9500 Liberty is a powerful movie that drew much emotion from me as I watched the film. Here was a town that had so much hatred towards one specific minority group, Latinos, so they passed a rule to expel them from the town. As I sat there watching the movie, I felt myself start hating these white people whom where causing the suppression upon the Latino group. When DB and I began discussing the film, I told him how I felt ashamed that I myself was white. The white people created and enslave thousands of African slaves and now here we are again suppressing a minority group. How can people be so hatful towards human beings? Here are people who just want to make a living and support for their families. They were not here committing crimes and driving drunk as some of the people in the film complained about. At least not anymore than the white people were doing. How can people so deliberately excuse the crimes of their own race, while blaming the Latinos for committing such crimes?
As I watched the 9500 Liberty and discussed the problems going on throughout the film, I began thinking about the language barrier. Many white Americans complained about Latinos not knowing English. In many countries there are two main languages. Our sister to the north, Canada shares two dominant languages, English and French. They are not bitter about this issue; instead they embrace it and have students learn French in school. Why can’t Americans be this open to another language? As we discussed further in class, we saw the older generation having the majority of issues with Latinos. The younger generation was not experiencing the same issues. Even though this may be a morbid thought I’m going to ask it anyway. As the older generation dies off and we become the grandparents, do you think America will have a different view on Latinos and immigration issues? My thinking is yes because the younger generation has grown up with Latinos and has also learned Spanish in school. Our grandparents maybe scared of change, but this is a change that we have been experiencing throughout our life.
Jess, i do agree that once the older generation is no longer with us, the world is going to change. I was discussing this exact topic with Stan after the movie. Young people today have a much more...inviting attitude towards change. Once our generation comes into power, I think that there will be a huge shift in the politics and makeup of our country. I'm not saying all of the older generation is bad. There are quite a few people I know who are on up in their years, and they have the same views as I do.
ReplyDeleteAnd, once again I agree with you. When I was watching the movie, I began to really dislike the white people. Especially the council and Greg Letiecq. They were, by far, the "villians" of the movie, so to speak. I felt myself judging them harshly, and I would often look at the person sitting next to me and we would exchange looks that said, "What the Hell?" The worst moment for me was when Greg was discussing the council, and saying that the council was the will of God. Once someone begins to use religion as the basis for hatred and other forms of prejudice, I tend to completely disagree with them, no matter what they say.
I agree that the view the United States has toward immigration is greatly influenced by older people who feel threatened by new change. Change can be hard if a person has been living with a specific lifestyle and beliefs their entire life. I also believe, though, that there are many older adults who are embracing the changing make-up of the population of the U.S. As was seen in "9500 Liberty," there were also many elder adults who were against the “probable cause” section of the new legislation, such as the woman who would go everyday to speak at the open mic session with her child (I can’t remember her name). Immigration, then, is an issue that needs to be taught and learned by both adults and children.
ReplyDeleteJessica, once you've been powerfully moved by an issue and find yourself strongly on one side, it's always a good idea to try and understand what motivates those with whom you disagree. The film did portray a lot of older white people spouting prejudices that were so ridiculous--"illegals caused 9/11"--that it is easy to roll the eyes. It makes it appear that a change in generations will make a difference, but that's partly because the filmmakers chose to tell the story in this way. I know many older people in Goshen, for instance, who are educated and aware, and who regularly write letters advocating tolerance in the Goshen News. The most important thing is to make sure that others in your own generation, those who will be your peers running the country soon, are also educated about the issues. Learning about the issues takes much more of a commitment than venting one's anger!
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