The Question About Race

This week, while learning about race, I wouldn't say I've necessarily learned anything I didn't previously know. However, discussing race did help me to think about why race was actually formed. Although we have discussed it deeply in class, I still don't think I completely understand. In my opinion, perceptions of different races are almost entirely based off of influences around you and opinions you create for yourself. For example, people that grow up in the South and who have very racist parents are more likely to grow up disliking black people. Another example which I have heard many people around here say is that asians are bad drivers, but they believe this only because they have had a bad driving encounter with an asian person. When you think about it, it really is stupid. How could the color of someone's skin make their a bad driver or make them less intelligent? I think that if it were taught more in schools exactly how races were formed, like we learned with the map of the world from millions of years ago, people may be more likely to truly understand the idea of race. Race simply came about based off the person's closeness to the equator which made their skin lighter or darker. Now, I'm not saying I have no perceptions of certain races because I definitely do, but I wish I grew up in a society that didn't influence those perceptions, and I wish I was taught in school earlier how races came about so that I could realize how ridiculous it is that people actually think that the color of their skin make them a certain way. 

Minimum Wage

After watching 30 days at minimum wage, it really opened my eyes to the world beyond what I have lived in my whole life. Just seeing how much of a struggle that Morgan and his fiance went through in the first couple of days showed how hard it would truly be to live on minimum wage. Then, the day where his fiance gets a U.T.I and he has to go to the emergency room because of his risk, it really opened my eyes when seeing how many people were in line for the free clinic. I think that when our classes watch it, we more or less just think how unfortunate it must be for those people, meanwhile we have nice cars, nice homes, and nice clothes. Now, I don't think there is any reason to be ashamed or feel bad about having these nice things, because, at least for me, my dad has worked harder than anyone I know to get us all of the things we have today. However, after watching this and studying this unit I really wish that I could do something to help these people. My mom volunteers at a place similar to the one in the show that is affiliated with our church and people can come and pick up necessities. I often donate clothes to this place which I guess does help somewhat. I just wish there was a way that I could make a difference in helping these people or getting them necessities like health care more easily. When I go to college and especially when I start living on my own I know I want to volunteer like my mom does, and after seeing this t.v. show and learning about this unit I think that I will turn my volunteer efforts to help the poor and people that are forced to work minimum wage and support a family. 

Social Class

While watching the last video in Soc, I found that one segment I could relate to very well. I grew up in Bloomington, Illinois. I lived there for about 10 years, and nearly all of my extended family members lived there as well. Now, obviously Bloomington and Lincolnshire aren't as different as the girl who grew up in a very small time and then moved to the city, but there are still connections that can be drawn. For my dad especially, I believe he feels slightly awkward when he goes to family get togethers in Bloomington. Alot of his family members hardly even ask him about his new job and his life in the suburbs of Chicago. Although he doesn't neccessarily change his personality and clothing like the woman did in the movie, but I do notice that he doesn't like to talk about his job unless he is asked about it because he feels he will get criticized for thinking he is higher than his other family members. As for me, when I visit my friends from Bloomington, there is a change that I feel. Although they are very similar to my friends, there are still social differences, and they even tell me I speak with a Chicago accent. When I was packing for a weekend visit, I wasn't sure if packing clothes that were nice brands that weren't even sold in stores in Bloomington would make it seem like I was showing off. I was nervous around them at times because I didn't want to seem like a snobby North Shore girl and I just wanted to act like the girl who lived there for 10 years. I don't really think that my family or friends from Bloomington judge who I am now that I no longer live in Bloomington, but I completely understand where the woman in the video was coming from.

Doin' TIme

I thought that the t.v. show we watched, 30 days, was extremely interesting. I learned a lot of things about going to jail and what goes on there and I previously had a misconception about. Some things, I thought were much harsher than actually was the case at the jail that was visited in the show. However, there were some aspects of the jail and the people that were in jail that I thought were ridiculous. After watching that show, I started to think about whether the strategies and processes that jails carry out are actually beneficial. There were so many drug addicts and people that had slight to severe mental illnesses. Do people really think that locking them up with no treatment or help is going to solve anything? In my opinion, doing a very intense observation of people convicted of something before getting put directly in jail could solve numerous problems. First of all, it would immensely help the large number of people that are currently in our jail system (especially in Illinois) and it would help to get rid of a lot of the congestion our jail system is currently experiencing. Also, if we put people with drug issues and mental issues in places that can help them, I would imagine that when they were released from these places, they would have a much less likely chance of going back to jail because their problem was dealt with. Personally, I think that throwing people in jail no matter what their condition may be is extremely stupid, and simply a way to avoid the time, money, and effort it would take to actually correct what may be wrong with these people and truly make the world safer. 

Boys vs. Girls

This past weekend, I visited my boyfriend at University of Iowa. Now, it took a lot of convincing, but my parents eventually agreed to let me go. My mom said she wanted me to drive as oppose to the other boy that I was going with. I have driven to colleges or other far places numerous times. However, each of those 6 or 7 times, I only drove other girls in the car with me. As soon as we got in the car, I immediately realized this wasn't going to be the car ride I was used to. Luckily, me and the other boy I was driving with get along really well and had lots of good conversation, however I noticed something very different. Normally, I print out Mapquest directions to wherever I am going, and I assign whoever is sitting in the front seat to be the 'navigator' and help me with the directions. First of all, my friends know by now that sitting in the front seat guarantees this job, and because of that very few of them ever wish to sit in the front seat. With a boy, however, he immediately took charge of the directions. He held onto them the entire time, and wasn't afraid to tell me exactly what the next turn would be or what are next exit was. Regaurdless of the fact that this was my third time driving to Iowa, and he had never driven there, because he was the 'man' of the car, I think he felt he needed to take control and help me. Now, I'm not saying he thinks I am weaker or that I needed to be helped, and it was in fact very helpful, but right away it made me think of learning in Soc about how males feel that they need to take control, and always know what to do and when to do it, especially when it comes to a female. Whereas my girlfriends would hesitate about the directions, afraid to lead me the wrong direction, often saying things such as "I think this is right..." the boy in the car always talked as though he knew for a fact it was right, and studied the directions carefully to make sure to direct me exactly where I needed to go. We luckily got to and from Iowa safely, but I think I could have done it without a boy helping me ;)

The Age of Independence

The question of when do young adults become independent is a very interesting and difficult question. In my opinion, it completely depends on the individual. For instance, there are boys and girls across the world, sometimes as young as 5 years old or even younger, that become responsible for one or more members of their family. There are young children, especially in poorer countries such as countries in Africa who have sick or dead parents and therefore the responsibility of parenting the other members of the family fall into their hands. In this case, these children are independent at this young age because they are forced to work, provide food, clothing, and shelter for their family. However, more typical in the United States, there are some 30 year olds that still are not independent. It is very common for teenagers to believe that they are ready to be independent before they actually are. However, I think once they enter college and realize how difficult it is to provide food for themselves and keep their dorm and clothes clean and tidy, they realize they are not as mature and independent as they thought they were. I, personally, believe I will be perfectly fine on my own in college. However, deep down I know that it will be extremely difficult to not have dinner ready at the table every night at 6 p.m and not having my mom to help me wash my clothes. I agree with Sal's post that true independence comes when an individual is forced to provide for themselves completely by themselves without the help of their family's money. Once someone has to provide for a wife or husband and a family of their own, it truly marks independence.

Men and Violence

As we have been discussing a lot lately in class, I wanted to talk about violence and males. It really is astonishing if you think about nearly all of the violence cases in the past 30 years or so, and consider how many of them have been committed by females? How many school shootings have occurred because 3 female students woke up that morning and decided that they wanted to kill innocent classmates? The answer is very few. As Sal mentioned in class, one example of a girl who was involved in a school shooting (which the plan was actually constructed with male students), the girl surrendered herself to the police without going through with the plan. The question is why? Why do males commit so many more acts of violence then females? There are many reasons, but in my opinion the main reason is because of our society and how we portray men. Men and all males for that matter are seen as strong, fearless, courageous. Therefore, when their masculinity are questioned, as many school shootings begin, males feel they need to prove themselves. Unfortunately, they do this in violent ways that harm and often kill other people. If society portrayed women as tough and strong, would the amount of women who commit acts of violence increase?