Ethnography in the Veterans Park of Manchester, NH in the USA - Research Paper Example

 Ethnography in the Veterans Park of Manchester, NH in the USA Introduction The topic of this research is ethnography in the Veterans Park of Manchester, NH in the USA. The location chosen to conduct this research was the Veterans Park of Manchester, NH in the USA. I had heard about the Veterans Park as I live in the same city as the park. The Veterans Park is in the Downtown Manchester, NH. The neighborhood immediately surrounding my fieldwork site is like mixed commercial and residential. It is easy for me to get to my site since it is located in my home-city. The Veterans Park consists of a stage area for concerts and a memorial for fallen soldiers. The US flags have been used to decorate the park. The park is next to a main street, which makes it sound like a typical city with the noises of people, cars, trucks, and traffic. Usually, the noise is more during the day than the night since the load of traffic in the night is lesser and also, the birds that chirp around during the day recede to their nests in the night. The land in the park is all covered in thick grass which is very pleasant and sweet to the smell. Occasionally, car fumes can be smelled as well, particularly when they are parked with a rush. The park setting is both relaxing and comfortable. Since it is a park, there are benches placed around the periphery of the green areas. The land is mostly covered in grass with concrete walkways running through the open areas. Many people bring food and eatables with them as the natural beauty makes the park a nice picnic spot. The reason this location was selected to conduct the research was that Veterans Park is one of the most crowded parks in the City of Manchester which is equally popular among people belonging to different ethnicities. Another reason I chose this site was the amount of homeless people and cosmopolitan features in it. My main objective in this project was to learn whether there exists a class system within the park. Research Methodology Since this topic integrally relates to the field of sociology, therefore qualitative research methodology was adopted for this research. Particularly, structured open-ended interviews were used as a tool to gather the data from the research participants. The reason open-ended interviews were used as a research tool was that it allowed the research participants to express themselves fully and honestly to the maximum limit, because they would have a opportunity to say whatever they want to. The questions were constructed in such a way that they encouraged the research participants to say more than just “yes” or “no” in their replies. This was intentionally done so as to gain a variety of perceptions about the subjects of discussion from the interviewees. In addition to that, interviewing the research participants is a very effective way of gathering data for sociological studies because by interviewing them, the interviewer builds a rapport with the interviewees which makes the interviewees feel more comfortable so that they can express themselves without any hesitation or discomfort. Moreover, the interviewer is able to understand the meanings of the interviewees’ replies to the questions better as the interviewer can read their mind while talking to them. This is fundamental to drawing accurate conclusions from the analysis of the data collected from the research participants. All interviews were composed of five questions in total, which are listed below: 1. Is there a class system in the Veterans Park? 2. If yes, how did the class system come about? If no, what do you think has caused the class system to be absent? 3. Have you ever experienced racism in the Veterans Park? 4. Does the Veterans Park support ethnic diversity? What evidence do you have in support of your answer? 5. Which features of the Veterans Park attract you? These questions relate to certain themes or key questions discussed in the class readings. For example, there was division of area between the black and white races in the Old Fourth Ward, and the Auburn Avenue’s main drag was called “the richest Negro street in the world” (McCall). There are also numerous films based on racism and class system that have been made in the past. One such film is A Day Without a Mexican in which a pink fog draws the Mexicans out of California. Interviews My first interview was with a mother and her three year old daughter. They belonged to the Caucasian race. The mother’s name was Julia and Regee was her daughter. My impression of the key informants was that they would cooperate with me since both looked in a very pleasant mood. I went over to Julia and introduced myself, as well as the wish and purpose of taking the interview. Julia happily agreed. Julia told me that there exists a class system in the park, which came about as a result of people’s consciousness about status. She told me that she never felt the existence of any racism in the Veterans Park. She was confident because she visited the Park very frequently with her kids. She said, “Who’d know better than me. Regee’s and my day is incomplete unless we’ve been to this place.” From this interview, my perception of lack of racism in the Veterans Park strengthened. I found that the Park is truly a place of enjoyment for everyone. The most interesting thing I found while conducting this research was the participation of children. Children as little as under five years of age did not even understand what I was talking with their parents about. Terms like racism were new to some. Julia said that she always witnessed a culturally and ethnically diverse population of visitors in the park. She mentioned that the main attraction for her in the park was that it provided her daughter with a nice place to play in, after she returned from the school. My second interviewee was a 35 year old male named John. Mr. John belongs to the working class, and often visits the park with his family for recreation. Mr. John told me he has made contacts with many working class people in the Veterans Park. He said that he tends to socialize only with the working class people as it is good for him professionally as well as socially. When I asked him how the class system came about, he replied, “It’s called social networking. A friend of mine told me this park is a good place to make contacts. There are many who come to the park with the same thinking for the first time.” Mr. John is a Caucasian while his wife Martha is African American. Not just this, many inter-racial families can be seen in the park frequently, which depicts that the park is a safe place for people belonging to all races and ethnicities to visit. I asked Mr. John’s opinion regarding the newly introduced Rules of Conduct. He said, “It is a very good measure taken by the authorities to make sure that the park is not only a safe place to visit but also a place for healthy interaction among people belonging to different races, classes, and cultures. I have never had any personal encounter with any racist group within the park. Occasionally, I happen to interact with other people, and many see our inter-racial family as a sign of unity and bond between the different races that dwell in our society.” When I asked him if inter-racial marriage is different in any way than the traditional single-race family, he replied, “Well, marriage is between two people and souls that are committed to each other. As long as there is trust, honesty, sincerity, and love in the relationship, races hardly matter. It is the person and his/her thinking that takes the relationship to the next level. As for the impact of the inter-racial marriage on the society, I have found it positive as it generates a message of unity among races.” One key concept that I had which was contradicted by this experience was that inter-racial couples in the public place serve as an insignia of harmony between races. They show practical examples of how different races can be merged together to spread love and peace in the society. By taking the interview and learning the interviewees’ experiences, I followed Spradley’s advice; “To get at culture, ethnographers must learn the meanings of action and experience from the insider’s or informant’s point of view” (Spradley 7). Mr. John believed that the park supports ethnic diversity, and said that the main attraction in the park for him was the fact that he could enjoy the trip with his family without experiencing racism. While interviewing people randomly in the park, I happened to meet an immigrant named Senha. I asked him how it felt like migrating to the Queen City in reply to which, he said, “I came from Mumbai to Manchester about 10 years ago. I met many friends from India here who belonged to the same working class as mine and gave me useful advice regarding getting settled here. I have found Manchester diverse in many ways, and I really appreciate it.” According to Senha, the class system is one of the cultural features of the Veterans Park. He said, “It’s in the air. You come here, and you start flowing with the main stream.” When I asked Senha what evidence did he have to suggest that the park supports ethnic diversity, Senha told me that he and his family have been regular visitors of the Veterans Park since the time they have been living in Manchester. I asked Senha what are the prime attractions for him in the Veterans Park. He said, “There’s a lot to tell, but mainly the activities conducted here at the Veterans Park are very engaging. I particularly like the People Fest, that is one of the free ethnic extravaganza arranged in the Veterans Park every summer. It’s a certifiable tradition of the Veterans Park, and worth being part of. This year, it will be probably bigger than ever before. A larger crowd is expected since the festival has been established beforehand on the calendar to draw the prospective visitors’ attention.” Senha told me that when the festival starts, performances are shown on stage everyday starting 9:30 in the morning that continue till 6 o’ clock in the evening. This festival is one of the insignias of the support of Manchester for cultural and ethnic diversity. It is an occasion to celebrate the diversity of cultures and heritages. People from different cultures and ethnicities celebrate the traditional and modern trends, fashions, and activities. Merely by visiting this festival, one gets to learn the cultural and ethnic traits of the Greeks, the French, the Bosnians, the Irish, the Somalis, and the Indians etc. When I asked Senha what is the significance of this event for immigrants like him, he said, “It is a wonderful opportunity for the immigrants to socialize with the people both from the native and the host country. The event is basically for the people who have been living in Manchester for a long time and want to meet people who have recently settled in here. The event is just as useful for the immigrants as they get to meet the people who have established the city and have been living here for years.” Senha told me that he particularly liked and looked forward to some mesmerizing performances by the Nepali dancers, French and Spanish singers, and Burundi drummers. Every year, anywhere between 40 and 50 vendors come from different parts of England to attend the People Fest and render free services to the visitors. These exhibitors include but are not limited to the health, fire, and police department of Manchester, New Hampshire Peace Action, and many more. Generally, the exhibitors can be divided into two groups, of which one is ethnic which comprises people who attend the festival to show their arts and crafts whereas the other group is of the for-profit service providers and the non-profit service providers. The show supports both supply and demand. On one hand, there are people who need the service, while on the other hand, there are people who want to provide it. In addition to this, People Fest hosts a whole range of cuisines representative of different cultures. Some of the most popular cuisines introduced in the festival every year include the Lebanese, Chinese, and Indian cuisines. Research Findings Most of the people in the Veterans Park are from the working class. Specially, the civil servants and the private sector employees from surrounding buildings visit the park for recreation and time pass. Many visitors are middle-aged though the community of visitors is diverse as the visitors come with their families including children and parents. My first impression of the park was good. I saw it as a mixed group of people who were able to get along with one another well and spend some quality time. People at the park seem to be friendly and are mostly interacting with others in a peaceful manner. I see people greeting each other as they walk by. However, I noticed a strange trend that people only greeted or interacted with similar looking people, not in terms of race, but in terms of class. The visitors identified one another’s class using specific features. For example, the government employees identified other civil servants such as the emergency workers or the civilian government workers with the help of IDs around their neck. This suggests that while there is no racism in the Veterans Park, there does exist a class system. A Caucasian American belonging to the middle working class would prefer to interact with an African American or an Indian who also belongs to the middle working class, rather than interacting with another Caucasian American who is either homeless or is a high-profile government employee. The government workers stay with themselves in the park as the police in the book American Apartheid had separated from the minorities in the neighborhood (Massey and Denton). Nevertheless, I observed no geographical divisions in the park to distinguish between the visitors belonging to different classes or ethnicities. The park is visited by both the homeless and the non-homeless people, who can be seen wandering around in the same area. Generally, the two groups of people do not sit next to each other in the park. One can sense a lack of association between the two groups of people but despite that, the homeless people are always greeting the people walking by regardless of their background. They are generally very polite and respectful in their mannerism. My Observations I found some very positive changes in the Veterans Park. The Veterans Park has been decorated to make it look even more beautiful and appealing. The new park has a walkway laid out with brick pavers. A new flag pole has also been placed recently. The Park administration intends to develop the park further with the help of money collected for the walkway. Rules of Conduct have also been introduced lately to take objective control over any possible incidents of racism or discrimination that might happen in the park. The Rules of Conduct require the visitors to keep the park clean. The visitors are forbidden to make use of obscene, racist, lewd, or vulgar language while in the park. The Rules of Conduct forbid the visitors to abuse or threaten anybody in the park. They clearly demonstrate that any attempt of harming any visitor will be dealt strictly and prompt action will be taken against the offender. In addition to that, the Rules of Conduct also encourage the visitors to display ethics in their mannerism by being truthful, nice, and proactive in reporting the administration of the park of any abusive events. Conclusion This research was conducted to evaluate whether there exists a class system in the Veterans Park of Manchester, NH in the USA. To find this, three visitors belonging to different ethnic origins were interviewed. It was found that there does exist a class system in the Veterans Park. The visitors can be divided into three groups that include the homeless class, the middle working class, and the government workers. The three groups of visitors tend to socialize with people belonging to their respective groups, and there is minimal interaction between the visitors belonging to different groups. People belonging to the three groups exhibit specific traits and behaviors in the Veterans Park using which, they identify one another. The Veterans Park is generally popular among people belonging to all ethnicities, which makes the place diverse both with respect to culture and ethnicity. The festivals and events organized in the Veterans Park are also of such nature that they cater for the interests of audiences of all cultures and ethnicities. Despite the existence of the class system, the Veterans Park is a spot of recreation and peaceful enjoyment for visitors of all ethnicities and cultures. Cultural and ethnic diversity is embraced at all levels in Manchester in general and the Veterans Park in particular, so that it extends beyond humans to include the animals. At People Fest, children have the opportunity to see the Wildlife Encounters Zoo, the fundamental idea behind organizing which is to emphasize upon the fact that even animals differ from one another depending upon the different parts of world they belong to, which means that diversity is as common among animals as it is among humans. There exists a class system of the poor, the middle class, and the government workers. The poor are generally ignored while all three groups tend to stay within themselves in the park. The government workers are identified by their ID cards and uniforms. None of the interviewees was sure of the cause of existence of the class system, yet they mutually agreed that the park is known for social networking. The interviewees consented that there is no racism in the park. They put different reasons for their belief that the park supports ethnic diversity, but the third interviewee gave a detailed account of the festival which supports ethnic diversity. The attractions for the interviewees in the Veterans Park included lack of racism, and the soothing environment of the park. Works Cited McCall, Nathan. Them: A Novel. New York: Atria Books, 2007. Print. Massey, Douglas S., and Denton, Nancy A. American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass. USA: Harvard University Press, 1993. Print. Spradley, James P. “Ethnography and Culture” from Participant Observation. Barbara Spradley, 1980. Print. Read More