Crash

I feel the two biggest "race" topics in Crash are the differences that can divide one race, and how race is not just simply black and white. 
In the movie, Ludacris feels everyone white man is out to get him, and he is constantly accusing his friend of acting too white. On the other hand, the married couple is an affluent black couple, and when they get stopped by the police she yells at her husband for giving into the white cop because she feels her husband would be embarassed by all of his white coworkers if he were arrested adn the would realize that he actually is black, not white like them. If Ludacris ever met this couple he would despise them. In his opinioin, they are too white and they are giving into the social pressures of the white people. 
Also, racism is not just black and white. As weird as it sounds, I feel people tend to always come back to black and white, even though we obviously all know there are other races. Yes, people can be sterotypical and racist towards nonblacks and nonwhites, but most of the time we think of it being towards them. In Crash, we see plenty of different races, all turning against eachother. They all have some reason for hating anyone who is different. Even at the end of the movie, while many of the characters had developed, the racism was still there and in other characters. 
When we watched Oprah, she got very offended that people use the n word in a positive way. All of the black actors (the white ones did not share thir opinion at all... which makes sense because it is not deragatory toward them) tried to tell her that the word has changed. By making it positive, it takes away any duragatory meaning anyone would have behind it.
By races splitting within themselves, it jsut drives more people toward more racism. I'm not going to say everyone needs to stop being racist because as we learned in class, almost everyone is, even if we don't mean to be. Consciously, we can make efforts not to make racist comments, and realize that sterotypes do not apply to everyone in that group. Unconsciously however, I do not know how we change thoughts that we were not even aware that we had.

Prison

The prison statistics are overwhelming. The fact that the U.S has a quarter of the WORLDS prisoners is not okay. There must be something wrong with our system. Although a lot of our money goes into prisons, it does not seem to be working. Many people who go to prison once will go back again, so clearly our prisons do not help with changing people. Once people are out of prison, they are just pushed back into the real world. For many, it can be very difficult to readjust to real life. Also, many of the prisoners have mental illnesses. Instead of getting them help, we throw them in prison for doing things wrong beyond their control.
The system needs to be turned around. First, more money needs to go to mental institutions. There also need to be more programs for the innmates. In the 30 days episode, there was a program for drug addicts who wanted to quit. The flaw with that program was letting releasing people early (like Morgan's friend) for good behavior. By not finishing the program, he ended up back in jail for drugs soon after.
It would benefit society to have the inmates readjusted to life instead of being sent back to prison. They can become productive members of society instead of just people in jail who we do not see or hear about.

Monopoly

When we played monopoly I was lower middle class, and I ended up going down a class. When you do not have as much money, it was hard to buy property.
I am growing up in the same social class as my parents, but they still push me very hard. They want me to be able to give my kids everything that they have given me, as well as anything they were not able to provide.
Living in this area, I do not think that it will be hard to accomplish that. We are very lucky to have the resources that we do in our school that many other kids our age do not have access to. I feel it would be harder to grow up and achieve this if my parents had not grown up like this and I had not gorwn up like this.
As we learned from monopoly, it it very difficult to go up in status, and the higher classes have a majority of the wealth.

Race

When we were asked to put the balls into different categories, I put them into categories of big medium and small. As we learned in claJuss however, the lines drawn for categories can get pretty fuzzy, especially when you add more subjects. If more balls had been added, maybe some of the "big" ones would have ended up being "medium". 
Just liek the balls, race lines can be very fuzzy. In America we have different classifications, but sometimes we can be wrong. When we did the activity of placing the pictures of people into races, we were wrong about a lot of them. 
It is natural for us to categorize things, but there comes a point where it is not acceptable. When we catergorize people without knowing the full background, we can be making judgements that are not true or offensive.

Tammy

It is very sad to see how poorly Tammy and her family live, considering how hard she works. Yes, she may only work at Burger King, but look what she does just to clean bathrooms. She walks 10 and a half miles BOTH WAYS. Most people would just give up and live on welfare. Growing up with 22 siblings, obviously it was hard for Tammy to ever go to college. Her oldest son thinks she is not trying hard, but really she is.
By dressing preppy, the son thinks he can get out of this class. I think there is a chane he can succeed. Even though most people believe you can't change things like that, he seems to be on the right track. At his school, he wins awards for his athletics and his academics. Clearly he is trying really hard. He will be able to go to a community college.
He will still probably end up being working class, but at least he will have made a little improvement.
Just because someone is living in povery does not mean he or she is lazy and won't find a job. There are many factors, like family or even having access to a car. Tammy is doing as much as she can under her circumstances.

Saints vs. Roughnecks

The article we read this week in class was a little surprising, but close to accurate at the same time. The Saints were the people who got good grades and seemed well behaved in school, but they engadged in plenty of illegal activity. The Roughnecks did the same illegal things, but they didn't do well in school, so they were seen as bad people.
This can be seen at our school ("and most likely all high schools). If you know how to work the system, you can get away with more and get second chances or "warnings". Other students, who are known for doing "bad" things, will usually get in trouble the first time, even for the littlest things. People can also be judged on how they dress. The Saints were higher class, so they dressed nicer. The Roughnecks on the other hand did not have money like the Saints, so they weren't dresses as nice. These specific examples of Saints and Roughnecks may not happen at our school (it may not be as extreme), but these divisions do exist. Like we said in class, sometimes athletes are treated better and are cleary favored by some teachers.

independence

Although we are legally adults when we turn 18, I think adulthood comes with more experience. Most of us have lived in our parents houses all of our lives, with their rules, and their money. Even in college, parents still come and visit, bringing us things we're going to need.
Adulthood definitely comes later in life. At a point where a person can support him/herself, and possibly have a family. Even though 18 is an age where  we are legal... we do not have nearly enough experience to consider ourselves adults.
For most of us, we have been pretty sheltered most of our lives, so when we're thrown out into the real world, it may be pretty difficult. As teens, I feel we get sent such mixed signals! Sometimes, parents want us to act like children, but other times, we need to be more responsible.

Masculinity

I know firsthand how the media influences girls, but for boys I had never realized it was just as big of a problem until we started watching the video in class.

When we first started watching, I didn't think it was such a big deal. I thought that the masculinity males feel they need to have was natural. Like Chief said in class, it kinda seems like it's primal. Although I still believe this, I think only some of it is natural. I feel that unlike girls, boys feel the need to physically solve problems, instead of talking. However, the media and everything makes boys feel that  mostproblems should be solved with violence, and to prove their manhood, boys need to be upset or violent.

Other ways to prove manhood are picking on people who aren't as manly. But what is "manly"? Isn't t just what the media tells us is manly?

Just like we learned about girls last week, media influences boys just as much, but the effects seem to be different. In extreme cases, there are school shootings/violence... but most people don't realize that the image of masculinity and gay-baiting can lead to this. More people need to be aware of these problems , just as they are becoming aware of the problems in women with the media.

As we have learned this week, it is not just girls.

The Average Girl...

Last year, my junior research paper was all about how the media influences body image. It is so true that we (girls) feel pressure to be beautiful and thin. I'm sure it happens for guys all the time too. They feel they need to be athletic and strong and things along those lines.
Attractive people are EVERYWHERE! Every magazine or TV show or commercial has "pretty" people because more people will want to be like them.
Even though I know I shouldn't let it influence me, I know the media totally does. Seeing pictures of beuatiful models makes me want to be that thin and be able to look like them.
It would be so much easier for girls, especially teenage girls, if the models weren't skinny in an unheathly  way. So many of those women are unnaturally skinny, however girls strive to look like them. Lots of teens don't realize that we aren't MEANT to look like that. The media is sending an awful message to everyone and causing self esteem issues as well as eating disorders. Although most people are taught to "be yourself", the media influences us so strongly that "ourself" usually becomes what they want us to be.

Family and School

I think 2 of the biggest influences are their family and school. These are the 2 aspects in our lives that we are constantly exposed to while we are developing.

Our families influence EVERYTHING we do whether we like it our realize it. My dad pushes me and my siblings to do the best we can and try to always get better. When I'm running in a meet for cross country my dad is always in the back of mind encouraging me and pushing me to the finish. All of our morals and behaviors come from how our families have influenced us. Sometimes we embrace the things we learn from our parents, but other times, we know certain behaviors that we don't want to gain for ourselves. If we are aware of how much our parents can influence us, we might be able to try and not model the behaviors that we don't believe in.

School also influences how we act. Just like our parents, we model the behaviors of our classmates and friends. Since we spend so much time around these people, it is normal to be like them, even if we don't do it on purpose.

Tuesdays with Morrie- Death

I think death is close to a taboo topic. From childhood we are taught not to really talk about death. Yes, it's in movies and books and video games, but that's all not real, and people know that. When we do talk about though, we say things like "passed away" in place of saying somebody "died". It is one of our hardest subjects to talk about. Even in class, we didn't want to talk about death after watching the movie because it can get too depressing.
Just like Morrie described in the movie, some people don't even acknowledge death, they just pretend to move on. It seems easier to pretend you haven't lost anything instead of mourning. Take family pets for example. Pets don't die. Ever. Pets get sent to live on farms where there can run around and be free.
Obviously death is an uncomfortable subject so we as American's don't like to talk about it. How is it that other cultures can embrace death, while we don't even like for the idea to be brought up? It seems totally weird to us that death can be a celebration, but if we had been taught ideas like that our whole lives it would not seem weird.
Death is actually one of my biggest fears. I actually wish that our culture would have different views on death, so it would not seem as scary to people.

Individualism

I think one of the biggest aspects of American culture is individualism. After reading a few articles this week, individualism really stood out to me. We do not realize this with ourselves because it is what we are so used to, but people from other countries cleary see our individualistic society.


As Americans, we like to do things ourselves. If we don't, it feels like we are being treated like children or looked down upon. Like one if the articles said, in America when someone asks for directions, you just tell them where to go. The person wouldn't want you to walk all of the way with them. In other countries that may seem disrespectful, but not here.

I tend to be individualistic also. I never really thought anything of it until learning that it's a quality a lot of American's hold. I spend a lot of time in my room. When I get home from school, I do my homework in my room. With 3 younger children running around, it's the quietest place I could find. In other countries, there's usually 3 generations living in one house, there is most likely no way I would be able to sneak off to a room by myself.

Non Material Culture

As we have learned this week in class, cultures around the world have different hand gestures as well as certain words that wouldn't translate for us.
I have never really traveled outside of the U.S, so I haven't experienced this too much with different cultures. However, in a way I expericence this confusion sometimes with the way i speak. I tend to cut the ends off words when im typing or texting, and sometime people have NO CLUE what I am saying. For instance, when i type, I say "jeal" instead of "jealous". I feel like that is a pretty obvious abreviation, but to my surprise a lot of people don't know what I'm saying when i say "jeal". To me, my words seem to make complete sense. It's like the hand gestures. To one culture their way makes sense, and someone elses way doesn't, just because it is what they have known their entire lives.

A Bronx Tale

Last year in APUSH, we watched the movie A Bronx Tale after the AP test. When we watched it then, I didn't look at it sociologically. Now that I have, it completely changed the movie for me.
The movie has many examples of social construction of reality. One of the huge ones is racism. Since the movie takes place in the early 60s, racism is everywhere. Collogero himself doesn't really care for racism, but he knows it's out there and knows his friends will judge him if he dates a black girl. When the group of African American boys ride their bikes through Collogero's neighborhood, one of his friends starts a fight. Collogero tells him to leave them alone, but he says that they are bothering him. By not doing anything, the African American boys are bothering him. Obviously he didn't come up with this hate all on his own. While growing up he was taught to hate blacks for no good reason at all.
On the otherhand, Collogero has nothing against the African Americans which may seem out of place for his time period. However, since his dad is a bus driver, he told Collogero that he tries to teach everyone fairly. Since this is how Collogero was brought up, this is how he now acts towards other people.
Growing up, my parents have always taught me to understand people's differences. I try my hardest not to judge people without knowing them or their personal situations first. Since my parents have taught me this, I try to live up to it. If my parents were judgemental people and discriminated against certain people, it is very likely that I would act the same, since it is all I would be used to.

Gang Leader For A Day...

After reading a little bit of Gang Leader For A Day and talking in class, I can see why sociologists need both quantitative and qualitative data.
In the reading, there was a part where he asked people how it felt to be black and poor, along with a few responses such as "indifferent, upset, happy", or responses along those lines. While I read it, i specifically rememeber writing "LOL" in the margin. That just seems like a weird thing to ask somebody, but in reality, it isn't that far out. We live in a pretty wealthy area, so sometimes we can't think outside of what we know. Possibly, some of those people Venkatesh was interviewing don't mind that they're poor, and are perfectly content with their lives. The only way to find out is research. Surveys are good ways to get solid numbers for an idea. Doing a survey for quantitative data isn't the best way to get ALL of the info though. While it provides some information, it's one sided.
By hanging out with J.T. and his gang, Venkatesh could get all sides of his info. He could find out more then just what percent of the people were "indifferent" about being black and poor. Venkatesh was able to connect with new people and learn new views on life.

Spitting

In class the other day, when one of the students had to spit in a cup, I thought it was completely nasty! Then Salituro wants someone to drink her spit. Okay what?! Then we had to think, okay how is this different then a baseball player on the field spitting, or a couple kissing. It's really not that different, however, we have been taught to think this way by society.
Just like the reading "Survivors of the F227", to survive they had to eat other people who had died. In our society, we don't eat dead people, or any people actually. Since those people had lived their lives with these same beliefs, the transition to eating people was a difficult one.

When we're growing up, we learn things of what we should or should not do. Like we learned in class, spitting is kinda a gross thing to do. As little kids, we can't spit at our friends if we get mad, or we can't spit in certain places. I think our society lets guys get away with spitting a lot more then girls. If you go to a baseball game, spitting is everywhere! Players hock loggies left and right. I play softball and sometimes I spit. Some people are all "ewww what are you doing", while others understand and do the same thing. On the other hand, sometimes I will spit when I'm not playing softball, but if that happens I apologize to whoever I'm with. Why do I even feel the need to apologize when I'm not at softball? Since we have all been taught spitting is usually a repulsive thing. In my life, I would prefer not to go along with what everybosy else does (this doesn't mean I'm going to spit everywhere!), even though it's natural to do so because it's all I'm exposed to.

Awkward Silence

When I walked into class the first period ever of my senior year and my teacher grabbed a desk in the back and just sat there, all I could think was how weird this whole situation was. It was the first day of school, of course I was expecting Sal to be handing out a syllabus and standing in the front of class informing us what to expect throughout the year. I mean, that's how its been the previous 11 years of my life in school, that's what I'm used to. That's what we were all used to.

I guess people assume things based on the norm. If all we've ever known for a first day experience is a teacher describing the course, we're all going to feel a little awkward and antsy when we're just sitting in silence instead. After my first period sociology class starting off this way, I admit I was a little disappointed when I had to sit through 5 other classes where teachers stood in the front of the room explaining the course. I had never realized how we have pretty much been brainwashed our entire lives just to sit and listen to one person over and over every single day.

Now this can't possibly be learning can it? Someone standing in the front of the room feeding information into my brain. Sure, I can learn the material and get an A on the test (woohoo!), but ask me about it 2 weeks into summer, I bet you I won't remember a thing. Looking back, that's not how I wanted my learning experience to be. Why waste my time in school if I can't grow? I should WANT to go to school everyday, and look forward to learning new things. I should dread sitting in rows and listening to a teacher lecture. I feel that blogging is a great new way to learn. This way, I get my ideas out there, without having to prepare a speech for my whole class to not pay attention to. Also, I can read other people's ideas and learn from my peers, as well as my teacher. I'm really pumped to experience a whole new way of learning from everyone else's point of view.

who am i?

Who am I? Well, I don't even know yet. I know that I'm Shelby, I'm 17, and a senior in high school. I play softball in school and out, and I also run cross country. I love meeting new people and making friends. It's always great to know a lot of different people from different places. Of course, I have people who I know the best, and know me just as well. My friends and my family are my life, and I count on them all of the time. I know any one of these people would be there whenever I need them. I don't even know my goals or purposes. I'm only 17, and still trying to figure out my own life. I just hope that one day I have a job a love, along with a family. Although I can't wait to go off to college and be on my own, I'm honestly terrified. At the same time, I guess that's part of the adventure.