Embracing Uniqueness: Rejecting Societal Boxes

There are a lot of differences shown throughout the world, from the way people look to what type of home environment they’re brought up in, to the traditions and cultures they follow. No two people are built and function the exact same way. Too often people are made to feel bad about the body, culture or life they are born in to. In life, as in literature, we find ourselves unable to fit into the box society has defined for us and see it as a negative. The things that make us different from the majority should be seen as advantages and not downfalls.
“Half breed caught in the crossfire between camps while carrying all five races on your back not knowing which side to turn to, run from.” (Anzaldua 118) Anzaldua used this line in “To Live in

the Borderlands Means you” to describe what it’s like to have all five races, White, Black, Indian, Spanish, and Asian in your bloodstream. The weight of trying to balance the respect across all of them make it more of a duty to be of mixed race than a blessing to be, in some way, related to all races. He continues, “the India in you, betrayed for 500 years, is no longer speaking to you, that mexicanas call you rajetas, that denying the Anglo inside you is as bad as having denied the Indian or Black;”( Anzaldua 119) With the burden of having to juggle between your vast lineages, it’s difficult to reap the benefits. “To Live in the Borderlands Means to put Chile in the borscht, eat whole wheat tortillas, speak Tex-Mex with a Brooklyn accent;”(Anzaldua 119) A major positive quality of races are their traditional foods. White Americans are credited for their love of cheeseburgers. Black Americans have the tradition of making large family meals filled with soul food, fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, fried fish, sweet potatoes, and a host of others. Hispanics stake the claim for tacos, pupusas, carnitas, etc. Asians are recognized for their use of rice as a main ingredient for all meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Indian cuisine includes the world famous Biryani, and Butter Chicken. The people of the borderlands don’t have the pleasure of sharing in on the foods of every culture that creates them instead they are fighting to be accepted into them all.
Immigrants coming into this nation are often met with challenges in their social lives and also in a more political or socioeconomically way.

People from all over the world migrate to the United States in an attempt to live the American dream and have a prosperous, happy life. Jimmy Santiago Baca captures this in “Immigrants in Our Own Land” where he compares the dreams and realities of immigrants to what it’s like in a prison, segregated, unpromising and disillusioned. “We came here to get away from false promises, from dictators in our neighborhoods.”(Baca) “We are born with dreams in our hearts, looking for better days ahead.” (Baca) Instead of being honored for the hard work and dedication it takes to relocate in a foreign place, immigrants are met with criticism and disrespect. “Right away we are sent to work as dishwashers, to work in fields for three cents an hour.” (Baca) Immigrants are tasked with not having the opportunity to use the skills they have or may be able to pick up; instead they are forced to work janitorial jobs and those not lucrative at all.
There are so many differences amongst the human race. With the changing politics, views and issues, certain groups begin to take on negative stereotypes. The effects these negative stereotypes have on people are monumental. If more of the differences we have amongst everyone were shown in a positive light, it could help promote having positive self-image. The characteristics that are specific to difference sexes, races and ethnicities should show why the human race is awesome and not why certain groups are better than any

other.