"Writing Through Snapshots"
Sydney Salloum
English 1102-062
This I Believe- "Equality Betweeen Differences"
When my dad first moved to the United States, he lived in Texas. He was young- just about 16- and still getting used to the southern ways. His English was fluent, and he dressed as normally any typical American would. Sure, he was a little darker toned, and his facial features showed that he was not really from around these parts, but other than that, you would not even notice him. Yet, some people did.
On a particular summer day, my dad sat at a restaurant by himself, looking as plain as anyone else. However, a group of men noticed his slight accent when talking to the waitress. They approached him, asking him in heavy southern slang, “Are you from Iraq? You one of them bomb boys? With explosive shit taped to your back? You don’t like America, boy?” Of course, my father did not know how to answer, so he just ignored the men.
Once the men left, my dad decided to leave as well. Just as he was about to approach the entrance, a waitress pulled him aside and told him that the men from before were waiting for him outside. They had knives, and had grown in number, wanting to dispose their country of a terrorist. The waitress had my dad leave through the employee door in the back, where he could avoid the men, and get home safely.
Instances like these were not uncommon for my dad, nor the rest of his Lebanese family. They’ve heard remarks, and have been asked rude questions. Many of my family members changed their last name from “Salloum” to “Salomon” thinking it would sound more American. Even in school, growing up, I’ve heard racist comments and questions.
When I was in 6th grade, a classmate asked me if my family was close to Al Qaeda and if “we had ever met him” I’ve been told that my family is wrong for “being Muslim” and “worshiping Allah”, even though, my family doesn’t follow these beliefs. Many people didn’t come to ask about my family, because they had already assumed. When I would try to explain why a statement they made was false, they would look at me like I was crazy. After all, I’m just a crazy Arab with a terrorist father, what do I know, anyway?
No one deserves to be treated differently, especially to be treated for something they cannot change. We as people, deserve to be respected and to respect all people. We as people, are individuals with various traits of diversity that brings us closer together. We as people, make up our world with different genders, religions, sexualities, races, beliefs, and ways of living. These different values do not make us any lesser of an individual, but rather, make us more unique. We as people, need to embrace that, rather than shame it.
There should be equal love and opportunity for everyone- this I believe.
Everyone deserves to be treated equally- this I believe.
People should be judged by who they are, not what they are- this I know.
Writing my “This I Believe” essay was somewhat stressful in the beginning. Since it did not require a certain structure or topic, I would often find myself in a rant. It was difficult for me to not get too carried away since the subject was so important to me. By the time I had a finished product, I was well over 800 words, where 500 was required. I had a hard time removing parts from my essay. Every part of it had meaning to me, and every sentence and story allowed me to put more emotion in to my belief. I was worried that by taking out the wrong parts, my essay would lose meaning and not deliver my message as I wanted it to. After getting feedback from my peers and my teacher, I was able to decide what parts were not needed as much, and which ones were most powerful. I ended up removing one of my stories that told about a friend that was bullied due to his sexuality. The final product of my essay was focused most on my dad and how he was treated because he was foreign. Although I felt that I wanted to put more into my essay, the feedback I received assured me that by the use of rhetoric devices, my essay already delivered a strong and powerful message of equality
My Process
Being made into a sex object is not the only problem female artists are facing.
Credit is not being given where it should. For many female successful female artists, the media did not focus on her achievements, but rather, how the man supporting her made it all happen. Lady Gaga’s ex-boyfriend, Fusari, claims that it was he “came up with the moniker “Lady Gaga,”” (Idolater) and therefore, her whole persona. Similar situations have happened with Adele and her manager Jonathan Dickens and Beyonce with Jay-Z.
Early April of 2013, “ indie darling” Solange Knowles tweeted: “I find it very disappointing when I am presented as the “face” of my music, or a “vocal muse” when I write or co-write every fucking song, How can one be a “vocal muse” to their own melodies, storytelling, and words they wrote?” (fact mag).
Yea, She's Good For a Girl
“Although Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, and Madonna are essential ingredients of our modern culture, women musicians have had a very difficult time breaking through and getting the credit they deserve.” -Abbey Phillips
Claire Boucher took to her tumblr to post “I’m tired of men who aren’t professional or even accomplished musicians continually offering to ‘help me out’ (without being asked), as if i did this by accident and i’m gonna flounder without them. or as if the fact that I’m a woman makes me incapable of using technology. I have never seen this kind of thing happen to any of my male peers,” she writes. “I’m tired of the weird insistence that i need a band or i need to work with outside producers (and I’m eternally grateful to the people who don’t do this).” (fact mag) "I don't want to be molested at shows or on the street by people who perceive me as an object that exists for their personal satisfaction, I'm sad that my desire to be treated as an equal and as a human being is interpreted as hatred of men, rather than a request to be included and respected." (huffington)
Both Knowles and Boucher were said to have not even written their own songs by the media. Female artists are not getting their due.