Am I Trapped Mentally?
The reading for this week is challenging for me to read and to comprehend because of the size and the time I have for it. The book by Yascha Mounk, “The Identity Trap,” is broken down in four sections, which are the Origin, the Victory, and the Flaws of Identity Synthesis, and finally the fourth section which is how he believe should be the respond to ‘identity synthesis.’
When I was surveying this book and listening to some reviews or summary of this book, the following came to my attention: race, ethnicity, gender, minority just to name a few. But the one that really gets my attention is the relationship of minorities within the majority. I myself, a minority, try to imagine where I could be in light of this concept of ‘identity trap.’
In my earlier years when I moved from Micronesia to attend school in Oregon, I started at a community college. Even before I registered at the school, I was already being told by other Micronesians that I would be placed in a certain class because English is not my first language. I tried to ignore them, but they assured me that it happened to them as well. I know English is not my first language, but I thought that my course placement would be depending on my placement test scores. So, when I enrolled at the community college, I was told by the admission counselor to register for the English for non-native speakers.
Several years later, I took two other Micronesian that wanted to enroll at the community college, when we got to the admission office, that were still the same advice that they were told, to register for those courses even before taking any placement tests. I came to the conclusion that all non-native speakers of the English language should take those courses. However, within the Micronesian schools, the curriculums were taught in English. Besides that, the Micronesian students were assigned to take the non-English speaking courses without the placement tests. Last year, my son was placed in a separate class because his parents were Micronesian. This is a class for those English is their second language. My son was born in Troutdale, Oregon in 2011. He has never been to Micronesia and Chuukese which is my native language is his second language. I requested his school to give him the English test before deciding which class to place him in. I insisted that my child should not be judged by where his parents were born, but by where he was born, which was Troutdale Oregon.
The story of Eboo Patel in the later section of the book strikes me especially when he said, “But now he came to see it as a testament to the racism that surrounded him everywhere he looked: “The deeper I read, the more I saw the entire world through that lens. I soon couldn’t see much else. Racism permeated everything. My principal identity was as a victim of racism.” Patel in other words, fell into the identity trap.” [1] This resonates with me because it is how a migrant or a stranger feels in a foreign land. I lived and work or even attended schools in the Pacific Northwest for almost 3oyrs and I have tried to learn to live with it, but it is not easy. One can only experience this kind of feelings when he/she is among the minorities among the majority in a foreign setting.
However, to think positively about all the experiences that one’s went through and to try to get the best out of all, sure it will be very beneficial. What Patel wanted to share with his two sons, is what I would like my fellow Micronesians to remember: “I want my two sons to understand that responsible citizenship in a diverse democracy is not principally about noticing what’s bad; it’s about constructing what’s good.”[2]
[1] Mounk, Yascha. The Identity Trap. Penguin Press. New York, 2023 (p. 266).
[2] Ibid (p 267).
About the Author
Noel Liemam
One response to “Am I Trapped Mentally?”
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Hi Noel, Thanks for your honesty in sharing that you struggled with this book. It is a heavy one in many ways. What a strong message you gave your son by advocating he not be automatically put into a language class. You stood up to the school and confirmed to your son that you are looking out for him. My question for you would be which one of Mounk’s steps did you emulate in that interaction?