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OPINION
PARTY OF ONE
Is our diversity
simply an illusion?
Dlfc TO AN OVERSIGHT. THE FOL¬
LOWING ARiCLE WAS NOT RUN IN
ITS t^RFTYlh. THE OCT. 13 ISSUE OF
THE COLLEGIAN IT HAS BEEN EDITED
FC* TIMELINESS.
Once upon a time there was a
youngandgrowingnation.iVlany
people from other nations would
come to this nation to live. So the
social scholars of the nation la¬
beled the cultural phenomenon
there the "Great Melting Pot."
Today, the contents of the melt¬
ing pot are separating like oil and
water, sometimes like vinegar
and baking soda; the calalyst be¬
ing the concept of ethnicity.
In Amy Tan's speech to CSU,
Fresno a few weeks, she ad¬
dressed an issue that goes against
so many movements in society
today. She asked, "Why am I not
simply a writer? Why must I be
labeled a Chinese-American
writer?"
The fact is that if Tan one day
decided to write a novel about a
HispardcfariiilyUvingmArizcjna,
her works would notbe respected
quite nearly as much as would
anything she writes about the
Chinese-
!* American
commu¬
nity. Any
writer
would find
meseethnic
rules and stereotype^extiemely re¬
strictive.
This is the way we label things.
We feel that by smiling and calling
ourselves "diverse," we're expand¬
ing our horizons and becoming
more global
I support this move toward cul¬
tural understandings. Ifs a good
and healthy direction of growth for
a society. After spending years
working withforeign exchange stu¬
dents, and then being one myself, I
have a strong conviction that this is
the most direct way to bring about a
higher level of understanding
among the world's people.
I have also discovered how really
insignificant nationality and cultural
is. /-^v
Amy Tan's writing has a special
quality that has spoken to many
Americanreaders. SheusesherChi-^
nese heritage as a vise to make heT
By Rusty Robison
ideas into
stories that
are rich in
cultural de¬
tail.
This is
likeadding
marinara
sauce to
noodles to,
make spa-
ghetti.
Howmany
other cultures have noodles in their
cuisine?Heardofchowmein?How
about stroganoff?
The point is that any wonderful
global ideas that Amy Tan may
have are from her inherent sense as
a woman, not as a Chinese-Ameri¬
can.
Humanity is the only thing uni¬
versal about her, or any human
Her cultural background probably
played an important role in the de¬
velopment of her ideas, but it did
not create theirt. It gave them form,
rather than forming them.
In its essence, culture is simply
forms. All cultures have the same
human content. No one culture can
claim social pressure as their own
predicament, or love as their own,
unique experience. These are
shaped differently to the forms of
the culture in which they were de¬
veloped, but they're especially uni¬
versal, human ideas. Especially
in this area, we pride ourselves
on the ^reatdiversity of our com¬
munity . We put a lot of emphasis
on the special cultural groups as
they find their ethnic identity and
teach it to others. This is defi¬
nitely one of the great things about
living in Fresno.
But I fear that theseethnic iden¬
tity movements sometimes sepa¬
rate the contents of the melting
pot to an uncornfbrtable degree.
It puts labels and limitations
on talented artists such as Amy
Tan who have many wonderful
human ideas to share with all
cultures. As a protest against ra¬
cial stereotyping, they have form
stereotypecf categories of their
own.
In many ways, our diversity is
simply an illusion. We see the
many different forms that our
lives come in without recogniz¬
ing that the same human content
lays at its base. Our diversity is
only in our outward forms.
Ifsagreatopportunitythatwe
can leam and understand other
cultures. But we must remember
that the reason for learning is not
forunderstandingthedifferences,
but that those differences are not
terribly important The ultimate
thing that we are learning about
is about our own human nature.
Dear Editor,
My letter is once again ad¬
dressed to Marcus Tovar and
anyoneelsewhohas recently read
our exchange of opinions in The
CoUegian. It seems Tovar is more
concerned with our past—mine,
his, Wilson's and California's —
than the true issues behind Prop.
187. My first letter was intended
tp let Tovar know why the so-
called "Save Our State" initiative
is a giant step backward in this
supposedly advanced nation.
Tovar is now rebutting that
Wilson's ancestors came in a ves¬
sel and not a boat, that the US.
paid $15 million for California
and that undocumented immi¬
grants don't pay income taxes.
-LETTERS TO THE ED1TOR-
- ■
He goes on to question what it
would be like if California still
belonged to Mexico and many
other senseless arguments.
Who cares what methods of
transportation Wilson's ancestors
came in? Who cares if Tovar's
textbook says that California was
boughthytheUnitedStates?Who
cares what the state would be like
if it were still under Mexican con¬
trol? WhoWres if undocumented
immigran ts don' t pay as much in
taxes as tine rest of us do? Propo-,
sirion 187 doesn't deal with how
Wilson's ancestors or how Cali¬
fornia came to be a part of the
United States.
Proposition 187 exposes hun-
dreds of thousands of people —
citizensornot—to more dangers
WW,
and threats than those they al¬
ready face. That's the bottom line.
As far as Tovar's belief that it's
not possible for undocumented
immigrants to pay income taxes
since they don t have social secu¬
rity numbers from which the gov¬
ernment can extract taxes, he ir
this: the ingenuity of struggling
people can be amazing. Thou¬
sands of people have in their
power the ability to produce fake
social security cards and other
documents which enable them to
work. Their fake social security
numbers serve the same purpose
as those that belong to everyone
else — to pay taxes.
When the filing time comes
around, these people can't file an
income taxajleturn and get a re¬
fund since their papers are in¬
valid. The taxes they pay are kept
by the government It's safe to
say that many people (including
myself) would rather see these
people working to earn an hon-
See Letter. Page 8
subwto re a wwt-ron uwut.
EDITOR IN CHIEF
MAN AGING EDITOR
DlTOR
BCTa^EDlTOR
EDITOR
ENTERTAIN
1>R
advertisi fc i Onager
BUStNBSr.
PRODUCT!
STAFF
Angle, Chr
PahlaCrag
Maria Hug
LeahPerid
Smith,
Jacqueline
ST4UFF PHO
Tommy Mew
Jeff Si |h,
ler.
THE COLLEGIAN .
■PAGERS
Rditors
wri" Irs |ai
EDITOR
JMAGER
MCRISTINA MEDINA
OLIVIA REYES
STEPa»«LSH
BRYA fc i\'
ROBB BvH ER
JOEWBA'
RICHJ
BRAD»R IVTLSON
rusi mo Jon
edm(1e>|ey
LAUR
TaMSHDN ER
ulo Albuquerque, C
Brent Batty, Adam 1
Hard, Charlton Joi
Bnnings, Draeger
ince, Rusty Robison,
i Springer, Pete Stew
■lPHERS: Stcvr R. F
Nizami.
■XON
■ON
■D.
■z.
JR-
Ang, Casey
nis Claborn,
Chavez,
ott Milieu,
ith, George
fctte Thiessen,
■Cen Koller,
rtvtrfi Ma* ■COLLEGIAN at.
ta>*m*1*%l*>p***W*%.*T*ntmmtb
mi**mUam*aaaataa»mmU y—MWaStaaW. clmmn,um**x*r*e*a*W',i naa,it lift wain
atanaal to: KEATS CAMrUSEULDINC. MAILSTOf 42.CSUF1UlSNO.rUO*O.CX.Faraa-atajacal(»»)
&**¥/*. let la11 iniaJag caao taa, QW) TTt-Vi I. - (f*^
•PUBLISHED iYTHI ASSOCIATED STUDENTS.
Object Description
| Title | 1994_10 The Daily Collegian October 1994 |
| Alternative Title | Daily Collegian (California State University, Fresno) |
| Publisher | Associated Students of Fresno State, Fresno, Calif. |
| Publication Date | 1994 |
| Description | Daily (except weedends) during the school year. Microfilm. Palo Alto, Calif.: BMI Library Microfilms, 1986- microfilm reels; 35 mm. Vol.1, no.1 (Feb 8, 1922)- |
| Subject | California State University, Fresno -- Periodicals. |
| Contributors | Associated Students of Fresno State. |
| Coverage | Vol.1 no.1 (Feb 8, 1922)- to present |
| Format | Microfilm reels, 35 mm. |
| Technical Information | Scanned at 600 dpi; TIFF; Microfilm ScanPro 2000 "E-image data" |
| Language | eng |
Description
| Title | October 27, 1994, Page 2 |
| Alternative Title | Daily Collegian (California State University, Fresno) |
| Publisher | Associated Students of Fresno State, Fresno, Calif. |
| Publication Date | 1994 |
| Description | Daily (except weedends) during the school year. Microfilm. Palo Alto, Calif.: BMI Library Microfilms, 1986- microfilm reels; 35 mm. Vol.1, no.1 (Feb 8, 1922)- |
| Subject | California State University, Fresno -- Periodicals. |
| Contributors | Associated Students of Fresno State. |
| Coverage | Vol.1 no.1 (Feb 8, 1922)- to present |
| Format | Microfilm reels, 35 mm. |
| Technical Information | Scanned at 600 dpi; TIFF; Microfilm ScanPro 2000 "E-image data" |
| Language | eng |
| Full-Text-Search | OPINION PARTY OF ONE Is our diversity simply an illusion? Dlfc TO AN OVERSIGHT. THE FOL¬ LOWING ARiCLE WAS NOT RUN IN ITS t^RFTYlh. THE OCT. 13 ISSUE OF THE COLLEGIAN IT HAS BEEN EDITED FC* TIMELINESS. Once upon a time there was a youngandgrowingnation.iVlany people from other nations would come to this nation to live. So the social scholars of the nation la¬ beled the cultural phenomenon there the "Great Melting Pot." Today, the contents of the melt¬ ing pot are separating like oil and water, sometimes like vinegar and baking soda; the calalyst be¬ ing the concept of ethnicity. In Amy Tan's speech to CSU, Fresno a few weeks, she ad¬ dressed an issue that goes against so many movements in society today. She asked, "Why am I not simply a writer? Why must I be labeled a Chinese-American writer?" The fact is that if Tan one day decided to write a novel about a HispardcfariiilyUvingmArizcjna, her works would notbe respected quite nearly as much as would anything she writes about the Chinese- !* American commu¬ nity. Any writer would find meseethnic rules and stereotype^extiemely re¬ strictive. This is the way we label things. We feel that by smiling and calling ourselves "diverse," we're expand¬ ing our horizons and becoming more global I support this move toward cul¬ tural understandings. Ifs a good and healthy direction of growth for a society. After spending years working withforeign exchange stu¬ dents, and then being one myself, I have a strong conviction that this is the most direct way to bring about a higher level of understanding among the world's people. I have also discovered how really insignificant nationality and cultural is. /-^v Amy Tan's writing has a special quality that has spoken to many Americanreaders. SheusesherChi-^ nese heritage as a vise to make heT By Rusty Robison ideas into stories that are rich in cultural de¬ tail. This is likeadding marinara sauce to noodles to, make spa- ghetti. Howmany other cultures have noodles in their cuisine?Heardofchowmein?How about stroganoff? The point is that any wonderful global ideas that Amy Tan may have are from her inherent sense as a woman, not as a Chinese-Ameri¬ can. Humanity is the only thing uni¬ versal about her, or any human Her cultural background probably played an important role in the de¬ velopment of her ideas, but it did not create theirt. It gave them form, rather than forming them. In its essence, culture is simply forms. All cultures have the same human content. No one culture can claim social pressure as their own predicament, or love as their own, unique experience. These are shaped differently to the forms of the culture in which they were de¬ veloped, but they're especially uni¬ versal, human ideas. Especially in this area, we pride ourselves on the ^reatdiversity of our com¬ munity . We put a lot of emphasis on the special cultural groups as they find their ethnic identity and teach it to others. This is defi¬ nitely one of the great things about living in Fresno. But I fear that theseethnic iden¬ tity movements sometimes sepa¬ rate the contents of the melting pot to an uncornfbrtable degree. It puts labels and limitations on talented artists such as Amy Tan who have many wonderful human ideas to share with all cultures. As a protest against ra¬ cial stereotyping, they have form stereotypecf categories of their own. In many ways, our diversity is simply an illusion. We see the many different forms that our lives come in without recogniz¬ ing that the same human content lays at its base. Our diversity is only in our outward forms. Ifsagreatopportunitythatwe can leam and understand other cultures. But we must remember that the reason for learning is not forunderstandingthedifferences, but that those differences are not terribly important The ultimate thing that we are learning about is about our own human nature. Dear Editor, My letter is once again ad¬ dressed to Marcus Tovar and anyoneelsewhohas recently read our exchange of opinions in The CoUegian. It seems Tovar is more concerned with our past—mine, his, Wilson's and California's — than the true issues behind Prop. 187. My first letter was intended tp let Tovar know why the so- called "Save Our State" initiative is a giant step backward in this supposedly advanced nation. Tovar is now rebutting that Wilson's ancestors came in a ves¬ sel and not a boat, that the US. paid $15 million for California and that undocumented immi¬ grants don't pay income taxes. -LETTERS TO THE ED1TOR- - ■ He goes on to question what it would be like if California still belonged to Mexico and many other senseless arguments. Who cares what methods of transportation Wilson's ancestors came in? Who cares if Tovar's textbook says that California was boughthytheUnitedStates?Who cares what the state would be like if it were still under Mexican con¬ trol? WhoWres if undocumented immigran ts don' t pay as much in taxes as tine rest of us do? Propo-, sirion 187 doesn't deal with how Wilson's ancestors or how Cali¬ fornia came to be a part of the United States. Proposition 187 exposes hun- dreds of thousands of people — citizensornot—to more dangers WW, and threats than those they al¬ ready face. That's the bottom line. As far as Tovar's belief that it's not possible for undocumented immigrants to pay income taxes since they don t have social secu¬ rity numbers from which the gov¬ ernment can extract taxes, he ir this: the ingenuity of struggling people can be amazing. Thou¬ sands of people have in their power the ability to produce fake social security cards and other documents which enable them to work. Their fake social security numbers serve the same purpose as those that belong to everyone else — to pay taxes. When the filing time comes around, these people can't file an income taxajleturn and get a re¬ fund since their papers are in¬ valid. The taxes they pay are kept by the government It's safe to say that many people (including myself) would rather see these people working to earn an hon- See Letter. Page 8 subwto re a wwt-ron uwut. EDITOR IN CHIEF MAN AGING EDITOR DlTOR BCTa^EDlTOR EDITOR ENTERTAIN 1>R advertisi fc i Onager BUStNBSr. PRODUCT! STAFF Angle, Chr PahlaCrag Maria Hug LeahPerid Smith, Jacqueline ST4UFF PHO Tommy Mew Jeff Si |h, ler. THE COLLEGIAN . ■PAGERS Rditors wri" Irs |ai EDITOR JMAGER MCRISTINA MEDINA OLIVIA REYES STEPa»«LSH BRYA fc i\' ROBB BvH ER JOEWBA' RICHJ BRAD»R IVTLSON rusi mo Jon edm(1e>|ey LAUR TaMSHDN ER ulo Albuquerque, C Brent Batty, Adam 1 Hard, Charlton Joi Bnnings, Draeger ince, Rusty Robison, i Springer, Pete Stew ■lPHERS: Stcvr R. F Nizami. ■XON ■ON ■D. ■z. JR- Ang, Casey nis Claborn, Chavez, ott Milieu, ith, George fctte Thiessen, ■Cen Koller, rtvtrfi Ma* ■COLLEGIAN at. ta>*m*1*%l*>p***W*%.*T*ntmmtb mi**mUam*aaaataa»mmU y—MWaStaaW. clmmn,um**x*r*e*a*W',i naa,it lift wain atanaal to: KEATS CAMrUSEULDINC. MAILSTOf 42.CSUF1UlSNO.rUO*O.CX.Faraa-atajacal(»») &**¥/*. let la11 iniaJag caao taa, QW) TTt-Vi I. - (f*^ •PUBLISHED iYTHI ASSOCIATED STUDENTS. |
