First Woman Ascends to Top Drill Sergeant Spot

Last week, Tuesday, September 22, 2009, the Army made Command Sergeant Major Teresa L. Kin, 48, Commandant if its drill sergeant school in Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Yes, that’s right. Her name is Teresa, and yes she is a woman. The reason why I’m over-emphasizing her gender is this is a monumental moment; as it is the first time in the United States army history that a woman will command this post. As I read this story, what didn’t surprise me was how tough this woman really is, rather how the army, a basically male-driven fraternity has allowed its organization to have women commanding men. This is big because it will break down a whole slew of stereotypes why women cannot do this or that in the army. This drill sergeant-now Commandant- will show us that you don’t have to be a man in order to get the job done. (She will oversee drill sergeant training for the entire army). One thing King said that struck a nerve with me was that when she looks in the mirror, she “does not see a woman.” She said she sees “a soldier.” That is what she believes in and really that isn’t a fault of her own. But to me, she is kind of “de-sexing” herself in order to cope or fit in, I don’t know. I could be wrong. But I don’t understand why she is saying that. Maybe she is trying to say that being a woman is not something that is going to limit her from achieving her goals. Or maybe she is simply stating that she isn’t going to use womanhood as a card like the race card. I don’t know. I would like to know what some of you thought about that.

This story is amazing. Slowly, but surely you see this happening in other arenas where it is thought that men are the only ones to hold certain kinds of positions. I was watching a men’s basketball game earlier this year and, as a mental note to myself, I saw that one of the officiating referees was a woman. I thought nothing of it at the time, but really that was big in and of itself. I am sure that it was not always as widely accepted for women to be referees for men’s sports. But now these women are paving the way for equal rights for younger women who share the same kind of interests.

Cultural Proficiency

Have we accepted that we have to live with people of other cultures in america yet? I feel that some americans find it hard to deal with different cultures. I think other cultures find it hard to deal with american culture as well, Im not sure. But i am sure that different cultures have different "norms". What we see as out of the "norm", others may not, and I believe this causes for some americans to judge and or stereotype other cultures. I see this at work, shopping, and neighborhoods. Where some americans might find it hard to adjust to what are other cultures "norms". Using myself as an example, I find things such as not speaking when being greeted, not saying excuse me when bumping into someone, not offering friendly gestures, etc. as rude. However, this may be considered the "norm" for someone of another culture, and not rude. I can recall times discussing with others that someone of another culture was rude or disrespectful, because of such things. I've also seen and heard others judge and ridicule another culture, because of what is normal to them. My workplace is where I have observed this a lot! Where my co-workers frequently are stereotyping someone because of their cultural. This has made me wonder if all employers should offer workshops on cultural proficiency. I believe that with so much cultural diversity in America now, it may be a good idea. Maybe this could be a requirement for customer and public service offices. Could this help Americans and individuals of other cultures learn strategies for accepting another cultures "norms"? Could it help us get a better understanding of the way other countries cultures differ? Would it help us with our judgements of others "norms" which are not always exactly NORMAL to us?

Stereotyping is everywhere

So the other day I was in a store with my mom at the mall. I picked up something and looked at it and I noticed that a man was keeping a very close watch on me. I began to think that I was only being watched because I was a teenager or how I dressed. This made me think of a time that I was in a supermarket and I picked up a magazine. I was about twelve years old and I remember a security guard telling me to not walk off with the magazine. I was shocked when I heard this because there was an older lady that had a magazine and he said nothing at all to her. At that time I thought about what I was doing. Was I acting suspicious? Was I putting my hands in my pockets? I had no idea. So what I did was put down the magazine, ignored her and walked off. I thought this was the right thing to do because I was not doing anything wrong and being embarrassed like that was not worth reading some dumb magazine. I told my mom about this and she began to tell me how they watch for kids like me because we are known to steal more than grown ups. Now, I realize today that people can be very prejudice about many things. They might not mean to be, and are just doing there job, but they should do so in a much better way. After watching the movie with the kids and eye color, This made me think of this incident for some reason. I thought to myself how people are very prejudice all the time, even excluding skin color.

Who is there to Blame?

Young teenagers these days act so grown. I remember when I was a young teen I was not exposed to half of the stuff that teens are exposed to nowadays. I work at Victoria’s Secret as a pink associate. PINK is a brand made for young girls between the ages of twelve to early adulthood. They sell loungewear, sweats, sleepwear, and bras and panties. From my experience working there I see so many girls who look like they have to be at least eleven to thirteen getting merchandise that they shouldn’t even know what it is. But whom can we blame? And it’s not like associates have the right to take freedom away from the customer as for what to purchase and what not to purchase. The first group to blame is the manufactures, because if PINK is designed for young teens than they should make panties with cheesy and dirt phrases such as “shut up and kiss me” and have motorcycles with “ride me” printed all over it. I do not think young people need to even be exposed to stuff like that. So many young girls come with friends from the ages of twelve and fifteen come to try on lingerie and think that they are so cute. I wonder if their parents knew what they come do at the malls, they would stop leaving them alone to shop. When our generation was younger we would play outside all the time: riding bikes, playing hide and seek, jump roping but in the present society we do not see many young teens doing that. Instead they are on computers chatting and socializing, watching television shows they aren’t supposed to be watching. Or are the parents to blame because they are so careless of what their children are doing?

The Media and Women

Media has a lot of influence on a lot of things that people do. The media tells groups of people how they should act or be and sometimes they are unrealistic or unsafe. The media portrays women most of the time in very unrealistic ways and as objects many times. Women are often seen as sexual objects when advertising things for men and women and it tells women from a young that they are supposed to be sexy as opposed to smart and beautiful. It is also portrayed that skinnier women are more desirable and women and young girls go to great lengths to be skinny and it will probably lead to an unhealthy lifestyle. Women are also portrayed through the media to be seen as vulnerable and are silenced in a sense but it’s sexy to be this way. Women are rarely seen as men are. Men are usually portrayed as the strong, overpowering, smart, intelligent and they body doesn’t sell products the same way a women’s body sells products. A lot when women’s bodies are being advertised the focus is one a part of the body like the boobs or butt and now they are not even entire person they have just been reduced to a body part which is now looked at as an object. Even after a lot of women are aware of what the media does and how it is unrealistic it’s so embedded in our lives that a lot women will refuse to be different because they want to found attractive because they think that what the media is portraying is attractive. There was an episode on the on the Tyra Banks show where little girls were asked if they would rather be seen as pretty or sexy and they said sexy. With little girls thinking that they have to be sexy its kind of like them setting themselves up for less than their full potential.

drugss

Drug abuse presents a significant problem in America - especially amongst teenagers. Abuse is defined as habitual use of drugs to alter one's mood, emotion, or state of consciousness. Thus, the abuser spends money, causes barriers in families, as well as causes other conflicts to arise such as actual damage to ones health. Drugs such as tobacco, alcohol and over the counter drugs like cough medication are often abused because of addiction. Other drugs such as Marijuana and Cocaine cause significant damage not only to one's psyche, but physical structures as well. When individuals get hooked or addicted onto drugs, they start frivolously wasting money to get drugs to satisfy their addiction. Often the user spends money that their family depends on financially. This leads to financial adversity within the family because the money is used for unprofitable endeavors. The addict's spouse or children most probably leave the individual to help their lives, thus escalating the issue to a breaking point so the user takes refuge in even more drug abuse in order to appease their pain. In turn, the addiction forms into a vicious cycle, in which the user must go back to the drug because of their addiction. Not only does it affect the structure of the family, but directly influences the psyche of the children through the environment that they are constantly infused with. The children feel that it is acceptable to do contraband drugs since they perceive that their parents doing it makes it admissible. They also hear society saying its acceptable and brings change in their minds. Although the initial feeling of the first time exposure to a drug may wield a high, that feeling will never be obtain again. However, most addicts throw away their whole lives attempting to obtain their first time exposure to a drug, but its all for nothing. Thus, in attempting to pursue "fools gold," drug addicts loose everything they ever valued for something of empty value.

Procrastination...the worst

Procrastination runs rapid through everyone, there is no denying it. If someone actually tries to say they have never procrastinated before they are bold face lying. If you haven’t procrastinated before then what medication are you on to focus and how much does it cost? Procrastination seems to creep up when you know you have limited time and it’s something very important that needs to be completed. It’s so irritating how your mind can be set to finish that paper but that feeling just stops you from actually typing the paper. When you are in that state of mind the slightest thing can be distracting. God forbid you have to use the internet for the assignment because facebook will be right around the corner.(I’ve gotten so bad that I will automatically type in the facebook address when I really mean to go to a different website) Facebook is about one the most in genius websites ever created. If someone could add up all the hours I have spent on facebook in a life time I think I would probably have to really take out time to re-evaluate my life and then procrastinate on re-evaluating my life by being on facebook. But hey, refreshing your home page over and over again to make sure you don’t have a new notification sure does beat focusing on homework. Or even taking a quiz like “What type of alcohol are you?!” is more entertaining than doing homework or actual work. Procrastination always involves focusing on something that really won’t matter the next day and ironically the thing you are suppose to be doing will most likely matter then next day. Why as human beings do we have a focusing problem? Why does procrastination even occur? (I’m a firm believer that everyone has a slight case of A.D.D.)

Teen drinking is very bad. Yo i got a fake ID though!

They say your brain doesn’t fully mature until your 25. So they decided to make the drinking age 21. What? How does that make any sense?

The police can hand out as many alcohol citations as they want but they are still unable to control the outburst of teenage drinking. High school parties and just college life in itself are reasons for this underage drinking. When students go to college, especially a 4-year college, they are likely to start or continue consuming alcohol. Partying and drinking is a huge part of the “college experience.” So if partying and drinking is part of being in college, why isn’t the drinking age 18? Almost all of freshman, college students are 18 or above. Most of them live in dormitories their first year so a car is not in the picture. Meaning if a freshman was drinking during a night at the college, they would be walking or taking a cab home; eliminating the problem of drinking and driving. Also, I personally believe that some teenagers drink just because they can’t. The feeling of being rebellious is like a way to be cool so teenagers are rebelling against the law and drinking. Another loop hole to drinking is getting fake identifications. More and more teenagers are finding ways to get fake identification that gives them a way to buy alcohol. Teenagers are using older look-alike people for IDs or they are finding people who can create a legit looking fake ID. The creation of fake identifications is a major problem for the government in that it is a major violation of false identity and identity theft. Maybe if the drinking age was lowered to 18 there would be fewer problems with under aged drinking. If Obama wants to make a change, maybe this could be a good change to think about.

RACISM---WTF!!

Why are people programed to believe that one race is inferior or that one skin tone looks better? Who created this national stigma? How do we know that what we are told about "THE PAST" -- is actually what occurred or how much of it is true? Why do we hold certain racial tension against one certain group more than another? And why is it that certain ethnic backgrounds feel like they or we were treated more worse when from texts almost every ethnic background were mistreated, murdered, abused, banned from certain places and things but yet today it seems that one or few races only are focused on? I feel like its a bunch of bull crap yeah be mad if you want for that statement but I feel like its a social problem that only exists in minds of people that want it to. Being racist is a choice. Yes it can be taught through words and actions from loved ones growing up to pay attention to actions of others on the streets, but you pay attention to these actions because someone has previously brought it to Ur attention. Rather it be on tv, newspapers, protesters, or activists, it is still an influence behavior. That's just what I feel. I have seen from early childhood growing up in Washington DC--- so -so -so -so much racial tension between blacks and whites but even since I can remember--- and this was since kindergarten--- that I remember. People have always felt discriminated against in some way either by another race and even by their own. But it has never mattered to me the skin color or appearance of a person. Shit people of the same race as me can be ugly as shit. But who am I to say what an ugly person is supposed to look like. And have we been programed to think(key word think) that only certain people are pretty despite what race they are. See again a bunch of bull shit! I think people need to just imagine in their brain that maybe everything we say happened might not of happened the way we are told and were programed to believe. Its like the telephone game u tell one person something and by the end of the line its all screwed up. Its not at all the exact thing that was said. This is proof!!!! So common sense is--- if you have any that racial tension and racism was created, extended to false accusation primarily because of someones insecurity. A social problem.

Protesting Globalization

Protesting is a right we all have living in America. If we don't like the way something is being done at our jobs, we can go on strike. If you don't want to support a company, you can boycott it as a protest. A big protest took place in Pittsburg last week, when the G20 came to town. The G20 is where the 20 countries with the biggest economies meet up to make up their new policies (trading, political, economic). There were hundreds of people protesting, and hundreds of police in riot gear as well. As it usually goes at these types of globalization events, there were many arrests for vandalism (people breaking windows of McDonald's, Subway, etc.), and many more arrested for not obeying police orders. Even the students at UPitt were subject police intervention when they were present at an "unlawful gathering" on their own campus. The police used tear gas, pepper spray, and handcuffs for all who got in their path.
So why protest? The G20 is a part of the same economic structure as the IMF and World Bank, who are both organizations that can choke smaller, newly-independent countries with debt and forced economic policies that are best for the IMF and World Bank, not for the developing countries. Jamaica is an example of this. After Jamaica gained independence from the British in 1962, Jamaica decided to take a loan from the IMF, hoping to be able to get ahead. This loan, however, just made things worse. The IMF got to tell the Jamaican government how to spend their money in order to pay back the loan. But, the interest rate on the loan was so high, Jamacia's debt would only grow and grow. The poor suffered, and various American companies (McDonald's, Burger King, etc.) were brought in to "improve" the economy. The jobs these companies provide pay less than they do in America, and when looking at the 'big picture', you can see that these companies are going to be making a lot of money down there (just like they do here).

"bad doll","good doll' Which one is which?

I think we all remember the “black doll white doll video”, that was a true story based on a research done in by Kenneth Cole in 1954. Fifty years later a high school student Kiri Davis decided to make a documentary film to see what has changed since, and it is sad to say: “not much has changed”
Black people experienced segregation by whites, which contributed to a certain extent, to the low self esteem of black especially black women, but let’s be “real”, black women are degraded by black men, more than any other. if you don’t believe me, listen to most of the current Hip-Hop, e.g. 50 Cent “P.I.M.P” he goes: “Man this hoe you can have her. When I’m done I ain’t gonna keep her. Man, bitches come and go, every night…” black women are objectified and demonized by black men. Before we start blaming white for all that’s wrong with us, let’s correct what’s wrong with us. Let’s self love then we can instill self love, self esteem to our children. I realize that the society plays it part in this, but parent are the first to socialize children and they play a bigger role. Children should be socialized between the ages of 2-4 to understand culture and skin color, mothers can educate their daughters and instilling pride about their heritage and make it high priority around the home, teach their son to be respectful of women.
I am hopeful that one day there will not be “ bad” or “good” doll, but instead, there will be will both “good dolls”, I challenge you; let’s change one beautiful black girl at the time and let’s move on.I am not saying that racism is a thing of fiction but we have much bigger issues at hand that we need to face as Humans and as a society.

Surveillance

Since 9/11 we've seen the passing of the Patriot Act as lead to many erosions of rights. The ACLU has a webpage devoted to explaining which of our rights have been violated by the Act. Remember the Fourth Amendment? It's gone. The Patriot Act gives the FBI the ability to monitor you in every way without probable cause of a crime. Since then there has been over 1 million United States citizens added to the terrorist watch list.
The problem with this is these methods to not stop an attack from happening. If one does, we should expect to see more surveillance, more wiretapping, and so on. This cause and affect relationship is happening with regards to crime. Every year our government puts more police on the roads, and more people in prison, with little affect on crime. So the next year, they build more prisons, put more people in jail, and make the punishments for crime greater, but to no avail. Currently, there are more people in jail in the USA than in any other country in the world. As a response the police become more totalitarian. They must, because to them what they were doing last year wasn't working so they must be stricter.
The UK is quickly becoming a big brother country, with more CCTV cameras than anywhere else. And yet last year the chief of police admitted that they haven't deterred crime. The agencies there also monitor phone calls, and there are programs in the works to record all traffic from everyone's computers to create profiles of the citizens. This is being done not to deter a terrorist threat, but to keep better control of their system. And the people are compliant, out of fear. Their goal is to keep the system the way it is, to stop change. I've read articles about activists being arrested in masse for simply planning to protest. They were under arrest for suspicion of something or other.
The problem is surveillance on our own citizens will be vastly ineffective at combating crime or terrorism. As it gets worse they will increase these measures. The fear I have is that there may come a day when you cannot talk on the phone or internet and say something angrily about the government, a politician, or the country itself without having a knock at the door and asked to be interrogated. This is a free country we must be able to speak out against what we don't like, even in the extreme it is our right to question authority. Great change in this country has happened because of this ability. Imagine before we gained our independence that England had surveillance technologies that were able to keep track of the founding fathers phone calls, and cameras on the street corners. Our revolution would have been squashed from the get go, even if it was beneficial to the people, it would not have been to the government of England and it would have been stopped immediately. There have been many times that change has occurred in this country that wasn't in the best interest of the government but in the best interests of the people. With a vast surveillance system at that time, change may never have occurred!
The little protection Surveillance may bring to terrorism is not worth what it can take away from the people. We must be able to share radical ideas, we must be able to question the government without fear. We must maintain the ability to congregate for social change. There may be a time when the people want change but not the government, we will need our rights.

Benjamin Franklin a founding father that signed both the Constitution and the Declaration of Indepence once said: "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

Drinking Age

What is the point of having a drinking age in America? The drinking age in America was 18 less than 20 years ago. Today the drinking age stands at 21, and there is much talk about raising the age even more within the next couple years. Most kids by the time they’re 16 have at least consumed one whole alcoholic beverage. This age gets younger and younger as the “time’s change”. What I want to know is why are we putting an age on drinking a beverage? Many say that it is because the young aren’t responsible enough to handle a beverage that may impair you if abused. This is true in a sense; many teen crashes are caused by under-aged drinking while driving. It is true however that drinking while intoxicated does occur with many people over the age of 21. When you look at other countries however, who have not implemented a drinking age, you notice the fatality rate of drinking and driver is significantly less than America. So why is this? I believe this is because alcohol is not seen as something unattainable, there for desirable. Many kids in other countries as young as the age of 5 have an alcoholic beverage with every dinner. So kids in those countries do not view alcohol in the same way Americans do. When the majority of kids in America turn 21, they go out and get drunk with a bunch of their friends. Now if alcohol was in our everyday, then we wouldn’t feel necessary to abuse it the way we do, because it is no longer something you must achieve. I believe that if we took away the drinking age all together then we would lessen the accidents caused by drunk driving, and save many, many brain cells in the process.

The manly Man

Masculinity is the transition from boyhood to manhood. At that stage, the young man starts to mutilate and becomes stalwart. Indeed, masculinity is affecting our males due to its genetic gender, which allows a man to become dominant. Most of the crimes in the United States, in terms of vandalism, addiction, domestic violence are committed by men. Masculinity develops many others issues to appear masculine it require body and fitness, the need of attraction from the opposite sex and the crude emotional conduct. Masculinity has become a diseases that, not only attacks males but also females (Lesbian). "Masculine overcompensation is the idea that men who are insecure about their masculinity will behave in an extremely masculine way as compensation. I wanted to test this idea and also explore whether overcompensation could help explain some attitudes like support for war and animosity to homosexuals," "Masculinity-threatened men also reported feeling more ashamed, guilty, upset and hostile than did masculinity-confirmed men," states Willer's report, "Overdoing Gender: Testing the Masculine Overcompensation Thesis." Why do men have to put themselves in a higher position? It is wrong if a man take a role switch with a woman or even if a man ought to take the place of the female in the home. Men have developed this anxiety to be always being on the top. We are living in a patriarchal society where male dominance is particularly current. At a young age a boy knows that he has to grow up and be strong in order to take control. When they grow up their testosterone rises and they are always playing on the defensive and are they often become aggressive. Does masculinity shape a man? That question should be left to our male public.

What's real?

It seems like as the years go on the skinnier women get, boobs get ridiculously overdone, lips huge, and now butt implants! I mean come on has this world sunk so low to depend on looks and what is on the outside? Yea I could sit here and say I love every part about me, but that would be a lie. I am not so unhappy that I feel like I need to look like someone else other than me. Look at Marilyn Monroe; she was a full figured woman back in the day. What happened to thinking that was beautiful? As you see the years go on women in the limelight are getting to be like skeletons. Who is the one saying that if you look like this then you are beautiful??? I thought we were always taught to be who you are and be proud of that? I guess things are going to keep on changing and I just have to deal with it. I guess these images are taken from the famous people in our society. Who are those people who are going around judging who is more beautiful? They have that one magazine with “The world’s top 50 beautiful people.” What is there a job out there where you get to be God and judge who is better than? That really irritates me that our society is being consumed by so called “beauty,” when all it is just being fake!

Obesity

Obesity in America is on the rise and it is becoming one of the major health concern. The United States of America is the most overweighted nation in the world. The main causes of obesity is too much food and too little exercise. Too many American's adolesents and adults spend too much time in front of the tv, eating fast foods, and never exercising. Fast food is a major issue because it is so easy to stop and wait for five minutes to get your food instead of going home and preparing a meal. Fast food restaurants are on every corner and they are very tempting when you're tired and don't feel like cooking. Obesity's researchers have found that there are ten other reasons for obesity and listed are; 1. Sleep debt. Getting too little sleep can increase body weight. Today's Americans get less shut-eye than ever. 2. Pollution. Hormones control body weight. And many of today’s pollutants affect our hormones. 3. Air conditioning. You have to burn calories if your environment is too hot or too cold for comfort. But more people than ever live and work in temperature-controlled homes and offices. 4. Decreased smoking. Smoking reduces weight. Americans smoke much less than they used to. 5. Medicine. Many different drugs — including contraceptives, steroid hormones, diabetes drugs, some antidepressants, and blood pressure drugs — can cause weight gain. Use of these drugs is on the upswing. 6. Population age, ethnicity. Middle-aged people and Hispanic-Americans tend to be more obese than young European-Americans. Americans are getting older and more Hispanic. 7. Older moms. There's some evidence that the older a woman is when she gives birth, the higher her child's risk of obesity. American women are giving birth at older and older ages. 8. Ancestors' environment. Some influences may go back two generations. Environmental changes that made a grandparent obese may "through a fetally driven positive feedback loop" visit obesity on the grandchildren. 9. Obesity linked to fertility. There's some evidence obese people are more fertile than lean ones. If obesity has a genetic component, the percentage of obese people in the population should increase. 10. Unions of obese spouses. Obese women tend to marry obese men. If there are fewer thin people around — and if obesity has a genetic component — there will be still more obese people in the next generation. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/06/27/health/webmd/main1757772.shtml
Many Americans male and female does not exercise on a daily basis. Tv, video games, and the internet have taken their attention away from exercising or being involve in any type of activities. Many schools in America have taken physical education out or they have cut it down to a couple days per week.

Censorship - Why do we care?

If you were watching Saturday Night Live this weekend, you likely heard the inadvertent blurting of the f-bomb by one of the new cast members, Jenny Slate. I was watching, and I found myself not enraged but actually thrilled to have heard the word (though Ms. Slate looked like she was about to have a heart attack when she realized what she'd done.)

Growing up in America, I've always been a little bit bothered by this inconsistency of ours. We pride ourselves in our documents and in our culture for our tolerance, our freedom, our willingness to provide a safe environment for the open expression of ideas – unless you happen to say something that might be construed as offensive.

I remember the first thing that really shocked me when I went on a trip to Canada in my childhood is that the words to one of my favorite songs wasn't bleeped out on the radio, there. It made me wonder, you know? It's not as though Canada is falling apart at the seams because they allow 'naughty' words over their airwaves, and Canadians don't seem to grow up with any fouler of a mouth than we're accustomed to.

The mere fact that we allow organizations to impose such dire consequences for the use of language over public airwaves... that is what I find to be appalling. The FCC really shouldn't even exist in a country that prides itself on preventing censorship from occurring. I see absolutely no point in any of it, and I feel like it hurts our credibility not only in the eyes of our own citizens (it certainly did in mine) but also on a world scale. We really start to look like blustering hypocrites when we can't even stand by our own supposed idealogy.

So, bring it on, already. If we say we're for these lofty ideas like Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Press, Freedom of Expression – than we need to stop being whiny puritans about the whole thing, take our hands off of our eyes and ears and actually put our money where our mouths are.

Show the nudity. Show the gore. Quit it with the ridiculous amounts of bleeping and redubbing, and slapping 'violators' with fines or the threat of termination.

That's what our country is about, isn't it?

We're not supposed to give a shit.

Food Culture

After the class discussion on culture Tuesday, I was thinking about the part that food plays in culture. I’m not sure if we had discussed this, but it seems like a topic that is in the spotlight nowadays. Personally, I think the scrutiny is a good thing since our industrial food chain in the US has really run amok for sometime and we’ve let it.
The native foods of a region definitely say a lot about that culture, but what I’m really concerned with here is how we consume the foods we eat. When I say, “how you consume food”, I’m not talking about how you physically put it in your mouth. (Although that is diverse across different cultures) Really, I’m talking about how you acquire your food.
In the US, we like things fast and cheap and in excess. That’s sorta our thing and you can see it in how food is bought and sold here. Supersized meals, 99 cent burgers, drive-thru windows. When you walk into a restaurant, they’re immediately trying to get you fed and out the door, so they can turn around the table. But that’s okay, because that’s how we like it. So it works out well for the company as well as the consumer. It makes me wonder who started the whole thing. You can contrast this with Europe, where they expect you to sit, converse with your friends, and enjoy your food. They don’t even bring the check until you ask.
Lastly, I don’t know if anyone has read the “Omnivore’s Dilemma” by Michael Pollan, but he suggests that we don’t really have a food identity in the US. He also suggests that this “identity crisis” might even be a cause of the high rates of obesity in the US. It’s definitely worth a read if you can spare the time.

So Much Money

It seems like in todays society everything costs so much. We are in a recession, meaning our economy is down. You would think prices would then come down and things would become more affordable. Let me tell you, nope ,most things are still as expensive as they once were when the economy was doing well. The price of cars and homes have come down some. Yes, that true but most people are taking pay cuts to where they may of beeen able to afford homes or cars they cannot now because of pay cuts or lay offs. With the economy doing poor and people not being able to afford anyhting leads to people becoming homeless. here the ripple effect comes to hurt everyone. You can not even go inot a sotre now a day sand find a complete outfit under, realistically, hundred dollars. Shoes today cost a hundred dollars or more let alone the clothes. Familys are having a hard time as it paying bills let a lone buying things for their kids. With that kids may miss out on playing travel leauge sports because of the cost in drivng to games because of gas or becuase the leauge is so expensive. Not only are adults dealing with the expensive cost of things kids are to. Money really is the thing that makes this world go around. Regardless if you beleive that are not money is something we all need to suvive. So why dont we lower prices because we are all greedy. Its as simple as that even in this time of despair we just want and want instead of helping others out.

Telling the truth

It seem that in personal relationships people relay on the truth. It seems that individuals expect the truth. They want from each other the truth. In some instances, its the mind frame to "just know". But if you hear from everyone you encounter especially your loved ones, is knowing the truth all the time a good thing? How does it impact your future? How will it make you feel? Will it change your decision and maybe influence your behavior? I feel that there are alot of conflict based relations with individuals based on wanting to know. For instance, if you are in a committed relationship and you feel like something isnt right. What do you do? Do you ask for the truth? And if the the truth is something that will result in hurting your feelings and causing you pain, did you really wqant to know? However, on the recievers end-- Is telling the truth a good thing? Do you want to cause pain to the peron who you care about? How will it effect your future relations with that person. If you never say anything will the results still be the same? These questions rise important brain storming issues. They are issues we deal with every day with basically every person you deal with on a constant level. So if you meet new people should you always just start off on always speaking the truth? So that way you have a clear conscience and give off a sense of reality with both yourself and the other individual. If you start a relationship off on the whole truth "keeping it real" than you will never develop a sence of false hope on eaither end. Because in real life you have been keeping it real right?

Arranged Marriages

How would you like it if your parents had to choose your life partner? As some people believe that arranged marriages are successful, I believe that there could be many disadvantages of arranged marriages. In most of the Middle Eastern countries marriages are arranged by parents or friends of the couple. I think that because countries in the Middle East are not diverse as in the United States is why the divorce rate is so low. Also, the majority of the people follow the same traditions and culture which allows everyone to practice everyday living in the same way. It would be very easy to find an individual not following the norm of what the society follows. On the other hand, since America has a diversity of many nationalities, Asian Americans that practice arranged marriages seem to be unsuccessful? Marriage is a commitment filled with trust, love, respect, empathy, acceptance, and commitment. Love and attraction does not come to a human within one day of just meeting someone you have never known in your life. Usually in the Middle East couples are not allowed to date because it is considered a sin. however in today's society things have changed to a more modernized time where as some parents recommend one to two dates just to get a feel for what the opposite person is like. Instead of falling in love before marriage couples tend to fall in love after marriage because both peoples relation grows and comes stronger. In arranged marriage people go with the mind, information acquired about the person, assuring that a person will be taken care of for life. i feel as if arranged marriages are still being conducted so that the tradition of arranged marriages dont break for the upcoming generations. American born Asian's should not get arranged marriages due to the differences of lifestyles to an individual born and raised in the Middle East. Are these arranged marriages just to keep faith in the cuture?

Advertisement in today's society

Advertisement in today's society is to sell us what we don’t need, to sell us values, and to sell us concepts of normal. There are three significant aspects for advertising: 1) A persuading selling message, 2) prospects for the products or service, and finally 3) at the lowest possible cost. The first aspect deals with how to persuade people in believing that the product that is being advertised is absolutely salutary. The second however identifies which target group the commercial or the ad will be advertised to. Finally the last phase deals with the economical issues like how low the products price has to be in order to grasp the customer's attention. Advertising is designed for one purpose - to sell. To achieve this goal, advertises are willing to stretch and distort the truth, just to convince people to buy their product. In many cases, an advertiser may convince buyers to purchase their product by stating that it has been tested and found superior. In reality, the product is not likely to be better than any other. Our moral values are being degraded by the bombardment of impropriety by the media. The media and advertising images display what is perceived to be the perfect life. The models are beautiful and slim. Their bodies are fit and the couples are sexy and if you do not have the beauty or the sexy body, the advertisement have the products to fix it. The images on screen can make you feel like a failure if you are not beautiful, fit, the perfect car, and have the ideal mate. A lot of people do not have the perfect body, nice teeth, long hair, and nice abs. The media makes you feel that if you don’t have those things you are not beautiful or have the perfect body. A lot of times when you see someone else with the perfect body you get down about yourself. It kills your self esteem and you’re depressed. Sometimes it motivates you to turn your body into that perfect body. But majority of the time you’re jealous and afraid to show your body. When you’re out in public sometimes you might think the public see you as fat, lazy, and all you do is eat. We know in today’s society that most of the crap on screen is bogus, but for some unknown reason we rush out to buy the products or gadgets reaching for perfection. The media makes you feel if you live on the wrong side of town you are dysfunctional. The media also makes you feel that if you are overweight you are lazy, but don’t worry you’ll die soon unless you buy the muscle drugs to melt away the fat. There are cumulative effects of the media. Teenage girls that are fat and overweight have poor self esteem due to all the thin slim females’ models that are in shape. Young male thinks sports and sex makes them popular. Because the media plays a role in the life of everyone, we are constantly fooled with idealistic things that make life better. As a result, we are always trying to take the next step to get that one perfect thing.

Skin Color

When we were talking in class about different races and how poeple of certain races are treated differently here in America it reminded about how there is still discrimination among races themselves when it comes to skin color. I noticed in almost every foreign country light skin is always more preferable than dark skin especially for women. Men can still be found attractive if they are dark skinned but women on the other hand are considered ugly if they are dark. I think every skin color is beautiful and should be embraced by everyone. I've always encountered dark skinned men as well as light skinned men and they are both equally preferable. I've also talked to a lot of people who are intimated by lighter skinned people. In India, there are a plethora of lightening creams available for young girls to use and get a tone preferable to Bollywood actresses. It is unrealistic and absurd for everyone to be the same skin tone, and it should equally attractive and not discriminative in any way. I was watching the Tyra Banks show and it showed African Americans that were dark skinned and light skinned. Some of the light skinned people actually thought they were superior to dark skinned people. This was shocking because I did not know this existed in the United States. I went to the beach with some friends and they were passing the sunscreen with an SPF 75 to prevent themselves from getting darker and i found it very amusing because i thought they were using it to prevent themselves from getting sun damage. However, they did not realize the concept that being naturally dark was not something to be ashamed of because every color is natural and beautiful, a god-gifted color. Overall, as the quote says, "You can't judge a book by its cover," similarly, a person should not be judged by his skin color, and should be judged by what is inside.

The Man, the Legend

Michael Jackson was a legend. He accomplished so much in his personal life and was an icon of peace and love for his vast fan base spanning decades. One thing that struck me in is untimely death was that the news hounds did not rest in spilling dirt about him. It wasn't bad enough that they smeared his name when he was alive, but in his death they shed "light" on his alleged other son. I sat and looked at many of my friend's statuses on facebook around the time of his death and he touched so many of their lives. Listening to radio shows, so many callers phoned in to say how it was Michael who helped them carry on when there was no more hope or reason to keep going on. I didn't look to Michael like he was a spiritual leader or something, but his music demonstrated to me that the love and peace he sang about was possible. Even though there is war and poverty, he taught that we as a society had no right to turn our backs to injustices going on in the world. It's sad that he passed due to (now ruled a homicide) drug-related complications. Was he the King of Pop? Did he indeed surpass Elvis Presley? We might never know. But one thing is certain: Michael Jackson rocked the '80s and '90s.

"choose life your mother did"

I never understood why so many girls get abortions. I don’t understand why they can’t just use protection or get on birth control. I know and understand things happen but there are ways to prevent it. I feel as though people don’t have right to take life. I was driving today and I saw a bumper sticker and it said “choose life your mother did” and I was like damn and it really got to me because I felt like women don’t realize why they are here because their mothers didn’t choose to abort them and I feel like many people don’t see that. Girls have sex and get pregnant and certain situations come up like money problems or problems with parents which are understandable but why in the first place would you go have sex knowing the outcome. Everyone is educated about sex through middle school and high school. They are taught about different ways to protect themselves. I think people think abortion is the ok because it makes life easier for them. Abortions are not always safe they are harmful to the person that gets one it could cause a person to become sterile and not have kids in the future. I understand there are situations where it would be ok to get an abortion like if a girl was raped and she got pregnant and she didn’t want to keep the baby because of the pain it would cause her emotionally and mentally. There is also if a female is pregnant and the birth of the baby is going harm her or the fact there is something wrong with the baby. There are situations that abortion could be used for that are humane but I don’t think abortion is the right thing because when life is created it is not meant to be taken. It’s for it to grow and have life.

President Obama's school speech

so many critics were so worried about the presidents speech and I just thought it was ridiculous. Republican politicians were saying that the president would use this time to talk about his "liberal political agenda". Why would he do that? This speech was intended to inspire and push kids to take responsibility for their schoolwork not to sway them to one political view point or another. ( http://www.whitehouse.gov/MediaResources/PreparedSchoolRemarks/ )I think it's crazy that schools and parents were completely opposed to having their children listen to the presidents speech. He's the president of THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Maybe your child is slacking in school and this speech would inspire him to do better. I don't think it should matter whether or not you like the president, he is a smart man, in the highest position of power trying to help our youth get inspired to do better, to want more, to never give up. People these days are not looking at the facts and forming educated opinions, they just jump on the bandwagon of the political party they belong to or the views of their parents ect. On that note, what has happened to having respect for our president? I never liked Bush but I still respected him because we voted him into that position and he was my president.

the so called independent female

This may sound a little sexist but growing up in Africa i learned that a females role was really just to cook, clean, take care of the kids, and stuff like that. I also learned that females that were not at that stage of life yet were suppose to start developing characteristics and traits that would help them in those task. But when i came to America, i saw that it was different here. Females out here have a bigger role in society but with that being said they still exhibited the characteristics of a female with the goal of motherhood and all that comes with that. But that was then and this is now. the female of the present day is a whole different being all together. females now days like to refer to themselves as divas, boss, and "miss independent". Diva is said to be a female version of a hustler, while miss independent is a female that doesn't depend on males for anything. she got her own house, her own car, her own, and does what she wants whenever she wants. I'm not saying all females are like this but i would say from my generation down this is all what they striving for. At first i didn't mind the whole movement of the new female till it start effecting me personally. So not to long ago i start talking to this girl right. At first I'm like man this girl bad, cool, smart, and funny; So I'm sitting there saying to myself ima wife her. So one day i ask her how would you describe yourself in one word. Tell me why this girl called herself a diva. So being the nice guy that i am i chose not to hang up on her and i asked her how would she describe a diva. She started by saying as beyonce would "a female version of a hustler". then proceeded to say "I'm a boss, i do what i want whenever i want. i don't need no dude for nothing but for some fun every now and then. and sometimes now even that."and eventually she finished by saying" if he don't like it then he can leave, ill get another one". So the whole time while she talking I'm telling myself there is no way the girl just let those words come out here mouth. like here got this smart, beautiful girl , with a mindset of a dude. yo someone please tell what these females are thinking...

I've had discussions with people about the differences in males and females. They usually go well, with each of us leaving with a better understanding of things. I was speaking with a girl about boys and girls at young ages and their prefrences to things like toys, clothing, colors etc. We both acknoledged that there was definitely a trend in what girls like and what boys like. Our reasons for this differed. She claimed that there was no difference in the male and female brain at all. And that the only reason for these preferences is because society tells girls to like one thing and boys to like another. What struck me as odd was why she believed there were no differences. She had no evidence to support this, infact, I had evidence saying otherwise. There haven't only been studies on a psychological level, but on a biological level. Men and women's brains are different.(http://www.wisegeek.com/are-there-differences-between-the-male-and-female-brain.htm) She believed there were no differences not because of studies or evidence, but because she just simply wanted to believe that.
I'm big into evolution. So I like to think of things from an evolutionary perspective to get a better understanding of things. When I look at our primate ancestors, I can see that there are differences in the way females and males behave on a social level. They were born into a sex, and from the beginning shows social characteristics of their sex. They weren't pressured into it by parental encouragement, advertising, or peer pressure. In the simple primate life (excluding humans) males and females have certain roles they take to ensure the survival of their troop. This doesn't mean one is better than the other, people get that confused.
As in young monkeys and in young humans, we both show characteristics of our sex very early on. Girls are attracted to dolls, while boys trucks and mechanical things. Boys are more adventurous. One might argue that societies influence has already reached them at a young age. But I don't think so. At a young age of around 2-4 children are barely aware of their sex. I don't have anything to back this up but, I feel as if they would be too young to feel pressured into doing something girls or boys usually do.
I recently stumbled upon an article written about a study done on young rhesus monkeys and the results blew me away. Finally, some proof that we are drawn to certain toys and activities not because society pressured us to, but because our brains work in a different way so for whatever reason we find some toys and activities more appealing than others.
The study took 44 male monkeys and 44 female monkeys, and watched them play. They included certain gender specific toys, like dolls, balls, cooking pots, and trucks and certain gender neutral toys like a book and stuffed dog. The scientists then measured the time they played with each toy. They found that the males spent a significantly longer time playing with the boy toys than they did the girl toys. Likewise, the females spent a much longer amount of time playing with the girl toys. The males and females spent the same amount of time playing with the gender neutral toys. In a video of this you can see the female checking the dolls genital area, while the males were rolling the toy truck on the ground. (http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/108552)
Though I do think peer pressure and advertising pushes both genders to extreme of ultra-feminine and ultra-masculine behavior and looks, we are born with masculine and feminine behavior and preference. Back to this girl, she seemed to believe that any difference between a male and female meant inequality. She felt that any difference brought to light was sexism. This is not true, different does not equal unequal, it just means different!

Who gives you the right??

This nation has strict policies on speeding. Each state has various consequences for speeding but each state has speed limits. Police officers are the enforcers of these speed limits. If you go over the limit, then you’ll receive a ticket for it. Tickets are huge pains in the ass. You have to appear in court, pay a fine, worry that points may be added to your driving record, etc. Everyone hates getting speeding tickets. I hate getting speeding tickets. But there is one thing that I hate more than getting speeding tickets. I hate when police officers think they have the right to speed whenever they please. Speed limits on roads are there to protect people by regulating safe driving limits. So how can a police officer claim to PROTECT and serve? There is not one person who has not seen a police cruiser fly by them. Yes sometimes it is necessary for a police officer to speed but that usually entails an emergency and the police officer uses its lights and sirens to warn other drivers that there is an emergency that needs to be tended to. There is no reason for a police cruiser to speed when there is no emergency. Do they get punished for speeding? No.
One day I was driving down the highway and noticed a police cruiser coming up from behind me. I was going around 70 mph on a 65 mph highway. I pull into the right lane and the cruiser flies right by me going probably close to 80 or 85. As I get pissed and think that its bullshit that he has the right to speed, I decide to speed as well. I pick up speed to around 75 or 80 and just as I do so, I see that same cruiser pulled over on the side of the road running radar. I get pulled over for going 77 when he flew by me going closer to 85!! Seriously, who gives you the right?

Whats the deal with weed?

So the other day me and my friends were just hanging out just having a good time and we stared to wonder out of many times we have wondered, "Why is Weed Illegal?". All of us came up with some thoughts to share, but no one knew the correct answer to why it is in fact illegal. The one reason that it is illegal is because it is perceived to be harmful. Half-baked, Friday, Friday after the next, How High, Pineapple express and Cheech and Chong are all movies that revolve around the culture of smoking marijuana. I started to think if there were any comedy movies out there that influence the use of heroin, crack, cocaine or any other insane drugs. The answer is no, making the point that marijuana is not all that dangerous. People think it’s dangerous when they never look at how dangerous alcohol is. If you drink a lot, you may be in risk of getting alcohol poisoning, but if you smoke too much weed, you’ll just simply fall asleep. Also, it’s just a plant, it’s grown, and simply picked out of the ground and unlike tobacco, it has one ingredient, THC. So we were still wondering, why is it illegal. One of my friends said that the reason is because the government cannot tax it, but then we realized that tobacco can, and that if weed was legal it could be taxed just like tobacco. The government could be making so much money off of marijuana, but if they made it legal cops would be so bored, especially in Howard County. In health class years ago my teacher said that marijuana is a gateway drug and can lead to others, when in reality this statement is crap. Somehow throughout high school I managed not to become a crack head and I still would never mess with anything like crack or cocaine. Although no one really knows why it is illegal, it is, and it’s not going to be legalized any time soon.

Insecurities & socialization

Insecurities cause problems with socialization, I find that some people need to take a close look at how this can create problems for not only themselves but others. It was made really clear to me this past weekend. While attending a barbecue, a female created a big scene and embarrassment for her boyfriend as well as herself, due to her own insecurities. Trying to understand the situation, I began to observed this female very closely and reflect back on her interaction with others before the incident (where she began to argue with and fight on her boyfriend). I recalled that she appeared to have a attitude and had no socialization before or after the incident with females. I later found that her anger was due to jealousy when her boyfriend interacted with other females; as long he was talking with males she was ok, but when it came to females she would become extremely angry. But why? This man was with her and made it clear to everyone that this was his significant other. I feel that if a person is disrespectful enough to persue another relationship in the presence of their husband, wife, or significant other, then WHY would you be with them! Why is it that she felt so threatented? Was she insecure in the relationship, did she have low self esteem, was she jealous of attractive woman, or was it she didn't know how to socialize? Whatever the case, her insecurities caused for others
to feel uncomfortable to say anything to her or him. Her actions made her boyfriend appear embarrassed, angry, and anti-sociable (due to her actions he dared to move out of her sight). Im almost sure it caused a problem for their relationship and his relationships with others as well. What is it that causes a person to be so insecure with themselves that because they cannot socialize they don't want to see their husbands, wives, or significant others, socialize either?

What is wrong here???

I want to know why people find celebrities lives way more important to follow than the news that is going on in our world today. It really pisses me off that people are tuning in more to these reality shows Mtv cribs, rock of love, the biographies of so and so, rather than watching the news and learning about what is happening with us. I guess maybe it is more glamorous and filled with drama to watch these rich people buy ridiculously lavish things, or this one is cheating on that one, or this girl is now a lesbian. Who freaking cares! These things happen on a regular basis and I just really do not understand the obsession with these celebrities. Next thing you know people are following John and Kate’s split like as though it were a presidential debate that could change something. I think that some people live in a fantasy world and feel like maybe by following these celebrities dramatic lives it gives them something to look forward to because they may be lacking in their own lives. Look at it like this the next time you go over a friend’s house take a look at what is on the coffee table. My guess is most likely filled with People magazine and Us Weekly more so than Time and US News and World report magazines. It also could be a way that people can hide from the reality of what’s really going on in the world. I often think of how different it was back in the day when there was no television, no internet that people could consume their lives with other people’s problems rather than the reality of the problems that we face as a society. I feel as time goes on people become consumed with these celebrity lives rather than being educated and in tune with what is happening in our society. I wish we could go back to when simpler times when people didn’t care so much about sensationalism.

False Impressions

Many people do not understand what they say may hurt other people. I work with specail needs children with a range of disabilities and I see this everyday working with my students. Everytime I take my children out of their classroom into the so called" norm classroom" with "normal children" my children with disabilities are made fun of, looked at weird, and are casted out. People my ask why? or the children may not know and are to innocent to understand this? Yes i did agree with this, but when taking my students out, aduts, who we may think know better, do the same things that these young children in classrooms do. They will look at my students with weird expressions or laugh at them when they do something that may be "weird". My students are not different than any one else. They have feelings just like everyone else and yes they may not releieze that they are being made fun of, but people or parents of these children do understand.
When taking a couple of my students who are autisitc to the circus a woman had enough audacity to ask me to move my children because they were standing up moving and jumping. Yes, i know that child with the parent had the right to enjoy the show without my kids in his way. But, the way this woman asked was not necessary. She could of polietly asked me if there was a way I could have switched seats with them so her child could see. They paid money just like we did to see the circus. I tried to explain to the woman that my children were autisitc and when they are happy they may stim by jumping up and down or sceaming. She just looked at me and then proceeed again to ask if I would move into a different section of the arena. The way she looked at me saying this was in such a way that my children were not allwowed to be there because they had a disability. Why couldn't the woman just asked polietly or just listen to what i was saying. This was not the first time this has happened to me with my students out in society.
We take our children out in society so they can learn life skills. When made fun of, it doesnt let our children learn these skills it only puts them down. So my question why do people judge before getting to know my students? My students are just as smart as any other children. Yes, they may learn at different speed or just learn differently in general, but they play just like so called normal children play, they eat, they communicate, and most of all they have feelings to.

Generations

The other day I was at the mall with my mother and my grandmother. We were walking out of the food court on our way to the car. Right when we walked out the door we noticed a middle-aged woman, who was with her mother, waving at us. We looked around confused wondering who knew her, realizing none of us did we politely waved back. The middle-aged woman then proceeded to walk over to us. When she reached us she looked at me and asked “How old is she?”, with a huge smile on her face. At first I was confused as to who “she” was, until I realized she was pointing at my grandmother. I then looked at my mom confused as to why the lady was asking me, and my mom just smiled and answered “83”. The lady then smiled and pointed over to her mother and said “87!”. We just smiled and got into our car, and as we were driving off the woman took her moms arm and started waving and smiling at us. Now once we left, I right away found three things very strange about that situation. The first being; no one I was with knew the lady that had come over to us. Second, what had compelled her to wave over at us to begin with? Third, when she wanted to know my grandmother’s age why hadn’t she just asked my grandmother? This made me start to think about how our cultural treats certain age groups. For example, when you’re a child people will talk down to you in a “cutesy” tone, and maybe take your hand when mom or dad is leaving and wave bye. In your teenage years some middle-aged people could assume you’re sneaky and kind of feel on edge around you. As you start to get older you start earning more respect solely based on your age. Which brings me back to my third thought, why hadn’t the woman just asked my grandmother her own age? In a way, ignoring my grandmother and asking me how old she was, made me think back to whenever I would run into a family. Instead of turning to the two year old child to ask their age I would always ask the parents. So why did this woman see nothing wrong with ignoring my grandmother and treating her as though she was a two year old child, when my grandmother is fully capable of answering questions for herself. What through me off even more however, was that she took her moms hand and waved by to us, just like you would a child. I started to notice a common theme with this. I see daughters or sons talking to their elderly parents, almost like they were children, loud and slow. Our society always tells us to respect our elderly, but do we really mean it? Or do we just hope that when we start to grow old, that saying will help protect our sanity?

Teachers and Strippers

On most mornings I listen to “Elliot in the morning” on my way into work. One morning last week, they were discussing the issue of teachers that have worked as strippers. After our reading on socialization last week, I thought it might be a good topic to look at sociologically.

I guess the first question to ask is, “why are the lives of teachers so susceptible to scrutiny by the community?” The answer is obvious. Because they’re teaching our children more than arithmetic and reading, they are also teaching them to be functional members of society. In other words, they’re agents of socialization and important ones at that. In fact, after starting on this, I looked over the section on agents of socialization in the course text and found that teachers are mentioned explicitly on page 127. On page 132, the text talks about roles and role conflicts.

The roles of teacher and stripper conflict. In the US and in many other countries, we’re uncomfortable with open expressions of sexuality, especially when it involves an exchange of money. I think it’s reasonable to say that stripping is seen as immoral by many in America. If that is a fair judgment is another discussion, but we all agree that teachers are supposed to be upstanding members of the community. They address the hidden curriculum, teaching us to be productive people and also influencing our ethic. On the other hand, there are other activities that teachers could be involved in that may or may not be seen as acceptable by a majority. A pro gun-control parent probably wouldn’t like it if his children were taught by an avid member of the NRA. But membership in the NRA definitely wouldn’t be grounds for dismissal from a teaching position, as stripping might be. Why would we allow one situation and not the other?

A good teacher leaves their “controversial” beliefs at home. You could say the gun enthusiast would leave his politics at home. But couldn’t the same be said for the ex-stripper. If there is a role conflict, a good teacher should be able to reconcile those roles. Maybe by exiting from one role, as with stripping, or by not promoting individual beliefs, as with the gun enthusiast. Therefore, we should be concerned more with the teacher’s ability to recognize what beliefs are widely accepted and only bring those to the classroom. And, of course, the other primary concern is the ability to actually teach the academic subjects.

Why?

How many of us have been unlucky enough to flip through the channels and stumble across a show called Tiny & Toya? This show stars Tiny who's claim to fame is being rapstar T.I.'s "babies momma." Tiny was also a singer in former R&B group Xscape in the late 90's. Even less remarkable, is Toya whose superstardom comes from being rapstar Lil Wayne's ex-wife. My question is: Why is this a show? This show consists of a half hour of random nothingness and makes me question who's bright idea it was to give these two 'hoodrats' air time on what used to be a fairly good network. Why do people care about the lives of two has beens that are only know because of what their BETTER halves have achieved? Its' almost like teaching your son to shoot for second string on the football team and telling him as long as the starters play well he will win too without having to do SQUAT!! What message are we sending our teenagers who tune in every week unknowingly having their young minds turned to mush.In a micro point of view that teenager might be sitting on someone couch now vegging-out to some of that garbage right now. The values that you may teach them are being pushed to the side and the crap that is seen in the street is being reinforced. People then wonder why their teenagers make dumbass decisions and the first thing parents say is he\she should know better.On a macro point of view when people come from different countries an they see what American kids are watching they almost fall out of there chairs or either jump on their pc's an blog about how dumb American kid are. Personally this embarrassment makes me want to tell people I am from elsewhere.In conclusion, parents please spend time teaching your kids or BET and MTV will do it for you.

Idiocracy in America

We all know someone who has been ridiculed for being a “nerd” or a “fag”. Chances are, this happened in middle school or high school, when people are still trying to find their identity. But, whether they’re just a book-smart kid who plays chess instead of sports, or just someone who has their parents guiding their lives throughout their entire school life (cheap, outdated hand me down clothes, taking school extremely seriously, or just having a strange sense of how to talk to others), I’m fairly confident that someone you know has been made fun of for being different or for even being smart.

In the movie Idiocracy, our society’s typical “average Joe” takes part in a test experiment that keeps his body from dying when he enters a special coffin like pod.

When Joe wakes up in the future (the year 2505), he finds that every single person on earth has gotten extremely stupid and the English language turned into a hybrid of “hillbilly, inner-city slang, valley girl and various grunts”, as well as having giant corporations (Costco, Carl’s Jr., Fox News, etc.) controlling the entire population. Most chains we know nowadays have turned into legal prostitution rings (with Starbucks selling “exotic ‘coffee’ for men”). Water doesn’t even come out of water fountains anymore. Instead, a green Gatorade like drink (called Brawndo – The Thirst Mutilator) has replaced water in every sense that we use water today (except for the toilet water).

Although Joe can understand what the future Americans are saying, when he trys to talk to them (in an extremely normal and average way), they call him a “fag” and a “retard”.

Eventually, Joe uses his average intelligence to change the world and tells the people of the future that long ago, people that read and wrote weren’t considered ‘fags’ – they were even looked up to.

When I saw this movie, it hit me very hard in the sense that I could see this future slowly unraveling. In high school (10 years ago now!), I thought it would be ‘cool’ to skip classes and party all day. Meanwhile, at school though, teachers are doing their best to help the children learn things they need for college and 25% percent of the kids just laughed at the teacher’s face and did all they could to disrupt the class, which made the kids who wanted to learn, learn less.

It’s kind of hard to sum this up, and this blog is pretty fractured, but what I really want to say is PLEASE don’t be controlled by what your peers or the media and advertisers want you to do. Turn off the TV and video games, and start channeling your energy into something where you can help other people, instead of bringing them down. (Not that any of you do that anyway) J I just don’t want our society to turn into an idiocracy.

Yes, I Need Help

Why is it so hard to say those very words? Why is it so difficult for some people to stop and ask for help? Some people would rather go on and fall flat on their face then stop and just ask for help. Is it the essence of pride? Pride: A sense of one’s own proper dignity or value; self respect. I can understand in some situations how it is beyond difficult to swallow your pride. What I don’t understand is why some people are not able to do it in some of the simplest situations. Everyone has heard the cliché situation of a couple getting lost and the man doesn’t want to stop and ask for directions but the women keeps insisting that they should. WHY DOESN’T HE STOP ASK FOR HELP?! I don’t feel like in those types of situations it really jeopardizes a person’s pride or self respect. Some people will reject some one’s help just out of habit. I work at Zumiez (a retail store) and every time a customer walks through the door I have to ask, “Is there anything in particular you are looking for today?” The most common guaranteed and automatic response to that would be “No thank you! I’m just looking.” I can honestly say about 80% of the time the customer knows exactly what they came into the store for but would rather take out the time trying to find it themselves than actually ask me for help on pointing out exactly where the product is. Yes, there is the occasional customer who actually doesn’t need help but it’s less times then more. This brings back the question why can’t someone just say, “Yes, I need help?” How many times have you hid behind the words, “I’m just looking”?

Creating your alter beauty: plastic surgery.

Plastic surgery has evolves in the past few decades . Today it is not just limited on being a method used by people who wants to lose signs of aging .These days, plastic surgery has increase its numbers within teens of ages13-19 ; they frequently acquire surgery such as breast augmentation , male breast reduction , nose reshaping , botox , laser hair removing .Teens are forged into the psychoanalysis of our society due to their fear of rejection . These sociocultural attitudes towards the appearance of adolescents who feel the urge to look appealing to the public eye and to be accepted by their peers. Many people assume a good looking person automatically has to be intelligent, competent, pleasant, and healthier. we often see that, if two people are on a job interview, the one who is more likely to get the job is the one who is more alluring to the interviewer. Everyday we look up to personalities such as models, and celebrities that we often idolize, because of their perfect body, bone structure, shapes and facial beauty. our ego has became a part of our scholasticism which englobes both body , soul self confidence, and image .Everyone wants to look good and feel good about themselves , that is the reason plastic surgery is a compensation in our life.

Sensationalism in the Media - Are we going too far?

It's another day.

Plastered on the front page of most available newspapers and websites are reports of violence, misfortune, and all of the latest in politics and celebrity scandals. While not particularly pleasant topics, it's become something that all of us expect. You just don't pick up the daily paper or turn on your favorite news channel anymore with the expectation of being uplifted.

It is simple human nature to be curious of the things outside of our own experiences – that's why news exists in the first place, after all. Lately, however, there's been a growing emphasis on reporting the negative aspects in our lives and culture.

We're keenly aware of every celebrity that's died... how could we not be, when there's nearly twenty-four hour coverage on them, and several magazine special editions being released of their life story? Every politician whose tongue gets away from them is submitted to nearly instant scandal and public scorn, often forcing resignation.

Less surprising is that any tragedy that they can sink their claws into is instantly seized upon by the media and reported upon extensively. Who's been murdered today? Who's died in a fire today? Who's been robbed, who's been in a car wreck? Pundits rant at their pulpits on both sides of the table, stirring up not just support for their cause, but actively seeking to create hatred of their opposition.

Frankly, I feel it's all gone a little bit too far. For the sake of ratings and personal profit, we're being subjected to all of the worst of humanity without often being reminded that the good things in life exist.

This, I feel, is every bit as socially damaging – if not more so! - than anything you could point to. I feel that our media is turning a spotlight so brightly on violence, racial and class tensions, political tensions, that it's all that we can see anymore in America.

If you spend your entire day hearing about murderers, racists, thieves, the evils of the opposing political party – what will that do to your perception of your neighbors, or people you pass on the street?

In reporting so extensively on these topics, I almost feel like we're creating the very social problems we're so appalled by and... go figure, then feel compelled to report on.

What do you think?

Is racial socialization destructive or constructive?

Racial identity is assigned to us at birth, no one get to choose the race they want to belong to.
In our society, racial socialization is a major issue. Let’s take USA as an example since racism still exists in our society. Black folks aren’t born expecting discrimination; no one present you with a handbook on how you should behave.
I think that racial socialization can be constructive in that It can create resiliency in black community, because they are not given an equal opportunity, that should make them want to work even that much harder to beat the adds.
It can be constructive in a white community as they are expected to go to school and be successful and are presented with opportunities to acheive success.
It is mostly destructive as it creates hatred for one another, creates inequality…etc.
I think it is entirely unfair to be discriminated against based on race because you didn’t choose your race.