving to another room while everyone else sitting stares at you...it was eerie. The whole concept of separating based on color of skin or ethnicity kind of rubs you the wrong way. Although, it was unpleasant, the activity itself wasn’t all that bad. The questions make you view simple things through a different lens and make you evaluate concepts/certain ideals that you would never have thought of like: “When did you first notice you were part of a different racial identity?” It was strange how so many noticed that they were different when they first were elementary school. Overall, it was a good experience to experience, because it makes you think past your own horizons. 

The Racial Caucus Group exercise was an interesting experience, but being in a Black caucus group did not really feel new to me. However, I’m used to grouping and identifying with people of my own race and I never feel weird when speaking to them about issues we have in common. I tend to gravitate towards other Black people because I feel that most of them are better able to understand me. Also, in some ways, I feel that there’s a silent pressure to do so, because sometimes it feels like no one else is willing to accept you. In my group, we all had similar experiences growing up and we could relate to each other in some way or another. On the other hand, I liked hearing about the other caucus groups’ experiences, as it gave me insight to people’s thoughts and feelings outside of my race. For example, I wasn’t aware of biracial people’s struggles with their racial identities and feeling that they had to constantly choose what race they were. I liked the exercise because I was able to broaden my perspective and change how I view people.

     In my country, I never think of racial status as much as I do here in the United States of America because we live in a very diverse country. From the readings and class conversation on race I realized how significant a race can be in peoples’ life in two ways which is negative and positive. The race between men and women still matters when we go to the working field. Women are still having less value and salary than men. The different racial background also effecting someone’s credentials toward a job or relationships such as marrying to a different race can be criticize badly that can cause less self-confident in someone’s life. The positive side of diversity is that we can explore different cultures and can get knowledge and power from each other and as a society we are growing effectively. For an example, in college class like us at Rutgers we can talk to each other about it and be comfortable of it and this activity making us to view each other’s perspectives. However, a few girls I can see that what they meant in class by accepting and respecting race and different cultures are really doing it in their daily interaction with other cultures after class. That means race has a big effect on people and very critical to contribute towards of it with a friendly behavior even sharing the thoughts of race respectably. As a Muslim girl I am proud of my race and others in same amount of respect. In my view, we all are same and if someone respect their own culture and race then they can do of others. In future, I can imagine that there would be a world with no race based differentiation rather than being a human and we can live with more peace and enjoyment.

From this experience I have learned that racism really is not dead--yet.  There are places where people of color are not welcomed.  I wanted to be blind to that because the truth is so ugly.  Thankfully now I am not--we have to talk about racism and bring up the things that have been pushed into repression so that we can really move on forth as a species.     

I am still confused of where Asians fall in the matter of how different races are seen. However, this exercise did help me open my eyes on different experiences people have just because of where they are from, and how they look. It brings up the sense of prejudice that still exists today and is the root of discrimination everywhere.