One of the reading's assigned to cadets enrolled in EN101 is, "Writing like a White Guy": On Language, Race, and Poetry, by Jaswinder Bolina. The text offers cadets a very narrow perspective of the relationship between language and race in America through the eyes of the Author. The essay covers everything from his parent's immigration to America, his success and or lack of success as a poet, his view of cultural assimilation, and view of white American males. The essay provides cadets with the unique perspective of the Author who made several statements about his father's experience in America, childhood, and his lack of freedom to write about topics other than race and immigration. His statements about his father's experiences in America
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When describing himself on page 502, Bolina says that he is privileged and then wrote about how he attended, "…prep school instead of the public high school." As well as that his, "parents clambered up the socioeconomic ladder with a fair amount of middle-class success." (Bolina 502). This description sounds completely different from the description that he gave of his father and race and class relations in America a few paragraphs ago. Rather than being excluded from the "American Dream" like his father claimed it seems that he was fully embraced by America. In order to add any substance to his claims, Bolina should have added statistics to support them, but after taking a look at statistics from the US Department of Education it seems to make more sense. According to the US Department of Education, less than 2.5% of high school students attend prep schools rather than high schools (US Department of Education Statistics 2009-10). It certainly appears that Bolina has little experience being a typical immigrant, minority, or even a normal citizen, given he has received a better high school education than 97.5% of the US population, including "white guys". When it comes to race Bolina writes about, "The privilege of whiteness in America—particularly male, heteronormative whiteness" (Bolina 501). In order for Bolinas points to be recognized he needs to stop distracting from them by using broad hypocritical generalizations. As they say, those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw
When describing himself on page 502, Bolina says that he is privileged and then wrote about how he attended, "…prep school instead of the public high school." As well as that his, "parents clambered up the socioeconomic ladder with a fair amount of middle-class success." (Bolina 502). This description sounds completely different from the description that he gave of his father and race and class relations in America a few paragraphs ago. Rather than being excluded from the "American Dream" like his father claimed it seems that he was fully embraced by America. In order to add any substance to his claims, Bolina should have added statistics to support them, but after taking a look at statistics from the US Department of Education it seems to make more sense. According to the US Department of Education, less than 2.5% of high school students attend prep schools rather than high schools (US Department of Education Statistics 2009-10). It certainly appears that Bolina has little experience being a typical immigrant, minority, or even a normal citizen, given he has received a better high school education than 97.5% of the US population, including "white guys". When it comes to race Bolina writes about, "The privilege of whiteness in America—particularly male, heteronormative whiteness" (Bolina 501). In order for Bolinas points to be recognized he needs to stop distracting from them by using broad hypocritical generalizations. As they say, those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw