Racism

The race unit we've been in has probably been my favorite unit because I feel like i've been made aware of a lot of things I haven't noticed before. I always thought racism could just be explicit and never did I consider all the implicit ways people could be stereotyped and the bias that comes with race. The way we judge each other is terrible and I'm almost ashamed that i've never realized how people can be judged against. Being a cuacasian girl, I'm pretty blind to the racism around me so I never thought about how the media might poorly represent African Americans or how they might be blamed for something more easily just because of their color. One of the hardest things to watch throughout this unit was watching the experiment about the middle eastern women be called "not american"and "terrorist" because of how she dressed and her color. As well, the angry eyes video made me more thankful for my ability to "walk away from racism" in comparasion to most poeple of color who will never be able to. I was surprised in the video that all the african american students said they were judged against everyday. It was eye-opening to me and I think Jane Elliot had to be so mean in order to get her point across that racism still exists and is as bad as ever before. After this unit, i've been trying to pay attention more to the slight forms of racism around me and it's been shocking. I've heard freinds and even a teacher make tiny remarks about people of color such as african americans and hispanics. For this reason, I agree that it's impossible to be "color blind" because we will always notice the color differences; however, we still need to be able to accept all our different colors and see every person as an equal regardless of what they look like.
     My shock at how bad racism still is also comes from watching Crash. For one, I think the movie is very entertaining and moving, however, it's hard to watch at some points becauase the racism is so extreme it actually makes me cringe. Some of the worst parts were seeing how Matt Dillon could treat the African American couple and how much it ended up effected the couple. Also, I think that the locksmith is constantly being unfairly treated just becasue he is Hispanic. It's ridiculous how terrible people can treat each other and it's embarassing that people actually do act like this. I've always known that explicit racism exists but never to such an extent and the most shocking is the implicit and istitutional racism that are so under the radar that people stop even considering it to be hurtful or racist!

Class and Income Blog Post

I found the Movie we've been watching in class very eye-opening and intresting. It really developed on the disparity in social class that most people choose to ignore. I think it's crazy how there can be such a difference between someone like Thomas (WASP) and Tammy (who works on minimum) live. Sociological Imagination is shown because we've learned to respect people that are humble and kind. This is why most people, me included, think Thomas comes off as a jerk since he clearly views the WASP as the best social class. I've learned to find disgust in people that can be so condescending and think that they can be better than anyone else. Tammy, however, seems genuine and I can respect her for her hardwork and positivity. The movie also demonstrated how we see social class based on previous known stereotypes such as seeing the Red Neck Games as low class since they might not have as good incomes or "lifestyles". I think that it is wrong to judge people based off of their social class or income level just because there is much more to a person than a typical sterotype. For example, though I think it's intresting that their are so many differences in social class, I don't think it is necessarily fair. I thought it was crazy that you could even find differences in food such as higher income people eat more wheat bread while lower class eat more white bread. The movie demonstrated how there are so many simple differences and how people of different social statuses view each other!

The 99% and the sociological Imagination

Image 1:
Why desire for economic security is not being met- She works 3 jobs and is still living pay check to pay check. She is also the sole supporter of her household and the only one that has health insurance.
More fair situation- Better pay especially since she is already working 3 jobs all of which require her to use her graduate degree and help to provide for her household so that everyone can have health insurance
Relates to social class- She has a graduate degree and has three jobs so she considers herself to still be one of the "lucky ones" yet she still has to live pay check to pay check and is the only one supporting her household. It shows that she considers herself still to be lucky since she is atleast educated and has a job though she is still under a hard living environment.
Chose this image- I found this almost scary since she has 3 jobs and still is only living pay check to pay check. She has a graducate education and seems to be very hardworking but is still barely making ends meet. It was surprising to see that hardwork and education sometimes isn't enough to make it. This is scary since I always thought that as long as you always worked hard, you would be ok in life.

Image 2:
Why desire for economic security is not being met- Has to live on public assistence because can not get a real job and if she does get a better job than they won't cover her daughters heart condition and NY won't help anymore if she makes more than minimum wage.
More fair situation- Better public assistence program so that doesn't feel like your trapped in a constant cycle of poverty. Also better State programs to cover insurance especially because daughter has heart condition and mom would have no coverage if she was making above minimum wage. Also help and funding to aid her in paying for her childrens college so that they don't end up in same cycle.
Relates to social class- She is stuck in constant cycle because can't get a better job without going to school but can't go to school untill she pays off her loans. She also can't leave public assistence unless she get a better job but that job won't help her care for her sick daughter. Relates to how she see's herself stuck in the same never-ending cycle and that there is no way for her to get out of what she see's as her low-class lifestyle.
Chose this image- This image showed me how hard it really is to get out of this "cycle" once you are already in it. It was scary to think if she'll be able to get a better job or then how she will provide for her children. I choose it becuase it shows how many complications their are and how impossible it seems to be able to change your life around.

Image 3:
Why desire for economic security is not being met- She went for her associates degree but is unemployed with 10,000 in debt so she has to depend on her parents again who, themselves, are struggling.
More fair Situation- Jobs for all especially with a program to help recent graduates find work so that they can begin to pay off their debts/loans and so that they can set themselves up for a strong future.
Relates to social class- because she can't find a job and has to depend on her struggling parents again she says she feels like a "failure". Shows that though she says she went to school to pursue her dreams and says that she has talent, she still feels like a failure because she can't support herself and feels like its all gone to waste.
Chose this image- I chose this image becuase I felt like I could easily be this girl. About to go to college, it scares me to think what might happen after I graduate. I, too, would feel like my "talents were going to waste" if I couldn't find a job and if I had to depend on my parents again. It startled me to think that just going to college, is not enough to easily succeed in society.

positive deviance

   The idea of positive deviance is committing an uncommon behavior that benefits another member/group of society. It's a "random act of kindness" that someone wouldnt expect to see on a normal day. An example of this positive deviance was Julio Diaz who instead of fighting or reporting being mugged, he offered his coat to his robber and than took that boy out to diner. This was a shocking thing to do since most poeple would be focused on themselves after being in a dangerous situation  (especially if it's being mugged), however, Diaz decided to treat the boy to dinner, which was incredibly kind and might have greatly impacted the boy.            
   In an attempt to do my own act of positive deviance i bought a meal for the car behind me at Mcdonalds. I went through the drivethru and after paying for my own meal, I asked for the amount of the car behing me and than covered that charge so that they wouldn't have to pay. I think this was a form of positive deviance because it's uncommon to ever have a random stranger pay for a complete meal for you. In fact, I've never gotten free food unless I had some sort of coupon or the company was doing a promotion. My act was, therefore, deviant but it was also positive because it allowed for the people to get a free meal and see a random stranger complete a kind task.
    I enjoyed completing this task because it was scary to do something that was deviant and broke the rules yet it felt good because I knew it was a positive act. Since I was at a drivethru, I didn't get to completly interact with the car behind me but they seemed shocked and almost confused when the workers told them their meal had been completly payed for. I felt nervous at first comleting the tast since it just felt strange paying for a random stranger but after it was exciting to know I might have really impacted their day. Thinking about it, if i had been the car behind me, having someone pay for my food would have not only made my day but would really brighten my week too! I think this experiment showed me how our culture and social norms make us reserved and we usually never go out of our way to help strangers. I realized that if I tried a littler harder to help those around me, I could really make an impact on someone's life and maybe even cause a chain reaction of positive events. Completing acts of deviance show how easy it is to do the uncommon thing and just help someone without focusing on yourself!

Gender differences movie blog

We watch a lot of movies in school but this movie was one that I actually felt impacted by. It was upsetting and disturbing to see how media will portray females and males. I was angry, especially, by the "commercial realism" because it's advertisers that try to portray these gender stereotypes in the real world. It almost feels like the ads are trying to sell to us, not only products, but how to think and act as well. The commercial intrusions communicate to create quick gender codes that are basically rules on how we should act. For example, media can actually create a difference between what is considered a "male's hand" and what is a "females hand". It's shocking that men can be portrayed as controlling while females appear weak and delicate just by looking at a picture of a hand. Another shocking part of the video was how it explained that models get "touched up" and no person, in reality, looks like they are portrayed through the media. The quote by Cindy Crawford that even she "wishes to look like cindy crawford" made me realize how much advertisers try to create this fake world and to make that "perfect person"- who in reality does not exist. Knowing people that struggle with their confidence and body issues made me realize how comparing themselves to the media could hurt their self-esteem. I think its important that people are educated on the differences between reality and advertising so it doesn't have has much influence especially on gender norms and how people perceive their own appearance.

Blog for Friday Oct 28 socialization

I didn't get to go on the field trip because I was already on one that day. However, regarding what impacts me the most I would say my parents and peers socialize me the most. My parents have taught me my morals and attitudes. They've let me grow up by learning from my mistakes and to recognize when I'm in a good or bad situation. My peers also influence me because there actions can start to become normal. I know i've been in situations where people are making bad decisions and, though, I'm never outright told to follow them, it seems as if the only natural thing to do is follow along. Thankfully, those morals my parents enforced upon me when I was younger prevented me from making a mistake. I think it works almost like a "checks and balance system" because I'm gravitated to act like my friends but I have a voice of reason in the back of my mind telling me what's right thanks to my parents. I think now by my senior year of high school, I've learned what type of friends I want to be around and to trust. Now my friends impact can be a positive thing because we encourage each other to keep up our grades and get into a great college. I think all factors around us help to socialize us, but as long as I circle myself around positive people and follow my parents teachings, this socialization is actually a good thing.
     I thought the movie we watched on media showed how our values are influenced even when we are young. The fact that so much time and effort goes into researching children is actually really creepy. I think it stops kids from growing up slowly or interacting "naturally" since children are being marketed to what's the cool instead of what they want. The more children are exposed the more they will find value in money and owning lots of material items. I think the movie showed how socialization works in media-especially how powerful it can be at a younger age.

Interview with my parents!

The main expectations my family had for me, before i was born, was to have good life skills such as being tidy and organized. They also planned for me to be smart and studious so that i would get into a good college. They expected me to be the best that I could possibly be. The lessons, values, and ideas they tried the hardest to teach me was Honesty. They truly beleived that "honesty is the best policy" and won't respect anyone who cheats their way to the top. The most important tradition in my family are that we always have to spend holidays together, especially christmas and thanksgiving. For these days, our immediate family is always together. It doesn't matter where we go or what we do but we have to spend that time with each other. When trying to figure out how to raise me, my parents never had a specific disiplinary idea but they decided that I always had to learn from my mistakes. If I ever got in trouble, I would have to reflect on what I did, apologize, and than learn from the experience. Habits that I have that are similar to my family are that I'm sometimes messy like my father but I can be really organized with very specific things like my mother. For example, my mom and I like to organize our closets the same exact way. Parts of my personality that are also like my parents are that I always try my hardest and will put 100% effort into whatever it is that I do.

Reflecting on the interview, what shocked me the most was all the different ideas that my parents had actually planned to install on me. I never knew that they talked about having an educated daughter or that they had always wanted me to go to a good college before I was even born. I learned that a lot of my thoughts actually, originally, come from my parents. For example, I cheerish honesty which was what they said was one of the most important values to them. I think that I try my best and put effort into everything I do, which were traits I must have picked up from my parents. I, also, learned that my family is very goal-orientated and driven. As well, we all value and enjoy spending time together!