Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Paul Filatov
Professor Meanhardt
English 1050
August 2, 2018
Diversity, the state of being different. There is a lot of different diversities and the
most popular ones are race, ethnicity, class, and gender. Each specific idea has their own
problems and issues, but I will focus on ethnicity. By exploring and understanding the
issues that come with ethnic diversity, it will show us that those issues to this day still
treat others wrong and different because of their ethnic background. I believe in that
statement and have personal experience of how my Russian ethnic background has made
my life harder at times. I will back up my thoughts and views by other sources that also
share how diversity has played a role in their lives and the issues it brought with it.
Ethnicity is the shared cultural practices, perspectives, and distinctions that set
apart one group of people from another. In my case it is Russian, both my parents are
Russian, and all my practices and perspectives came from a Russian background.
Growing up in America was hard because I was growing up with two different cultures at
the same time. School and friends had an America influence, while home and church
were Russian influence. Making me experience issues with ethnicity because I wasn’t
like the other kids. I was Russian, not American, making me different and treated
differently. Something major I faced was the fact that kids knew I was different and
treated me like I was special or needed assistance with small things. Being harassed on
and never picked for the teams because others were dodging me. They viewed me as
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lower than them since I was an immigrant. Making my elementary days awful and hard to
get through.
The Russian language was my first language I really learned. English was second,
which was an issue while growing up and learning it at the same time. Gloria Anzaldua
shares her story about how she being a young Spanish girl being in school. “I remember
being caught speaking Spanish at recess – that was good for three licks on the knuckles
remember being sent to the comer of the classroom for "talking back" to the Anglo
teacher when all I was trying to do was tell her how to pronounce my name.” (Anzaldua)
My issue wasn’t that serious, but I remember when kids would laugh at me when I was
trying to pronounce a word or even just talk English because I couldn’t. Having that
Another issue I face was home lunches in the cafeteria. I remember days when I
would run home crying during lunch breaks. My mom made homemade food for me to
take to lunch at school and the other kids would laugh at my food and call it “garbage”
and “You’re a pig.” It’s in our ethnic background to eat homemade, and it was normal for
me, not the other kids. I didn’t really know any other food than homemade meals. Which
got me name called and laugh at because I was eating my ethnic food, which is delicious
trust me. I never regret any meals my mom made though, she is the best cook ever. I like
the reading by Amy S. Choi in her paper “What Americans can learn from other food
cultures” it shared a lot of info how food is as an identity and survival. I was taught from
young age to respect all foods because it is means of survival. My parents shared stories
where they went weeks with minimal foods and they were grateful for any food they
could get their hands on. Teaching my that food is survival and it’s the identity of who
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you are. Here in America many kids don’t know what its like to want food and not get
any. They have so much options of what to eat and whenever they want. They don’t
realize what other kids and families had to go through to get their food and eat their
ethnic food. Another source that shares a good paint to back me up is “Don’t Blame the
Eater” by David Zinczenko. He shows the issue how fast food places have change the
society and made the expectation that we have all the food that we want and whenever we
want. Saying that we can even blame the companies for feeding us to much, making us
Taking a slightly different view and going to some facts and away from my
personal life. Something we had to read and share about was slum tourism. Something
that is defiantly an issue we have in other countries and can relate to even places here in
Utah. It’s the act of visiting impoverished areas, taking pictures and learning about how
hard their life is. Kennedy Odede shares the issue about slum tourism in his paper
“Slumdog Tourism.” He explains what it is and shares the issue and I agree with him.
Even here in Utah we have some spots where you can drive by and just see how awful the
conditions are people in. Instead of looking at it and not doing anything about it, we need
to help them out. A quote by my fellow classmate Michelle Preston “I am torn, because I
do feel like my own experience has made me better understand the situations that exist
out of my own comforts, and has made me more anxious to help the people living in
those situations.” (Michelle) I really like how she also see the issue we have with the
Ethnic diversity is seen in our society today and its an issue. People are treated
differently because their background is not the same as others. The issue where your
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made fun of because you can’t speak the “only” language here in America, which is
English. The diversity in the different food cultures and how something simple as an
ethnic homemade lunch can cause tears in a little boy’s eyes. Seeing others suffer
because they can’t live like you. All of these are serious issues and they will continue to
be an issue if we don’t do nothing about it. John Bonner said in “Will You Join Me?” a
quote that really sums up a conclusion, “I think all the time about that 5-year-old boy
lying alone on the pavement, looking up at a stark blue sky. I imagine someone reaching
out their hand to him, lifting him up, holding him close. I imagine it being your hand, and
mine. Will you join me?” (Bonner) Join John and I in helping others who need help with
these issues. To put a stop to discrimination and harassment. We together can stop these
issues.
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Works Cited
Choi, Amy. “What Americans can learn from other food cultures” Dec 18, 2014