Racism exists everywhere

https://www.facebook.com/DodoImpact/videos/1414612461889176/?hc_ref=NEWSFEED

This is a video about how racism even exists when choosing what dog gets put down in the pound. It is crazy that wherever you go there is discrimination and labeling just because of aesthetics. The reason for this post is because even though it is off the topic of what we are learning about in terms of things that relate to our personal life it is a spot on example to show how humans always seem to find a way to single out one group from the rest and treat them worse purely because of how they look.

Ten Things You Should Know About Race (in case you didn't get to see this)

Click Here

A Conversation with Police on Race

Now that we are knee deep in Rodney King and Ferguson... here are some other perspectives...

Missing Ms. B

I think its time that Ms. B comes back from her meetings in Texas because I am getting tired of having to listen to Mrs. Jacksons stories about her children. She has told us some crazy stories about her, like how she use to live in East Palo Alto and would hear gun shots every night and she would call the cops, but the cops would just ask her where are those gun shots coming from. She would say "I DONT KNOW but i am sure not going to go out and find out where they are coming from" so her solution to this problem was that she went to all her neighbors house and banged on their doors and asked them "are you guys hearing the gun shots too". She then gathered them up and made a plan that whenever they heard these gun shots they would all call the police multiple times until they heard the police in the area because she wanted a change in her community. Mrs. Jackson did this because she wanted her home and area where she lived to be safe. She also talks a lot about her son who works for the warriors and how he got a big old ring after they won the championship. I think it really is time for the great Ms. B to come back to our amazing 3rd and 4th global class. ;)

Funny

What the Eyes Can't See, The Heart Can't Feel.

One of the very first things you learn when you begin doing race consciousness work is that you MUST ground your learning in your own racial experience.  When I started this process a million years ago, I didn't even know I had a racial identity.  Turns out, most white people don't think we have a racial identity when we are first confronted with that question.

I know NOW, after almost two decades of doing this work, that 100% of my experience as a human being on this planet and ESPECIALLY in the United States, is racialized.  Race is everywhere. And it's okay to talk about it.

As they say in Spanish "Ojos que no ven, corazon que no siente".  Roughly translated, that means, "What the eyes can't/don't see, the heart can't/won't feel."

And once you get "woke", you can never be colorblind again.

As a white woman, living in the United States today, seeing how my white privilege LITERALLY protects my life in ways that do not extend to other members of my community, I just can't live with that and not do something every single day to try to interrupt that systemic racism.

That is why I teach the coursework that I teach.
That is why I actively seek out and have people of color as close personal intimate friends.

I have taken part and benefitted from a system of privilege for my entire life.  And I must do my part to share the wealth. That doesn't make me any less wealthy. I will not suffer.  I will only be better for it.

My life, my experiences, are richer and so much more beautiful because of the people of color in my life who have raised me up. Who have taught me when I have hurt, offended, and wounded them with my whiteness.  They have never turned their backs on me.  They have held me in loving accountability for my ignorance.  They have helped me grow and learn.  And I feel badly for relying on them for that.

It's not the job of the people of color in my life to teach me how to be more human and see and understand their experiences.  It is my job to do that.  And so,

I will ask questions.
I will make myself vulnerable and uncomfortable.
I will put myself in places where I can experience counter narratives to my own white experience.
I will stay engaged in this process even when it is easier to retreat into my safe "white" place.
I will do this because I have the privilege of being white and being safe and I have done nothing special to earn that. I was lucky enough to be born that way.

Leon Ford Jr.: This is what a survivor of a police shooting looks like. Activism 101.

Imagine being shot 5 times by police for absolutely nothing.  Sadly, that doesn't require a huge stretch of the imagination for most of us living in the year 2016.
But, imagine living to tell about it. THAT is rare.
And extraordinary.

Now, imagine that you are in fact able to hold the police accountable for their wrongful actions AND then you become an activist for changing the system that crippled you for life.

That just doesn't happen.

Unless you are Leon Ford Jr.

During my conference sessions yesterday, I met a very close personal friend of Leon Ford, Jr. His name is Jason Rivers and he and I were table partners in my Ferguson session.  He was kind enough to share his friend, Leon's, story with me when he heard about the work we are doing in Global.  (PS. I also shared the link to the blog with him-- If you're reading this, hi Jason!).  

Leon's story of survival is inspiring enough on its own.  But when you learn that he not only survived this horrific tragedy but has dedicated his life to telling his story to inspire young (and old) people to get engaged in the fight against a criminal justice system that has protected police who brutalize and kill young men at alarming rates.  You can find more information about Leon Ford Jr through his organization Leon Ford Speaks. 

Day 2 Continued: Lessons from Ferguson

Dr. Veronica Benavidas, Harvard University

My Day 2 afternoon session was lead by two AMAZING and ACCOMPLISHED women of color.

Dr. Benavidas was involved in a case study that brought her to Ferguson in the immediate aftermath of the shooting of Michael Brown to look at how the three school districts and the community worked together through the period of civil unrest.  Her work, titled "Lessons From Ferguson: Leadership in the Times of Civil Unrest", was presented in brief.

We then watched as she lead a powerful role playing exercise where adults were faced with moments of needing to "interrupt" racism and it was humbling to say the least.  This was hard.  For everyone. Confronting folks when they are perpetuating systemic racism is hard work.  And it must be done in a way that keeps the dialogue open and holds the space of loving accountability.

Dr. Raygine DiAquoi, Columbia University, Director ODCI

The other part of the session included the work of Dr. Raygine DiAquoi, Director for the Office of Diversity,Culture and Inclusion (ODCI) at Columbia University, where she is also an alumna. Both DiAquoi and Benavidas worked on the case study in Ferguson, Illinois.

The following is an excerpt from an article from Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health:

"DiAquoi did her graduate work at Harvard on “the Talk”—how African-American parents speak with their children about racism, including warnings about interactions with law enforcement. Her parents, both Haitian immigrants, began conversations with their daughter about racial discrimination and bias as soon as she could talk—lessons that gained more meaning in the private secondary school where she was the only black student in her class.

In her doctoral thesis, DiAquoi examined how the content of "the Talk" evolved through the 20th Century to the present, coming to the sobering conclusion that today’s conversations have regressed, resembling those from Jim Crow—a reality she says reflects structural racism of mass incarceration and policing that disproportionately affect people of color. More recently, her work on the way schools in Ferguson, Missouri, responded to the death of Michael Brown was crafted into a case study that has been widely used among educators and other leaders.

I will be getting a copy of the case study referenced above and we will explore its findings TOGETHER!  

Latino Racial Identity. Let's try to get "clear" on the terms y'all.

Okay, so day 2 from Austin and my brain is on complete overload with all my learning.


My first session on Day 2 (Tuesday) was about Latinx (you will learn this term in the video below) Racial Identity.  WOW. I learned I have a LOT to learn about how we (White people) racialize Latinx people in the United States.  And by "racialize" I mean, attribute socially constructed meaning to who they are as people of color.   We didn't watch the video below in my session, but I think it does a great job of illustrating many of the issues we discussed.

The second video, one that we watched excerpts from (hey! pay attention Global Students-- these are great "documentary" making methods as well) comes from a documentary opinion series (doc-ed) in the New York Times.  There are all kinds of interesting topics they explore (including a Conversation with Police About Race...) but I wanted to post this particular piece as a powerful model for how to talk about race in a personal way. (Also pay attention because your turn is coming!)

Finally, to add to the conversation, I offer the following piece from The Pew Research Center.  It explores the way in which US (Federal policy and social construction) doesn't really merge well will how the Latinx community defines itself racially and ethnically. Pew Research on Hispanic Racial Identity

"Do Hispanics consider their Hispanic background to be part of their racial background, their ethnic background or both?

A new Pew Research Center survey of multiracial Americans finds that, for two-thirds of Hispanics, their Hispanic background is a part of their racial background – not something separate. This suggests that Hispanics have a unique view of race that doesn’t necessarily fit within the official U.S. definitions."

What a day it was and this was just the morning!  Part 2 of this blog post is coming up soon!

Debate on Racism

After watching the Presidential Debate tonight, I was very intrigued with that topic of racism and the gun violence in the past year. Clinton focused on respecting, but also being respected by the police, which I think it a very important point made. We can put all sorts of regulations on who can own a gun, but what really needs to be done is restoring the trust that people have in the police force. In the video we were watching today about the Ferguson case, the people of the city lost trust in the police because of the violence and the threat that they posed. The idea that Clinton brought up about making the priority to keep the people safe and to not disrespect the rights of the people is a very valuable thought. People are all caught up in the activities that have been going on, and by not stepping back and trying to fix the situation, things can get much worse. I thought that it was very thought provoking to watch the debate tonight, and it was more interesting because I have formed my own opinion about the situations from this class and am now able to apply it into the real world.
I couldn't find a good article debriefing the debate topic, but I would highly recommend watching clips from this part of the debate!

Rodney King hip hop reflection

When we first learned about Rodney King it reminded me of all the police brutality today and how we see so many videos of beatings. I realized this was just the beginning of a long battle that will go all the way to today. After the trial I did think there was injustice because the police did need to take responsibility for their actions like today where many police think they can get away with whatever because they are police. I meet a family friends nephew who is a police in santa cruz and started asking him questions about his job, after talking to him I realized that even in the bay area police still think they could do whatever they want because he was telling me all these things that he does and no one seems to care that they are wrong. Then after watching this documentary i see how big a problem it is, and that the people in Los angeles were acting ethically right  by rioting to try to prove to the police how corrupt they are. Today it think we are a a boiling point with all the police brutality in the news and if we don't learn from the past and stop this we might end up with many other riots breaking out.

Whiteness. Even a seven year old "gets it".

Hey All. I'm sitting in my hotel room on Sunday night, my birthday, after sitting in a conference room all day talking with other white educators about "whiteness" at the 2016 National Summit for Courageous Conversation.

But wait... first... I just read some of the blogs from last week and WOW.  Keep it up young people.
You make me P-R-O-U-D.  Your thoughtfulness and willingness to "go there" in your reflecting on our work together is impressive.

Okay.  Back to the regularly scheduled broadcast.

In class on the Wednesday, my class did the identity readings and activities, and I started class with this video.

If you haven't watched this 2016 version of the Black Eyed Peas' "Where is the Love?" I highly recommend.  Not only is it a really great update to the original (I like it more now that I've listened and watched a few times.) but it touches on so many of the relevant topics of today and of Global Connections.

I shared with my class that this work that WE are doing TOGETHER is REAL.  It's not a purely academic process.  It's real life.  And that is what makes it so important.

Today, I spent the day immersed in an exploration and discussion of White Privilege and Whiteness as a Weapon.  In some cases it was review for me (White Privilege) but the powerful new thinking around using Whiteness as a Weapon was profound. Obviously, there is the current culture around police brutality toward men and communities of color.  That "Whiteness as a Weapon" is fairly apparent in everyday headlines.


But I hadn't considered how we use it as a weapon in some much more daily and "usual" ways. Here is my very over simplified summary of the session.

When we think of Whiteness as a culture, these are cultural values on which we operate:




1. The concepts on the list above don't exclusively "belong" to white people but they are primarily the values on which white people in the United States operate.

2. The "whiteness" of the concepts above are not inherently bad. In fact many of them are great qualities and values to embody.

3. It is only when it is considered "the best, the right or the ONLY way to be" does it become a potential weapon.

For example:  As a teacher, if I value those who constantly raise their hands and share in class (extroversion) as the "best way to show what you know" and give those students higher grades for "participation" while de-valuing or de-emphasizing other skills like group work and collaboration, I can be using "Whiteness as a Weapon".  Not all cultures value the idea of "showing what you know" or  see that kind of giving answers as a way of "acting as though you are better than another person". That is a competitive, individualistic, extroverted aka "White" cultural value.  Other cultures, African-American, Latino, Indigenous, value the group or the community over an individual success.
Another example:  The value of rigid time schedules and "time is money" doesn't take into consideration that many cultures value relational time over clock time. In clock time, if I have a prearranged meeting but a student comes in for help, I give him or her that 5 minutes but then I have to go off to my next prearranged meeting and leave that student whether or not he/she got what she needed from me.  In relational time, if I am having an important conversation with someone and that conversation needs 5 minutes, I give it 5 minutes.  If it needs 2 hours, I give it 2 hours. If it needs 5 hours, I give it 5 hours.  We do not move on until that relationship has been tended to.  Can you imagine a world like that??? I want to live THERE... a place where people matter more than a schedule.  What happens when a person is late to a meeting and we run up the ladder of inference using "white cultural values"... ponder.

The other big concept that we discussed today was how to use LOVING accountability as a means of holding ourselves and others responsible in interrupting racism when it is encountered in our daily lives.  How do we "Call In" (That thing you did didn't land well with me... Can I give you some feedback?) others to conversation and inquiry rather than "Calling Out" (You are a racist.) people when they injure or offend.  We must stay in a place that we let ourselves engage in conversations that can be very hard, but we do so with love. (Where is the LOVE???).

Finally, I want to end this already way too long post, with a story.  Our facilitator shared a story about her niece, Isabella, who is 7 years old and with whom she has been having ongoing conversations about race since she was old enough to understand (about 4 years old).  After seeing something on television about police brutality, Isabella and Christine (the facilitator, auntie) had a conversation about white people and black people in this country.  This was the picture that Isabella drew in class the next day during "Free Art Time".
It speaks for itself.

Look closely.

It says "The American Eagle Can't Decide".
On one wing is a white person.
 On the other wing is a black person.  The eagle's head (I know, it kind of looks like a chicken.  She is 7, cut her some slack) is turning back and forth.
Down the tail it says "Both in Peace."

Even a seven year old gets it.

Isabella, Age 7, "The American Eagle Can't Decide"

When we first started unwrapping the LA Riots of '92, I could not understand how hundreds of people could riot for several days because of the Rodney King incident. It was more than a riot, it was a rampage, people were beating each other, burning buildings down, looting, and murder. They were destroying their own neighborhood, and harming their own neighbors simply because they were not black. How could there be so much hate because of of one incident? But, once we started digging deeper into the riots, we learned that the Rodney King incident was just one of MANY. Their community had been treated like this for so long, that they all just broke. I find it really sad that they had so much anger built up in themselves for so long, and that when they broke, it just spiraled out of control. That their idea of peace turned out to be just the opposite.

Stereotypes and Police Brutality

Growing up in East Los Angeles and having family in South Central, Compton, Bell, I never understood I rarely saw white people in those communities.  Why were all of the Latinos and African Americans living in the same areas? I never understood why until I asked my parents and they explained everything to me.  After viewing this documentary, I really understood the whole situation and why they were separated. It just reassured me that there is still racism and white privilege is a real thing in our communities.  The way I see it, most whites don't want to live in the same communities as blacks and Latinos because they feel like they'll be less safe and as an outcast in the community.  another reason they might not want to is because they feel like there social status will be hindered and they won't be looked at the same way someone else from a white community would be looked at.  I feel like this is also where the stereotypes for blacks and Latinos come from.  Not living in the same communities as them they don't really understand who they are so they make these stereotypes to make it easier for them to label an entire race instead of individually looking at someone and making opinions based on their own individual values and ethics.  I think this is why there is so much racism still and the stereotypes are affecting the actions people make which is the reason there are so many riots against police and protests against police brutality.

Thoughts on Rodney King Hip Hop Uprising Video

I believe the actions of the black community during the riots were completely justified. As irrational as their actions seemed, destroying not only their own communities but others too, they had ever reason to do so. With over decades of tension building up between the white and black communities in the United States, especially in Los Angeles, an outbreak of emotion was bound to boil over when the African American community was constantly getting oppressed by the police. I don't believe hate causes a divide between people but rather an inherit divide between people causes us to form hatred for one another. Though our more enlightened generation doesn't like to deem this true, it is human nature to make assumptions or pass judgement towards an individual who doesn't look like us. The actions of the officers, and the reactions of the black community justify that the fear of the unknown is a part of this human nature as well. At the end of the day, we have to look at the fact that the black community had faced decades of racism and had tried every peaceful way to resolve their issues. After feeling like there was no other option, they turned this unbearable frustration into riots and unspeakable aggression. But if you were in the same position, what would you have done?....

Modern Day Slavery

Is there such thing as modern day slavery, where does it happen. I have read many articles and other comments that many athletes feel like they are not in control of their life and they feel like they are in modern day slavery. I can agree with this, now it is not what slavery used to be, like going out buying people having them on chains, but there are many connections in the world today. Some athletes in the articles would say that modern day slavery is a real thing, and the fans such as the viewers really don't understand what they are feeling, the athletes will speak out but it always comes off as them being ungrateful and complain. The connections are athletes are basically bought by owners and can be technically sold to another owner whenever they feel like their value is worthless for their team. Owners in the NBA trade their players all the time, and sometimes doesn't even speak to the player and the player would find out from media or other sources like ESPN. Now is that OK, the connection is like when slavery was around they would buy slaves and if they feel like they are not useful for them they would either kill them, or just give them away to another person that needs them without even telling them ahead of time. Another connection is that the players always must follow the owners rules no matter what or they will lose their jobs, and wouldn't sometimes pay their money because their contract might not be guaranteed so they put a lot of work for the team just to be dropped. Now if that doesn't connect to slavery I don't know what will because what will masters do they will use the slaves until they aren't so good anymore and they will just drop them from their plantation. Now from this I wanted to spread the experiences and the views of athletes that feel like their is modern day slavery and we need to recognized this. Why because this happens all the time, but not just in sports in everything in the world school, and jobs in the world.

Does Reverse Racism Exist?

I heard the term "reverse racism" used in class today and I was thrown OFF guard: is it really possible to harbor racist attitudes and perform racist actions toward a group that has pretty much always had the upper hand (in a racial context)?

Racism has been explained to me a few different ways- The first way, and one that I believed the most when I was younger but have now started to question- is that anyone can be a victim of racism. It was explained to me that calling a white person a cracker was just as bad as calling a black person the n-word, but is it really? Cracker is a hurtful word based on race, but I certainly don't believe that it is as hurtful as the n-word, mainly because it lacks the same deplorable history and cultural context. "Reverse Racism" is usually the phrase used to describe the use of race-based comments against whites. Personally, I think that reverse racism is faulty logic based mainly on the fact that you cannot compare the historical strife of minorities in this country to a white's past. Granted, I do not believe that it is ok to use race-based derogatory comments to anyone- my main point is that a white person using a slur against a black person packs a weighty and oppressive punch that the opposite cannot mimic.

I have also been told that racism cannot happen towards white people because it is defined as "a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race." (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Since white people have gotten the upper hand throughout history and still have white privilege today, no race-based comment is racism, since racism is the oppression of an entire group of people, not just a product of individual racial jabs. (Hopefully this makes sense??).

The conclusion I have come to is that pretty much anyone can be a victim of a mean word, but no oppression of two groups is alike. There is a huge difference between being mean and being racist. If I am called a cracker, I am not deprived of opportunities and I do not feel threatened or unsafe. Even if white people do face slurs, it does not come close to touching the amount of racism targeted at other minorities.


I found an article that talks a little bit about the history and contemporary use of the n-word. I found it interesting. Do you believe in reverse racism? How would you define racism?

My Experience with White Privilege

I was 13 when I first experienced white privilege. I was sitting outside of a doctors office waiting for my mom to bring the car around since I was in crutches at the time. While waiting for her, a 40 year old black man came up to me asking for directions to a certain building. I didn't know where it was so I told him where he could find a map, he seemed a bit frustrated since he was running late to his appointment. A white lady walked over to us with one of her kids, and asked if the man was bothering me. The man told her that he was just asking for directions. The woman suddenly told the man he needed to leave right now saying he was "harassing a young girl who was defenseless". The man was clearly very pissed off and yelled something at the lady, and she told him if he did not leave right now she would call security. The man muttered something under his breath then left. Once he left she came up to me and asked if I was alright and if I wanted her to sit with me till my mom came. I told her I was alright and she and her son left. I was unbelievably confused at the time, the man wasn't doing anything wrong at all, I had no idea why she reacted like that. I soon realized that in her mind, she saw a 40 black man talking to a 13 year old white girl in crutches and he seemed "distressed". Does seeing that justify her actions?

Race Priviege

As I was taking the white privilege test one of the questions made me think about my race. You can arrange to be with people of your race. Well what is my race? My mother is Asian and my father is white, but I do not look fully white or Asian. So arrange to be with quarter Chinese, quarter Taiwanese, half white people? I don't neatly fall within the "white" race but I don't identify as solely "asian".

"Daily Effects of White Privilege" Quiz

In many ways, the quiz seemed to assume that the respondent was a straight, cis dude.  (This is shorthand.  I am not including other axes of oppression because those were the ones I noticed being relevant.)  For the most part, all of the questions were very explicitly about race and race alone, but on others, they were affected by gender or sexual/romantic orientation.  For example, with number five, "I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed," that's blatantly false for all women, among others.  I've been catcalled.  I've known girls who were followed from train stations or stores.  And because there seems to be this implicit assumption, I personally felt kind of invisible.  The point of the quiz is great, but it could definitely use more refinement.

Reclaimed Words

After today's small group discussion I began questioning words that have become common in my vocabulary. Is there truly a friendly way to say what was once a slur or derogatory? Can a reappropriated word be friendly in one context and crossing a line in another?

As a white person, I understand that it is inappropriate for me to use any racial slur in any context, simply because I have not been a target of racism or oppression in that regard. On the other hand, I am a girl. Does this give me permission to use words like slut or b*tch because they were originally used against women? I have a mental illness, so does that give me permission to use words like ps*cho because it is used against people with mental health issues? Ps*cho is a word targeted mainly at people with schizophrenia. I do not have schizophrenia, but since it is a word that has been used against mentally ill (women) in general does it make a difference? Where is this line crossed?

White Privilege

The interview with Bill O'Reilly and the discussion we had in class made me really think about how there is white privilege in America that is a factor in why there are less people of minorities succeeding in America.  Coming from a Mexican family, I see how hard it is for my parents to make money when they are working harder than some other privileged beings.  My father works in construction 10 hours a day and making only enough money to pay for rent each month.  Then there are the privileged people who work less hours but somehow make more than my father.  I see this as an example of how there still is white privilege in America and although there is no more slavery or Jim Crow or segregation, there is still the inequality in our society that factors into a person's success in America.

Race Theory

While watching the "Critical Race Theory and Education" video, there was something that she said that really stuck with me, and that was "if you don't talk about it, then it wont happen." Today, there are racial issues all over the internet, television, and social media. But, years before, people didn't want to talk about racial issues because they didn't want to have to face the fact that it is around. The idea that if we don't talk about something that it won't happen is clearly not accurate because there are so many things in life that we don't talk about, but still end up doing. Because I have grown up in a time where racism is talked about everywhere, I have never had the problem of people not bringing up the issue. With that though, I am not usually the person to bring up the issue of race just because I feel that it is different for me to bring it up because I am a white female. We have been talking about this idea of the difference if a black or white person were to bring it up, but I still feel as though me bringing it up is different than a different race were to. Overall, the don't talk won't happen theory is not accurate and should not be done.

Roots

After watching the Bill O' Reilly clip on the Daily Show and listening him talk about that white supremacy ceases to exist, it really got me thinking. Why does Bill O' Reilly believe it doesn't exist? He later mentions that it was a "different time" and things were "different" back then. He does have a point, when he was growing up, segregation was a big issue, so yes in way things were "different" back then. But clearly, it still is an issue today, obviously not as bad, but it still isn't fixed. So, why does he think white supremacy doesn't exist? I think it goes back to his roots, where he learned all of his morals, and beliefs, his family. Whether you like to believe it or not, family has a major impact on who you are. So, I think that's what happened to Bill O' Reilly, he was raised in a Catholic family in the 50s, went to an all boy private Catholic school, and a Catholic college. Growing up as a catholic white boy in the 50s really made an impact on who he is today. Everyone gets their roots when they grow up, because until they hit their mid teens, they live their lives with their parents ideas, believes, and morals. Some end up changing, becoming very different from their parents, others stick with those roots, such as Bill O' Reilly.

Comfort Zones

Currently this class is early in the year and not everyone is comfortable sharing things close to them or really thinking about questions. Global is a great place to get new ideas and new views on topics that we discuss on class but if we stick to our comfort zone and only discuss ideas and topic we are comfortable with, nothing will get accomplished. I think the class as a whole should learn to leave our opinions behind when new ideas are presented, because if you take what another student says and filter it through your opinions, your gonna be left with nothing helpful and add nothing to the conversation. Instead we should try to leave our comfort zones and try to have more thought provoking statements instead of just agreeing with what everyone else says. Don't be afraid to not be in the majority of the opinion and challenge the idea being presented. If everyone left their comfort zone I think this class could have better discussions because currently I think the discussions are pretty basic and rarely is a challenging opinion being presented. Try to open your views and I think this class would be much more interesting and not like regular English classes.

Law and Society

It's interesting how much the laws can change when you're in school and how your rights are changed just because you're in school.  In some of the cases it is okay for the certain rights to be changed, but I don't agree with all of the rights the school has.  I feel like things that happen outside of school should not have an affect on us during school since it isn't happening on school grounds.  I feel like we should also be able to wear whatever we want because it's how we express ourselves and it lets us exercise our freedom of expression.  Overall, the school has too much power over us and they should let us be us.

On Discussing Sensitive Issues in Class

There's an issue of how to bring up sensitive topics in Global, such as race, sexuality, or gender identity.  We definitely can't avoid them, given the context of the class, nor do I think we should.  However, it also can't be handled haphazardly.  For example, you shouldn't really just say, "Let's have a debate on marriage equality!", because then the LGB+ students are left to sit back and uncomfortably count the number of students they shouldn't trust with even the barest hint of information about their sexuality.

Unfortunately, I don't think there is a single good solution.  I was about to ask for warnings for particularly risky days, but I realized that such is, essentially, par for the course in Global, especially in the large class.  At least in this class such interactions are expected.

Law and Society Presentation

After having watched the presentations, I found it very interesting how much our rights vary when it comes to different situations. Of course, we are always entitled to the rights that our given to us in the Constitution, but after hearing the presentations, it seems as though the extent of those rights can vary depending on times, places, and events. For the cases that involved the school especially, it came off to me that the school is able to become almost the parents of the kids. They seem to have the right to do things that wouldn't be allowed to be done in many other environments. In the case of Vernonia vs. Acton for example, the school had the right to drug test kids who may not even be doing drugs on campus. Having a certain lifestyle at home or outside of school should, in my opinion, be separate from the lifestyle at school. I of course agree that kids should not be on drugs during school, during sports, or on campus. But, as an athlete, to be generalized as a drug user because other kids are drug tested positive is not fair. To put limits on our rights is not right, but I think that overall they are necessary in order to keep the US safe.

Ethics v Morals

After watching both documentaries, I think morals and ethics are connected with each other but they may go against each other at times.  For example, it is morally correct to always tell the truth, but it might not always be the best decision to tell the truth, which is why ethically it might be better for someone to lie.  If it's better for the situation as a whole, the morals are outweighed by the ethics which makes it okay for someone to do something they normally wouldn't do. Therefore, it may be better for times to be immoral if it is better for the entire situation and benefits the others around you.

Political Spectrum

On Wednesday we talked about the political spectrum to see what are views were and how all of our beliefs don't neatly fit into any one party. While we were categorized into leaning one way or the other, we were put on a spectrum. Unfortunately, we are not allowed to vote this way. We are trapped by having to give your entire vote for a single party that doesn't care what you think and sees you as an insignificant number. So we are put in between a rock and a hard place by voting for one party and not being completely satisfied, or not voting at all and being angry about it. Also, by only having two parties it creates a polarized state and works against democratic values. What solutions exist to solve our current dilemma?

Satire v. Fox News

Today in class we saw a short documentary about how fox news tried to essentially censor a satirical book for being critical of Bill O'Reilly. While fox was clearly in the wrong for trying to censor satire, what is the line between libel and satire. Legally the difference is saying something untrue and for the purpose of hurting someone is libel, but occasionally, you can create something intended as satire and end up hurting somebody. If a satirical article pops up on the internet and people don't realize it is satirical, does the creator have an obligation to tell the world it is satire?