Monthly Archives: September 2020

The excerpt “Chameleon” in Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime is about Noah’s experience with living in South Africa as a mixed child. In the excerpt Noah goes into great detail about how he was treated at home, at school, and in his neighborhood. He explained that because he LOOKED different than those he grew up around he was treated differently, in both good and bad ways, though he never understood why, he didn’t understand the concept of “race” he just knew being black, he explained that after watching his mother he discovered that language was the tool he would use to bridge the gap (his skin colour) between he and his fellow black friends and acquaintances as well as using language as a survival mechanism.  

One issue that I found to be very prevalent in the excerpt was the fact that people just assumed that he was some special being and he was better than his black peers and family members and that was even seen in the anecdote where the counselor at his new school told him he would do better in an “A” class rather than a “B” class where all the other black children were, despite the fact that he had grown up around other black children, she just assumed that because he was lighter skinned he was “allowed” him to be in a class that she assumed would take him farther because he’s around other white people. 

The personal and political are intertwined in micro-aggressions such as the part where he and his mother went to the shop and the guards weren’t aware that she spoke Afrikaans and he told the other guard to follow them so they don’t steal things after the mother confronted them back in Afrikaans he proceeded to apologize for mistaking her for “the other blacks” who “love to steal”. Or when even when his own family would treat him better and more delicately because they were literally afraid of the repercussion or hurting him. 

One quotation I found extremely significant in the excerpt was for me the entire last paragraph of the chapter but specifically where he said “i didn’t belong with the white kids […] But the black kids embraced me…” at the beginning of the paragraph he says he chose being black because in this quote he states why, because they accepted him. 

I chose this text because in all honesty since he was speaking about Africa although not my country, I still felt connected to it and wanted to read it but I also liked it because he spoke about language and how he and his family used it and I resonated with that because my mother also speaks about the importance of understanding your native language and I always knew it was important and I feel connected to others who speak the same language.

The text I decided to write about is Trevor Noah’s “Born A Crime”. In this autobiography Trevor explained his own upbringing in South Africa and the way he was treated different because of the color of his skin despite being born there. He was viewed as an outcast in his own family because he was grew up in a community full of black people whilst being the only light skinned person in his community. The central ideas that are brought up in the text is fitting in and proving that you belong where you are. Trevor spoke the language of his native tribe, but that still wasn’t enough for the people in his community. All they paid attention to was the color of his skin. This issue that Trevor endured resonates with everything black people have to prove today. In most cases blacks can’t live the life they want to live because we are looked upon differently than everyone else. The same way Trevor had to prove his worth to other people is the same fight we are fighting to this day. “I soon learned that the quickest way to bridge the race gap was through language…I became a chameleon. My color didn’t change, but I could change your perception of my color.” Those lines in the text brought about the driving factor to what changed the way Trevor was perceived in his community. He may not have looked like the rest, but he certainly spoke like the rest. The ability of speaking any language that is spoken to you can bring about a way of connecting with others. I chose this text because of the way it resonates with issues that are being faced in America today. Social injustice starts off with others not knowing your worth and thinking you don’t belong and that is the connection this text. Trevor raised many points in his writing that can be used for kids today because others still face the problem of not fitting in within their community. It’s time to start looking at others internally and stop judging based off external factors.

The text I chose was of Caitlin Flanagan’s essay, “I Believe Her,” and it starts off with an inscription in her 12^th-grade yearbook, not something you think much of until you continue reading and you are then appalled as to what you have just read. “I Believe Her,” is about the trauma she endured during her teen years, describing her sexual assault that led to the escalation of her depression. In the article, The Atlantic, she approaches the subject of Brett Kavanaugh’s sexual assault allegations and her standpoint is confirmed that there are women out there who have been through similar assaults and it shouldn’t be easily dismissed or hidden.

The central issue raised by this text is society does not normalize women coming forward reporting sexual assaults. Ergo, there is a stigma around sexual assault survivors coming forward and have to “prove” what they experienced or else their doubt surrounding their report, and this requires the victim to relive their trauma in order to retell their assault. However, it is a long road to recovery, as survivors like Caitlin Flanagan feel guilty, as they don’t want to ruin another person’s life or the question if they could have prevented it but in reality, it isn’t their fault. The fact that these individuals can go on and live their lives as if they did nothing wrong, such as Brett, confirms how society allows the people accused to stay in positions of high influential power. It’s been normalized in a society that it’s okay for men to do that and still maintain a high position of power, understanding that it is a societal issue.

“I Believe Her” is a self-explanatory title, connecting to the political standpoint of Caitlin Flanagan on Ford’s story, accusing Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault upon her at a young age. Caitlin Flanagan as a #MeToo supporter, voiced her teen sexual assault that argues Brett Kavanaugh’s position as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the U.S. Proving that a man, Brett Kavanaugh, sexually assaulted, Christine Ford, and was nominated during this time and was able to still become Associate Justice of the Supreme Court and politically unjust.

A quote from, “I Believe Her,’ that stood out was, “The idea was that anything bad that happened was the girl’s fault. She had agreed to go off in a car with a boy alone; she was taking her chances.” These two lines stood out to me because in society, it is always the women’s fault for wearing either “revealing” clothing, if we drink, walking by ourselves, or “you shouldn’t have been walking in that bad neighborhood at that time”, and etc., but yet you never hear someone say, “It wasn’t YOUR fault.” It is very significant to me because it is unfair that women are blamed for another person’s actions, and #MeToo is a very relevant movement that more should be aware of because women are sexually assaulted every day and yet are silenced when they come forward.

I chose, “I Believe Her” because the title itself is impactful, women need to support women. There shouldn’t be a stigma around sexual assault victims and their traumatizing accounts. This issue is important to me because I read and hear sexual assault stories so much on the news and it just shocks me as to how so many women are afraid of coming forward simply because of the guilt or circumstance where one may be blamed for the occurrence when it was not their fault.

I am writing about Trevor Noah’s “Born a crime”. This autobiography goes through him living in South Africa during a time where he was not recognized by his people simply because he looked different. Central ideas raised in this text is proving to others your worth and fighting for your belonging. Trevor had a mother who was black and a father who was white. This was viewed as very strange and basically looked down upon during that time in Apartheid South Africa. The people in Noah’s tribe or even land was much darker from him. Even despite speaking their native tongue, Noah faced many obstacles  just to be viewed as them. This is connected to modern day society as well. Many people constantly fight and protest and have to prove themselves as worthy just to have a stabilized life. This can range from different skin tones and speaking a certain language to practicing a religion or even sexuality. “They were ready to do me violent harm, until they felt we were part of the same tribe, and then we were cool” (56). Noah almost got robbed because of his complexion and if he haven’t proven to the kids that he was one of them just lighter, it would of amounted to a different result for him at the end. I chose this text because I live the same life style of constantly having to prove to people or just in general that certain things regarding my practice, skin tone, sexuality, and overall worth can’t define my goals or success. It is important for everyone to not judge or view people so broadly and to further investigate the person character.

The TedEd talk: Why I Love a Country That Once Betrayed Me given by George Takei gave personal experience on what it was like being a Japanese American during WWll. Takei speaks vividly on what exactly happened the day the soldiers came to rile up all the Japanese Americans after President Franklin Roosevelt proposed the internment camps. From the mass hysteria that spread across America, Takei and his family suffered from extreme loss once the war has ended. However, he shared a heroic action done by the Japanese Americans who fought in WWll in Europe that would happen to change everything about Takei. 

Takei runs around the theme of American democracy and what it truly meant to be an American. As the hysteria grew across America this became harder for Takei to accept and understand. Takei found himself being confused and distraught in the fact that America wrote all these amazing things in their textbooks about freedom and all men were created equal when he couldn’t line up his childhood imprisonment experience. His father once told him “…our democracy is a people’s democracy, and it can be as great as the people can be, but it is also fallible as people are.” This made Takei understand a part of what it takes to be apart of that democracy how it can change and vary depending on the people so it is important to have good people apart of it. His personal experience with his past and hearing about the 442nds risking their lives just to find a place in America to be accepted turned into why he loves this country despite it turning it’s back on him. 

Takei goes onto elaborate on what the 442nds mean to him as “They clung to their beliefs in the shining ideals of this country and they proved that being an American is not just for some people, that race is not how we define being an American. They expanded what it means to be an American including Japanese Americans that were feared and suspected and hated.” This quote had the most significance because Takei as a human activist believes that even with what he went through those people had given him hope and push for America where it isn’t defined by race but rather the people. 

The reason I chose this text was because of how America is now with its democracy. It isn’t much better from back then but it was empowering enough that the will of strong-minded good people can get us somewhere. With the elections coming up it’s a time we need the good people the most if we truly want to protect American democracy from being ripped out away from people who worked the hardest for it, who suffered the most to come here to live for it.