Final

By me wanting to own a non-profit organization is considered deviant considering a lot of people my age probably wouldn't choose that as their career. People challenge the idea and mention how difficult it would be, but I am determined to do it. I really want to serve in many different countries helping varying problems. Sociology has affected the way I think while observing others, to not make judgements, to notice how we are taught to think and how we are socialized, and to omit racial comments or jokes. I've also learned the differences in cultures, and how America is so different yet we think we're so normal. I've noticed how much Sociology comes into play in the real world and how active it is. The way people act and interact is interesting. We have completely been taught to think a certain way because of society and the media has a huge subconscious impact on us. I've also noticed how people make automatic generalizations about people and their cultures. From taking Sociology, I've noticed how prevalent all of the things we talk about are. I have become a more sociological mindful person. 

Implicit vs. Explicit

An example of implicit racism from Crash would be when Sandra Bullock and her husband were walking along the sidewalk and when she saw Luda and his friend, she instantly held her purse tighter and moved the other way from them. An example of explicit racism would be when the white cop shot Luda's friend in his car because he thought he was going to pull out a gun. Another example would be when there are derogatory terms used. I think the hidden nature of implicit racism has the potential to be as volatile as explicit racism because you're still thinking and assuming the worst, yet not acting on it. Implicit racism turns into explicit racism when fear and panic step in, explicit racism is just the act of implicit racism. It is valuable to be aware of implicit racism so that it can be prevented. Implicit racism is apart of me because of where I grew up, and probably partially because of crimes or stories I've heard. Society shapes our views of race because of social norms, our surroundings, movies, and even advertisement.

Race

In class while looking at the different hate groups in America, I was shocked. I didn't know people still had that much hate for different races today. It's really sad how people are so ignorant and close-minded to different people and their cultures. When thinking about it, I don't think I've experienced any explicit racism such as these hate groups. I have heard many people use derogatory terms against different races, but then again who hasn't? Which that in itself is sad. I found it interesting that someone's race could change if traveling to a different country. Race isn't a biological trait, it's more of a perception and based off of social construction. It was surprising to hear the names people in other countries have for our "white and black". It made sense in a way because their classifications are more specific. If people were more open-minded there would be barely any racism or exercised hate.

Lyfe

The movie we watched in class about living on minimum wage was surprising. It's really hard to do anything with just the income of 6 or 7 dollars. The reading about Barbara, the journalist experiencing the life on minimum wage was shocking.as well. Her journey was definitely an adventure as she met many different people at her new jobs. The employees at the Hearthside and Jerry's living conditions were terrible. They had great trouble in making ends meet. To get out or poverty is very difficult because of the way our society and the system is set up. People's perceptions of people living in poverty is negative and they're not given much credit. People don't realize how difficult their circumstances are. When I was reading this chapter and watching the movie, I was shocked about the stories and how hard it is to live comfortably when you only get minimum wage. It made me more grateful for where I'm at and what opportunities I have.

Poverty

While watching the movie about Tammy and her sons who live in Pike County, Ohio, I was amazed at how bad their conditions were. Every room was tiny, they threw junk that had no place in the overgrown grass surrounding their home, and Tammy had to walk a ridiculous amount of miles to get to work at Burger King. Her goal is to become a teacher, yet I'm not sure that dream will come true. She was born and raised in poverty and for her to get out of poverty would be very difficult just because of the way our society is set up. Her son has large dreams also, aspiring to be an architect or lawyer. For them to reach these goals, they would probably have to know people who are successful who could help them get reestablished, or have a rare chance where they're recognized and then become successful and well known. We always hear these stories of famous people who were poor at one point and then this rare opportunity came up where they became famous. It is possible, but it's rare. Also the fact that they aren't very educated gives them more difficulty in progressing. It's sad that there is such a large gap in America between the rich and the poor. It's also shocking to see how many citizens in America live in poverty. People limit and look down upon those who live in poverty and don't give them any chances. It's a shame to see Americans live in such conditions with very few people trying to help them escape it.

30 Days

We watched a video in class about a guy going to jail to see what it would be like. He went for 30 days at a jail in Virgina but got out early because he spent 80% of the time there so as a reward, he got released. This video was really interesting to watch and it really surprised me. I didn't expect them to sleep in such crowded rooms where there's no privacy. Although I expected them to be very limited in activities, I didn't expect them to be stuck in the same place the entire day with no windows. The reading, Courtrooms 302, about the Cook County Jail downtown was also surprising to me. The system of which America uses is proven not to work. The people who get sent to jail most likely end up back in jail once they're released. The makers of the system don't truly want the best for the inmates. If there are people who have mental health problems committing crimes, they're sent to jail instead of a mental institution. The officers treat them the same regardless of their mental state, when the mentally sick people should be sent somewhere better to get real help. People would rather pay for prisons than for rehab programs or institutions that would cost more money. The rehab programs and institutions would help more than cheap prisons where the officials don't care about you. All of the people who go to jail aren't necessarily "bad" people, they just make stupid decisions and those decisions grow and progress into more bad decisions. It would be difficult to relate jail to my life because I've never been there, but I'm grateful for my circumstances and opportunities.

S v. R

We read a study by Chambliss called "The Saints and the Roughnecks" in class this past week. The study consisted of the "good", wealthy, white students who were known as the "Saints"and the "bad", poor, minority students called the "Roughnecks". The Saints pulled many dangerous pranks and broke many laws, yet they were hardly ever given the appropriate consequences, let alone any consequences in general, for what they did. They were perceived to be as the good, smart, rich, white kids who never did anything disobedient, when in reality they broke many laws and schemed their way out of school early every day and ended up doing even more illegal acts. The Roughnecks on the other hand were poor, minority kids who got in fights and were caught stealing. Their consequences were much larger than that of the Saints primarily because of the way society perceived them. The Roughnecks didn't dress as well and weren't as wealthy, they were forced to stay around their houses because they had no transportation to get out of their town. The Saints had cars where they could escape and go to the outer edge of town where no one they knew would see them. I think our school has this to some degree because there's a huge diversity in people with all different ranges in wealth, ethnicity, etc. I don't think it's as obvious as it is in some other schools, but I do see differences in the way people perceive others.