I've noticed a rather interesting similarity between American Studies and American Literature. In American Studies, we learn about how different groups like African Americans and women were discriminated against. They were treated poorly and unfairly. In American Literature, we learn in Maus about how the Jews were discriminated against, and how they were treated poorly and unfairly by the Nazis. So in both situations some sort of discrimination takes place. This got me to thinking the big question, "why?". Why is discrimination a common pattern throughout history? I compared this to a school system, and how there are kids who bully other kids based on things like the clothes they wear and the food they eat. These kids bully those kids to cover up their own insecurities within. They make fun of the flaws in others so no one will notice the flaws in them. They also believe that due to this, they are more superior than the others. This has led me to believe that these groups such as the Nazis have the same concept. They pick on those who they believe are flawed in order to protect their own image. This is quite a significant problem, because not only does it hurt others, but it causes disunity among the whole. The solution to this is to establish a system where no one feels insecure, but rather, they feel safe, so that everyone can work together with no barriers coming between them.
The connections you made between different subjects and different events in histories is really quite thought-provoking because it proves that more often than not, when a story has a strong impact, the impact bleeds over into the rest of the book. Discrimination, by definition, is going against a group or person due to certain traits. In the case of slavery, the trait that African-Americans had in common was race. In the case of bullying, the trait that the victims have in common is usually lack of popularity. However, acknowledging the imbalance in a system is one thing but providing a solution is completely different. You said the solution is to "establish a system where no one feels insecure", but that implies getting rid of insecurity and how possible is it really to be rid of an emotion? I think insecurity is not the problem but the display of arrogance that overshadows the insecure is the problem so the real question is, how do we get rid of arrogance and prejudice?
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