Privilege

I think it is important to know what is happening around the world right now
Do you know what's going on around the world right now?
Do you know what is happening right on your campus?
well as a UCSD student, the passed two weeks have been very critical and maybe even life changing
to be honest, i did not even know exactly what is going on
all i knew was there were "racial" problems toward African Americans and it never occurred to me that this might affect me
my point of view completely changed after attending a meeting tonight, organized by some professors and student orgs that create an opportunity to let people speak, let people talk about the problems and also allow them to ask questions about what has happened
at first i did not know what to expect
Jeff jokingly said, "maybe we'd have to go around in circle and introduce ourselves."
but i was relieved when i saw a bunch of people in the room
basically people talked about how asian americans should take this opportunity to speak out as well
we are taking the privilege of having so many of us here at ucsd for granted
imagine if you were in the position of those who got targeted
just because we are now at a more comfortable position it does not mean the racial problems are completely resolve
there are still other parts of the world where racism towards asian americans exist
what shock me was how i can completely relate to those who talked about their feelings
even those of the targeted ones
it hit me that i've actually been through the same problems before
i forgot about those late night sobs when i first came to America
it is bad enough that i did not understand anyone or had only a few friends
but on top of that, i happened to be targeted as a laughingstock
how could i ever forget the fear that i had to go to 5th period where i'd get bullied everyday?
how uncomfortable it is to feel unwelcome
put yourself in that position
what if there were only 1.2 % asians at ucsd
would you still feel the same way as you do right now?
would you even come here in the first place?
i believe most of the people are like me
when this meeting was first presented to me i thought to myself "i probably won't go, as long as i stay quiet i think i'll be fine"
but why be selfish?
do you feel that racism is okay now once you are not one of the victims?
treasure the privilege you have right now
racism is a global issue
don't you want to make the world a better place?
with the bad economy, global warming, and who knows what other problems are out there right now
wouldn't you feel better by contributing in things that will better the world?
wouldn't you want to make this world a better place for your own offspring?
think twice before you step away from the problem
pay attention to what is happening around you
because it might apply to you even though you are unaware of it