The Ethnic Encounter, Essay Example

Society teaches us to be communal, polite, loving, and to care for our fellow man. Laws dictate how we are to respect human life and property with quick and swift punishment for harm to another person.  But overall individuals have some level of prejudice whether hidden deep in denial or worn on their chest like a metal of misguided honor. When you meet someone on the sidewalk, the bus or in a store of a different ethnic background, echoes of previously heard slander and stereotyping will creep into the back of your mind.  No matter how politically correct you see yourself with accepting all cultures, races and color, there is still the chance that some ignorant comments can be traced in your thoughts.

In the moments following the 911 attack on the Twin Towers in New York and as the public learned of the involvement of the Al-Qaeda group, Americans quickly assumed all Muslims and persons associated with Islamic religion were to blame. Fights were reported around the United States of Americans attacking physically and verbally anyone resembling a person from Islam.  The assumption of association with the Al-Qaeda movement created hysterical fear and irrational actions.  Similar to Sharon Olds’ poem On The Subway, first impressions were negative, fearful and distrusting. I found it quite comical how various cultural, national and ethnic backgrounds prompt such frights. Of course the situation lends a great deal to the course of actions. Whereas Americans fight each other daily, 911 caused some unity against the Islamic; interestingly without much quiet resulting for Americans fighting against each other.

In the ever increasing multicultural society we are entering, I find myself not expecting anything when I am placed in a situation with someone from a different culture or background from mine. But rather I try to look at the person and see the human qualities; not the differences in us but the similarities. Having studied historical events of race prejudice I feel it is important to look at each individual with an open mind and allow their actions to dictate if I should feel fear, responsiveness, openness, hate or friendliness. If we close ourselves off from others due to their outwardly differences, we miss the chance to learn about the world and possibly make a new acquaintance. The fear and symbolism in Olds’ poem to me is a classic display of presumption.  Appearances versus reality are the key to the concept of judging different cultures and ethnicity; keeping in mind that jumping to conclusions is never a wise or accurate way to judge others.

I have had positive experiences being in social situations with different cultures. I find the individuals I have met to be interesting, kind and respectful. I have been fortunate since it does not matter what culture or ethnic background a person comes from; people are people and there are good and bad individuals. By not expecting anything when I meet someone new, I find the possibilities endless for enrichment and camaraderie. Learning various facts about how other cultures and ethnic environments are different and similar to mine are great treasures.  Olds’ poem is filled with symbolism which sums up a lot of prejudice imagines that flow from encounters between people of different backgrounds. We have to be careful in our assumptions; remembering the other person is looking at us with the same conjecture.

In Olds’ poem she wonders who in power as she states “. . . . I don’t know if I am in his power –  . . . or if he is in my power” (14-18).  This is a prevailing thought when we meet someone different from us:  Who is in control? Can they hurt me? Are they mean or kind? This may be the underlying feeling of most people when meeting someone new for the first time. Again, we must consider the fact that although we are not familiar with the different culture or ethnicity of the person, we still share the same basic feelings and emotions.  Difficulties arise when there is a language barrier due to different dialects.  In this situation it is harder to feel at ease and body language is the only way to communicate. Under these circumstances we have to be aware of how our actions are being displayed as well as observing the other individual(s) for their body language.

In Olds’ poem, the body language is fairly nonexistent.  The lady and boy only observe each other.  The voice of the poem is clearly frightened although there is no need to be other than her racial convictions and beliefs.  I see this poem to be very much like our day-to-day interactions. We assume too much in general of what other people’s motivations are, what their thoughts are, and their intentions towards us.  Just being of a different culture, race, nationality or ethnicity, this does not mean we should stereotype and give others qualities they may not actually possess. Too often we get upset or feel animosity towards others for their misguided judgment of us, when we are doing the same thing. If we could learn to keep prejudice and assumptions out of our thoughts and look beyond labeling someone, there would be less distention and fighting among people.

Reading Sharon Olds’ poem On the Subway made me take serious consideration of my actions and behaviors towards others. I have heard racial slanders and find them inappropriate and crude. Olds’ poem is a classic depiction denoting racial prejudice and presumptions mixed with needless fear and animosity.  It is about everyday life and has many references to questions we all ask ourselves daily; in particular, just how prejudice am I?

Works Referenced

Olds, Sharon, (1987). On the Subway. Famous Poets and Poems.  Retrieved from http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/sharon_olds