Who Am I?

It is finally the end to the semester and we are back at the question that started our class off this year.  Who am I, what influences the life I live, and what is my purpose for existence on earth?  After taking the semester of sociology, I am well informed of the sociological influences shaping my life every day and discovering how these forces guide my journey in life.  Before sociology, I was well unaware of the social groups our society has formed into and how we view certain groups as better and worse than others.  These social classes are constructed right in front of our very eyes but we don't see this because we live our clustered lives in these groups that don't wander to other classes of the world.  Sociology has helped me become more open and accepting of other races and groups of people in society.  I am less likely to judge someone from first encounter rather I may wonder what challenges they face trying to navigate through life.  I am not a functionary trained to live a certain course in life rather a scholar open for changes and experiences in order to attain a well respected role in society for the republic.

Crash Into Me

To end the semester of sociology, we watched the highly acclaimed movie crash which exposed viewers to our society of racism, fear, and speculations.  The movie did a fantastic job portraying realistic scenarios where race altered actions and treatments toward individuals present in society.  I rememeber especially the Sandra Bullock character who played an upper-middle class white woman struggling with her prejudice like attitude and she realizes in the end, that the only friend she has in this world is her house keeper.  This whole set-up was a mataphor regarding societies approach toward races and minority groups that struggle to conform with societies norms.  The movie placed a wake up call in my mind forcing me to realize that we are all human beings maybe with different skin color or complexions but we all have feelings and dignity which others must respect in order to create a balanced community.

Importance of Racism

This whole week in class we've been discussing racism and how it shapes our culture.  As a society it is so interesting to see different categories we place groups of people into based on race and ethnicity.  In some ways this can alter requirements for job positions, educational standards, and the overall income that that person could attain based on race.  I think that our society is working very hard to avoid racial issues and that we are determined to be one big nation working together trying to alter issues in society.  It's was so interesting to see how our society defines ceratin races compared to other parts of the world that may have different names and labels for ceratin groups of people.  I think what people need to understand about race is that it truly doesn't exist biologiacally.  It's a force that's shaped throughout our culture that had been influenced to the rest of society.  People need to create their own conclusions before judging each other by races.

Is Minimul Wage High Enough?

In class, we watched the exciting reality series 30 Days where Morgan Spurlock puts himself into other peoples shoes and exposes his viewers to real life issues and events that effect a great amount of society.  Him and his wife worked as minimul wage workers barely scraping by with each salary the two were earning.  The show gave me a great perspective on the challenges and difficulties so many individuals face on a daily basis and how the systems set forth in America make it virtually impossible to move out of these routine conditions.  This makes me look at my life as a student.  I come from an upper-middle class family in a wealthy suburb of Chicago.  I didn't choose to live this lifestyle.  Like everyone on earth, I was born into my family who controls what type of lifestyle I'll live.  It's to a large extent a luck of a draw of how you'll end up financially, and the degree of education you may obtain.  The show expressed how impossible it was to make ends meet and to control a liveable environment that's healthy and acceptable.  The minimul wage has made it nearly impossible to sustain life with a family and all the necessities life requires.  I am so grateful and I appreciate the life I have been given.

Optimism and Effort Equals a Better Future

In the movie we watched, it exposed us to the different classes and stereotypes placed on different grouos of people.  People are judged to a large extent on their race, ethnicity, social status, financial situation, and their ability to succeed in life.  People act in certain manners depending on the situation and who they are aquainted with.  We don't even realize we're living this way because it's been apart of us since we were raised in this world from birth.  Our parents teach us certain morals and principals that we take for granted not realizing that a majority of society alters these behaviors in life.  Different religions and social groups behave differently depending on the situation and how they were raised as adolecense.  For example, in the movie they showed the dedicated women Tammy optimistically working her way to supporting a family alone determined to provide an income no matter where it originated from.  Her sons were embarrased by her career path because modern society views the successful people as your doctors, lawyers, business men, scientists, pilots, and so many more professions out there.  This movie was an excellent lesson for me to never judge those around me who work hard and sacrfice for their families in order to survive.

What to do with the Prisoners...

The Morgan Spurlock documentary exposing himself to the inside of a real prison was very interesting and eye opening to view.  This was an experiment to see how being placed in the shoes of a prisoner felt and what challenges they face because of the current systems in place for the inmates.  This Virginia prison was unique in that they offered much assitance to those inmates willing to work hard to try and alter their life choices and their future goals.  These therapy sessions allowed the inmates to truly open up and express their feelings and emotions toward society and their paths in life.  The movie expressed how many prisons don't offer these therapy events and they leave the prisoners on their own fighting problems mentally and physically before being released into society with no personal aid.  Our system must be changed in order to accomodate and push for helping to transform these individuals back to citizens ready to survive in mainstream society.

It's All About Money and Power

The article Sal had us read was really interesting because it presented many situations where certain classes of people were able to maneuver around authorities and the rest of society.  However, "roughneck" type kids exposed themselves more with an attempt to participate in illegal activities out in the open with little concern of punishment and consequences.  The so called "saints" tried to find trouble and fun to a certain level where little damage occurred or they fled the scene in order to maintain a healthy reputation.  The article shocked me when they mentioned how they ditched classes all the time and the teachers rarely noticed their tricky tactics or their absence regularly.  At our school attendance is taken very seriously and kids take their education pretty seriously in our middle upper class community.  It was interesting to read how authority figures would react to certain situations depending on who was doing it and where it took place.  Saints would plead for forgiveness while roughnecks searched for a fight and a chance to present their "tough guy" image.  Our society judges to a great extent on the type of person committing the act and the background of the person financially and socially.  Money and power is all it takes unfortunately in our society.