Thursday, June 28, 2012

Religion and Feminism


A representation of religion biased against women would be the Catholic religion. Recently there has been controversy in the news about privately owned hospitals, Catholic owned, not accepting the ruling that they should pay and provide women with contraceptives. The Catholic Church believes that abstinence is commanded by the Bible, therefore it is an infringement of the government on their religious liberties to make something available for women to have access to sex outside of marriage more easily.

     The main argument I see for allowing religions to abstain from participating in providing contraceptives is two fold. First these religions own these hospitals outside of government funding. If the government has given no support to these people then they have no right to enforce practices within these institutions as long as they are safe practices. Secondly the idea of consent plays a large part in how people interact with their religion. In America people are allowed to choose what moral authority they adhere to. When one chooses to live by certain code in a certain society then they have opted to abide the privileges and the rules of that society. People who use Catholic Hospitals must submit to their code of living, if not choose a public institute. A government in America cannot infringe on a religious institute if they are not harming any one. Hence a religious organization, such as the Catholic Church, have the right not to provide a service that goes contrary to their beliefs.

     A contrary argument would be that if the Catholic Hospital is working within a country and a society than it should provide for the community in a way that best fits their needs. Women should have a choice whither or not they want to behave according to the Bible. The religious organization should not dictate the terms of the participants. The Catholic Church is consenting to operate within a certain field that the government has tight demands over to ensure the safety of those who use hospitals. Since the government has a strong presence within this business the government should be able to dictate that women have the choice to use contraceptives. In this instance the religious organization is abusing women’s right to choose whither or not they have the right to choose, therefore taking away people’s liberty of choice. The government should protect the rights of those women to choose.

     I personally agree with those who say that the freedom of religion should be protected. A larger group of people fall under the protection of religion then that of those individuals who wants the right to free contraceptive. People who want contraceptives have other choices besides that of the Catholic Church’s resources. Their rights of choice are not being affected because they can search else for it. Once you challenge one right of religion you open the door to challenge all of them. Therefore the opposing argument looses water due to the fact that there are other options and there is more at risk when challenging the rights of all those within religion.



This paper talks about racism in our culture not as an institutionalized idea but rather an undercurrent idea that drags society along with it.  We are not faced with open hate that those of the black community dealt with back in the early 1900’s. Now it is an accepted concept that floats below the surface. It’s almost as if racism has turned into a pacifist-aggressive form. We see in media how the white man is always exaggerated in his heroic qualities and when he is the villain, his evil traits are underplayed.  On the other side of the coin, we see that the minorities experience the opposite. Their good qualities apply to good home-keeping skills, and their evil sides are dramatized to a picture of a super deviant. These are something that we as a people don’t even second guess. We sit in front of our televisions and don’t even realize the stereotypes and innuendos coming across our eyes. Our subconscious is taking it in. We are so inundated with these ideologies that we begin to act out and live the parts without ever realizing that we have changed the perspective with which we see the world and people who live in it. We begin attaching the wrong meanings to the wrong symbols, for example: black man= gangster, Asian=electronically attuned, and white man=suppressor of all that he sees. We have to be careful that we give them their right meanings and their right places. If we don’t we are only adding to the disease that’s eating away our society.  We are mudding the water of our beliefs with falsities and there is going to come a time when our willful indifference will swallow us whole. We know that it is wrong to think that other races are meant for mean and debased positions in society. We wont say that an Asian woman is supposed to be serving us our tea or that a Mexican man should be out mowing our lawns. We wont say those things but we accept it as part of our ideologies. And these ideologies are bring us down and increasing the divide between us and our brothers and sisters. Racism is no longer supported on an open battle field. It is not coming out in a heated voice with screaming hatred. It is not rearing its ugly head with prevalent lynching. It is taking place in the privacy of our homes, it happens every time we laugh at a joke, accept that someone is abased to certain positions in society, and every time we sit back and allow it to pervade through society.  It is happening in the individual’s beliefs. It’s out of our laws now we most extract it from our hearts.

different statements

A patriot who loves his country must be prepared to defend his country from his government

Should a government exist when it lies to its people...the government is here to serve the people not deceive them.

Let justice be done, though the heavens fall

Power is a resource..you can't share it equally or it will lose its effect

dont ask for somthing you have not earned. do not defame those who have earned, do not call them the oppressor because they have more. you can have more if you stop complaining about it. this is not a communistic society, you can not have the equal amount as everyone else and work less.

truth

Truth can not be changed by perspective, rather the perspective is changed by truth

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Post Racial?

Highline Community College is a very diverse school. We have many international students, diverse cultures, and an open-minded administration that works to create a campus safe and equal for all students. Despite the many culture awareness programs and events, there is still a divide in the student body. It takes one trip to the balcony above the cafeteria to see the seperation. Even though there is a seperation admist the students, it does not reflect an attitude of racism. If you have taken Dr. Baugher's Psychology: Human Relations class, you would know that one of the attributes for attraction is similarity. People tend to gravitate towards others with matching traits of their own. We went around HCC asking people how they felt about racism and if they felt that our campus was "Post-Racial". We asked Yoshiko Harden, Director of Multicultural Services, if she has experienced racism here at HCC. She said,"Yes". She said she was onced stopped when she parked in the faculty parking area. She felt that the security personnel stopped her because she was a woman of color and that the individual automatically assumed she wasnt a teacher. When confronted the member of security said that he hadnt recognized the car. When Yoshiko was asked if we had a "Post-Racial" campus, she said most emphatically, No. No because racism is to dynamic. It is overt and covert. Just because it is not blaring at us in hate, it still lurks under the surface affecting us. Ranging from black to white, hispanic to asian, the general concensus we got from students was that they have not experienced racism here on campus, but they feel that there is too much diversity for us to be "Post-Racial". In general the students said that they do not feel intimidated or afraid of other races. There were a couple students who said that when they saw black men with baggy clothes or were "thugged out", they were uncomfotrtable and sometimes fearful. There were some students who even felt that some of the teachers were biased on what students they liked based on their race. They felt that special leniency was given to students with the same ethnicity as the teachers. Our campus is a good example of where our country is. We are making the right steps towards a "Post-Racial" society but we're not there yet. The nation as a whole is going through turbulent times realating to race. On one hand we have our first black President, which shows that the majority of the country agreed upon this one man to lead us. On the other hand our imigration policies are in disarray. Arizona has new laws that discriminate against individuals of Hispanic descent. Americans can be carded if they look like an illegal immigrant. Although there are new laws and new programs that provide equal opportunities for all races there still remains racism in our society and our schools. Although racism is not as overt as it used to be, it still remains as lethal as ever.

AIDS


HIV/AIDS and society have a very complicated relationship. Stigmas in society about AIDS cause stumbling blocks for the eradication of HIV/AIDS. AIDS causes problems within society.  The moral taboos attached to AIDS have caused many people to remain silent about the disease they are carrying, therefore allowing further proliferation of the disease. AIDS and sex are often seen as one. We see these moral taboos in countries that are mainly religious based. In these countries citizens carrying HIV/AIDS are assumed to have contracted the disease through loose sex and “deviant” sex. There are times when people contract the disease, and they have been monogamous. Sometimes a spouse will marry an individual with the disease and not know it. They then receive the disease from that individual. If others in society find out that that individual has AIDS there is often a stigma of unmoral sexual behavior placed on an individual who has only been true to their spouse. Another false stigma that was placed on individuals with HIV/AIDS was that they were homosexuals.Federal health officials and experts came up with a succession of names for the disease before they settled on acquired immune deficiency syndrome in 1982. (Some of the early efforts smacked of discrimination, like GRID, for gay-related immune deficiency.) But whatever it was called, it carried a bitter stigma.” (Altman, N.Y. Times) Although there is an unfair assumption that homosexuality is strictly a gay disease, the facts do show that a large percentage of those with HIV/AIDS are in fact gay.  According to the City Health Department, 3,926 cases of AIDS have been reported in the city, 59 percent of them among homosexual or bisexual men; most of the rest come from a variety of risk groups, including intravenous drug users and the sex partners or children of those who have AIDS.( Collins, N.Y. Times) Even though these numbers are high, it is unfair to assume that everyone who is infected is a homosexual. There are other causes of HIV/AIDS being spread.

     Drugs and the reuse of dirty needles is a way the disease can spread. Drugs are often done in a community setting. People will get together and shoot up. All it takes is for an individual with the infection to use the needle then share that needle with a friend. “Our government (America government) has refused to support the provision of clean needles, even though injection with dirty needles has been estimated by the Centers for Disease Control to be responsible for more than 250,000 HIV infections and more than half of the pediatric AIDS cases in the United States.”(Charon, Vigilant, 336) Another problem is not the actual sharing of needles but rather hard users selling themselves for drugs or money to buy drugs. These facts often reinforce stereotypes about AIDS, and these labels often give those uneducated about the disease an unhealthy fear of it. They assume that the “unmoral” of society are responsible for the spread of the disease. So far we have looked at HIV/AIDS with a lens focused on homosexuality and drug users, but there are many different focuses one can take when looking at this disease.

     Children in Africa have paid a high price in the spread of the disease. According to “Time U.S.” seventeen million Africans have perished since the onset of the disease and out of that number over three million are children. Not only are the children suffering from the disease itself, they are also being orphaned because their parents are dying due to AIDS. Over twelve million children have been orphaned because of the disease, and many potential parents will not adopt them because they fear contraction of the disease from these kids. It is hard to attach sexual deviance to these innocent children who are suffering from the effects of HIV/AIDS. Multiple generations are finding that they are paying the price for the effects of their parents. It is not right for society to attach negative labels to people who are innocent. Society must be educated so that society can help those who are suffering. Fear causes society to neglect and exclude these individuals. Education about the HIV/AIDS epidemic will help squash the stigmas attached to the deadly disease. Those suffering from the disease are not the only ones paying the price of HIV/AIDS.

     Countries across the globe have to pay fiscally for the health of those living within their borders. To keep HIV/AIDS in check governments must come up with programs for education, prevention, and treatment cost money. Clean needle programs for those using drugs have proven to reduce AIDS within the drug community. This cuts the cost of having to pay for treatment. There is also the need to educate those who do not suffer from the disease. Education will keep people from excluding those who have the disease. If there is a larger support group for those infected than we can show those people with the disease that they do not need to keep their illness a secret. People fear isolation if that fear is taken away then these people can be open with others so that the disease will not be spread due to ignorance. There are many people who do not even get tested because they fear what others will think of them. There is an artist, David LaChapelle, who for fifteen years thought he was going to die from AIDS. He refused to get tested and just assumed that he was going to die. After all that time he finally got tested and realized that he did not have the disease. Although he was lucky, there are many people who live the same way; yet they have the disease and spread the disease. To abolish this mindset society must make it alright for someone to live openly with the disease. According to Carole Leach-Lemens if we do not educate society, it is estimated that by 2031 the global cost of treatment of AIDS will be thirty-five billion dollars a year. Social change is our best hope to contain this disease and prevent it from hurting further generations.

     In this paper we look at the relationship of HIV/AIDS and society. We saw misconceptions of the origins of the disease within the homosexual community. We also saw that sexual deviance is not the only way HIV/AIDS is spread. There are many good people and children who suffer from the effects of AIDS, and if we do not come to a better understanding of the disease then it will continue to harm others in the near and far future. Not only is there a fiscal cost attached to this disease, there is also a cost to our humanity when we let this disease ravage our planet.





Work Cited Page

1. 30 Years in, We are still learning from AIDS, M.D. Lawrence Altman, New York Times, May 30 2011

2. Impact of AIDS: Patterns of Homosexual Life Changing, Glenn Collins, New York Times, 1985

3. Social Problems 4th edition, Joel Charon, Lee Vigilant, Published by Wadsworth Language Learning, Belmont CA, 2009

Sweaty


In this article by Luke Pryor we see why sweatshops are a necessary evil. He portrays the issue of sweatshops as a good thing and that we should be more careful when we fight to get rid of sweatshops. The idea of good place to work is all in the perspective. Americans have so much more wealth than a lot of third world countries, so our vision of a sweatshop is skewed. For those people who live through life not knowing when their next meal will be, a sweatshop is a way out.

     Mr. Pryor follows the interactionist theory in this article. He looks at sweatshops in the view of who thinks they are good and who thinks they are bad. Perception is a huge part of this social issue. You can see how he holds to this theory by the way he tackles American’s perceptions and the perception of those people who choose to work in those environments.

     His strongest attribute in this article is his focus on perception. We clearly see why Americans feel that sweatshops are a bad thing; but he shows, as well, that people who are so extremely poor need factories to bring about a better life for themselves. Americans are very ethnocentric. We judge others based on our values and expect those values to hold for people of different ethnicities. In this situation our ethnocentric characteristic is hurting those who need our help most. We should hold the people working in those sweatshops against their own ethnic values. If we do this, than we might see that these factories play a vital role in the fight against poverty.

     The weak part of his argument is that he ignores the inequality of the sweatshops. The factories are important to help the poor with jobs, but they should provide a safe and comfortable place for their workers to work. Wages should be appropriate for the workers. Yes, this place brings a lot of these people out of the garbage dumps, but that does not mean that they do not deserve a good work place. Luke does not do as good as job of illustrating as I would have liked.

     In general I agree with the author’s claim. The people working in the sweatshops do not have a better option. We should not shut down sweatshops to make ourselves better. We should fight to bring about better conditions for these people but not at the cost of their jobs. A job working is a lot better than people scavenging and begging for food and money. Just because corporations are trying to be more cost-effective does not mean that these factories are a complete evil. Before making demands or finding ways to shut down these factories, we should check to see if these sweatshops are doing more good than harm.

Korean Americans: Burning




Korean Americans: Burning

By Travis J Tweet

Instructor: Dr. Mari Kim

Class: Modern Christian Theology







































Korean Americans: Burning

     Did you ever wonder about the history of the Korean Americans that stood up to the angry mobs in the L.A. Riots? How did they get to the point of pulling out their weapons to defend their livelihoods and homes? Koreans have had a long standing history of fighting back in Korea and America. Before reaching our shores they suffered from Japanese colonization of the Morning Calm, Korea.

     In Korea during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, Japan was slowly pushing into Korea. Japanese Imperialism was known to be cruel and oppressive. The Koreans were persecuted and at most times the youth were taken to jail. Due to a wide scale of harsh treatment many people filed for immigration status to go work in Hawaii on the plantations (1). The Japanese military government at the time was allowing them to go as migrant workers. For most that was the only option besides fighting for their country. There were many Koreans who were rallying around each other to stand up against the Japanese oppressors. People were involved with the March First Movement. They handed out copies of the Korean’s Declaration of Independence as well as Korean flags. This agitated the Japanese and they began beating and killing thousands of Koreans. Some of the people were jailed first then executed (2). Besides cruel treatment from the Japanese, Koreans were suffering from poverty.

     Many Koreans departed Korea due to starvation and poverty. Korea had been suffering from famine and drought. The severe lack of rain and Japanese cruelty made life on a plantation look wonderful. Rather than endure the bad treatment and famine, many Koreans packed their bags and headed for Hawaii. Many of these migrants thought that they were leaving for a short time and that they would eventually be coming back home. With promises from Christian missionaries, the people were expecting a land of ease in America. Many of the Korean’s Christian white brothers told them that America was a land of plenty and that it was the “Promise Land”. Due to the struggles going on in Korea, the Koreans were more open to Christian influences. “In 1907 a series of revival meetings across the peninsula that year stimulated a rapid growth in membership in Protestant churches.” (Korean Spirituality, 71). There was much trust put into these missionaries’ words. Life across the ocean would show differently.

     To the white missionaries’ life was good for them in America. When they told the Koreans about the goodness of America, they were referring back to their experiences without considering how life would be for a migrant. A missionary’s life in America would be one of privilege, ease, and safety. For a Korean migrant life would be fraught with unjust labor laws, harsh plantation work, a restricted life, and ethnocentricism rivaling the Japanese colonists. In 1903 C.M. Cook was quoted as receiving the first group of Koreans. “We have just received about fifty laborers and their families from Korea. As the people in their starving condition we hope that we shall be able to get a number of them as they seem to be just what our plantation needs.” (Strangers from a Different Shore, 55)

     Many migrant Koreans found life on the plantations tough. They worked long hours, and they received lower wages than their Asian counterparts. Due to hard times in Hawaii many Koreans began leaving for the mainland. Again they would face hardship. When they reached the mainland some of the Koreans went their separate ways. Some went to Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming to mine, others went to Arizona to work on the railroads, and some went to Alaska to work in the salmon fisheries. A few dispersed, but the majority stayed in California. At this time only twelve hundred Koreans were in America and out of that eight hundred stayed in California. The population of Koreans in America was small. They did not have enough people to form their own town like Chinatown and Japantown. They did not have the man power nor economic solidarity to form their own stable society. The Korean migrants could not make a community of their own, and they were ostracized from the other communities because they provided a threat to wages. Their only form of society came from their high level of loyalty to Korea. Compared to the other groups, the Koreans had a deeper connection back to their homeland. Most of the other ethnic enclaves had put their old country in rear view mirror, yet the Koreans seem to put it in front of them as a destination. Because of the colonization of Korea by Japan, many of the Koreans came together because of their intense pride of being Koreans. Not having their own community center was just one of the obstacles that they would face and conquer. They also dealt with forms of racism. White people often called them “Japs” and disallowed them from certain shops and barbers. They were told that their “Japanese trade” was not welcome (3). They could not rent nice houses, only the junk places were available to them. Public recreations and restaurants refused to serve them, and they were antagonized by wage wars and work competition with the white farming community. All this ethnic abuse was given because the white community thought the Koreans were Japanese. You could imagine the frustration of being called Japanese. They were put in the same boat with their enemies, family murderers, and jail keepers. Their intense nationalistic pride had to suffer if they wanted to continue “sojourning” in America. The Koreans had to learn to not care what they were called by others. “During the first few days of school life, children would call me ‘Jap’. I would protest and sometimes resort to fists, but the most effective means would be total indifference.” (Strangers from a Different Shore, 271) Fighting and indifference seemed to be the only paths open to the Koreans (4). Korean farm workers were often molested by white people while they were working on the farms. Stones and verbal assaults were thrown at them throughout the day. Because the migrant workers were willing to work for lower wages the white workers became frustrated with the competition. The farms provided many challenges within themselves. There was no health care if they happened to get hurt on the job, nor were they given fair wages. The fields provided dangers such as: poisonous snakes and insects, severe back pain from bending over all day, and dehydration. If they became sick they were not allowed sick leave, and if a day was missed they were assumed to be lazy and would be fired. Because of low wages the Koreans depended on their “sojourner” attitude. America was not their home, and they were just passing through. This is how they treated their work on the farms. Once a field was picked they would move on to the next field carrying everything they owned on their back. Times were hard for them, but they helped each other through (5). Koreans did not just receive social abuse. They were structurally attacked by the governments on a state and federal level.

     Laws were passed to limit Koreans in America. The Asiatic Exclusion League was a white group that claimed that Koreans and Japanese immigrants were undesirable and that the Chinese Exclusion Act should be extended to them. In 1906 San Francisco’s Board of Education enacted a segregation order to keep Japanese and Koreans in separate schools, away from the white children. In 1907 President T. Roosevelt stopped all immigration of Japanese and in Koreans in Hawaii from coming to the mainland. Continuing with the structural racism, The Alien Land Act of 1913 kept Koreans from owning land, and it limited their ability to lease land. This act also kept them from being naturalized citizens. Many states soon followed California’s example and prohibited land ownership to Koreans. The Koreans did not accept this legislation, and they found ways to circumvent the law. To own property they would put the land under the names of their children that were born in America. Even those who served in the U.S. Armed Forces were not given citizenship. Another issue that the Koreans faced when they came over here was that there were very few Korean women on the mainland. Of the one thousand and fifteen Koreans in 1905 in America, only forty-five were women. There was no way for them to build families in America due to the immigration laws. The legislation was a form of populace control. With no way to build families it became very hard for a Korean enclave to grow and become stable. Because of the hard life of farming and wandering, there began a movement within the Korean group towards the cities. They became waiters, landscapers, janitors, and domestic workers. Qualified and intelligent Korean men were kept from higher paying jobs. “America was not a free country…Everybody did not enjoy liberty.” (Strangers from a Different Shore, 273)

     In the face of adversity, many Koreans found ways to prosper even within the confines of structural discrimination. In the agriculture arena Kim Hyung-soon developed a very successful business with his partner Kim Ho. They formed the corporation of “Kim Brothers”. They started at fruit wholesale and then expanded to large orchards. These gentlemen developed the nectarine. Outside the realm of farming success, Koreans delved deeply into the hotel business. The reason for their success was attributed to the labor contractors. They would provide a place for the migrants to stay and would find work for them. Barber shops and laundry mats were also successful. To side step the racism that was keeping the Koreans down, they began their own small businesses. This was the beginning to the Koreans being view as the “Model Minority”.

     The Koreans began experiencing economic success. Their accomplishments put wedge between them and other minorities, a wedge that was helped along by the white community. Koreans began to see themselves as better than the other minorities, because they were becoming more westernized (6). Their adherence to Christianity and American culture set them apart from the other Asian cultures in America. Even though they were beginning to have success, they did not commit themselves to becoming American. Their philosophy was more along the lines of “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”. Their purpose and their drive was to free Korea from Japan. The first generation of Koreans who came over during that first decade in the 20th century were still strongly attached to their home in Korea. For some the attachment was their wives and kids that they left back in Korea. Others their connection back home was just purely nationalistic pride.

     “Korea is dead and no person is as sad as the person without a country.” (Strangers from a Different Shore, 278) As a result of nationalistic pride, The Korean National Association was formed. Their mission was to free Korea from Japanese oppression. They called for a complete stop to all Korean-Japanese interaction in the states. Mourning over Korea became a rally point for the Koreans in America. Business men donated more of their profits for freeing Korea. Even the successful Kim Hyung-soon kept his national pride. The Korean community worked in the fields and in their small businesses so that they could give more money to the cause of liberating Korea. The Korean National Association was not only there to free Korea, but they also were in existence to help Koreans buy property and thrive in America. The migrants found a purpose and a community in their fight to free Korea. The Korean Christian church provided a community for religious and political ideals to grow and spread among the Koreans in America. Preachers in the churches were often presidents of The Korean National Association. Church on Sundays often consisted of worship, socialization, and political debate over the Japanese occupation of Korea. The churches became a place to educate the Koreans on nationalistic ideals. These ideas were the foundation of Korean community in America. It gave them solidarity, a sojourner mindset, and a will to fight back.

     The early trials of Koreans in America built them into who they were at the end of the 20th century. It helped define the actions they committed in the L.A. Riots. The Korean-Black rival did not start in the fires of riots. Leading up to the riots, Koreans and members of the black community were dealing with issues such as: Korean liquor stores in black neighborhoods, black members robbing Korean stores, Korean store owners shooting “suspicious” people, and black members killing Koreans. “The killing of fifteen-year-old Latasha Harling by a Korean merchant in March of 1991 highlighted the unmistakable distrust and animosity between the two groups.” (Los Angeles, 149) Later that year a nine-year-old Korean girl was killed by a black male. These two instances were not isolated. Killings, theft, and vandalism was happening on a routinely basis. Leaders from both groups called for an end of violence, voices that went unheard in the din of violence. “The so-called Black-Korean problem reflects the pent-up frustrations of both communities. And, it is a problem that goes well beyond Black and Koreans per se; its genesis is the racist history and structure of the country which fosters social economic inequality and leaves it to the victims to fashion solutions.” (Los Angeles, 150) Another problem that infuriated the black community was the injustice of rulings for the cases of violence. While black men were paying for crimes for murdering the Koreans, the Korean shop owners faced no charges in the shooting of Latasha. The injustice created a stronger hate between the communities. To understand more of the controversy we have to look at the statistics. “In a forty square-mile area in South Central, there are seventeen liquor outlets per square mile, compared to only 1.6 outlets per square mile in the rest of L.A. County.” (Los Angeles, 167) Due to an impoverished Korea, many Koreans were coming over to America to gain wealth and wait out the economic crisis that was happening in their homeland. “South Korea was one of the poorest 25 countries in the world.” (The Korean Developmental State, 1)

     The business skills of the Koreans found the highest market for a certain product and took advantage of a high demand for liquor. The Korean owned liquor stores became a sore issue for the leaders of the black community. They felt that liquor was bringing degradation to their communities. With the uncontrolled amounts of liquor readily available, abuse of alcohol was becoming rampant. The Koreans felt like they were providing a service to a community that was demanding it. They also gave to community by providing jobs, and they donated some of their profits for the improvement of the community. Some of the more radical members of the black community felt that the answer to the liquor stores was to vandalize and rob them. They were hoping that these tactics would scare out the store owners. Although the police were called often in Koreatown, there was no increase in patrols to protect the store owners. As they have done continuously throughout their history, the Korean Americans looked within their own community for solutions. Because of the attacks the Koreans began arming themselves to protect their livelihoods.

     April 29th, 1992, the black community in L.A. erupted. Rodney King’s abusers were let go without punishment. All the racial tensions and mistreatment over the last few years came to a boiling point. The largest, understated group of victims in the riots was the Korean Americans. As the violence unfolded and the smoke unfurled over the city, the National Guard and the police showed up to the scene. They cordoned off an area to keep the rioters from spreading to other parts of the city. There was a major problem with the cordon. It protected the white owned businesses, but it left Koreatown unprotected. The rioters saw the unprotected belly of Koreatown and attacked. The taste of vigilante justice was sweet in their mouth. This made some of the rioters feel vindicated for the injustices that had been occurring for the last few years. The violence that the Korean store owners had committed was finally being accounted for. Businesses were robbed, vandalized, and burned. The Korean Americans felt abandoned by both their countries, South Korea and America. Due to the estrangement the store owners again took matters into their own hands. Bands of Korean American store owners began patrolling in front of their stores with guns. Store owners who needed help would call into the Korean station and the Korean militia would come and aid them. “The liquor store owner Jay Shin ‘monitored his store from the mall’s parking lot, surrounded by men who were armed’… I’ve been in Vietnam, the Korean War, and I’ve owned a liquor in South Central L.A. … So I guess I’ve been in danger all my life.” (Blue Dreams, 20) In the Korean community they felt like that their struggles were inherited from the colonization of Korea and their early experiences in the U.S. Throughout their history they had to look within their own community to provide protection for themselves. This and their defiant attitudes in the face of adversary are inherited from their ancestors. This cruel fact added to Koreans not seeing America as their home. They still felt like sojourners. In the aftermath of the riots, Koreatown was a burnt skeleton compared to its former self.

     “Over 2000 Korean American businesses were damaged… representing close to $400 million in damage. An estimated 75 percent of liquor stores that were burned were owned by Korean Americans.” (Los Angeles, 168) The majority of the store owners were immigrants who came over in the 70’s and 80’s. All their savings and livelihoods were built up in their smoldering stores. The bad state of the economy had forced them to build these small businesses. They found it hard to enter into the job market because their poor level of efficiency in English. These first generation Koreans built their stores in Koreatown, reinforcing the nationalism that already thrived in the area.

     After the riots many Korean Americans felt abandoned by the U.S. They received no protection from the government. No money was sent to help rebuild the stores. This strengthened the Korean nationalistic feelings, for a short while. Korean flags were even flown right after the riots, until they found out that the President of the United States was coming through. The strong feelings of patriotism for Korea would soon come to an end. South Korean Presidential candidates came showed up in South Central. They were trying to win votes and support back in Korea. Their tactic was obvious that the Korean Americans became angry at the apparent use of their bad situation. Their nationalistic feelings came to an end. The Koreans were ending their diaspora. “And yet the riots served to spotlight the ‘American’ in ‘Korean American’, shattering for many any pretense of ethnic insularity.” (Blue Dreams, 24)

     Before the riots the Korean Americans did not feel invested in America as a homeland. The riots struck home the message, either the Korean Americans take up roots and go back to Korea or resettle and make their home permanent in America. “The Korean American Research Center… announces that the riots brought the clear message to Korean Americans that they must shed their ‘guest consciousness’ and ‘traveler consciousness’.” (Blue Dreams, 24) Instead of being used by South Korean politicians, the Koreans in America decided to become Korean American. Koreatown, which was considered a ward of Seoul by its residents, became part of the U.S. The Korean Americans now worked for the betterment of America instead of yearning to go back to South Korea.

In this section I will be writing about the features of Korean Americans in L.A., how they understood their relationships within and without their community, the sources of knowledge they had that helped define who they were, and the problematic in their lives. The Korean migration was the beginning of their new identity formed in America.

     Koreans came over to America via Hawaii for two major reasons, Japanese colonization of Korea and new job opportunities. Their migration to America marked the beginning of a long standing struggle to become Americans. A big part of how Korean Americans became invisible stymied from the way they were treated in the beginning of their stay in America. They were called “Japs”. They were not recognized for their own ethnicity. Rather they were included into a group that they resented because these people were part of the reason they were exiled from their homes in Korea. They had no enclave like Japan-town or Chinatown so they were not recognized as a separate group with different lifestyles, needs, wants, and rights. They were lumped into another group while waiting to be seen as wanderers from a different land.

     Struggling to survive in a strange and new land, the Koreans came over willing to work jobs for cheap. They had no other option but to take what was available. They took these jobs because they suffered from poverty and starvation on a large scale due to Japan forcing these people out of jobs and homes. Educated Koreans with high amounts of skills were forced to do jobs that were below the standard that they deserved. Farm owners employed them because they were hard working, diligent, and took jobs at lower wages. As Koreans began taking more jobs the white community began to become more agitated. Mobs of white people would attack these Korean migrants while they were working at their jobs because of greed. The Koreans were so good at their jobs that they began to expand into owning their own piece of the industry. They bought land to start their own farms. They were presenting their white counterparts with competition in a market that was run uncontested. They were becoming so successful that the government began to take notice. Due to supporters of white politicians suffering, the politicians began to establish laws that hindered the progress of Korean migrants. Laws were passed that kept Koreans and other Asians from owning land.

     The Asiatic Exclusion Leagues, a powerful white group, began clamoring for Koreans to be included in the Chinese Exclusion Act. In 1907 President T. Roosevelt stopped all immigration of Koreans. The Alien Land Act of 1913 was enacted so that Koreans could not own land. Starting in California these exclusion acts began spreading from state to state across the American landscape. Not only did this prevent them from owning land, it also kept migrants from becoming naturalized citizens. Korean ingenuity overcame this problem. The Koreans found loop holes through the legislation. They put land and other property under their children’s names; children born in America were citizens. Another part of these laws that Koreans from building a larger community was the enforcement of keeping Korean women out of the country and preventing marriage between the white and Korean ethnicities.

     Excluding more women from coming to America was a form of breeding control. There were fewer women to raise and teach Korean American children. Schools, because of law, excluded Koreans from learning with white children. These laws caused two major lifestyles within the Korean migrant community. First, it caused a bachelor lifestyle in Korean men. Second, it added to the Korean mind-set that this was not home and that they were nomads just passing through. These lifestyles continued throughout the Korean American presence in America.

     The Korean Americans during the 90’s carried some of the same stigmas passed down from their early migration to America. In Koreatown in L.A. the Koreans still saw themselves as wanderers from a different land. They held strong ties to South Korean. They opened shops in L.A. so that they could send money back to their families in Korea. In part they still viewed themselves as Koreans and not Americans. They were still nomads. Many held to the idea that they would earn a living in America and when they had enough wealth they would go back to Korea. During the riots they felt further away from the communities they were living with. They saw themselves as a victim of black crime and invisible to white government’s radar. The Korean Americans believed that they, the Korean Americans, were hard working individuals trying to make a living in America. They felt that they were giving their communities a wanted product, and they were doing it honestly. They abided by the laws of the land, and even adapted to the culture of the country. While they saw themselves as a honest, hard-working community, the other groups disdained them or did not recognize their achievements.

     The Korean Americans felt that the black community in L.A. was unduly persecuting them. They saw themselves as providing jobs in their communities, yet the black community hated them. They felt that they were disdained by black Americans because they were successful business owners. Korean Americans also felt that the black community persecuted them because they were either left alone by the white community or they were judged as the “model minority” compared to the other minorities, including the black community. Every time one of their stores was robbed or one of their own was killed by a black American that they were a community of ungrateful “hoodlums”. Korean Americans began fearing the black community. To combat that fear the store owners began arming themselves with guns. When they were robbed or attacked they felt justified in defending themselves, even if it meant deadly action. The relationship with the majority, the white community, was vague at best.

     During the riots Koreatown was left unprotected by the white majority, while white store owners were protected. This confused most Korean Americans because they were told that they were the model for minorities to follow, that any minority could have a piece of the American dream. When the white community was expected to step up and protect the “model minority”, they abandoned them. Korean Americans were very confused about their relationship with the white majority. They worked hard to become a part of the Western culture. They felt invisible to the white community because of the lack of inclusiveness. They felt used because they were set up against the other minorities. In the end they did not feel included in the “White America”. Besides being set up, they felt sequestered away from a higher level of society. First generation Koreans were coming to America with a high level of education, yet they were not able to get a great paying, respectable job. Sometimes they would get a good job, but they were paid at a considerable lower wage compared to their white counterparts. Korean Americans often suffered from social injustice as much as the black community. Korean Americans felt, at one point during the riots, used by the South Korean politicians. They felt that the Korean politicians were using them as pawns to get votes. This mistreatment put a wedge between Korean Americans and Korea. The Korean Americans saw that they were abandoned by their homeland so they decided to drop roots permanently in America. These opinions of their relationships developed from their sources of knowledge.

     Through their time in America, Koreans have found different ways to get their knowledge and their diverse methods have shaped them into who they are. Early on they showed great skills in learning and adapting to a new culture. What made them more acceptable than other minorities was their ability to adapt and learn from Western Culture. This is why they rose to the title of “model minority”. A source of identity and knowledge came from the church community in L.A. In the early 1900’s churches were used as a place of keeping Korean Americans informed about what was happening in Korea with the struggle against Japanese colonization. The church also served as a mediator for those who wanted to send support to those fighting in Korea. The church also served as a community for Korean Americans to get together and be in their atmosphere separated from “White America”. They were able to meet others who were facing the same struggles, and they were able to help each other out. Another source of knowledge came from radio stations in America. During the L.A. riots Korean Americans used the radio to keep in touch with what was happening, and it was also used as a tool to help victims get in contact with Korean American patrols that were trying to protect the stores from rioters. The churches and radio stations played a vital role in establishing a source of identity, knowledge, and opinions for Korean Americans. The churches provided an authority for the people to help out in Korea and America, and later down the line the radio stations did the same things. These places helped them get through trying times throughout the history of Korean Americans.

     The Korean Americans faced many trials. Their first problematic experience was the Japanese colonization of Korea. Koreans were brutally treated and were forced out their homes. Upon arriving in America they suffered from a lack of strong community. They were wanderers in a strange land. One big problem that they experienced was ethnic confusion. The white majority confused them with Japanese Americans. They were invisible as Koreans; they were not given a chance to prove their own worth. They were sequestered into a group that they felt a strong opposition to. This was not just a problem faced early in Korean American’s history. It continues to our present day. The white majority either sees them as a group lumped in with the Asian “model minority”, or they ignore the group as a whole and keeps them to the peripheral of society’s view. Many white Americans saw the Koreans as a threat to their way if life. Because of the fear of the “yellow peril”, many laws were passed to keep Asians, including Korean Americans, controlled. The job market was closed to them so Koreans were forced to find their own way to survive. Unlike other immigrants who were white, it was harder for Korean Americans to assimilate into the culture and system. Because of their eye shape and their skin tone, they would always be looked at as foreigners.

     In these last few pages we discussed the ontological aspects concerning the Korean Americans’ history in America, their social placement, their cultural mindset, and their economic standing. We also discussed how they viewed their community and their relationship with other groups. I also discussed their sources of knowledge and how they used these to develop their identity. We also saw the problems they faced. Their identity was formed by all of these aspects with which we just discussed.

     We just looked at a brief history of Korean American, the Korean American ontology, their viewed relationships, and the trials they experienced. Now we will be looking at the redemptive side of their story. Using the Bible I will show a correlation between the Korean Americans’ experience and the experience of Zacchaeus in Luke 19.

     We see Zacchaeus faced with many problems. First, we see that because of his job he is not liked by his fellow Israelites. Zacchaeus is a tax collector, and he is known for taking more than he should. Second, he adapts to Roman culture and uses his business savvy to overcome a difficult life. Lastly, he finds a way to be noticed in a crowd that is not congenial towards him. The community was aggravated with him for siding with the Romans so that he could make a living. Korean Americans can relate to this. They came to America, became Westernized, and opened up their own stores in South Central L.A. According to the white populace, they were known as the “model minority” because they could adapt better to the culture than other minorities. The black community held anger towards them because of this preferential treatment. The ostracizing that the Korean Americans felt is easily related to Zacchaeus. The Korean American community was also known for their business savvy, even within the frowned upon industry of liquor. Unlike Zacchaeus the Korean Americans were not dishonest in their dealings, yet because they sold liquor in a black community they were treated very badly. Zacchaeus used his ingenuity to overcome his problematic. His problem was that he could not see Christ; his solution was to climb above the problem. In answer to his creativeness, Jesus Christ saw him; blessed him; and changed his life. The Korean Americans could coincide with his experience.

     The first generation of Korean Americans who came over to America where highly intelligent. Although a fair job market was not open to them, they started their own businesses. To overcome poverty they adapted to American culture and worked hard to become a part of the American dream. They tried to show that they were worth being seen and operating within the high levels in the American job market. They opened businesses to make a way for themselves. They faced their problems, saw a solution, and followed through with action. They were good stewards with what they had.

     Christ was often heard teaching about being productive with their funds. It was a value that Christ taught. He wants us to “be wise as serpents” when we invest our funds. I feel that Korean Americans represent this to highest point. They took what little they had, used the ingenuity that God gave them, and came up with a productive business. They represent the good steward that Christ rewards.

     In the experience of Zacchaeus and that of the Koreans, they do have a falling out of practice. Zacchaeus saw himself as a pariah on his own community. He admitted it when he said that he would pay back those who he had robbed. After Christ came to his house, Zacchaeus repented and promised to give back to those he had stolen from. The Korean Americans were not dishonest in their dealings with their community. They were hardworking and diligent. They ran their businesses without cheating others. Zacchaeus and the Korean Americans did share more traits.

     Zacchaeus was invisible to his community due to his stature. Either he was seen for his misdeeds or not seen at all. He was short. He was a man who did not rely on physical prowess to be noticed; he used intelligence. Korean Americans, when not being used as a scapegoat for being a “model minority”, were invisible to the white community. During the riots Korean American businesses were overlooked when protection was established from the rioters. Despite all their efforts and skills at trying to adapt to “White America”, they were left to fend for themselves. Being creative and intelligent the Korean Americans formed their own patrols and defended their businesses from rioters. Using the creativeness that God gave them, they overcame the problematic.

     Even though they suffered from bad relationships with black and white Americans, the Korean Americans found a way to make a living and life in America. From rough beginnings on American farms to the L.A. riots, Korean Americans continually came up with creative ways to overcome, outlast, and succeed.

































Footnotes

1)   “My wife and I sneaked out… We crossed the Yalu River and from there rode the railway to Shanghai. The Japanese didn’t know I was Korean; they thought I was Chinese. My wife and I caught a ship to America.” (Strangers from a Different Shore, 54)

2)   A school teacher, she had participated in the March First Movement of 1919, distributing copies of the Declaration for Independence and flags. “The Japanese went crazy. They beat up people and killed thousands of Koreans while many were arrested and later killed.” Strangers from a Different Shore, 55

3)   Kwang-son Lee became annoyed by her high school history teacher’s snide remarks in class. “How do you know I’m… a Jap?” Lee questioned, insisting that she was not a Japanese. The teacher then asked: “Who are you then?” Lee retorted: “Are you so ignorant you do not know what a Korean is? And you a history teacher?” Strangers from a Different Shore, 271

4)   In 1910, for example, Koreans, hired to pick oranges, camped on Mary Steward’s farm in Upland, California. Suddenly, one night, they were attacked by white farm workers; under a barrage of stones and rocks, they were told to get out immediately or they would be killed. After she had called the police and received permission to purchase guns, Steward armed the Korean workers and instructed them to defend themselves with deadly force against the white rioters. Strangers from a Different Shore, 271-272

5)   The teams of Korean farm workers moved from field to field, town to town, depending on where they could find work… A Korean immigrant joined a team headed by a Korean labor contractor and worked on a bean farm… We were hoeing bean fields and when we finished we went to another bean farm for hoeing. Strangers from a Different Shore

6)   “The reason for discrimination against the Asiatics stems from the unfortunate situation of the Chinese who came to this country without abandoning their filthy habits and customs. And, everywhere they go they create disorders. After that the Japanese who have entirely different habits from white society, could not mingle with the whites… but also they spend as little as they can for food and houses…. So they are becoming a target of hatred from white workers.” Strangers from a Different Shore, 277




Bibliography

Takaki, Ronald. Strangers from a Different Shore. Little, Brown and Company, 1989

Baker, Don. Korean Spirituality. University of Hawaii Press, 2008

Chang, Edward and Leong, Russell. Los Angeles: Struggles toward Multiethnic Community Asian American Studies Center, 1993

Pirie, Lain. The Korean Developmental State, Routledge, 2008

Ablemann, Nancy and Lie, John.    Blue Dreams, Harvard University Press, 1995

Women's Rights vs Human Rights


There is a piece in Crenshaw’s article were she addresses the dynamics of race, domestic violence, and a want to hide from stereotypes. There are many women within the black community who endure domestic violence and not report the violence because they are protecting their community. These women first suffer from male dominance and then secondly resources are denied them because of the color of their skin. Although I personally believe that these issues should be first addressed as human rights. It is a human’s right to live a life without abuse, a human’s right to live without an unfair bias of culture, and it is a human’s right to be provided resources that protect you from those who would harm your rights. I do understand that there are many problems within society that are specific to women. Women within the identity of “another” race are being ignored due to a larger focus on the race’s rights over rights for gender discrimination. Too often women within the black community are paying the price of domestic violence to protect the race from oppression. Crenshaw shows that there is a need to recognize these women and their suffering. She shows that their oppression is two-fold: race and gender.  Within the feminist movement these women are often neglected because there are no resources for them to approach and voice their problems. Crenshaw argues that the feminist movement cannot and should not move forward without these women. The movement needs to recognize the polarity within its own ranks and address equality within their ranks.

A Marx View of Chrysler Super Bowl Commercial


     The commercial by Chrysler supports Marxist’s claims on Capitalism and Socialism. The commercial features Clint Eastwood in the middle of a spiel about the state of America. He talks about the downfall of America’s economy and the car city of Detroit. He uses Detroit as an example of how one pulls out of a financial crisis while at the same time advocating people to buy this brand of car. With a Marxist lens we see more then the sale of cars by emphasizing the plight and recovery of America’s financial status. We see the perpetuation of hegemony in this commercial. The car company shows us a problem that we all faced and then shows us the “Normal” way to get out of these problems. They perpetuate a norm or myth that cars help success, while in reality the best way to get out of a financial debacle would be to save money. Using Detroit city as an example, Chrysler normalizes a way of success that may not be unilateral for every financial problem. Marxist would look at the surrounding issues of Chrysler to see what is really happening. We see that this major car company needed a massive bail-out just to survive. While they preach the idea that getting to work is the solution, they in actuality beg the government to save them from bankruptcy. For them Capitalism is a way to make money while Socialistic efforts save them from collapse. Chrysler in this case has presented a “False Consciousness”. They show us, through their perceptions, the way things are so that they may profit. Chrysler tries to “piggy back” off some celebrity that has credibility, to make it their own. They say that the idea to buy is the answer, when in turn they are hording their own finances. A widely known fact is that during past economic struggles small businesses were responsible for getting America into a stronger economy, not large corporations such as Chrysler. They criticize the way things are, and yet profit from the way they have made things. They have made false actions into false norms. Another idea we see in this commercial is the hegemonic myth that money buys happiness. If we buy a Chrysler, this country will survive and show the world we are strong. If we buy a Chrysler, we will be successful and surrounding countries will notice our strength, resolution, and power. While in fact this idea of buying is propitiating the problems we are in.

     The effects of this commercial could be detrimental to our society. With the strong emotions that are evoked by this commercial, people could be influence to do things that are harmful to America’s economy. It could cause people to go out and buy vehicles that they cannot afford. This would cause more people to live outside of their means, causing greater economic distress. The implications of this commercial could be devastating, and in return fire back on Chrysler in the future when there is no possibility for anyone to buy their product.

     Marxist main approach is to look at the background circumstances of a situation to see what is really going on and see the implications of such actions. This view looks past the false norms and sees what is being perpetuated in reality. It also looks at the influence popular culture has upon this circumstance. In the instance of this commercial, he would look at all the news media coverage on this commercial. He would say that the interpretations of the message are as important as the intended message.