Race in America

Race is something new to the world. People were not always categorized as different races. However, these categorizations today are usually far from accurate. Many people believe race to be biological, but the real racism exists with skin color and looks. In class, we took a race quiz guessing what race famous people were just by looking at their picture. This was much more difficult than it sounds. We got the majority wrong because we based our decisions on their color and features that we assume to all belong to one race. There are many people who are of mixed decent, but no one takes the mixture into account and just single them into one race category. For example, Barack Obama is half white and half black. Everyone sees him and treats him as a black man when he is just as much white as he is black. This shows how diluted our perception of race is and I don't know if this perception will ever change.

Monopobility

We played monopoly in sociology class, but with different rules. Each player had a different social class and different rules and standards that applied to their class. I was the lowest working class and I have to say I did not have fun playing this game. I had pretty much no money and absolutely no properties. I had to go to jail and the only way I could get out was by rolling doubles, which never happened. So while all the other players were buying up properties and making money off rent, I sat in jail the entire game unable to bail myself out. This made me realize how others in the working class feel when they see people who are better off than them. I was getting kind of angry when I saw the higher classes racking up the money and having better luck than me. This is an issue for some people in their everyday life that I cannot even imagine how to deal with. Hopefully more people become aware of this and try to help out. I think that people are so used to how they were brought up and in the same social class all their life with the same sort of surroundings. In order to really make a difference or give back to the community, we need to realize the struggles people face first.

Social Class

High School is definitely an influence on social class. At Stevenson, we all have pretty much the same social status. There isn't too much of a difference between the families in this district. I think that this sets us in this mindset for later years. Most people grow to having the same social class or status as their family was while growing up. It is difficult to change your status because we get so accustomed to a certain way of life. The people who do stray from their original status, whether it be better or worse, have obstacles to overcome. People act differently or think they need to act a certain way because of the amount of income they are making or what kind of career they hold. Family and friends who didn't follow the changes you made might be hesitant to accept it. I think that people don't react well to change and like things to be how they always are. For example, in the movie we watched in class, they girl from Kentucky moved to Washington D.C. to have a career, but her family does not like this. In D.C., she dresses, talks and acts completely different than she does when she visits home in Kentucky. This shoes her resistance to fully change her lifestyle and how she thinks she needs to change her personality because of this transition.

Justice

I think that the justice system needs major improvement. Locking someone up with no hope for the future is not going to change their life around. These prisoners need help and resources to assist them in making right decisions and wanting to change for the better. The majority of the people in prison has committed multiple crimes and been in prison before. This is a scary fact that may be able to change if prisons improved into more of a rehabilitation area.

Saints and Roughnecks

I do think that there are "saints" and "roughnecks" at Stevenson, but not to the extent of the school in the article "The Saints and the Roughnecks". There are many kids here at school who seem to always be getting in trouble. They frequently are visiting their dean and getting yelled at in classes. Not everything these "roughnecks" are doing is necessarily worth their punishment. I think that the label that is given to them and how they are perceived by their classmates, teachers, and deans has an effect of on how they are treated. On the other hand I know of kids who seem to get away with anything! It is because of their acceptable behavior that people least expect it from them. A "saint" and a "roughneck" could probably both commit the same act of deviance and who do you think would get busted for it? It is harder to get away with stuff when you have a close watch on you, which most of the "roughnecks" have.

Masculinity

Violence is a way that males like to express themselves and their masculinity. There are many studies that say it is perfectly noraml and healthy for boys to get in fights and portray violent behavior. However, not all boys are like this and commit such violent acts. Other boys are a lot better at coping with their everyday life and all of the put downs that they hear. The boys who are violent really have no excuse. How can some males put up with being made fun of but others can't? These males need to learn how to handle themselves better. But can they really learn when tough manliness surrounds them everywhere they go? There is not a single day when I don't witness guys acting all tough and macho. What people don't realize is that this is a sheild and only an attempt to being accepted as a male in this world. How will anything ever change if this continues?

Bowling for Columbine

Fear is a concept that is portrayed all around you as you grow up. Everywhere you go there is a build up of fear and concern. The news especially instills fear in Americans by highlighting all the bad things that go wrong or can go wrong. People begin to fear each other. Do you really ever feel safe, even in your own home? I know that I don't. I really realized how dependent Americans are on fear. Just the other day I was home alone for maybe only 20 minutes and I couldn't help but get scared in that 20 minute time period. My parents had just gone out to dinner and I was waiting for a freind to pick me up to go out. I was watching TV when the doorbell rang. As soon as I heard that ding, my heart droped. I turned the TV off and sat in silence not moving. This may seem very unusal, but I was told to never answer the front door when i was growing up, especially when home alone. But now I am 18 years old and I still get scared? Sadly, yes. I did not move to answer the door and I swore I saw someone walking by my kitchen window. This scared the crap out of me as I called my friend asking if she was going to be there soon. I never realized how paranoid of a country America is. Fear exists everywhere we go, even our own homes. However, fear is not always an automatic instinct. Fear is what we know and how we were brought up. There was probably nothing to fear when the doorbell rang, but why was I so scared? It is because of all of the horrible stpries and pictures and things you hear about that make us American protective of ourselves. The news highlights only the bad stuff so it makes it seem that so many bad things happen. But in actuality is only seems that way because happy news is reported not nearly as often.