What is Race?

Race is just a social definition that we have grown so accustomed to that we believe it is biological. It is hard to believe but race wasn't originally based on skin color and in many places, it still isn't based on skin color. Race used to be based on where you came from. Your race was French, German, African... Now we call that your nationality because a lot of those people are considered "white" these days. In the late 1800s the Irish people were considered non-white. They were painted as drunken black people. However, today we look at an Irish person and we would call them white. I wonder if black people will ever be considered white? I really don't think so because we base everything off of skin color. You are only white if your skin is white. If you are black, Arab, Indian, or Asian you will probably never earn your whiteness. In America we define race with skin color. However in other places (like Japan) they define race by earwax. I remember this story of a black person talking about their identity. He just wanted to be called black, not colored and not African American. We created the word African American for black people but a lot of the time these black people are not from Africa. The boy said "I don't know why they call me African American, I'm not from Africa."

PS...Mr. Sal --> can you do your best to watch the episode about masculinity I gave to you or just give it back asap because the semester is ending!

From Rags to Riches, I think not.

This week we continued to discuss social class especially the immobility of the top rich and bottom poor. Throughout the middle class (upper, middle, and lower) there are a lot of opportunities and a chance for a lower class person to move up and for an upper class person to lose their job and move down. However, for the very rich and the very poor, it is different. In America, we tend to believe in equal opportunity. Our capitalist system gives people the chance to make it big. Anyone can go from rags to riches. Although everyone technically can go from rags to riches, there are many things working against these people. In class, we spent a whole day arguing about this rags to riches kind of scenario. People were saying how anyone can move up. That women living in a trailer in Ohio could make her life easier. She could move closer to Burger King, have her kids work, work two jobs, and my favorite of the suggestions: close her legs and stop getting pregnant! However, it isn't that easy. How is this women going to move. She doesn't have the money. Her kids can't work because they are in school. And of course, many pregnancies aren't planned. What is she going to do? She can't really do anything. She will be stuck in Waverly, Ohio for her whole life (most likely). Another example was the people in Appalachia. People were saying how they have no pity for the mom of the family. They were wondering why she chose to become a drug addict. When there is nothing for you in the world, you resort to drugs and then you become addicted. That's it. However, Mr. Sal didn't show the movies for people to feel bad for these poor people. He simply showed the video so we can understand. Understand what it is like to live in poverty. Although there are many stories of people rising from rags to riches (I'm not saying it isn't possible for that to be done), it is very hard. A lot of times you find yourself asking "What else can I do?" You might be a child with all these dreams to go to college and be successful. Yet, by the age of 18, you have been so physically and emotionally drained that you are hopeless. So, you resort to drugs and you get pregnant. The cycle then repeats with your own children. This is why the bottom poor most likely stay that poor.

Rich and Richer

This week we have been watching a movie about the lives of different classes. Currently, we are watching the part about the WASPs or the white Anglo-Saxon protestants aka the privileged rich snobs with old money. There is a huge gap between the rich and the poor. We looked at a chart and it compared the money people earned to different heights and the normal person stood 8 ft tall while the richest person would be as tall as Mount Everest. I never really knew that there was such a small number of very rich (income) and wealthy people out there. I mean, I watch plenty of TV shows that focus on the rich (Gossip Girl, 90210, Royal Pains) but I never knew that they actually made up such a small population of America. All of the actors and singers are only 1% of the population. However, we focus so much on them. As a society, we are interested in the rich because we value money. Thus, we like to watch television shows that focus on the elite. I remember reading an article in the summer about the TV show Royal Pains. Someone asked why it is getting so many viewers in these hard economic times. The response was that we Americans like to strive for money and we like to see rich people. Royal Pains was literally that 1%- these people lived in the Hamptons with these gigantic houses and very expensive cars. On Wednesday, Stevenson Gymnastics has a meet at Lake Forest. Wow, that school looks like 5 mansions put together. It is crazy big and extremely fancy on the outside. Lake Forest is Illinois' version of the WASPs featured in the video.

Drugs & Prison

I do not think it is fear that people involved with drugs are sent off to prison instead of rehab. These junkies get no help because once they are released, they have no support system to help them stay clean. They just go right back into their old habits. I'm thinking that the guy from 30 Days who was going through heroin withdrawal, will not lead a successful life after prison. He will probably just go back to doing heroin. It also doesn't make sense that people caught with marijuana can serve more years in prison than rapists and murderers. Drugs hurt oneself, rapists and murderers are hurting (killing) other people. Keeping the killers in prison is way more important than locking up the junkies. After reading the article, I know how inhumane the prison system is. The guards blame everything on drugs. When a person complains of feeling sick they say they are "dope-sick" or just going through withdrawal. Although this is the case sometimes, when that crippled man complained of an illness, they blamed it on the drugs. However, it wasn't drugs at all. And the man died because of that misjudgement. Prisons must reform and lock the right criminals up in jail. The prisons are already overcrowded, thus, they should just send the people involved with drugs off to rehab. The people in prison aren't getting much resocialization because all they do is eat and sleep. They don't do anything to reform themselves. That is why 2/3 of released inmates go back to prison.

When Do You Become An Adult?

Legally, you are considered to be an adult at age 18. The funny thing about age 18 is that it is so random. There are still so many restrictions. An 18 year old can go off to war but he can't have alcohol. So he is responsible enough to carry a gun but not responsible enough to drink? In addition, I think you become an adult when you are independent in all ways (financially, emotionally, ect). At 18, most of us are still living at home. Yes, we are most likely in college living in a dorm away from home but we don't consider that our home. We still have a bed waiting for us in Buffalo Grove. That home is the one we go back to on holidays, over the summer, or just to visit the family. Living away from home is when we no longer have a room in our parent's house. But, having your own place does not make you an adult. You also need to be financially independent. That means your parents aren't paying your bills and managing your home. The question is, how do we learn how to do all this. After college, we are expected to move out and be independent. Yet, it doesn't happen over night that we understand how to live on our own. We must ask our parents to help us. Maybe for the first couple months or so we still have our parents help us manage the house. Soon, we will be able to do it by ourselves. It is just like learning to cook or do the laundry. It is a gradual thing that your parents try to teach you before you go off to college. I am a little nervous to be on my own because I am very dependent on my parents. Possibly it is because I am the youngest child. My sister always mimicked my mom and took care of me as well. Because she could play "mom" she learned how to cook and do the laundry. My problem was that I had two moms doing these things for me. I got so used to it, I never bothered to ask my mom if she could teach me how to make real food (not just mac & cheese). Now that I am aware of this, I am going to do all that I can to watch my mom and ask her questions so I can someday be prepared to live on my own and become an adult.

Masculinity

In class we have been talking about the sociology behind school shootings. All of them are white boys who feel a need to re-establish their masculinity. Throughout the video and Kimmel's article I kept on thinking about the One Tree Hill school shooting episode. The writers got everything right. I watched the episode again and I really analyzed the sociology behind the episode. First of all, Jimmy (the school shooter) made a time capsule video about how much he hates school and all of social cliques. When the time capsule videos got released, everyone heard what Jimmy had to say. That night, he was beat up by a bunch of jocks. The next day, those same boys were messing up his locker and making fun of him. That's when it happened. Jimmy took out his gun and pulled the trigger. Jimmy quickly hid the gun and ran into lockdown rooms with the rest of the students. In his room, all of the people were discussing why somebody would bring a gun to school. Someone suggested that the person was crazy. Next, they suggested that they try to leave. Then, Jimmy took out his gun and proclaimed that nobody go anywhere. One guy tried to stand up to Jimmy and called him a fat-ass (hurting his masculinity). Jimmy asked a girl in the room if she even knew his name. She didn't. Jimmy said how he was practically invisible. Nobody knew he existed. His best day at school was when nobody said one word to him. That was depressing so he took some anti-depressants. For fun, he took 12 more. 2 weeks later when he returned to school, nobody knew he had been missing. Mouth (his former best friend) told him that things will get better and that he fix this. Jimmy got upset that Mouth was now trying to help because they haven't talked in years. Jimmy had no support system at school. He had no friends to turn to when things got rough. He thought that bringing the gun to school would make people notice him and maybe even respect him. I just think that this episode is a perfect explanation of why boys bring guns to school!

Gender and The Media

I am a huge supporter for Dove's campaign for self-esteem. I can absolutely see how the media has influenced girls to be skinny, perfect, and self-conscience. We see so many commercials in our lifetime and the majority of them have these perfect models or at least use words like thin, skinny, perfect in them. Unfortunately, girls don't recognize that the people they see on TV and the ads they see in magazines aren't even real. These people are photo-shopped to hide all of their imperfections. Recently, a Ralph Lauren model Filippa Hamilton was fired for being too fat when in all actuallity she is still very skinny for her height. She is 5 foot 10 and 120 pounds. She was fired because she didn't look the same in her ads as she did on the runway. That was only because her photos were extremely photo-shopped to make her look very thin.

Now, the media doesn't just influence women, it also plays a huge role in men. Men think that have to be strong, independent, powerful, and tough in order to be a real man. In order to assert one's manhood, some turn to violence. They see violence as a way to earn respect. Most school shooters are men and there is a reason for that. These guys usually feel left out or picked on. Thus, they feel that if they bring a gun to school people will be scared of them and stop. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3G2zSP32_A
Copy and paste the link above to see youtube video for an example of a school shooting (One Tree Hill episode)

Get the Grade

What's wrong with schools these days? Grades grades grades. That's all they focus on. And now, that's all I focus on. We don't go to school because we are enthusiastic about learning. We go to school to get the grade. It is not about if we understand the school work, it's all about the points. For instance we get extra credit for bringing in a box of tissue. We get extra credit for all these ridiculous things. But, I'm not complaining. I wouldn't be able to get the grades that I get without all those easy assignments. In class, we were talking about the Barbie and Beavis scenario. Barbie passes while Beavis fails despite the fact that Beavis actually knows more that Barbie does. I was completely lost in honors geometry last year but I ended up with a B because I did my homework. I got very low test grades which obviously showed that I didn't understand the material and doing the homework didn't help. I'm glad to see that teachers are starting to understand this obsession with grades. The only grades in my APUSH class are tests and essays. Thus, if we get an A, we really understand the material. O'Reilly is totally against extra credit for tissue and useless homework. Also, Sal is all about learning to learn not learning for the grade.

Dependent

Today we learned that humans need social interaction in order to survive and thrive. We were made to interact with other human beings. Thus, we aren't able to live on are own right away like most animals. It takes us many years to become fully human, meaning we are aware of our emotions, our instincts, our nature. When we become fully human, we can survive on our own. Yet, even then, we still ask for help. We will always need our parents and depend on them. If humans are so dependent, why do we value independence? Why are we so ashamed of asking for help? We are all human! We only survive by the help of others. However, as Americans especially, we value independence. We live in a fishbowl. We don't even realize the water around us, or the fact that we can only survive through human interaction. In the article we read for today, they talked about people living without social interactions. Studies showed that those people had very low IQs. When they began to interact with others, their intelligence rose rapidly. This reinforces the fact that we need each other.

Tuesday's With Morrie

This week we are watching Tuesdays With Morrie. Since we have been discussing American values, I was sociologically mindful and I especially paid attention to values during the movie. Although we have not finished the movie, I know that the number one value in this movie is time! First of all, Morrie obviously doesn't have a lot of time left. The movie talks about life and death. If you know how to die, you know how to live. As Americans, we live by a schedule. We know that at a certain age, we will die. Death is inevitable. Everybody is scared of dying. Thus, we do as many things as possible to prevent an early death- we exercise, eat healthy, play supports, spend time with family, laugh. Yet, we do all those things to prevent an early death, not to make the most out of our life. Morrie is trying to teach people that we should focus on living. Thus, he had a funeral while he was still alive, to once again stress life over death. The movie also mentions time in regards to Mitch's personal and work life. He needs time to finish an article, Jeanine doesn't want to waste anymore time with him, she doesn't have the time to wait for Mitch to finish working, Mitch doesn't have time to visit Morrie, Mitch's boss won't give him some time off to deal with personal issues, ect. As you can see, our lives revolve around time. Thus, I believe that time is the number one value that we Americans have.

The American ATM

American culture is all about money. I believe that money is the one cause for our impatience, individuality, and time-based culture. Everything revolves around money here. Time is money. We have to get things done as quick and efficient as possible or else we are wasting time. Also, we believe that we control our own destiny and have the opportunity to achieve great things because we get rewards. We would not be motivated if we didn't have rewards. Americans chose capitalism because there is competition and rewards. If we had a socialist economy, everyone's income would be equal and we wouldn't be motivated to be the richest and the best. I think Americans are so influenced by money because we value it so much. America was born because of money (issues over taxation). Money is limited. Money buys luxury items. Money is success. Those are all reasons why we value it so much. We now love to watch TV shows about people with money or at least successful people. I read an article responding to USA's new show "Royal Pains." It answered the question of why people watch the show when it is so unrealistic in this economic recession. The answer was that money makes people happy. It sort of acts like an escape from reality. When we watch a show about a bunch of rich people (Gossip Girl, Royal Pains, 90210...), we get happy. We simply enjoy watching rich people. It motivates us to work hard to get rich.

Culturally Relative

This week in sociology we studied cultural differences around the world. One thing we talked about was the different hand gestures that people make. Sal mentioned the gesture/sound the Japanese make when they are embarrassed or don't want to say no. My student teacher in french is Asian. He has only been in the U.S. for a couple of years. Everyday in class he always does that gesture/sound Sal showed us. He does it when we asked him question that he possibly didn't know the answer to or when he was just simply thinking. All of us were really confused about that gesture. We were also starting to get a little annoyed too because it happened every day more than once. However, now, I understand it and respect it. I know that he is nervous when he teaches and his way of teaching is so different from the way we are used to. His way of expressing uncertainty or embarrassment is normal for his culture, but it isn't normal for us. I guess I was being a little ethnocentric by mocking his hand gestures, but now that I understand what it means, I am culturally relative. Everybody has different ways of communication- writing, speaking, and using hand gestures. Every culture also has different norms. We talked about all the different kinds of toilets in class. When I was in France, I noticed that the bathroom is separate from the actually toilet. The toilet room is just a small room with only a toilet and that is it. The bathroom has everything else. It took a while to get used to it. I would go to the bathroom to expect a toilet but realize the real toilet is across the hall. When I think about it, it makes a lot of sense. If you translate the word "bathroom" literally it means I room to bathe in, not do your business in. That is why in France, you ask 'ou est les toilettes? meaning where are the toilets. If you want to ask for the bathroom, you use a different expression. All these other countries- France, Japan- they are so much cleaner than the U.S. Wow, we should really learn from those countries and transform our "bathrooms" into clean and germ-free places.

A Bronx Tale

While watching "A Bronx Tale" I really understood how it relates to sociology. The movie explained how the people around you influence you differently. Calogero's neighborhood has socially constructed their own reality. Because Calogero (C) lives in a very racist neighborhood and hangs out with extremely racist friends, he is unintentionally influenced by them. As hard as he tries to treat everyone equal, when he got in a fight with Jane's brother he made a racist comment. He didn't mean to, but it just slipped out since he is so accustomed to hearing his friends and his neighbors talk like that. C's roles in each group he belongs to are actually very similar. With his friends, with Sonny, and with his dad C acts as a bystander. He tries to not get into trouble, but he doesn't back away from the fights either. I feel like he really wants to share his mind, but something is just holding him back. This is probably because of how and where he lives. Nobody wants to be seen as an outsider or less of a man. In addition, I was really surprised to see how beneficial the relationship between Sonny and C is for both of them. Sonny keeps C in line while C makes Sonny feel more human, and less of a respected/feared figure. Sonny and C's relationship reminds of "A Gang Leader for a Day" when the gang leader befriends the interviewer. As C starts molding into his own person and stops worrying so much of what others think of him, his statuses change. I starts dating a black girl, something his neighborhood would never think of doing. He also stands up to Sonny and starts to "love" him rather than "fear" him. Finally, he starts to disobey his father. C is breaking away from his socially constructed reality and is building a new reality for himself.

Ascribed Status Fading Away

In class we talked about the many groups you can be apart of. Once you put yourself in that group, you define your status. We said that an ascribed status is something involuntary- you are born with it. This really got me thinking because even if you are born as or with something, you can always change it nowadays. You can convert to another religion, dye your hair, wear color contacts, reconstruct your face, change genders, and you can even runaway or emancipate from your family. So, why do sociologists even include ascribed statuses? Although you were born with this status, it has no importance to you anymore. I feel that statuses (especially a master status) should be important to you and you should want to have that status. Today, we are able to change any part of our lives because we are free to make our own decisions. Because we have free will, we create our own statuses. We make decisions that shape the way we live our lives. Thus, I believe that we place ourselves in groups voluntarily. We are never forced to stay in one group- there is always a way out. Centuries ago, people didn't have a way out of their group. In many third world countries people are stuck with their ascribed status. With modern medicine and technology, we Americans living in 2009 can always change our statuses. Whether you can change your status or not all depends on your culture, where you live, and what time you live in.

The Social Construction of Reality in School and in "Lost"

I thought today's lesson was very interesting. It made me think how everything we do was based off of one person saying it was socially expected. For instance, everything about school was created by the people. We have a bell that dictates how long we are in each class for. Our day is revolved all around time. At 1:47, sixth period ends on a second day of the week schedule. RANDOM. Also, we were trained from the start to go into our classes and wait for the teacher to stand in front of us and talk. Now I understand why Mr. Sal began our class with the awkward silence. The lesson about F-227 also got me thinking about the TV show "Lost." They were stranded on this island and knew that rescue would never happen. So, they created rules and organization. They had the hunter and the leader. In addition, everyone's backgrounds were deleted. It no longer mattered that Kate was a felon, Sawyer was a con-man, Charlie was a drug addict, or Locke was a paraplegic. They created their own destinies now that they were detached from the real world. However, when six of them were found, they too decided to keep their experiences on the island a secret (just like the survivors of F-227). All the strange and mysterious events were too out of the ordinary for the norm to handle. Yet, the people on the island grew accustomed to the oddness of the island. The Social Construction of Reality is different all over the world because of our traditions, morals, and culture.

Sociological Mindfulness in Walter Pater's "The Renaissance"

For AP English, we had to read Walter Pater's conclusion to "The Renaissance" and see how his philosophy is reflected in The Picture of Dorian Gray. When I was reading, I noticed how Pater talked about embracing new ideas by "curiously testing new opinions and courting new impressions." He also says that "Philosophy is the microscope of thought" because it lets you see and appreciate theories that would otherwise pass unregarded. I believe this quote sums of sociological mindfulness because if you are sociologically mindful, you can learn and respect new ideas that you find in philosophies. Pater also talks about how experiences help us "see and touch" these theories. By being sociologically mindful, you spread what you learn and experience to others. Pater is being sociologically mindful by telling his readers to take time and experience the philosophies because "to burn always with this hard, gemlike flame, to maintain this ecstasy [of pleasures from learning and observing new things in life], is the success in life." Although I am not sure how well this relates to The Picture of Dorian Gray (besides going into hedonism and Lord Henry's myriad of philosophies), I do know that this article is all about sociological mindfulness!

Who Am I?

I'm a Junior at a very large high school. I've been doing gymnastics since I was 3. I'm on varsity gymnastics at my school. My freshman year, we got second place at state. Last year, we had an undefeated season and were the state champions! I love all things pop culture and entertainment. I go on perezhilton.com to learn about all the celebrity gossip. I love television. I watch so many shows including: Gossip Girl, 90210, Brothers & Sisters, Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Lost, and more! This year I'm planning on adding three more shows to my long list: Melrose Place, Flash Forward, and Vampire Diaries. I love the Harry Potter books and the movies as well. I also love to listen to alternative/pop rock music. My favorite bands are The Maine, Cobra Starship, All Time Low, A Rocket to the Moon, The Summer Set, and Eye Alaska. My family is very important to me. I have a brother and a sister both in college. I also have a chocolate lab puppy named Sadie. Because I do gymnastics and watch a lot of TV, I've learned to manage my time very well. My friends and family make me the person I am today: funny, caring, and responsible. I hope this year is fun and successful. I can't wait to learn more in Sociology :)