Anyone who has ever dined at Japanese Village would be familiar with the practice of eating around the communal table with 5 or 6 other guests, most of whom unknown to you before that evening. Usually, this is a fun and interesting experience but tonight my dad and I, as we enjoyed our very tasty meals, were subjected to the complete irritation and ignorance of a couple that could only be described as “white trash.” I don’t usually like to judge or use such statements but this couple truly fit the mold. They were racist and out right rude to our Japanese server who spoke little English, a point of great contention and ridicule. Why the Hell would you go to Japanese village if you don’t like being “surrounded by Asians?” I have no idea!My point is I hate stupid people! No not entirely, but rather, this “couple,” who strongly believed in the wisdom of George Bush and Ralph Klein and the superiority of true “white” Canadians, reinforced the importance of institutions like the U of A and professors like Heather, who encourage individuals to look beyond such close minded discourses. Tonight, the importance of critically analyzing ones beliefs and the materialization of such ideological practices, characterized by an individual’s words and actions, was reinforced within a real life context. It was this couple who believed unceasingly in their close minded views, failing to consider any one else’s political, religious or cultural analysis and as a result, I recognized my fortune in attending the U of A and thus having the opportunity to expand my own knowledge base within a critical and creative framework.
Thanks U of A
Kelly Mac.
Thanks U of A
Kelly Mac.
3 comments:
I disagree with your thankfulness to the U of A. Despite the fact that we are 'educated' North Americans because we are in post-secondary, I think our institution reinforces what you witnessed at Japanese Village. How many times have we seen in the gateway someone complaining about how shitty the subs and service and etc. are from the Subway in SUB? I can definately tell you it has been at least twice a year I see such an article. It makes me mad that the authors of these articles have no empathy or understanding of what they are 'ranting' about. First off they start off with the communication barrier, as noted at Japanese village the server had a hard time communicating with the patrons. Paralelled in the gateway many a time they say the people at Subway can't understand them or speak english, and thus Subway is of horrible service and blah blah blah. What I don't think these authors, "EDUCATED" studenst here at the U of A, understand is that many of the individuals who work at Subway are INTERNATIONAL students who cannot work anywhere else but campus because they are only on student visa, and have to pay twice as much as any student just because they are international.
My question is I guess, what has U of A done to really exapand 'knowledge' based within a critical and creative framework in regards to having some humility? We're a weird elite here at the U of A, sometimes I think we're a weird SICK elite.
Cheers
Are those silly hillbilly's really worth hating? This is an internal conflict that I have: how much can I or any other person condemn ignorance? Perhaps this is not a question that should have an 'either/or' answer. On the one hand I can recognize that there are many discourses that help construct individuals that are racist, classist, homophobic, misogynist, etc. For example, it makes sense that someone would be racist in a culture that devalues non-whites. On the other hand I believe that taking responsibility away from such actions or beliefs is hardly justifiable because accountability for ones self is imperative. Nevertheless, it is worth challenging individuals that exhibit those perspectives.
Maybe next time you can use one of those nifty intervention strategies that you’d find in our, “Hey Feminist” zine. ☺
I can understand your frustration, but I think at the same time you need to really look at what you are saying. One, you call these people who are racist "stupid," suggesting that academic knowledge (not accessible to all classes) is somehow superior to other ways of knowing. Second, in order to categorize these people, you rely on the racist stereotype of "white trash." We are all racist; as Althusser said, we are never outside of ideology. Have you never laughed at a Native American joke? Or did you say anything to stop this couple? I think we need to look at what racial tendencies we have in our own lives before we judge others. Maybe you are completely outside of racist ideology, and if so I think that is great. But it does not mean you are off the hook -- ideologies such as racism arise from the material structure of our society, and what if anything are you doing to change that? Let's not just think critically about what other people do (although it is mega-tempting) and instead, let's think critically about what we are doing.
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