Week 1

Kevin Tien Nguyen
Section A02

Growing up, I was aware of the social injustices that many people of color, even Asian Americans, faced in everyday life. Even if I didn't know the word for it I knew it was there. It wasn't even just white people against people of color, at times it was people of color against ourselves. Many of my peers didn’t like the idea that I had an “Asian Advantage” or was the “Model Minority.”

It brings up the idea that if one person can't have sucess then no one else can. Sometimes it is not enough for our peers to be successful without us. This thought came to me when Dr. Valverde was being attacked, by a colleague of similar background, with slander (Valverde, 381). Just because two people are of similar background doesn’t guarantee the idea of them being in solidarity as shown in Dr. Valverde’s anecdote. Even within systems of higher education, where one would expect a certain level of maturity and professionalism, there exist this toxic idea that we need to be the better than those around us. How can we address this idea that one needs to be the best in order to feel satisfaction? 

References:

Valverde, Kieu-Linh Caroline (2013) "Fight the Tower: A Call to Action for Women of Color in Academia," Seattle Journal for Social Justice: Vol. 12 : Iss. 2 , Article 5. 

Putting People Down to Make Yourself Feel Better [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://likesuccess.com/img6366508