Mentee Post:
As I explained in the post for week two, Dayana does not speak English very well so one of the biggest difficulties for us was getting over that barrier. As far as prejudices go, I’m sure she sees it more when she’s out in public with her family. I really hope she never experiences any prejudices at all, but people are not always on their best behavior. I think most Americans assume that if someone is speaking a different language they are an immigrant and, in the case of Spanish, that they are illegal immigrants. This just makes Americans look ignorant and frankly, stupid. Spanish is the second most-commonly spoken language in the US and its sad that more Americans of non-Hispanic origin do not know it. Granted I am nowhere near fluent in Spanish, but I know enough for basic conversation. Now that Dayana lives in the United States, I hope she can pick up English quickly. This will not only help her, but will also help her mom, who will probably struggle more with the language. On the other hand, I definitely don’t want her to lose her Peruvian roots. She is in a tough spot, but I hope having us there will make it easier…
Mentor Post:
One of my favorite movies is Legally Blonde, surprised? Probably not, I mean it is a great movie. In case you haven’t seen it (yeah right!), the main plot of the movie is Elle Woods trying to overcome stereotypes and succeed as a law student at Harvard Law. Her biggest nemesis is that classic idea that all blondes are dumb. Herein lies the problem. I’m not going to try and say that I’m the smartest girl around, but I’m definitely not the dumbest, either. People are generally surprised when I tell them that I’m in the honors program here at UC, which is a little insulting to me. Granted, I do say some very stupid things sometimes, but generally I keep those comments to a minimum. I can’t help it that a majority of blonde girls are dumb – mostly bottle blonde by the way. There are smart blondes too! It’s a rough life I lead, I know. But in all honesty, this dumb stereotype is so much easier to live with than ones that someone, like Dayana, who was born in another country has to deal with. I hope people here in America and all over the world can overcome these stereotypes and prejudices and accept each other for who they are, not who they are assumed to be…
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| I always hated this outfit in the movie.. |
Emma, I have never considered the fact that Blondes are discriminated against. Yor definitley correct,in making that statement. That must be difficult and frustrating for you sometimes. It is so easy for people to look at one's outward appearance as make an opinion about you based on a physical trait.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, in your case, things may not get any better for Blondes until the medeia, starts to portray more intelligent women with your hair color!