Thanks to the COM352 students for contributing a bunch of new pages! I'll be moving these pages into the main area of the wiki soon.

From UMassWiki

Quem ve cara, nao ve coracao. He who sees the face, doesn’t see the heart. This is an old Portuguese saying that my grandmother would often say to me as a child. Anzaldua would agree. There are many Americans today that only see the face. The cultural diversity of America is not fully embraced. “If you want to be American, speak American” (p.165). Anzaldua had a difficult time balancing her dual heritage in a society that did not accept her. My mother also had a hard time fitting into American society. She moved to the United States from Portugal when she was only fourteen. She came over with her parents, siblings, uncles and aunts, and her cousins. Not one of them spoke a word of English. The promise of freedom, liberty, and a whole new life is what brought them to American soil. They all crammed into a tiny house in Newark, New Jersey. My mother and her siblings and cousins had to go to an American school. They had to learn the English language or face the consequences. My mother would often get hit by the teacher, as Anzaldua described, for speaking Portuguese. She had one teacher that would throw chalkboard erasers at her when she would speak Portuguese. She learned to be quiet very quickly. She had to “tame her wild tongue”. Every time she opened her mouth, the words flew out with a thick accent. “Wild tongues can’t be tamed, they can only be cut out” (p.165) Of course this did not go without teasing by the other kids. Some of her classmates would make fun of the way she pronounced English words. Because of this she was perceived to be less intelligent than the other kids. My grandfather and my uncle also faced hardships getting decent jobs. Because they could not speak English well, nobody wanted to hire them for good pay. They struggled to feed their large family. There is great prejudice in this country towards different cultures. Throughout history, every race, ethnicity, and religion has experienced hatred and cruelty merely because they are different. My mother’s family is an example, as well as Anzaldua. I, however, was a little more fortunate. My mother married an American, giving me an Irish last name. I am white. I speak free of any accent. Those who see only the face, allowed me to belong to their society. However, I cannot escape my native tongue. I grew up in a bilingual environment. I cannot conceal my true identity. Sou Portugues. In school, no one knew of my foreign tongue. I fit in. I belonged. It wasn’t until I began having friends over the house that the news came out. My mother would speak to me in Portuguese in front of them. They would go back to school and tell other kids. The news spread like a wildfire. I was embarrassed. I was embarrassed in front of the kids that teased me, and the ones that didn’t. I felt as though I didn’t belong anymore, that my “white” mask had been removed. One morning bus ride I had overheard a white boy making fun of a Hispanic girl. I could see that nobody seemed to care. Kids were either laughing or just ignoring the situation. I sympathized with her. I told the kid to stop or I would tell the bus driver, and he did. I remember the girl was just sitting there with this blank look on her face. I could see the pain and agony behind it. I could tell all she wanted to do was cry. I could see the frustration and anger that no one else could. Posso ver a coracao. I could see her heart. She looked at me and smiled. Gosta de sentar-se comigo? I knew she understood me. We sat next to each other on the bus everyday in elementary school. Nobody ever bullied her or me on that bus again. It was not until I grew older that I realized what a life changing experience that was. Digas com quem andas, e te direi quem es, my mother would say to me. I can tell who you are, by the people that you are friends with. Not everyone will accept you for who you are, but those people really don’t matter. True friends will not judge you. Meu familia e Portugues. Sou Portugues. Sou Americano. I have learned throughout my life to embrace my dual heritage. I am proud when I speak Portuguese, to keep my beautiful language alive. Anzaldua, my mother, and other bilinguals and immigrants will one day be embraced for what we have to offer by everyone. The hatred, intolerance, and prejudice must come to an end. “Imagine all the people, sharing all the world” (Lennon, John. Imagine. Parophone. 1971). This is a dream in progress. There is hope for us. A esperanca e a ultima a morre. Hope