Emeline Pritchard

English 2010
Notebook 1
5f. Collect several images that interest you, related in some way to
your issue (the relevance can be tangential, as long as you feel it).
Then write something that connects the images, one to another. You
can think of your connections as a story (one thing connected to the
next), or as a web (everything cross-connected), or as a square, with
two sets of opposites, or as a circle (ideas leading back to the place
you started).

The topic Ive chosen is discrimination

There are many Federal Antidiscrimination Laws currently in effect, yet
there are still situations of discrimination happening in todays society.
I realize that there are all types of discrimination in the world, some
displayed by images I selected above, but I personally have an
experience dealing with discrimination. I remember going to the
movies with my 4 cousins; 2 boys and 2 girls. It was during the
summer and the weather was great so we decided to walk to the
movie theaters being just a few blocks away from my cousins home.
We were half way there when a police officer pulled up to the sidewalk
and asked us our names and where we were headed? We informed
them that we were headed to the movie theater and then we each took
turns reciting our names. Just as my cousin Siosi finished saying his
name the police officers stepped out of their car and one of them said,
oh youre Polynesian huh I remember the sound of his voice being
one of disgust not curiosity. They then told us to face the fence with
our hands up and searched us. Because one of the officers thought the
saw a blue handkerchief hanging out of the back pocket of one of my
cousins indicating he was a gang member. In short he had nothing in
his back pocket and we were let go.

They dont think about the fact that discrimination happens even in law
enforcement. We were 5 teenagers walking to movies minding our own
business. But because we are Polynesian and are of a bigger stature
we are automatically gang members or are going to hurt people. Its
sad to be profiled like that and when any type of crime or gang
violence happens people automatically think that its Polynesians.
Dont get me wrong I know that there are some Polynesians who break
the law but that doesnt mean we all need to fall into that category. Its
nor right and unfair.