Week 10

                                                              Institutional Inequity
This is the large scale oppression that is hard to go unnoticed, but is also very hard to combat. There are many factors that go into any kind of Institutional Inequity. However, I would like to first break break down to the phrase for deeper understanding. Institution, being any large establishment like companies, universities, and other large organizations. Inequity, any form of unfairness or justice. When the both are enacted within an institution itself, it becomes this social injustice that is very difficult to combat. In the reading "Domination and Subordination" by Jean Baker Miller, Miller discusses the different types of inequalities and different sides of inequality. Miller starts off talking about temporary inequalities which really doesn't deal with oppression as much as other social injustices, but it provides an factor that is used within institutions. For example, the temporary inequality in between the student in the teacher. The teacher being the dominant figure within the institution and  the student the subordinate. Pinkus helps compare and contrasts the different forms of discrimination. Pinkus presents three forms of discrimination, Individual, Institutional, and Structural. Although, they all have similarities they actually differ, depending on small  factors. Institutional discrimination differs from depending on the amount of people enacting the discrimination. Also institutional discrimination differs from structural discrimination based of the intentions of the organization. On the film Prison State, it depicts how the criminal justice system has became a major influence institutionalized massincarciraton. This film shows the vicious cycle of low income neighborhood, broken families, poor education system and drugs. The cycle that leads individuals in jail that don't need to be incarcerated.

Week 14

Week 14

Well it has to start somewhere, and the good thing about it is that there is always going to be people to help and different ways to assist people. That is one of the beauties about advocating and activist,and that is what I got from the many different Ted talks and videos from this week's material. To piggy back off last week topic of how one just doing something so small can have an impact on a social injustice. Well, this week's topic is fitting for an individual that has made their mind up that they want to help and is wanting to know which way would be effective for them.  After reading Alexander's text, one can see the many different forms of advocating, and the groups of individuals that it indeed affected and didn’t. Meaning that something that you could be an advocate for and possibly have or make another social justice go unnoticed. Which isn’t always intentional. Actually, to me it's an eye opener, which makes an individual develop  passion, for which social injustice that they plan on standing up against.  Also, as we know things change with time and some that was fought against 60 years can find a new way to suppress individuals. This is also something that I believed that Alexander was getting to in the text. For example The Civil Right and the activist involved were standing up against inequality and discrimination against minorities, and which from a political standpoint they were very successful.  However, the form of suppression has change, there is a new form of discrimination, now African Americans are more subjected to being easily tried as adults and getting wrongfully sentenced. This is thought of as the new form of Jim Crow and which other group of advocates will have to stand up against. So there is people who need help and there should be people for their assistance.

Week 13

Week 13

The Question that is being asked is, " What will you do?" When it comes to social change, that question is always being asked, due to the unfortunate fact that there is alway as problem or task that  need to be dealt with. As Johnson states in the introductory, “...privilege and oppression is not a thing of the past…”. Meaning, there will always be some type of social injustice or problems within society, also meaning there will always be a call to action. Just as there is a call to action, there is active roles in which people can’t take to effect the task at hand. Being both a negative effect or positive depending on the action that individuals chooses to enact. Johnson method in involves a few steps. The first step is very simple, it what any person trying to resolve a problem would do, which is acknowledging that there is actually a problem with something. In some cases this is actually the hardest step. For example someone that is experiencing or is a part of a privileged group within society, would have difficulty acknowledging the disadvantage to an individual outside of their group. After you acknowledge the problem you have to “pay attention” according to Johnson. However I would like to call this the analyzing stage, this is when you sit back, and see which side of the fence you reside on, and also who is this problem oppressing, what type of thing are you doing to contribute or denote to this situation. Following Johnson’s method, due to the fact that majority of people don’t have enough courage for the next step, which actually “Do Something”, this is the call to action. This is where and when we see individuals speaking out on situation big and small, even if it’s letting someone know that a joke isn’t funny and actually is harmful. This is where we see protesting and revolt against social injustices. Many different historical event became memorable due to people standing up, and simply just doing something about it. But this method involves taking as risk  you have to be willing to deal with the results and consequences. This is mostly the reason, because people do not like change, society doesn’t like change especially the people who are benefitting from it being the way that it is, although there are other individuals on the other side of that oppression.  It true that it will not be easy, you will probably get blamed “for trying to make something out of nothing” or “ looking for a problem” or “over- analyzing stuff”, but all that ridicule is worth it, if it brings up positive change.

Week 9

Stigma! Woah after reading all the material for this topic and watching the videos all I can say is. True! Very True! However, this is something you really don't know because we (men/boys) have been trained to think and act the way that we do and we try to portray it as normal. Before we even become the age to be a man, we are told to act like a "MAN", when in reality we are only babies and children and we are doing what kids do. For example crying to express sadness or disappointment while you're a child, you are often told "Toughen up and be a man", but you are just acting out your natural reaction to the situation. Once this action is repeated this over and over, you become equipped to it and now you're "tough, a bad a**, a MAN".
No to really, after reading the After There's Something Absolutely Wrong With What We Do To Boys Before They Grow Into Men shows that trying to make boys be men before the are even men has a negative and deadly effect on them. This Mask that we have to put on everyday, makes it difficult for young males to express there true feelings and sometimes even seek help when they need it, due to the fact that they fear being ridiculed by peers that are suppressed by the same stigma. As many other males have experienced, I have personally experienced the reinforcement of making boys "men". I have heard over and over how not to be like a girl and to not show emotions, because that's not what men do. This type of stigma is dangerous, due to fact that after it is experienced over and over one becomes desensitized to emotion. This just doesn't happen to your emotions it happens, ones starts to lose regard for how others feel. This can lead to violence on vast levels, and this is one of the major reasons that we see abuse and violent behavior among young males.
I after reading the 11 things that makes wish they could do. I felt uncomfortable just thinking about doing some of those things. This is because I have been so conditioned by the male stigma that thinking about, " wanting to say another male is attractive" is uncomfortable for me and it's hard for me to process it. Like many things on that list it hard for me think about doing those things, which should probably be normal things that human beings do.

Week 8

Identity and Social Interactions

After watching all the TED talks and hearing all the different situations and the different social interaction that some people had to endure, it correlated with that person or group's identity. I believe that I have drawn the conclusion, that social interaction and identity depend on each other. Your identity is dictated by the way you interact within you social environment and your social interaction can become your identity. It’s almost like the chicken or the egg situation, no one know which is first.

However, in Jane Novogratz’s TED talk she explained the story of the woman who lives in a poverty stricken village, and how the woman initial identity when was that of a prostitute, as result of that being her only resort to make money. Her social interaction was negative, Jane even said that the woman felt embarrassed that she had to do that sometimes to make money. However once the woman invested money in the credit system and started her business up, she was able to change the way that she socially interacted. As shown in the pictures you could tell that the woman had a different outlook on her identity as she previously did. She was now able to go out into the village and sell her merchandise, instead of sell her body, which a major social interaction change. That was an example of how your social interactions and identity can change without you changing your physical environment.

Tan Lee’s TED talk was very emotional as well as insightful. Her story depicted how identity is not just singular, but in fact can be plural in some situation. Lee spoke on how she got to a point in her life where she felt that she couldn’t go on, she said that her mother reminded her that she was around the age as she was when she decided to leave their old life. She also said that  her mother told her ,“Just do it…Don’t be what you're not”. This only made sense after watching Lee’s entire TED talk, and after she spoke on her grandmother experience. It clarified that the identity of the women of Lee’s family have been shaped by their experiences and their social interactions.  After watching the TED talks and hearing how people identify based on their social interactions or how the social interactions help create their identity. I begin to do introspect on myself and I believe that my identity is based on what I have been through as well as what I go through on a daily basis, my social interactions. I am confident enough in this theory to say that it is trust for everyone, because everyone has a different identity, just as everyone has different social interactions.

Week 6: Theories of Difference

As we all know the differences between one individual to another is easy to see, we are all different from each other yet we are all the same. However the difference that we have also play are role in how we live our live, from things that we can control to thing that we can't control. The differences that we possess from one person to another makes up our identity. Also the differences from one group to another plays a major role in the way we interact within different groups in society and vice versa. When thinking of my identity it automatically create differences and different groups that I'm not a part of. I would say that I am a young, black heterosexual, male, son and brother, student-athlete as well as first generation student. The oblivious difference person from myself would probably be someone that not black or male whose sexual orientation is not heterosexual, they are probably the only child that does not play sports or attend college. Although, it seems that me and that person don't share individual characteristics we also differ in groups as well. Adams talks about "the possessive investment in whiteness" the only reason that individual might acknowledge that they are Black, Hispanic, Asian, etc. ...Mostly because they are NOT white and that the way it has been since the arrival of the British to the United States. First they made the natives feel wrong for being Native Americans then slaves. Asian had a period in American history were they were largely discriminated only because they were not white and we are starting to see the same thing happen to Hispanic people. Mia Birdsong’s TED talk held a great solution on how we could use our differences to our advantage and help the people in our groups. For example finical disadvantaged people that are seeking change are the only individuals that know what they need that would help them get a start on improving their lives. So if these people could team up and bring a different resource to the table that will eventually help them out in the end. There also cultural differences that separate us within society whether it is religion, marriage, or certain people deal with death. In the text Grandfather’s funeral there was a very distinct point that was made about letting the people be as sad as they could be about the death of the individual, and that this death was lead way to them being able to cry about the hardships in their lives as well as the death. This also reminds me of how the New Orleans culture deals with death, it is almost the total opposite of the Dagara funerals, the New Orleans culture celebrate the life of the individual in contrast to grieving over the death of individual. They also perform a dance ritual for the dead called “second line” dancing where every family member and individuals from that person community flow a second line band down the streets dancing and drinking in the name of the deceased. As much as we are different we are the same we are all human and we all have the same feelings. I actually like the differences that we have although when we use the difference to discriminate against one another is when I dislike being different the most.

Week 5: Identities

Identity. Something you can’t get away from, no matter how much you just want to be human being or just a person. Identity start before an individual is even born. Now more then ever you are seeing people couple have gender reveal parties for their unborn children. These are events where neither parent knows what’s the sex of their child that’s in the womb. It is typical that you see dads that want the child to be a male so much that when that gender is revealed and it's a boy they jump with excitement, however when the gender is revealed for a female, it is hard for some mean to hide the disappointment. So it can be said that identity is already set for you even before you are born. As, Adams explained, “The concept of identity is a complex one, shaped by individual characteristics, family dynamics, historical factors, and social and political contexts.”. I interpreted this as identity being something that you can control and cannot control. We are born into certain things in society that is a part of our identity if we want it to be or not. Also so we make decisions that help contribute to our identity.

Personally my identity changes depending on the environments that I am in and the people that I am around. For example, I want to perceived as hard worker when I’m in class so I sit the front and always bring my book to class. I also like to be identified as a football player so I wear issued gear. However there are situations when I don’t have control over my identity or how I’m seeing by others. For example when I walk into a store that might be expensive I am usually asked if I need any help immediately. Then to create the identity that I can shopper there I would pull out a large amount of cash or ask for the most expensive thing in the store. This goes with the “ dominant and subordinate” groups that Adams spoke about in the first Chapter of the text. The dominant group is usually the group that creates these identities for us. They are reinforced so much by the things around us that we tend to start to believe in them. For instance, the male label or stereotype that has been placed on my groups is that we are criminals  or thieves, So every-time I go somewhere to shop I subconsciously think if the workers and employees think I'm stealing. Although I don’t commit the act, I still act according to an individual that is under the suspicion of being a thief. However, Identities are a complex concept as Adams said it determines how we are supposed to interact with other and how others choose to interact with us.

As we saw example in the film, 50 Shades of Gay , although Wright was born a female Wright was able to self identify, then she chose to embrace her own sex a few years later. It was interesting how that she never chose what her identity was so it was more expect when Wright chose to be one sex or the other she hardly ever got in backlash. The video of Lana Wachowski who is film director of popular movies and also is transgender that received a human rights awards, that most interesting part of that video was when Lana talked about the dinner with that her guest and how they avoid talking about Wachowski’s identity, much rather the accomplishments of the individuals. Which I personally find difficult to do when identifying a transgender individual, because I don’t want to offend or disrespect the individual. This just goes to show how much we rely on identity to help make a person.

Week 4: Structures and Institutions

This topic is very prevalent for every aspect of our daily lives as human being. Due to something that was created by society, we are placed into categories and groups. How these groups from and how forms then for us is very difficult to pinpoint. When dealing with Structure and Institution, one of the main factors is money and power. The individuals who possess those attributes are the one who set the structure or institutionalize, people, groups, schools, workforce, and society. After reading the material for this week I believe that we have a huge issue with our public school structure and institutions, which is a problem that derives from our political structure and institutions. After reading Can Schools Be Fixed?, it makes you think of the public school system in a different fashion. First, I would apologies for all the teachers that get a bad wrap, especially at the high school level. Majority of the students that make to high have been poorly brought up in the school system, so to say. Not because the teachers are bad and want them to fail. In fact as most of the teachers expressed in the article they would like to see more children succeed, but the public school are under funded, the teachers aren’t paid the value of their work. Another issue is the criminal justice system, it alarming to see the rates the minorities are at risk of getting arrested and convicted for crimes that white counterparts in society commit as well. The criminal stigma of the minorities is an example of an institution that is severely damaged as well as corrupted. This also allows white individuals to develop and possess the “unearned advantages” explained in Johnson’s book. I tend to ask myself how did these structural and institutionalized forms of discrimination derive from. This when and where as Americans we have to look back on the true history and see how unequal things started off for individuals that weren’t white. You also have to ask what is “the American motive”? That would be money and power. So if you take the groups that aren’t white and don’t have power and as well, you then now have someone to blame for all the problems in the world. It’s almost the prototype for people you don’t want to be like. Then once you have placed those people at the bottom it becomes easier to keep them there by not making the “ladder resources” available to them. Examples of “Ladder Resources” would be innovative learning environments, equal justice systems, and positive reinforcements  within the communities. However, the discrimination with the institutions that are supposed to serve these people is so negative, the individuals in the situation tend to fall victim to the system.  There are drastic changes that need to be made in many different institutions in American society, we need to get away from our past and they traditions that we had. The word is changing around us, and if we continue to pretend that we don’t see discrimination on an institutionalized level, we will continue to see things like dropout rates of minority student skyrocket, incarceration levels of minorities of minorities making up more than half of the people that are locked up.

Week 3: Privilege

It seems that this is a topic that will never be fully understood, due to how it is compartmentalized depending on the the privileges you qualify for. However if you look at the definition for privilege you'll probably get something close to this. Privilege: a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group of people,and which this definition is correct for the group that is receiving the privilege. However McIntosh was stressing the fact that just because the privilege group acknowledges that there are some disadvantages they should also try to acknowledge that they are also “over-privileged”, and are receiving sanction that allow them to have an advantage over another group based on certain things. I believe this would be a hard task for some individuals to do because they just can’t see how, for example, their skin color allows them to have an advantage at somethings. This may be the case, because most of society's standards are set by the white male dominate prospective. That would make it difficult for someone of those in that particular group to understand the disadvantages of individuals not in those group. Another reading that I found very interesting this week was the, From New Orleans to Ferguson, a Decade of Asserting Black Lives Matter article, it was shocking to see the connection between a natural disaster and human on human killings. It frightened me to know, as a citizen that you can be in you community and have to fear for your well being, on a nation wide spectrum. This article described how black citizens have been fighting for the equality of “life appreciation”, so to say since 2005. When individuals were put at risk due to inadequate infrastructure, all the way to the slaying of an innocent unarmed teenager. We can also still see the continuation of Black Lives “NOT” Mattering, with the water situation in Flint, Michigan. A predominantly black community that has been drinking and using poisonous water since 2014. This would probably not be the case if that community were full on white people in a suburban area, there would be many relief resources available to this community. However the strongest sentence of this article is, “The moment we stop reminding the world that black lives matter, black lives will not matter.”. This sentence stuck out to me, not only because it is a true statement, but it goes to show the privilege that other individuals outside of the black community have, in the sense that the don’t have to fight for the protection of their lives and well being. Secondly, it a true statement, if the black community don’t continue to battle back against the oppression that is presented within society, we’ll be accepting the consequences that follow, which will result in these things and events becoming the norm. This is not something that we can let happen as a society, if those that are privileged acknowledge the fact that they are, and can they choose to lessen the privilege. We will then see equality, which will result in communities being protected from harm.

Week 2: Socialization

What is socialization? How do we do it? How did it come about? How does affect us? These are all good questions, and they can all be answered if you look at yourself, the people around you and think about the things that you have been taught since you were a baby.  First, I would look at myself and list off my physically attributes, economic status, and class status (which is mostly depends on how much money you have, “sometimes”). So, then I would look around the environment that I live in and then I would see the individuals that I choose to communicate and operate within society. Lastly, I would reflect on what have I been taught by my parents, school teacher, pastors, coaches and other influential authoritative figures. However, with socialization comes oppression, it seems that these concepts go hand in hand. For the simple, fact that when we are socialized there are status and groups that we are put based on the different attributes that we posses physical and nonphysical. In the reading Adams explains in depth with, “The Cycle of Socialization”, how the repetitive cycle allows socialization to be continuous. Adams starts by letting us know that we are born into certain situation that we didn't/ Don’t have control over, this is the beginning of both our socialization as well as oppression. Then after birth we are then taught certain things in our immediate environment and family members, which causes an even stronger belief because these are the people that care about us so they will never teach us anything wrong or that isn’t true. However, in some cases we find out that they were wrong, and that can because that’s what they were taught and that’s what has always been taught. Adams, also goes on to speak on how the institutions and other environments outside of the individual’s home usually sends the same socialized messages taught in the immediate environment. Which leads to the results, the individuals then began to believe what it being taught is truth. However, something that is was interesting to me was when Adams expressed, “Something makes us began to think, to challenge, to question the system... We begin to see that something is wrong with this picture.”. Meaning that some people decide to know something different, this begins the start of Liberation from socialization as well oppression. This is also referred to as, “The Cycle of Liberation”, at the first stage of waking up and realizing that something is wrong. This cycle involves empathizing with people, and trying to get to understand their differences. However, the core of The Cycle of Liberation, is self love, joy, hope, and authentic love of others, these are the positive reinforcements that are needed get us out of the repetitive cycle of Socialization, which will ultimately deliver us from oppression. I would like to reference the film, when one of the ladies was describing the conditions of one the neighborhoods in New York, and she stated that “none of the people asked to be born here”. That’s why I believe that it is so important to understand socialization, and just because that’s all one has known and has been taught, is all the world has to offer. That misconception can be dismissed by liberation of the oppression that  individual faces.

Week 1

It feels like this course, blog, and post is appropriate for this time in America. Just as we let the recent and newly President Donald Trump, enacted a legislative plan to ban Muslim as it seemed. However after doing some self education on the whole situation. I found out from an article on CNN the "Muslim Ban", is a ban of entry of citizens from the seven following countries, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya, and Somalia. Although, this is not to be taking lightly, real life human beings are being affected by these decisions. If an individual that doesn't have a green card confirming U.S citizenship, those individuals will not be let into the country. In fact the article stated that they would be, either shipped back immediately on a plane or detained like criminals until further notice. As I was reading the article and seeing all of the protest on social media, the only questions that I could think of was, "How could we let this happen as Americans?", "Is this really happening?" and lastly, "If this gets out of hand, what can I do about it?"  

This is where I believe that social justice plays a big part, because we as citizens should take to right precautions to stand up for what's right, and personally I feel that what’s right is all citizens working together to makes things in society run smoothly. This goes to back to the duty of the social worker according to the National Association of Social Worker, “ "Social work is a practical profession aimed at helping people address their problems and matching them with the resources they need to lead healthy and productive lives.”. This also pertains to the question proposed by police brutality victim Rodney King, “ Why can’t we all just get along?”, this simple question has left our society so confused, due to the fact that it’s a simple question but so hard to answer. However the small extract from Johnson book Rodney King’s Question, Johnson also addresses the privileges that are possessed by the dominant groups in society, and how it creates oppression and different many “isms” within society. He also elaborates on how the individuals who aren’t on the harmful side of the oppression, try to sweep their privileges on under the rugs and the discomfort that is felt when these subjects are brought up in discussions and in many different setting and environments. Johnson uses the analogy that about how his dogs interact with each others and things in things around them, then he explains that humans have thumbs and possess the mental capacity to actively many different things. However we have failed to be able to interact together as whole, in a sense that we let our differences keep us separated. Johnson also explains that the only way that we can get pass this massive issue is to work together. However we have to have open discussion that acknowledge the issue, make sure the privilege know that they, meaning the issues exist.

To answer the questions that internally ask myself, we let something like the Muslim ban happen, because we as a society didn’t think that it was possible, or we acted like the blatant discrimination doesn't exist. This is really happening and if it gets out of hand, I will do all that is humanly possible to defend and fight for those affected.