Watertown Collections
So the first question is, are you being affected by what is happening in our country?
Speaker 1 – 00:00:05.680 – 00:00:06.880
Yes. I am. Mhmm.
Speaker 0 – 00:00:06.880 – 00:00:08.420
So do you mind elaborating?
Speaker 1 – 00:00:09.440 – 00:00:48.655
How I feel about how everything’s all racism now Mhmm. Because of things that happened in the past, I am not responsible for things that happened in the past. Yeah. K? Mhmm. I, I believe in I look at a per I don’t think that way. How I think of this, I look at a person, like, of how they go out and make a living, how they go out and earn things of what our country is based on, how you gotta go out and get your own life, the freedoms of our country, of anybody. Right? Yeah. The things that I’m hearing about nowadays of reparations for what? Because I didn’t do anything. Mhmm. And that’s where it upsets me because of that.
Speaker 1 – 00:00:48.655 – 00:01:22.445
Because because then I’m saying, well, you can’t you hear things like, you you’re, a racist just because you’re white. What does that mean? Yeah. You know what I’m saying? Mhmm. And I don’t get that. I’ve done nothing. These are things that happened a long time ago. Mhmm. K? And there’s other things that happened too where there’s and there was like, you got the civil war. There was all kinds of racism. So where there’s Irish, German, wasn’t just them. You know, it’s Indians. Mhmm. And all the things that are talked about about racism, I just disagree with it. Right?
Speaker 1 – 00:01:22.670 – 00:01:56.200
It wasn’t just the blacks that said we weren’t war. It was the Irish, Germans, Indians were in there too fighting for everybody’s freedom. You know? Mhmm. Thank you so much. And do I believe there’s some racism? Today, yes. There’s some. But the things that are talked about nowadays of reparations and I have to think of the woke stuff, that junk. Mhmm. I don’t believe in any of it. I think it’s a bunch of crap. I know you’re taught different things in college nowadays. Right? I don’t believe in what you’re being taught. Mhmm. This woke stuff.
Speaker 1 – 00:01:56.260 – 00:02:21.470
I I’m I’m in school. I always will, but I believe and look at that person. I look at who they are. Mhmm. If they go out there and they’re making a living, okay, if you’re black, white, whatever, you wanna part of the American dream, I’ll look at you how you do. Right? I mean, you’re sitting there trying to get money out of somebody because of something that happened in the past. I’m looking at you going, you just want money. Mhmm. But if I see that person with their skin color go out there making it look like anybody else is, I’m all for that. You know what I’m saying?
Speaker 1 – 00:02:21.470 – 00:02:49.760
I don’t care who they are. Mhmm. I mean, I don’t care if I see some street person, if they’re black, white, green, walking the street, asking me for money. I mean, I’m sorry. You don’t you need to go out there and get your own life. Yeah. Go out there and get a living like everybody else does. Yeah. But the stuff that or, you know, like, the woke stuff, I don’t believe in any of it. Mhmm. I don’t believe in the transgender stuff. Mhmm. None of it. You don’t take a little kid like that, an an eight year old, and talk to him about, well, if you don’t feel this way, maybe you’re this way.
Speaker 1 – 00:02:49.820 – 00:02:57.485
I gotta I hear what I say. I don’t believe that kids at eight years old should be taught to be about transgender. I don’t believe that.
Speaker 0 – 00:02:57.485 – 00:02:58.605
That completely makes sense.
Speaker 1 – 00:02:58.605 – 00:03:26.685
Right. Mhmm. And I’m like, like, the wolf stuff is somebody something like this is made up. You know? But, yeah, our country needs to go back to the old ways of not racism, but based on for everybody, go out and get your own life. Yeah. Not because of something that happened two hundred years ago. Mhmm. And it didn’t happen in this country. It happened all over. And problem is, like, the Indians, like like slavery, stuff like that. The Indians did it to each other.
Speaker 1 – 00:03:27.065 – 00:03:59.385
They went and they tacked other hoods and they they got other Indian tribes, and they use them as slaves. Right? Like the Zulu, it’s a tribe in Africa. They did the same thing to each other. Does it make it right? No. It’s not right. You know what I’m saying? But just because you sit there and say if something that happened a long time ago is my fault, it’s not because I didn’t do anything. That’s what bothers me. And it happened in every society, but that doesn’t make that it’s still wrong. You know what I’m saying? Yeah.
Speaker 1 – 00:04:00.165 – 00:04:27.125
And to me, that’s racism in itself when you say that. If I’m just sitting there, never mind my business. You just call me racist. I didn’t know nothing wrong. I I have a problem with that. Mhmm. And and like I said, you need like, how I feel is you didn’t act this stuff up. Go out there and get a living. Mhmm. You know, like anybody else does. I don’t care. Education, whatever. You know? And especially the things nowadays would need to be taught in schools. Number one, religion. Mhmm. K?
Speaker 1 – 00:04:27.505 – 00:04:58.860
Everything that you do while making for a living and stuff like that, it’s all based on, you know, on religion. You know what I’m saying? Well, they’re a good life, being honest. But, you know, guy’s a guy, girl’s a girl. Mhmm. That’s what I believe in. You know, the transgender stock up here. You know? It’s not getting too much. It’s just that you need to go back to the old ways of going and making a living. All this other stuff is just being politically correct is just outrageous. It’s just getting to the point where it’s just stupid.
Speaker 1 – 00:04:59.400 – 00:05:35.730
Just like letting the illegal immigrants in here, which is so I think it was so stupid because you need to do it the right way. Like, you’re Asian. Like, your parents probably did it the right way. Right? They didn’t just be let in not knowing custom. And even if it was your country or my country or European country, any other country, you gotta learn, their culture. You have to assimilate into their culture. Right? Yeah. You gotta learn about a history because and you gotta learn the language because if you don’t, you’ll learn nothing in that country.
Speaker 1 – 00:05:35.730 – 00:05:56.880
You don’t come to another from another country, which which is not the last administration was their fault with so much certain people believe in. It shouldn’t, you should learn to assimilate the the country of that. You know what I’m saying? Learn their value system. Not because you come from another country because you want to better yourself.
Speaker 0 – 00:05:57.180 – 00:05:57.680
Yeah.
Speaker 1 – 00:05:57.980 – 00:06:19.935
If you sit there and still believe in your country and you got your, I just said, your political value system. Right? Why are you here? You know what I’m saying? That’s what I’m talking about. That’s probably why your family, being Asian, left their country to better themselves. Right? Right. But you have to understand the language, understand what’s going on, you know, in that country.
Speaker 0 – 00:06:22.320 – 00:06:29.860
Yeah. Okay. Thank you so much for sharing, and then we’re moving on to the next question. Okay. So do you feel loved by your country by our country?
Speaker 1 – 00:06:33.680 – 00:06:35.140
Being loved by your country.
Speaker 0 – 00:06:35.280 – 00:06:36.905
Yeah. I
Speaker 1 – 00:06:36.905 – 00:07:15.605
don’t think be it’s not being loved by your country. It’s what you can when you say it, what you can do in your country with your freedoms is which why you love your country. Because I believe the government should not rule a country. It should represent the people that that are elected. You know what I’m saying. How am I saying that? It should represent the people that are elected, not not represent themselves. Uh-huh. Because I think the the hate people in there been in there too long, they represent themselves.
Speaker 1 – 00:07:16.225 – 00:07:37.375
The people that you elect by the majority of what they want in this country is what makes you love your country when you’re being represented by the people you elect. And in my opinion, you’re not being represented by the things that you believe in, by the people that are being elected. It’s all about money. So
Speaker 0 – 00:07:37.935 – 00:07:48.590
Mhmm. Yeah. I get it. So that kind of, covered our next question. What would it look like to feel loved by your country? So, So, like, when you are represented.
Speaker 1 – 00:07:48.730 – 00:08:00.990
When you are represented, that’s what make you love your country. Because it makes your country better of what you want, because of the freedoms that you want, which in my opinion, we’re losing our freedoms every day because of being politically correct.
Speaker 0 – 00:08:01.050 – 00:08:01.995
Yeah. Mhmm.
Speaker 1 – 00:08:01.995 – 00:08:36.345
Instead of no. No. No. How are you saying that? Taking things to the extremes that just don’t make sense. Mhmm. I mean, there’s such thing as lost to a certain point, but when you go like, you got the CPS laws. Okay. Where nowadays is there the, the consequences of your actions when you do something wrong? You learn that when you’re young. Okay? Just like the trophies and stuff like that that gives, you, oh, you got a participation trophy. Okay? How do you supposed to learn when there’s winners and losers?
Speaker 1 – 00:08:37.125 – 00:09:06.015
You know what I’m saying? You have to learn to be a winner and a loser. If you lose something, you learn you’ve gotta whatever it is, you try harder to get better at it so you could be a winner. And that goes with life. You know what I’m saying? And that goes when you’re it starts out young, and it goes on when you’re a kid. There’s always winners and losers. That’s what you learn in school. That’s the old ways. You know what I’m saying? About getting a job and being honest and being responsible. Mhmm. Stuff like that.
Speaker 1 – 00:09:06.155 – 00:09:35.945
And the things that you have, you put your sweat into. Right? The the things you put your sweat into, you feel good about yourself. And And that’s where religious freedoms comes in because you feel good about yourself, and that’s what makes you love your country because you go out and you earn your stuff instead of things being given to you. If you give things that are given to you, right, you do not when you sit there and put hard work into something, right, you earn it because you’re sweating to it. But when when you get like okay.
Speaker 1 – 00:09:35.945 – 00:10:06.855
I’m not trying to make this sound like racist, but when you have illegals coming in here, right, of not doing that the right way like they’re supposed to learning their customs. Right? And you just give them anything. They don’t appreciate nothing because they didn’t earn it. Like, your family came into my country. Right? I mean, you’re an American. I look at you as American. But I know, you know, they came in and they earned it. You know what I’m saying? So they appreciate more because they had to lend to customers and stuff like that of the country. You know what I’m saying? Not to sound racism.
Speaker 0 – 00:10:07.960 – 00:10:12.380
It’s okay. My family didn’t move to the the state yet. So, like, they’re still in China.
Speaker 1 – 00:10:12.600 – 00:10:13.240
Oh, okay.
Speaker 0 – 00:10:13.240 – 00:10:14.280
But I totally get what
Speaker 1 – 00:10:14.280 – 00:10:41.030
you’re saying. Good English. Okay. So I’m thinking you’re an American. You were born here. No. But what I’m saying is when you go to isn’t with any country, you go to China, you go to Russia, you go to England, you have to learn their customs. Right? And you have to work the harder learn their language. Yeah. That’s that’s called work. Yeah. And when you when you learn it, you earn it. And that’s what makes you love your country or to be part of something. But if it’s just given to you, you don’t appreciate it.
Speaker 1 – 00:10:41.030 – 00:11:10.040
You throw it in the trash. Just like some of the street people up here, they don’t earn nothing. Everything’s given to them. What gets me is I mean, this just goes with everything in life. Like, it’s the street people that come in here. There’s a lot of them. Okay. They’re into drugs, but everything’s given to them. Right? What are they gonna learn? They’re not gonna learn nothing. And that goes with illegals, the the the drug use, or whatever. It’s all about, feeling good about yourself by putting yourself into something and learning something.
Speaker 0 – 00:11:10.100 – 00:11:10.600
Mhmm.
Speaker 1 – 00:11:10.660 – 00:11:39.250
A trade, whatever in school. And once you become part of that, that’s when you become part of your country and when you learn responsibility. And that’s when say, that’s when you learn about, loving your country by oh my god. By learning to you know what I’m saying? You feel good about something because you’ve earned it. Basically, that’s what it is. Mhmm. You become part of that. That’s what makes you love your country because of your freedoms.
Speaker 1 – 00:11:39.710 – 00:12:03.420
But if it’s just given to you or you just take it for granted and you don’t work hard for it, you don’t care. You don’t appreciate it. This is like if you get a car or something. You work hard for that car. Right? Mhmm. Do you appreciate that car? Because you’re sweating to that car. Right? Yeah. Okay. It’s with anybody. So sorry. I didn’t mean to say that. I just you speak great English. I thought, you know Thank you.
Speaker 0 – 00:12:03.420 – 00:12:04.220
It’s okay. It’s okay.
Speaker 1 – 00:12:04.220 – 00:12:05.340
But you know what I’m talking about.
Speaker 0 – 00:12:05.340 – 00:12:05.740
Yeah.
Speaker 1 – 00:12:05.740 – 00:12:36.420
Okay. If you’re from China, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Do they let just anybody understand you? No. No. They don’t. They have to assimilate. Like, me, I’d have to learn your language. I gotta learn your customs. Right? It’s like me walking in your country saying, well, see, you have to think my way. You know what I’m saying? Forget your customs or forget that. That’s an insult to another country. Yeah. And when you have illegal immigrants coming in here, not knowing the language, not knowing our history. Right? That’s an insult to the American people. Mhmm.
Speaker 1 – 00:12:36.420 – 00:12:55.640
You know what I’m saying? Yeah. And that’s with any other country there. That’s an insult. Why is it, you know, that we have to cater to them when they don’t wanna learn nothing about us? You know, I just don’t understand that. That’s the way it used to be. That’s the old way. And that’s how the impact sorry.
Speaker 0 – 00:12:55.860 – 00:12:56.680
It’s okay.
Speaker 1 – 00:12:57.860 – 00:13:05.320
That’s what I believe in. Mhmm. You know? And I just think about just every other American believes that way. Mhmm. And that’s that’s not racism.
Speaker 0 – 00:13:05.780 – 00:13:06.375
Mhmm. Yeah.
Speaker 1 – 00:13:06.535 – 00:13:34.095
You know? Yeah. But you get these people with these political agendas. Right? Mhmm. And they say these things and there’s no there’s nothing behind it. It’s just all hollow. And that’s the real America, not the stuff that they’re saying. Well, it’s this you don’t wanna let them in. No. You gotta do it the right way. And you know exactly what I’m talking about. Because like I said, if I did the same thing to your country, just came in and said, well, you gotta think my way because I’m from this country. No.
Speaker 1 – 00:13:34.095 – 00:13:59.960
You’re gonna say, no. It doesn’t work that way. They don’t. So you know? Exactly. Mhmm. But that’s why a lot of people are mad because, well, why is it they don’t wanna learn about us and this and that, but we have to, you know, learn their stuff, which is no. You know what I’m saying? I just don’t believe that. You learn to assimilate to the country that’s what it was about based on freedom. You know what I’m saying? You know exactly what I’m saying. So and that’s what I gotta say.
Speaker 0 – 00:14:00.900 – 00:14:01.780
Okay. Thank you.
Speaker 1 – 00:14:01.780 – 00:14:04.040
I know that was a whole lot. Boy, I feel better.
Speaker 0 – 00:14:06.475 – 00:14:12.495
And so moving on to the last question. So what does loving our country require for you or for us?
Speaker 1 – 00:14:14.795 – 00:14:52.510
Requiring the loving for my country is learning something. Probably number one thing is probably believing in God. That’s number one. Going out there and earning out there making a living be part of the world. Earning your car, earning this, you know what I’m saying? Being an example of oh my god. Believing in the freedom of speech and saying what’s on my mind without being ridiculed for how it used to be, which is not that way now because everything seems to be all one-sided nowadays.
Speaker 1 – 00:14:52.730 – 00:15:23.360
If you don’t agree this way all of a sudden, I’m not trying to get political. I’m not gonna mention any parties. But I don’t wanna do that. But it seems like you have to think one way now because if you don’t think this way, right, you’re ridiculed for it. It shouldn’t be that way. Mhmm. You know what I’m saying? Yeah. I mean, you got one side over here. You got one side over there. You know what I’m saying? Mhmm. I believe in, oh my god. What makes you live your how can I say this? I’m trying to find the words.
Speaker 1 – 00:15:23.820 – 00:16:01.235
I just think it’s being honest with yourself, being honest with people, being responsible, and letting people choose their path that they want to do in their country of what what you feel inside that you wanna do. You know, whatever it is, making a living, whatever. You know, having kids. Whatever. Not being told how many kids you got. Now how many, that I need to think this way because of this way for our political agendas. Mhmm. Being yourself, I know we’re gonna almost gone. Okay. I believe in, you know, just making a living nowadays and being yourself
Speaker 0 – 00:16:01.475 – 00:16:01.635
Mhmm.
Speaker 1 – 00:16:01.795 – 00:16:23.380
Being what you what you believe. And you have the freedoms where you’re allowed to do that with the freedom of speech and all that of our bill of rights because I firmly believe in the bill of rights. Mhmm. And that’s what we need. All the rights are their natural rights. I am religious to a certain point, but not where I just kind of walk the deep end where everybody think I should, you know, believe in how they believe.
Speaker 1 – 00:16:23.380 – 00:16:46.710
You know what I’m saying? But the best of what the bill of rights based on in our country. Do you know the bill of rights? Yes. Yeah. Okay. Good. For you, you know what I’m saying. So Mhmm. In other words, trial by jury instead of saying, well, you have one judge saying you’re guilty without being proven innocent first. That’s the stuff I believe in, and it’s going away. And it’s it’s not it shouldn’t be that way.
Speaker 0 – 00:16:46.710 – 00:16:47.210
Mhmm.
Speaker 1 – 00:16:47.270 – 00:17:05.465
And that’s where our country is in danger. You have this one man, I’m not gonna mention names, in New York City who believes in certain things, it’s not gonna that’s there’s a lot of things going on in New York City right now that there’s other people that think that way too, and it shouldn’t be like that.
Speaker 0 – 00:17:05.465 – 00:17:05.625
Mhmm.
Speaker 1 – 00:17:05.625 – 00:17:18.940
You know what I’m saying? I gotta be careful what I say, because then if I start saying certain things, I don’t wanna bring no parties or no names into it. You know what I’m saying. So
Speaker 0 – 00:17:19.180 – 00:17:25.385
Mhmm. And that’s pretty much all of the questions on our agenda. Is there anything else you wanted to share?
Speaker 1 – 00:17:25.605 – 00:17:29.925
No. That was it. Uh-huh. Tell me. That was That was a whole lot right there. Yeah.
Speaker 0 – 00:17:29.925 – 00:17:32.005
That that’s really great stories, and thank you
Speaker 1 – 00:17:32.005 – 00:17:33.525
very much Yep. No problem.
Speaker 0 – 00:17:33.605 – 00:17:34.560
For your participant. Thank you.
Speaker 1 – 00:17:34.560 – 00:17:37.920
Sorry for being so cautious, but when you start citing names, I just had to find out. Alright.
Speaker 0 – 00:17:37.920 – 00:17:45.940
It’s okay. I like your family. Oh, really? Thank you. The pink one? Yeah. I like pink.
Speaker 1 – 00:17:46.480 – 00:17:46.720
Do you
Speaker 0 – 00:17:46.720 – 00:17:51.765
want one? I think I’d give one to you. Are they fake? I think they’re real.
Speaker 1 – 00:17:54.945 – 00:17:57.505
Thanks, Katie. Alright. Thank you.
Speaker 0 – 00:17:57.505 – 00:17:59.045
Thank you so much for participating.
Speaker 1 – 00:17:59.345 – 00:17:59.925
No problem.
That’s fine. Thank you. So thanks for being here today. So I’m I’m Tina. Hi. My name is Tanya. Nice to meet you. So I’m from University of Rochester. I’m a senior student. So so this is, it’s like our capstone project. So we are collecting sorry. So we are collaboration with John Brown Lives, which is our social partner. Yeah. So so I’ll start asking questions. So if you feel uncomfortable or wanna stop, it’s just just tell me. Yeah.
Speaker 1 – 00:00:29.270 – 00:00:29.590
Yeah.
Speaker 0 – 00:00:29.590 – 00:00:44.065
So I have my first question is, are you being affected by what is happening in your country, in our country? You can refer to a country you physically hear or where your original form is. I just
Speaker 1 – 00:00:44.225 – 00:00:47.185
Can you elaborate further on the question? I’m affected. How so?
Speaker 0 – 00:00:47.185 – 00:01:03.290
Yeah. So so the question is, have you been affected by what happening in your country? So the country can be referred to United States, your physical care, or where you were originally from because I’m originally from China. You’re from China? Yeah.
Speaker 1 – 00:01:03.290 – 00:01:20.155
So well, my family’s from Puerto Rico, and there is a lot of tourism there. And a lot of Americans are going over there. And they’re basically, there is a law now that, they can have housing there without paying taxes on it.
Speaker 0 – 00:01:20.155 – 00:01:20.395
So a
Speaker 1 – 00:01:20.395 – 00:01:26.570
lot of them are going over there, and it’s affecting the island Yeah. And the people who were living there before.
Speaker 0 – 00:01:27.190 – 00:01:36.550
Yeah. So tourism Tourism. Yeah. It’s a big thing. Yeah. Okay. So so do you feel loved by your country? Yeah. Can you elaborate a little bit?
Speaker 1 – 00:01:36.550 – 00:01:40.255
I do. I love my country, but I love living in United States too. So yeah.
Speaker 0 – 00:01:40.315 – 00:01:52.635
Okay. So, so what actually, what would it looks like to feel loved by your country? Like, just more probably example. Like, is there, like, a stories that I just
Speaker 1 – 00:01:52.715 – 00:02:03.900
So the minute I step, like, I step on the plane, everyone’s clapping, everyone’s happy, and I feel at home. It’s pure love, like, the culture and everything. They’re like, hi. How are you? And when you come to The States, it’s not like that. Everyone is very cold.
Speaker 0 – 00:02:04.120 – 00:02:07.635
Oh, so so when you were in Puerto Rico, you step on the plane to do a clap.
Speaker 1 – 00:02:07.635 – 00:02:11.875
They clap as soon as we land, and it’s just pure love. You know, it’s love. Didn’t go
Speaker 0 – 00:02:11.875 – 00:02:15.795
down. Yeah. Oh, that’s that’s great. So so it’s very different.
Speaker 1 – 00:02:15.795 – 00:02:18.615
It’s very different here. It’s very cold. Everyone is very disrespectful.
Speaker 0 – 00:02:19.395 – 00:02:31.360
So It’s it’s it’s the same in China because China, people have more distance between each other, actually. So yeah. So I have the last question. So, what does loving our country
Speaker 1 – 00:02:31.660 – 00:02:40.955
require of you? Respecting others. Respecting our environment. Respecting the people around you. You have to love yourself in order to love others. So
Speaker 0 – 00:02:41.415 – 00:03:03.167
Yeah. That’s great. Yeah. Yeah. I think that’s all question I have. So Never? Yeah. That that was it. Yeah. Yeah. So do you have any, any, like, stories you wanna share about? Were you in The States or in The in Puerto Rico that you feel love? Or Okay. They don’t. Yeah. Okay. Then thank you. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you for your stories. You’re welcome. Yeah. Good to talk to you.
Yeah. So the first question I have is, are you being affected by what is happening in your country or in this country? That means the country you are physically here or where you were originally from? Because I’m originally from China. So
Speaker 1 – 00:00:14.080 – 00:00:15.940
Yeah. That I originally from Africa?
Speaker 0 – 00:00:16.215 – 00:00:17.175
Yeah. We can send this out.
Speaker 1 – 00:00:17.175 – 00:00:17.735
I just have
Speaker 0 – 00:00:17.735 – 00:00:22.475
to and sign it after. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1 – 00:00:22.695 – 00:00:43.845
I’m kinda not affected what happening in Africa. But what happening here, I’m a little bit affected about what happened here. Yeah. Like, immigration issue. Yeah. So, I mean, you know Mhmm. I was I’m wondering if he he cannot just be target by the way he look. Mhmm. You want to worry about.
Speaker 0 – 00:00:44.725 – 00:00:46.185
Yeah. Then, you know,
Speaker 1 – 00:00:46.725 – 00:00:57.145
then just look for a criminal. That’s okay. Yeah. When a target is just going to what the way you look has a problem.
Speaker 0 – 00:00:57.525 – 00:01:08.400
Yeah. Yes. Yeah. So, so do you feel loved by your country? So you can refer to Africa or The States, both, or you can talk separately.
Speaker 1 – 00:01:11.020 – 00:01:26.495
So either way, I feel like yes. I feel love by the country. Yes. Mhmm. Because, I mean, I’ve been in a lot of positive stuff in either side of the country. So I’m not gonna say yeah. Yes.
Speaker 0 – 00:01:26.715 – 00:01:41.260
Yeah. For sure. So, so what did it look like to feel loved by your country? Like, is there, like, a specific event or, like, specific stories that were, like, there’s a moment that you feel like you’re really loved by this country?
Speaker 1 – 00:01:42.505 – 00:02:04.460
I will maybe talk about I live I’ve been in Warrato here, this this this city here for, you know, over twenty years. Oh. Yeah. So so far, everywhere I go, my the job I’m doing from coworkers, you know, is all love. Yeah. So so I wouldn’t I didn’t see anything.
Speaker 0 – 00:02:08.535 – 00:02:15.515
So, yeah, so what does loving our country require of you?
Speaker 1 – 00:02:17.575 – 00:02:18.875
What do you mean by that?
Speaker 0 – 00:02:18.935 – 00:02:31.890
So, it’s like so it’s like, would you think what you are doing or something you do that will make the country, like, love you? Or
Speaker 1 – 00:02:33.650 – 00:02:46.385
The country should love somebody. It doesn’t matter what you do, really, because you’re part of the country. I mean, you know? Mhmm. You either a daughter of the country or a son of the country. Mhmm. It is. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 0 – 00:02:46.723 – 00:02:48.563
Yeah. So those are all the
Speaker 1 – 00:02:48.563 – 00:02:50.483
questions I have. Oh, okay.
Speaker 0 – 00:02:50.483 – 00:02:52.263
Yeah. So yeah.
Speaker 1 – 00:02:52.323 – 00:02:54.683
Thank you today for Thank you very much. Yeah.
Speaker 0 – 00:02:54.883 – 00:02:56.583
Peace. Yeah. Sweet.
So the first question is, are you being affected by what is happening in our country?
Speaker 1 – 00:00:05.680 – 00:00:06.880
Yes. I am. Mhmm.
Speaker 0 – 00:00:06.880 – 00:00:08.420
So do you mind elaborating?
Speaker 1 – 00:00:09.440 – 00:00:48.655
How I feel about how everything’s all racism now Mhmm. Because of things that happened in the past, I am not responsible for things that happened in the past. Yeah. K? Mhmm. I, I believe in I look at a per I don’t think that way. How I think of this, I look at a person, like, of how they go out and make a living, how they go out and earn things of what our country is based on, how you gotta go out and get your own life, the freedoms of our country, of anybody. Right? Yeah. The things that I’m hearing about nowadays of reparations for what? Because I didn’t do anything. Mhmm. And that’s where it upsets me because of that.
Speaker 1 – 00:00:48.655 – 00:01:22.445
Because because then I’m saying, well, you can’t you hear things like, you you’re, a racist just because you’re white. What does that mean? Yeah. You know what I’m saying? Mhmm. And I don’t get that. I’ve done nothing. These are things that happened a long time ago. Mhmm. K? And there’s other things that happened too where there’s and there was like, you got the civil war. There was all kinds of racism. So where there’s Irish, German, wasn’t just them. You know, it’s Indians. Mhmm. And all the things that are talked about about racism, I just disagree with it. Right?
Speaker 1 – 00:01:22.670 – 00:01:56.200
It wasn’t just the blacks that said we weren’t war. It was the Irish, Germans, Indians were in there too fighting for everybody’s freedom. You know? Mhmm. Thank you so much. And do I believe there’s some racism? Today, yes. There’s some. But the things that are talked about nowadays of reparations and I have to think of the woke stuff, that junk. Mhmm. I don’t believe in any of it. I think it’s a bunch of crap. I know you’re taught different things in college nowadays. Right? I don’t believe in what you’re being taught. Mhmm. This woke stuff.
Speaker 1 – 00:01:56.260 – 00:02:21.470
I I’m I’m in school. I always will, but I believe and look at that person. I look at who they are. Mhmm. If they go out there and they’re making a living, okay, if you’re black, white, whatever, you wanna part of the American dream, I’ll look at you how you do. Right? I mean, you’re sitting there trying to get money out of somebody because of something that happened in the past. I’m looking at you going, you just want money. Mhmm. But if I see that person with their skin color go out there making it look like anybody else is, I’m all for that. You know what I’m saying?
Speaker 1 – 00:02:21.470 – 00:02:49.760
I don’t care who they are. Mhmm. I mean, I don’t care if I see some street person, if they’re black, white, green, walking the street, asking me for money. I mean, I’m sorry. You don’t you need to go out there and get your own life. Yeah. Go out there and get a living like everybody else does. Yeah. But the stuff that or, you know, like, the woke stuff, I don’t believe in any of it. Mhmm. I don’t believe in the transgender stuff. Mhmm. None of it. You don’t take a little kid like that, an an eight year old, and talk to him about, well, if you don’t feel this way, maybe you’re this way.
Speaker 1 – 00:02:49.820 – 00:02:57.485
I gotta I hear what I say. I don’t believe that kids at eight years old should be taught to be about transgender. I don’t believe that.
Speaker 0 – 00:02:57.485 – 00:02:58.605
That completely makes sense.
Speaker 1 – 00:02:58.605 – 00:03:26.685
Right. Mhmm. And I’m like, like, the wolf stuff is somebody something like this is made up. You know? But, yeah, our country needs to go back to the old ways of not racism, but based on for everybody, go out and get your own life. Yeah. Not because of something that happened two hundred years ago. Mhmm. And it didn’t happen in this country. It happened all over. And problem is, like, the Indians, like like slavery, stuff like that. The Indians did it to each other.
Speaker 1 – 00:03:27.065 – 00:03:59.385
They went and they tacked other hoods and they they got other Indian tribes, and they use them as slaves. Right? Like the Zulu, it’s a tribe in Africa. They did the same thing to each other. Does it make it right? No. It’s not right. You know what I’m saying? But just because you sit there and say if something that happened a long time ago is my fault, it’s not because I didn’t do anything. That’s what bothers me. And it happened in every society, but that doesn’t make that it’s still wrong. You know what I’m saying? Yeah.
Speaker 1 – 00:04:00.165 – 00:04:27.125
And to me, that’s racism in itself when you say that. If I’m just sitting there, never mind my business. You just call me racist. I didn’t know nothing wrong. I I have a problem with that. Mhmm. And and like I said, you need like, how I feel is you didn’t act this stuff up. Go out there and get a living. Mhmm. You know, like anybody else does. I don’t care. Education, whatever. You know? And especially the things nowadays would need to be taught in schools. Number one, religion. Mhmm. K?
Speaker 1 – 00:04:27.505 – 00:04:58.860
Everything that you do while making for a living and stuff like that, it’s all based on, you know, on religion. You know what I’m saying? Well, they’re a good life, being honest. But, you know, guy’s a guy, girl’s a girl. Mhmm. That’s what I believe in. You know, the transgender stock up here. You know? It’s not getting too much. It’s just that you need to go back to the old ways of going and making a living. All this other stuff is just being politically correct is just outrageous. It’s just getting to the point where it’s just stupid.
Speaker 1 – 00:04:59.400 – 00:05:35.730
Just like letting the illegal immigrants in here, which is so I think it was so stupid because you need to do it the right way. Like, you’re Asian. Like, your parents probably did it the right way. Right? They didn’t just be let in not knowing custom. And even if it was your country or my country or European country, any other country, you gotta learn, their culture. You have to assimilate into their culture. Right? Yeah. You gotta learn about a history because and you gotta learn the language because if you don’t, you’ll learn nothing in that country.
Speaker 1 – 00:05:35.730 – 00:05:56.880
You don’t come to another from another country, which which is not the last administration was their fault with so much certain people believe in. It shouldn’t, you should learn to assimilate the the country of that. You know what I’m saying? Learn their value system. Not because you come from another country because you want to better yourself.
Speaker 0 – 00:05:57.180 – 00:05:57.680
Yeah.
Speaker 1 – 00:05:57.980 – 00:06:19.935
If you sit there and still believe in your country and you got your, I just said, your political value system. Right? Why are you here? You know what I’m saying? That’s what I’m talking about. That’s probably why your family, being Asian, left their country to better themselves. Right? Right. But you have to understand the language, understand what’s going on, you know, in that country.
Speaker 0 – 00:06:22.320 – 00:06:29.860
Yeah. Okay. Thank you so much for sharing, and then we’re moving on to the next question. Okay. So do you feel loved by your country by our country?
Speaker 1 – 00:06:33.680 – 00:06:35.140
Being loved by your country.
Speaker 0 – 00:06:35.280 – 00:06:36.905
Yeah. I
Speaker 1 – 00:06:36.905 – 00:07:15.605
don’t think be it’s not being loved by your country. It’s what you can when you say it, what you can do in your country with your freedoms is which why you love your country. Because I believe the government should not rule a country. It should represent the people that that are elected. You know what I’m saying. How am I saying that? It should represent the people that are elected, not not represent themselves. Uh-huh. Because I think the the hate people in there been in there too long, they represent themselves.
Speaker 1 – 00:07:16.225 – 00:07:37.375
The people that you elect by the majority of what they want in this country is what makes you love your country when you’re being represented by the people you elect. And in my opinion, you’re not being represented by the things that you believe in, by the people that are being elected. It’s all about money. So
Speaker 0 – 00:07:37.935 – 00:07:48.590
Mhmm. Yeah. I get it. So that kind of, covered our next question. What would it look like to feel loved by your country? So, So, like, when you are represented.
Speaker 1 – 00:07:48.730 – 00:08:00.990
When you are represented, that’s what make you love your country. Because it makes your country better of what you want, because of the freedoms that you want, which in my opinion, we’re losing our freedoms every day because of being politically correct.
Speaker 0 – 00:08:01.050 – 00:08:01.995
Yeah. Mhmm.
Speaker 1 – 00:08:01.995 – 00:08:36.345
Instead of no. No. No. How are you saying that? Taking things to the extremes that just don’t make sense. Mhmm. I mean, there’s such thing as lost to a certain point, but when you go like, you got the CPS laws. Okay. Where nowadays is there the, the consequences of your actions when you do something wrong? You learn that when you’re young. Okay? Just like the trophies and stuff like that that gives, you, oh, you got a participation trophy. Okay? How do you supposed to learn when there’s winners and losers?
Speaker 1 – 00:08:37.125 – 00:09:06.015
You know what I’m saying? You have to learn to be a winner and a loser. If you lose something, you learn you’ve gotta whatever it is, you try harder to get better at it so you could be a winner. And that goes with life. You know what I’m saying? And that goes when you’re it starts out young, and it goes on when you’re a kid. There’s always winners and losers. That’s what you learn in school. That’s the old ways. You know what I’m saying? About getting a job and being honest and being responsible. Mhmm. Stuff like that.
Speaker 1 – 00:09:06.155 – 00:09:35.945
And the things that you have, you put your sweat into. Right? The the things you put your sweat into, you feel good about yourself. And And that’s where religious freedoms comes in because you feel good about yourself, and that’s what makes you love your country because you go out and you earn your stuff instead of things being given to you. If you give things that are given to you, right, you do not when you sit there and put hard work into something, right, you earn it because you’re sweating to it. But when when you get like okay.
Speaker 1 – 00:09:35.945 – 00:10:06.855
I’m not trying to make this sound like racist, but when you have illegals coming in here, right, of not doing that the right way like they’re supposed to learning their customs. Right? And you just give them anything. They don’t appreciate nothing because they didn’t earn it. Like, your family came into my country. Right? I mean, you’re an American. I look at you as American. But I know, you know, they came in and they earned it. You know what I’m saying? So they appreciate more because they had to lend to customers and stuff like that of the country. You know what I’m saying? Not to sound racism.
Speaker 0 – 00:10:07.960 – 00:10:12.380
It’s okay. My family didn’t move to the the state yet. So, like, they’re still in China.
Speaker 1 – 00:10:12.600 – 00:10:13.240
Oh, okay.
Speaker 0 – 00:10:13.240 – 00:10:14.280
But I totally get what
Speaker 1 – 00:10:14.280 – 00:10:41.030
you’re saying. Good English. Okay. So I’m thinking you’re an American. You were born here. No. But what I’m saying is when you go to isn’t with any country, you go to China, you go to Russia, you go to England, you have to learn their customs. Right? And you have to work the harder learn their language. Yeah. That’s that’s called work. Yeah. And when you when you learn it, you earn it. And that’s what makes you love your country or to be part of something. But if it’s just given to you, you don’t appreciate it.
Speaker 1 – 00:10:41.030 – 00:11:10.040
You throw it in the trash. Just like some of the street people up here, they don’t earn nothing. Everything’s given to them. What gets me is I mean, this just goes with everything in life. Like, it’s the street people that come in here. There’s a lot of them. Okay. They’re into drugs, but everything’s given to them. Right? What are they gonna learn? They’re not gonna learn nothing. And that goes with illegals, the the the drug use, or whatever. It’s all about, feeling good about yourself by putting yourself into something and learning something.
Speaker 0 – 00:11:10.100 – 00:11:10.600
Mhmm.
Speaker 1 – 00:11:10.660 – 00:11:39.250
A trade, whatever in school. And once you become part of that, that’s when you become part of your country and when you learn responsibility. And that’s when say, that’s when you learn about, loving your country by oh my god. By learning to you know what I’m saying? You feel good about something because you’ve earned it. Basically, that’s what it is. Mhmm. You become part of that. That’s what makes you love your country because of your freedoms.
Speaker 1 – 00:11:39.710 – 00:12:03.420
But if it’s just given to you or you just take it for granted and you don’t work hard for it, you don’t care. You don’t appreciate it. This is like if you get a car or something. You work hard for that car. Right? Mhmm. Do you appreciate that car? Because you’re sweating to that car. Right? Yeah. Okay. It’s with anybody. So sorry. I didn’t mean to say that. I just you speak great English. I thought, you know Thank you.
Speaker 0 – 00:12:03.420 – 00:12:04.220
It’s okay. It’s okay.
Speaker 1 – 00:12:04.220 – 00:12:05.340
But you know what I’m talking about.
Speaker 0 – 00:12:05.340 – 00:12:05.740
Yeah.
Speaker 1 – 00:12:05.740 – 00:12:36.420
Okay. If you’re from China, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Do they let just anybody understand you? No. No. They don’t. They have to assimilate. Like, me, I’d have to learn your language. I gotta learn your customs. Right? It’s like me walking in your country saying, well, see, you have to think my way. You know what I’m saying? Forget your customs or forget that. That’s an insult to another country. Yeah. And when you have illegal immigrants coming in here, not knowing the language, not knowing our history. Right? That’s an insult to the American people. Mhmm.
Speaker 1 – 00:12:36.420 – 00:12:55.640
You know what I’m saying? Yeah. And that’s with any other country there. That’s an insult. Why is it, you know, that we have to cater to them when they don’t wanna learn nothing about us? You know, I just don’t understand that. That’s the way it used to be. That’s the old way. And that’s how the impact sorry.
Speaker 0 – 00:12:55.860 – 00:12:56.680
It’s okay.
Speaker 1 – 00:12:57.860 – 00:13:05.320
That’s what I believe in. Mhmm. You know? And I just think about just every other American believes that way. Mhmm. And that’s that’s not racism.
Speaker 0 – 00:13:05.780 – 00:13:06.375
Mhmm. Yeah.
Speaker 1 – 00:13:06.535 – 00:13:34.095
You know? Yeah. But you get these people with these political agendas. Right? Mhmm. And they say these things and there’s no there’s nothing behind it. It’s just all hollow. And that’s the real America, not the stuff that they’re saying. Well, it’s this you don’t wanna let them in. No. You gotta do it the right way. And you know exactly what I’m talking about. Because like I said, if I did the same thing to your country, just came in and said, well, you gotta think my way because I’m from this country. No.
Speaker 1 – 00:13:34.095 – 00:13:59.960
You’re gonna say, no. It doesn’t work that way. They don’t. So you know? Exactly. Mhmm. But that’s why a lot of people are mad because, well, why is it they don’t wanna learn about us and this and that, but we have to, you know, learn their stuff, which is no. You know what I’m saying? I just don’t believe that. You learn to assimilate to the country that’s what it was about based on freedom. You know what I’m saying? You know exactly what I’m saying. So and that’s what I gotta say.
Speaker 0 – 00:14:00.900 – 00:14:01.780
Okay. Thank you.
Speaker 1 – 00:14:01.780 – 00:14:04.040
I know that was a whole lot. Boy, I feel better.
Speaker 0 – 00:14:06.475 – 00:14:12.495
And so moving on to the last question. So what does loving our country require for you or for us?
Speaker 1 – 00:14:14.795 – 00:14:52.510
Requiring the loving for my country is learning something. Probably number one thing is probably believing in God. That’s number one. Going out there and earning out there making a living be part of the world. Earning your car, earning this, you know what I’m saying? Being an example of oh my god. Believing in the freedom of speech and saying what’s on my mind without being ridiculed for how it used to be, which is not that way now because everything seems to be all one-sided nowadays.
Speaker 1 – 00:14:52.730 – 00:15:23.360
If you don’t agree this way all of a sudden, I’m not trying to get political. I’m not gonna mention any parties. But I don’t wanna do that. But it seems like you have to think one way now because if you don’t think this way, right, you’re ridiculed for it. It shouldn’t be that way. Mhmm. You know what I’m saying? Yeah. I mean, you got one side over here. You got one side over there. You know what I’m saying? Mhmm. I believe in, oh my god. What makes you live your how can I say this? I’m trying to find the words.
Speaker 1 – 00:15:23.820 – 00:16:01.235
I just think it’s being honest with yourself, being honest with people, being responsible, and letting people choose their path that they want to do in their country of what what you feel inside that you wanna do. You know, whatever it is, making a living, whatever. You know, having kids. Whatever. Not being told how many kids you got. Now how many, that I need to think this way because of this way for our political agendas. Mhmm. Being yourself, I know we’re gonna almost gone. Okay. I believe in, you know, just making a living nowadays and being yourself
Speaker 0 – 00:16:01.475 – 00:16:01.635
Mhmm.
Speaker 1 – 00:16:01.795 – 00:16:23.380
Being what you what you believe. And you have the freedoms where you’re allowed to do that with the freedom of speech and all that of our bill of rights because I firmly believe in the bill of rights. Mhmm. And that’s what we need. All the rights are their natural rights. I am religious to a certain point, but not where I just kind of walk the deep end where everybody think I should, you know, believe in how they believe.
Speaker 1 – 00:16:23.380 – 00:16:46.710
You know what I’m saying? But the best of what the bill of rights based on in our country. Do you know the bill of rights? Yes. Yeah. Okay. Good. For you, you know what I’m saying. So Mhmm. In other words, trial by jury instead of saying, well, you have one judge saying you’re guilty without being proven innocent first. That’s the stuff I believe in, and it’s going away. And it’s it’s not it shouldn’t be that way.
Speaker 0 – 00:16:46.710 – 00:16:47.210
Mhmm.
Speaker 1 – 00:16:47.270 – 00:17:05.465
And that’s where our country is in danger. You have this one man, I’m not gonna mention names, in New York City who believes in certain things, it’s not gonna that’s there’s a lot of things going on in New York City right now that there’s other people that think that way too, and it shouldn’t be like that.
Speaker 0 – 00:17:05.465 – 00:17:05.625
Mhmm.
Speaker 1 – 00:17:05.625 – 00:17:18.940
You know what I’m saying? I gotta be careful what I say, because then if I start saying certain things, I don’t wanna bring no parties or no names into it. You know what I’m saying. So
Speaker 0 – 00:17:19.180 – 00:17:25.385
Mhmm. And that’s pretty much all of the questions on our agenda. Is there anything else you wanted to share?
Speaker 1 – 00:17:25.605 – 00:17:29.925
No. That was it. Uh-huh. Tell me. That was That was a whole lot right there. Yeah.
Speaker 0 – 00:17:29.925 – 00:17:32.005
That that’s really great stories, and thank you
Speaker 1 – 00:17:32.005 – 00:17:33.525
very much Yep. No problem.
Speaker 0 – 00:17:33.605 – 00:17:34.560
For your participant. Thank you.
Speaker 1 – 00:17:34.560 – 00:17:37.920
Sorry for being so cautious, but when you start citing names, I just had to find out. Alright.
Speaker 0 – 00:17:37.920 – 00:17:45.940
It’s okay. I like your family. Oh, really? Thank you. The pink one? Yeah. I like pink.
Speaker 1 – 00:17:46.480 – 00:17:46.720
Do you
Speaker 0 – 00:17:46.720 – 00:17:51.765
want one? I think I’d give one to you. Are they fake? I think they’re real.
Speaker 1 – 00:17:54.945 – 00:17:57.505
Thanks, Katie. Alright. Thank you.
Speaker 0 – 00:17:57.505 – 00:17:59.045
Thank you so much for participating.
Speaker 1 – 00:17:59.345 – 00:17:59.925
No problem.
So how are you today?
Speaker 1 – 00:00:05.520 – 00:00:10.000
Good. It’s good. Okay. This is my weather. Nice
Speaker 0 – 00:00:10.000 – 00:00:13.935
and cool. Yeah. Yes. It is. Yeah. It’s almost spring now.
Speaker 1 – 00:00:13.935 – 00:00:14.415
Mhmm.
Speaker 0 – 00:00:14.415 – 00:00:18.115
It’s nice and cool. So, are you ready for the questions?
Speaker 1 – 00:00:19.215 – 00:00:22.195
No. Just wondering what this is.
Speaker 0 – 00:00:22.255 – 00:00:37.290
This is oh, so it is our class project. We are from University of Rochester. We drove two hours here to collect some stories from you. It is about, like, do you, whether or not, feel loved by your country, like, where you are living right now?
Speaker 1 – 00:00:37.290 – 00:00:38.590
In our country? No.
Speaker 0 – 00:00:39.130 – 00:00:40.745
Oh, so, like, we will have
Speaker 1 – 00:00:41.365 – 00:00:48.245
this. I was living somewhere else? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Up here? No. Yeah. Okay. New York is not the best place to
Speaker 0 – 00:00:48.485 – 00:00:56.450
Okay. So we will find it out, like, why you have this kind of feeling and to help better, like, build our project because
Speaker 1 – 00:00:56.450 – 00:01:01.890
we I would say more because we have no freedom. Okay. That’s my big thing.
Speaker 0 – 00:01:01.890 – 00:01:04.710
Okay. Yeah. I’m just trying to go through the questions
Speaker 1 – 00:01:05.010 – 00:01:06.630
so you can Okay.
Speaker 0 – 00:01:06.770 – 00:01:15.385
Yeah. Yeah. So the first question is, are you affected by what’s happening in our country right now?
Speaker 1 – 00:01:16.325 – 00:01:17.865
Yeah. I’m really not happy
Speaker 0 – 00:01:18.325 – 00:01:21.865
with it. Like, in what kind of way?
Speaker 1 – 00:01:21.925 – 00:01:26.920
Because because the way the the wars and everything are going.
Speaker 0 – 00:01:27.300 – 00:01:27.940
Yeah. We
Speaker 1 – 00:01:27.940 – 00:01:52.550
spend more time fighting than we do doing yeah. We have too many wars. Too many. Because my grandson is in the navy. Oh. And once you get on that ship, you can’t yeah. He has no rights. He can’t talk. He can’t. No. That’s not the way it should be, Buck. You don’t get a choice.
Speaker 0 – 00:01:53.010 – 00:01:53.510
Yes.
Speaker 1 – 00:01:54.210 – 00:01:56.930
Yes. And I think it’s a little unfair, but
Speaker 0 – 00:01:57.890 – 00:02:22.610
Mhmm. I agree. Mhmm. Yeah. It’s it’s it’s unfair. Yeah. And the second question is the core question, which you have just answered, but we want to, like, look at more deeply is do you feel loved by your country? And by love, it means any kind of, like, support or I would say no. No. Like No. Because
Speaker 1 – 00:02:22.610 – 00:02:28.230
it’s a lot different than it used to be. Okay. You don’t the biggest thing is you don’t have choices.
Speaker 0 – 00:02:28.610 – 00:02:29.110
Okay.
Speaker 1 – 00:02:29.170 – 00:02:37.055
Yep. But Yeah. I just don’t know. It needs a lot of changes. Okay. Yep.
Speaker 0 – 00:02:37.595 – 00:02:42.715
So you mentioned it used to be, so it means that you used to be loved, feel loved.
Speaker 1 – 00:02:42.715 – 00:02:44.655
Years ago, it was a lot easier.
Speaker 0 – 00:02:44.875 – 00:02:45.375
Mhmm.
Speaker 1 – 00:02:45.515 – 00:02:52.270
I I think kids don’t stand a chance unless you’re headed Okay. In the right direction. Yes.
Speaker 0 – 00:02:52.730 – 00:02:59.230
Like, decades ago, like, you feel the support, but now I just don’t feel it anymore.
Speaker 1 – 00:02:59.610 – 00:03:01.875
No. Not like it used to be fifty years ago.
Speaker 0 – 00:03:01.875 – 00:03:02.695
Fifty years.
Speaker 1 – 00:03:03.155 – 00:03:04.755
Okay. It wasn’t that easy.
Speaker 0 – 00:03:04.835 – 00:03:17.910
Time. Okay. Yep. Yeah. And the the following question will be, what would it be like to feel loved by your country? Like, can you picture what would it be like if you feel
Speaker 1 – 00:03:18.450 – 00:03:24.390
You would have the freedom to do what you wanna do. Mhmm. You don’t have to yeah. The freedom.
Speaker 0 – 00:03:24.530 – 00:03:24.930
Yeah. You
Speaker 1 – 00:03:24.930 – 00:03:27.430
get a choice. Now you don’t get a choice.
Speaker 0 – 00:03:28.130 – 00:03:30.355
Mhmm. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1 – 00:03:30.575 – 00:03:33.875
But we just have too many things going on that we don’t need
Speaker 0 – 00:03:34.335 – 00:03:35.955
going on. Yes.
Speaker 1 – 00:03:36.575 – 00:03:45.530
I think if kids were headed in the right direction, we’d have less problems. Okay. Because may back in my day, you didn’t do those things.
Speaker 0 – 00:03:45.670 – 00:03:46.170
Okay.
Speaker 1 – 00:03:46.790 – 00:03:51.530
You didn’t run around with a gun. It’s just me.
Speaker 0 – 00:03:52.070 – 00:04:04.375
I know. I can feel. Yes. And I think our last question will be, what does loving our country require of you?
Speaker 1 – 00:04:06.915 – 00:04:21.540
Well, deserve Oh. For one is a big issue. Yes. And to me, just be a little more helpful than not being you know, just to be more more comfortable.
Speaker 0 – 00:04:22.080 – 00:04:22.960
Yes. That’s all
Speaker 1 – 00:04:22.960 – 00:04:29.915
I can yeah. Yeah. That’s yeah. That’s all I can think is just to be more comfortable.
Speaker 0 – 00:04:30.775 – 00:04:39.015
Do you have anything, like, you want to share with us, like, any kind of stories while we are entering this inter
Speaker 1 – 00:04:39.175 – 00:04:41.620
I don’t have anything. Okay. Yeah.
Speaker 0 – 00:04:41.680 – 00:04:48.660
Yeah. Like, you keep mentioning the choice and, freedom. And I think
Speaker 1 – 00:04:49.120 – 00:04:50.660
Everybody should have the freedom.
Speaker 0 – 00:04:50.880 – 00:04:51.380
Mhmm.
Speaker 1 – 00:04:51.600 – 00:04:52.800
That’s a big thing.
Speaker 0 – 00:04:52.800 – 00:04:53.040
Yes.
Speaker 1 – 00:04:53.040 – 00:04:58.275
It, to me, doesn’t make any difference what you are Yeah. If you’re black or
Speaker 0 – 00:04:58.555 – 00:05:00.295
Mhmm. Is Yes.
Speaker 1 – 00:05:00.435 – 00:05:02.515
It should be everybody’s equal and
Speaker 0 – 00:05:02.675 – 00:05:03.155
Yeah.
Speaker 1 – 00:05:03.235 – 00:05:05.235
That’s just me. Yeah.
Speaker 0 – 00:05:05.235 – 00:05:13.890
I I feel I I I can feel that way. Like Mhmm. Two hundred years ago, it should be that, like, the freedom and choice. It was
Speaker 1 – 00:05:13.890 – 00:05:15.010
a lot easier. It was
Speaker 0 – 00:05:15.010 – 00:05:22.450
a lot easier. Yeah. Yeah. And thank you for that. I think you’re being very helpful and very supportive. I’m not
Speaker 1 – 00:05:22.450 – 00:05:24.065
good at this job. No.
Speaker 0 – 00:05:24.925 – 00:05:32.525
It’s it’s it’s a very, very good answer. So if you don’t have anything else to add, I will No. End this record. Yeah. Right here.
Speaker 1 – 00:05:32.525 – 00:05:38.950
Then I take it, put it through the shredder. No. It is No. Captain Brynitz are doing this.
Speaker 0 – 00:05:39.170 – 00:06:01.135
Oh, it is from, like it is initiated by Jumbun Lifts. Mhmm. So they’re a organization in Lake Placid. Yes. And they’re collaborating with New Rochester, which we are from New Rochester. And I study anthropology, so and we decided to join this project and help recording and everything.
Speaker 1 – 00:06:01.135 – 00:06:03.330
Don’t you think it’s very hard to work with the public?
Speaker 0 – 00:06:05.250 – 00:06:11.250
So far we haven’t, like, gone that far yet. But in the future, we will probably Yeah.
Speaker 1 – 00:06:11.250 – 00:06:12.610
Because we gotta work at it
Speaker 0 – 00:06:12.770 – 00:06:13.170
Yeah.
Speaker 1 – 00:06:13.250 – 00:06:23.525
To get there. Yes. Because once you come in the library, and you’re standing down there Yeah. Really friendly. You know, it makes a difference Yes. What they yeah.
Speaker 0 – 00:06:23.985 – 00:06:24.545
I know.
Speaker 1 – 00:06:24.545 – 00:06:31.890
Yeah. Okay. He said, well, we had a couple of questions. I said, yeah. I’ll go answer them, but I try not to use words I normally would use.
Speaker 0 – 00:06:34.510 – 00:06:35.410
Yes. Yep.
Speaker 1 – 00:06:36.670 – 00:06:41.870
This is a good, this is how you learn. Yeah. Because you’re not gonna learn unless you do it.
Speaker 0 – 00:06:41.870 – 00:06:46.795
Yes. Yeah. This is how how we learn the, like, lesson compared to
Speaker 1 – 00:06:46.915 – 00:06:48.535
Did you guys drive back and forth?
Speaker 0 – 00:06:48.915 – 00:06:54.595
Oh, it’s our professor who’s driving. We are just sitting in the back, but we actually
Speaker 1 – 00:06:55.075 – 00:06:58.760
You wanna stay here so you can get snowed in is what you wanna do.
Speaker 0 – 00:06:58.980 – 00:07:00.260
So is this snow?
Speaker 1 – 00:07:00.260 – 00:07:08.600
No. No. Just see be here for a whole week. Yep. Yep. So you’re gonna do this all day?
Speaker 0 – 00:07:08.900 – 00:07:11.385
Yes. Today. Just just for today. We’re ending at six.
Speaker 1 – 00:07:11.385 – 00:07:13.545
Yeah. Because it’s under, the library
Speaker 0 – 00:07:13.945 – 00:07:14.105
Yeah.
Speaker 1 – 00:07:14.185 – 00:07:15.725
That you guys are doing this.
Speaker 0 – 00:07:15.865 – 00:07:16.345
Yeah.
Speaker 1 – 00:07:16.345 – 00:07:16.745
Yep.
Speaker 0 – 00:07:16.745 – 00:07:28.330
So we’re just gonna do it till six and we’re leaving, packing everything up and Oh, that’s really strange. Oh, three. Yes. Three. And we’re gonna pack everything Yes. Mhmm.
Speaker 1 – 00:07:28.330 – 00:07:32.510
Yeah. But it’s yeah. When you get to be this age, you listen to opinions.
Speaker 0 – 00:07:32.730 – 00:07:33.530
Mhmm. Then you
Speaker 1 – 00:07:33.530 – 00:07:42.935
can do what you want when you get out the door. Yeah. It’s easier. Yeah. It’s easier. Okay. No. But I just think we need to do more.
Speaker 0 – 00:07:43.875 – 00:07:45.015
More like both.
Speaker 1 – 00:07:45.155 – 00:07:56.090
Yeah. Yes. You’re put yeah. A lot more. Yeah. Because I don’t think we’d be in this mess. But that’s just an opinion. Yes. Just remember, opinions are not the rule.
Speaker 0 – 00:07:56.790 – 00:08:06.010
I’ve interviewed a lot of people, and most of you were just are saying the same thing as you said. Like, it’s used to be, but not anymore.
Speaker 1 – 00:08:06.150 – 00:08:07.610
Yeah. Because we don’t get a choice.
Speaker 0 – 00:08:07.750 – 00:08:18.035
Yes. And that is everybody’s opinion. So Mhmm. I think that’s why we’re doing this project because we are finding something, like, in people’s words.
Speaker 1 – 00:08:18.175 – 00:08:21.555
Mhmm. I think if you go back fifty years ago, it’d be a lot better.
Speaker 0 – 00:08:21.695 – 00:08:29.790
Mhmm. Like, everyone just, oh, we feel so much love. We feel like we are safe and sound in this country.
Speaker 1 – 00:08:30.250 – 00:08:32.910
Yep. Yeah. Yep.
Speaker 0 – 00:08:33.050 – 00:08:34.090
Like, when Well,
Speaker 1 – 00:08:34.090 – 00:08:35.290
good luck, you guys.
Speaker 0 – 00:08:35.290 – 00:08:36.170
Okay. Yeah.
Speaker 1 – 00:08:36.170 – 00:08:39.815
Thank you. Tell everybody they need to come up here and do the questioning. Yes.
Speaker 0 – 00:08:40.275 – 00:08:42.355
No. We don’t wanna take anything with weight
Speaker 1 – 00:08:42.355 – 00:08:43.075
than you.
Speaker 0 – 00:08:43.075 – 00:08:47.475
It’s more a little bit more about jumbo moves. Yes. Because I
Speaker 1 – 00:08:47.475 – 00:08:48.455
had to look it up.
Speaker 0 – 00:08:49.875 – 00:08:51.475
Thank you. Well, I
Speaker 1 – 00:08:51.475 – 00:08:52.945
didn’t help you a lot.
That’s okay. It’s okay. Mhmm. Let’s do it, ’20, twenty Twenty first. Twenty first. Yes. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay.
Speaker 1 – 00:00:20.655 – 00:00:40.620
Thank you so much. So again, it’s our interview. Thank you so much for helping our class progress. It’s so helpful for you. We’re so grateful. So, the first question is, are you affect being affected by what’s happening inside our country right now? Absolutely. Absolutely. Like, in what kind of way?
Speaker 0 – 00:00:43.145 – 00:01:22.255
I think that the what is happening is impacting relationships, among family, friends, people. Facebook has been really, really rough. Yeah. Politically Mhmm. I feel that I am on the other side of the aisle because I am a Trumper. Yeah. I think that what Trump is doing is protecting our country. Yes. I have a lot of people who don’t agree with me. Yeah. But when you think about Cuba, where they’re at, you think about Iceland and Greenland, where they’re at, when you think about strategically where we are involved to protect this country, I don’t think people have a big picture of what he’s trying to do.
Speaker 0 – 00:01:22.255 – 00:01:37.580
They think he’s a war monger or he’s trying to just try to create dissension, but he’s got a plan, and I don’t think people understand the plan. Yes. We have a lot of people that they don’t get it. Mhmm. We don’t need to have open borders.
Speaker 1 – 00:01:37.800 – 00:01:38.300
Yeah.
Speaker 0 – 00:01:38.520 – 00:02:03.470
We don’t need to have to to we we cannot finance the world if we cannot educate the world. We have enough problems within our own nation that we have to protect ourselves, and it sounds like an oxymoron when I say, you know, Cuba this, that, and the other thing, but that is still protecting us, but it’s also protecting the rest of the world against things that are, you know, not safe.
Speaker 0 – 00:02:03.930 – 00:02:12.110
So, anyway, sorry. That’s how I feel. I’m very, very I am adamant about how I feel and and I know it’s it has caused some schisms.
Speaker 1 – 00:02:12.250 – 00:02:30.900
That’s a perfect answer. Answer. There’s definitely some many misunderstanding and going on whether it’s on social media or anything. So, like, the the second question is our core question. It is, do you feel loved by your country? Like, do you feel loved by this by this country?
Speaker 0 – 00:02:34.800 – 00:03:06.440
I love this country. Obviously, I’m a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, which is what this meeting is all about and whatever. I’ve been a member of the American Legion Auxiliary for over sixty years. I’m a strong patriot. I have an uncle who is buried at West Point. Mhmm. Military a lot. Mhmm. Love the country, patriotic. I’m saddened by the fact that I don’t think we are educating our children enough with civics Yes. And our history. Mhmm. They’re clueless. You watch these interviews on TV and they’ll say, who was the first president? And they don’t even know. They don’t care.
Speaker 0 – 00:03:06.440 – 00:03:22.970
I mean, it’s just I mean, you know, they’d rather have Hollywood or, their celebrities are their their heroes and stuff, and I don’t get it. Mhmm. No. I’m I’m I feel very much about history and patriotism and the love of country, and I think there needs to be more of that.
Speaker 1 – 00:03:22.970 – 00:03:40.735
Mhmm. There’s too much divisiveness. Yes. Okay. So I think there’s a following question to that. So what would it like to be, what would it look like to feel loved by your country? Can you picture that? Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 0 – 00:03:40.735 – 00:04:15.210
Yeah. I can. I’m old. So I grew up with a lot of the patriotism, the the flags, the marching, the parades, feeling honored to be a part of this country and feeling honored to know that we have the freedoms. And in I I mean, I I just see so much divisiveness, and and and, like like I said, growing up in the era in which I did and the way my my family Yeah. Reared me and my grandparents and whatever, it was love of a country.
Speaker 1 – 00:04:15.370 – 00:04:15.610
Yeah.
Speaker 0 – 00:04:15.610 – 00:04:18.490
And, I think there’s there needs to be more of that.
Speaker 1 – 00:04:18.490 – 00:04:35.175
Yes. Thank you. And the final question is that you kind of touched on that a little bit in early answer, but, what does loving our country require of you or us? That’s a really good question.
Speaker 0 – 00:04:40.995 – 00:05:14.270
I think the best thing would be to try to be positive about what’s going on. We have to try to, you don’t have to agree with everything or like everything, but still try to have goals that we want to reach, as in freedom and, you know, like of religion and speech. I mean, the constitution, I don’t feel that anybody has a clue what is in that constitution anymore. I don’t think our politicians today, more on the left. I’m sorry. I mean, I cannot tolerate New York City, the Pelosi’s and the Shumers.
Speaker 0 – 00:05:14.730 – 00:05:44.490
I mean, I really struggle with these people who can’t pass a bill for voter ID to secure our elections and whatever. We need to get back to the constitution. We need to follow it. We need to understand what it is. Obviously, there’s a system to amend Mhmm. The constitution if we didn’t think that things were right or proper. Mhmm. But these guys that wrote the constitution were amazing. They were incredible. Yes. And I mean, they had enough foresight to say, the constitution were amazing. They were incredible. And I mean, they had enough foresight to say, okay, things change over time.
Speaker 0 – 00:05:44.490 – 00:05:54.555
That’s what the amendment process is about. But in the meantime, until that happens, you need to follow the constitution and follow the law. Yeah. So, I’m pretty strong in my opinions.
Speaker 1 – 00:05:55.575 – 00:06:00.135
That is all great, great answers, and so thank you for that. Do you have anything else to add? I know you
Speaker 0 – 00:06:00.135 – 00:06:36.870
have meaning, but You know, I just I just wish that I think I think in my heart people really do want the same things, but they’re all going about it in a divisive way. I mean, the right to be free and to worship and to I don’t know. And I don’t know. I struggle with financing things that we have to take care of our people first. You can’t have veterans living on the streets. And, you can’t be paying for some other people who’ve never paid into Social Security and tapping into the SNAP and all this other stuff.
Speaker 0 – 00:06:37.830 – 00:07:06.990
I struggle with that, a work ethic. I mean, the way I was brought up is that, if you can’t afford it, you don’t buy it. Yeah. And that means going without a meal sometimes too. I mean, I remember growing up, I had five kids in my family. Mhmm. Sometimes there wasn’t always enough food to go on the table. I learned to sew my own clothes. I mean, being self sufficient, not relying on body or having your hand out all the time, you know, it’s not enough. Yeah.
Speaker 0 – 00:07:06.990 – 00:07:15.870
That that attitude, that bothers me a lot. People need to be able to take care of themselves. It’s not up to the government. Mhmm. So that’s good.
Speaker 1 – 00:07:15.870 – 00:07:17.895
Yeah. I know.
Speaker 0 – 00:07:18.615 – 00:07:38.570
So I don’t know. Maybe I’m old school, but that’s the way I was brought up. You know, you work hard, you play hard, you take care of yourself. Robert Fulghum. Everything I learned was in kindergarten. You know? Have a cookie, wash the toilet, wash your hands, all those basic kinds of things that you know? Six. So Yeah. Yeah. So Anyway. Okay. Yes.
Speaker 1 – 00:07:38.630 – 00:07:43.210
Anything else you wanna know? No. That is that is just the the whole structures.
Speaker 0 – 00:07:44.505 – 00:07:46.305
Well, I but I mean, I I know
Speaker 1 – 00:07:46.505 – 00:07:47.325
oh my goodness.
Speaker 0 – 00:07:48.905 – 00:08:20.685
One of the organizations that I belong to, there are a lot of professors from UMR and RIT, and they are very much on the left hand side. And I have to keep my mouth shut because I know that I don’t know. I mean, they’re really pretty radical, so I keep my mouth shut. And even my grandson at RIT, he’ll say, grandma, he says, I don’t agree with me. Yeah. Okay. So, our educators have to be a little bit more open minded and not indoctrinate our students, which I feel that they are.
Speaker 0 – 00:08:20.685 – 00:08:43.725
And as a teacher, I’m retired, I could see the younger teachers, social studies teachers especially, pushing their political agendas on their kids. It’s totally wrong. Teach them how to think, not what to think. So, hopefully, you guys have some good professors there that aren’t shoving their ideologies on me because that is Thank you so much. Okay. I need to end the recording right now.
Speaker 2: Definitely, yes. I feel like most international students have probably been affected. Because of some current policies, or the political attitude toward international students or people who are not local, these things have a big impact on us. I think this impact is more related to future careers or future paths. But right now, at school and in daily life, I do not feel that I have been affected too much. But yes, there is definitely an impact.
Speaker 1: Okay. The second question is: do you feel loved by your country? By “your country,” I mean the country you are from.
Speaker 2: Do you mean the country I come from, China?
Speaker 1: Yes.
Speaker 2: I think because I have many people in China who love me and give me a lot of love, I feel loved by the environment around me. But the country itself? I feel like China is not that friendly to college students right now. It is hard for everyone to find jobs, and there is not much special support or anything like that. So I would say it is half and half.
Speaker 1: Okay. You just mentioned that you feel loved by your family and friends, but it is hard for you to feel loved by the country. Can you imagine what it would look like if you were loved by your country?
Speaker 2: I think, first of all, the country should pay attention to and be inclusive of people at every stage of life. For example, college students, middle-aged people, elderly people, and so on should all have corresponding protection policies, or the country should consider everyone’s needs. I feel like these considerations are not enough right now. But it is also possible that because our country has such a large population, this is an unavoidable factor.
Speaker 1: Okay. The last question is: if you were to love your country, since we were just talking about the country loving you, what would you need to do in return to love that country?
Speaker 2: What would I need to do? I think I would need to… It is okay, take your time. Is the question asking what the country would need to do for me to love it, or what I, as someone living in this country, would need to do?
Speaker 1: For example, as someone living in this country, what would you do for the country?
Speaker 2: I think, in the U.S., I feel like I could contribute to this country, although I do not participate in many community activities. But in China, I feel like community-based or international activities are relatively limited. I think this is something I could imagine doing for the country.
Speaker 1: Okay. Thank you for your answer.
Speaker 2: Thank you.
Speaker 1: Okay. The second question is: do you feel loved by your country? This country can refer to your hometown country or to the United States.
Speaker 2: I think I am still loved by my hometown country, China. I think China is a more human-centered society, or a society with stronger personal connections. I am also more familiar with that place, and I have family and friends there. When I am there, I can enjoy many benefits to some extent.
Speaker 1: Okay. The third question is: you mentioned that you do not really feel loved in the United States. If the United States were to love you, what kind of situation would that look like?
Speaker 2: What kind of situation? First of all, I think I have not lived in the United States long enough. Since I grew up in China, I am not very used to the social atmosphere here. I also feel that I have not made many real local friends here. Most of the time, I still spend time with Chinese people. So first, I feel that I do not have much sense of belonging here. This is also the biggest reason why I want to go back to China to work. If I wanted to feel loved by this country, I would hope to have more equal access to the resources and people in this place, and to feel more connected to them.
Speaker 1: Okay. Our last question is: what do you think you need to do to love a country? Earlier, we talked about the country loving you. What do you think you personally need to do?
Speaker 2: To love this country? I think, in a broader sense, people in society definitely need to sacrifice some of their personal preferences so that society can develop more efficiently, or so that people can follow social rules. I think the most basic thing is to follow the norms of society. Secondly, people need to give up some personal thoughts or interests in order to help society progress more. To be honest, I think I am not someone with that much universal love, so it is hard for me to imagine how I would love a country. But I think, first of all, I would definitely support my own country when it faces major decisions. That is currently my way of being patriotic.
Speaker 1: Okay. Thank you for your answer today.
Speaker 2: Before, yes, but not anymore. Before, I was not that free. My U.S. green card had expired, so I had to find a way to legally stay in the United States. I could only consider another option, which was whether I should become a citizen. In the end, I chose to become a citizen because I was worried about problems. Right now, there is a lot of attention on arresting undocumented immigrants, so I considered becoming a citizen. Now that I have successfully become a citizen, I do not worry about these things anymore. So I feel that living here is okay.
Speaker 1: Okay. The second question is: do you feel loved by your current country? It does not necessarily have to be the country you are currently in. It could be the country you are from or the country you are living in now. Do you feel loved or supported by either of them?
Speaker 2: Whether in China or in the United States, I feel that I am supported. In China, I lived there, and except for going to school in the U.S., I would also travel or spend time in China, so I do not feel affected there. In China, I do not feel any negative impact. I just eat, drink, and have fun, and I feel like everything is pretty good. In the United States, if I am working or studying, I also feel there are no major problems. Even now, as I am facing the job search and about to graduate, I still feel things are going pretty well. I do not feel that there are any real problems right now.
Speaker 1: Okay. The next question is: you said that you feel loved by your country. But if you were asked to love your country in return, what do you think you would need to do?
Speaker 2: Legally pay taxes. After becoming a citizen, does that mean I have to report taxes to the U.S. globally? I think one thing that is not very good is that even if I earn money in another country, I still need to report taxes to the U.S., which is very troublesome. But I think this is also a legal policy, so as long as I do not break the law, it is fine.
Speaker 1: Okay. Is there anything else you would like to add?
Speaker 2: No.
Speaker 1: Okay. Thank you for participating.
Pilot Session @ UR
At the time, whether I would return to my home country later, or work in the United States for a period of time before going back, or stay in the United States, I did not think politics would become a factor affecting this matter. It just makes me feel like “I have lost choices.” It feels like there are some things that I cannot change, or some things I did not expect, that have made me lose these choices. Then I feel quite disappointed, and also a little powerless, because these are indeed not things that we can change just by working hard or making ourselves stronger. So temporarily there is…
Speaker 1 – 00:01:41.425 – 00:01:41.505
So…
Speaker 0 – 00:01:45.985 – 00:03:34.935
So I think, rather than saying that my hometown loves me, it is more that the people in my hometown are all in my hometown. So actually, more often, the feeling of being remembered and loved by my hometown comes more from my family. But if you are talking about broader policies or the larger environment, then maybe I do not feel a lot of positive feedback from that. For example, whether it is the work environment in my hometown or this kind of thing, because I myself have worked in my hometown and also worked abroad, I actually feel that the work environment in China is relatively more exhausting and competitive. It is just that some other factors, in the country where I am located, the love from people in this country makes me feel trusted, or given opportunities, just…
Speaker 1 – 00:03:48.135 – 00:03:48.615
Opportunities. And other people actually do not want you to be here, so you are competing for some opportunities that belong to local people.
Speaker 0 – 00:03:48.865 – 00:06:47.940
Opportunities. And other people actually do not want you to be here, so whether you are trying to get a job or obtain opportunities, the cost and effort required are much, much higher than for other people. But in the end, there still may not be a good result. Sometimes I feel that in this country, I also do not really have… I have always been in media, and I also have not really searched for what comes after. I think maybe I am not exactly considered, in English, a complete foreigner, but I still feel that you are not welcomed. Sometimes people even see you as a competitor, an enemy, or tell you that you do not belong here. So there is no real sense of belonging.
If you go back, maybe because you left early and were influenced by American culture, your home is no longer really your home either. It is not yours anymore. People also do not really welcome you that much. So this leaves me stuck in a very strange place, which is: why is it that wherever I am now, I do not have that so-called sense of belonging? Yes, so maybe this is something that bothers me more.
I think what I may value more is equal opportunity. Right now, when we think about wanting certain things, we only ask for these things, but I think equal treatment means seeing every person as the same kind of person, without judging them by race, or by that system, or by certain identities. I think that is a very inclusive country. I feel that if even the United States cannot do this, then it is even less likely that other countries can do it. So for me, I think equal opportunity is important.
Okay, just save it. Everyone knows each other, and the person probably cannot understand what we are saying anyway. Then we can begin. I will ask you three questions.
Speaker 2:
Okay.
Speaker 1:
The first question is: have you been affected by what is currently happening in the United States, from any aspect?
Speaker 2:
From my own perspective, I do not think I have been greatly affected. Maybe the environment has changed somewhat, because overall, I am currently at a stage where I really want to find a job. The people around me, or people with backgrounds similar to mine, or not completely similar to mine, include international students, green card students, and people who are already American citizens.
Because I know different kinds of people, and their real experiences are not completely the same, I receive information from many different perspectives. From my own position as a green card holder, I feel that from the perspective of employment, I have not been greatly affected. But many of my friends are often troubled by the difficult environment, so I worry about them. From my own perspective, there has not been a particularly big impact.
But from a social perspective, populism is indeed a more serious issue now. This may be because of political parties, or because of economic conditions. At present, populist comments online in different countries are clearly much stronger than they were five or ten years ago.
So as someone with a relatively diverse and complex background, I notice these things. My own speech online, and my views on certain things around me, have changed compared with before. I think this may be the biggest personal change for me.
Speaker 1:
Okay, I understand. My next question is: do you feel loved by your country? “Your country” can refer to any place that you consider your hometown or homeland.
Speaker 2:
I feel that I used to be an international student, and now I am someone who has American status. So in my eyes, I feel that both countries love me.
I received nine years of compulsory education in China, and now I have been in the United States for seven years. This year marks my seventh year here. So I feel that although the two sides are different in many ways, including society, systems, the people around me, and the overall culture, both China and the United States are, to some extent, comprehensive countries.
China is willing to include people from different countries, including foreigners who come to China to work. As a Chinese citizen, I am also proud of what I have enjoyed in my own country. In many aspects of Chinese society, I am still very grateful for the resources that my teachers, parents, and society have given me over the years. Those resources were very good. That is also why my parents were able to help me a lot and allow me to come to the United States.
After I came to the United States, maybe because of my status, I am not completely an international student. So I not only keep in touch with my friends back in China, but also with people who have similar backgrounds here, as well as local American students, people in American society, and teachers. They are also very accepting of people like me, and they hope that I will have the opportunity to stay and work here in the future. This is something that makes me feel especially happy.
Of course, because the current economic environment is not good, overall, it feels different from when I first came to the United States. But overall, I still feel that the United States is willing to accept people from different backgrounds, especially people who are willing to make positive contributions to American society.
So I feel that both sides love me. It is just that the ways they love me are different. Or, because their political positions are different, sometimes the actions taken by their governments, or some statements made by government leaders, make me feel confused. But I still really like this country.
Speaker 1:
Okay, I understand. So you feel that you are loved by both countries at the same time, right? From the perspective of the United States, what do you think it could do to make you feel more loved? In other words, you think it is already doing well, but in what areas do you hope it could do even better?
Speaker 2:
First, because I was originally not born as an American citizen, I still hope that even for people who were not born as American citizens, the United States can continue the ideas it was known for decades ago: freedom, openness, and inclusiveness.
I hope they can continue this spirit, rather than increasingly choosing only to protect and provide rights for their own citizens. I hope they can remain more open and more willing to welcome people who come to the United States from outside. I think this would also make America’s international image better.
At the same time, because the United States is one of the most powerful countries in the world, its political, military, and economic influence is very significant globally. So I think America’s attitude, and the attitude it presents to the outside world, will to some extent also influence how other countries present themselves and how other countries understand global trends.
The United States has always seen itself as a world leader. If it wants to maintain that image, then I think it definitely needs to do more.
Secondly, in society, I think the level of attention given to minorities and people of different races is still not very equal. Even though there have been many LGBTQ-related activities before, and events related to Black communities every year, I still think humanistic care could be better.
At least in the current environment, I feel that there may be too much focus on the happiness and well-being of citizens of this country, while the feelings of many other groups are ignored. So I think this is an area where the country could do relatively better.
As for foreign policy, I think U.S. leaders’ foreign policies change every year depending on which administration or political party is in power. So I do not think that is the main issue with the United States. I think the main issues are the ones I just mentioned.
Speaker 1:
Okay, thank you. I am glad to hear that both countries still feel okay to you. Thank you. Okay, good. As long as you are doing well.
Unclear ending / background speech:
Following that, our mission is… China… the best seller… discussion session… expert… like the passion we have you. Believe trip to do. You like… you like me to my life… on the power of love… is cool.
Gonna have a coffee and a croissant.
Speaker 1 – 00:00:07.040 – 00:00:10.820
No. I’m sorry. Sorry. No. That’s awkward.
Speaker 0 – 00:00:12.720 – 00:00:13.040
I feel
Speaker 1 – 00:00:13.040 – 00:00:18.215
like You can answer in any language that you like. Oh, really?
Speaker 0 – 00:00:18.215 – 00:00:19.895
Yeah. You never even understood what I
Speaker 1 – 00:00:20.135 – 00:00:21.995
I know. That’s okay. I love that.
Speaker 0 – 00:00:24.055 – 00:00:25.355
I’ll I’ll try my Japanese.
Speaker 1 – 00:00:26.135 – 00:00:33.160
Great. Our first question is, are you being affected by what’s happening in our country?
Speaker 0 – 00:00:34.660 – 00:00:42.935
Oh, yeah. In every way, I guess. Should I tell a story about how I’m being affected?
Speaker 1 – 00:00:42.935 – 00:00:48.475
Yeah. That’d be great. That’s a rough one.
Speaker 0 – 00:00:55.490 – 00:00:57.990
Yeah. So being an immigrant myself,
Speaker 1 – 00:01:02.290 – 00:01:05.270
there’s a lot of uncertainty. I feel like that’s
Speaker 0 – 00:01:05.330 – 00:01:50.760
perhaps one of the biggest, because, I had a a temporary work visa, and I was in the process of getting a green card right when that happened. So there was a lot of uncertainty of would my process still go through? And in fact, like, at the beginning of the year, the estimated time for my green card process, both my wife and and mine, to be completed was, like, four months. And we’re like, oh, nice. It’s gonna happen. When I checked again later on the year, I was, like, five, then it became seven. And it had, like, four steps.
Speaker 0 – 00:01:50.760 – 00:02:27.260
It went back a step. We were past the our interview has been waived in the at the beginning of the year. IDM the year. We we actually, they they asked for a new interview. And I’m like, what is going on? So I’d say, yeah. It caused a lot of apprehension. And, I mean, it’s it’s our future. Right? We’re starting a life here, and when you’re uncertain of work, you’re just getting a house and stuff like that. Like, what’s gonna happen? Is is this gonna go through?
Speaker 1 – 00:02:27.400 – 00:02:30.525
Luckily, everything worked out, and now we’re not
Speaker 0 – 00:02:30.765 – 00:03:12.910
we’re we’re under a permanent resident status, so that that makes things a little more reassuring. But still, with all the stories that we we hear with people who have green card being, deported or being, like, prevented from entering the country. Yeah. And and even, like, when we’re, like, talking with friends who are also foreigners, That’s a recurring topic, and each person is on their own situation right now. And we’re like, I don’t know if we should travel, if we can travel. We’ve had some assistance from U of R.
Speaker 0 – 00:03:12.910 – 00:03:37.065
Like, they had some faculty and staff, orientation for people. And their orientation was basically did not travel when things were very intense, like, when things were still up in the air with administration. And all they could say was, like, just if you can avoid traveling, please do.
Speaker 1 – 00:03:38.085 – 00:03:40.505
I feel like now, it
Speaker 0 – 00:03:40.805 – 00:03:53.230
things have cooled off a little. I don’t know because the administration is focusing on so many other things. But, yeah, it’s it’s been a year.
Speaker 1 – 00:03:53.690 – 00:03:59.535
Yeah. Can I ask you another question? How have the events in our country affected
Speaker 0 – 00:04:04.255 – 00:04:07.935
And by events, is there a specific event, actually?
Speaker 1 – 00:04:07.935 – 00:04:11.155
No. You can interpret that however you want. Okay.
Speaker 0 – 00:04:11.870 – 00:04:15.810
The events have affected Your community. My community.
Speaker 1 – 00:04:15.870 – 00:04:18.610
And you can define community however you want. Okay.
Speaker 0 – 00:04:25.005 – 00:05:07.400
I feel like they have I’ve seen, like, communities of Brazilians, even though I’m not very engaged in the community of Brazilians, a lot. But I’ve seen stories of how people who have children and have moved here so long ago through perhaps illegal ways, they have it a lot harder, than like, I see communities of Brazilians, like, be super concerned if they can’t even take their children to school Mhmm.
Speaker 0 – 00:05:07.480 – 00:05:53.225
Because they could be a target of of ice or or some sort of, immigrant, like, in regret, reinforcement that would because of all the stories that we see. Right? We see people, like, taking their parents in front of their children, going to their houses. And so we see a lot of apprehension and which is not I I would say it’s not something I’ve seen closely. Mhmm. It’s not that I I know of people directly, that have, experienced that.
Speaker 0 – 00:05:53.225 – 00:06:08.190
But I I just been reading that on both Brazilian news and and news here in The U. S. Like, so that is one way that that I see. And, I mean, even if I’m
Speaker 1 – 00:06:08.190 – 00:06:09.230
not very active in that
Speaker 0 – 00:06:09.230 – 00:06:30.020
community, I still am part of the Right. The community. But in my closer community, it’s it’s kind of like what I what I talked about before, like, being concerned about can we travel.
Speaker 1 – 00:06:30.400 – 00:06:30.800
Mhmm.
Speaker 0 – 00:06:31.600 – 00:07:25.050
And there’s also an aspect of our voice. Like, suddenly, you have to be more cautious about what you post and what you say, online, especially on social media. And I I’ve never been warned to overexpose myself. I I don’t even post pictures of but just the fact that you cannot Yeah. Put your opinion there of fear of being of having some sort of retaliation. Mhmm. I feel like that strongly, affect us, like me and my community. I I have have friends who are a lot more vocal about their political opinions and a lot more vocal about what has been going on in Palestine and what has been going on.
Speaker 0 – 00:07:25.050 – 00:07:42.305
And they have posted about those things before, and that would make them a lot more concerned about who if I need to have an interview with the consulate, will that be brought against me? Is that gonna be
Speaker 1 – 00:07:42.305 – 00:07:47.685
an issue if I have to renew my visa or if I have to,
Speaker 0 – 00:07:49.040 – 00:08:24.080
like, even after a certain years, you can apply for a permanent residence from a permanent resident to become an, an American citizen. You have to do, like, a a task, which I’ve heard also has gotten more difficult. But can they look at dig your your social media and bring that against you? Yeah. So it’s it’s it’s kinda like how how much is that affecting our freedom
Speaker 1 – 00:08:24.460 – 00:08:32.480
of speech and Yeah. Yeah. Can I ask you another question? Do you feel loved by your country?
Speaker 0 – 00:08:34.015 – 00:08:34.895
By my country?
Speaker 1 – 00:08:34.895 – 00:08:35.955
By your country.
Speaker 0 – 00:08:36.735 – 00:09:25.840
Okay. I I don’t know if love would be the word. Brazil has its own set of issues. And I feel like once you leave, Brazil, it’s not I don’t have a lot of interface with them anymore. Mhmm. So I do my, they call it what is the word? So it’s like a when you leave the country for a certain amount of of years, you have to do, like, a an accident of your tax residency.
Speaker 0 – 00:09:26.620 – 00:10:08.450
So you don’t I don’t have two taxes there. Okay. Yep. So and that’s pretty much the obligation Mhmm. That that I have, and that, I mean, that we do with the country itself. I love the country. Like, I I I still go there every year. And, you know, my my family, most of my family is still there. But in terms of, like, looking at the country as an institution, as an organization, I don’t see love from them.
Speaker 1 – 00:10:08.830 – 00:10:11.170
How would it look if Brazil loved you back?
Speaker 0 – 00:10:11.950 – 00:10:34.545
What would it look like? Yeah. I don’t know. Maybe they could do, like, embassy events or or things that are more like, oh, how are the Brazilian immigrants that are living abroad? How are they doing? Yeah. I don’t get that.
Speaker 1 – 00:10:34.545 – 00:10:35.025
Mhmm. But I
Speaker 0 – 00:10:35.025 – 00:11:12.120
I don’t really expect that, but I I guess that would be a a way. I mean, I’ve seen Brazil step up on edge cases that are more much more complicated. Like, people will die abroad. Like, they don’t have the means of, like, bringing the body back to Brazil and all that. So that’s usually when you kinda see, like, a more diplomatic, action. But, I mean, if you’re just there, I guess, it’s it’s almost like a an invisible relations sort of thing.
Speaker 0 – 00:11:12.120 – 00:11:18.060
It’s like you still have the the connection with your mother country and your tongue. Yeah.
Speaker 1 – 00:11:22.105 – 00:11:24.105
But I yeah. It’s it’s tough.
Speaker 0 – 00:11:24.105 – 00:11:44.570
I don’t I don’t think it comes from at least my perspective in relation to Brazil as as an institution, as an administration or something like that. I’m gonna say love is the word for that. But, again, that could be
Speaker 1 – 00:11:45.290 – 00:11:46.990
Do you feel loved by this country?
Speaker 0 – 00:11:52.995 – 00:12:49.555
Now more than ever? No. Yeah. It’s it’s tough when you’re placed as taking someone else’s spot. So it’s kinda like it’s it’s almost like how does the administration frames immigrants. It’s more like, oh, we have to and again, I I I can see, like, how internal issues in the country would affect immigrant, like, immigration policies and and stuff like that. But some portion of people in this country, I know, look at immigrants more like, oh, you don’t belong here. You’re taking the job that was meant for an American.
Speaker 0 – 00:12:50.255 – 00:13:10.050
I’ll see. So that That’s a little upsetting, but, yeah, I’d say
Speaker 1 – 00:13:12.855 – 00:13:16.875
love is not something not also a good word for for how I
Speaker 0 – 00:13:17.815 – 00:13:18.375
I feel.
Speaker 1 – 00:13:18.375 – 00:13:22.635
So then my follow-up question would be, what would it look like if this country loved you back?
Speaker 0 – 00:13:26.140 – 00:14:10.425
If the country loved me back, I think I think respect is the word. Like, you would see more, like, the contribution that I mean, this country was built by immigrants. And so certainly, kinda like closing the gate and say now from now on, the immigrants are not as useful. I feel like just recognizing the, all the contributions that immigrants do to keep the country the country
Speaker 1 – 00:14:13.605 – 00:14:14.325
running, and
Speaker 0 – 00:14:14.325 – 00:14:23.660
maybe not even recognition. Maybe it’s more like not spreading, like, this kind of hate towards immigrants, so you feel like
Speaker 1 – 00:14:25.400 – 00:14:27.960
you feel like you belong somehow.
Speaker 0 – 00:14:27.960 – 00:14:55.520
And I think even though culture is very different, and it’s a lot of despite the differences, like, a country that kinda, like, promotes this art, like, cultural diversity and, kinda, like, accepts the the differences and and helps, like, other CEO look.
Speaker 0 – 00:14:55.520 – 00:15:05.165
This is what how they, celebrate things or this is what Yeah. It matters to them, instead
Speaker 1 – 00:15:05.705 – 00:15:08.845
of looking at through the lenses of, oh, you’re so weird.
Speaker 0 – 00:15:09.225 – 00:15:48.210
Mhmm. It’s more like yeah. So I guess embracing the the diversity, which is one thing that has kinda gone also really under the bus recently. Like, suddenly, diversity is not a thing to be talked about anymore. Right. So I feel like that would would make me feel more more gloved or at least have a bigger sense of the long game to to this country.
Speaker 1 – 00:15:50.190 – 00:15:57.490
Anything else you wanna share? That was my last question. Yeah. Thanks.
Speaker 0 – 00:15:57.645 – 00:16:00.205
This is stuff. Yeah. Perfect.
Speaker 1 – 00:16:00.205 – 00:16:02.945
Thanks for participating in our project. Yeah.
Speaker 0 – 00:16:08.525 – 00:16:09.600
Yeah. That was really
Are you good? Okay! Then we are starting. Okay, first, Jenny, do you feel that now, while you are in the United States, you are affected by what is happening in this country? Whether it is politics or other aspects, anything is okay.
Speaker 2:
I feel that I have been affected a lot, especially emotionally. Because now there is a lot of different news constantly coming out. These news stories must come from somewhere. Needless to say, every day when I open my social media, I can basically see different kinds of news targeting workers, targeting students, and especially targeting some legal immigrants, which is something none of us expected.
No matter whether the news is eventually confirmed to be true or false, or whether it is actually implemented, I feel very panicked. I panic that after graduation, the time I can stay here will be gone, and that I will only be able to return to my own country.
I have actually always been troubled by this notion: that returning to one’s country is a very, very incapable thing to do, and that only capable people can overcome all kinds of obstacles and struggles to stay in the United States. I have always been troubled by this idea. The message being spread is very clearly communicating, “We do not welcome you.” Since they do not welcome me, why should I continue staying here? But if I go back, does that mean I am not good enough? Does that mean I am weak, or that I do not have the ability to fight for a place for myself here? This is the emotional aspect that has affected me a lot.
Of course, I have already lived here for four years. I can say that I am not just studying here. I am living here, because basically during breaks, I do not leave. I stay here alone, communicate with local people, and work here. I have built all of my connections here. Once I return to China, I feel that everything will basically collapse, and I will have to start over again. Then I will wonder: what was the meaning of staying here for four years? What was it all for?
Speaker 1:
At this very important point in your life, do you feel that there has been any effect or event, maybe a relatively small event, that has affected the community, group, or circle you are in the most?
Speaker 2:
I think it is still the policy changes related to OPT and H-1B visas. Although there have not been that many actual changes yet, there are many rumors, so it is very uncertain what the policy will actually become.
But I feel a little bit like I was deceived, because when I first came to this country, it was not like this. When I was preparing to come to this country, everyone had a very welcoming attitude. They said, “Come here. We will provide you with job opportunities. As long as you choose a major related to technology…” So I thought, okay, I will work hard here and study hard here.
But three years later, a completely different change has happened. I feel like I am trapped inside this situation, inside this cage. A previous U.S. president once said something like, the United States is very big, very high, and very far-reaching. No matter where you come from, no matter who you are, if you speak French and go to France, you may not necessarily become French. But when you come to the United States, no matter where you are from, you are American. We are all Americans. But only twenty years later, this kind of slogan no longer exists. So you really feel a deep sense of being deceived.
Speaker 1:
Okay. The next question is: do you feel loved by your own country?
Speaker 2:
I feel that after living in my own hometown for eighteen years, I was deeply loved by Guiyang. Of course, I also know this is because my family provided me with very good care. But when I had those resources, I could feel surrounded by them, and I felt loved.
Of course, this is similar to some privileged people in the United States. They must also believe that their country loves them, and I also believe that I was loved. But it was only after I went abroad that I could clearly see the privileges I used to have. Only then could I see that I really did receive many benefits and good treatment from my country.
For example, my teeth have always been bad, and dealing with dental problems here is very difficult. It might take three or four months, and I still may not get medicine. But in my country, these things could be solved very, very quickly, and everyone’s attitude was very good. I basically did not have many worries about health or academics. But here, some physical discomforts often trouble me, because I cannot solve them quickly. These small details make me feel that the country I used to live in loved me more.
Speaker 1:
Do you feel that the country you are currently in loves you?
Speaker 2:
I do not think so. If this place does not include people like us, then I would not feel that it loves me very much.
A lot of the time, I feel unsafe. As someone with yellow skin walking on the street, I feel that I am not really one of them. I am actually very lucky to be in this kind of higher education environment, because at least on campus, I feel so much support. But once I leave this program and step outside, I can see a lot of discrimination. I know that this is deeply rooted and cannot be changed in a short time.
For example, when I greet other people, they may suspect me. Some people may look at me and assume that my English is not very good. The United States has always promoted the ideas of equal rights and freedom. I think this goal does exist, and they definitely want to develop in that direction, which is a good thing. But I can say very firmly that they have not achieved it yet. They are far from achieving what they say they want to pursue.
Speaker 1:
For you, what would make you feel loved by the country you are in?
Speaker 2:
I think it is still about opportunity. If my abilities, whether soft skills or hard skills, are not very different from those of local residents, then I should receive the same equal treatment. I am not asking for preferential treatment. I do not expect any higher-level treatment. I just hope to be treated equally.
I actually think that as foreigners who come here, if we are able to reach the same level of ability as local people, we have already put in much, much more effort than they have. So why do we still not get the results that we should receive?
Also, before, you promoted so strongly that you wanted us to come here, but now you want to push us away. What is this really for? I think my request is very, very small. Just equal opportunity is enough. I am not asking whether stereotypes or deeper social problems can be changed immediately. Those things definitely take a very, very, very long time to change. But at least, I want the same competitive environment. That would be good enough….
Okay, let’s start. How are you feeling today?
Speaker 1:
Pretty good.
Speaker 0:
Yeah? Do you feel that the things happening in this country recently have affected you?
Speaker 1:
I think they have affected me quite a lot. After the new government came into office, as an international student, I would definitely be impacted. It also affects my personal emotions.
For example, at the beginning of this year, I remember some schools and companies sent warning emails to their employees and students, warning them not to leave the country. At that time, I was outside the country, and I was very worried about whether I would be able to come back and continue my studies.
So compared with before, this government has affected me more in broader, macro-level ways. Recently, I have been worried about whether my studies can continue smoothly, and whether I can return to my home country and then come back again.
Speaker 0:
When you said you were outside the country and had just received this news, what was your first reaction?
Speaker 1:
I was very worried that I would not be able to come back. It caused very strong personal emotions, because I kept thinking about it over and over. Even though I would often ask people what the new policy was like, there was no very specific explanation about the reasons, whether I could continue to return, or whether they would immediately tell us that we could not come back to school.
It was just a very vague situation. Also, the tense relationship and friction between my country and the United States made me feel very scared and nervous.
Speaker 0:
Do you feel that you love your own country?
Speaker 1:
I think this question, first of all, makes me feel that a country is not an individual. It is made up of many institutions, histories, and social forces. So the way I understand my country is through the social background that I have been exposed to.
I feel that the parts of my country that I have been able to experience are, overall, relatively peaceful and stable. It gave me a safe living background, allowed my education to go smoothly, and also carries many beautiful memories between me and my family. So I feel that this part of the country loves me.
But maybe when I no longer belong to my current age group, when I become older and begin to encounter more complex social relationships, I may face some tests. For example, when I enter the workplace, or when my parents get older and maybe experience illness, I may need to deal with my country’s medical system. At this point, I have not really encountered these things yet, but I may encounter them in the future. At that time, problems may emerge, and I may come into contact with a new side of the country that I do not yet know.
So, for now, I feel that my country does love me.
Speaker 0:
Okay. Then do you feel loved here in the United States? Does the United States love you?
Speaker 1:
I think, first of all, if I were talking to my relatives or friends about my first impression of the United States, I definitely would not describe it as very warm, or as having the feeling of a second home. It is more that I found it very new and interesting.
First, I have met many friends here, experienced different cultures, and encountered a new kind of education. But on the other hand, it still feels very unsafe. Combined with my previous experiences, because I have also experienced unsafe incidents before. Before coming here, I would never have imagined that these things could happen, such as being robbed and things like that. Some of my friends have also had similar experiences.
Overall, I feel that it is still a little unstable, and it has not given me an extremely strong sense of safety. So I cannot say that I feel loved, but I also cannot say that I do not feel loved.
Speaker 0:
Then what would make you feel unloved by this country?
Speaker 1:
I think… let me think.
Speaker 0:
No rush.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, let me think.
Speaker 0:
You can talk about it from your own feelings, or from the environment this country gives you. You can say anything.
Speaker 1:
I think, based on the living environment and learning environment that I have experienced, such as going to class every day and meeting people after class, my sense of security mostly comes from my friends. I usually only hang out with Chinese friends, and they give me a feeling of home.
I think this sense of safety essentially comes from the fact that they share the same cultural background as me. So if the United States were to give me more security, or if this country were to give us more security, I would hope that it could become safer.
I also hope that the current government could introduce more favorable and more comfortable laws and policies for international students. I hope there would not be so much hostility. The current atmosphere does not feel very good, and I hope that in the future the attitude toward us can become gentler.
I also hope that the relationship between my country and this country can improve, because I worry a lot about my family and friends. I do not want them to feel anxious. If my family could feel more reassured, then I would also feel more loved here.
Speaker 0:
Okay, thank you.
Speaker 1:
Thank you.
So I was gonna tell you a little bit about the project. It’s a listening project, an active listening, project in which I will be listening and, more of a civic engagement, project to to kind of see how people are how people are doing right now and, with just through some very open ended questions, and is is affiliated with John Brown Lives, which is, an organization in Adirondacks, which is, you know, based on the life of John Brown.
Speaker 0 – 00:00:34.780 – 00:00:51.185
And, yeah, we’re really excited you’re here. So I’m just gonna ask some very open ended questions, and you just answer it however you want. Alright. That’s it? Okay. Alright. So, the first question is, are you being affected by what has happened in our country?
Speaker 1 – 00:00:56.285 – 00:01:03.180
I I I yes. It, is there, like, a specific issue? Or, like
Speaker 0 – 00:01:03.820 – 00:01:06.880
In in any sense that you would wanna talk about?
Speaker 1 – 00:01:07.500 – 00:02:06.080
Sure. I will yes. I guess, like, like, the Islamic persecution of, Nigerian Christians has been making more forefront the general persecution of Christians Mhmm. In the in North America, which is it’s been a, more talked about thing now as to well, like, try well, it’s someone talked about about, like, what the core built, like, tenets of Islam are Mhmm. And how that is corresponding or, like, resulting yeah. How that corresponds to, the persecution that we’re seeing. Is it random? Is it something that it worked into the belief system? Why does it keep happening? Mhmm.
Speaker 1 – 00:02:06.940 – 00:02:27.940
And trying to get a better understanding to come to, like, a middle ground, some sort of middle ground of, like, a public discussion, between Muslims and Christians and non Muslims over understanding or or that would, comprise of sorry, consist of understanding, each other.
Speaker 0 – 00:02:29.760 – 00:02:38.740
Interesting. Really interesting. Have recent effect I’m sorry. Have recent events in our country affected you or your community or
Speaker 1 – 00:02:43.475 – 00:03:08.705
the budget cuts to education, definitely, there were, like, quite a there were, like, certain scholarships or, like, certain, funding that we were that, I was in I’m in, like, student clubs on the university on campus, and, we, we weren’t, like, like, the sound of the word funding, like, was, like, like, don’t ask about this is not the appropriate time.
Speaker 1 – 00:03:08.705 – 00:03:45.215
You guys want what? It was kinda what, like, you know, I saw, like, professors that, like, were tranquil from the time that I, like, came in or, like, as I got to know them. And then I saw I then began to see them get unsettled or, like, startled and, like, I don’t know if I’m gonna have a job in the next month, which was, like like, that was one of the first direct times I saw an executive decision besides well, there’s been numerous others, but this one was, like, face to face seeing an executive decision trickle down Mhmm.
Speaker 1 – 00:03:45.375 – 00:03:47.935
Directly. That’s really
Speaker 0 – 00:03:47.935 – 00:03:51.270
interesting. Can I ask you another question?
Speaker 1 – 00:03:51.650 – 00:03:53.010
Feel free. Yes.
Speaker 0 – 00:03:53.010 – 00:03:55.030
Do you feel loved by your country?
Speaker 1 – 00:03:59.490 – 00:04:03.035
Define love, because love love isn’t, like, like yeah. Please.
Speaker 0 – 00:04:03.335 – 00:04:10.715
That is well, that is the question. No. And, this is your interpretation. You can define it however you want.
Speaker 1 – 00:04:11.255 – 00:04:45.380
The way that I understand the way I’ve understood love, as it goes by the, by the belief in Jesus Christ. Obviously, Jesus or the belief of Christianity, which is that, like, Jesus Christ, died, buried, and rose on the third day. John three sixteen says, for god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever may believe in him, might not perish, but may have eternal life or might have eternal life. So that is the definition of love or one of them, like, love in action. Sure.
Speaker 1 – 00:04:45.670 – 00:05:21.110
And that comes from, like well, there’s a verse in the bible that says god is love. So I I measure love according to or I define love according to what the bible constitutes love is, which is the acts of God and his character most importantly. Galatians five twenty two says the fruit of the holy spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Against these, there is no law. And that’s the that will be the end of the verse scripture. So, I’m in the bible, Galatians five twenty two to 25.
Speaker 1 – 00:05:21.330 – 00:05:42.860
So that that if if it’s like, do I feel loved in my country? It’s is my country obeying the lord Jesus Christ? And, fundamentally, it’s a country of free well, not not like a theocracy. So and that means to a certain extent, I’m not I’m not expecting it.
Speaker 0 – 00:05:43.480 – 00:05:45.560
That’s interesting. Can you say more about that?
Speaker 1 – 00:05:45.560 – 00:06:33.785
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So due to the freedom of, like, choice to believe in what you desire to in The United which is not reflected in other countries, mind you. If, like, because somebody, who does not who isn’t aware of the lord Jesus Christ, like, is naturally will inevitably or is going to build their own, like like, moral compass or, like, thought like, value system Mhmm. Is the correct term. The, like, value system, how they view things, and how they gauge what is good and what is evil. Apart from the lord, it’s expected that some of those things don’t line up with the lord, for they don’t not for they do not know the lord. Mhmm.
Speaker 1 – 00:06:34.105 – 00:07:13.640
So when somebody inevitably ends up outside of the lord, committing some sort of, like, heinous sin or abuse of some sort of system that they’ve gotten the privilege to, or been granted to benefit off of and privilege to benefit off of. It’s like a it’s not a judgment thing. It’s just kinda like, well, that’s what happens. Mhmm. So I’m I’m not expecting it’s not a lower than thing. It’s like, I had one point in my life, I didn’t know what good and I did the exact same thing. So I am no greater. However, I do know, the one who is greater, which is the lord Jesus Christ.
Speaker 0 – 00:07:15.220 – 00:07:19.615
So what would it look like to feel loved by your country?
Speaker 1 – 00:07:23.435 – 00:08:00.575
It practically or it would it would practically look like, in my opinion Yeah. And for what I’ve been convicted of, more, encouragement, and more incentive toward, discussion over, like, people’s, like, core beliefs, the core beliefs that everybody has. Like, having so many of those discussions that, like, violence can’t make its way in. Right? Interesting. If everybody is talking, then the odd one out is the one that, like, pulls the gun out. Right? If everybody’s like, well, this is what I believe.
Speaker 1 – 00:08:00.575 – 00:08:15.810
This is what I believe, which I I was told with my parents at some point that did exist in the country. Let’s bring that back. Right? The more conversations and I wouldn’t call it a debate, it’s discussion that we have, and the more people understand
Speaker 0 – 00:08:17.005 – 00:08:17.245
who
Speaker 1 – 00:08:17.245 – 00:08:23.165
the lord Jesus is versus who he’s been marketed to be or marketed as
Speaker 0 – 00:08:23.405 – 00:08:23.905
Mhmm.
Speaker 1 – 00:08:25.005 – 00:08:43.420
By people who do not favor him and forces that don’t favor him, the more it’s like it’s like, oh, well well, this is generally from the discussions I’ve heard what Christians believe. So, like like, if I speak bad against God, then, like, I’m not getting my head cut off tomorrow.
Speaker 0 – 00:08:43.720 – 00:08:44.220
Mhmm.
Speaker 1 – 00:08:44.280 – 00:09:14.125
So and that kinda, like, removes a barrier of entry. Right? In a country like like like countries that are predominantly Muslim and Islam. Islam, if you speak, like, negatively about Allah, then, like, expect your safety to be compromised. There is no freedom of, like, expression, which is a sin. Right? So I I, yeah, more public discussion, more getting on, people getting on college campuses, stirring up controversial thought.
Speaker 0 – 00:09:14.265 – 00:09:14.505
Mhmm.
Speaker 1 – 00:09:14.505 – 00:09:17.805
More people stirring up controversial thought in general constantly.
Speaker 0 – 00:09:18.345 – 00:09:35.270
Mhmm. Mhmm. That’s really interesting. That is those are the main questions that I have. Is there anything else you wanna talk about or think about? Because I’m here for it.
Speaker 1 – 00:09:38.595 – 00:10:29.580
Just that, I I I’m, like like and I believe some of the Christian community, is, well, a lot of the Christian community stands by that, like, like, Charlie Kirk was the perfect person to be assassinated. Mhmm. He was a Christian who primarily approached, like, non Christian ethical frameworks from the Christian point of view or from a Christian void viewpoint, and whether or not that Christian viewpoint resonates with the entire Christian community. However, people laughed at his assassination, and they said that he deserved to die. Mhmm. And that was like a like, it’s like like like, which one is it?
Speaker 1 – 00:10:29.580 – 00:10:43.025
Is it because of what he believes? Is it because of his political views? Regardless, they were Christian. People proclaim themselves or call themselves Christian, who also celebrated his death.
Speaker 0 – 00:10:43.245 – 00:10:43.565
Mhmm.
Speaker 1 – 00:10:43.565 – 00:11:17.415
And, like, it’s like it revealed a lot, which is that, like like, generally within the Christian community, there is a lack of a fear of God, which is funny. It’s like it’s like, no. The Christian they they and it’s like it’s like if if you’ve ever lived with your family, your family is, like like, external, like, like, how somebody from the outside of your family Mhmm. And you being inside of your family, like, two entirely different perspective entirely different perspective. So it was like, this is great.
Speaker 1 – 00:11:17.475 – 00:11:53.740
I’m not I’m I’m I’m pleased that, the Lord desired to take him at that point. And I I don’t even know the full extent of it. I do know it revealed my heart as a Christian, which is like which is like for Christians to be proliferating a faith, so, like, heavily, and not to be and, like, undermining or, like like, there there needs to be more of an emphasis on taking care of the people that choose to put faith in what we proclaim, and building them up and what we actually believe.
Speaker 1 – 00:11:54.040 – 00:12:14.900
And when I believe something that’s not right, for somebody to come and take care of me that knows. So yeah. Praise the lord Jesus Christ. It’s my savior who saved me, from lust and a lot of other heinous things I’d be happy to share with on another space and time.
Speaker 0 – 00:12:15.600 – 00:12:34.545
Amen. Amen. Thank you so much, Kaleon. This is so interesting. I feel like I know we just have these three questions. I have all these other questions now that I wanna ask you, but it’s not part of the process. But, thank you so much. We really appreciate having your voice as part of this process.
Speaker 1 – 00:12:35.565 – 00:12:38.525
I’m happy to be involved. Yeah. The lawyer let me hear so.
Speaker 0 – 00:12:38.525 – 00:12:49.307
Yeah. Well, thank you so much. And, oh, yeah. Would you like a notebook? It’s our our our very small gift, but to continue
Do you feel loved?
Speaker 2:
How do you define being loved?
Speaker 1:
You can define it yourself. You can interpret the meaning of love in your own way. I am not telling you that love has to be a certain kind of love. It is about how you understand love yourself. Especially if I am asking about you, do you feel loved by your country? From the perspective of a country, for a country to love you, do you feel that you are loved by the United States?
Speaker 2:
I do not really feel that. I feel like the country has not given me any major care or support.
Speaker 1:
Then what would make you feel loved by the United States?
Speaker 2:
First, I think it would mean treating everyone equally. Then it would mean giving people some basic protections, having good facilities, and making sure everything is good. Also, all the decisions made by the country should benefit all the people. Then I think that would be better.
Speaker 1:
When you say “all the people,” does that include…
Speaker 2:
It includes everyone who is here. As long as I am here, then you should take care of me.
Speaker 1:
Okay. Then those are all of my questions. Is there anything else you want to share?
Speaker 2:
No.
Speaker 1:
Okay.
Okay. Hi. Hi. It’s finally your turn. Okay. So Where to begin? Right? Where to begin? Yes. Yes. They have. In many, many ways, I’ll I’ll just, like, free associate with what comes to mind. You know, funding for our work, has been put on pause, called into question. The it’s also been our work, I think, has been sort of relegated to sort of a backbench because the funding community is trying to respond to so many immediate human needs, hunger, shelter, safety, etcetera. So that’s one, you know, very practical way. I I don’t think I sleep as well as I used to.
Speaker 0 – 00:01:12.395 – 00:02:01.940
A lot of anxiety about the the cruelty, the inhumanity, the craven, disgraceful, you know, just yuck Yeah. Is very unsettling to me. So there’s the emotional realm. Fear for people. My husband is a he he’s, he’s almost 80 years old, and he came here when he was four. His parents his family is from Latvia. And so during World War two, the Russian soldiers were advancing. The Germans were offering refuge for displaced people, so he was actually born in a displaced persons camp in Germany in 1947.
Speaker 0 – 00:02:02.480 – 00:02:58.340
He came here to The United States when he was about four, and as he just as he tells it, he he’s just had a, I don’t know, a green card or an alien registration number, something like that. I mean, his entire life saying it never mattered. He could travel. Could come and go. It just never mattered. Okay. And now he lives with daily fear. You know? Not I mean, you know, he’s not the typical candidate for ICE to disappear, but he’s he’s old. He’s has, you know, compromised health. He’s on Social Security. He takes Medicaid. He receives Medicare. So he would be perceived by some in this regime as a burden on the society.
Speaker 0 – 00:02:58.960 – 00:03:43.240
Someone who hasn’t paid their doesn’t belong here anymore. Has no no contribution to make and is only just taking, taking, taking. So he lives with a lot of a lot of fear and anxiety, and, of course, I do too. And just sadness. And he you know, because his family survived a horrific war, and he grew up hearing all those stories, from his parents, grandparents, the people who survived and made it to The US. He feels this sort of it’s an anguish for our country, what our country is doing around the world.
Speaker 0 – 00:03:43.780 – 00:04:17.760
And he says often, you know, I just didn’t think we’d ever be in this kind of place as a country. And he said, I I didn’t I never imagined my life would end like this. And he feels really just sad and I think kind of helpless that he doesn’t have the the strength right now. He doesn’t have the mobility to to be actively pushing back and resisting. Mhmm. Like, he the people he grew up with. I mean, they survived World War two.
Speaker 0 – 00:04:18.220 – 00:04:57.015
So there’s a lot of that, you know, that’s just very emotional. And sometimes, you know, when the dog starts barking in the middle of the night, my first thought is, is ice here? Has ice arrived? Have they pulled up the driveway? You know? So those are some immediate ways and then I just, you know, I I I it makes me so, furious for people to be so dishonored and so harmed and to live in fear, you know, and in want to be so dishonored.
Speaker 0 – 00:04:57.155 – 00:05:51.980
So those are those are some of the ways personally, and then, you know, my my surrounds. My sister is gay, so, we know we were together last night for dinner, with her and her girlfriend, and they’re beautiful people. They love one another. It’s so beautiful. And, you know, the fear that that they live in or that they live with. You know? So I I can’t say that I do. You know? I and even even with all the privilege that I have, you know, I’ve had in my whole life, it’s hard.
Speaker 0 – 00:05:51.980 – 00:06:37.585
I I I certainly don’t feel it’s not a loving country. This certainly, this I think we’ve had loving people in the presidency before. Loving people. Not that I agreed with everything they did, but we have we have people in power right now who are not loving people, period. Right? They don’t exercise or demonstrate love or care at all. So I there’s no love to go around from them. So I don’t I don’t feel loved by this country. I don’t think it’s possible at this point in time. It may not for me. Not for me. I mean, not for me. Not for me. Yeah.
Speaker 0 – 00:06:37.585 – 00:06:49.580
So my other question is to let you imagine what would it look like to feel loved, actually feel loved by this country. I mean, it’s such an expansive
So this is a a listening project. So, yeah, I will just ask you some very open ended questions, and you can expand it. And if you wanna share other things, definitely share it. Yeah. So, yeah, so I will start with the first question. So do you think you have been affected by what’s happened in this country so far? Yes. Definitely.
Speaker 1 – 00:00:29.240 – 00:01:03.020
Yeah. I feel like I’ve been affected definitely through, my job, which I didn’t think I would have, but I used to be in a school that was not as research focused. So being at a school that’s a number one now seeing the fallout from that, and also just international students and students being a little bit more seeming to be a bit more scared, has been, yeah, much more happiest. And just I mean, there’s other things too. There’s my family my own personal family. I have a very divided family, politically.
Speaker 1 – 00:01:03.240 – 00:01:13.445
So I have my parents who are conservative, and then my sister and I are not. And so there’s a lot of, friction there as well. Is there,
Speaker 0 – 00:01:13.445 – 00:01:27.130
like, any specific events or things that you think, like, happens in this country affect your community the most or not not the most? Just anything you wanna share about it? Yeah.
Speaker 1 – 00:01:28.790 – 00:01:55.800
Nothing that I can think of specifically. I just think that overall, it just feels like every day when I read the news, there’s something new and terrible that I view as being terrible and happening, or or or stressful or it’s just it’s almost like a constant, like, this constant feeling of, like, this, like, monster almost on top of you know, I just I it’s always, like, a a black cloud following me.
Speaker 1 – 00:01:55.800 – 00:02:14.085
It feels like in some ways, and I just, it definitely is affecting me specifically. I just can’t think of specific things right now. But there’s yeah. I think I think that’s what I find a little scary is that I think there’s much more affecting all of us than we actually realize. Yeah. And so that’s why I find a little scary.
Speaker 0 – 00:02:14.085 – 00:02:23.500
There’s definitely lots of things going on. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. And so do you think you you feel loved by your country? No.
Speaker 1 – 00:02:25.080 – 00:02:47.495
That’s a good answer. No. I don’t. Yeah. I mean, no. I feel no. I feel completely, like, unseen, unheard, dismissed. I can’t think of any other words, but definitely long all along those lines. Yeah. Mhmm.
Speaker 0 – 00:02:47.940 – 00:02:55.640
So if you imagine, like, how it will, like, if you you can feel loved by the countries.
Speaker 1 – 00:02:58.260 – 00:03:35.265
I think it would be feel like that maybe people are listening more or maybe it’s not just my community that’s seeing these things. I feel like there’d be it would feel like there could be more it it feels like there’s no longer the ability to have conversations with people who don’t see believe the same things you believe. Whereas I feel like when I was younger and growing up and I feel like this has been really since Mhmm. 2016. Mhmm. For me personally, it feels like that those conversations, political, or social, get much more contentious Mhmm. And not as, like, oh, I see what you’re saying.
Speaker 1 – 00:03:35.325 – 00:03:37.585
It’s just more of a fight, and it’s it’s uglier.
Speaker 0 – 00:03:39.485 – 00:03:39.985
Mhmm.
Speaker 1 – 00:03:41.885 – 00:04:07.015
It feels like it feels almost like when I was a kid and you just had, like, jerky kids that would say stuff to you. Like, it feels like that again. Like, it feels like I’m I’m going through, like, grade school, middle school again. And I didn’t like it the first time, but I don’t know. And as an adult, I don’t wanna go through it again. And I feel and that’s kinda how it feels. Yes. And I think what’s especially upsetting for me is, like, with my parents. We used to be able to talk.
Speaker 1 – 00:04:07.015 – 00:04:24.970
My parents have always been Republican, and that was fine. We could always talk. They’re always much more economically Republican. Mhmm. And we would be able to talk about things when I was a teenager and angsty. And now I we can’t talk. Like, they will say things. They will throw things at me that are just,
Speaker 0 – 00:04:25.110 – 00:04:27.885
I know, not true, untrue because they’re
Speaker 1 – 00:04:29.165 – 00:04:49.040
hearing it, you know, on TV or somewhere else or reading it somewhere, and it’s just so, so hard. And I don’t ever remember feeling that way. And I feel like if the country loved me, we would have a more openness about this. This. Like, the the media wouldn’t be the way it is. I don’t know if that makes sense. But, yeah, that’s Mhmm. That’s where I go with it.
Speaker 0 – 00:04:49.040 – 00:05:01.965
Yeah. So, those are the questions I have. Okay. Yeah. So if you have wanna share something else where No. I can’t think of anything else.
Speaker 1 – 00:05:03.785 – 00:05:05.485
It just makes me sad, I think.
Speaker 0 – 00:05:06.025 – 00:05:08.345
Yeah. I can talk about your feelings. Yeah. I just
Speaker 1 – 00:05:08.345 – 00:05:29.315
think it’s really sad, And it makes me really I feel really bad for those who are younger than me as well and what that must feel like when you’re in your twenties. Yeah. Or a college student. Mhmm. Right? Or an international student. Mhmm. Like, that just has got that just makes me it makes me sick because I feel like the premise of The United States was a melting pot,
Speaker 0 – 00:05:29.935 – 00:05:30.895
is a melting pot.
Speaker 1 – 00:05:30.895 – 00:05:49.510
And I don’t know where that’s gone. I think that’s the one thing that was I felt so great about The United States. Its strength was that, and now it feels like it’s becoming nationalistic and polarizing Yeah. And wanting to keep people away that aren’t,
Speaker 0 – 00:05:49.650 – 00:06:00.914
you know, American or Thank you. You look great. Yeah. I’m curious. Cool. Thank you.
Recording names marked with “*” are not in English, but English transcripts are provided.