Dear Tug,

I started on your webquest and what a journey it has been so far! The Ebonics blog really caught my attention when I read it. When I go to basketball camp I often find myself- a “white boy” as I’m known-engulfed in the black society. The first thing that comes to mind when speaking of internal oppression in regards to African-Americans is the spoken language. African-Americans from lower socioeconomic areas tend to have poorer grammatical and speaking skills. You may think I’m a racist by believing that but it is the truth. Straight from Nicole Iaquinto’s blog: “An African-American child grows up in the ghetto where she learns to speak a form of colloquial English known to some as "Ebonics," or in more technical terms, Black Vernacular English. She grows up in a community where this is the dominant form of languages spoken.” I believe Black Vernaculr English, or “Ebonics”, derive from the portrayal of the African-American community in the media, movies and especially the music industry. In a way black kids are conforming to their community’s style of speech. Growing in white suburbia I struggled to interpret Ebonics at basketball camp. In conclusion, the media and music industry create a culture that expects African-Americans to speak ebonics. When will this chain of poor grammar and language break for more intelligent dialogue? Tug yo’ webquest hazbeen tizight so far. This iz just da beginning o’ uh great week working fo’ya. What ya doin’ dis here weekend? Ebonix is really da truth. I can’t believe I’m starting ta jive like dis here afta reading yo’blog! All yea damn hood rattz…..

From yo brotha from anotha mutha,
Yungfriedy

P.S. don’t make me pull mah gat!

Being Yungfriedy

Hello everyone. I read the Monkey Bridge by Lan Cao and enjoyed the novel. Here is a brief summary of the novel-Mai, a teenage Vietnamese immigrant, leaves Saigon, Vietnam with her mother in hope of settling in the United States and escaping the failing and diminishing Saigon government. Mai is expecting her grandfather, Baba Quan, to meet her and travel to the United States together; however Baba Quan does not show up and leaves Mai’s heart empty. Most of the novel consists of Mai’s assimilation into American culture but the story soon turns sour. Mai finds her mother’s letter from Baba Quan…let’s just say the letter’s reveal a lot and make for an interesting Vietnamese story (I don’t want to ruin the ending for you but it gets CRAZY!) For those who are reading this post on Friday April 3, I am currently in Mexico laying on a beach. Haha have fun but click here if you really want to continue on this webquest!

Currently tanning,

yungfriedy

Monkey Bridge

Can you be accused of grouping all Asian American’s as one group? Who hasn’t wrongfully called someone “Chinese” who is Korean. Most, if not all Caucasian Americans, would group Vietnamese-Americans as Asian-Americans. Strong aspects of culture and heritage is lost when immigrants from Asian countries are not individually recognized. Asian-Americans represent an ethnic group that is recognized by white America; yet, “the demographic includes dozens of ethnic groups, languages, religions, customs and origins from across the globe, stretching from Japan and China to Pakistan and India. Academic observers and community members say the diversity within the group is so rich and disparate, it seems folly to treat it as a single bloc” (Taneeru 1). White America is rightfully accused of grouping many different cultures as one. Maneev Taneeru’s article “Asian-American’s Diverse Voices Share Similar Stories” documents events in which Vietnamese and other immigrants were wrongfully grouped as different culture. For example, Derald Wong Sue, a professor of psychology and education at Columbia, was told her English was very good because of her physical Asian appearance; Wong is a second generation American who doesn’t know one word of Japanese. Similar to the article “Asian-American’s Diverse Voices Share Similar Stories”, Lan Cao’s book Monkey Bridge exposes prejudice towards Asian American’s in her story of a young immigrant assimilating to American society.
Monkey Bridge is an interesting novel because of Cao’s ability to make the reader feel the emotions that the character is feeling. I truly felt the emotions Mia, a teenage Vietnamese immigrant, and experiences during her assimilation into American society. Maybe I’m lacking feelings but all the novels we are reading in class probably evoke emotions that draw pity to a different culture. Don’t get me wrong; I am not a racist or prejudice against immigrants. However, it would be boring to analyze this topic; I decided to follow my Caucasian roots and dissect immigrants as a whole (Get it? I’m grouping all immigrants as one group regardless of their individual cultures) Monkey Bridge is an example of what I believe occurs in many immigrant families. It is very interesting how Mia’s relationship with her mother unfolds. Like Mia, I believe in many immigrant families the children play a more active role in the family than their parents; I believe this occurs because children assimilate easier and pick up the language quicker than their parents. Immigrant children are expected to do more things for their family than the common Caucasian child. As I continue reading this novel, I will dissect the family relationships that develop or break apart.

Socratic Seminar

Dear Jake,

These are the questions for today's seminar!

1. Read page one over again. Notice Lan Cao’s descriptive words and use of colors. Why do you think she does this?

2. In The Monkey Bridge, family is an extremely important aspect of Vietnamese immigrants lives. Is this all that the characters have to cling to? Why is family the most important thing in Vietnamese-immigrant’s lives? Do you think this applies to current immigrants?

3. Mother’s medical issues are deliberately analyzed for a reason. She had once been beautiful, her skin so smooth…Even now, the delicate feline features showed, in spite of the singed and puckered flesh” (3 Cao). Symbolism? Connections?

4. Read the first few paragraphs of Asian-American’s diverse voices share similar stories(delicious.com/yungfriedy). How does this connect to the Monkey Bridge?

5. The generation gap between mother and daughter is obvious. Why does Lan Cao make their relationship like this? Does this apply to current immigrant families?

6. Are the family roles in all immigrant populations the same regardless of their heritage?

7. What do you think the title means?

Love,

Michael

Earl<3Kenny

The acceptance of homosexuality has advanced greatly from the baby boomer generation to m generation (technology generation?). It always interests me how my grandparents and my parents (to some extent) have a difficult time accepting homosexuality while I see no problem with it. In television, the portrayal of homosexuality has evolved and become a popular, humorous and comfortable subject for many shows. On the first episode of my favorite show, My Name is Earl, Earl, the main character who has set out to offset his previous wrongdoings with the help of karma, aids a gay man, Kenny, accept his homosexual lifestyle. Earl and his brother Randy ring Kenny’s doorbell in hopes of gaining back Kenny’s friendships after bullying Kenny all throughout their childhood years together. Kenny is fearful of letting Early and Randy into his house because of their history; however, when Kenny does let them in, Randy finds a gay pornographic magazine inside the house. Having never seen a gay person before, Earl and Randy foolishly run away leaving Kenny disappointed yet again. The director of My Name is Earl provides a clear example of heterosexism-the discrimination in favor of heterosexual people- in this episode. Earl and Randy, two beer drinking tough guys, bully Kenny, a small, weak man who is wearing stereotypical homosexual clothes and has a “gay voice”. When Earl returns to Kenny’s house to apologize, Kenny discusses how he has been living his “whole life scared to be who I really am because of what people might think”. Earl realizes his heterosexual privileges and decides to take Kenny to a place where he would feel comfortable and not constrained by society: a gay bar. The gay bar fits all stereotypes-men in speedos dancing on poles, bubbles floating around, techno music, and gay men drinking martinis. Earl feels Kenny needs the confidence to talk to other homosexual men so Earl takes it upon himself to talk with other gay men and introduce Kenny. After a night at the gay bar Kenny realizes that he can fit in somewhere. Earl says to “never underestimate the power of confidence”. For us as a society to break the lack of homosexual privileges and break all stereotypes we must gain confidence in ourselves and others to accept people regardless of their sexual preference.

Breedermama Brings It

Today marks my first true encounter with “blogging” in the real blog world. Interesting to say the least. After meticulously searching through many bizarre and strange gender blogs (i.e. Sarah Palin-the Playboy Electorate or Eater-Weird Fish Spinoff), I came across The Breeder Files- a lusciously personal blog straight from the lips of Breedermama. Delving deep into Breedermama’s personal life while reading her posts about her daily activities with her children, who she refers to as J Pants and E Bean, and her husband, Daddy Pants (which I’m assuming refers to who wears the pants in their relationship) made me feel uncomfortable and intrusive into a random life; however, as I began reading her most recent blog post “Pink, it’s a loaded color...” I realized that I had a lot in common with this strange blogger.
Breedermama has “always prided herself with being an open-minded person, especially in regards to gender issues”(Breedermama 1). Always imagining that she would be the mother of little girls, her expectations of motherhood drastically changed when she had two sons. Breedermama’s “visions of going shopping with my mini-me and purchasing her a copy of Our Bodies, Ourselves” (Breedermama 2) were shattered- “It had never occurred to me that members of the opposite sex are forced into their own cookie cutter mold, until I looked at my tiny son and thought of all the things people project onto his gender” (Breedermama 5). Disregarding these societal projections, Breedermama became determined not to impose any gender bias on her sons. J Pants and E Bean only received white baby accessories and could only play with toys or anything with colors that were not directly linked to the male or female race. Sans Tonka Trucks and Barbie dolls, Breedermama blogged about her children’s normal development without have been imposed with the societal expectations of boys or girls. Was the source of Breedermama’s rejection of gender-based colors, toys, and expectations coming from her disappointment in not having a girl? Possibly…

To say I am going to provide my baby with a “gender-free” lifestyle like Breedermama is ludicrous; however I strongly agree with the basic philosophy’s that Breedermama holds herself to regarding societal expectations. People are always “caught up in the tiny box that [people] have been forced into over the decades” (4). Until the birth of her second child, “it had never occurred to [Breedermama] that members of the opposite sex are forced into their own cookie cutter mold” because “of all the things people project onto one’s gender” (4). My personal philosophical beliefs are comprised of ignoring societies expectations and disregarding what other people think of me. Don’t get me wrong here because this is not a negative attribute. Whether its buying baby toys of a certain color, shopping for make up, or gossiping over useless information, people spend an excessive time worrying about expectations. For Breedermama it was the gender expectations of males (i.e. playing with tonka trunks, wearing blue, or being tough) but her philosophies can apply to everyone. We should all learn from Breedermama and act naturally and do things that we personally want to do- not what society wants us to do.

My First Blog Post

We live by rules that strictly bound our lives everyday. Society develops guidelines and rules of etiquette that people religiously abide by in fear of breaking free from society's expectations. As seen in the novel 1984 by George Orwell, people easily conform to the pressures of society. Diverse societies and varying cultures experience different pressures and expectations. Many parts of my blog will incorporate research and analysis of unique cultures and societies that are colorful and interesting. Our class recently read "The Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid-a short poem that discussed a mother's rules for a daughter. I wrote a poem called "The Gang" in the same format as "The Girl"; my poem proposed rules for someone who is in a gang.

"The Gang"

Take the leopard suit out of your closet; top hat laying straight across your clean shaven head; two sprays of cologne on each forearm; Timberlands laced high up; doo rag tied tight around your forehead; strap yourself with your Colt 45; step with your left foot and lean with your right; open the front door to success; step out onto the streets of Inglewood; take a walk to the fish market and repeat like me “Good Morning Ladies”; Pops this ain’t going to be this easy right?; walk with a swagger or else you’ll look weak; have no weakness for lack of confidence exposes prey; eyes straight ahead; make eye contact with the wrong animal and you will get the beast; run the streets like you own them; meet Naheem at the corner of 4th and Main; right hand out, left shoulder leaning; snap your fingers and do a step because you can do it all by yourself; let me see you do it; Come on Pops, you know who I be, you don’t know anything until your out there running the streets; pick up a pound of yayo outside of Crystal’s strip club; load your Colt 45 and prepare to get noticed; Because for me it’s the life of the party a little bit of juice a little bit of the gin; eyes wide open for gang members run the streets from Crystal’s; Latin King’s-back left corner; Black Guerrillas- back right corner; girls riding all over your hips; keep them on a leash because when a man steals your lady- he steals your pride; make your presence felt when you walk through the club; two pounds of bud waiting for you with Naheem; give him the cash you owe him for the yayo; get out of Crystal’s because when the sun rises the true me who run the streets walk in; call Jahari to pick you up in the Escalade; cruisin’ down the street in my 6-4, jockin’ a ____ smackin’ a ___; no rest for the weary-keep running the streets all day-n-nite.