Zili Zeng ASA002 A03 Week 1

The Coronavirus has become a global pandemic that harms people from more than 170 countries around the world in the past a few months. As we are confronting the multidimensional struggles from health issues, economy impact and social judges, the Coronavirus turned to be a test of humanity about the capacities to be kind and generous. At this point, "it is crucial to see beyond ourselves and our own interests", mentioned by Lawrence S. Bacow, the President of Harvard University.

To avoid the spread of the Coronavirus, lots of states have issued the "Stay-Home" law, and people really need to be self-esteem and follow such order together, not just to protect themselves, but also to protect others. Since the Coronavirus is infected by the droplet, it is also necessary to realize the importance of wearing mask, which is the most direct and effective way to prevent the droplet infection. Although wearing mask might bring some inconvenience to individuals, the group benefit of fighting against the Coronavirus should be more prioritized than the self-interest. Therefore, wearing mask is not a sign of another typical stereotype of Asians or Asian Americans, but a symbol of social justice to protect all people as a whole. In this class, I hope I will learn the solutions to the contemporary issues that Asian Americans are facing and what kinds of social justice I need to develop to protect and fight against the discrimination, as it mentioned in Professor Valverde's book of "Fight the Tower".

Question from the reading: In what way can people develop the sense social justice to go beyond their own interest?

Reference:

Larry S. Bacow (2020). Confirmed Case of COVID-19, Harvard University. Retrieved from 

https://www.harvard.edu/coronavirus/covid-19-confirmed-case

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

http://digitalcommons.law.seattleu.edu/sjsj/vol12/iss2/5

Takami Yamamoto ASA2 A02 Week 1

As the total number of confirmed Coronavirus cases approaching 140,000, everyone is one their nerves and have their fingers crossed that they won't be the next victim of this war between man and nature.
However, at this very critical moment, some people are trying to twist people's minds that Coronavirus is not nature to blame.
In the past week, one of the most famous Twitter lover President Donald Trump tweeted out his shallow mind and put so many people in danger.
President Trump used specifically the term "Chinese Virus" instead of "Coronavirus" and has potentially pressed on some people's backs to perform racial hate crimes against Asians in the country. There has been cased reported that Chinese men and women being threatened by people from other races, and there was even a Thai family that was hurt badly with the intent of murder by a non-Asian man.
Even before President Trump intentionally promoting racial discrimination against Asian Americans, there was already a huge amount of discrimination in our community just like Professor Valverde has described in her article Fight the Tower: A Call to Action for Women of Color in Academia. I do believe the life for Asian Americans will be even harder after this spread of pandemic disease as people always need someone to blame when bad things happen.
Question: Does making America hate Asian people really help Donald Trump to be re-elected?


Reference

Botsford, J. (2020). In Donald Trump’s remarks during a press conference last week, “corona” was crossed out and replaced with “Chinese,” reflecting his fixation on the coronavirus’s origins. Retrieved from https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/whats-at-stake-in-a-viruss-name

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. Available at: http://digitalcommons.law.seattleu.edu/sjsj/vol12/iss2/5

Yvonne Chen ASA 002 A01 Week 1

As a Chinese who study aboard in America, I found that I almost experienced the war
of Coronavirus twice. After the winter break, I came back to the US to continue my
studies. At the same time, Coronavirus spread in China at a crazy speed due to the
Spring Festival. I keep tracking all kinds of information about the virus and worrying
about my family’s health. I kept telling my family to wear a mask, but they thought I
exaggerate the degree of severe about this virus because there isn’t any popular social
media and news asserts the severity of Coronavirus. When they started to notice the
negative influence of the virus on human health, it was already too late to buy masks.
Fortunately, they stayed in our hometown, a small village without too many interactions
among people. Thus, all of my family and friends are safe and healthy. It’s undeniable
that all Chinese hurt so badly during this “war”, even though news and media only show
how effective the government did. At the beginning of Coronavirus, news and media
tried to hide information about the spread of this virus as they want to avoid panic among
people. Also, problems of government appeared while the news and media hide all of
them. They try to use the hardship of all doctors and nurses to transfer people’s focus
so that they can forget those bad things and only remember good things. To be honest,
they are successful, because now people are celebrating our success while nobody still
mentions those failures of government actions. Moreover, nobody would like to do
reflections on their behaviors. My parents’ friends were in Wuhan at that time, and it’s
clear that things are much worse and hopeless than any news said. However, people
are forgetting those pains, and forgetting people who were dead during this “war”. Do
you think news and social media in America frame the fact worse or better.

I hope Professor Valverde and TAs can provide help to students who are not in
America due to Coronavirus. There are time differences, internet problems, and
many other issues. I want to try my best to learn this course and know more about
injustice and unfair treatment met by all Asian Americans in the US. After reading
part of “Fight the Tower”, I can feel the long and hard way of Asian Americans to
fight for their rights. Professor Valverde mentions discriminations that I didn’t notice
before such as the color of faculty and their income level. Also, the podcast is a new
thing for me, I’m interested in it and I believe I can know more about it after this course.

Reference:

1. 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.
Available at: http://digitalcommons.law.seattleu.edu/sjsj/vol12/iss2/5

2. Barua, Sanjay. “The Power of Social Media.” LinkedIn SlideShare, 2 Aug. 2013,
www.slideshare.net/sanjaykrazee/presentation1-24884480.

Avinash Basu Week 3 SS1

I once tried a social experiment by inviting members of the Indian Student Association and the Chinese Student Association to a party to see if they would mingle. After all we're both from the same continent and probably have more in common with each other than we did with western standards.
They did not mix.
America is touted as a melting pot where all cultures come together to mingle but in my experience I find that people of different ethnic groups tend to rigidly stay within their own groups.
I suppose its easier to stick together than to jump a vast cultural divide.
Me being an Indian and American and a straight outta India Indian; don't mind this too much as I would never belong anywhere anyway so I just flit from ethnic group to ethnic group, comfortable but never settled.

I want to say kindness should be a universal trait regardless of culture but how that kindness manifests is the tricky part.
What is kindness in one culture is rude in another.
My solution is to help regardless and keep people's feelings in mind but never sacrificing the end goal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDzP_xTJthY

Avinash Basu Week 5 SS1

I was born with an umbilical cord around my neck. The doctors told my mom that either she could live or I could live. She chose me. I cannot fathom why. I think I'd rather she live without me than for me to live without her. I'm never going to know what its like to lose a child I've nurtured in my own body. Or maybe I will if biological gender becomes a choice or whatever but outside the realm of science fantasy; I'm not going to know. And with that lack of knowledge I cannot understand why she would want me to live without her. I didnt even cry the first couple of times the doctor slapped me. I clearly do not want to be in this world. And yet she cared for me so much. 

That's what motherhood means to me. The ability to care for something outside of yourself like it is a part of yourself.

I remember never being able to sleep until my mother sang me to sleep with a lullaby.

Reading the articles; I realize my mother's experiences as a woman and as a colored woman shaped my worldview through her parenting.
All of her worldview transferred over to me.

I don't have a very high opinion of the male figures in my life because I see my own flaws in them but I always say if I have any goodness at all its because of my mother.

You know, its so easy for me to write paragraphs and paragraphs about misery but I can barely even organize my thoughts to talk about my mother I love so much because I'm both so grateful to her for bringing me into this world and holding my hand and so resentful because I am supposed to be the reflection of such an amazing woman that I don't know how I'm supposed to live upto that.
I miss my mom and I just want her to know that she's the greatest mother.

All my life I've been raised around women.
Nuns in an ashram, all my mother friends; all of them taught me the strength of womanhood and the glorious capacity to enact change that mothers have.
A father can pay the bills but they don't carry the family like a mother does.

"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9dSYgd5Elk"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj2laJVGZAA

Jiaxiong Li Week 6 S1

Ping Wang has hit us with another raging poem about her experience with meeting His Holiness. In the case of context, I would assume the figure she is speaking about is the Pope of the Catholic Church because that is the only person that I know that is referred to as "his holiness." There is also another chance that his holiness is a figurative character which is used to symbolize a source of re-liberation and hope for the author. This symbol of hope and tomorrow is important for W.P. because she is suffering in a dark time against people that throw her down to "the bottom of the snake pit." She uses a lot and I mean a lot of anaphora in this poem as a rhetorical device and it really shows her strength in will that she will not give up because she continuously repeats certain phrases. I enjoyed finding subtle metaphors that connect to her feelings and what she trying to express. P.W. is a cool poet.

Works Cited:

P W. My Kintsuki. UC Davis Canvas Discovery. https://canvas.ucdavis.edu/courses/392140/files/folder/Weekly Readings/Week6?preview=6353503. Accessed August 4, 2019.

Squad S. No, Cold Calling Isn't Diving Into a Snake Pit! Cold Call Coach. https://coldcallcoach.net/no-cold-calling-isnt-diving-snake-pit/. Published July 26, 2019. Accessed August 4, 2019.

Triroje Rathaloengsak Week 2 Blog - SS 1

From what I understand when I read articles from week 2 is that reading focuses on the racism and how the treatment is unequally treat among race and gender. In detail, the unfair treatment that the author mentions in the article is mostly focus on how Asian American female have been treat so unfair in the field of academic. The way that people have been treat so unequally isn’t only because of their race but sometimes even their accent and physical ability. In addition, the author also describes the challenges that people of color in academic field have to face when they try to challenge the discrimination and racism. In consequences, due to this reason, the people of color in academic institution also have to face the difficulty of trying to secure the job in the field as well.

References:

Week 2 Readings

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