Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Abu Gairb Response
I never really paid attention to politics and current events. They are important, but I never really liked talking about that stuff unless it was assigned in class for me. So when I first heard about Abu Ghairb I was taking a look at it for the first time. The interviews were set up in a way so that the person being interviewed looked like they were looking straight at us. It added a lot more drama that way. Everytime a person was on the camera talking, I was hooked. The way that the film was shot too was amazing. They revealed gruesome photos with fade in to blacks and fade out to black to add just a little bit more drama.
There were three cameras used when the soldiers took the pictures. The most memorable in the pictures were Ivan Frederick and Lynndie England. Now when you see the photo you can only see what is inside the frame, and your perception can be altered if the photos are cropped. Abu Ghairb to me basically was a prison. What’s really messed up is that I think they took innocent civilians and did terrible things to them. Mr. Elridge, my english teacher, painted a vivid picture in my mind when he explained about a particular torture technique.
This technique involved putting a bag over someone’s head and dipping it in water to make the person being interrogated feel like their drowning. I wouldn’t know what to do if I was interoggated. Even the Standard Operating Procedure seemed uncomfortable. They tied or chained the person to the bars of the bed or window, made them take off all their clothes, and put their own brief or panty over the people being interogated.
The documentary made a point that there are these young people who don’t know how to interrogate. I asked myself, how does the military train our soldiers? These people who took the photos represented America. It wasn’t the America that people in our own country would of thought: land of the brave, righteous, free. The photos revealed to the World Wide Web made America look stupid. George W. Bush had to apologize for the actions that those people did. Now I’ve asked myself, “was it a good thing for the photos to be revealed?” I think it is. The public needs to know what war is about.
I feel like war desensitized the soldiers in a way that they don’t know whats right from wrong anymore. Lynndie smiled and put her thumbs up in the pictures! When a person is being interrogated they have to go through the SOP, but to a certain extent. The soldiers abused their power. I feel like all of them conformed to the actions. They thought it was, “ok”. It is courageous if a person stands up to what they believe is right and wrong. I can say this because I am a civilian, but if I am out there I might change my mind. That’s only because war changes people mentally.
Maybe the soldiers were bored, maybe they thought it was SOP. Were they trained correctly? Were they raised correctly? Did their commanding officer discipline them enough? What is the concrete rules and what is right in SOP? There are still so many questions I ask myself when thinking about things like this. That’s the reason why I don’t like paying attention to these kind of things. They make me think about how efficient our government is with military power.
There were three cameras used when the soldiers took the pictures. The most memorable in the pictures were Ivan Frederick and Lynndie England. Now when you see the photo you can only see what is inside the frame, and your perception can be altered if the photos are cropped. Abu Ghairb to me basically was a prison. What’s really messed up is that I think they took innocent civilians and did terrible things to them. Mr. Elridge, my english teacher, painted a vivid picture in my mind when he explained about a particular torture technique.
This technique involved putting a bag over someone’s head and dipping it in water to make the person being interrogated feel like their drowning. I wouldn’t know what to do if I was interoggated. Even the Standard Operating Procedure seemed uncomfortable. They tied or chained the person to the bars of the bed or window, made them take off all their clothes, and put their own brief or panty over the people being interogated.
The documentary made a point that there are these young people who don’t know how to interrogate. I asked myself, how does the military train our soldiers? These people who took the photos represented America. It wasn’t the America that people in our own country would of thought: land of the brave, righteous, free. The photos revealed to the World Wide Web made America look stupid. George W. Bush had to apologize for the actions that those people did. Now I’ve asked myself, “was it a good thing for the photos to be revealed?” I think it is. The public needs to know what war is about.
I feel like war desensitized the soldiers in a way that they don’t know whats right from wrong anymore. Lynndie smiled and put her thumbs up in the pictures! When a person is being interrogated they have to go through the SOP, but to a certain extent. The soldiers abused their power. I feel like all of them conformed to the actions. They thought it was, “ok”. It is courageous if a person stands up to what they believe is right and wrong. I can say this because I am a civilian, but if I am out there I might change my mind. That’s only because war changes people mentally.
Maybe the soldiers were bored, maybe they thought it was SOP. Were they trained correctly? Were they raised correctly? Did their commanding officer discipline them enough? What is the concrete rules and what is right in SOP? There are still so many questions I ask myself when thinking about things like this. That’s the reason why I don’t like paying attention to these kind of things. They make me think about how efficient our government is with military power.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Democracy Now Response
I find the Occupy Wall Street to be really significant in that not only does it show corruption in the United States, but also with other countries who also feel corruption within their money system. I only heard about Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Lexington when my teacher first introduced the topic. Then recently I heard Rome, London, and even Japan was involved in this outrage. It has been spreading throughout the world. What I see here is that the money that is needed for the poor is being given to the rich.
Clearly this is not how it should be. The plan for the Obama’s bailout was to give money to the banks so that it would trickle down to the poor and eventually get the US out of this mess. However, instead banks are just keeping the money. One thing that bothers my friends and I are the availability of jobs. College students work hard to get the degrees they deserve. When they get out of college the degree they’ve worked hard on goes to waste because there are no job offers.
I might not be feeling it right now, but others are suffering. People have no jobs and families to feed. Greed. It is all about corporate greed. The funny thing is that people my age are unaware of what is happening with Occupy Wall Street in the US. They need to know what is going on. The only time that I am really educated about this stuff is when I am in the classroom discussing protests and topics like this.
I believe that the government doesn’t want certain information to be revealed to the public, because it would anger people. People are angry right now because we want to know what is going on. Something is wrong with the system. The move, Inside Job, talks about how there are some things corporate banks don’t want us to know. I don’t even think that it is just affecting people in lower classes, but people who have high paying jobs. On a personal level, I know doctors who have had problems with Medicaid and Medicare. Wasn’t the bailout supposed to help everybody? Instead it was a waste of a lot of money.
What I am hearing is that money that was used from the bailout was spent for bonuses for bankers who spent millions. Think about how that money could have been used to make new jobs? On Youtube I have seen multiple videos of the hacker group, Anonymous. I saw that they were supporting Occupy Wall Street and how they supported WikiLeaks.
In my opinion, I don’t think people take this seriously, mainly young adults. We don’t take it seriously because it is effecting us little or not at all. Eventually, it will affect everyone. It has been growing all over the world. From New York to Italy. I feel like there is a need for people to be informed about Occupy Wall Street through Social Media or any type of media, so that they can join the 99% and bring justice to the greedy.
Clearly this is not how it should be. The plan for the Obama’s bailout was to give money to the banks so that it would trickle down to the poor and eventually get the US out of this mess. However, instead banks are just keeping the money. One thing that bothers my friends and I are the availability of jobs. College students work hard to get the degrees they deserve. When they get out of college the degree they’ve worked hard on goes to waste because there are no job offers.
I might not be feeling it right now, but others are suffering. People have no jobs and families to feed. Greed. It is all about corporate greed. The funny thing is that people my age are unaware of what is happening with Occupy Wall Street in the US. They need to know what is going on. The only time that I am really educated about this stuff is when I am in the classroom discussing protests and topics like this.
I believe that the government doesn’t want certain information to be revealed to the public, because it would anger people. People are angry right now because we want to know what is going on. Something is wrong with the system. The move, Inside Job, talks about how there are some things corporate banks don’t want us to know. I don’t even think that it is just affecting people in lower classes, but people who have high paying jobs. On a personal level, I know doctors who have had problems with Medicaid and Medicare. Wasn’t the bailout supposed to help everybody? Instead it was a waste of a lot of money.
What I am hearing is that money that was used from the bailout was spent for bonuses for bankers who spent millions. Think about how that money could have been used to make new jobs? On Youtube I have seen multiple videos of the hacker group, Anonymous. I saw that they were supporting Occupy Wall Street and how they supported WikiLeaks.
In my opinion, I don’t think people take this seriously, mainly young adults. We don’t take it seriously because it is effecting us little or not at all. Eventually, it will affect everyone. It has been growing all over the world. From New York to Italy. I feel like there is a need for people to be informed about Occupy Wall Street through Social Media or any type of media, so that they can join the 99% and bring justice to the greedy.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Crisis of Manhood
What really makes a man, a man? What factors determine a man? Is it how their raised? What culture they were brought up in? What is a model of a real man? Today I want to share with you the ideals of masculinity. This topic is intended for all male teenagers, young adults, and adults.
How do we define Masculinity? According to Dictionary.com, “having qualities traditionally ascribed to men, such as strength or boldness.” That’s not all the qualities associated with masculinity. There is one person in particular who has been recognized in Men’s Studies, Raewyn Connell, a transsexual woman professor at the University of Sydney in Australia. She talks about hegemonic masculinity. I need to research more about this because there are a lot more sources that talk about hegemonic masculinity. In an interview with Dr. Raewyn Connell she says, “Masculinities are not the same as men. To speak of masculinities is to speak about gender relations. Masculinities concern the position of men in a gender order. They can be defined as the patterns of practice by which people (both men and women, though predominantly men) engage that position. In pop psychology, and a lot of popular belief, masculinity is set in concrete, fixed by the genes or by God, and impossible for women to influence.” Although she is coming from Australia she reflects over men around the world. She mentioned “pop psychology”. The pop psychology is influenced by contemporary media today. I have another source that represents how men’s appearance is influenced by consumerism. Men’s appearance now is something that concerns men. What you where determine whether your gay or straight. In all honesty I do not know what area to talk about with masculinity. I am trying to break it down to the one that everyone can connect with the most. When people talk about masculinity they’re not only talking about one single factor involved like looks, but also how men behave and how they develop odd friendships. The history of manhood is important because it talks about how men developed masculinity and how it changed over the years. This is important because in my country men are the main supporters in the family. I can probably talk about the masculinity differences between cultures in America and cultures in Asia. This would be very interesting to talk about because of the social norms between the two cultures which would incorporate psychology into the paper. If I can do that then my paper would add logos and actually
“inform” people about the differences. The problem with this though is that I might have a biased opinion, and I may want to give my own personal opinions. That would not be very good for an informative paper.
I chose this as my audience because these people are all male, and they will become male adults. Male adults may have a sense of identity; however, young men are still trying to find their identities. Young men and teenagers are still trying to find their way in life, while most adults are already experienced with age.
Sources:
Academic Journal:
Randall, Don. "Charismatic Masculinity in David Malouf's Fiction." Australian Literary Studies RICCIARDELLI, ROSEMARY.
"Masculinity, Consumerism, and Appearance: A Look at Men's Hair." Canadian Review of Sociology 48.2 (2011): 181-201. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 14 Sept. 2011.
.25.1 (2010): 71-81. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 14 Sept. 2011.
Wedgwood, Nikki. "Connell's theory of masculinity - its origins and influences on the study of gender." Journal of Gender Studies 18.4 (2009): 329-339. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 14 Sept. 2011.
Works Cited.Neville, Patricia. "Side-splitting masculinity: comedy, Mr Bean and the representation of masculinities in contemporary society." Journal of Gender Studies 18.3 (2009): 231-243. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 14 Sept. 2011.
Books:
R.W Connell Masculinities
The Male Body: A New Look at Men in Public and in Private by: Susan Bordo
Manhood in America: A Cultural History By: Michael S. Kimmel
How do we define Masculinity? According to Dictionary.com, “having qualities traditionally ascribed to men, such as strength or boldness.” That’s not all the qualities associated with masculinity. There is one person in particular who has been recognized in Men’s Studies, Raewyn Connell, a transsexual woman professor at the University of Sydney in Australia. She talks about hegemonic masculinity. I need to research more about this because there are a lot more sources that talk about hegemonic masculinity. In an interview with Dr. Raewyn Connell she says, “Masculinities are not the same as men. To speak of masculinities is to speak about gender relations. Masculinities concern the position of men in a gender order. They can be defined as the patterns of practice by which people (both men and women, though predominantly men) engage that position. In pop psychology, and a lot of popular belief, masculinity is set in concrete, fixed by the genes or by God, and impossible for women to influence.” Although she is coming from Australia she reflects over men around the world. She mentioned “pop psychology”. The pop psychology is influenced by contemporary media today. I have another source that represents how men’s appearance is influenced by consumerism. Men’s appearance now is something that concerns men. What you where determine whether your gay or straight. In all honesty I do not know what area to talk about with masculinity. I am trying to break it down to the one that everyone can connect with the most. When people talk about masculinity they’re not only talking about one single factor involved like looks, but also how men behave and how they develop odd friendships. The history of manhood is important because it talks about how men developed masculinity and how it changed over the years. This is important because in my country men are the main supporters in the family. I can probably talk about the masculinity differences between cultures in America and cultures in Asia. This would be very interesting to talk about because of the social norms between the two cultures which would incorporate psychology into the paper. If I can do that then my paper would add logos and actually
“inform” people about the differences. The problem with this though is that I might have a biased opinion, and I may want to give my own personal opinions. That would not be very good for an informative paper.
I chose this as my audience because these people are all male, and they will become male adults. Male adults may have a sense of identity; however, young men are still trying to find their identities. Young men and teenagers are still trying to find their way in life, while most adults are already experienced with age.
Sources:
Academic Journal:
Randall, Don. "Charismatic Masculinity in David Malouf's Fiction." Australian Literary Studies RICCIARDELLI, ROSEMARY.
"Masculinity, Consumerism, and Appearance: A Look at Men's Hair." Canadian Review of Sociology 48.2 (2011): 181-201. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 14 Sept. 2011.
.25.1 (2010): 71-81. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 14 Sept. 2011.
Wedgwood, Nikki. "Connell's theory of masculinity - its origins and influences on the study of gender." Journal of Gender Studies 18.4 (2009): 329-339. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 14 Sept. 2011.
Works Cited.Neville, Patricia. "Side-splitting masculinity: comedy, Mr Bean and the representation of masculinities in contemporary society." Journal of Gender Studies 18.3 (2009): 231-243. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 14 Sept. 2011.
Books:
R.W Connell Masculinities
The Male Body: A New Look at Men in Public and in Private by: Susan Bordo
Manhood in America: A Cultural History By: Michael S. Kimmel
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
School Under Capitalism? Respone IV
When I first heard this title I thought that this article was going to be how public education was badly structured. The article connects capitalism along with schooling, which will concern everyone. “Social relations of education” normally correspond to the social relations of production in capitalist society (Bowles and Gintis 13). I am not saying that it’s a bad thing to have, but it is odd. When the article talked about Taylorism, it talked about standardizing, setting rules and regulations. That’s probably where we had standardized like the ACT and SAT. I am pretty sure people have thought about how effective both tests are. That’s not the point though. The point is schooling under capitalism. Over the years since we adopted Taylorism the school system has been going downhill. The American Teacher magazine said, “Education must measure its efficiency not in terms…of so many student-hours per dollar of salary; it must measure its efficiency in terms of increased humanism, increased power to do, increased capacity to appreciate”(Callahan 121). I believe that to be so true. The teacher needs to have a passion to teach to the point where it motivates students to learn and succeed. It doesn’t matter how many students there are in a class. From a personal perspective, it’s better to for teachers to focus on people as individuals rather than just a group, that’s why I chose BCTC. “Although NCLB put new burdens and expectations on schools and teachers, total U.S. government spending on primary and secondary education as a percentage of GDP did not increase” (National Education Association 288). So basically it did not help as much as legislators thought it would. “The Dell Foundation claims that it is helping urban schools to use “technology to gather, analyze and report information” for better school management. It is a strong backer of school choice, for-profit education management organizations (EMOs) in charter schools, and charter school real estate development” (Scott 31). I see that their helping out, but another corporation helping is the Gates Foundation. “The Gates Foundation has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into the support of educational advocacy groups meant to pressure public policy, all aimed at restructuring public education, promoting charter schools, encouraging privatization, and breaking teachers’ unions. Thus, it has given millions of dollars to Teachers Plus” (Teacher Education).
I always thought that businesses are only out there for the money, but I am glad that there are some businesses who like to make the United States a better place instead of personal benefit. One thing I think that is significant in the article is when Foster talks about child poverty. I know that child poverty plays a role in learning in school. We used to live in poverty in New York and in Eastern Kentucky. Luckily the charter schools that spewed up are helping children succeed. “As a result of the new standards, testing, and accountability measures of federal and state governments, plus the growth of charter schools, the K-12 education industry was expected to grow to $163 billion (20 percent of the K-12 education market) within ten years” (Think Equity Partners). Hopefully this growth will not only improve the education system, but also improve the quality of life children will live in.
Sources:
1.Bowles and Gintis, Schooling in Capitalist America, 129.
2. See the analysis of Taylorism in Harry Braverman, Labor and Monopoly Capital (New York: Monthly Review Press, 1998), 59-95.
3. Callahan, Education and the Cult of Efficiency, 121.
4.National Education Association, K-12 Education in the U.S. Economy, 10; National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, The Condition of Education, 2010, 288.
5.Scott, “The Politics of Venture Philanthropy,” 120; ThinkEquity Partners LLC, New Rules, New Schools, New Market: K-12 Education, Industry Outlook 2005. May 26, 2005, http://educationindustry.org, 31.
6.“Teacher Education, STEM Washington and Bill Gates,” Seattle Education, March 22, 2011, http://seattleducaton2010.worpress.com.
I always thought that businesses are only out there for the money, but I am glad that there are some businesses who like to make the United States a better place instead of personal benefit. One thing I think that is significant in the article is when Foster talks about child poverty. I know that child poverty plays a role in learning in school. We used to live in poverty in New York and in Eastern Kentucky. Luckily the charter schools that spewed up are helping children succeed. “As a result of the new standards, testing, and accountability measures of federal and state governments, plus the growth of charter schools, the K-12 education industry was expected to grow to $163 billion (20 percent of the K-12 education market) within ten years” (Think Equity Partners). Hopefully this growth will not only improve the education system, but also improve the quality of life children will live in.
Sources:
1.Bowles and Gintis, Schooling in Capitalist America, 129.
2. See the analysis of Taylorism in Harry Braverman, Labor and Monopoly Capital (New York: Monthly Review Press, 1998), 59-95.
3. Callahan, Education and the Cult of Efficiency, 121.
4.National Education Association, K-12 Education in the U.S. Economy, 10; National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, The Condition of Education, 2010, 288.
5.Scott, “The Politics of Venture Philanthropy,” 120; ThinkEquity Partners LLC, New Rules, New Schools, New Market: K-12 Education, Industry Outlook 2005. May 26, 2005, http://educationindustry.org, 31.
6.“Teacher Education, STEM Washington and Bill Gates,” Seattle Education, March 22, 2011, http://seattleducaton2010.worpress.com.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Response to Education
Lawrence O’Donnell first begins with how he did in school. How he would get bad grades and blame it on the teacher. In all honesty, I did that too not too far back in High School. I would also blame my Pre-Cal teacher for giving us hard assignments that I thought I would fail on. I failed the class, but I know now that I didn’t really try hard enough. O’Donnell tells the audience about student achievement. He says that the teacher is one of the variables, but home factors are the most important part.
Mr. Campbell, my Algebra III teacher was probably one of my favorite math teachers. He gave us life lessons for the seniors and I remember one particular piece of advice. “When you learn, 50% is at school and 50% is on your own.” Mr. Campbell said. O’Donnell says, “Home learning environments, individual student aptitudes, individual student effort, the student’s expectations, the student’s family’s expectations, the number of students in the classroom, the list goes on and on”. However, O’Donnell explains that politics have assumed that the reason why students are failing is “entirely the fault of teachers”. Now I am well aware of the Blame the Teacher theory, because I have used it first hand and I have seen others use it. Until I got to college however, my perspective shifted. I do believe that a student must set high standards for him or herself in order to do well in school. Not to be racist or anything, Asian parents expect their students to have high grades.
In the Philippines, my dad wanted to become a journalist, but he was forced to become a doctor. But that is not the topic of this response. More importantly are the teachers who want their rights. This has been eye opening for me. I had no clue teachers were getting treated like crap, in fact they have to put up with uncooperative students as well. It did piss me off when that reporter compared teaching and acting. “It’s because they love teaching” Matt Damon says. Matt Damon has a love for acting and teachers have a love for teaching. O’Donnell touches on police officers, another government job. “No one investigates how well policemen do their job. Some have fired their gun and have accidentally injured others, but some have deliberately and maliciously used it.” O’Donnell explains.
“Teachers who have committed their lives to the classroom deserve better than our politics have given them”. I watched this video, and I also read what Christian Pyle had to say about adjuncts and the caste system of teaching. Not only that, but I know that Fayette County has hired Filipino teachers who work hard and receive little. They love teaching though, and they are good in their craft. I believe that the individual is truly the one who paves the road to success. Teachers will help students on their way to building levels for a house, but it is up to the students to either continue building/maintaining or breaking it down. From what I have read and what I know, I think that teacher’s should be given the credit they all deserve. They should be given the recognition for changing people’s lives. And in return I believe they should be given their rights.
Mr. Campbell, my Algebra III teacher was probably one of my favorite math teachers. He gave us life lessons for the seniors and I remember one particular piece of advice. “When you learn, 50% is at school and 50% is on your own.” Mr. Campbell said. O’Donnell says, “Home learning environments, individual student aptitudes, individual student effort, the student’s expectations, the student’s family’s expectations, the number of students in the classroom, the list goes on and on”. However, O’Donnell explains that politics have assumed that the reason why students are failing is “entirely the fault of teachers”. Now I am well aware of the Blame the Teacher theory, because I have used it first hand and I have seen others use it. Until I got to college however, my perspective shifted. I do believe that a student must set high standards for him or herself in order to do well in school. Not to be racist or anything, Asian parents expect their students to have high grades.
In the Philippines, my dad wanted to become a journalist, but he was forced to become a doctor. But that is not the topic of this response. More importantly are the teachers who want their rights. This has been eye opening for me. I had no clue teachers were getting treated like crap, in fact they have to put up with uncooperative students as well. It did piss me off when that reporter compared teaching and acting. “It’s because they love teaching” Matt Damon says. Matt Damon has a love for acting and teachers have a love for teaching. O’Donnell touches on police officers, another government job. “No one investigates how well policemen do their job. Some have fired their gun and have accidentally injured others, but some have deliberately and maliciously used it.” O’Donnell explains.
“Teachers who have committed their lives to the classroom deserve better than our politics have given them”. I watched this video, and I also read what Christian Pyle had to say about adjuncts and the caste system of teaching. Not only that, but I know that Fayette County has hired Filipino teachers who work hard and receive little. They love teaching though, and they are good in their craft. I believe that the individual is truly the one who paves the road to success. Teachers will help students on their way to building levels for a house, but it is up to the students to either continue building/maintaining or breaking it down. From what I have read and what I know, I think that teacher’s should be given the credit they all deserve. They should be given the recognition for changing people’s lives. And in return I believe they should be given their rights.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Forgotten Dreams
Someplace like America, has some sort of negative connotation associated behind it. In the introduction I was extremely shocked. The story grabbed my attention when I heard of a Hobo being murdered and a flier that warned other “tree people”. Now this is in Santa Barbara, one of the richest places in California. If I was homeless and if that would ever happen to me, I would feel like a criminal, especially if the police were to help clear the area of low lives. These journalists were pretty brave to live that day as hobos. They indeed had a good story to write about. “People will rise to the challenge of these hard times.”(Maharidge 3)
I believe in the quote, “What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger”. Being poor, dirt poor, is something I have seen through my parents. They lived in the poor areas of the Philippines and in the dangerous areas of Queens, New York. People who are poor will truly value everything they have from the place they sleep to the food scraps they can find in the dumpster. The woman who was upper class and was suddenly poor showed me that shit happens. This intro that Michael and Dale have provided for the reader makes me wonder what economic experts do. I wonder about the level of education and experience they get, and what do they do financially with personal belongings. Dale did say, “The economic experts were repeatedly wrong in the lead-up to the 1929 market crash and they continued to be wrong through the 1930’s as they predicted a turnaround. How are American citizens depending on them today? We are already having problems with our stock market. Unemployment is still an issue that I am concerned about today too. I don’t think people don’t understand what labor truly is. That woman who had to work 3 jobs including a restaurant is really sad, because she won’t be able to retire. She is literally going to work until she dies, unless someone does something about it.
I think Michael and Dale wants us to be aware certain areas that are effected by unemployment. “You will be introduced to the city of Youngstown, destroyed by the closing of steel mills and the resulting loss of tens of thousands of well-paid jobs”, Dale explains. From being middle class or upper class to living in poverty, looking for places to sleep and food to eat, Somewhat Like America looks it is a promising book that show how citizens struggle every single day of their life. What I think Michael and Dale are doing is great. It sounds like they have a sense of adventure living out a different world other than their own. The pictures may influence the reader even greater, especially if there is a poor child looking straight at the camera. I would be inclined to help these people if I saw some pictures. One thing is for sure though. We need to make people aware of places like Youngstown, the struggles of the citizens, and figure out how we can improve America.
I believe in the quote, “What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger”. Being poor, dirt poor, is something I have seen through my parents. They lived in the poor areas of the Philippines and in the dangerous areas of Queens, New York. People who are poor will truly value everything they have from the place they sleep to the food scraps they can find in the dumpster. The woman who was upper class and was suddenly poor showed me that shit happens. This intro that Michael and Dale have provided for the reader makes me wonder what economic experts do. I wonder about the level of education and experience they get, and what do they do financially with personal belongings. Dale did say, “The economic experts were repeatedly wrong in the lead-up to the 1929 market crash and they continued to be wrong through the 1930’s as they predicted a turnaround. How are American citizens depending on them today? We are already having problems with our stock market. Unemployment is still an issue that I am concerned about today too. I don’t think people don’t understand what labor truly is. That woman who had to work 3 jobs including a restaurant is really sad, because she won’t be able to retire. She is literally going to work until she dies, unless someone does something about it.
I think Michael and Dale wants us to be aware certain areas that are effected by unemployment. “You will be introduced to the city of Youngstown, destroyed by the closing of steel mills and the resulting loss of tens of thousands of well-paid jobs”, Dale explains. From being middle class or upper class to living in poverty, looking for places to sleep and food to eat, Somewhat Like America looks it is a promising book that show how citizens struggle every single day of their life. What I think Michael and Dale are doing is great. It sounds like they have a sense of adventure living out a different world other than their own. The pictures may influence the reader even greater, especially if there is a poor child looking straight at the camera. I would be inclined to help these people if I saw some pictures. One thing is for sure though. We need to make people aware of places like Youngstown, the struggles of the citizens, and figure out how we can improve America.
True Men Response I
American Ideals of Real Men
“Wealthy, Handsome, Strong, Packing Endless Hard-Ons: The Impossible Ideals Men Are Expected to Meet” is quite a title. Greta Christina explains about the expectations of Masculinity and Feminism in America. Her stance is made clear in the title. It’s impossible for men to meet these American Ideals. One of the sources she uses is from Express.co.uk. This is article is surprising in that male fitness models are not as healthy as we think. Christina says, “The image being sold is an exaggerated, idealized, impossible extreme of hyper-masculinity. They use a regime… to make their muscles pop that involves starvation, dehydration, excessive consumption of alcohol and sugar right before a shoot, and more…the magazines use lighting tricks, posture tricks, flat-out deceptions, even Photoshop, to exaggerate this illusion of masculinity even further.”
She further explains that men try to attain this type of ideal. I see bodybuilders at Lexington (LAC) all the time. I regularly see them carry huge bags of supplements and work-out with extremely heavy weights. What I didn’t know was that models of some fitness magazines would actually try to do dangerous habits routinely and that guys want to attain that type of goal. “And we're not just talking about physical ideals of masculinity. We're talking about cultural ideals. Sexual ideals. Economic ideals. Emotional ideals.” Christina elaborates. Christina says that ideals of men contradict each other like “being a mechanic and a CEO. I've talked with men who are convinced they're not Real Men because they aren't rich and I've talked with men who are convinced they aren't Real Men because they don’t work with their hands." Bottom line-It’s Impossible to attain these manly ideals. Not only does Christina talk about men, but she shifts into women ideals. In conclusion, she believes everyone should just be themselves.
“Wealthy, Handsome, Strong, Packing Endless Hard-Ons: The Impossible Ideals Men Are Expected to Meet” is quite a title. Greta Christina explains about the expectations of Masculinity and Feminism in America. Her stance is made clear in the title. It’s impossible for men to meet these American Ideals. One of the sources she uses is from Express.co.uk. This is article is surprising in that male fitness models are not as healthy as we think. Christina says, “The image being sold is an exaggerated, idealized, impossible extreme of hyper-masculinity. They use a regime… to make their muscles pop that involves starvation, dehydration, excessive consumption of alcohol and sugar right before a shoot, and more…the magazines use lighting tricks, posture tricks, flat-out deceptions, even Photoshop, to exaggerate this illusion of masculinity even further.”
She further explains that men try to attain this type of ideal. I see bodybuilders at Lexington (LAC) all the time. I regularly see them carry huge bags of supplements and work-out with extremely heavy weights. What I didn’t know was that models of some fitness magazines would actually try to do dangerous habits routinely and that guys want to attain that type of goal. “And we're not just talking about physical ideals of masculinity. We're talking about cultural ideals. Sexual ideals. Economic ideals. Emotional ideals.” Christina elaborates. Christina says that ideals of men contradict each other like “being a mechanic and a CEO. I've talked with men who are convinced they're not Real Men because they aren't rich and I've talked with men who are convinced they aren't Real Men because they don’t work with their hands." Bottom line-It’s Impossible to attain these manly ideals. Not only does Christina talk about men, but she shifts into women ideals. In conclusion, she believes everyone should just be themselves.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
First Blog
Basically this is my first REAL Blog.
I had a blog for my photography class in High School, but it was different in that it was mainly for photos.
So what will I write about?
Anything that comes to my head.
One of my favorite blog sites is called:
theCHIVE... Probably the most awesome site
it consists of different photos that just make my day
DAR- Daily Awesome Randomness is my favorite because a lot of the pictures are unique.
I hope I will be able to improve my writing through this blog and to improve my writing in this class. I want to be able to organize my thoughts a lot better.
Just got out of HS. So I am ready to start a fresh new life.
I had a blog for my photography class in High School, but it was different in that it was mainly for photos.
So what will I write about?
Anything that comes to my head.
One of my favorite blog sites is called:
theCHIVE... Probably the most awesome site
it consists of different photos that just make my day
DAR- Daily Awesome Randomness is my favorite because a lot of the pictures are unique.
I hope I will be able to improve my writing through this blog and to improve my writing in this class. I want to be able to organize my thoughts a lot better.
Just got out of HS. So I am ready to start a fresh new life.
Politics: Am I a Left Authoritarian or Left Libertarian?
For a while I was wondering where I stood in American politics. I am a speaker, but I don't really like sticking my head into politics. Mainly because I don't know much about current news and how everything works. I don't like debating over issues I am not well informed or prepared about.
I would like to debate and take a stand with ease, but my beliefs are not written in stone yet.
John Coltrane is the Man
There are other Jazz artists I really like. According to Pandora I am interested in classic jazz that involves piano solos, bass solos, and different runs.
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