Disi Kou
RR 12
13 July 2015
How Important Are Racial and Ethnic Identity? In the article “The Terminal Check” by Pico Iyer. The author states that even though he had lived in Japan for twenty years, he was still “strip-searched every time he returned to the country, three or four times a year” because the authorities were suspicious of his possibly being related to Saddam Hussein. Iyer is a British-born Indian; there is no way that he could have been related to Hussein. From this article, I believe that Indians and anyone appearing to be Arab are also beginning to inhabit the bottom of the international caste. Races are being put into categories and, along with ethnicities, are being placed into an international caste system from which airport securities decide who is most likely a threat and who is not. How can we allow ourselves to become a world that judges so much based on the color of one’s skin? Or the accent one has? It absolutely befuddled me. When did we start moving towards believing that “everyone may be taken to be guilty until proven innocent”? Many people face issues everyday with their identity, which is the sense of self being independent of one’s ethnic background; empowering it and then transforming it; whether transforming is for the good or bad. People in our society, mainly our youth, have to deal with the pressures of being talked about when it comes down to what race they are, how many freckles they have or their face, how short or tall they are, and various other things. Interpersonal relationships are considered to have a bidirectional influence, which is often captured in the saying “What goes around comes around”. It may not make matters the best, but for that moment, just thinking about the statement makes matters the best. Ever since the events of 9/11, nobody can doubt that security has become tenser and more stressful for public travelers—so much that it is downright annoying. The biased nature of this heightened security means that one’s race and ethnicity now play a pivotal role in the chance of a “random” airport security check. Indeed, race and ethnicity are at risk of becoming a modern-day international caste system. The purpose of this essay will be to analyze race and ethnicity from three different persons—whose races also differ from one another—and show the risk of a developing caste system internationally.
In the article “As Black as We Wish to Be” by Thomas Chatterton Williams. The writer starts the story off with a familiar ignorance that was common in the 1980’s. He describes an old lady who assumes that his white mother adopted him and his brother from the ghetto. Writing in short paragraphs he gets right to the point. Allowing the reader to get an idea of what his black ancestors have been through in the last hundred or so years. The progression of equality for blacks in America has built them up as equals with all races. As the races mix more it’s hard to define who one is. The black community says if you are part black you may regard yourself as “black” if you want to. Thomas C. Williams grew up in New Jersey during the eighties as a mixed race child. Being the son of a black father and white blonde haired mother he learned that he was different than most of