[Haleigh Powell]

I chose this photo because I think that it brings up an important issue that many people who express bigoted views do not consider. People can be very comfortable to express hate and bigotry towards groups that are “other” than them. They would not be ok if their rights were the one’s up for debate. They usually don’t think about that because many people who are bigoted or intolerant will be part of a majority group or a group in power/privilege, so they are not used to their personal choices and lives being scrutinized, judged, and legislated on. I think if people exercised more empathy for people who belong to groups other than their own, intolerance would be greatly reduced. This photo shows how shocking and even disturbing it is when you really consider someone’s basic human rights are really being up to debate and vote in many countries. People of the LGBTQ community have been treated as second class citizens for a long time and this is yet another example of how they have to face issues that straight people don’t have to worry about.

This photo was taken at protests in Boston in 2006 by Sushiesque.

Source: http://creativetimereports.org/2012/11/05/hardcore-discrimination-lgbt-rights-and-the-election/

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[Haleigh Powell]

This photo was taken in NYC during a protest against the Trump administration’s immigration policies and the rise in ICE raids on undocumented immigrants. The most recent raids before this 2017 protest ended with 600 undocumented people being arrested across 11 states. The sign being held in the photo reads “Fight Ignorance, not Immigrants”. I think the message of this sign is that the ignorance and racist sentiments rising every day in the U.S. are what we should be more concerned about, as that is what is a more imminent threat to our safety and democracy. I think it also brings up that there are more pressing issues regarding ignorance in America already that we should be directing our fight against, as opposed to people who are trying to better their lives. Americans tend to focus their fear and aggression on outside, foreign entities because it is easier and more comfortable than addressing very prominent domestic issues.

 

This photo was taken on February 11th, 2017 in New York City by Stephanie Keith

Source: https://www.thenation.com/article/ice-has-arrested-600-undocumented-immigrants-in-the-last-week/

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[Haleigh Powell]

I chose this photo because although it is a comic and meant to be sarcastic, I feel that it really highlights the hypocrisy that a lot of Americans perpetrate when it comes to illegal immigration. Many people that are extremely against immigration, do not seem to give credence to the fact that their ancestors did the same thing. They will call people coming from South America and Mexico criminals and invaders, but do not look at their own ancestral immigration here as criminal or an invasion. They say that these illegal immigrants aren’t learning to speak English and are not making efforts to assimilate with the culture that exists here, yet their ancestors did  not assimilate with native culture when they came here, they eradicated it. Most people who are very outspoken against illegal immigration view their ancestor’s emigration as a noble plight to escape persecution. It is seen as heroic and legendary, yet they do not apply the same feelings towards people immigrating from South America or other non-white nations. In my opinion, it boils down to whether the people immigrating are white or not; if they are white it is heroic and noble and they need to be saved, if they are not white they are criminal, subversive invaders who are out to destroy the American way of life. I think many people would be much less criminalizing of people who immigrate illegally if they applied the same empathy they feel towards their own ancestor’s immigration stories. If they could empathize with how their ancestors would feel arriving on Plymouth Rock, hopeful for safety and a new future, only to have natives building a wall to keep them out, I think they would be much more understanding and sympathetic to their plight.

 

This photo comes from “Transcend Media Service” and is titled

“Wall Solution” by Jeff Parker

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[Haleigh Powell]

WARNING: may be offensive to some, proceed with caution

 

I chose this photo because I felt that it really encapsulates the strong anti-Islamic sentiments that were heavily intensified and solidified after 9/11. This event really showed how the actions of a few radical people really became the representatives for an entire religion of people as a whole. The sign this man is holding shows that he clearly does not hold nuanced opinions about Muslim people, and is instead allowing what terrorists did to represent everyone who shared a similar religion with them or came from a similar part of the world. I personally have many Muslim friends who are kind, gentle people who wouldn’t hurt a fly, but I know they are still seen as being “one of those” by people like the man holding the sign. In elementary school I remember a Muslim girl being called a terrorist playfully by kids on the playground, and this was a normalized thing in post 9/11 America. I think after 9/11, it was very normalized to have extreme prejudice against all Muslim people, or even Arab people in general. This stems from the fear people had after such a devastating event, but they falsely attribute the actions of a few violent radicals to an entire group of normal people. I think this stems from racist, previously held anti-Arab feelings, because if a white, Christian commits an act of terrorism, no one attributes it to their entire race or religion.

This photo was taken from a Washington State University website article, I could not find the date or original photographer, but here is the link to the article where it was found:

Islamophobia: The Stereotyping and Prejudice Towards Muslims Since 9/11

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[Haleigh Powell]

I chose this photo as it directly relates to the time period during WW2 where Japaese-Americans were imprisoned in internment camps following an executive order in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attack. This photo shows school children at an elementary school in San Francisco, showing national pride while the Japanese-American children and their families were systematically being sent to internment camps. It is really sad that even though these people saw themselves as Americans, and were Americans, they were still seen as “other” and “foreign” by the rest of the country. This relates to a point that was broiught up in discussion about how Asian-Americans are perpetually seen as foreign, despite being born here, speaking english, and being second or even third generation Americans. It is moving that even while their goverrnment was turning its back on them, they were still showing love and pride for their country, as they were being portrayed as subversive foreigners because of their racial backgrounds.

This photo was taken by Dorothea Lange in 1942 San Francisco.
<h3 class=”iw”><span class=”qu” tabindex=”-1″ role=”gridcell”><span class=”gD” data-hovercard-id=”do-not-reply@ucsd.edu” data-hovercard-owner-id=”22″>https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2017/02/08/blogs/rarely-seen-photos-of-japanese-internment.html</span></span></h3&gt;

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[Haleigh Powell]

I chose this photo because it encapsulates the stronger stances African Americans were taking against segregation and the oppression they were facing. Malcolm X’s famous “Bullet or the Ballot” speech inspired many African American’s to take their rights and their power into their own hands. They were done trying to convince white people of their equality, done trying to ask them nicely to treat them as equals, and were ready to use force if need to be to secure their rights and protect themselves from violence that was being inflicted upon them. James Baldwin touched on a similar idea in his letter to his nephew, when he said that it is important for African Americans to stop believing what white people said about them because that would be their downfall. He said that they needed to stop wanting white people’s acceptance, but that white people should need their acceptance. Both of these figures touted more separatist views and believed that black people needed to take their own power back and take their lives into their own hands. This photo represents African Americans standing up for themselves against the oppressive government and not being afraid to fight for their rights.

Source: http://www.newseum.org/2017/02/03/newseum-opens-1967-civil-rights-at-50-today/

Newseum “1967: Civil Rights at 50”

July 14th, 1967 Protest in Newark, New Jersey

• This reply was modified 6 years, 2 months ago by Haleigh Powell. Reason: forgot to include source

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