Brotto1 Natalie Brotto 7 June 2011 LSP 200 Marie Draz Differences in the History of Inequality in America

I have learned that the term multicultural does not solely encompass different races and cultures but also includes genders, sexualities, and physical and mental disabilities. In history, these inequalities have been scrutinized by those who deem themselves superior, typically the white, privileged, able body. A major problem surrounding multiculturalism is that people often want to sympathize or tolerate those they categorize as Other as a form of accepting them, but then in their personal life, behind closed doors they think and act as they choose, regardless of the Other. D.D. Carlson and Eli Clare criticize this idea of normalizing and sympathizing with the Other in their writings because it does not bring forth any permanent social change. In Jamaica Kincaids A Small Place, she suggests that making a connection with the Other will promote future change. The country of Antigua is being eaten by the tourism industry because, among other things, tourists neglect to make a real connection to the natives, and while Jamaica Kincaid may say the tourism industry has a lot to do with her communities hardships in A Small Place, I have found through connections to D.D. Carlsons Remembering Rosa and Eli Clares The Mountain that a socially reconstructive view on multiculturalism may be the best approach in trying to overcome these hardships. Antigua is being eaten by the tourism industry and the tourists do not the part they play in this ongoing cycle. Once the tourists earn enough money to go on a vacation, they plan and buy a

Brotto2 trip to this other country in an attempt to relax under the sun, splurge on meals and commodities, and get away from the stresses of their everyday lives. As the tourist takes part in these activities, they do not realize that these privileges are unavailable to the Antiguan citizen, for they will probably never be able to experience Antigua like the tourist does. These activities actually create an oppressing environment for Antiguans. Kincaid describes a tourist as a native to their own country, but enjoys touring other places, assuming the opportunity arises that they have enough money to leave their homeland. The natives thus envy the tourists ability to come and go as they please, finding pleasure and relaxation in countries like Antigua who dwell on the tourism industry for survival (Kincaid 19). The political figures in Antigua do not take the interests of their citizens into consideration while making political decisions. Instead of the Prime Minister sponsoring and improving public buildings like schools and libraries that would benefit Antiguans, he puts his name on the airport, because it is the first part of Antigua that the tourist comes in contact with. Citizens lack the necessary education needed to succeed outside of the tourism industry, and they do not even have healthcare readily available to them that they can trust. Antiguans refer to their doctors as the three men that not even the Minister of Health can trust. The Minister of Health, because he can afford it, actually flies to the United States to receive proper medical attention. Antigua takes pride in its Hotel Training School where Antiguans learn to be good servants, how to be a good nobody (Kincaid 55). Other industries do not earn Antiguans enough money because tourism is the biggest industry, bringing in the most revenue for the government. Regardless of the fact that Antiguans are employees of the hotel, they are not allowed to relax at the beaches in which they work at. By law in Antigua the beaches are supposed to be public, but because the wealthy tourists are placed on such a high pedestal, many hotels do not allow the Antiguans to use their pools or beaches. Although

Brotto3 tourism is a main source of revenue for the country of Antigua and creates jobs for the citizens, many of the citizens are dissatisfied that their life is consumed and so greatly affected by this industry. Kincaid says that the tourists take things that are not theirs, that they did not even, for appearances sake, ask first, (in reference to the tourists bad manners) and that they murder, rob, and imprison Antiguan people (Kincaid 35). After the tourist leaves, the contact made with Antiguans is gone because the tourist does not care enough to connect to this Other on a deeper level. The part the tourist plays in the structure of Antigua goes unrealized, and the trip becomes a mere memory. Begin with the library. The library in Antigua was damaged in the earthquake of 1947, yet over forty years later a sign outside still reads REPAIRS ARE PENDING. Kincaid is very taken back by this failure because she has strong emotional ties to it. I found this sign interesting because it made me wonder why the government has not done anything to fix or replenish this library with the necessary items like windows, books, and shelves. I then realized that the tourists in Antigua see this building as cute, quaint, and historical, and thinking only of themselves, as visitors, who most likely have running libraries at home to go to are unaware that the books that could be in this library would help to educate Antiguans. Kincaid wishes that people from the Mill Reef Club, a wealthy tourist community, would contribute monetarily to the repairs of the library, but they seem to like the old Antigua, which is not the same as the preearthquake old Antigua that the citizens would like to enjoy. The tourists do not realize that places like these actually mean something to the citizens of Antigua and that repairing them could benefit the community. Even as the tourists lay out on the beaches, in the hot and sunny air, they do not know that while they are appreciating the rainless days, Antigua is suffering from

Brotto4 drought, and must constantly be aware of the water they consume. Tourists stop here and there to gaze at this and taste that and are oblivious to the fact that the people they just came in contact with do not like them solely because of what the tourist means to the country of Antigua. Because the tourist is so consumed in their vacation away from reality, they do not stop to think about the daily realities of Antigua or of those who are working for them as they are enjoying their hard earned vacation. Because the tourists fail to engage with these differences in a substantial way, and neglects realizing the connection that they have to the citizens, the reader of A Small Place may conclude that feeling sympathy for the people of Antigua could be a solution. I feel that sympathizing towards the citizens of Antigua does not help the situation because you are not doing anything proactive to fix or help the community; instead you are polarizing the differences between the tourist and the citizen, and making the differences more apparent by bringing them to the forefront. If the reader is able to make a connection to D.D. Carlsons Remembering Rosa and Eli Clares The Mountain, one can see that sympathy might not be the best solution rather taking a socially reconstructive approach could be a better answer to dealing with the difficulties of understanding different cultures. Eli Clare begins to say in The Mountain that feeling pity for the Other turns them into a symbol of inspiration, and at times a sob story about an obstacle, possibly set by society, that a disabled body has overcome. This reinforces the beliefs that there is a superior and an inferior structure in place. Clare quotes his favorite childhood tee shirt saying PISS ON PITY arguing that the superior should not feel pity for the Other, a connection to D.D. Carlsons Remembering Rosa. Carlson says that pity and sympathy accentuate the fact that they are abnormal and point

Brotto5 out the differences in them from others. The tourists in Antigua do not realize that the opinions they hold about the Other (citizens) actually affect the way the other lives their life on a daily basis. D.D. Carlsons Remembering Rosa considers and critiques three different ways of dealing with multiculturalism through different circumstances. He begins with the idea of normalizing multiculturalism, which criticizes sympathizing with the other as a form of acceptance. With this idea, one still maintains the notion that the other is still an other, typically a good versus bad other, or a normal other versus an abnormal other. In this idea, the dominant group, which in this case would be the tourist, does not expect to give up their power in any way. This allows them to sympathize towards those who they deem lower than themselves. In the tourists mind, they construct beliefs about what is abnormal to them, and then feel bad that one has those differences. Carlson says this is the most prominent way of dealing with multiculturalism (Carlson, 16). A second form of acceptance Carlson critiques is liberal multiculturalism. This is Carlsons idea of a classic form of acceptance, as everyone is supposed to be seen as equal in law and public spheres. Everyone is entitled to an equal opportunity to succeed and advance in society and should be given the opportunity to pursue their own happiness. If it was not for the tourists effect on the economy, and social and political structure of Antigua, citizens may be able to advance further in other industries. Citizens would be able to pursue their own happiness through doing what they enjoy most, versus servicing the needs of the tourist. In liberal acceptance, progress in society comes while having a color blind view of others, not recognizing their differences and inequalities. This view makes it easiest to tolerate others because one who

Brotto6 feels superior only needs to act as if they can tolerate others, for when they are in their private sphere of life, they can continue living with the same racial beliefs and ideas. Although the tourists, like members of the Mill Reef Club, may be willing to help Antigua in one way, they are not fully committed to Antiguans because they never follow through with their thoughts, which could mean that they do not truly care in the deepest sense. Lastly, Carlson proposes what he thinks is the best way to deal with differences through the idea of socially reconstructive multiculturalism. To him, this is a shift from sympathizing and tolerating the other, to a form of solidarity which means creating a community in unison with each other. Carlson sees this socially reconstructive approach as a form of active interventions one makes in order to better understand and operate with the other (Carlson 18). I feel this would be the best way to deal with some of the issues surrounding tourism Kincaid struggles with in A Small Place because if the tourists took an active approach while coming into contact with the Other they may feel the need to help the citizens on a more personal level. For the tourists to take an active approach they would have to be aware of the hardships that were set in place in Antiguas history, as well as the current hardships and the effects the tourists have on the country. I also feel this would be the best solution because it is a proactive way to eliminate negative connotations surround multiculturalism as a whole. By looking at D.D. Carlsons different types of acceptance of multiculturalism, I feel that to overcome the tourists effects on the citizens of Antigua, the tourist must be educated and aware of what is going on around him and the effects he has on the community. Through this, citizens of Antigua may realize that all tourists are not bad people who want to consume their country. The tourists also need to take an active role and try to form deeper connections and

Brotto7 understandings of the citizens in order to get rid of some of the hardships of the community. By not feeling sympathy and pity, the tourists will be able to hopefully relate to the Other, versus singling them out as only someone who works for them, if even realizing them at all.