Interview Questions

Wilner Zabala

Eglish 101

11/4/19

Professor Matyakubova

Racism; the Immortal Villain

Research Topic: What racial issues are still prevalent in the 21st century? How can we prevent these issues to continue occurring?

Thesis: In modern society racism still plagues the world, by police brutality, racial politics, gentrification, systematic racism, and inner race racism. Racism is too big and too embedded in our society to possible prevent and stop racism from happening.

Interview Questions: 

Jessica Ardita: John Jay transfer, Former University of New Hampshire student

Jessica is my best friend. She Italian and Dominican, she was born in Italy but moved to the states at the age of 12. I chose her for this interview because she faced oppression in Italy for being half Dominican and she faced oppression In her previous university. Jessica isn’t biased when it comes to race so that makes her the perfect candidate.

1. Have you ever faced racism or oppression in the society you reside in? Can you tell me a time? Yes, In the university of new Hampshire, another college student told me not to speak one of my native languages because that’s not American according to her.

2. Have you ever faced racism or oppression in a society you don’t reside in? Can you tell me a time? Yes, while living in Italy my mom was trying to pick me up from school and the teacher did not believe she was my mother and so she did not let me go home with her until the principal got involved. My mom is a darker-skinned Dominican and because I am lighter skinned then her the teacher motioned another student who was the same complexion as my mother to go with her hinting that, that was her son, while I kept calling her mom the teacher was insisting that she was not my mother but instead the other student’s mom.
3. Do you feel as you still go through oppression today? How do you cope with it?

Sometimes, I stopped caring about what others say about it because I am proud of my race 

4. What do you think about police brutality?

 Not all police exercise unethical force but the ones that do are not punished for it usually 

5. Do you believe that police primarily targets people of color? Why?

Not all but the facts do show that there are racist officers who do target people or colors or minorities. 

6. What does inner race racism mean to YOU? Do you believe inner race racism exist?

I personally have not experienced it, but I do believe it exists because I have heard multiple comments made toward others who “don’t act like their race”

7. What racial issues do you see in today’s politics?

The Trump Administration 

8. How do you feel about the Trump Administration? Republican Party?

I would like to meet Trump, So I can personally tell him how I feel. Trump has made this country difficult for minorities. 

9. What are the biggest racial issues still prevalent in your life and in your society?

Inner race racism, and the language factor, the whole speaking American isn’t a real thing. This country is a land of different languages and cultures. So the American language isn’t a thing

10.  Can we stop racism? Yes or No? If yes explain, if no explain.

No, because there will always be close-minded people that will see minorities as less than white. However, if we work together a change can be made.

Nikolas Perez: John Jay Senior

I chose Nikolas for this interview because he has held public events publicly voicing his opinion on racism and how he has been oppressed. Nikolas is Mexican and he told me that’s why he feels targeted even more now since Trump took office. Nikolas though young has experience many horrific things because of racism and the closed minds of others. Nikolas isn’t afraid to stand up against racism and that’s what makes him a leader and a strong candidate for this interview.

11. Have you ever faced racism or oppression in the society you reside in? Can you tell me a time? When I’m consistently looked at because of the color of my skin and how I would be treated differently. Because of the color of my skin, I have the same amount of knowledge or more. Then I would be disrespected because I am Hispanic American and normally it would be whites or Asians that would work in computer science or any STEM fields. Something that not many people of color are in and would avoid like the plague. Rather than challenging ourselves to go into these fields and consistently challenge and improve our selves but what do I know I’m an old bumbling fool.
12. Have you ever faced racism or oppression in a society you don’t reside in? Can you tell me a time? I have been attacked by a trump supporter within new jersey and would tell me to go back to my country. He told me not to speak Spanish and to speak English since this is America. The person was white and an old man that never understood anything about the history of this country.

13. Do you feel as you still go through oppression today? How do you cope with it?

Yes, in my current program for school. My program is filled with primarily white people, so I always sense the idea of judgment during the program. The way I cope with it is by working harder than everyone else in the program that way I know I earned my spot in the program.

14. What do you think about police brutality?

I feel as police brutality is a real epidemic that most of the country doesn’t notice. When a black man is shot down by the police for a minor crime the whole country turns a blind eye but if it was a white person shot down by the police the whole country would flip on its knees.

15. Do you believe that police primarily targets people of color? Why?

I do believe that the police targets people of color more because I feel like they are praised more by the white majority and often given more benefits than those cops that actually want to protect lives.

16. What does inner race racism mean to YOU? Do you believe inner race racism exist?

Inner race racism means that when people of the color judge or ridicule other people of color who don’t act their “race”. I do believe inner race racism exist because Mexican people that know me to make fun of me because supposedly I speak too “Proper”.

17. What racial issues do you see in today’s politics?

I believe that the whole Trump administration is racist and everyone that follows behind him and respect his politics are racists as well.

18. How do you feel about the Trump Administration? Republican Party?

I feel that Trump is racist, especially when he shut down the government for about one month and a half just because he wanted funding to build the wall. Also, the way he treats immigrants, locking them up like they are criminals for trying to look for a better life.

19. What are the biggest racial issues still prevalent in your life and in your society?

  I feel like everything we discussed is the biggest issues we still have in America and in our society.

20.  Can we stop racism? Yes or No? If yes explain, if no explain.

No, racism is too big to stop, racism has been around for more than 400years and isn’t going to stop because we keep birthing racism.