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.

Majoring in Sociology

Greetings, My name is Jarmarquis Durst I am currently wrapping up the second semester of my freshmen year at Tarleton State University. I am majoring in Sociology while also minoring in Criminal Justice. I plan use both my major and minor to become a Corrections Officer at the juvenile level. Sociology gives you wide variety of career paths to choose from, and if you still haven't decided once, you have completed your for years. Graduate school is offer so you can continue furthering you studies while improving your chances of landing a better good and usually internships are available. Also sociology helps shape your out look on society and it shows how we are different, but still very the same.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6v6g4yeqzI

What is Sociology?

Sociology focuses how people behave in society is examine through groups, cultures, organizations and social institutions. This raise question like why do men get paid more than women? Why does baby boys have to wrap in blues? Why does certain countries rank higher than others in anti-depressant drugs? Are we free are do we follow the society? These questions of how society is and works has brought many different answer in which sociology covers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LK5J0-cM-HE&list=WL&index=24

Jobs Available For A Sociology Major

Sociology covers a wide variety of human interaction, and which makes its job opportunity a wide variety of choices. Sociologist can continue theirs studies by continuing research and experiments, however others minor in the field they seek to be employed in immediately graduation. These are more of the every day jobs like, probation officers, polices offices, accounts,social workers, and ect.
https://www.uwrf.edu/SOCI/SociologyHome/Index.cfm