Race is a social construct. There is no physical thing as race, people of different colors have nothing that makes them physically different besides the color of their skin, yet racism has run rampant throughout the history of society. In the old days we kept black people as slaves, and although the days where this is allowed are long gone, racism is not.
Society at whole tends to view racism as a non-issue these days. It has long stopped being socially acceptable to be racist, so most people view that as the end of the problem and move on. However, just because people can't use racial slurs and descriminate legally, that does not mean that racism is a thing of the past.
While racism may no longer be explicit, implicit racism still runs rampant. Beauty for example is still seen as something to be almost exclusively white. Models, idols, people society deems as attractive almost always are white, or at least have light skin. This implicitly sends a message to minority children that they are not as good as their white counterparts solely because of the color of their skin.
Everyone is a little bit racist, even you and me. Its a product of the society we are born into. My favorite example is something I frequently chide my parents for, but something that I, and probably many other people do, nonetheless. When in a unfamiliar city, you always want to find out if you are in a safe neighborhood to be in or not. And how do most people go about doing this? They look at the other people in the area and judge the ratio of white people to minorities. If there's more minorities, most people would leave. Is this racist? Absolutely. But it is a product of the society we are built into. People are tought from a young age that white people are safe and minorities are dangerous. Thus you can hardly blame them for being racist when that is what they are tought. In order to eliminate racism, we must stop teaching children these implicit values of racism.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Thursday, May 5, 2011
The Class
In American society, it appears that people are grouped by their race, their religion, their gender, and their sexual identity. Countless times a year do we all fill out the first three on standardized test forms! After all these are the most discussed descriptors, and have the most influential reform and equality movements. However, there is one descriptor that isn't discussed as often on a scholarly and informed level, and one for which there is no lobbying movement. That is Class.
People are grouped by their class more than by anything else. Upper class people stick together, as do lower class people. You'd never see someone from The Hamptons hanging with someone from Harlem! However, what this does is creates a sense of inclusion and exclusion. As a member of a certain social class, each person is expected to act a certain way and perform a certain role. This limits the aspirations of young people, as they are told what they "have" to do, instead of being able to live their own lives. Conversely, the exclusion from other social classes causes people to be unfamiliar with those different to them. The result is a rising level of resentment that the rich have for the poor and visa versa.
The saddest part is, theres no forseeable way to fix this. In my other blogs I've tried to end with a suggestion; and idea for reform if you will. However, here I see no solution. Social Class is inherent in life. People are born into it and live their entire lives surrounded by it. Barring some complete social overhaul that would be highly unlikely to occur, this will never change. Its a sad prospect to leave you with, but its the truth.
People are grouped by their class more than by anything else. Upper class people stick together, as do lower class people. You'd never see someone from The Hamptons hanging with someone from Harlem! However, what this does is creates a sense of inclusion and exclusion. As a member of a certain social class, each person is expected to act a certain way and perform a certain role. This limits the aspirations of young people, as they are told what they "have" to do, instead of being able to live their own lives. Conversely, the exclusion from other social classes causes people to be unfamiliar with those different to them. The result is a rising level of resentment that the rich have for the poor and visa versa.
The saddest part is, theres no forseeable way to fix this. In my other blogs I've tried to end with a suggestion; and idea for reform if you will. However, here I see no solution. Social Class is inherent in life. People are born into it and live their entire lives surrounded by it. Barring some complete social overhaul that would be highly unlikely to occur, this will never change. Its a sad prospect to leave you with, but its the truth.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
The Rich List
Again, pardon my politics. Few issues upset me more than class disparity. It is one of America's most glaring problems, and it is also the one we seem to care the least about - at least in terms of actually doing something about. All the time on the news you hear people complain about class inequality in other words. You always he about the "average American" who is "strapped for cash" and "just barely making ends meet" you are supposed to feel sorry for these people, and to want to change the world to be more fair to them. But then you see TV, where almost everyone is rich, drives fancy cars, and live in mansions. The high visibility of rich people on television creates the false connotation that the middle-class is a suburbanite who lives in a 2 story house. However, that couldn't be further from the truth. These people likely make up the top 20% of our Nation's incomes
The cash-strapped American as portrayed on television is actually the "middle-class" American. We never see the real poor people in America on television, atleast not portrayed in any way other than criminal scum. Why? Probably because the poorest Americans tend to be minorities, and television doesn't like to portray minorities in a positive light. George Gerbner's "Mean World" theory shows us that as the media increasingly portrays violence, typically in news broadcasts depicting minorities in poor neighborhoods committting crimes, society as a whole becomes more and more afraid that the world is a violent place. And because this violence is attributed to minorities in the media, we come to blame the minorities. Thus society as a whole tends to shy away from helping out the poorest of the poor. We are raised to believe that these people are "criminal", "unhelpable" or worse that they "deserve what they have". It is easier for people to ignore the problem, and continue incarcerating more and more people than to confront the problem that is facing them. Class disparity can easily be lessened through social and fiscal programs that benefit the poor instead of making the rich richer, but we all know what happened the last time I mentioned socialism, so I wont go into that!
The cash-strapped American as portrayed on television is actually the "middle-class" American. We never see the real poor people in America on television, atleast not portrayed in any way other than criminal scum. Why? Probably because the poorest Americans tend to be minorities, and television doesn't like to portray minorities in a positive light. George Gerbner's "Mean World" theory shows us that as the media increasingly portrays violence, typically in news broadcasts depicting minorities in poor neighborhoods committting crimes, society as a whole becomes more and more afraid that the world is a violent place. And because this violence is attributed to minorities in the media, we come to blame the minorities. Thus society as a whole tends to shy away from helping out the poorest of the poor. We are raised to believe that these people are "criminal", "unhelpable" or worse that they "deserve what they have". It is easier for people to ignore the problem, and continue incarcerating more and more people than to confront the problem that is facing them. Class disparity can easily be lessened through social and fiscal programs that benefit the poor instead of making the rich richer, but we all know what happened the last time I mentioned socialism, so I wont go into that!
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Justice (Make-Up Blog)
Allow me to get political for a moment. Those of you who know me, know that next year I am heading out to American University in Washington DC to study political science. Whenever I tell someone that for the first time, their response is always something along the lines of "future president, huh?". I always tell them no, I could never run for office because I am unelectable. This is the reason that I am unelectable, because I have the nerves to stand up and make the unpopular (but true) claim that our criminal "justice" system is not just whatsoever. This is an issue that will never get fixed, looking "soft on crime" is career suicide for a politician. As a result, millions of prisoners are left to suffer unjustly in a debilitating environment, victims of the system.
We claim to be "the land of the free", and that our Democratic ideals make people much more "free" than the Communistic ideals of China, North Korea, and the former USSR....we even had a 40 year nuclear standoff to that point. Yet if that were true, why is it that American, the place to "live free" has 25% of the worlds prison population?
America doesn't want to think about prisoners. They view people who commit crimes as evil, not deserving of society. However, what they don't realize is that so many of these "criminals" who committed minor crimes like theft or certain things that shouldn't even be crimes, are not hardened souless killing machines. Nay, they are young impressionable people in need of molding. We could get them help, and mold them in the image of a model citizen. But that would require time and effort. Nay, we find it so much easier to lock them up and throw away the key. The problem is, by locking them in a prison environment, we are molding them to be a criminal. And thus the self-fulfilling prophecy of the American "Justice" system prevails.
We claim to be "the land of the free", and that our Democratic ideals make people much more "free" than the Communistic ideals of China, North Korea, and the former USSR....we even had a 40 year nuclear standoff to that point. Yet if that were true, why is it that American, the place to "live free" has 25% of the worlds prison population?
America doesn't want to think about prisoners. They view people who commit crimes as evil, not deserving of society. However, what they don't realize is that so many of these "criminals" who committed minor crimes like theft or certain things that shouldn't even be crimes, are not hardened souless killing machines. Nay, they are young impressionable people in need of molding. We could get them help, and mold them in the image of a model citizen. But that would require time and effort. Nay, we find it so much easier to lock them up and throw away the key. The problem is, by locking them in a prison environment, we are molding them to be a criminal. And thus the self-fulfilling prophecy of the American "Justice" system prevails.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Deviance
Deviance is such an interesting topic, mainly because of the frequency to which it is misinterpreted. When used in an everyday context, deviance has such a negative connotation. However, that isn't always true. Deviance merely means to deviate (or stray away) from societal norms. Thus, positive deviance can exist as well. I'd like to take a moment to examine each.
Negative deviance is the more commonly recognized form of deviance. Laziness, apathy towards work, and a prediliction towards drugs and alcohol are all things that society today considers to be deviant behavior. You aren't supposed to do these things, and so society frowns upon those who do. However, it isn't necessarily true (though not necessarily false either) that these things are inherently bad. It is just the fact that society views them as bad that makes them bad; but societies views change often. A century ago, premarital-sex was something only harlots participated in, and sex was such a taboo topic that no one dared talk about it. Nowadays, sex is so prevalent in society through our media, and premarital-sex is so commonplace that it has actually become deviant behavior to abstain from sex!
Equally as interesting as Negative deviance is Positive deviance. Positive deviance is doing something good for society that isn't often done. Thus it is still deviating from societal norms, but in a positive way. A good example of this is the fact that whenever my family is eating in a city and have leftovers, we always like to try to give them to homeless people, this way they receive a nice meal that they wouldn't get otherwise. While this is by no means a bad thing, it is not a frequent occurance either, and thus society views it as deviant. It is important to remember positive deviance when talking about deviance, so that one doesnt come to the misconception that all deviance is bad.
Negative deviance is the more commonly recognized form of deviance. Laziness, apathy towards work, and a prediliction towards drugs and alcohol are all things that society today considers to be deviant behavior. You aren't supposed to do these things, and so society frowns upon those who do. However, it isn't necessarily true (though not necessarily false either) that these things are inherently bad. It is just the fact that society views them as bad that makes them bad; but societies views change often. A century ago, premarital-sex was something only harlots participated in, and sex was such a taboo topic that no one dared talk about it. Nowadays, sex is so prevalent in society through our media, and premarital-sex is so commonplace that it has actually become deviant behavior to abstain from sex!
Equally as interesting as Negative deviance is Positive deviance. Positive deviance is doing something good for society that isn't often done. Thus it is still deviating from societal norms, but in a positive way. A good example of this is the fact that whenever my family is eating in a city and have leftovers, we always like to try to give them to homeless people, this way they receive a nice meal that they wouldn't get otherwise. While this is by no means a bad thing, it is not a frequent occurance either, and thus society views it as deviant. It is important to remember positive deviance when talking about deviance, so that one doesnt come to the misconception that all deviance is bad.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
The Masculinity Epidemic
Modern American society has come leaps and bounds in terms of equality. Not only do women, African-Americans, Latinos, Irish, Italians, you-name-it, now have equal rights, but it is now considered socially unacceptable to be derogatory towards them. However, in this rush for equality and tolerance, America as a whole glossed over the one group that appeared to be fine, but in reality wasn't, The Man. It may seem a bit rediculous of an argument to make, I'll admit. Men may have equal rights, but when it comes to the social acceptability of derogatory statements, men receive more than their fair share of the abuse. And all of this stems to controversy over masculinity. For most men, nothing is more important than masculinity, their appearance that they are a "man". Thus, the emasculating begins, as people knock on each others masculinity to make themselves feel better.
Me, I don't care about masculinity. I'm fully aware that I am nowhere near the most masculine man, and I don't care. I don't see the need for us as a society to get so worked up on "what we should be". People are people, let them make their own decisions of who they are. I cross my legs when I sit, I have a rather high pitched voice, I don't play sports, and I'm in touch with my emotions. Many people would see these things as weaknesses, something to redicule me about. But I don't see how any of those things are bad. For me, I would much rather be myself and not be the ideal man, than change who I am to fit some label that society has assigned me. Who are you if not yourself?
Me, I don't care about masculinity. I'm fully aware that I am nowhere near the most masculine man, and I don't care. I don't see the need for us as a society to get so worked up on "what we should be". People are people, let them make their own decisions of who they are. I cross my legs when I sit, I have a rather high pitched voice, I don't play sports, and I'm in touch with my emotions. Many people would see these things as weaknesses, something to redicule me about. But I don't see how any of those things are bad. For me, I would much rather be myself and not be the ideal man, than change who I am to fit some label that society has assigned me. Who are you if not yourself?
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Consumerization
In sociology this week we learned how the media creates a consumer culture. Ads are in influx everywhere: movies, billboards, video games, and TV, just to name a few. Thus it is not surprising that people grow up in a world where product placement is rampant. Just take for example the fact that we say Kleenex and Q-tip. Neither of those are the names of the product; they are the names of the brand. However, our society has become so accustomed and influenced by these products, that the brands have surpassed the actual product in terms of usage!
The scariest trend of consumer culture has to be in our children. From the day they are born, kids are bombarded with toys, clothes, and food advertising companies. They are too young to understand that they are being advertised to, so they suck them right up. By the time they begin to realize what advertising is, it is too late. They are already hooked on the brand. Odds are, they wont move away from the brand for a long time, if ever. For me, that got-to-have product as a child was Beanie Babies. I was obsessed with them. I collected soo many of them, I still have them all in a box in my closet! I remember waiting in line to buy the new ones, and eating repeatedly at McDonalds when Beanie Baby Minis were the Happy Meal Toys. I was too young to understand I was being advertised too, but I was hooked. And through smart product integration, McDonalds walked away with a hefty sum of my parents money as a result!
The scariest trend of consumer culture has to be in our children. From the day they are born, kids are bombarded with toys, clothes, and food advertising companies. They are too young to understand that they are being advertised to, so they suck them right up. By the time they begin to realize what advertising is, it is too late. They are already hooked on the brand. Odds are, they wont move away from the brand for a long time, if ever. For me, that got-to-have product as a child was Beanie Babies. I was obsessed with them. I collected soo many of them, I still have them all in a box in my closet! I remember waiting in line to buy the new ones, and eating repeatedly at McDonalds when Beanie Baby Minis were the Happy Meal Toys. I was too young to understand I was being advertised too, but I was hooked. And through smart product integration, McDonalds walked away with a hefty sum of my parents money as a result!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Nothing
Last weekend I went to the mall and did the Nothing Project. I stood at the overhang where you can look down to the floor below you, and let go of my thoughts. It was somewhat hard to stop distracting yourself, as every fleeting thought you get distracts you and compounds into more thoughts. I spent a couple minutes training myself to think only of what I thought while observing, and not to let those base thoughts transform into a long distraction. It took some time, but eventually I was able to do nothing.
I spent most of my time doing nothing looking down at the people below me. They were all going through their daily routine. It hit me that I am not the only person. It was interesting to see all the people. They go about their own lives, completely independent from me, except for this one brief fleeting moment when our paths intersect. What are their lives like? What do they think? What are their aspirations? I felt like an outsider. As everyone was walking around interacting, here I was standing still, an observer. I also learned and interesting lesson on how busy other people are. Although I never moved my body in 10 minutes, not a one person, and I saw many people pass by me multiple times, asked what I was doing, or even paid me notice. It just goes to show how busy people are in life, and how this constant thought and action distracts them from the small things.
I spent most of my time doing nothing looking down at the people below me. They were all going through their daily routine. It hit me that I am not the only person. It was interesting to see all the people. They go about their own lives, completely independent from me, except for this one brief fleeting moment when our paths intersect. What are their lives like? What do they think? What are their aspirations? I felt like an outsider. As everyone was walking around interacting, here I was standing still, an observer. I also learned and interesting lesson on how busy other people are. Although I never moved my body in 10 minutes, not a one person, and I saw many people pass by me multiple times, asked what I was doing, or even paid me notice. It just goes to show how busy people are in life, and how this constant thought and action distracts them from the small things.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Community Service Hours 9-10 (And More): Phonebanking for United 4 (School Name)
Name Of Organization: United 4 (School Name)
Location: 475 Half Day Rd
Date: Saturday March 12th 12:15-3:45 PM
Supervisors: Kay Hoogland & Adam Didech (kayhoogland@mac.com or adam.didech@gmail.com)
I completed my community service hours as required by class today with the election campaign, but I am far from done assisting with it. I arrived at the office building at around 12:15, and after spending about 20 minutes getting a group photo taken for the website, I was put in a cubicle to make calls. I've always been deathly afraid of chatting on the phone. I'm a bit socially awkward, and I always fear what to say and how to say it. Because of that, phone banking was scary at first. However, I quickly got used to it, and by the end of the day, I was actually enjoying talking to the people to get out the vote. Tomorrow I will be canvassing with the same group, and I hope to help out even more in the future. This election means a lot to me, and Im glad I can be a part of it.
Location: 475 Half Day Rd
Date: Saturday March 12th 12:15-3:45 PM
Supervisors: Kay Hoogland & Adam Didech (kayhoogland@mac.com or adam.didech@gmail.com)
I completed my community service hours as required by class today with the election campaign, but I am far from done assisting with it. I arrived at the office building at around 12:15, and after spending about 20 minutes getting a group photo taken for the website, I was put in a cubicle to make calls. I've always been deathly afraid of chatting on the phone. I'm a bit socially awkward, and I always fear what to say and how to say it. Because of that, phone banking was scary at first. However, I quickly got used to it, and by the end of the day, I was actually enjoying talking to the people to get out the vote. Tomorrow I will be canvassing with the same group, and I hope to help out even more in the future. This election means a lot to me, and Im glad I can be a part of it.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Death
Death is inevitable. All living things eventually die. Yet why then is death so hard? Why do people fear death? The answer to these questions can be found by examining American Culture. American culture is based on rugged individualism; Americans like to be dependent and dont want to have to rely on others. Because of this, death scares Americans silly. When we are sick and dying, we rely heavily on others to make it through the day, just take Morrie's caregiver as an example. This reliance on others comes as a shock to Americans, and it scares us. In addition, death is uncontrolable. We Americans like to think we are powerful, that we shape our own destinies. As a result, death, especially the sudden kind, comes as a huge shock to Americans, and makes them exceedingly sad and worried.
I'm glad that we got to approach the topic of death this week, as it is something, due to current events, I exceedingly need to rant about. I apologize if this doesn't stay 100% on topic, but its something I need to share. Late Monday night, at 11:04 PM, my cat Jake died. While most people understand that it is sad to lose a pet, very few people realize how hard this has hit me. Jake was more than a cat to me. As I've been saying to people who have asked about him this week, he was like a father, a son, a best friend, and a brother all rolled into one fuzzy ball of joy. He gave me unconditional love, and was always there for me. Whenever I was having a bad day and felt sad and alone, I could always count on Jake to cuddle up with me and make me feel better. He was the most gentle cat in the world; he never got angry, and always was a joy. Sunday afternoon, I found him lying sideways on the floor moaning my name (literally, he was saying Paul). We rushed him to the animal hospital, but we found out it was too late. His liver had failed, and when they tried to pump fluid into him to restore him, they found cancerous tumors throughout his body. Jake fought hard, and he managed to defy odds and make it through the night for my mother to get back in town to see him. By Monday night though, he was in an oxygen cage in order to give him enough air to breathe. We knew he wouldn't last the night, and we didn't want him to die scared and alone. We took him over to a visiting room, and cuddled with him. 30 minutes later, he died in my arms. This has been an exceptionally rough week for me, as having anyone close to you die would be. I could end this as usual by tying my personal experience back into the lesson of the week, I certainly have a way to do that in mind. But I'm not going to. I feel like it would be a disservice to Jake's memory if I simply used his death as an easy way to complete an assignment, and that is definitely something I'm not prepared to do. I will however tell you that death is hard, and it is not pretty. You go through life taking everyone for granted; you don't realize how truly blessed you were until they are gone. Whether that's actual sociology or just my observation, I don't know, but I'm prepared to live with it either way.
I'm glad that we got to approach the topic of death this week, as it is something, due to current events, I exceedingly need to rant about. I apologize if this doesn't stay 100% on topic, but its something I need to share. Late Monday night, at 11:04 PM, my cat Jake died. While most people understand that it is sad to lose a pet, very few people realize how hard this has hit me. Jake was more than a cat to me. As I've been saying to people who have asked about him this week, he was like a father, a son, a best friend, and a brother all rolled into one fuzzy ball of joy. He gave me unconditional love, and was always there for me. Whenever I was having a bad day and felt sad and alone, I could always count on Jake to cuddle up with me and make me feel better. He was the most gentle cat in the world; he never got angry, and always was a joy. Sunday afternoon, I found him lying sideways on the floor moaning my name (literally, he was saying Paul). We rushed him to the animal hospital, but we found out it was too late. His liver had failed, and when they tried to pump fluid into him to restore him, they found cancerous tumors throughout his body. Jake fought hard, and he managed to defy odds and make it through the night for my mother to get back in town to see him. By Monday night though, he was in an oxygen cage in order to give him enough air to breathe. We knew he wouldn't last the night, and we didn't want him to die scared and alone. We took him over to a visiting room, and cuddled with him. 30 minutes later, he died in my arms. This has been an exceptionally rough week for me, as having anyone close to you die would be. I could end this as usual by tying my personal experience back into the lesson of the week, I certainly have a way to do that in mind. But I'm not going to. I feel like it would be a disservice to Jake's memory if I simply used his death as an easy way to complete an assignment, and that is definitely something I'm not prepared to do. I will however tell you that death is hard, and it is not pretty. You go through life taking everyone for granted; you don't realize how truly blessed you were until they are gone. Whether that's actual sociology or just my observation, I don't know, but I'm prepared to live with it either way.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
How Did The Chicken Cross The Road?
This week in class we learned about Mores. Mores are cultural rules (either written in law or not) that people are expected to follow. If one breaks a more, they will be looked down upon at the least; however, its entirely possible for their to be much more dire consequences. Take for example an American woman traveling to the Middle East. She would be expected, nay even required, to wear a burqa. While she might not know this more of society, if she breaks it, the consequences can be dire. The example we learned about in class was street crossing. Here in Illinois, we are expected to wait for the crossing signal to cross the street safely. However, in India, intersections are more of an unorganized show of brute force than an orderly taking of turns. If an American went to India and tried to wait his turn at the intersection, he would be waiting forever.
However, our mores vary even here in America. Every summer when I was young, and before MTV turned the area into a laughing joke, my family went to the Jersey Shore. I don't remember too much from those early visits, and we stopped taking them when I was around 10. However, two years ago we started going there again. This time, as I was much older, I was much more in tune to my surroundings. Two things shocked me about New Jersey. The first is that when it comes to crossing the street, pedestrians always have the assumed right-of-way, and motorists are always expected to maneuver around them. As a result, there were very few marked crosswalks, and people were frequently crossing in the middle of a block. Another more different in New Jersey than here in Illinois pertains to getting gas. In New Jersey, there are no self-service gas stations. Attendants assist customers at every gas station across the state. This shows that a variance of mores doesnt only occur between countries, it can occur in different sections of a country as well.
However, our mores vary even here in America. Every summer when I was young, and before MTV turned the area into a laughing joke, my family went to the Jersey Shore. I don't remember too much from those early visits, and we stopped taking them when I was around 10. However, two years ago we started going there again. This time, as I was much older, I was much more in tune to my surroundings. Two things shocked me about New Jersey. The first is that when it comes to crossing the street, pedestrians always have the assumed right-of-way, and motorists are always expected to maneuver around them. As a result, there were very few marked crosswalks, and people were frequently crossing in the middle of a block. Another more different in New Jersey than here in Illinois pertains to getting gas. In New Jersey, there are no self-service gas stations. Attendants assist customers at every gas station across the state. This shows that a variance of mores doesnt only occur between countries, it can occur in different sections of a country as well.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Language: The Culture of Words
There is no more basic component to a culture than that of its language. Language defines who you are and what you do. Without language, we would have no communication....How could we!? Yet while language brings us together as humans, it also divides us as cultures. On the obvious level, different cultures have different languages. One needs to understand these languages in order to be accepted in a culture. You wouldn't very well expect to speak French in China now would you? Yet language shapes our culture in more sudden ways. Each culture has certain words that are untranslatable into other languages. Thus even when translating, some of the meaning of the word is lost. This culture of language creates a boundary that separates different parts of the world, its an unavoidable facet of human life.
On a much more minor scale, I too have experienced this language of culture. Growing up in a Jewish family, my grandparents were rather fluent in Yiddish. While this proficiency disseminated throughout the generations, my parents still used quite a few Yiddish phrases. As I result, I too picked up a few of those terms. Because of TV culture, many of these terms, such as meshugganeh and chotchkie, are easily understood and translated in English. However, my grandparents, being the "interesting" people that they were, apparently manipulated the language to create their own words. Just right now while googling information for this blog, I became acutely aware that one of the words my late Zayde used to call me, tottyshein (it supposedly was an endearing term for a small child), isn't even a word at all! Thus, absolutely no one out of the small culture that is my family would understand me if I used that word!
On a much more minor scale, I too have experienced this language of culture. Growing up in a Jewish family, my grandparents were rather fluent in Yiddish. While this proficiency disseminated throughout the generations, my parents still used quite a few Yiddish phrases. As I result, I too picked up a few of those terms. Because of TV culture, many of these terms, such as meshugganeh and chotchkie, are easily understood and translated in English. However, my grandparents, being the "interesting" people that they were, apparently manipulated the language to create their own words. Just right now while googling information for this blog, I became acutely aware that one of the words my late Zayde used to call me, tottyshein (it supposedly was an endearing term for a small child), isn't even a word at all! Thus, absolutely no one out of the small culture that is my family would understand me if I used that word!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Service Project Hours 7-8: Students United 4 (School Name Here)
Name of Organization: Students United 4 (School Name Here) (Decided at Meeting)
Location: Private Residence in Buffalo Grove (If you need the address, ask me and I'll give it to you)
Date: Friday February 18th 5-7 PM
Supervisor: Kimberley Levy (K_Levy@comcast.net)
Coming off of my campaign dinner on Wednesday, I was looking forward to getting more into the nitty-gritty of how we as students could help out with the campaign. This meeting was held at a friend of mine's house, and there were 4 other students who showed up, plus Kimberley. We got right to business on how we are gonna plan this election out. In Case anyone from the opposition stumbles across this page, I'm going to be rather vague in my descriptions; If you need more information, talk to me in person and I'll get it to you. We decided to Split the job down the middle, Me and my friend Glenne would be in charge of online recruitment, while the other two kids would be in charge of organizing volunteers. We planned out dates for a phone bank and door-to-door canvassing, as well as tentatively scheduling another meeting. When the meeting was over, I went immediately home and started working on my job. I created a facebook group in support of our cause (I can give you the link if you'd like) and added over 300 people to the group. I added a mission statement, and informed people of ways to get involved with the campaign. Since then, I have moderated the group to keep out explicit behavior (which there has shockingly been a lot of), and recieved contact from people wanting to work on the campaign. One of them is actually a college student with campaigning experience. I trust he knows what he's doing; you don't get a profile picture of you with Joe Biden for nothing! I am very excited to be working on this campaign, as it means a lot, and will help shape the future of the school for years to come
Location: Private Residence in Buffalo Grove (If you need the address, ask me and I'll give it to you)
Date: Friday February 18th 5-7 PM
Supervisor: Kimberley Levy (K_Levy@comcast.net)
Coming off of my campaign dinner on Wednesday, I was looking forward to getting more into the nitty-gritty of how we as students could help out with the campaign. This meeting was held at a friend of mine's house, and there were 4 other students who showed up, plus Kimberley. We got right to business on how we are gonna plan this election out. In Case anyone from the opposition stumbles across this page, I'm going to be rather vague in my descriptions; If you need more information, talk to me in person and I'll get it to you. We decided to Split the job down the middle, Me and my friend Glenne would be in charge of online recruitment, while the other two kids would be in charge of organizing volunteers. We planned out dates for a phone bank and door-to-door canvassing, as well as tentatively scheduling another meeting. When the meeting was over, I went immediately home and started working on my job. I created a facebook group in support of our cause (I can give you the link if you'd like) and added over 300 people to the group. I added a mission statement, and informed people of ways to get involved with the campaign. Since then, I have moderated the group to keep out explicit behavior (which there has shockingly been a lot of), and recieved contact from people wanting to work on the campaign. One of them is actually a college student with campaigning experience. I trust he knows what he's doing; you don't get a profile picture of you with Joe Biden for nothing! I am very excited to be working on this campaign, as it means a lot, and will help shape the future of the school for years to come
Service Project Hours 5-6: Campaign Dinner
Name of Organization: United 4 (School Name Here)
Location of Event: 301 Weiland Road, Buffalo Grove (The Grove Banquet Hall)
Date: Wednesday, February 16th 5-7 PM
Supervisor: None officially, but if you need contacts to verify my attendance, I can give it to you
Last Wednesday I went to a political fundraiser/meet-and-greet to kick off the campaign for the reelection of the incumbent candidates for school board. I was excited, I had always wanted to get involved in politics, but had been to lazy too. This election however, I felt the need to get involved, as some of the things the opposition wants to do scares me greatly. I went with a group of kids from GSA and two adults who were with us. It was mostly a meet and greet, which was nice, as I got to take time to talk to the candidates about the issues at hand, and was lauded by them multiple times for being involved at such a young age, which made me feel very proud. After we spent time talking to the candidates, they gave speeches, and then we talked some more about ways to get involved on the campaign, and I knew I had another meeting planned on that more individually for Friday. Before I left, I picked up a yardsign for their campaign, which I intend to post on my lawn as soon as we are allowed to, on March 5th.
Location of Event: 301 Weiland Road, Buffalo Grove (The Grove Banquet Hall)
Date: Wednesday, February 16th 5-7 PM
Supervisor: None officially, but if you need contacts to verify my attendance, I can give it to you
Last Wednesday I went to a political fundraiser/meet-and-greet to kick off the campaign for the reelection of the incumbent candidates for school board. I was excited, I had always wanted to get involved in politics, but had been to lazy too. This election however, I felt the need to get involved, as some of the things the opposition wants to do scares me greatly. I went with a group of kids from GSA and two adults who were with us. It was mostly a meet and greet, which was nice, as I got to take time to talk to the candidates about the issues at hand, and was lauded by them multiple times for being involved at such a young age, which made me feel very proud. After we spent time talking to the candidates, they gave speeches, and then we talked some more about ways to get involved on the campaign, and I knew I had another meeting planned on that more individually for Friday. Before I left, I picked up a yardsign for their campaign, which I intend to post on my lawn as soon as we are allowed to, on March 5th.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
The Pain of Stereotyping
Today in sociology, we learned about Joel Charon's distinction between generalizations and stereotypes. A generalization is taking information gained from sociological studies and research, and coming to a conclusion about a group of people. Take for example the generalization that Asian-Americans are more intellectually motivated than Caucasians. However, if one takes this broad generalization about a group of people, and assumes it applies to everyone in that group, they are creating a grave mistake, a stereotype.
Stereotypes, in addition to often being inacurate, can be exceedingly painful as well. At the risk of over-expounding on this one topic, I relate once again to the LGBT community. As a community that incapsulates a huge bredth of different people, this community is exceedingly prone to stereotyping. Gay Guys are effiminate, weak, and fashion oriented. Lesbians are manly, fat, and rude. Bisexuals and Pansexuals are promiscuous whores. The list goes on and on. These stereotypes not only cause immense pain and anguish to the people they attack, they are also almost wholely inacurate. As a member of our school's GSA, I am fortunate enough to know and be friends with many members in that community. I can tell you first hand, not only do these stereotypes not fit many of the people in the LGBT community, they barely fit anyone at all. They hardly even classify as generalizations! Yet the media expounds the stereotype of the effeminate gay guy, the butch lesbian, and the promiscuous bisexual. And as a result, society comes to view these lies as truths, causing pain and discomfort to many an innocent person.
Stereotypes, in addition to often being inacurate, can be exceedingly painful as well. At the risk of over-expounding on this one topic, I relate once again to the LGBT community. As a community that incapsulates a huge bredth of different people, this community is exceedingly prone to stereotyping. Gay Guys are effiminate, weak, and fashion oriented. Lesbians are manly, fat, and rude. Bisexuals and Pansexuals are promiscuous whores. The list goes on and on. These stereotypes not only cause immense pain and anguish to the people they attack, they are also almost wholely inacurate. As a member of our school's GSA, I am fortunate enough to know and be friends with many members in that community. I can tell you first hand, not only do these stereotypes not fit many of the people in the LGBT community, they barely fit anyone at all. They hardly even classify as generalizations! Yet the media expounds the stereotype of the effeminate gay guy, the butch lesbian, and the promiscuous bisexual. And as a result, society comes to view these lies as truths, causing pain and discomfort to many an innocent person.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
In The Out Group
Today in class we did a social experiment on how we judge others. We were put into two separate groups based on what we were wearing, and asked to make judgements on why the other group was wearing what they were. Many jokes flew around the room, such as "they're evil" or "its a conspiracy" (I'll admit that one was me), but little did we know, that's exactly what was expected. When a person is in a group, they feel much more connected and understanding of that group's viewpoint. However, when given a group of people who you aren't associated with, an out-group, one is much more likely to make negative judgements as to why they are different from you.
Out-Group stereotyping can be an extremely dangerous phenomenon. Probably the greatest example ever would be World War II Germany. Most of the Germans were Christian, and when their economy started going sour, and Hitler came to blame the Jews for their woes, people were much more likely to believe him. As they were not Jewish themselves, they couldn't relate to the Jews, and as a result, they came to judge them.
However, this is still a phenomenon that continues today, even inside our high school. I can think of no better example than that of the LGBT community. Statistically speaking, the vast majority of our school is heterosexual; that makes them the dominant in-group, one that vastly overpopulates the corresponding out-group. As such, much of the school has begun to find it acceptable to judge these people for something they have no control over. It has become the norm to think of people in the LGBT as "weird" or "abnormal" or even "amoral". In addition, exceedingly hurtful phrases like "that's so gay" and "what a faggot" have entered the everyday lexicon of the vast majority of our high school's population. These people don't realize the sting of their hate-filled barbs, because they cannot relate to us. The LGBT community is an out-group for them, and so they go along thinking it is ok to judge us, and that these words, these hateful, vile words, are nothing more than synonymous for disapproval or something that they don't like. But we feel it. We feel the barbs of hatred, the stings of vile speech. We hope that some day soon people will begin to realize that their judgements were presumptuous, and begin to realize the pain that those judgements cause us.
Out-Group stereotyping can be an extremely dangerous phenomenon. Probably the greatest example ever would be World War II Germany. Most of the Germans were Christian, and when their economy started going sour, and Hitler came to blame the Jews for their woes, people were much more likely to believe him. As they were not Jewish themselves, they couldn't relate to the Jews, and as a result, they came to judge them.
However, this is still a phenomenon that continues today, even inside our high school. I can think of no better example than that of the LGBT community. Statistically speaking, the vast majority of our school is heterosexual; that makes them the dominant in-group, one that vastly overpopulates the corresponding out-group. As such, much of the school has begun to find it acceptable to judge these people for something they have no control over. It has become the norm to think of people in the LGBT as "weird" or "abnormal" or even "amoral". In addition, exceedingly hurtful phrases like "that's so gay" and "what a faggot" have entered the everyday lexicon of the vast majority of our high school's population. These people don't realize the sting of their hate-filled barbs, because they cannot relate to us. The LGBT community is an out-group for them, and so they go along thinking it is ok to judge us, and that these words, these hateful, vile words, are nothing more than synonymous for disapproval or something that they don't like. But we feel it. We feel the barbs of hatred, the stings of vile speech. We hope that some day soon people will begin to realize that their judgements were presumptuous, and begin to realize the pain that those judgements cause us.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Double Snowday
I was shocked that Stevenson cancelled school even on Wednesday, let alone today as well. Stevenson is notorious for never having snowdays, from what I've gathered, there's only been 4 since 1989. The fact that I've been at Stevenson for all 4 of those days makes me feel lucky; this graduating class is the only class that can say that.
In a society that has become so dependent on technology and the hustle-bustle from one place to another, we have grown splintered from one another. People communicate less and less personally, and thus, interaction as a whole decreases. This is the society that we have come to live with, and a reality we have come to accept. It takes a big disaster to shake that reality; yesterday's snowstorm was just that disaster. With everyone in a giant area being affected by the same problem, people were forced to cooperate together in order to get through. Not by any means comparing the two in terms of magnitude, but the social cooperation that yesterday fostered invokes memories of post 9/11 America. When we had been attacked by the terrorists of Al Qaeda, every single American was affected by the same tragedy; we were brought together by our common experience. Although to a much lesser degree, yesterday was similar. With everyone affected by the same disaster - 20.5 inches of snow - people could no longer claim independence from the problems of everyone else. Instead, people were brought together to overcome this snow-laden enemy. Yesterday it was a common sight for me to see neighbors helping each other plow their drives. People who lived right by you, yet for some reason you never talked to, became your closest allies. Although obviously the snowstorm had a large negative impact, the positivity of social cooperation is something I will severely miss when the snow melts away.
In a society that has become so dependent on technology and the hustle-bustle from one place to another, we have grown splintered from one another. People communicate less and less personally, and thus, interaction as a whole decreases. This is the society that we have come to live with, and a reality we have come to accept. It takes a big disaster to shake that reality; yesterday's snowstorm was just that disaster. With everyone in a giant area being affected by the same problem, people were forced to cooperate together in order to get through. Not by any means comparing the two in terms of magnitude, but the social cooperation that yesterday fostered invokes memories of post 9/11 America. When we had been attacked by the terrorists of Al Qaeda, every single American was affected by the same tragedy; we were brought together by our common experience. Although to a much lesser degree, yesterday was similar. With everyone affected by the same disaster - 20.5 inches of snow - people could no longer claim independence from the problems of everyone else. Instead, people were brought together to overcome this snow-laden enemy. Yesterday it was a common sight for me to see neighbors helping each other plow their drives. People who lived right by you, yet for some reason you never talked to, became your closest allies. Although obviously the snowstorm had a large negative impact, the positivity of social cooperation is something I will severely miss when the snow melts away.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Sociological Mindfulness
Schwalbe's comment that sociological mindfulness can help create a better life for the people you care about is a good way to think about things, and definitely a way to convince people to be sociologically mindful. By looking and understand the way the world works, we the people can take a step back, evaluate our actions, and then change them in a way to benefit those we love and care for. These efforts might be small and seem meaningless, but as Mr. Sal said in class "There's no way to tell how far the ripple may go, and it might help create a wave that crashes on to land". After all, many people lead by example. If a person changes their actions, people will see what they are doing, and be more likely to change their actions as well.
When it comes to how sociological mindfulness, and the actions people take as a result of it, can effect the people that I care about, I can think of no better example then two of my close friends, who here will be referred to by the initials S and P. One of them is bisexual (S), and the other is a transman (P), and they are in a loving relationship with each other. As a result of a combination of ignorance and bigotry, they face much homophobia, especially P, who frequently is confronted by people who refuse to call him a man. Sadly, they are not alone when it comes to being victims of homophobia, and this saddens me deeply. As a result, I have been making a conscious effort to not stop potentially offensive comments that I might make, but to educate others on the gay community, and how homosexuality is not a choice, and is something that should be accepted as diversity, just as race, religion, and gender are. Hopefully, through education, I can create a ripple in the pond of society, with the eventual result of making members of the GLBT community equally respected members of society.
When it comes to how sociological mindfulness, and the actions people take as a result of it, can effect the people that I care about, I can think of no better example then two of my close friends, who here will be referred to by the initials S and P. One of them is bisexual (S), and the other is a transman (P), and they are in a loving relationship with each other. As a result of a combination of ignorance and bigotry, they face much homophobia, especially P, who frequently is confronted by people who refuse to call him a man. Sadly, they are not alone when it comes to being victims of homophobia, and this saddens me deeply. As a result, I have been making a conscious effort to not stop potentially offensive comments that I might make, but to educate others on the gay community, and how homosexuality is not a choice, and is something that should be accepted as diversity, just as race, religion, and gender are. Hopefully, through education, I can create a ripple in the pond of society, with the eventual result of making members of the GLBT community equally respected members of society.
Service Project Hours 1-4: World's Fair
Name of Organization: Stevenson World's Fair
Location: 1 Stevenson Drive, Lincolnshire IL
Date: Friday January 21: 3:30-8:30 PM, Saturday January 22: 10:30 AM-3 PM, Sunday January 23: 10:00 AM-3:30 PM
Supervisor: Melissa Fainman; mfainman@d125.org
Experience:
Last weekend, I volunteered at World's Fair, Stevenson's annual cultural festival. As a new member of GSA, I, along with a couple other people, manned the booth for GSA there. As part of the booth, we each researched information on how GLBT people are treated in each of the foreign countries that World's Fair had booths for. The country I personally did research for was South Korea. It was interesting to see that quite a few countries are much more tolerant of GLBT people than America is, but was disheartening to read that some countries, such as Iran and Cameroon, have outright made homosexuality a crime. During the actual festival, we sold cookies, cupcakes, soda, and custom made bracelets in order to raise money for the Charity that this years Festival was to benefit. At the end, I was happy that I could be a part of two worth causes - charity and equality - and proud at how positive the reception of our booth had been. Gay rights is a cause I care deeply about, and Im glad I could advance that cause by helping to educate people.
Location: 1 Stevenson Drive, Lincolnshire IL
Date: Friday January 21: 3:30-8:30 PM, Saturday January 22: 10:30 AM-3 PM, Sunday January 23: 10:00 AM-3:30 PM
Supervisor: Melissa Fainman; mfainman@d125.org
Experience:
Last weekend, I volunteered at World's Fair, Stevenson's annual cultural festival. As a new member of GSA, I, along with a couple other people, manned the booth for GSA there. As part of the booth, we each researched information on how GLBT people are treated in each of the foreign countries that World's Fair had booths for. The country I personally did research for was South Korea. It was interesting to see that quite a few countries are much more tolerant of GLBT people than America is, but was disheartening to read that some countries, such as Iran and Cameroon, have outright made homosexuality a crime. During the actual festival, we sold cookies, cupcakes, soda, and custom made bracelets in order to raise money for the Charity that this years Festival was to benefit. At the end, I was happy that I could be a part of two worth causes - charity and equality - and proud at how positive the reception of our booth had been. Gay rights is a cause I care deeply about, and Im glad I could advance that cause by helping to educate people.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Growing Up Online
Technology has been instrumental in the shaping of our society. In today's world of 24 hour news channels, MySpace, Facebook, Texting, Skype, and more, technology is defining what we know and how we communicate. If technology is used correctly, to help people learn, and to assist people in staying connected with each other, it can be extremely beneficial. But that is exactly the problem, technology is best used to ASSIST people in communication and learning, not to REPLACE the already established channels of communication. When that happens, we as human beings might give ourselves the semblance of connection with our fellow man, but in actuality we are causing ourselves to become more isolated from each other, as physical communication is becoming more scarce.
I'll be the first to admit, I use this same technology that I am warning about exceedingly often. I frequently find myself switching off between texting and facebook. This may seem a bit hypocritical, and to an extent it is. However, I have always used these technologies in order to get myself more connected to the outside world, never to isolate myself. When I first created my facebook in the summer of 2008, I was exceedingly socially awkward. From the beginning, I tried my hardest to use tis technology to bring me closer to people and the social scene. I used the technology to assist myself in talking to people, making it easier for me to build relationships with friends that then carried over to real life. I find myself with more friends at school and spending more time hanging out after school. I used this technology to get myself more connected to society, to help bring me out of my shell, not to isolate myself and eliminate face-to-face communication
Mr. Salituro, your role as a teacher should be to encourage the CORRECT use of technology. You should implore us to use technology to assist us in staying connected and learning more, while simultaneously imploring us of the dangers of heavy reliance on technology. This blog is a great way for students to effectively and efficiently use technology to increase our interconnectedness. We can use these blogs to share our thoughts and feelings in an intricate, in-depth way that we wouldn't have time to form and say in face-to-face conversation. Then, we can read each others thoughts and comment on them, engaging ourselves in thoughtful and complex dialogue to help further our understanding of opposing opinions and viewpoints. However, in order for this to happen, we must go into this with a positive mindset. We must view this blog not as an assignment that we must do, something to give us a grade and nothing more. Conversely, we must view this blog as an extension of the classroom, a continuation of our learning, a new-media forum of communication with the added bonus of giving us a grade. If we find ourselves able to do that, then we can make the most of this new technology that society offers us.
I'll be the first to admit, I use this same technology that I am warning about exceedingly often. I frequently find myself switching off between texting and facebook. This may seem a bit hypocritical, and to an extent it is. However, I have always used these technologies in order to get myself more connected to the outside world, never to isolate myself. When I first created my facebook in the summer of 2008, I was exceedingly socially awkward. From the beginning, I tried my hardest to use tis technology to bring me closer to people and the social scene. I used the technology to assist myself in talking to people, making it easier for me to build relationships with friends that then carried over to real life. I find myself with more friends at school and spending more time hanging out after school. I used this technology to get myself more connected to society, to help bring me out of my shell, not to isolate myself and eliminate face-to-face communication
Mr. Salituro, your role as a teacher should be to encourage the CORRECT use of technology. You should implore us to use technology to assist us in staying connected and learning more, while simultaneously imploring us of the dangers of heavy reliance on technology. This blog is a great way for students to effectively and efficiently use technology to increase our interconnectedness. We can use these blogs to share our thoughts and feelings in an intricate, in-depth way that we wouldn't have time to form and say in face-to-face conversation. Then, we can read each others thoughts and comment on them, engaging ourselves in thoughtful and complex dialogue to help further our understanding of opposing opinions and viewpoints. However, in order for this to happen, we must go into this with a positive mindset. We must view this blog not as an assignment that we must do, something to give us a grade and nothing more. Conversely, we must view this blog as an extension of the classroom, a continuation of our learning, a new-media forum of communication with the added bonus of giving us a grade. If we find ourselves able to do that, then we can make the most of this new technology that society offers us.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Beginnings
My name is Paul, I am seventeen and a senior at a suburban Chicagoland high school. I am writing this blog as a student in my Sociology class.
I find it hard for one to define who they are. It is exceedingly hard, nearly impossible to pinpoint exactly what you are, and what makes you as such. I am a compendium of my life experiences. Everything I have gone through, every success and every failure, every friend and every enemy, every day and every night, have all come together to create the Paul that sits here writing this today. Tomorrow, I will have new life experiences, and will be a different, more accomplished person than I am now. The day after that, even more so. Life is a cumulative experience; the more you live, the more you learn, and the stronger and wiser you become.
My biggest influences are my friends and family. As a child, even through the beginning years of high school, I was extremely socially awkward. I learned what is acceptable about society: how to act, how to get along with others, etc. from the people that I met. This goes back to my opinion that life is a collection of additive experiences. If it weren't for these people, and the experiences they gave me, I wouldn't be as wise as I am today, and as a result, I wouldn't be me.
My goal in life is to make a difference. If once I'm gone, one person remembers me, just one person is left better off for my existance, than my life will be worthwhile. Of course, my goal is to make the world a better place for as many people as possible. I would like to do that through our government. I am hoping to go to college in Washington D.C., and wherever I end up, I plan on studying Politics. I want to get involved in government in order to fix our flailing society, and make the world the best possible place for the most number of people.
I find it hard for one to define who they are. It is exceedingly hard, nearly impossible to pinpoint exactly what you are, and what makes you as such. I am a compendium of my life experiences. Everything I have gone through, every success and every failure, every friend and every enemy, every day and every night, have all come together to create the Paul that sits here writing this today. Tomorrow, I will have new life experiences, and will be a different, more accomplished person than I am now. The day after that, even more so. Life is a cumulative experience; the more you live, the more you learn, and the stronger and wiser you become.
My biggest influences are my friends and family. As a child, even through the beginning years of high school, I was extremely socially awkward. I learned what is acceptable about society: how to act, how to get along with others, etc. from the people that I met. This goes back to my opinion that life is a collection of additive experiences. If it weren't for these people, and the experiences they gave me, I wouldn't be as wise as I am today, and as a result, I wouldn't be me.
My goal in life is to make a difference. If once I'm gone, one person remembers me, just one person is left better off for my existance, than my life will be worthwhile. Of course, my goal is to make the world a better place for as many people as possible. I would like to do that through our government. I am hoping to go to college in Washington D.C., and wherever I end up, I plan on studying Politics. I want to get involved in government in order to fix our flailing society, and make the world the best possible place for the most number of people.
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