Gentrification In El Barrio
Ashir Mirza
4/23/2012
LST 303 The class has broadened my thinking process quite a bit now since the beginning of class. The Oral presentation on gentrification in El barrio has changed my outlook on how communities in the united states are being manipulated to change because of the area they live in and how that area is in need of change but not for the betterment of the people that live in that community but for the investors and other people that are trying to move in to change the demographics of that community. These kind of communities are hurt the most because sometimes the property is valued more than the culture that is being asked to step aside. It is very hard for communities like El Barrio in Harlem and communities like Pilsen
in Chicago to keep their heritage and culture alive within the communities. The new system in El barrio are systems that implement the worst type of change in my eyes because they take away the communities voice and are inconsiderate to the community leaders and their judgments and ideals. The city thinks it has a better understanding of the area rather than the actual people that live in that community. The Edison project in El Barrio has affected the community in differently, the community leaders are upset because they have lost say in how the community will function and how the school system will run but on the other hand you have residents that are welcoming the Edison project with open arms because they feel as though this new way of education will help the new generation be able to fight in a global economy. This thought process needs to be accepted by all of the community for it to work to its fullest potential. There is not much compromise for community leaders to have a say in how the new schools will be operated. The out of classroom play that I went to was very eye opening for me. To see a women display her struggles as a transgendered women trying to make it through life was also very eye opening experience. We got to see about the stereotypes people tend to affiliate with border crossers that are Latinos but also are transgendered or even gay. Not everyone has the same struggles as a border crosser, within a border crossers identity there is much more that we must think of other than a person struggling to get a job. A lot of people in America look at border crossers especially the illegal ones as a person with no feelings or as second class citizens, but they never affiliate them with having other social problems as being gay. Within America we have many people that are born American citizens struggle with dogmatic views on marriage and freedom to choose who they desire to be with, these problems sometimes gets over looked in many communities because sometimes they aren't as important but we must start to look at how these things make a difference in a person's identity. In the play Becoming Joaquin, the character is displaying issues they face while changing from a lesbian women to a transgendered man. This transformation isn't the easiest to do for anyone that is either thought of doing it or has already done it themselves. In a society that still is not fine with same sex marriage and wants to deny people the right to be happy and freedom to do as they please as long as it doesn't hurt the government or their next door neighbor, should be allowed to do whatever they please. Janis the actor who played Joaquin did an excellent job get the point across that it isn't easy and people get lost in trying to figure out their own identity. Some people are so afraid of themselves and not being accepted by society that they suppress their true beings. These pressures of holding in a person's true identity stems from society and how it is looked down upon on those who go against the norm. It is particularly hard of ethnic border crossers to get accepted in a society that already have a dogmatic view of them from the first time they lay their eyes on them.
4/23/2012
LST 303 The class has broadened my thinking process quite a bit now since the beginning of class. The Oral presentation on gentrification in El barrio has changed my outlook on how communities in the united states are being manipulated to change because of the area they live in and how that area is in need of change but not for the betterment of the people that live in that community but for the investors and other people that are trying to move in to change the demographics of that community. These kind of communities are hurt the most because sometimes the property is valued more than the culture that is being asked to step aside. It is very hard for communities like El Barrio in Harlem and communities like Pilsen
in Chicago to keep their heritage and culture alive within the communities. The new system in El barrio are systems that implement the worst type of change in my eyes because they take away the communities voice and are inconsiderate to the community leaders and their judgments and ideals. The city thinks it has a better understanding of the area rather than the actual people that live in that community. The Edison project in El Barrio has affected the community in differently, the community leaders are upset because they have lost say in how the community will function and how the school system will run but on the other hand you have residents that are welcoming the Edison project with open arms because they feel as though this new way of education will help the new generation be able to fight in a global economy. This thought process needs to be accepted by all of the community for it to work to its fullest potential. There is not much compromise for community leaders to have a say in how the new schools will be operated. The out of classroom play that I went to was very eye opening for me. To see a women display her struggles as a transgendered women trying to make it through life was also very eye opening experience. We got to see about the stereotypes people tend to affiliate with border crossers that are Latinos but also are transgendered or even gay. Not everyone has the same struggles as a border crosser, within a border crossers identity there is much more that we must think of other than a person struggling to get a job. A lot of people in America look at border crossers especially the illegal ones as a person with no feelings or as second class citizens, but they never affiliate them with having other social problems as being gay. Within America we have many people that are born American citizens struggle with dogmatic views on marriage and freedom to choose who they desire to be with, these problems sometimes gets over looked in many communities because sometimes they aren't as important but we must start to look at how these things make a difference in a person's identity. In the play Becoming Joaquin, the character is displaying issues they face while changing from a lesbian women to a transgendered man. This transformation isn't the easiest to do for anyone that is either thought of doing it or has already done it themselves. In a society that still is not fine with same sex marriage and wants to deny people the right to be happy and freedom to do as they please as long as it doesn't hurt the government or their next door neighbor, should be allowed to do whatever they please. Janis the actor who played Joaquin did an excellent job get the point across that it isn't easy and people get lost in trying to figure out their own identity. Some people are so afraid of themselves and not being accepted by society that they suppress their true beings. These pressures of holding in a person's true identity stems from society and how it is looked down upon on those who go against the norm. It is particularly hard of ethnic border crossers to get accepted in a society that already have a dogmatic view of them from the first time they lay their eyes on them.