665. I have to be honest: As a person of color here at Oxy, I feel like Im being ostracized by my own race. That is, by other students that share the same racial/ethnic background as I do. I dont know how many other people feel the same way I do, but Im sure there are many of us that just feel like they have no place or sense of belonging with people that they should, in theory, have much in common with in terms of shared experiences and cultural background. Yet, I feel like Im so different from the rest of them because of the way I choose to live my life. My major and the classes I take are drastically different from what they would take, my interests and tastes in things contrast greatly to theirs, and even the way I convey myself socially and intellectually sets me apart from them in every way. Im not trying to say that Im better than them, but I really feel like theres something about being an outlier within the ethnic/racial group you pertain thats really alienating. I mean, am I just inferior to you all? Am I not worthy of you all calling me one of us? Or is it just me? Am I at fault for thinking that Im so different from you all that it would make any means of finding commonalities impossible? I dont know who I am. Im torn between my ethnic identity, my nationality, and my desire to embody a transnational/global identity. I know there are people who the feel the same way that I do and I want them to join me in speaking up. Us outliers are suffering from an identity crisis that is agonizing and tearing us apart from within, and we need to express our anguish. Ive resorted to calling myself a mere human on several occasions in an effort to transcend and come to terms with this identity crisis, but honestly, Ive found myself getting shot down for even daring to make that declaration by several individuals OF MY OWN RACE/ETHNICITY. And yet, I still feel like I am not equal to them in their eyes, no matter what I do to prove myself. If that doesnt seem like INTERCULTURAL OPPRESSION to you, then sadly I dont know what else would. As a person of color, I say we must resolve this oppression that is gnawing at us and making us tear each other apart from within our own ethnicities/races before we can even hope to tackle bigger issues like racism and diversity.
Posted on: Sat, 16 Nov 2013 00:56:08 +0000
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