CRASH

1. Matt Dillon's character exhibits blatent racism throughout the movie. He treats those of different ethnicities as lower people that don't deserve the same kind of treatment that he does. He is very rude to Shanequa Johnson regarding his father's medical care, and although it seems that his intent is to get his father's help, he uses race as leverage almost to try and persuade her for help. Obviously his previous remarks about race were offensive and ultimately resulted in no help at all. This is similar to Sandra Bullock's character when dealing with the locksmith. She assumes his incompetence as well as a gang affiliation that continues to put her and her husband at risk of future attacks. Neither Matt Dillon nor Sandra Bullock are subtle or quiet in expressing their feelings, and they both feel they are justified in their attitudes towards people of different races. Ironically, both characters have to give into what life hand's them and trust in others; Matt Dillon with the woman from the car, and Sandra Bullock with Maria her housekeeper. In the way he uses race to get what he wants, Dillon is similar to the DA's assitant that speaks with Don Cheadle. He expresses how taking the position that they offer him would look good for the DA because it would show their understanding of the different people of the community, when that isn't their objective at all. They barder with the safety of Cheadle's brother so that he has no choice but to give into their unfair strategies. The way Dillon hostily treats Terrence Howard's character and his wife is extreme, and contrasted with the way Tommy treats Terrence Howard later shows what some may see as a lapse in character. Tommy feigns more judgement and racism in order to rescue Howard from his own self-destruction. That danger itself was instigated by Dillon and his unjustified attack in which he stripped the dignity from the couple and assaulted them. Dillon's racism, while uncharacterstic of the norm, is unfortunately sometimes all to apparent in the world today.
2. Don Cheadle's partner stereotypes the woman that she gets into an accident with because she is Asian, which according to the generalization makes her a bad driver and thus at fault in the accident. Whether or not she is at fault, being labeled and stereotyped only further infuriates the woman and puts her on the defensive. When Terrence Howard speaks with the other executives at the TV station about the young black actor's character. The others are irritated that he changed the lines he was given to have proper grammar; because of this they say he doesn't "sound black". This enforces a stereotype that black people are less educated therefore unable to speak what would be seen as proper English. This judgement sparks a new awareness of the racism surrounding Howard. He is somewhat annoyed that he is forced to speak with the actor to appease the concerns of the other men.
3. When Terrence Howard says to Ludacris that "You embarrass me; you embarrass yourself." he is stressing that his actions are what enforce the stereotypes and provoke the racism that he is trying to overcome. Howard is trying to make Ludacris realize that in pushing the law and living his lifestyle, he isn't solving any of the problems that he is constantly talking about. Ludacris is already very aware of the racism and disparities around him based on race, because of this he is influenced by this statement to change his ways. Maybe not permenantly, but at least regarding the next situation he approaches. I think he understood that maybe fighting and fighting will only aggrivate the conflict, not solve it.
4. I think that a lack of knowledge or a lack of awareness results in association with the entire race rather than learning about the specific individual. People who are intolerant and impatient are far less likely to push through the stereotypes and mental blocks that are put up which complicate their interactions with people of different races. When Matt Dillon talks to Shanequa in her office, he tries to gain her sympathy by telling her of his father's compassion towards "her people". In his attempt to dissolve her personal anger towards him, he shows his ignorance towards her. She denies help to him at all. The individual, in this case Shanequa, would only be further offended and angered. Not that they don't want to be associated with others whom they have race in common, but they would rather be seen as who they are first. I would rather someone treat me as Hayley before treating me as a white person. Society accepts these generalizations, which leads to further misunderstanding and lack of knowledge, which then enforces the tensions and racism that causes the conflict we see far too often.
5. I do not believe racism is something unavoidable in our genes. There is no DNA that forces someone into a sense of superiority over others. I believe that society does little to prevent the stereotypical messages to be implanted that instigate an unintentional racism. I don't think that media or people in general are trying to influence the younger generations to be racist, but it has become a nearly immovable part of society that is more often overlooked then addressed. I don't think it is a natural occurence to be racist, but it is common enough even in subtleties to seem as so.
6. As addressed in the previous question, society passes on the stereotypes through media and learned behaviors from family and friends. Race is learned by association, which is what enforces the generalizations. While maybe associating black people with Africa may not be seen as racist because that is part of the ethnicity, some children learn to associate black people with crime and fear, something to be avoided. Without ever stopping to learn about each other, a blockade has been made that will ulitmately oppose full tolerance and trust in one another. Media, as in Howard's situation in question 2, portrays people of different races in different ways that create personas that fall into the associations people make. Because that actor was forced to dumb down his speech in order to "sound black", they are then enforcing the stereotype that black people are dumber and cannot speak proper English when in reality that is not true. Because we are oblivious as a society to the impact these messages have on us, we do little if nothing to prevent them.
7. I think it is possible to end racism through education. Over a long period of time, which an undertaking like this would obviously take, if we as a society could learn from one another, we could make a difference. By showing how the radical racism is wrong, and becoming aware of the false messages and generalizations, we can stop them from being repeated. Extensive understanding of each other will lead to tolerance and equality, because as a society we will finally realize that there is no superiority or inferiority because we are all here as humans and have to live the same life, so we might as well work together.

Wealth Privileges

In class, the message of class and the growing schisms between them was truly enforced. If I had to come away with anything this week it would be that the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor, and it is nearly impossible to make a change to the pattern. While playing Monopoly, I was the richest of the rich; I had a great time in the game because there was really no way for me to lose. Even when I did lose half my money I was still a longshot from losing much of anything compared to my lower income counterparts. I realize now how big of a difference money really makes in life. As a wealthy person of higher class, there is little to nothing to stop you from whatever you want. We could go on and on about the advantages wealth gives the individual in all aspects of life. Clearly the wealthy have a literal monopoly over the amount of money held by Americans. They have strong political presence and educational services, not to mention the connections and networking that further advances their advantages over the rest of the nation. It is ironic that the people with the most do the least amount of work. The wealthy can afford to pay others to do the work that allows them to stay afloat in their ridiculously vast comfort zone. The privileges granted to the wealthy have become norms for the rest of society. Knowing it to be strongly improbable, fewer and fewer people of lower classes can see how there is a chance at the same kind of prosperity for them. The prided American promise that hard work will get you where you want to go is not necessarily the truth at all.

Class

I think that Shaw's quote is very true because our actions our viewed and defined by the people around us as good or bad. A good conscience and quality character will allow the individual to distinguish between right and wrong; however, how society classifies the action may not necesarily agree with the person's intent. Depending on class, certain actions are either praised or condemned. I think Shaw is trying to explain the fact that good and bad have different meanings amongst the different classes. For example, while some in working class are able to fix their own cars and earn respect for having that talent. However, a rich person may look down at that person and say that they can pay for someone else to do it so why do it themselves. This distinction between what is accepted and respected changes as you take a look through the spectrum of social classes. Shaw was right in saying that it all depends on circumstances.

Deviance

This week really opened my eyes to the social construct of punishable deviance. I believe that it is a social construct because someone at some point decided that when you go out of the norm there should be consequences. While I agree that negative deviance should be punished, it was scary to read the Courtroom 302 article and watch the 30 days episode and see how the deviant people were treated. Our system of penalizing and punishing does less rehabilitating and changing what society doesn't like, but more oppressing and controlling what they do and when they do it. I don't know how a society could avoid punishing negative deviance because then there would be too few consequences to have any control. Without the laws and penalties that stigmatize deviance, there would be far more occurrences of what society shuns. Our penitentiaries show how society wants to control the actions of its people to create a utopian-esque way of life. The ideal community is one without crime or any other acts of negative deviance. By locking them up, society hopes to rid the world of the men and women that would harm that ideal. In doing so, many people are punished harshly as means of prevention rather than in response to a problem. Because of the harshness and intensity of the criminal justice system, I am very thankful not to be a part of the negative side of it.

Socialization/Adolescence Reflection

1. It's ironic that you asked about both what we've decided to wear today and what sports we enjoy because today I happen to be wearing my Stevenson Varsity Poms jersey. This jersey is what we wore to our state competition last year, and I think it represents the nurtured qualities that being part of a dance team has instilled in my character. The competitive spirit and strive to beat rivals is actually pretty relevant in the world of poms. Although we're usually grouped into the "dumb cheerleaders", I think that the values of teamwork, dedication, and commitment that have been nurtured by our environment allow us to overcome the stereotype and achieve great things, like winning state championships for example. However, there are also aspects of nature that have brought me to be able to wear this jersey. Talent and love of dance are things I was born with. My sister and I were both lucky enough to make Junior Varsity freshman year and Varsity sophomore year. This is not a privilege given lightly, and I think I was born with natural talent that I worked really hard to pursue in order to achieve these goals.
2. Social status power is so important to adolescents because it is one aspect of life that they have control over. As opposed to political or economical responsibilities, teens focus on social power because they actually have a say in what they can and can't do. They want to have the most power within and amongst their groups because if they do not succeed socially, there is not much else to succeed in until they get older. This concept is consuming the minds of teens because they always want to be the best.
3. Socialization for children today is dramatically different from past generations to do the advancements in technology and the relentless advertising that companys have imposed on just about everything. Because communication and accessibility have increased tenfold, it makes it that much easier for advertisers to reach children and manipulate them. This raises plenty of concerns because at this rate, it will be nearly impossible to control the consumption of infantilized minds because they will be so impulsive and irrational. When kids are socialized more by the media than by their own families, it should raise red flags that we need to regain control. The nurture part of a child's upbringing needs to be less about what they have and more about who they spend time with and what they do.
4. Gender differences in socialization are prevalent because society imprints certain responsibilities and values that differ between boys and girls. We are pushed towards different activities and passtimes that are more socially accepted. Parents make the decisions for us that girls are more likely to enjoy ballet class and boys are more likely to love Little League. Specifically for me, I chose between my two loves when I was younger. I started dancing when I was three years old, and basketball when I started first grade. I was pretty good at both and always had so much fun. When it came to 7th grade, I did both sports at Daniel Wright, and volleyball too; however, in eighth grade, I had to choose one to focus on because my mom told me that both my favorite sports were during the same high school season. My sister danced, and my brother played basketball and volleyball. Looking to them made my decision even more difficult. I picked dance because it seemed like I should follow in my sister's footsteps rather than my brothers because she was a girl, and my mom pushed for me to dance as well. I don't regret my decision, but thinking about it now I am curious to know what I would've picked if gender differences in socialization were irrelevant.

Adolescence

The expectations that society has for the teenage age group are constantly and hypocritically conflicting. The fact that some responsibilities are too much and others are understood and demanded from the adolescence causes the confusion that categorizes those subjected to it. It is interesting to consider the perspective of the teenagers themselves versus the authority that controls, or tries to control them. It is unfair to allow some privileges with reasoning that proves the maturity of teens, but then to also restrict and limit other privileges because they are too young and immature. However, this is exactly what parents and adults do in trying to control the actions and behaviors of this misfit group.
It was also interesting to read about the reproduction theory and how parents are not as vital to the formation of a child's behaviors and personality. The first few pages of the article really emphasize the constant push and pull between nature and nurture. There is a constant struggle between parents and peer groups as the frontrunner for child and adolescent development. On the other hand, some argue that genes determine the personality, and there are few outer affects that have an influence over how a child turns out. Lastly, the reproduction theory was interesting because it points out an obvious truth that we sometimes choose to ignore as a society. The inequality that is present socially and economically is reproduced among generations because it is so difficult to overcome the expectations. The example from the reading is devastating because it shows that no matter how much work someone from a tougher neighborhood dedicates, there is no deciding factor that can assure their success.

Agents of Socialization

Besides my family, the groups that have most affected and formed my view of life would be the several different groups of friends I have encountered, as well as my team. As I've pursued different interests and changed schools, my group of friends has changed drastically several times. The values of one group of people can vary dramatically from those of another, and I have noticed that, like it says in the article, peer groups have an important influence on how younger people live and view life. Specifically, these relationships have given me positive experiences that help define how I define myself. By being a part of groups of what "I am", I can distinguish what "I'm not". More recently, my team had been a strong indicator of where my opinions lie. Because we spend endless hours together, we've become a cooperative unit with identical values. Thus, the behaviors and means to reach the desired ends allow for common goals and ideas among the 24 of us. My team last year and this year have pushed me to my limits and have showed me to prioritize what matters most. This article was really interesting to me because I could relate with each of the "agents" and how my life would not be the same without them.