By Linda CheriyanJust like many other immigrants, my family came to America in search of the “American Dream.” As a little girl growing up in India I was thrilled when I heard I would be able to come to The United States. The name “America” rang excitement to my ears. My father held his own business in India and tutored students; my mom helped my father out with his business. I realized in America my options would not be so limited; I could now have endless opportunities, dreams, and freedom. I would be in a utopia at last. I came to America on November 13th, 2003. I thought to myself, “I really can be anything in this land.” We came to America in hopes of something better, my father ended up getting a job that paid minimum wage, to give my brother and I a better life. My mom sat home and took care of things around the house because she wasn’t qualified for a job. In elementary school, I was always the odd one out because I bragged about my culture and the kids were not interested. I was considered weird because I didn’t match their personality. Kids made fun of me, and I thought things were supposed to be better. They made terrible remarks “go back to your country,” or “you better be careful of her because she probably has access to bombs.” I thought maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to go back. I had a place where I was actually allowed to call home, and soil to my name. I had friends who understood me. I had parents who were not trying to find a balance between the two cultures, and somewhere along the way forgot to parent. “How can this possibly be better?” my little mind questioned. But how did the American dream become a fantasy for so many immigrants? My last trip to India, my uncle and I debated about the “American Dream” of course living here I had a better experience of this so-called “dream.” I was told I should be grateful and from what he has been told it is something everyone dreams of. The only thing that hung around in my head in that moment was “Why?” So he explained, “When I was growing up, America was and is still known as the land where you can be anything no matter who you are and what your status is.” I understood his standpoint and where he was coming from, the grass will always seems greener on the other side for anyone looking in. The options to us seem bigger and lavishly given out because of the false portrayal through media of what America really is. I myself was once in his place where I dreamt of this American Dream, where I would be able to live a life where I was given equal opportunities, but when exactly did my dream start to fade? In high school it hit me: this “American Dream” I was chasing after, is non- existent. It’s all just a myth to keep hopes in the people’s mind and to keep us continuously working for the capitalist society for the wealthy. The “American Dream” was just that, an AMERICAN dream. For a person of color like myself, it was a fantasy that we did not fit into, yet we desired to obtain. According to Google the definition of the “American Dream” is “the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.” The “American Dream” is something where the so-called “equal opportunities” are only created for the white man who is privileged, and has the opportunities. Race has always played a key role in the division of our country, pushing minorities farther away from attaining this dream; blinding their vision of the dream they had in mind. Placing minorities in impoverished neighborhoods and not granting the same opportunities as the rich. Our education system itself is something that makes it harder on the students to attain the dream by making them fall into unimaginable debts they will never be able to pay off. If we make a dollar more in our family income we suddenly stop receiving financial aid. We must pay out of our pockets with the job that pays less than minimum wage. On top of all of this, we have our parents constantly bickering in our ears to keep our grades up, and yelling at us that we’re not trying hard enough. They do not understand the education system, the workload, and stress we are under in college. Then when we finally get out of college we go on a scavenger hunt to find jobs. Preferably a job that fits the degree we paid thousand of dollars for, but all of the jobs ask for “minimum of 10 years of experience.” Being a woman doesn’t make it any better either, we undergo the gender wage gap, meaning we get paid less than the men sitting next to us who is doing the same job who have the same qualifications. Now we live in a time where the bachelor’s degree holds the value of a high school degree, so we have to rush to find a graduate school in hopes to find a job that will pay off all the unnecessary loans. Suddenly the dreams we had turned into nightmares that propel us into poverty, and deny us from being able to fulfill the goals we once had. The vision begins to fade. So how can one say in spite of all this the American Dream exists?
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by Michelle SencionLatinx is a term that has sprung up in the past couple of years. If you aren’t from the generation that uses social media actively and is “in-the-know,” then this word could be foreign to you. To many older Latino/as, it is a word that seeks to ruin the Spanish language and has a difficult pronunciation that only the kids who speak English can say. If you’ve ever taken a Spanish class you will realize that the letter X has a difficult pronunciation. For native Spanish speakers, Latinx sounds like “Latin(?)” because what sound could you make. In Spanish the x does not equal “ex” it equals confusion and frustration. So if Latinx is so difficult to pronounce, and it isn’t actually a widely accepted word (yet), so, why do people use it? That question has many answers, but we will focus on two. Latinx gives the middle finger to patriarchy. Let’s go back to Spanish class, shall we. Spanish is a rich and colorful language that has produced some of the best works of literature in the world. It is also gendered as hell. Think about it, everything in Spanish has a gender, even inanimate objects! Take, for example, the very basic word, “friends.” In English, friends can be used to describe anyone no matter what gender they are/prefer. In Spanish, however, “friends” suddenly becomes gendered, and whether you are out with your girl friends or your guy friends becomes an issue. If you are with a group of your girl friends, you have to say that you are with your “amigas, but if you are out with *just* your guy friends, you would have to say, “amigos.” The problem starts when you are out with a group of women and one man joins the group of “amigas,” you would have to describe the newly configured group as “amigos,” even if the majority is female. Masculine terms become the universal description for everyone once there is more than one gender involved. The X in Latinx is a protest against the everyday patriarchy that the Spanish language imposes upon its speakers. People are not just male and female, why should they not be able to remove themselves from the narrative of being “ella” or “él” for the rest of their lives? That brings us to our second reason. Latinx is a way to break down the gender binary. Now we’ve heard so much about the gender binary and our society is showing that two genders just don’t cut it. There is no clear line between male and female, people often float in between or are just removed completely. Latinx allows people who are transgendered to not be forced into a category based on a gender with which they don’t identify. The term was created as an act of protest, of non-conformity, and of inclusiveness. Still with me? Well you’ve made it through a lesson on Latinx and why it's important. If you are a native Spanish speaker and don’t like to use Latinx because it does not define you, that’s fine! Just because Latinx is now a thing doesn’t mean that Latino and/or Latina are suddenly wrong. It’s just a word, but words can mean a lot to people, and just like someone may be proud as hell to say they are Latino, I am proud to say I am Latinx. Interesting Pieces About Latix Why We Say Latinx: Trans & Gender Non-Conforming People Explain |
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