New Years Crash Blog

Question 4: I think that stereotypes come from peoples judgment and the media. People develop stereotypes out of fear or inferiority towards a group of people so they have to put them down to make themselves feel better. Families definitely play a major role in developing stereotypes for their children. There are many external sources that contribute to the development of stereotypes.

Question 5: I dont think that being racist is in our genes. Its something that you pick up as you go along life. It would be hard to say that once a baby is born that it is a racist. I think that its environment and their parents greatly influence who they are going to be as adults.

Question 6: I dont think that race can be learned. I think it comes naturally within ones surroundings and family ties. Family plays a big role as kids observe their families and interpret what they're supposed to be like.

Question 7: I dont think it is possible to end racism because there are always those people that will carry that tradition of hatred towards another race. There are gangs out there that demonstrate very well their hatred toward another race or gang. Racism will unfortunately live on forever in people across the world because of stereotypes and other people always looking down on the minority.

what privileges does Wealth give someone in the US? Cite 3 examples, and explain them. How did something we learned from class demonstrate/prove these privileges? Do you think anything could or should be done to adjust the societal "rules" that set up these privileges? If so what?

Wealth in the US gives people a major advantage in life. The wealthy dont have to worry about where there next meal is coming from. The wealthy have more privileges than anyone else in the world. They can afford to go to the better schools, they can be able to afford expensive cars and live in big houses. They have the privilege of being the top hand in society where they have a lot of power and influence over what happens in the world.

One thing that opened my eyes to how privileged the wealthy were was the monopoly game we played in class. The wealthy person started out with much more property than anyone else. This was a huge advantage because from the start, they could build houses and hotels because they could afford to waste some money on it. They also received more money each time they passed go which helped them afford even more properties and hotels. The lower class cant live on just 36 dollars every time they pass go. The amount of money made by each class made the game very lopsided and unfair. Another advantage that the wealthy had in the game as well as real life was the ability to get out of jail without really staying there for a while. In the world today, the wealthy can make bail so much easier than the poorer people of society.

The only thing that I could think of to change the rules in society is to make the poorer people have the same advantages in life as the wealthy or make the wealthy simply less wealthy. To make an equal society, there needs to be limits on certain aspects of peoples lives to make things more fair throughout the different social classes.

Social Classes

"What a man is depends on his character; but what he does, and what
we think of what he does, depends on his circumstances. The characteristics that
ruin a man in one class made him eminent in another."

what is your interpretation of this quote? What does Shaw mean? Cite an example of behavior that is considered a virtue in one class and a vice in another.

I think that this quote by Shaw means that while a man is known by his character, there are different situations that can show it better than others. While people of higher class demonstrate certain behaviors, lower and middle class members showing the same act would be looked at differently or as an outcast of that social class. One simple behavior that the lower class does is that they sometimes like to get physical and use very mild physical abuse as playfulness and roughhousing; however, the upper and most of the middle class see that as nonsense and those people are outliers of their class.

Deviance

Is punishable deviance a societal construct? Is this avoidable in a society? How then do we regulate punishable deviance in the US?

I believe that punishable deviance is a social construct because even the smallest infraction against the law is punishable by jail time. The system is very flawed. I think that it is avoidable because we can regulate the prison systems better to further prevent the social deviance and crime in this society.

What does our punishment/penitentiary system tell us as sociologists?

Our system tells us that people that do wrong things should and will be punished; however, the depressing lifestyle of jail for most crimes is only temporary. As Morgan Spurlock's video on 30 Days in Jail showed us, most criminals end up back in prison after they served their sentence. A lot of these crimes occur after the first couple of weeks after being released.

What issues are evident by looking at our court and jail system when you look at what deviance is criminal - who is usually arrested and then convicted - who is usually sentenced to jail - what do we do with deviants once they are in jail???????

The issues that our court system has is putting people behind bars and doing nothing to help them change. There are some jails that have a rehabilitation area but inmates can be released early for serving their time and not finishing the course. The people that are usually sent to jail are african americans who make up 46% of the prison system. Once they are in jail, they spend their time doing nothing but mind numbing activities like exercise and get tattoos and other things that do not help them change.

Final for 2nd 6 weeks

1. Most of my influences have been based off of nature over nurture. I was brought up in a community with opportunity to participate in whatever I wanted to do. I got involved in hockey very young and it has played a major part in who my friends are as well as my outlook on the way I see the world today. My parents have brought me up to be a certain way that I only seem to follow when they're around but mostly not. Today, I have chosen to wear a hockey pullover and jeans. This shows my involvement with the hockey team as well as adding some individuality with a necklace. It shows that as even though I'm involved with a team and a group activity, I like to show a little of my own personality. Nature and Nurture don't really balance out with me because I tend to be my own person rather than the person that my parents try to influence me to be.

2. Adolescent social status power is consuming because most teens just want to fit in and have a lot of friends and be invited to parties, etc. Its so important to teens because most of high school is finding where u fit in and which people you can associate yourself with. The more time you have associating with other people, the more of a chance you have of fitting in with a particular group of people. The ability to fit in with people is consuming because so many people will take all their time and energy just to fit in with a certain group. They spend so much time on it that they forget what adolescents is about.

3. The socialization process is very different from when it used to be even 15 years ago. Today, through mass media as well as technology, they find ways to communicate through computers and advanced cell phones. Some concerns are that teens and children will forget how to survive without technology. They become consumed in the need to be technologically connected to everyone through their phones, facebook, twitter etc., that they don't really know what its like to do something different like go outside for an hour rather than spend it on the computer. I think the concerns are semi-valid because people are spending more and more time inside away from their friends although they are connected to them. People would much rather sit with a couple friends and watch a movie than go out and throw a ball around. When people hang out at others' houses, they sit around and txt each other as well as other people. Their need for communication and connection will be their faults.

4. Some examples of the gender differences in socialization are obviously means of communication and the amount of communication. Guys text each other briefly to see what they're up to if they just want to hang out. Girls tend to text each other about almost everything they can talk about. The majority of people texting during class are girls. Its the need to stay connected with their friends and constant updates. Guys, who are generally lazier, will be more laid back when it comes to communicating, just letting things fall into place. I don't think it has made much impact in my life at all.

1. Give a new and unique example of “Water” in your life. In other words, water is our culture and the way it affects your behaviors. Please identify a way we have not already discussed or read about that your culture is influencing you.

The water in my life, i guess would be school. If i really had to think about it, school is where i spend my most time in life where i see and interact with my friends. Its a routine that is very normal and is not avoidable. School is my social water because its where all my friends are, its an almost everyday part of life. Another example of the water around us is just how we interact with our friends. The normal environment that we live in is a major part of our lives that is just normal. You act according to your surroundings. If your always surrounded by your friends, you tend to act like your friends influencing you and your water might be different from someone else.

2. How do you navigate the water all around you? How do you behaviorally adjust to the cultural forces going on around you? An example with description.

I navigate around the water that surrounds me by social interaction. You move from place to place with a goal. The goal might be big or small but u go everywhere with a purpose. You communicate to maneuver your life. The water around you is shaped by social interactions that you make and your water is also shaped by what you believe in. You behaviorally adjust according to things going on around you. Like for example, you change according to your surroundings so when something happens in your life to change it, like a death in the family or your going through a rough patch in school, your immediate life changes due to what you make of your life. It'll change weather u want it to or not. Your water changes and u have to adjust to it because if you dont, you wont know what to do and your water becomes different from what you saw it to be before.

3. Values – what American values do you embrace and what values do/might you creatively adjust to find your own happiness? (2 examples each) Describe how you “creatively” adjust values (or think you might in the future) of society to find your own happiness in life now or in the future.

As americans, we are getting lazier and lazier. Although we keep producing the majority of technology in the world, many americans arent doing anything but sit around and do nothing but hang around with friends and party. It might show a decreasing interest in knowladge in the world, but its a value that i embrace and is accepted that i manipulate to my own happiness and enjoiment. Another value that i embrace is the value of having friends. I dont think people would consider having friends a value but it is if you think about it. To have friends means that you have people that will stand by your side no matter what. When you have friends, they accept you for who you are and you feel good about yourself, when people dont have friends, their world view is changed and has a greatly affected happiness. You cant be happy without friends. People are content without friends but are never truly happy. People can adjust their calues in the future to make themsleves fit in with where ever they are. They find happiness in the strangest places but if they can make their own choices and survive in the world constantly adjusting their values to be happy, then they probably didnt have very good values to start.

How are you like your family?
I think i follow in my brothers footsteps rather than my parents. Even though i did not grow up with my brothers i have done more to be like them without really knowing. I am not like my parents at all.
Long time friends?
I greatly resemble the ideas of my long time friends. We all seem to think alike and have a similar sense of humor and ideas about life.
When did your parents first realize you had a unique personality and what were the "signs" they saw? (Go ahead ask them!)
My parents first realized that i had a unique personality in middle school. Some of the signs were that i was strong in math, i understood mature and advanced concepts and i was starting to show potential in my life to come.
What are some habits/attitudes/etc that you do not want to be like your P's?
My parents like to raise their voices a lot which doesnt feel good emotionally. I would treat my kid a little differently cause they have the right idea on how to be good parents just not the technique.
Do you think it will be possible to work against both nature and nurture and to be different???
If you can work really hard against them, i suppose that you can do anything that you really want to.
After the in-class reading on Thursday about AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION please identify what have been the most significant people or groups (besides family) that have affected your self-concept, attitudes, behaviors, or other orientations toward life. Once you identify one or more groups, besides Family, explain how/what influences they have had.
I would say that my friends have had the greatest influences on me in my life. I am always interacting with them and our ideas have changed over the years. Because we all tend to think alike, our ideas have changed as a group. We all have some things that we dont agree on, but it helps in our friendship to balance it out. Too many people with the exact same ideas in the same place may be a little dangerous haha.

A Bronx Tale

In the movie, "A Bronx Tale," a young boy who is come to known as by "C" is a normal kid in the Bronx.

Throughout the movie, he is exposed to all sorts of behavior as well as a murder. He doesn't rat out the killer. This killer, happens to be the sort of "godfather" of this Italian neighbor hood. His name is Sunny. He could do anything he wanted because people had the most respect they could have for him than anyone else they knew. Sunny gambled, which is how he made the majority of his money. He quickly took in "C" as a son to him. He showed him his way of life and his philosophy. "The working man is a sucker," he always said. This influenced C in his way of life. He clung to Sunny as a father and learned his ways. As soon as Sunny took C in, everyone gave C respect.

It was mostly cause they all feared Sunny that C got respect. When people fear you, they do things for you without question. They respect you out of fear that someday you wont be there to help them out if they need it. Sunny was right. Being available is the key to being so loved as a public figure. You need to be distant so you people think that they need you but also be close to see whats going on with everything.

Does fear influence people more than respect?

Do people tend to react more to other situations when they are not directly involved?

Was C right in looking up to Sunny more than paying attention to his own father?

9/11

9/11 is always a sensitive time of year for everyone. people remember the terrorist attacks on the world trade center and the attack on the pentagon. more importantly, they remember the lives that were lost that terrible day. i was in 4th grade in math class when the news was announced on television. at the time i hadnt realized the heaviness of the event. it hit me a little later when i found out that the united states had gone to war. this event had changed american history forever. safety precautions have severely increased and the government seems more paranoid by the minute. as americans we have developed stereotypes about other races and now the muslim people have taken a hit for it. it wasnt their fault for the attack. its stupid to think that people should be judged by how they look or what god they pray to. it doesnt matter at all. there has only been one good thing that has come from this attack on american safety; its the way we have come together as a nation and how we are as close as ever. patriotism has increased a lot since this devastating event in history. we need to stop the stupidity of the governments plans to wage war and carry on with the fighting. the racism and stereotyping needs to come to a stop. we're americans and we'll be better than that.

First Day of Shool

The first day of this new school year went alright. I didn't really feel to pressured into the last year of high school. People were friendly and things seemed to work out. All my teachers are pretty cool and the classes don't seem too difficult. I'm looking forward to a good year in all my classes and to graduate in June.