Kumar Stereotyping & Cultural Assimulation

While reading this week in Kumar’s book, I was completely visual the whole time on many topics he had written about during chapter 4’s stereotyping and also the delusions of cultural assimilation in chapter 5. The story about the Korean pilots “purposely” killing almost their entire flight was mind boggling to me that someone would allow their beliefs to override their common sense features. I do understand the notion of not commanding authority, but out of life and death- let alone other’s lives and your purpose of being a pilot, I can only imagine the disbelief the families felt when they found out that their love one could have been alive today if that person’s personal beliefs did not override his decision making. I hope that these pilots did not learn this behavior in flight school.

The whole rest of the chapter about stereotyping caught my attention immediately since it made me reflect as an educator and a person- this is one of the main reasons why I chose to enter the program of TESOL aside from many other reasons and opportunities. My background as an individual is quite eclectic. Living and growing up in a Pittsburgh, where many years ago was the epicenter of immigration close to the standards of New York City, has allowed my lifestyle and personality to be multi-ethnic on a daily basis. Whether it’s whichever town I drive through, the churches and social clubs I pass, what stores or restaurants I stop at, etc really embark as to what it is like to live in a city enriched with culture at your fingertips…literally. Having said that, even in 2009, Pittsburgh and the areas surrounding it, are still segregated communities that focus on a particular culture- Squirrel Hill, mostly Jewish community, Polish Hill- need I say more, North Side, Germany, Greenfield, Scotch & Irish…People of their “people” still protect themselves in a way that other’s would not in cities that are not as “tight knit”. I personally know people who have grown up in many of these areas listed above who still speak in the frame of mind of the “old country” with not wanting to have anything to do with anyone that is not of their culture. Anyone that is a “threat” to them, as in someone that is outside of their ethnicity, poses neglect, stereotyping, racism, etc. When I chose to take the position out in Ajo, AZ, someone close to me asked what would I want to do working with a bunch of illegal aliens trying to take our jobs and crowd our classrooms? Later on another infuriating question arose as to: “Do you really want to work with ‘those kind of people’ for the rest of your life?” Obviously I was flabbergasted by the negativity and hostility these people had about working with individuals that are “immigrants or L2”- but only one question came out of my mouth after being drilled: “Isn’t your family from ‘off the boat’ and had to go through the same processes “these people” are going through…if not worse?” This is the frame of mind that I hope to help educate years down the road during my career as a TESOL educator (aside from many others) because I truly believe that civilization (school, professional, community, governmental, etc) can be accepting of EVERYONE’S cultural background but it’s their personal beliefs that have to be respected.

The delusions mentioned about cultural assimilation are quite clear that personal regards to their ethnicity has been uprooted and forgotten as so many immigrants (including my own family) as they tried to fit into American standard of living. Few things come to mind. 1, I dated a guy in college whose mother’s parents had immigrated here right before she was born. When they settled here, they changed their last name from Petrillo to Petril so they would not be judged for being Italian. That always struck me in disbelief since I obviously did not grow up in the age of extreme immigration and racism in America but having all of this time go by and knowing that your family members did this to “survive”, wouldn’t you consider having your last name changed back to its original form? Yes I know that’s a pain due to documents sake etc, but for the sense of who you are and where you (or your family) came from- something to think about I guess. 2, my mother’s side of the family celebrated their culture more than my father’s side- which I think has influenced me to behave in a more ethnic way due to this. Now we don’t go “all out” and celebrate any other holidays than the ‘norm’ here in the USA but we do the food, church, and ceremonies before meals that I know not many families participate if you’re from Slovak/Russian decent. While cleaning out my parent’s house I had run across my deceased grandfather’s photo album that his wife, my grandmother who I never met, continuously made from the time they were married until her death. What interested me was the ‘look alikes’ of all their other friends and relatives and the socials they participated in. My mother informed me that they would go to the Slovak club every Saturday night with their friends and do what they did…as you can imagine. Slovaks associated with other Slovaks and that’s just the way it was back then. You wouldn’t dare walking into any other ethnic club (Italian, German, etc…) unless you were invited by a guest. Even so, my mom said, you stood out. Having thought about this, if you drive around the Pittsburgh area, and I am originally from West Mifflin/Duquesne area, many of these ethnic social clubs have since closed and moved on one way shape of form. There are a few still surviving but it’s mostly fire halls, VFW’s, Knights of Columbus’s. Yes many have probably closed due to the shut down of the mill, people then venturing off into other parts of the country for professional, educational, or personal reasons, etc. What makes me think is this- there has never been a time in my life where I thought, ‘gee, I should join a club just for my ethnicity’. But then realism comes into play- my cultural background has about 4 ethnicities…which one would I choose anyways if any one of them where even open? My point is that as generations have evolved in this country specifically, it is easier for us to forget about where we came from if our ancestors didn’t want to involve us in the first place. My mother used to be able to speak fluently in Slovak and her father could still speak Russian but it has since vanished from her cognition due to her relatives dying off and others not having a need for it. Same for the little cultural things we used to do during Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter- it’s not the same anymore when someone dies (like the ones that hold the family together) and no one wants to keep the traditions going. I feel that holidays and family gatherings anymore (not just with my family but with other families that I have been invited to) are nothing more than sitting in front of the TV watching something sports related or reality trash, kids constantly on their cell phones, and the wives upstairs chatting as they do. In my own family, my brother and I became quite aggravated during a holiday watching our younger cousins wanting nothing to do with anyone except who was on the other end of their phone. So we’ve slowly tried to incorporate the events that we used to participate in when our families parents/aunts/uncles/ etc were alive to encourage a sense of appreciation for not only their family, but where they came from. 3, and lastly- another reason why I feel that even today, many Americans want to look, speak, and act like one another because society and entertainment tells us to. I could go on about that but that’s a real obvious one. In my personal life, I wish my family would have been more promising to their cultural roots while also opening up to the ‘norms’ of being an American citizen because I feel that my life and my immediate family’s lives would have had a different frame of mind let alone connection.