SHOUTING INTO THE BROKEN TELEPHONE
SHOUTING INTO THE BROKEN
By Mariana Benitez Arreola
Growing up running around King, Story, and Tully, I always heard echoes of the broken telephone. External voices judging who we were because of the rumors that circled around us. Everytime I proudly identified myself with the Eastside of San Jose, loud sighs would follow. People’s faces would flatten and their eyes would be diverted from mine. How could people misjudge such a beautiful place?
Someone whispers incomprehensible chismes in your ear. You don’t know what they've said, but you pass on a similar sound to the next. At the end of the circle, the message always ends up misconstrued and misinformed. Although this game is fun to play, it isn’t fun when people apply these rules to where you are from.
Since the 1950’s the Eastside of San Jose was commonly referred to as “sal si puedes” or “get out if you can.” This saying inaccurately represents what Eastsiders go through in the outside world; You can leave the Eastside, but it will never leave you.
“Every time I proudly identified myself with the Eastside of San Jose, loud sighs would follow. People’s faces would flatten and their eyes would be diverted from mine....”
As soon as people hear E.S.S.J., it gives them permission to jump to conclusions and assume who we are. Even if we leave, we are still being judged, undervalued and our intelligence is constantly being questioned.
Between each other we know the difference between chismes and reality. The truth is outsiders pick and choose what they want to hear about us. If you focus too much on the thorns, you will never be able to see the rose right in front of you.
Enough chismes about us being “ghetto”, it is time to yell back into the broken telephone and correct what the world thinks of us. While some people are embarrassed or ashamed, Eastsiders have always seen the beauty of where we come from. We don’t let society’s labels define us or affect the ways we see ourselves.
“The truth is outsiders pick and choose what they want to hear about us. If you focus too much on the thorns, you will never be able to see the rose right in front of you. ”