After reading Dana’s post, I became much more interested in reading the article about DNR tattoos and how it raises concern and uncertainty in terms of consent. The line from Dana’s post that read “…this could potentially lead to a new definition of consent that goes beyond legal written documentation. The consent that would be associated with tattoos on the body might be difficult to clearly define” really sparked my attention, because this is very true. How do you interpret something like this, that really isn’t a popular or understood concept.
Sterilization without Consent
Imagine living your whole life wanting children, only to be sterilized by the government without your consent, effectively destroying your ability to have children. This is the case for a large amount of people, mostly minorities. “Used as a means of controlling “undesirable” populations – immigrants, people of color, poor people, unmarried mothers, the disabled, the mentally ill – federally-funded sterilization programs took place in 32 states throughout the 20th century” states Lisa Ko in her article. Although many of us would like to think that the practice of sterilization has ended, it still continues to be a prominent issue in the world. Continue reading “Sterilization without Consent”
American Ignorance about under-developing countries
There are several misconceptions that Americans have toward people who live in under developing countries due to how American society portrays them. Those misconceptions allow Americans to imagine how they live and look like, which create certain suppositions that aren’t always positively true.
In most American classrooms, we are taught about gratitude which pertains to teaching student’s social and ethical skills. As students get older, they begin to hear phrases such as, “Don’t waste your food, there are starving children in Africa” or “Be grateful that you have clothes on your back; there are people who don’t have any.” When children hear phrases as such, they may begin to form an image in their mind in thinking that ALL “poor people” are alike. This mentality forces Americans from a young age to place themselves on a high pedestal, overlooking the other countries that they assume don’t have the same benefits or resources, as them. Little do many know that the disadvantages of many underdeveloped countries have to do with certain cultural or historical reasons, whose in authority and how their economic system has been dealt with over the last century or so.
For example, according to Reasons behind Haiti’s Poverty by Karen Fragala Smith, “Haiti was the wealthiest colony in the New World and represented more than a quarter of France’s economy.” Yet, “After a Haitian slave revolt defeated the French army in 1801, the newly independent nation became the first country in the New World to abolish slavery.” From then on, Haiti’s economy went down hill during the 20th century, due to natural disasters, an epidemic of HIV, and environmental devastation. Therefore, “Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, but its culture and history are undeniably rich.” At one point America wasn’t doing so well either, if it wasn’t for the end World War II, and the reduction of taxes and spending, who knows how else we would have dealt with the Great Depression. To be merely proud of your country isn’t wrong because we all have the right to be patriotic about where we come from. Yet, to denigrate another country with its present situation is fairly wrong.
According to Most Americans think the U.S. is great, but fewer say it’s the greatest written by Alec Tyson, “38% said the U.S. stood above all others, while 53% said it was one of the greatest nations and 8% thought some others were better than the U.S.” Most Americans happen to grow up having a nationalistic mentality towards their country with what they are told to be proud of, just as any country is with their resources and benefits. As to 10 Reasons Why You Should Be Proud To Be An American by Lauren Fulte, a couple of reasons that we should be proud to be American are freedom, opportunity, unity and diversity. In reality those reasons are all opinion based and can be viewed differently by others who live in “underdeveloped countries.” Although these characteristics may generally seem true, in several cases, it may not be true. For example, diversity may exist in the United States but racism still exists in that all races aren’t accepted in all neighborhoods. Diversity is viewed differently and exists across the globe, so we shouldn’t take one aspect that we have and say that we’re better than the rest of the under developing world.
The first place that comes to mind when most Americans think of the under developing world is Africa. Usually that is because on national television, we watch commercials that ask for donations to send to Africa and constantly seeing that gives you an exclusive image of what Africa is like if you haven’t been there.
The way that the media and society portrays other countries alongside their own ends up causing a backfire effect for many principles that are placed about our country. The United States is considered to be, “a North American nation that is the world’s most dominant economic and military power” according to U.S. News.Yet if you do research about our country being in debt, where our resources come from and how we deal with other worldly causes, you wouldn’t say that our country is the best for a fact, in any aspect.
Many misconceptions that people have about underdeveloped countries are that all of the people are dying of starvation, they all live in rural areas or that the reason for poverty in certain areas are because of bad decisions that they’ve made. These myths and misconceptions reveal the lack of knowledge people have about countries other than their own. Once they do their research on the on those countries, they’ll realize that the information that they had before was wrong.
Therefore, Americans shouldn’t make assumptions on how, and why the people who live in under developing countries live in the way that they do. Those stereotypes conquer many peoples perspectives toward underdeveloped countries, and so as to change that, research needs to be done, the media needs to change how they display those countries as a whole and society needs to be more aware of the actual causes of the issues going on across the globe. They shouldn’t simply send volunteers or donate food and water because eventually the good deed becomes temporary. Donating water, food, clothes and other resourceful products to those countries does a great deed, but once those resources finish, people will eventually need to find a way to get those resources alone.
“Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.”
–Anne Isabelle
Parallels in the Discard of Bodies in Zone One and NYC’s Past
Gary’s lasso was sadly not the only parallel in the mishandling of bodies that I noticed between the treatment of slaves and stragglers while at the African Burial Ground National Monument. Another bothersome similarity that I noticed while on my trip was the methodology of disposing bodies in Zone One and how it resembled practices enslaved people had to similarly endure in NYC’s past. These abusive methods were a bit more noticeably wrong originally but really came to light when you realized their historic context. Going to the museum and understanding the these abuses has definitely helped me to better understand the scope of them in Zone One and in my cities past.
Continue reading “Parallels in the Discard of Bodies in Zone One and NYC’s Past”
The Ninth Amendment
The Ninth Amendment to the United States Constitution addresses rights, retained by the people, that are not specifically enumerated in the Constitution. It is part of the Bill of Rights. In other words, the ninth amendment is also known as the “silent amendment” due to the fact that it is rarely acknowledged by the supreme court. The ninth amendment bears directly on things like abortion, the right to die, gay rights, and privacy. The founding fathers did not believe that they were creating these liberties in the Bill of Rights, instead they were acknowledging the rights that no government could deny. The ninth amendment also deals with privacy. Basically, this amendment protects one’s natural born rights that no one can take away from them. Natural rights are rights that people supposedly have under natural law. The Declaration of Independence of the United States lists life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as natural rights. I believe that this amendment is extremely important to society because it aids to our freedom and helps to better the nation as a whole.
This connects to the book Zulus by Pervical Everett. Although Zulus was set in a dystopian society, the people of the community were stripped of this amendment. All members of this society were required to be sterilized. The only person who was not was the protagonist, Alice Achitophel. However, Alice still managed to be violated of her basic human right of consent. Alice was raped by a mysterious man and when she was, she became pregnant. The mood of the entire community shifted when they decided that they wanted to take the baby away from Alice. This backfired due to the fact that Alice was never actually pregnant with a child after all. Alice ran off and essentially killed the entire society as a result of the violation of her basic rights. It is important to respect the rights of other humans as it can cause mass hysteria.
Interpreting DNR Tattoos
The article, “An Unconscious Patient with a DNR Tattoo”, peaked my interest when it was presented in class. Continue reading “Interpreting DNR Tattoos”
Voluntourism Survey
When I was talking to my parents about our final collaborative paper focusing on voluntourism, my mom interrupted me mid conversation to correct me because she thought I was pronouncing “volunteerism” wrong. I realized then that not many people have been exposed to voluntourism, especially medical voluntourism. Continue reading “Voluntourism Survey”
The Market
Colson Whitehead’s Zone one is marked with complex vocabulary and intellectual communication of ideas. The metaphors are resounding and the language can be quite esoteric. A dictionary or new word notepad should be in handy when reading this masterful albeit hard-to-read work of art. However, I remembered a practice I did a year ago of using metaphors and language in writing to capture a space until it felt like the reader could see it. For example, Whitehead captures the African Burial Ground avidly in his book. Phrases in his book like ” through the sad aperture of the dead” remind one of the burial ground and how it would feel to look on at the ancestors and meet them at face value. The African Burial ground remains as the resting space for the oppressed, the wronged and the hopeful. The Ancestral Chamber provides a sacred space for individual contemplation, reflection, meditation and prayer. https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/regions/northeast-caribbean-2/about-region-2/the-african-burial-ground/african-burial-ground-exterior-monument . After reading about the African memorial background I decided to capture a space I found interesting in my hometown in Nigeria. It’s the local market and it is the oldest economic centre of the community. However, it is also a place filled with suffering, hardship, loss and hope. A less sombre and vibrant antithesis to the burial ground.
The Subtle Similarities Between Gary & Slave Traders
While visiting the African Burial Ground National Monument I was able to realize that some of the subtler abuses of the stragglers in Zone One had a deeper historical base stemming from the mistreatment of slaves in NYC’s past. Many of us could pinpoint similarities in the way in which the stragglers were treated in Zone One to some of the other abuses we have read about throughout this semester. However, after visiting the monument I was able to realize that Whitehead incorporated more historic abuses than I had originally noticed when I first read the book. As I came to learn, there were many more similarities between the way in which his characters and real life oppressive whites mistreated the bodies of those they saw as subhuman. I will highlight these findings in two posts with this one addressing how Gary’s method for neutralizing stragglers mimicked a practice of restraining slaves and will then explain how the sweepers mistreatment of neutralized stragglers mirrored the disrespectful manner in which the bodies of deceased slaves were treated. Realizing these subtle inputs of historic abuses and how they were incorporated into Zone One helped me to better understand the deeper symbolism I believe Whitehead intended for his story and how these issues impacted people in my city’s past.
Continue reading “The Subtle Similarities Between Gary & Slave Traders”
When We Know What It Is Not, We Can Search For What It Is
When I read Liz’s last post, I found myself really glad that she brought up the idea of slavery again (thanks Liz!). I remember finding it very interesting (for lack of a better term because I did not know what to make of it at the time) when we read the Afterword of “Bloodchild” and discovered Butler’s assertions that she was not writing about slavery. I had not interpreted this particular short story as one about slavery, but I was intrigued by Butler’s choice to very explicitly say that it was not one. Why did she feel this was necessary?
Continue reading “When We Know What It Is Not, We Can Search For What It Is”