Horizon

How happy is that bright sunshine!
Does the sunshine ever make you shiver?
Hmm?
All that is sad is not greyness,
Greyness, by all accounts, is common.
A greyness is all seen. a greyness is surrounding,
Greyness is public, however.
How enlightened is the horizon.
They lead us to the future of our time.
Past the greyness and at the end of our sunshine.

We’ve re-defined what abnormal really means.

Jasmin Navarrete is an undergraduate student at UCI studying Psychological Sciences. She has lived in Santa Ana, California her entire life, is the oldest of three siblings, and is a first-generation college student. She is a big fan of baseball and enjoyed attending games prior to the pandemic. As part of her project, Jasmin reflected on major events that took place in January 2021.

“Four Wednesdays in January”

We all had great expectations about what 2021 was going to be like. The calendar change, but the world remained the same. With everything that 2020 had for us, we didn’t think 2021 would start off so chaotically.

January 6th started off as a protest and quickly divulged into chaos. A riot was planned and as the crowd grew more agitated, we witnessed the storming of our capitol. A domestic terrorism attack brought about by a group of White supremist who had the intention to hurt, and in some cases kill, dozens of political figures within the walls of the capitol that day. Among those who were targets for violence were US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) and Vice President Mike Pence. The act of violence seemed to be spurred on by the President at the time, who felt that the actions of the people would knock some sense into the government or scared them enough to keep him in power. A man who believed the election had been stolen by his rival led people to breach the capitol, which had not occurred since 1812 when the British Army marched into the Capitol building and burned it down to the ground.

Inauguration day. January 20th, 2021. The morning was started with President Trump doing what very few Presidents have done before, leaving the White House before inauguration and choosing not to hand over the presidency in an amiable exchange. That morning, we welcomed President #46, Joseph R. Biden. On top of that, we welcomed the first female Vice President of the United States of America: Kamala Harris. A memorable moment that will live in history as we witnessed the first female Vice President take office. This job had previously only been held by white men. She is a woman of color from Black and southeast Asian dissent. She broke the glass ceiling and sparked inspiration for young girls across the entire country. Twitter was flooded with images of parents with their young daughters of all ages and races observing as Kamala Harris was sworn in that morning. The sky became the limit for girls and women in the US when she took the oath to serve our country as VP.

Amidst a global pandemic where we’ve had chart topping numbers of people contracting and dying from COVID-19 just in the month prior, the world progresses in a fog. Part of us is still stuck in March of 2020, waiting for all of this to “blow over” so that we may return to our “normal, everyday lives.” That, however, probably won’t happen. It’s been well over a year since the world entered a lockdown and we have learned to embrace these strange happenings as just another event, as if they didn’t carry any significance for us down the line. The oddities are extensive, but we take them in as a part of everyday life. These are now just things that we take into account as everyday occurrences. It no longer shocks us. It’s become part of the new norm. We’ve re-defined what abnormal really means. All of these big things are happening in the world, but we’re learning to scroll right past them as if they were just another part of our feed and not the platform itself.

As the pandemic brought about new stressors and unprecedented circumstances, the fight for social and racial justice proved to be that much harder.

Matthew Johnson is a UCI senior majoring in Criminology, Law, and Society. He reflected on “Let’s get to the root of racial injustice,” a TEDx Talk by Megan Ming Francis, a political science professor from University of Washington. This TEDx Talk was part of our internship site’s Background on Social Justice Module, offered in Week #6 of Spring 2021.

For this reflection, I wanted to take the time to dive into the TED Talk with Megan Ming Francis. Not only is she an incredible speaker, but also someone who is speaking from first hand experience. I wanted to reflect on my own thoughts because I found her discussion of racial injustice to be absolutely incredible. It’s hard to even think of the appropriate word to describe her talk because honestly, the issues she discussed did not surprise me. In our day and time, racial injustice is well known and progressive efforts are being made to fight it. Instead, her talk brought to light how we all have a part in maintaining the racial inequalities we all see. The first part of the discussion that really resonated with me was her brother’s experience with law enforcement in North Philly. Although the blatant police brutality did not surprise me, hearing about it enraged me knowing that this was not an isolated incident. Just like Megan Ming Francis was saying, it is infuriating knowing that we can’t control these sorts of incidents. When I hear about these incidents on the news or from first hand accounts, it makes me upset knowing that this would more than likely never happen to me being a white male. Moving onto her experience with the TSA agent, I was reminded of the blatant racism I witnessed in my travels. When returning from a vacation in Mexico, a couple friends and I had to walk through TSA to enter back into the United States. Upon entering the checkpoint, my Latino friend was separated from my white friend and I while the TSA agents checked our passports. My white friend and I essentially walked right through without question while my Latino friend was questioned for far longer. Although not nearly the same situation as Megan, there is clear evidence of racial injustice. In order to combat this blatant racial injustice, it’s going to take all of us to stop stereotyping racial groups, especially African Amerians, as the “other” or as dangerous. After watching this TED Talk, I really began to reflect on what I’m doing wrong or what I can do more to eliminate these root causes of racial injustice. I would say most people are aware of these injustices, but there’s not enough of us doing our part to fight them. However, with that said, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t made it easy. As the pandemic brought about new stressors and unprecedented circumstances, the fight for social and racial justice proved to be that much harder. As most of us witness these events and protests on the news or through social media, it almost feels as if it’s “normal”. For me, this feeling is alarming because it shouldn’t feel normal. I shouldn’t be witnessing police brutality or racial inequality as often as I do. We know what the problem is, we just need to take action.

I just want the misinformation and blaming of specific races and minorities to stop because it doesn’t amount to anything, it amounts to hate and stigmatization of people who, at the end of the day, are all human.

In her reflection, Catherine expressed fear for the safety of herself and her family, due to how Asians have been blamed for the COVID-19 pandemic. She wants to support small businesses, such as the nail salon her mom works at, to fight back against injustice.

There has been a lot on mind after witnessing the increasing amount of news reports on Asian hate crimes and targeted attacks. Reading articles and watching videos of such unwarranted attacks, especially on those most vulnerable and helpless like the elderly makes me as angry as I am scared. I am scared at what this COVID-19 pandemic has portrayed a race that I am a part of, to be the sole problem and target for racism and blame and hate. Scrolling through my Instagram explore page, I can see countless posts promoting the phrase “STOP APPI HATE” and what people are doing to spread the word, generate support, and raise awareness of the issues against Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. From posts on my friend’s story to public outcry in regards to better safety and treatment for Asian communities that do not deserve this treatment and this amount of fear for their safety. The current state of our social climate in relation to social justice issues for Asian people has made me worry a lot more, especially for my mom who goes to work as a nail technician at her own nail salon. I just want the misinformation and blaming of specific races and minorities to stop because it doesn’t amount to anything, it amounts to hate and stigmatization of people who, at the end of the day, are all human.

To live day by day in the pandemic, seeing an increase in discrimination and social stigmatization towards racial groups and minorities allows me to understand why it has affected the way people treat and behave towards them due to fear and anxiety. By labeling the virus as originating from a certain Asian country or spreading misinformation that has led to increased hostility and distrust towards certain groups and communities has made it difficult. As a Vietnamese nail technician, my mom and many others in the same profession were indirectly blamed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom for the spread of the virus in a nail salon and has raised fear and concern amongst the Vietnamese Americans which own and operate roughly 80% of the nail salons in California. To see the occupation that my mother has worked so hard to do to provide for our family be criticized for working during such unfortunate times made me want to support small businesses like nail salons to try to fight back against the discrimination and prejudice. I hope these social justice issues can resolve peacefully because the hate is becoming more and more like the virus we are all trying to fight back and heal from.

Catherine Pham is a 4th year Psychological Science major at UCI. She received her associate’s degree at Pasadena Community College before transferring to UCI. She is focused on child psychology and child development and plans to pursue a career within that field after earning her Master’s.

My Home Was A Hiding Place

My home was a hiding place.
Inside its rooms, I worried about my hopes and fears.
Under its covers, I pondered questions I felt afraid to accept.
Within its walls, I reminisced for a better tomorrow.
My home was a hiding place.
It built a wall between the outside world and me.
It built a wall between my friends and family.
It built experiences I may never have again.
It built words I may never speak again.
My home was a hiding place.
My home was a shelter.
My home was a prison.
My home never stopped moving forward.
Oh, it stopped to listen.
Oh, it stopped to see.
Oh, it stopped to laugh.
Ah, of course, it stopped to cry.
My home was a hiding place.
In the dark, the television would murmur.
In the light, the noises outside would heighten.
In the morning, I bid my family “Goodbye.”
And in the night, I showered them with “I love you’s.”
My home was a hiding place.
Inside my room, I was kept tucked away.
Concealed from prying eyes and with games at my fingertips.
Stories were read and secrets were kept.
Eyes were wide open and in a fit I slept.
My home was a hiding place.
It was one of the many still waiting.
In a few months, its fate will also be decided.
There are homes who experienced the freedom they wished for.
But its fate will be decided.
My home was a hiding place.
With nowhere to run and hide.
For the girl too afraid to meet outside.
All her friends of who she wanted to see.
My home was a safe place to dream.
My home was a hiding place.
When the vaccine was administered, it was filled with worry.
As I dreamt of a better tomorrow, my body swelled with heat.
I slept, I slept, I slept.
When will it all end?
My home was a hiding place.
It protected against the violence and hate.
But it never taught me how to get rid of the worries.
I wish I could shout the words I never got to say.
Maybe through this poem I could.
My home was a hiding place.
For an end to this pandemic, it yearns and seeks.
For a better future, I study and graduate.
As I dreamt of a better tomorrow, my body swelled with heat.
I slept, I slept, I slept.