I thought that the Black In America documentary really helped me get closer to understanding how the problems of racism in America are affecting people. I never thought that racism was this much of a problem anymore but I guess that it still is. The fact that only 3% of management jobs were given to African Americans really surprised and bothered me. It never really comes to my mind that black skin could be a deal breaker for getting a job. I do understand that the amount of African American graduates is a pretty low number but I didn’t think that it was low enough to cause the amount of African American managers to be as low as 3 %.
Another statistic that really bothered me was the one about the amount of African Americans that will grow up with no father. This statistic doesn’t deal with racism but is still a big problem that needs to be fixed. It’s hard believing that 60% of African American children will grow up with no father. The father that was in the video seemed like he didn’t care about his child at all. I didn’t feel bad for him at all I more felt anger towards him for acting the way he was. He showed no care at all towards his child and you could tell that he didn’t. The way that he responded to the reporter made it seem like he wasn’t even bothering listening to her. It just frustrated me how someone could just abandoned two human beings like that and only go into their lives when they feel like it. It’s hard to even imagine what growing up like that would be like; thinking that your own father left because of your birth.
60% of African American high school dropouts was another fact that disturbed me. I can’t believe that that number could be so high because not all dropouts are going to end up being criminals. The fact that the video brought up about African Americans being suspected of doing crimes does seem to explain part of why that number would be so high. I don’t think that that many cops go through the trouble of planting evidence on African Americans just because they don’t like their skin color. The video did make another point that explains why the number of dropouts is so high. The media is depicting African Americans in a negative way whether it be through music videos or the news. It was surprising seeing that the news would rather do a story on an African American doing one crime rather a Caucasian doing the same exact crime.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
LAST DAYS OF SUMMER
Although the novel “Last Days Of Summer” has been styled in a different way than normal books, it still made sense and got the point over. I liked the way it was organized because while I was reading each conversation I felt as if I were one of the characters in the book. It was sort of like I was Joey when reading Charlie’s letters and that I was Charlie when reading Joey’s letters. When reading I really didn’t feel like I was reading a book but more looking back at the conversations that I had had. At times it was good but it sometimes got confusing like when an event happened. This was harder to follow because you weren’t at the event; you only had what Joey and Charlie had said about the event so you had to piece it together to form the image that the author was trying to portray. This was confusing but after reading for a while you got the picture. This happened to me during the one part in the story where Charlie went to visit Joey. The story just jumped from them talking about hanging out to them talking about how they had already hung out. After a couple of pages you got the gist of what happened but everything was told in order of importance to them instead of the order that it had happened that night. As the book went on you got used to putting all of the stories together though. The conversations that Joey had with his psychiatrist were also told in a different way than the traditional novels. Their conversations were more like reading a play. The author did do good job though in making you feel as if you were Joey talking to the psychiatrist. The way that the novel was told kind of reflected who Joey was as a person. Joey was this unique kid that was different from everyone else; just as this novel’s form of writing was different than traditional novels.
The beginning of the novel was very confusing. It starts out with random facts about people that you don’t really get to know until the books starts to come together. The author doesn’t really tell you who is writing or why he’s writing. He even had Joey at the psychiatrist with the reader having hardly any idea why he is there. It is in this meeting though in which we learn that Joey is not the typical kid. He is this smart-alecky boy who knows a lot more than people would expect for someone his age. As the book goes on you see Joey progress into more of an adult and you see him start to control himself and learn important life lessons. Some of the things that Joey does doesn’t seem like it has any importance at all but later in the book he’s usually right about it. For example, the downstairs neighbor that Joey and his friend thought was a Nazi really turned out to be one. To the reader it looked like something funny that the two of them were doing but it actually turned out to be something legit.
The beginning of the novel was very confusing. It starts out with random facts about people that you don’t really get to know until the books starts to come together. The author doesn’t really tell you who is writing or why he’s writing. He even had Joey at the psychiatrist with the reader having hardly any idea why he is there. It is in this meeting though in which we learn that Joey is not the typical kid. He is this smart-alecky boy who knows a lot more than people would expect for someone his age. As the book goes on you see Joey progress into more of an adult and you see him start to control himself and learn important life lessons. Some of the things that Joey does doesn’t seem like it has any importance at all but later in the book he’s usually right about it. For example, the downstairs neighbor that Joey and his friend thought was a Nazi really turned out to be one. To the reader it looked like something funny that the two of them were doing but it actually turned out to be something legit.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Tragedies
It seems that people initially react to a tragedy with fear. People also feel they need to be with people they know or even just people to make them feel as if they're not the only ones that will go through this. After the tragedy it seems that people either mourn or try to resolve the damage that has happened. Every tragedy it handled different it seems. 9/11 and Katrina were both assisted with by the government and volunteers. The earthquake in San Francisco, however, didn't get assistance immediately. San Francisco didn't have the technology that we did and couldn't get the rest of the world to know about it as fast. The government did later help but it was mostly the people that were responsible for handling the tragedy and trying to rebuild the city.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
on studying
Why do human beings seek knowledge?
I believe that human beings seek knowledge when they find it interesting. According to Ortega Y Gasset, human beings should be seeking knowledge when they’re going to be using it to find out more information. I completely disagree with what he’s saying here. People sometimes learn things just because they’re interested in it. Human beings have obsessions and they crave al of the knowledge available to them about their obsession. They don’t use the information to discover new things that no one knows, but they do learn about it, same with some jobs. People seek the knowledge about the job but the job might not necessarily have you discovering new things. People even search for things like where the library is. Learning this isn’t going to help you discover something that no one else in the world knows.
Kids in school are forced the knowledge upon them. They do have a choice on what electives they take, but the 4 basic classes are almost forced upon them by the school. People in this situation mostly seek knowledge because they need to if they want to achieve the profession that they want. Younger kids don’t know what they want to do, or they have an idea on what they want to do that won’t happen. Have the 4 basic classes forced upon them give them the opportunity to get the job that they want. If they have their dream job that they enjoy, most the knowledge they seek is information that they want to seek.
I believe that human beings seek knowledge when they find it interesting. According to Ortega Y Gasset, human beings should be seeking knowledge when they’re going to be using it to find out more information. I completely disagree with what he’s saying here. People sometimes learn things just because they’re interested in it. Human beings have obsessions and they crave al of the knowledge available to them about their obsession. They don’t use the information to discover new things that no one knows, but they do learn about it, same with some jobs. People seek the knowledge about the job but the job might not necessarily have you discovering new things. People even search for things like where the library is. Learning this isn’t going to help you discover something that no one else in the world knows.
Kids in school are forced the knowledge upon them. They do have a choice on what electives they take, but the 4 basic classes are almost forced upon them by the school. People in this situation mostly seek knowledge because they need to if they want to achieve the profession that they want. Younger kids don’t know what they want to do, or they have an idea on what they want to do that won’t happen. Have the 4 basic classes forced upon them give them the opportunity to get the job that they want. If they have their dream job that they enjoy, most the knowledge they seek is information that they want to seek.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Are all people created equal?
I believe that not all people are created equally, but everyone has the opportunity to become equal. Some people are born into families that do not have as much money as everyone else. Each one of those families here in America have the opportunities to become just as good or even better than everyone else. A lot of people have become successes from a poorer background. People who have a lot of money also have the ability to become successful, and sometimes unsuccessful. It’s a little bit easier for them to be successful since they have the money to go to college and they probably have a better education. These people can also become unsuccessful if they don’t try. Each group of people has the opportunity to fail or do well.
People used to not be equal because of their skin color but ever since the Emancipation Proclamation, every type of person has an equal opportunity in the world. There is still racism in the world today, but more and more people are looking beyond skin color and treating everyone equally.
Here in America, everyone is under the Declaration of Independence. Every person follows the same one giving everybody equal rights. Not one group of people or one person has different rights, giving everybody the same freedoms and laws. All of these rights were created so that every person would have equal opportunity. Under the Declaration of Independence, everyone is equal. People in other countries, however, follow different ways of living. Different groups of people have different freedoms, which makes everybody unequal. People in certain social classes have certain freedoms, which can prevent them from moving from one social class to another. People in higher social classes also stay in the class they were born into, giving them an unfair advantage. We learned about this in DeTocqueville, where people in different social classes in other countries each had their own advantages that allowed each group to become successful, or unsuccessful. The lower groups were not as restless but they didn’t have the opportunities the higher groups did.
Every person has certain talents that make him or her special and sometimes better than other people. Some people can act better, some can do math better, which gives each of them their own advantage. In a way, we’re created equal since each person has their own talent, but some people may disagree on that because some talents are more useful or more wanted than others.
People used to not be equal because of their skin color but ever since the Emancipation Proclamation, every type of person has an equal opportunity in the world. There is still racism in the world today, but more and more people are looking beyond skin color and treating everyone equally.
Here in America, everyone is under the Declaration of Independence. Every person follows the same one giving everybody equal rights. Not one group of people or one person has different rights, giving everybody the same freedoms and laws. All of these rights were created so that every person would have equal opportunity. Under the Declaration of Independence, everyone is equal. People in other countries, however, follow different ways of living. Different groups of people have different freedoms, which makes everybody unequal. People in certain social classes have certain freedoms, which can prevent them from moving from one social class to another. People in higher social classes also stay in the class they were born into, giving them an unfair advantage. We learned about this in DeTocqueville, where people in different social classes in other countries each had their own advantages that allowed each group to become successful, or unsuccessful. The lower groups were not as restless but they didn’t have the opportunities the higher groups did.
Every person has certain talents that make him or her special and sometimes better than other people. Some people can act better, some can do math better, which gives each of them their own advantage. In a way, we’re created equal since each person has their own talent, but some people may disagree on that because some talents are more useful or more wanted than others.
Monday, October 20, 2008
super size me
I though that Supersize Me was a great movie that teaches people about not eating fast food, but that doesn’t change my opinion about people eating there at all. I think that it’s stupid that people wanted to sue this company. People have so many options of where to eat and they could’ve chosen a healthier eating establishment. Ever since the film, McDonalds has changed some of the things that they do and I think it was for the better. Now, McDonalds has their nutrition on the back of every paper they put on top of the trays. McDonalds has also added their snack wraps which aren’t that bad for you. They have also gotten rid of the large yogurt and the supersize option. It’s not like the company is forcing people to go there so why would it be their fault. When you’re at the food store, you have the option between the veggies and fruits but you also have the option to buy donuts; should we sue the donut companies for making donuts available to the world? There’s even a story of a man who lost 86 pounds and lowered his cholesterol on a McDonalds diet. He only ate their snack wraps, salads, apple dippers, and hamburgers for 6 months and lost 86 pounds. This shows that if you eat the right thing there, you can be healthy. A lot of user reviews that I found on IMDB disagreed with the film saying that it was unfair since people don’t eat McDonalds everyday, and it’s true. The girls that were overweight were wrong to sue McDonalds because they always had the option of avoiding it, and also, the parents shouldn’t have taken them there so much, especially knowing the harm it can cause. As a child, I hardly ever went to McDonalds, I wanted to all the time, but my parents would hardly take me. I always said to myself that I’d just eat there everyday when I got older, but as I’m growing up, I don’t find McDonalds the first thing on my list of things to eat. I think that if Spurlock were to have eaten the better things on the menu, he would see no change in the way he feels or looks. I also found some reviews that said that this movie was more to entertain and that the movie Fast Food Nation was better at showing the effects of fast food. I agree with them in thinking that this movie was more to entertain. I thought it was a good movie, but it didn’t change my feelings towards my one true love McDonalds. There is even a parody of the film called Super High Me, where a comedian smokes weed for 60 days to see the effects it has on his health. Overall I thought it was a great movie, but it didn’t change my feelings at all towards McDonalds.
the stairs by george is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at flickr.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://flickr.com/photos/ggiacobbe93/3178460593/.
the stairs by george is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at flickr.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://flickr.com/photos/ggiacobbe93/3178460593/.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Why American Are Restless Blog
3.) Is having a lot of material goods a help or hindrance to happiness? Why are some people able to be happy with little, while others with more are miserable?
I feel that having a lot of material good can be good but can also be a hindrance. Obviously having things make you feel good, but it seems that people always want more. When my sister was younger, she wanted to get a cell phone (just like every other teenage girl). She finally got that phone and after 3 or 4 months she wanted a newer, better one. It always seems like people want the newer better thing and that there is no satisfying the need and want for next best thing. Sometimes it feels like material goods are good though. For some people, it’s a necessity having a lot of things. These people have a lot of money and can afford them and for some people, having a lot of things is all that they need to be happy. Some people on the other hand have a lot of things and can’t afford them. These people may be happy now, but when it comes time for them to pay and they can’t afford it, they will realize that what they did really didn’t make them happy. I saw a MTV True Life episode on people that loved buying things but couldn’t afford them. While I was watching the show I noticed that the people were happy that they had all of this stuff, but realized that having all of this stuff made their lives and the people around them lives a lot harder.
It seems like people who start out with little are happier with little. It seems like these people are closer to their families and friends, which make them happy and not be as obsessed with items. In pretty much all of the winter holiday films, the people that don’t have much get what they want and they’re all happy that they got the stuff they wanted, but they realize in the end that it’s the people around then that’s making them happy, not the material goods they got. The characters only wanted little and now they realize that they could be happy even if they didn’t have that stuff. People that have less than others that are around people that have more material goods appear to be the people that are most upset by not having a lot of material goods. These people are more upset probably because they are compared to their peers a lot and when they’re compared to their peers about how much stuff they have, they fall shorter and feel like they need to have more.
I feel that having a lot of material good can be good but can also be a hindrance. Obviously having things make you feel good, but it seems that people always want more. When my sister was younger, she wanted to get a cell phone (just like every other teenage girl). She finally got that phone and after 3 or 4 months she wanted a newer, better one. It always seems like people want the newer better thing and that there is no satisfying the need and want for next best thing. Sometimes it feels like material goods are good though. For some people, it’s a necessity having a lot of things. These people have a lot of money and can afford them and for some people, having a lot of things is all that they need to be happy. Some people on the other hand have a lot of things and can’t afford them. These people may be happy now, but when it comes time for them to pay and they can’t afford it, they will realize that what they did really didn’t make them happy. I saw a MTV True Life episode on people that loved buying things but couldn’t afford them. While I was watching the show I noticed that the people were happy that they had all of this stuff, but realized that having all of this stuff made their lives and the people around them lives a lot harder.
It seems like people who start out with little are happier with little. It seems like these people are closer to their families and friends, which make them happy and not be as obsessed with items. In pretty much all of the winter holiday films, the people that don’t have much get what they want and they’re all happy that they got the stuff they wanted, but they realize in the end that it’s the people around then that’s making them happy, not the material goods they got. The characters only wanted little and now they realize that they could be happy even if they didn’t have that stuff. People that have less than others that are around people that have more material goods appear to be the people that are most upset by not having a lot of material goods. These people are more upset probably because they are compared to their peers a lot and when they’re compared to their peers about how much stuff they have, they fall shorter and feel like they need to have more.
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