You could call what happened on November 8th many things, a disaster, a real nightmare, punishment beyond all reason, a shipwreck, a tragedy, or a catastrophe. For some, that I will never understand, found it to be a success or win, which truly disgusts me. This event has started a chain reaction of hate crimes and discrimination that cannot be encouraged for the next four years. While all of the crimes and acts of terrorism have shaken me, one has stood out to me as it relates directly to The Bluest Eye.
I've read multiple accounts of Hijabi women having their hijabs yanked or being targeted because of them. The most horrific one that I've heard was when a man, undeserving of that title, choked a woman with her own hijab in California.
These women have been target simply for what they where on their heads. They exercised their religion everyday peacefully without violence or bother to anyone else, but now because of the threat that it poses to them, they consider taking them off in fear of racist comments and attacks. In The Bluest Eye, "they straighten their hair...and part it on the side" to "get rid of the funkiness" (82-83). African American women conceal their natural features because they know how society views them. They know that society will ridicule them and tell them they aren't beautiful if they don't fit the impossible standard. Similarly, Hijabi women are getting rid of the "funkiness" of their hijabs to escape the abuse that extremists want to get rid of to have their white America. Except there never was a "white America," America was inhabited by Native Americans before European explorers even had the idea to come here. "White America" has never, and will never exist because minorities are what make America great.
Hijabs have been degraded to a barcode. They have been turn into identification for what some see as the enemy, but by doing this they don't see what I see. They don't see a peaceful religion. They don't see a human. They don't see a beautiful culture that goes centuries back. Instead they see inferiority.
I'm not sure how to end this post. There should be no end. This is a topic of discussion that needs to be brought up every day until there is a glorious day where all of this hatred and ignorance ends. Personally, I've been feeling hurt and confused by the election and crimes that have sprouted from it. But when I say election I really mean Trump. It's hard for me to even say his name because it represents racism, sexism, and hate and reminds me of all the horrible experiences others have had to experience. We that live in Troy are so lucky that we are less susceptible to this kind of behavior, but that doesn't mean it won't ever happen. There have been incidents very close to home such as Royal Oak or Ann Arbor. Many of us will leave the state for college. The bubble that we live in, sadly, does not extend that far. But with all the hate that is flooding the country, there is still good. There is still love and hope for all that have suffered from these events.
(Follow Shaun King on Facebook. He shares the experiences that victims have as a result of discrimination and racism. I've found them very sobering and depressing, but even more important.)
I've read multiple accounts of Hijabi women having their hijabs yanked or being targeted because of them. The most horrific one that I've heard was when a man, undeserving of that title, choked a woman with her own hijab in California.
These women have been target simply for what they where on their heads. They exercised their religion everyday peacefully without violence or bother to anyone else, but now because of the threat that it poses to them, they consider taking them off in fear of racist comments and attacks. In The Bluest Eye, "they straighten their hair...and part it on the side" to "get rid of the funkiness" (82-83). African American women conceal their natural features because they know how society views them. They know that society will ridicule them and tell them they aren't beautiful if they don't fit the impossible standard. Similarly, Hijabi women are getting rid of the "funkiness" of their hijabs to escape the abuse that extremists want to get rid of to have their white America. Except there never was a "white America," America was inhabited by Native Americans before European explorers even had the idea to come here. "White America" has never, and will never exist because minorities are what make America great.
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| Wellsville, New York |
I'm not sure how to end this post. There should be no end. This is a topic of discussion that needs to be brought up every day until there is a glorious day where all of this hatred and ignorance ends. Personally, I've been feeling hurt and confused by the election and crimes that have sprouted from it. But when I say election I really mean Trump. It's hard for me to even say his name because it represents racism, sexism, and hate and reminds me of all the horrible experiences others have had to experience. We that live in Troy are so lucky that we are less susceptible to this kind of behavior, but that doesn't mean it won't ever happen. There have been incidents very close to home such as Royal Oak or Ann Arbor. Many of us will leave the state for college. The bubble that we live in, sadly, does not extend that far. But with all the hate that is flooding the country, there is still good. There is still love and hope for all that have suffered from these events.
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| South High School in Denver, Colorado |
it's a shame that people result to such evil doings, and that they spend so much time hating something that's beautiful because it's different.
ReplyDelete- I love your blog btw, it gives insight from a different pov.