today i was sitting in my p4p class..somewhat distracted and sleepy..but surprisingly enough one of the stp's started talking about the armenian genocide and other weapons of genocide that have been used against womyn in particular...and it was really interesting to hear about the struggles and the history of a community that i feel so ethnically, politically, and socially disconnected from..aside from the fact that i was around a lot of armenian folks kickin it in glendale so much and the nurses that my mom used to introduce me to at her work..i feel no connection whatsoever. but i realized that although our histories are not really the same, our struggles are very much parallel..in nature. whether its your fight for genocidal recognition from oppressive countries or my fight for recognition for the contributions of world war ii veteranos...our people have experienced and continue to experience silencing trauma that will forever haunt our children and our children's children. we realize and utilize our community's agency to say, "we are here."
our struggles transcend race, ethnicity, class...and maybe even political ideology as well..but will they ever converge?
who knows.
maybe not.
other thoughts from class:
"elements of romanticization" (referring to the social situations/portrayals of native americans)
* over-simplification
* objectification
in the midst of cultural and multicultural shows and week long programs spreading awareness of various international/political/historical issues..i thought of the week long series of events that took place last week and the problematic "elements of romanticization" that was seen and felt every day at the same time on mario savio steps..the site of historical/political movements that we continue to praise yet as a campus/university have difficulties embracing. what is a show without a deeper meaning and purpose? it's just a show..a romanticized cultural experience. culture is not something that you can simply experience, it's something that you live, eat, breathe, love, embrace, embody.....each and every day of your life.
in the words of chrystos, "i walk in the history of my people"
let's all recognize our own histories and take strides in our collective struggle...
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