Revisiting Diaspora

Back to my post about Diaspora, Katie's post about Diaspora provides additional information about Diaspora such as the Jews. Throughout history, Diaspora continues to grow and expand so it’s like a never-ending story.

I believed that Diaspora wasn’t a chosen act, and people didn’t disperse on their own free will. But Rachel brought up a good point about the Gold Rush miners and Oregon Trail travelers. She asked, “but what about the Gold Rush miners or Oregon Trail travelers? Were their choices made outside of free will?” This made me think about it more, and after contemplating I said, “Oh yeah, she's right about that. They chose to disperse to find gold and help the US expand.” I completely overlooked the other side of Diaspora and didn’t put it into consideration. The Oregon Trail travelers and Gold Rush miners did choose to disperse on their own free will. So that proves that Diaspora could be a condition of wanted or unwanted. I was unaware of the ambivalence that Diaspora held and disregarded anything aside from my beliefs. Diaspora could be a chosen or non-chosen act depending on the circumstances. Reasons for a chosen Diaspora may possibly be because of money or better living situations. The gold rush is a great example of dispersal due to money - large quantities of gold. Pioneers of the Oregon Trail dispersed to new parts of the United States of America to help the U.S. expand the nation from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. This dispersal and settlement was a cultural goal of Manifest Destiny.

In Thanks to Diaspora, I also stated that Diaspora is a positive thing because after dispersal, people are able to reconstruct their lives and make it better. Arisa commented, “However, there is a negative aspect of Diaspora. Some people would have to leave behind their cultural values where they originally came from because they have trouble building their cultural values in other countries.” This is another good point because although people can make their lives better, it takes a lot of work and important values are left behind. However, my family was able to keep and bring some of their cultural values with them when they dispersed to America. We still celebrate Chinese New Years and do the traditional giving of red envelopes with money embedded in them. There’s a small Asian community in South Sacramento where Asians can purchase their cultural foods and enjoy traditional Chinese chess at a local Cafe.

Diaspora could be an unwanted or wanted act, and there are many possibilities that could result from it. Whether lives are better or not, it just depends on every individual’s strength on what he or she does after dispersal. Diaspora could be a positive or negative thing depending on the situation.