In Afraid of Ourselves, Eck begins by addressing different religious dress. "Muslim men may wear a beard, and Sikh men may wear not only a beard but also a turban wrapped around their uncut hair," (240).
As soon as I read this, I remembered a boy I went to middle and high school with. He wore a turban, and often was made fun of for having long hair. I don't remember even once speaking with him, and in retrospect I'm sure it was because he was ridiculed. I heard from peers that it was his religion, but I feel it was talked about in a joking manner, and I definitely never heard that he was Sikh.
Now I wish I would have taken the time to get to know my peers from other cultures, but I think as an adolescent you're so concerned with other people think you are reluctant. (Often I wish that I was more open and friendly through school, but only since this class do I fully regret the broad range of students I missed out on connecting with. I'm trying to remedy this mistake in college.)
I guess this is just another case that I realize I never thought about because I look like and am assumed to be in the majority. As an atheist (not always- I grew up Presbyterian), there aren't any religious rituals that put you in the spotlight in your neighborhood or workplace. (Not to say that there aren't other injustices; I doubt I'll ever have the ability to be a politician without a Christian faith [because how else could I possibly have any morals?]).
I loved this quote, also in Afraid of Ourselves: "Couple a deep negativity toward religious difference with a deep ignorance of other religious traditions, and we have a recipe for prejudice," (Eck, 241). I remember learning about Christianity and Catholicism throughout my public education, because those are important parts of a Eurocentric history. Unfortunately, I don't know much about Eastern religious faiths. Is that just? Well, like Eck says, it seems to set the stage for religious persecution and hate crimes, so I'm going to answer myself with a resounding NO.
Another injustice was brought up in Working it Out. "A bus driver for a New York transit company can now wear a beard, but an employee of one of the major airlines cannot," (Eck, 244). Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I imagine that a bus driver and an airline employee earn very different wages. Isn't this another institutionalized form of racism? How does facial hair make you less capable than anyone else? It's purely a pretentious American presentation standard. (I just watched Bill Maher's most recent stand up, and one of his closing lines was asking Obama to grow his hair out to send Republicans into a frenzy. (Um, isn't it 2012? Oh yeah, it is! [And the worst part is that I think that may actually be a controversy with American people. What do you think? -sigh-])
Lastly, I'd like to talk about See You in Court. I think this struck a chord with me because of the Zinn reading we have been doing. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Forest Service when Native Americans tried to preserve their land. The ruling stated, "Whatever rights the Indians may have to use the area, however, those rights do not divest the government of its right to use what is, after all, its land," (Eck, 275). Well, we've all been doing the same reading, so does "jfakjgkajeigagnd" sum up how we feel about this ruling? YOUR LAND?! Are you joking me?! So Christians can have all of their holidays and Sundays off of work, but you can't help but to build highways through small amounts of land you promised to Native Americans? Oh yeah, and skiing sites. Skiing sites are also more important that sacred sites of Native Americans. You know a mountain is sacred and business is still going to trump that? I am frustrated.
I really try to make my blogs professional and scholarly, but I think over the last two months this anger and sarcasm has been building up. This one was impossible for me to write using that framework. In a nutshell, I feel like if you aren't white, Christian, male, and a Capitalist, your ideals are devalued in America.
P.S. Apologies for the lateness of my blog this week. I look forward to reading your blogs!
P.P.S. I found two articles and a video this week that are very relevant to our class.
Homeless Woman Sent to Jail for Sending Her Child to the Wrong School
A 13-Year-Old's Slavery Analogy
The Texas Legislature is routinely passing bills fraudulently.
P.P.P.S. Follow my personal blog.
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