Who am I? An intriguing question, Mr. Salituro...
This class has broadened my horizons in regards to race, class, and human interaction in general. I feel that what we have learned from this class can be integrated into any part of life. Human interaction is an important part of anybody's life, regardless of occupation. Sociology is to psychology as anatomy is to physiology.
Sociology class has taught me to observe different situations from different angles. Every person's life experiences and personal background effects how they react to situations. As sociology class comes to a close, I also finish high school. I feel that I experienced this class at a very appropriate time in my life. I am graduating high school and beginning college and my adult life. I feel that my adult life will be effected positively from what I have learned in sociology. Being able to see the world through different lenses will surely benefit my future interactions with people.
Sociology also increases a very sought-after developmental trait: Tolerance. Learning about different cultures, classes, and why people do what they do makes one more accepting of those around them; people fear that which they do not understand. Therefore, becoming educated on matters of cultures, races, classes, religions, groups, and human behavior makes one more worldly as opposed to if one had simply memorized facts. Sociology is a learning experience and not just a memorization of facts.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Explicit and Implicit Racism
One may think that we, as a nation, have gone beyond racial issues; race is no longer a factor, right? We're all equal... Not so much.
Thankfully, I haven't witnessed much explicit racism growing up in Buffalo Grove. This is a relatively civilized and diverse region. I have friends of all races and religions here in BG. My Jewish friend who went off to college in Carolina said that she was the first Jewish person that many of her classmates had met. Most were accepting of her, but she did get some ridiculous and unintentionally offensive questions.
Is it racism if the person who says something offensive about another's race does so with no bad intentions? For example, my friend was told, "Your nose is much smaller than I would have imagined." The speaker did not intend for this to be offensive, but it was.
Implicit racism, on the other hand, is still very common; it's more a product of the subconscious than outright, explicit racism. Implicit racism is more like looking through a racial lens, as opposed to outright disliking a certain race. It is important to be mindful and ask oneself why one acts the way that they do. There's a chance that one might be acting, or speaking, with implicit racism.
Thankfully, I haven't witnessed much explicit racism growing up in Buffalo Grove. This is a relatively civilized and diverse region. I have friends of all races and religions here in BG. My Jewish friend who went off to college in Carolina said that she was the first Jewish person that many of her classmates had met. Most were accepting of her, but she did get some ridiculous and unintentionally offensive questions.
Is it racism if the person who says something offensive about another's race does so with no bad intentions? For example, my friend was told, "Your nose is much smaller than I would have imagined." The speaker did not intend for this to be offensive, but it was.
Implicit racism, on the other hand, is still very common; it's more a product of the subconscious than outright, explicit racism. Implicit racism is more like looking through a racial lens, as opposed to outright disliking a certain race. It is important to be mindful and ask oneself why one acts the way that they do. There's a chance that one might be acting, or speaking, with implicit racism.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Social Classes Documentary
The documentary that we watched in class observed the differences between the lives of people from different social classes. One lady made it her career to teach people how to integrate into different social classes. That shows how intricate and difficult for an outsider to pick up on some of the details of social classes are.
Tammy worked hard to keep her family afloat, but they were still going nowhere. It made me wonder why her sons weren't doing anything. They could be working and helping their mom. How can you watch your mother work like that and just sit like a bum all day? I don't know how Tammy got to be so poor, but her children were obviously born into it; she probably was too, to a degree. The children's upbringing obviously doesn't help them, but their laziness doesn't either. Except for the one who got all of those awards. But he's very self-centered and is even openly ashamed of his family.
The very rich spectrum pointed out not only the differences between the social classes, but the differences between old and new money. Two people could have the same amount of wealth, but they would be in completely different social classes. The old money people were ridiculously pretentious, despite the fact that most of them had the money handed to them. New money people tend to flaunt more, but that's because they put in the work to get their own money and they know what it takes.
Tammy worked hard to keep her family afloat, but they were still going nowhere. It made me wonder why her sons weren't doing anything. They could be working and helping their mom. How can you watch your mother work like that and just sit like a bum all day? I don't know how Tammy got to be so poor, but her children were obviously born into it; she probably was too, to a degree. The children's upbringing obviously doesn't help them, but their laziness doesn't either. Except for the one who got all of those awards. But he's very self-centered and is even openly ashamed of his family.
The very rich spectrum pointed out not only the differences between the social classes, but the differences between old and new money. Two people could have the same amount of wealth, but they would be in completely different social classes. The old money people were ridiculously pretentious, despite the fact that most of them had the money handed to them. New money people tend to flaunt more, but that's because they put in the work to get their own money and they know what it takes.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Social Classes Documentary
We're watching a movie on the differences between people of different social classes and the differences between the lives that they lead. The gap between very rich and very poor is massive. While some people get by in shabby conditions paycheck to paycheck and without a dollar in the bank, others have anything that they want and will still leave millions to their children.
I feel that the old money rich people are very artificial and pretentious. If any one of them doesn't follow a certain norm that they're "supposed" to follow, they will be looked down upon and talked about behind their backs. Subtle details, such as shoulder level when speaking to someone, and what kind of fork you use, mean a lot to these people. They're really insignificant details. This just shows that they have so much time on their hands, all they can do is obsess over things like this. Had these people not been born into wealth, most of them would have been incapable of acquiring it on their own. I respect those who earn their money. It's unfair that some can do nothing and live lavishly while others work night and day and barely get by. But that's how life is and it's not changing soon. All that one can do is try their hardest to make it on their own.
I feel that the old money rich people are very artificial and pretentious. If any one of them doesn't follow a certain norm that they're "supposed" to follow, they will be looked down upon and talked about behind their backs. Subtle details, such as shoulder level when speaking to someone, and what kind of fork you use, mean a lot to these people. They're really insignificant details. This just shows that they have so much time on their hands, all they can do is obsess over things like this. Had these people not been born into wealth, most of them would have been incapable of acquiring it on their own. I respect those who earn their money. It's unfair that some can do nothing and live lavishly while others work night and day and barely get by. But that's how life is and it's not changing soon. All that one can do is try their hardest to make it on their own.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Drugs Activity/"Justice" System
The government justifies making certain substances illegal by claiming that they are helping the public by eliminating something that can hurt them. The activity that we did in class showed that
some drugs that are illegal are much less harmful than some that are completely legal. If you take a look back to the history of illegal drugs, and at legal onces, such as nicotine, alcohol, and caffeine, you'll see that the legality of drugs is based on the government's economic and political interests.
A politician running for office and promising to "crack down on drugs" is going to automatically get votes from ignorant soccer moms. Politicians just say what the public wants to hear
; they are basically afraid to govern or campaign based off of personal opinion because of intense political competition and constant reelections.
Anyways, I think that all drugs should be legal. It's a person's own business what they put into their bodies. Public intoxication and ingestion of drugs should be illegal, though. I don't want to breathe anybody else's cigarette smoke and I wouldn't want my kids to see people doing lines a table over at restaurants. Not even so much to see them, but I wouldn't want intoxicated people
, off of anything, in the same place as my children.
But anyways, if the government's logic is that harmful things should be illegal, then alcohol and tobacco should be illegal as well. And why stop at drugs? When a little emo boy gets caught cutting his wrists, he should be tried as an adult and sent to prison. Am I right? He's harming himself and is therefor unfit for society. No, he gets counseling. Then why shouldn't a drug addict get counseling? Why should they be imprisoned and forced into potentially-dangerous withdrawal? But what if the drug user is content being a drug user? That's cool, too. Leave him alone, I say. If somebody isn't harming anyone, then it's nobody's business what they're doing.
some drugs that are illegal are much less harmful than some that are completely legal. If you take a look back to the history of illegal drugs, and at legal onces, such as nicotine, alcohol, and caffeine, you'll see that the legality of drugs is based on the government's economic and political interests.
A politician running for office and promising to "crack down on drugs" is going to automatically get votes from ignorant soccer moms. Politicians just say what the public wants to hear
; they are basically afraid to govern or campaign based off of personal opinion because of intense political competition and constant reelections.
Anyways, I think that all drugs should be legal. It's a person's own business what they put into their bodies. Public intoxication and ingestion of drugs should be illegal, though. I don't want to breathe anybody else's cigarette smoke and I wouldn't want my kids to see people doing lines a table over at restaurants. Not even so much to see them, but I wouldn't want intoxicated people
, off of anything, in the same place as my children.
But anyways, if the government's logic is that harmful things should be illegal, then alcohol and tobacco should be illegal as well. And why stop at drugs? When a little emo boy gets caught cutting his wrists, he should be tried as an adult and sent to prison. Am I right? He's harming himself and is therefor unfit for society. No, he gets counseling. Then why shouldn't a drug addict get counseling? Why should they be imprisoned and forced into potentially-dangerous withdrawal? But what if the drug user is content being a drug user? That's cool, too. Leave him alone, I say. If somebody isn't harming anyone, then it's nobody's business what they're doing.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
The Rise and Fall of the American Teenager
This article left me amazed and amused by how far people will go to keep up the appearance that everything is okay. This girl nursed a child inside of herself for nine months only to give birth at her senior prom and dump the baby into a trash bag. Didn't she feel any type of maternal connection with the child after enduring the hardships of pregnancy for nine months? Or perhaps she was indirectly angry with the child due to the misfortunes that her pregnancy has brought upon her.
I find it very difficult to believe that this story is completely true. I just can't imagine the parents that watch their daughter go from zero to nine months of pregnancy without noticing anything. And if not them, at least her friends or teachers would have noticed something. And how about when she walks into the bathroom and walks out completely different? There are just too many variables to even consider this...
Next is the fact that she risked her own life and gave up the life of her child just to keep anybody from finding out that she was pregnant. If she had just told her parents, yes it would have been uncomfortable for a while, but at least she would not have had to kill her own child. I can't think of much worse than that...
The article also explained how the "teenage brain" and the "adult brain" do not exist, but rather, the brain is constantly developing and changing. There are just many common variables, mental and physical, that generally occur around certain time periods for people. I thought that this was common sense and needed no explanation. The body and mind have no idea how many calender years they are. They develop at their own, hormonally and environmentally-dictated pace. But laws are formed around ages because it would be practically impossible to measure maturity for every single individual.
I think that it's important to do what you feel comfortable doing at your age, because only you truly know what you're ready for. But be careful not to try and act "all grown up" when you're not. The consequences of failure could be permanent.
I find it very difficult to believe that this story is completely true. I just can't imagine the parents that watch their daughter go from zero to nine months of pregnancy without noticing anything. And if not them, at least her friends or teachers would have noticed something. And how about when she walks into the bathroom and walks out completely different? There are just too many variables to even consider this...
Next is the fact that she risked her own life and gave up the life of her child just to keep anybody from finding out that she was pregnant. If she had just told her parents, yes it would have been uncomfortable for a while, but at least she would not have had to kill her own child. I can't think of much worse than that...
The article also explained how the "teenage brain" and the "adult brain" do not exist, but rather, the brain is constantly developing and changing. There are just many common variables, mental and physical, that generally occur around certain time periods for people. I thought that this was common sense and needed no explanation. The body and mind have no idea how many calender years they are. They develop at their own, hormonally and environmentally-dictated pace. But laws are formed around ages because it would be practically impossible to measure maturity for every single individual.
I think that it's important to do what you feel comfortable doing at your age, because only you truly know what you're ready for. But be careful not to try and act "all grown up" when you're not. The consequences of failure could be permanent.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Aikido: The Way of Harmony of Energy
I thought that what Sal told us about Aikido very interesting. It really clicked when he showed an example using Jimmy as a mock attacker. I think that the basic principles of this martial art can be applied to everyday life. In Aikido, you use the negative energy of your attacker against them. While your own power may be limited, and not sufficient in overpowering your opponent, your opponent's own power is surely enough to overpower him, and drain him of his negative energy.
When you encounter a negative or difficult situation in life, you could, and sometimes should, try to face it head on; but you'll often be overpowered. But if you learn to manipulate situations in your favor, life becomes much easier. Basically, this is taking an advanced look on a "glass half full" mentality. This goes to show how some martial arts go far beyond the physical aspects and impact your entire life and how you live it.
When you encounter a negative or difficult situation in life, you could, and sometimes should, try to face it head on; but you'll often be overpowered. But if you learn to manipulate situations in your favor, life becomes much easier. Basically, this is taking an advanced look on a "glass half full" mentality. This goes to show how some martial arts go far beyond the physical aspects and impact your entire life and how you live it.
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