In my life I have been placed in a
spot of preferred treatment as well as a place of being prejudiced
against. My family comes from two main
regions; the British Isles for my mother’s side of the family, and Denmark for
my father’s side of the family. Having
my roots where they are I am part of the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant majority
of the United States. I also come from a
Mormon background, and when my father passed, a household headed by a single
female. These life experiences have put
me in a subordinate status to some, from an at risk child in the school systems
to just being prejudiced against for my religion. My family’s migration story puts me in a
majority while the religious culture puts them in a minority.
My mother’s
family history is one of preferential treatment for the most part. There is one line in our family tree that can
be traced back to the 1300s. This line
has been linked to the Kings and Queens of England, which puts them in a
socially dominant class. The immigration
of this family came in waves, where the first waves came in the 1600s landing
in the New England area and the Jamestown settlements. I had family that fought on both sides of the
American Revolution with some of them returning to England after the war, only
to return to the states after the civil war.
In the 1800s
my family joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the Mormons)
and through increased discrimination they started the movement west. They were kicked out of many settlements and
states because of their faith. Things
got bad for my family when their church leaders were assassinated at the hands
of a lynch mob and their house of worship was burned down. They continued west beyond the U.S. borders,
after the Mormon Extermination Act was enacted in Missouri, which eventually
took them into Utah where they finally found some peace from persecution.
My father’s
side of the family has a different immigration story all together. It started with Henning Olsen-Ungermann
leaving Åstrop Denmark in 1861 to come to the United States. He and his family had to leave Denmark when
they converted to the United States, which was illegal under Danish law and the
Church of Denmark (Den Danske Folkekirke).
Henning lost most of his family on the journey to the United States
including all but one child and his wife.
He buried his wife in Nebraska where the people that he hired to dig the
grave took all his money because of his inability to speak and understand English. He made his way to Utah where he married a
young woman he met on the boat to America.
A little later the church called (told) him to take a second wife,
polygamy is no longer legal practice within the church but its legacy leads to
much prejudice still today. It is from
this second wife that my family comes from.
My familial
background places me right on the edge of dominant and subordinate status in
America. My roots are in the White
Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) majority which places me in the socially dominant
group. I will not have a problem finding
work, housing, or education. This
privilege lasts until my religious background comes up. Once people learn about my Mormon background
those around me tend to guard their conversations, I am no longer invited out
with these people, and am a part of the group but always on the outside. Comments like “I can only socialize with one
Mormon at a time” and “How many wives will you take?” though meant in jest are
constantly being said, which is a way to keep those of this faith in a
subordinate status. This cultural group
that I am a part of gives me a subordinate status, though I will never know
what it is like to be a person of color, a female, or a homosexual; I try and
continue to try and treat all people as people and try to avoid placing anybody
in a subordinate status. I can relate to
both sides of subordination, I am a member of the majority with a subordinate
grouping within that majority.
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