May 2, 2012 Final Blog

Awwww, my last blog for Social Justice. Very bittersweet. It's nice to know I won't have homework every week now, but i'll miss the awesome discussions we've had in class. This semester has been such a great experience, despite all the stuff that happened to me. I'm just thankful I was able to return to school after my car accident in February. It could have been a lot worse.. So yeah, i'm glad I got to know everyone so well and I really enjoyed all of our class discussions. This class was a great learning and bonding experience for me. I'm sure it's the same for everyone else as well.

The presentations this week were awesome. I really did enjoy the non-traditional students' presentation. The video was so powerful! I also enjoyed the elderly presentation because I could relate with my previous experience working with that population. Everyone did so good with their projects and it was really cool to see what we all came up with.

Thanks everyone for an awesome class! I'll see you all next semester. Have a great summer and be safe! And thank you Dr. G for everything this semester. I'm glad I got to have you as a social justice professor. I really enjoyed your class.





   for now :)

April 25, 2012 Presentations this week

This week i've really enjoyed listening to everyone's presentations. I feel like we all had great visions and intentions that will make us great future social workers. The project was an awesome, fun experience for me despite all of the struggles, frustrations, and detours.

I enjoyed reflecting on my groups progress. We took a long journey through our project to get to the point that we ended up at. Even though we didn't quite gain what we expected, I still think that everything we did accomplish was worthwhile. My favorite part of this experience was when we actually went inside the Capitol. I was impressed at how beautiful it is inside there and it was really cool. I've lived up here for three years and never even thought about going inside until the project. Our struggles and change of ideas led me to a great experience that I think every person in the Austin area should experience in their lifetime. It was also pretty cool that I got to share that moment with fellow classmates that I would normally never see outside of classes. We had a great time, but at the same time we learned alot.

I also enjoyed the other presentations this week as well. I got to learn things, such as facts and stats, about the homeless and educational disparities that I didn't know before. Of course I was aware that there were problems within these communities but I didn't understand the full extent of them. I thought everyone came up with great action plans and events, as well. The food drive for the homeless is a wonderful idea and truely helps the homeless community. I also liked the idea for the Suena event because like Catalina said, kids always feel more special when something like UT is involved. I didn't ever get that opportunity when I was in school, but I know I defnitely would have enjoyed to. I thought it was also pretty cool how alot of the other groups found ways to incorporate their project into the Afterwork Activism group. It showed how well social workers can network with each other.

Great job everyone who presented so far!

April 18, 2012 Ageism

I felt like this image spoke a thousand words on the topic of Ageism.

In class discussion today we got to hear lots of different perspectives that I found interesting. Like ableism, I feel like ageism isn't talked about too much or aware to people as much as things like racism and such. While the image of the older woman above is representative of ageism, it is also not the only type of person that is affected.

Young people are also affected by ageism. Just because some people are young in age, they can be assumed to be naive, inexperienced, dumb, etc. I feel like young people are even oppressed within the term ageism because people automatically assume that ageism is only about elderly. It fails to recognize the problems that young people have to face as well. When I was looking for images on ageism the only ones that I could find when I searched "ageism" were about elderly. I had to type a different phrase to find images about youth and ageism.

For both young and older people, ageism can negatviely affect people in many ways. For example, they could possibly be discriminated against when applying for jobs and leadership positions. Young peoples' ideas could be ignored and older people can be assumed to be incompetent, due to age. One thing that I thought about was how young people can be taken advantage of by older adults in a sexual manner because they assume that younger people aren't able to be in charge of themselves and their bodies. They may feel as if they can intimidate young people because of their older age.

Age can leave people very vulnerable in many aspects of their lives.  I think the most important thing for everyone to do to stop ageism is to learn not to assume things. That intersects with other things, such as ableism. It's not right to assume that they are less capable of things because they have a disability or because of age.

April 12, 2012

This is an example of ableist language.

I must admit that I am guilty of taking my abilities for granted. I hardly ever think of ableism because i'm not affected by it. I wouldn't be surprised if there were tons of other people who do the same. Ableism isn't as known as other injustices such as racism, sexism, etc. People who aren't disabled probably don't take the time to be aware and sensitive of ableism issues, unless someone close to them are disabled.

It's sad because many times ableism forces people to leave schools, lose jobs, or limit social lives because they are unable to perform the skills that are necesary to live in the "normal world." People discriminate consciously and unconsciously based on what they see. For example, people with visible disabilities, such as wheelchairs, will be less likely to get hired based on the assumption that they will need extra help or have less skills than others. I'm even guilty of feeling sorry for someone that I see with a visible disability.

Ableism should be an issue that should have more awareness. I don't think people are aware of it enough to make a change.

This image speaks volumes. People should be aware of the fact that these people are just like us. They don't need our sympathy. They need our support.




Here's a positive image for the week that I found:

And here's a social injustice image:

That's messed up...

April 4, 2012 Transgender

I googled "transgender" to see what I could find because this class sparked an interest during discussion. I found the American Psychological Association (APA) website and it was titled, "Answers to your questions on Transgender people, gender identity, and gender expression." The very beginning stated this:
"

What does transgender mean?

Transgender is an umbrella term for persons whose gender identity, gender expression, or behavior does not conform to that typically associated with the sex to which they were assigned at birth. Gender identity refers to a person’s internal sense of being male, female, or something else; gender expression refers to the way a person communicates gender identity to others through behavior, clothing, hairstyles, voice, or body characteristics. “Trans” is sometimes used as shorthand for “transgender.” While transgender is generally a good term to use, not everyone whose appearance or behavior is gender-nonconforming will identify as a transgender person. The ways that transgender people are talked about in popular culture, academia, and science are constantly changing, particularly as individuals’ awareness, knowledge, and openness about transgender people and their experiences grow.

I feel like transgendered people can be so misunderstood. I honestly couldn't really explain what/who they were until last semester when I took Soc. on Gender. We had to read a great book about Transgenders in the workplace. It was amazing to see how they were treated equally until they revealed that they were trans. After it was out in the open, all of a sudden discrimination was flying left and right. One example in the book that I found so interesting was about the issue of sexism. There was a woman who had to give a presentation to her colleagues in a business that she worked at. (It was some sort of office/business place) Anyways, she gave the presentation and explained her work to all of them and all the men came out of the room and were complaining about the presentation. None of them were impressed or satisfied with her work. Soon after that she transitioned to a man and applied to the place as her "brother." As a man she gave the exact same presentation as she did before and when it was over a man walked out and said something like, "Wow, Ben's way better than his sister."

Here's a GREAT video on a Transgender child
I also mentioned in class a story about a child who was raised gender neutral by his parents and how they didn't reveal the sex to anyone except very few people. I'm posting the link to the article below. Apparently after 5yrs they revealed the gender and it's a boy. It's pretty interesting. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2089474/Beck-Laxton-Kieran-Cooper-reveal-sex-gender-neutral-child-Sasha.html

I also found a tragic story on Gwen Araujo, who was a transgender that was murdered. She faced death from a hate crime just for being different. There is even a movie made after her case called A Girl Like Me. I'm interested to see it.

And here's the picture of the transgender that I brought up in class who had children.










Random image for the day: It's so powerful to me

March 28, 2012 Sexism

As a female, sexism can be a very difficult topic to think about and face on a daily basis. Like every other social justice issue that we have discussed, we like to think that as a society we have come a long way, but even still the issue of sexism still exists. Women face this issue everyday in the workplace, school, grocery stores, etc. There's no escape to it. For example, this past weekend I went with my fiance to buy paint at Home Depot (which btw was my fiance's idea, not mine) and the older man who checked us out said, "Alright buddy, now you can grab some Bud Light, kick back and watch her do her thing." When he said that I was instantly uncomfortable because I felt like he said that because I was wearing shorts? Then I thought about it some more as we were leaving and I thought that maybe he meant it as painting and decorating is a woman's thing. Which btw is so stereotypical and sexist because my fiance enjoys painting and decorating more than I do. It has nothing to do with being a woman or a man. That's just stupid...I'm not sure what he exactly meant but either way it was sexist. I feel as though sexism is similar to racism because even though things have gotten somewhat better and we would like to think that it doesn't exist, the truth is that it still does. How is sexism not around if women are earning only 77 cents to every dollar that a man earns? I found an interesting article from Time magazine that talks about this issue : http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1983185,00.html

Last semester I also took a class called Sociology of Gender with Dr. Christine Williams. I normally don't plug classes because I hardly ever really enjoy them, but this class was definitely worthwhile. As a female it was an awesome and interesting class that taught me things about sexism and gender issues that society trys to ignore and pretend like they aren't there. It's very eye opening once you start looking into sexism. For women it's actually quite scary and frustrating.

Although it's easy to think that sexism is only about women issues and oppression of women, we shouldn't forget that even men can face this issue. Adams talked about the different aspects of sexism that's not only about women, which I found interesting. I know when I hear the word sexism, I automatically think of women, but we're not the only ones who face this issue.

Like every other issue that we discuss in social justice, I feel like the only way to put an end to this is for us to take a stand. Men and women everywhere have a voice that can be heard. Also, one small way to make a difference is to acknowledge comments that you find offensive. For example, if I could go back I would have asked that man at Home Depot, "What exactly do you mean by that statement?" Once he clarified the meaning then I could have let him know that I didn't appreciate his comment and that he shouldn't say things like that. That way he might be more hesitant to say it to the next female. Just a thought.

Here are some images I found interesting this week:

Classism/Racism

Sexism

March 21, 2012 Achievement Gap Lecture

Hello. My name is Nikki Bonsall. I'm from Nederland, TX. I graduated from Nederland High School as the #29 student out of 365 students in my graduating class. I received awards for all A's since 5th grade. I was a member of both the National Junior Honor Society and National Honor Society. I was also Vice President of the Spanish Honor Society. I was a member of HOSA for two years and also received many awards for that. Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah!

Ok, so my introduction above was only to prove a point. I know most of you probably don't care about anything that was said. If you did, you would have asked me or someone else about it. Most likely, you came to my blog with the expectation of me writing all my thoughts, opinions, and questions about the lecture we sat through this morning. I know for sure you didn't come to my blog to read a long, drawn out introduction about myself and my accomplishments. That's not the point of my post. So why did the lecture today turn out to be such a thing?

I walked into the Utopia theater thinking that I was about to sit down and learn about the Overachievement Gap. Honestly, I had no clue what that was because i've actually never heard of it. (At least not with that title, anyway) I have always known that there have been differences between whites and non whites in the education system, as well as in jobs. I was hoping that Dr. Jonah was going to fully explain what the Achievement Gap is, explain the differences, and make known what can be done to fix the issue. Instead, we all got to sit thru half of the lecture listening to awards and acheivements of the panel. Don't get me wrong. Everything that they have done in their careers should be rewarded and acknowledged, but seriously, I felt like this lecture was turned into and award show.

The whole time I was sitting there with my notebook and pencil ready to take down notes and be engaged with the speakers. I kept waiting to hear about cultural or race differences and issues that are affecting the children in our society, but halfway through Dr. Jonah's speech I thought to myself, "Ok? So when are you going to talk about the Achievement Gap and it's issues?" Sadly, I don't think he ever really did. It was as if the whole lecture may have been a plug for the Stand for Children organization, which by the way I didn't learn much about either.

I was very disappointed at how there was only time for two whole questions. Which by the way, weren't even correctly answered. I felt really sorry for the woman who seemed so concerned about bullying. She asked a good question and only got vague answers that didn't help at all. Especially when the other woman took the microphone to "answer" the question and basically stated that bullying could be stopped by having children in a "good environment." Are you serious? If it was so easy then why are there so many problems? Does she really think that it's that easy to provide a "good environment?" If that was the case then everyone would be living in a world full of rainbows and unicorns. World peace would be attained too. As if! That answer really got on my nerves. I mean, yes she is right that placing children in good, healthy environments will promote appropriate behaviors. But that wasn't the woman's question. She wanted to know how to deal with bullying that is already going on. You can't simply move all the children around to make them function in a good environment.

I was also disappointed when they mentioned someone who worked at Kealing middle school, but failed to discuss it more. I'm very familiar with Kealing because I am taking a class called, "Leadership in the Community," with Dr. Lauderdale. Kealing is in the East side of Austin and is a block away from an open air drug market. My class meets every Monday (It's made up of all UT star athletes and a fellow SW student and I) and we all go to Kealing and meet with the kids to motivate them to do well in school and stay away from gangs and drugs. Kealing is mostly made up of black and hispanic students who do poorly in school, do drugs, are in gangs, have sex, etc. These children are high at-risk. I felt like Kealing would have been a great example for the lecture to discuss the Acheivement Gap. It would have been nice to hear some discussion on that topic since I have ties with that school.

I'm not totally bashing the presentation, but I felt like I left there unsatisfied. I had certain expectations that weren't met by the speakers. It wasn't anything like I expected it to be. It would have been better if the introductions were cut way shorter and there was more time for questions. I also think the speakers should have discussed the achievement gap and explained what it was. It would have also been nice to have better suggestions for what we can do to help, instead of giving broad statements like "Take a Stand." Or answering a question with a question. If all they could tell me is "Take a Stand," then I feel a little hopeless. Obviously, as SW students we all want to "Take a Stand," on something, otherwise we wouldn't be going into this profession. We know that already.

It would be helpful to everyone in the School of Sw if they could email everyone who attended an evaluation survey. That way we could all express what we thought and what could improve future lectures.



But anyways,


Saw this and thought it was cute:

March 9, 2012 "Peace Be With You.."

"Lean into the Discomfort." I felt like that quote from The TED talk with Ms. Brown hit hard this week with the discussion on religion. As i've mentioned before in class, religion is a difficult subject for me to openly express myself on in class. It is comforting though to know that I am not the only one in class that struggles with this issue. I didn't get to fully explain my thoughts in class, so here it goes...

I grew up going to the Catholic church every weekend since I was born. My whole family was devout Catholics, especially my grandparents. I had to be baptized, go to mass every weekend, go to CCD classes every year until confirmation, practice Lent, etc. For those who don't know what Lent is, I don't want to waste alot of time explaining it, but for my purpose all you really need to understand is that we can't eat meat on Fridays. (By the way, it really pisses me off when people feel the need to question why we do that and argue that seafood is meat so we shouldn't eat that either. I don't question others' beliefs so don't question mine.) Anyways, I remember when I was little I went to my friends birthday party when we were around 7 or 8yrs old. She went to the same church that I did and her grandparents usually sat near  my family. her birthday was during Lent and they ordered pizza for everyone. I knew I couldn't eat meat so I got cheese pizza and her and the rest of the kids ate the hamburger pizza or whatever. When my mom came to pick me up, her grandma told my mom that she was so impressed that I didn't eat meat. I didn't know it was such a big deal because that's what I always did. The point i'm trying to make with that story though is that nowadays Catholics are alot less strict than they were in the old days, except my grandparents. Also, that just shows how kids are socialized and taught what they're supposed to do from an early age and they don't usually question that.

So basically I practiced like I was supposed to until I moved away for college and then I quit going. I started to question certain beliefs and wasn't sure if I really wanted to continue being Catholic, especially when I started dating a Muslim. At that point, my mom was so afraid that I would convert to Islam. While we dated I learned about the Muslim faith and agreed with certain things and also disagreed with alot of others.  Also, when I was younger I used to attend a Baptist church with my best friend when I would spend the night with her. I've never been closed minded to other people's religion or faith, but i've never felt that way about other people when they judge me for being Catholic. I feel like movies and media portray Catholics as being these evil people with ridiculous beliefs. I always hear stereotypes that we "hide things" and that priests are perverts, etc. Obviously, not everyone is perfect and there's always going to be weirdos out there, regardless of faith.

Since i've started the School of SW, i've noticed that there have been quite a few times when I feel as though i'm hesitant, nervous, or ashamed to say that I am Catholic. For example, i've noticed a bunch of times when people want to bash Catholics because of the birth control issue. I certainly don't agree with that belief because I personally use birth control and i'm not ashamed to admit that. I am a woman and I have a right to use whatever I feel necessary to protect myself. Just because i'm Catholic it doesn't mean that I agree with that belief. Besides, there are other religions who believe the same thing (Correct me if i'm wrong, but aren't Mormons the other people who don't believe in contraceptives?)

So anyways, Wednesday's class discussion about religion really helped me with all my internal struggles dealing with Sw and religion. I loved how Dr. G said that you don't have to agree with every single belief to be considered a part of a faith. I've always felt that I am a true Catholic even though I don't believe every single detail. I'm also very open to learning about other religions as well. I feel like everyone has something good to offer that anyone can use in their daily lives. I don't think that makes me any less Catholic than somone who follows the "rules" step by step. Thanks to everyone who expressed their beliefs on religion and spirituality. It really helped me.

So after hearing Rush's comments on birth control all I have to say is OMG! I saw this post on Fb today and loved it


Enough with the oppression of women and double standards!

I don't understand why people want to bitch (excuse my language) about too many people being on welfare and "taking hard earned tax dollars", then turn right around and say that birth control isn't necessary. WHATEVER.

In the words of Veronica, "Think before you love." <--Love that! lol

March 3, 2012 Walmart and Adams

Walmart: "Save Money. Live Better"...After watching the film this week over Walmart, I find myself reading their quote and thinking," Yeahhhhhh Right." I know this is geared towards the consumers, but for the employees it seems as though it should be, "No money. Live worse." The whole time I was watching I felt like my eyes were widened in shock by everything that was being said about Walmart. My heart goes out to all the small business owners who lost their business because of Walmart, especially that cute old man that owned the hardware store and his wife that was ironing the clothes. I know it had to be heartbreaking to work so hard and be so successful for so many years, only to shut it down becuase Walmart moved into town. That's so sad and such a shame. They always say if you work hard you will be successful and be where you want to be in  life, but after hearing these stories of the small business owners it seems as though that may not be true. The comments made by those people about Walmart getting a grant or some kind of government funding but they were turned down just goes to show how shady our government can be. I mean, if these people have had a store open for so many years then obviously they have been successful and are doing something right. So why shouldn't they deserve to get help? I think they deserve it more than Walmart actually because nowadays Walmart has grown to be such a powerhouse that it's like they don't have to put forth any effort. They just pick a spot and set up shop then the money comes rolling in.

As much as i'd love to be the compassionate social worker and sensitive person that I should be, I know I can't lie to myself or ya'll and say that I won't ever go to Walmart again. I know that sounds really bad, but let's be real...I've been going to Walmart my whole life because that's the place that I can get whatever I need for low prices. I'm surely not agreeing with how they are functioning in society and what they do to their employees, but on the other hand, I still can't afford to shop anywhere else. So what should I do, ya know? Hopefully, one day there will be enough people who stand up for themselves and convince Walmart to fix their issues. Or perhaps the government will wisen up and step in. There's always hope.

Also, as social workers we should always try to see the good in others. In Walmart's case, I always think it's cute how they hire the elderly people to be door greeters or cashiers. I'm sure having a job makes them feel important and have a sense of purpose. I don't know, maybe i'm wrong. That's just something I thought about when I was thinking of Walmart.

So anyways, one comment I had to make about the reading that talked about upper/middle class women hiring lower class women in their households was that I think it's a shame. It's always sad to hear how women can oppress other women. We should be fighting for each other, not working against one another. It reminded me of the stories that my aunt would tell me. She said that she remembers when she was little that a black lady would always come over and help clean her grandmother's house. She also remembers that her grandma would keep a seperate coffee cup for that lady to drink out of and have coffee before she left. Luckily, her grandma was nice enough to let her sit down and have coffee after a long day of work. Alot of times the women who hire maids were really mean and insensitive to the them. The only thing that was wrong about her grandma's situation is that she felt the need to have a seperate cup for her because she was black. She wasn't doing it out of hate. That was just the mentality of people at that time, which is still present today. I still remember when I was little a black man knocked on our door and asked my mom for some water. My mom is nowhere near a mean or hateful person, but I remember she put it in a plastic cup and told him he could keep it. I just think that people continue to think and act in those ways because that's how everyone was brought up. I feel like I talked more about racism than classism, but then again that's just an issue that can affect every aspect of society. I feel as though classism is somewhat based on racism. They go hand in hand.




Here's an image just for you to look at and think about:

How come all the girls in the picture are white, but they decided to make the black girl look bigger and be the center of attention? Hmmm...

February 24, 2012 Adams reading, LaDonn Mathyss, and culture boxes

I found that the Adams reading about class made my wheels start turning in my mind. I started to think about stuff that I never really gave much thought about until now. When I was little, my family was pretty poor. My dad worked for the city in the street department and my mom was always a stay at home mom. My dad's income was the only support for my mom, sister, brother, and me. No one else ever helped us financially because now that I think about it, everyone else in our family was poor too. I still remember getting so excited when my grandpa would bring my mom boxes of clothes that he found in the dumpster near his neighborhood. He would go out for a walk every moring and stop by the dumpster to see what he could find. He would find everything... like clothes, toys, and household appliances. Mom would take the stuff back home and we would all go through it and find what we wanted. Some of my favorite clothes came from the dumpster. And it's not like I was ashamed of them or anything either because I didn't know any better at that time. I thought it was something normal that everyone did, and I actually got really excited to get "new" stuff. The first time I ever thought something was "wrong" with wearing stuff from the dumpster was in elementary school. I was talking to a classmate and mentioned how my grandpa found my pants that I was wearing and she said, "Eeeeeew! You wear stuff from the garbage? That's gross!" After that I started feeling ashamed and embarrassed and neve told anyone that again. I was no longer eager to take stuff from those boxes because I thought it was something bad that people shouldn't do. It makes me wonder how we are socialized to know what "class" is. As a child, you don't know what "class" you're in because it really doesn't exist to you. However you are raised is how you view life. "Class" doesn't become apparent until you are faced with someone who was raised different than you. America is supposed to be a place free of class, but that is certainly not the case. There is alot of discrimination on people that come from lower income families. I feel like class also brings up the issue of racism as well. Americans generally stereotype African Americans and Hispanics to be the poor people, but situations like mine prove otherwise. In fact, whites are the ones who are the majority on welfare, right?

I thought it was nice to have the guest speaker LaDonn come to class on Monday. I appreciate that she took her time to come and speak with us and tell us her story, but I felt like she wasn't comfortable, which made me uncomfortable. I could tell that she was nervous and hesistant to say certain things, and it also seemed as if people's questions weren't really answered. I think that maybe she still has issues that need to be resolved about her situation. I could definitely feel tension in the air.

Culture boxes are a great assignment. I enjoyed making mine and thinking of ways to describe myself. Even though it was an assignment, it was fun because it was a craft. I also enjoy learning new stuff about classmates. Some things are very interesting to find out. It also lets us see a new side to people.

February 17, 2012 Marable Article and The Flood

I was very interested in hearing about the Great Flood of 1927. I had never heard about it until Dr. G told us about it. It reminded me of the saying "history repeats itself," because it basically happened all over again with Katrina. It's such a shame that the people of New Orleans never seem to get the help and treatment that they deserve. How could you let a city and people get destroyed only for change in your pocket? Do those people not have a heart? I was looking around online for different information on the Great Flood and I found out one piece of information that I thought was interesting. One of the "good" things that came out of the flood was a great cultural output from the victims. After the flood many people were inspired in their music to write about the flood. Something I never knew was that one of  Led Zeppelin's famous songs, "When the Levee Breaks", was a remake of Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie's original song about the 1927 flood. Here are the lyrics and 2 videos:

"When The Levee Breaks"

If it keeps on rainin', levee's goin' to break, [X2]
When The Levee Breaks I'll have no place to stay.

Mean old levee taught me to weep and moan, [X2]
Got what it takes to make a mountain man leave his home,
Oh, well, oh, well, oh, well.

Don't it make you feel bad
When you're tryin' to find your way home,
You don't know which way to go?
If you're goin' down South
They go no work to do,
If you don't know about Chicago.

Cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do you no good,
Now, cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do you no good,
When the levee breaks, mama, you got to move.

All last night sat on the levee and moaned, [X2]
Thinkin' about me baby and my happy home.
Going, going to Chicago... Going to Chicago... Sorry but I can't take you...
Going down... going down now... going down....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6C_5wxkuAQ Kansas Joe and Memphis Minnie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Dqp1rKCtvI&feature=fvst Led Zeppelin

The lyrics of the song speak loudly to the pain and hopelessness that the victims must have felt. Just reading them myself makes me feel sad and disappointed.


So about the Marable article..

I just finished reading it. For some reason it wasn't an easy read for me like I thought it should have been. I'm not sure why? I found myself having to go back and reread lots of paragraphs because I couldn't grasp the meaning the first time. One sentence that I instantly understood and was shocked by was the sentence, "

What these nightmarish statistics mean, is that

for most low- to middle-income African Americans, joblessness and

underemployment (e.g., working part-time, or sporadically) is now the norm;

having a real job with benefits is now the exception."

It's shocking, but at the same time not really. It reminds me of the typical stereotype that we always see/hear on tv about black women looking for a "good brotha with a job and no kids." Clearly, like any other race, there are some men out there who just don't want to have a job, or who choose to sell drugs and run the streets, but for the others out there who do, do they really have a chance? It's like the odds of them being successful are slim and unlikely. The system basically works against them.

I also noticed in the article about how there was "chronic unemployment" under the Bush administration. So why does everyone feel the need to blame it on Obama? Is it because he is black? It's always easier to place blame on the abject other.

BTW! Please help me win the Georgetown Bridal Show Facebook Contest!!!!!!
Anyone who has fb, please go to Georgetown Bridal Show's wall and click "everyone" to view all the posts on their wall. Find my post from today 2/17 and "Like" my post. If I get the most likes out of everyone I will win $250 Bridal Cash!!!!! Pleeeeeeeeease help me win!! Thank you!! Their link is below:
http://www.facebook.com/GeorgetownBridalShow?sk=wall

February 10, 2012          Zinn Reading

Hey guys,

So i'm sure some of you noticed that I wasn't in class all week. Well, here's why....Sunday evening I was on my way home on South I35 in Georgetown. I had just switched lanes to get into the exit lane to get to my house when the car right next to me on my driver's side decided to come over into my lane. They ended up hitting my front wheel and fender, causing me to lose control, skid across the shoulder, drive up the embankment, hit the exit sign, completely flip my car in the air, land on my driver's side, and slide back down the embankment. So, yeah, let's just say it was a complete NIGHTMARE. I'm thankful to even be alive. The firefighters had to take me out of my car and I was sent to the ER. So I was in the hospital and that's why I missed this week of class. It's been pretty stressful trying to recooperate, while still having to deal with a ton of insurance phone calls and stuff pertaining to that matter, plus trying to catch up with school work. But on a brighter note, I should be back Monday.

So now that all of that is cleared up. Onto Zinn!...

It was actually a great book to read while i've been bed ridden. It actually helped pass the time and keep my mind off of other stressful things. I found myself repeatedly thinking, "OMG," as I was reading this book. Even though I had a slight idea of the cruelties Zinn mentioned, i've never actually read a book that has such detail of the violence and cruelties that the Indians faced. I know that everyone in America would like to think that the start of our nation was happy and peaceful and similar to the kid- friendly Disney version of "Pocahontas." I know I certainly did. My brother even called me "Poca-Nikki" and I ran around with my long braided hair and Pocahontas shirt with the fringed sleeves. If I would have known how badly Indians were actually treated, I doubt I still would have wanted to be her.

It was really sad to read how friendly and giving the Indians were when the newcomers arrived. They were nice and hospitable, only to be paid back with harsh treatment. While I was reading, I kept thinking to myself, "I wonder what it would have been like today if they would have been nice to the Indians and not killed off the population." I was wondering if maybe that would have changed the way people view each other. Would there have been racism and discrimination? Or would it have just evolved later on anyway?

I was also thinking how scary and difficult it must have been for the Indians to not be able to communicate easily, due to the language barrier. I know this still happens today when someone doesn't speak English. It's funny how the white, dominant group expects everyone to learn/speak English when English wasn't even the first language of America. I've noticed that whatever the dominant group thinks is right and just, is what everyone else is supposed to think as well. Even if what the dominant group wants doesn't make sense, they change it to make it that way. It's easy for the dominant group to place their ideas and beliefs on everyone else, but they won't accept anybody else's.

I couldn't believe the statement of Morison when Zinn explains how he didn't lie about Columbus. He did mention the mass murder, but he mentions it quickly and goes onto other things so we don't really notice the bad part. The line, "Yes, mass murder took place, but it's not that important," made my jaw drop. What if someone were to say that about something that took place today. For example, what if the president would have said that after the Columbine High School Massacre in 1999? That's horrible. I was also shocked at how Morison wanted to focus on the "most outstanding and essential of all his (Columbus) qualities---his seamanship." Really? His seamanship? That's ridiculous.

I was also irritated by how they continuously claimed to be men of God and Christians. A quote that I read the other day on facebook came to mind when I started thinking about that. "Going to church doesn't make you any more of a Christian than standing in a garage makes you a car." This quote just made me think how silly it was for Columbus and the others to claim that what they were doing was out of Christian faith. I've never seen anywhere in the Bible where it says to treat others with cruelty and murder. Maybe Columbus and I have read different Bibles. Who knows...

It's just funny how America's history is taught to young children. We all make our pilgrim and indian outfits out of construction paper and have lunch with our parents in the cafeteria for Thanksgiving. We play like it was such a happy and peaceful time between the Indians and Pilgrims. Teachers give children the idea that the Pilgrims showed up and everyone was so nice and giving to each other, and they all lived happily ever after. Now i'm not saying we should teach children about the mass murder and bloodshed, or how their hands were cut off if they didn't have a copper token around their neck. That wouldn't be right either. But should we really play up the idea that it was all lovey dovey? Just a thought.

I feel like I had so much more to say, but since I started rambling on I can't seem to remember it all. Hmm...

Anyways, on a different subject. Here's a picture I saw the other day that I thought I would like to share.

Right on!

February 2, 2012  ---> Dr. Aguilar, Critical Race Theory Article, & Political Issues Rap Article

So I must say that I really really enjoyed Dr. Aguilar coming and speaking to the class. I think his story was very inspirational and I feel that I am able to relate to some of the things that he discussed. For example, I am the first person of my family to go to college, and many times I feel like I get left out of family things just because I was the only one who ever moved away from back home. I get treated as though I think I am better than everybody else and that i'm a "Georgetown/Austin snob", so my brother likes to say. It gets really annoying and a lot of times it really hurts my feelings because I know thats not true. When I lived back home I got to go to all the family events, like birthday parties, and go to visit the family all the time. Now it seems that because I moved I don't get included in any of those things like I used to. For example, this past summer I got my feelings hurt SOOO bad when my brother decided to text me at 10:00pm on a Sunday night to tell me he was getting married the next day. Nobody in my family down there bothered to call, text, or anything to let me know that he was getting married on that Monday, even though they were all told the Thursday before. When I finally talked to my brother about it the next day and told him how upset I was, he just said he didn't think it was a big deal and that I wouldn't have come anyway. I was like, "Really? You didn't even give me a chance to." It's not like they only lived an hour away. They live 4 and half hours and if I would have gotten a notice ahead of time (not late the night before) I could have made the trip. So just because I don't live there anymore because I moved for college, i'm the last one to find things out. Its very upsetting. So I can definitely relate to how Dr. Aguilar said he had to sacrifice things and give up family and friends.

I just got finished reading the Critical Race Theory article. I didn't really like it because I felt like it was stuff that i've heard before over and over. I even noticed that a lot of things were repeated. For example, I read the first big paragraph and scrolled down and the next one I read was exactly like the first one I read. It also really got on my nerves how they used the term "people of color" over and over. I hate when people say that because it doesn't really make sense to me. How come people want to label "non-whites" and people of "color?" Uhhhhh, helloooooo, last time I checked white is a color too. So the fact that blacks, hispanics, and whoever else are considered "colored" just seems really dumb to me. Technically, we are all colored. It just so happens that eveyone's color is different, even within the same race. In this article I also noticed that it only talked about MSW. I'm not sure why that is, but shouldn't BSW be mentioned too? I think that learning cultural competence is just as important to BSW as it is to MSW.

Yesterday I read the article  about the political rap that was sent in the email with the other article about the interracial couple's photographs. I can't remember the titles of the articles, even though I just read them. Anyway, what I wanted to point out about the rap article is that it reminded me about the famous rap group NWA, who was popular in the late 80s and early 90s. NWA stood for Niggas Wit Attitude and they were a very outspoken group who originated from Comptom, CA. They were banned from the radio because of the elicit nature of their lyrics. In their song "F*** Tha Police" they protested police brutality and racial profiling. In a way, their rap was speaking out at the social injustice that the blacks had to face in Compton. these injustices didn't only happen in Compton, which gave others who faced the same problems in their neighborhoods a chance to relate. After the release of this song, the group faced lots of controversy and conflict with different law enforcement agencies. Since most of the cops that they were rapping about were white, it infuriated them and they lashed out against the group, only proving the point that whites don't like to be called out on wrong doings and racism.

Thursday January 26, 2012

I must say the reading in the Adams book really caught my attention, and was actually pretty interesting to read. I have to admit that when I started reading I kept thinking, "Ok, it's so annoying how they frame Whites as being the bad guys. I'm not even like that." As I continued to read I had to realize and remind myself that it's not myself being personally targeted because i'm white. I had to understand that it's talking about whites as a whole, not individuals. Honestly, it's really irritating to me when I think that people are "accusing" or assuming that I am certain ways. I don't always stop and think that it's not personal. I realize that it's just something that is hard to take in when you grew up for so long not having to think about things like that. Like the book says, we don't always recognize our "priviledge" of being in the dominant group. However, i'm not totally priviledged either because I am a woman. While I was reading, the first thing that really stuck out to me was the example the book gave about white men being the ones that are tested on for new medical drugs. It was a little scary when it mentioned that they use the results equally on men and women and give us the same dosage as men (who are usually larger and stronger). It made me think about how people just assume that whatever they are taking is safe and approved. I know I don't ever give much thought to a medication once it's prescribed to me.
Another thing that caught  my attention was when the book said that African American novelist, James Baldwin, stated "It took generations and a vast amount of coercion, before this became a white country." He then noted that although it is a fact that skin pigmentations vary, unless you are in a culture that recognizes these differences as significant, they virtually do not exist. For example, people in Africa don't see each other as "black". They see each other as Africans and men and women, not the color of their skin because they don't live in a place that is dominated by white priviledge. I'm not sure why this stuck out to me so much. I guess it's because even though it seems like something so obvious, it's just not something we think about often.

Today I had a job interview at a western wear store and noticed some of the issues brought up in the book about women being part of an oppressed group. While I was in the interview, the man interviewing me (the manager) asked me if I was married. I told him not yet and then he told me that all I have to do is flirt with the men that come in and they'll buy the boots from me. He said I should just "bat my eyelashes" and i'll make alot on commission. He also mentioned that most of the time he'll have me working in the MEN'S boot section and also in the hat section because women can get good tips there. This was the first time that i've had a boss actually say out loud that i'll be using my looks at work. It was really weird...



^^^So I saw this posted on facebook today. The comments on it were all saying stuff like "This is so true!!" What does the fact that he is "african" or black have to do with his political decisions? This just shows how people are just being racist and hate the fact that he's the first black president. Since the presidential elections are being held this year, I've heard and seen so many comments saying he shouldn't be re-elected based on the fact that he is black.
Just thought i'd share this...

First Blog Assignment

Well, this is a new thing for me to be writing in a blog for an assignment. Actually, it's just a new thing to be writing in a blog period. So far it seems exciting and will be a cool learning experience. Anyways, on to the subject of social injustice...

Ya know, i've never actually thought about social injustice in this way until I read these articles. I must say I agree that Pelton is right in saying that social injustice should be fought on an individual level. He makes a good point in saying that focusing on fighting group social injustice can ironically lead to creating more. It's a weird concept that i've never really thought about. As future social workers I think this a important to think about and to really explore.

I also feel that the disagreements Longres and Scanlon have with Pelton show how social workers are all real human beings like anyone else. By this I mean we all have our own thoughts and opinions as social workers. Obviously since we chose this field as a profession we all have society's best interest in mind, but I think we are all different in the ways we choose to advocate for it.

In Pelton's article he says, "Sentiment and feelings of collective guilt are poor bases for policy making." This is so true. I agree that people shouldn't form decisions out of guilt. This reminded me of last semester when I took an Asian American Studies class where I was one of three white kids in the class, while the rest were Asian American. Every class I felt so uncomfortable because all the class discussions led to how "white people are all priviledged and they're all racist and discriminate against Asians and other minorities." While this may be true for SOME whites, it's certainly not true for all, including myself. It was as if the class tried to make us whites in the class feel guilty for others' mistakes. I believe that collective guilt is brought on by stereotypes.

So basically I think that Pelton is right. We should work on bringing social justice to the individual level, not groups.

First Blog

Well I finally figured out how to get this thing made. So far it looks as if I've done everything right..I guess we'll find out soon enough. Here's to the start of a new semester!