JE #9

1.I feel like I learned the articles for the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo the best. I was intrigued to know how the United States got away with swindling so much land from the Mexican government and how it developed its first steps into establishing their dominance. I was shocked to learn that the treaty articles were edited in way that it sounded like the articles were saying the same thing but were really loopholes that the U.S found to gain power over the situation, giving the United States the upper hand. Something else I was shocked to learn was how the U.S education system promotes Anglo Savior Syndrome in order to justify colonization, acts and legislations passed against people of color.

2. I better understood Gloria Anzaldúa's theory on the Shadow Beast because I have been able to experience this state first hand, making it easy for me to apply it. I have been able to reach this stage by being conscious of my borders and being able to face the monsters of my internalized oppression. Through this class, I was introduced to a new border; my geographical border is something that had been manifesting for years now. Because my family in undocumented, I can see how physical borders restrict them; growing up I had to deal with these same borders, even though I was legally allowed to pass them. I grew up fearing La Migra, not because of what they could do to me but because of the thought that they would be able to separate my family from me. I recall oppressing these feeling though out the years but now this class has encouraged me to face my shadow beast and begin to talk about my borders openly with my parents. 

3.The stage I find most difficult to understand is Mestiza Consciousness. The concepts themselves are easy to comprehend but I have trouble understanding the logic behind this state. I don’t understand how someone is able to begin tolerating all the contradictions of their lives. I understand that it takes years before reaching this state and some of us will go through life without ever reaching full consciousness.

5.In regards to my border consciousness, I believe I am in the Coatlicue state. I have began to notice how the films and the reading opened my eyes to a lot of my problematic borders. I now struggle to finder ease on a daily basis because I find myself getting rather upset at the fact that I can’t do something about my oppressing factors. Some days I find myself struggling with facing all the aspects that oppress me that I feel as though I am on the verge of an identity crisis.