Week 14 Reflection: A War with Vietnam

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When I always learn about the Vietnam War, I tend to imagine this scene in Forrest Gump

  This week reflection is about the Vietnam War and Americans input on it. The Vietnam war first started because of Communism, Americans did not like Communism so they fought for Communism in North Vietnam so it can go away. This war is considered the longest war in US History, going from the year 1955 to 1975. This war had many traps, and tactics along with new productions coming from both countries. The Vietnam War resulted in the US losing 58,000 soldier lives and 350,000 casualties while the Vietnamese lose between one and two million deaths (including non-soldiers).

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A Monk on fire during Vietnam Protest against Communism

  Back in high school, while learning about the monks setting themselves on fire as a way to protest I was first horrified with the pictures but now I get their point. Now not to sound crazy, but what we have to realize is that protests can go to the extreme just to cause worldwide awareness. The monks were setting themselves on fire because of the Communism, it was to free themselves from other people control. The monks also sacrificed themselves to help others.  

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Anti-War and Draft Protest 

  Now talking about the protests for soldiers not to fight in the war is very controversial, even till this day. I didn't like how soon as a boy had turned 18 they could easily get drafted. Some would who were drafted would go to college, become (or act) homosexual, and even escape to Canada just so they won't go to war. When I think about the young men escaping to Canada, it made me think about the movie "Girl Interrupted," (which is a good movie I recommend to watch). Although the times were sad for these young men to be force into War and Americans protested for them, you would have to think about the reason why not fighting made modern Americans mad. Doing the American traditions, of doing what your elders say and fighting for your country instead of backing out, had made the older Americans, especially Veterans look at drafters in disappointment. I feel bad for the many soldier who died fighting in the Vietnam War which was a war most didn't want to fight in to begin with. Including the innocent Vietnamese people, even kids, that were killed by soldiers who could still be living with PTSD till this day. Soldiers come back to America remembering all the events that took place in Vietnam, many injured and not respected when coming back to America. Although this lesson was short I had a lot of passion for the soldiers, the ones who had enough courage to fight in war and the ones who had enough courage to get away from fighting.

Week 13 Reflection: The Black Freedmom Movement: 1960's History Repeats Itself

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Picture of SNCC Sit In, from "Eyes On The Prize" Documentary.

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Claudette Colvin Then and Now Picture.

     

     This weeks blog really gave me more insight to the freedom movement that was happening in the 60's. One thing I didn't like about one of the protests in the 60's was Rosa Parks being the headline for the Montgomery Boycott. Don't get me wrong, she did a courageous act but there was another women before her that did the same thing. The women before Rosa, name is Claudette Colvin. She had sat in a white passenger seat but didn't get up. Her story went unnoticed because she was an unwed pregnant lady. The NAACP thought it would be trouble and bad media attention because of her pregnancy. Her case was found guilty, she lost her job and future jobs, and she went unnoticed by the civil rights movement.
   I never thought I would see live footage like I have in the documentary, "Eyes On The Prize". This documentary talked about the Birmingham Children's Campaign and March on Washington. Both of these marches was to stand up for black people and make a voice be heard by all the injustice. I really found that there was great courage in the kids in the Birmingham Children Campaign. Seeing how the boys and girls were being abused and some blown away by waterholes made me angry. Just imagine kids that are petite and not as strong as adults, being beaten, arrested, attacked by dogs, and having big force of water charged at them by Firefighters and Police Men (the countries protectors). I also heard about the March on Washington but seeing more footage of how the black people were so happy really made me happy. I was happy that they were being heard and I saw peace within people eyes. March on Washington and the Birmingham Children Campaign carried dignity and made National Attention. Martin Luther King even became more known since his arrest in the Birmingham Children Campaign. One other thing that angered me was after the victory of these marches, the Church in Birmingham was bombed leaving four your girls dead. I always get sad when I hear this story. Black people didn't have a lot of voice back then, and when they finally got a chance to speak they were threaten and even tortured.

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Stockley Charmicael

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A picture from the "Eyes On The Prize" Documentary.

Carmichael and Hamilton and the SNCC
Every time I learn more about the SNCC, I wish I could go back in time to be in the group. Yes it was dangerous but it was powerful. I remember doing a sit in at my high school, there was a lot of racial tension so me and other black people made BLM posters and sat during 2 hours while the students were watching, some were upset us. This sit in even made my city news but in a negative way (they said we were making high schoolers scared and "threatened") I was proud that day. The SNCC wasn't really violent, they did sit ins and other protests that sparked violence within the white communities.  Many people (black and white) didn't like the Black Power movement, they didn't like their Militant ways. The Civil Rights said the Black Power movement was too aggressive and would not get heard because of being this way. The Black Power movement was more with Malcom X than MLK. They felt MLK was "kissing" up to the white people and that equal rights didn't equal the same opportunities for blacks. Malcom X was the way for the black power movement, a demand to be heard and loved for being black. While reading the document of Carmichael and Hamilton, I really like the quote, "'Integration' is a subterfuge for the maintenance of white supremacy." I like this quote because I agree, African-Americans feel that in order to be appreciated and even considered human, we have to conform to white society, that is white supremacy all in itself. Although I love the civil rights and preach peaceful protest, I also agree with Black Power. Sometimes it takes anger and rage to let someone know that you are not playing, that the cause you are fighting for has to be heard. 

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An Illustration between what America preach (Freedom) versus what Americans do (Oppress)

Mexican Americans

I first want to say that time truly does repeat itself. I actually talked about this part of the lesson with my younger sister and she had brought up a valuable point. She said, "It seems like every time a group of people come in to the US, they help build the country but is taking for granted once the US got what they needed." African-Americans, Asians, Africans, Hispanics, and so on. America really can't appreciate the value within other countries and cultures wanting to help them out. It disturbes me how Mexican Americans have to fight for citizenship and rights when they had help make this country into America as well. 
With African Americans fighting for civil rights being compared to Women, Mexican-Americans, Native-Americans, LTBQ, and Environmentalist fighting for Civil Rights, it is common when we are put under strict conditions in order to be heard and get justice. We are criticized and often crucified by the majority and superiority. The contrast of it all is, since each cause being fought for are deal with different types of rights, we can sometimes over look each cause and even be ignorant to everything else around us. What we need to all realize is that we are fighting for equal rights as a Human Race!

       

Week 12 Reflection: The Continous Growth of the 1950s.

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This picture is from the film "Edward Scissors hand." This neighborhood reminds me of what I learned this week about the suburbs. 

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A picture of how White families moved from the inner cities to the Suburbs

While reading this weeks reflection I have a lot more about the creation of suburbia. This reading of how the suburbs and even Levittown had become create reminded me of Edward Scissors hand (if you've ever watch the movie) neighborhood. The suburbs creation, along with the interstate highway system really sparked a lot of change in America. A lot of middle class families moved from the city to start a brand new life in a new environment. Although the government had to pay a lot and taxes raised to aid in these expansions, middle class Americans were glad to have a place of their own. Americans had became consumer republics, depending on race, family, and income. The rise of the sunbelt even continues today, especially in the west. The west, Midwest, and south had became so popular to move to. The government aided in all of these regions of the country. The south, which was once the poorest region of the country, was now expanding and growing. The government had made sure to aid in the growth. Since the automobile was the main foundation of American family, Eisenhower had made interstate highways more available. Trains and buses were not being used and the rise of traveling with cars had came about. Even shopping centers were being built. It is crazy to me how after the great depression and WWII, America had became successful again. 

Speaking of the success of Americans, African-Americans were still left in the shadow. The suburbs were mostly filled with white families while leaving the city for African-Americans. The government aid was even for white and middle class families rather than blacks. African-Americans had made their own suburbs but it wasn't given the proper aid from the government as the other suburbia neighborhoods was. I felt saddened by how long African Americans endure injustice, especially since we are still going through it. For example, the reading of Blockbusting real estate bothered me. Knowing that the fear of blacks and other minorities can move in can make housing properties change their prices  makes me mad at real estate. It was sad how African-Americans migrated to north for a better change but still being mistreated and mislead. Now the suburbs was the better change but since it benefited whites, African Americans were still being placed at the back of the justice line. 

Week 11 Reflection: Americans of WWII

 

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Picture of WWII

   After reading and watching this week’s sources I had tend to notice more corruption within the United States. Knowing that the United States had become involve in WWII even when Americans didn't want them to, showed the stubbornness of the government. The benefit of war was the ending of the great depression, ending the decrease of labor jobs and changing prices. Women also had more job opportunities, although temporary work, because of the men being in war. WWII killed many people, outside the United States. Not only was the death rate high, WWII also raised the United States expenses because of these death rates. The loss of innocent people homes and families really made me feel bad especially with the Hiroshima bombing event. People in American were fearful that they themselves with get bombed. Schools had air raid drills.

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During WW2, Americans would invade Japanese Americans homes and stores because of the attack on Pearl Harbor. 

Talking about Japanese Americans, I felt really sorry for the non-spy Japanese Americans. Especially the ones that were born in the United States and had no connection to Japan. As well as the ones who escape Japan to join "the land of the free.” The pearl harbor attack was really bad and it made Americans scared and even generalize Japanese people as a whole. Japanese people were sent to concentration camps and had to endure harsh treatment from the outside world. I was saddened by the number of kids who were brought into these camps. Americans generalized a whole race because of fear and that's exactly what happened to the African-Americans, Hispanics, and Chinese. 

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Black soldiers during WWII.

Along with the discrimination and unfair treatment of Japanese Americans. African Americans were also still being mistreated. They were put in the front lines to fight in WWII. After watching the Negro Soldier I had seen how the black soldiers mindset was that the other countries was their enemies, when in reality they were living in their own country full of enemies. African-American soldiers were often the first to die in war and the most to die when being in America. I did see changing attitude of race toward the ending of the war. I saw more discrimination between races. I think this change happened because of the fear that one race (Asian, black, etc.) might take over the white (European) race.