Name Calling

I had a good friend from elementary through high school whose name was Gulistan. We’d been in  a lot of the same classes together throughout school. People, students and teachers, would make fun of her name, make a funny face when they heard it for the first time, or not even bother to try to say it right. She was the only Turkish person at our school besides her younger brothers. In elementary school kids teased her and called her Gully even though she didn’t like being called that. Once in high school, I even heard a teacher make a comment about her name in front of the class saying that it sounded like a country “You know Pakastan, Afghanastan, Gulistan” then laugh about it. When that happened I felt really bad for her because the teacher was making fun of her in front of the whole class. Now looking back at that experience I still find it incredibly disrespectful that he did that. My high school was mostly White with some Black and Hispanic students. However, in the advanced and honors courses there was very little diversity. After reading the Amos article it reminded me of this experience and how people aren’t conscious of their privilege unless they find themselves in a situation where they are the minority.