SAME LOVE!

Great Video by Macklemore about same [sex] love. Let us one day reach acceptance and equality for whoever you fall in love with!!!

LET SOCIETY REALIZE WE ARE ALL MEANT TO LOVE WHOEVER WE CHOOSE!

The Fall semester is over 20

AHHHH the semester is over!!!!!!!!!
I am so excited!
I want to do a million things that I had not done because I had to worry about school first.
Go to the park. Take a run. Read something I actually have an interest for. Write on Blogger all day and comment on other blog posts. Do some decorating in my new apartment...

WOWOWWOOWOW

The list goes on and on...

BUT wait... Wow I am going to miss everyone.

I became so close with everyone this semester, in particular a couple of girl friends and a couple of guy friends I never thought I would ever become close with. I guess this is what it feels to begin to miss something very beautiful.

I spent it wonderfully in class this semester. In policy I blew my head out and in the other two classes I learned material that will help me for the rest of my being.

I thank everyone for making this semester the best semester I have had so far in my life. I wish you all happy holidays and to always smile even when times are hard!

Keep it cool man!!

Thoroughly Pissed--Trayvon Martin case

I am truly upset that the murderer of Trayvon Martin is free as of today. I was really hoping he would at least not get the opportunity to get bailed out of jail. This sucks because if it were someone else with less of a privilege than the one he has, they would still have been in jail or no longer with us in this world. Any thoughts? Please!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/09/george-zimmerman-evidence_n_1762383.html?1344554578&ncid=webmail1

Colorado Shooting

Gosh I don't know how to even start this topic but this shooting is pretty intense. I don't know how someone can take a simple imagination as to want to be a character from a comic or movie and try to re-enact it into real life. I mean things don't work like that. So many people died for such a ridiculous idea that this person had. Let all those wonderful people who passed in the shooting rest in peace, and let the one's in the hospital heal soon and go on with their daily life. 

The killer, I don't know what to say but honestly, he shouldn't even be called by his name but simply the killer and be tried for what he did.

More about Breast Feeding---out of hand

http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/woman-behind-controversial-military-breastfeeding-photo-fired-her-164900839.html

WOW. I thought this article was interesting.

School!!

I thought ACC would be a piece of cake but unfortunately I am taking two 6-week courses at the same time and it really is taking a toll on my brain, life and energy!!!


I need to find evidence that too much school can fry your brain! I think that is what is happening to me right now! I feel like I am 80 years old already  (HOW TERRIBLE!!)




....
Ok I found something haha...


http://100rsns.blogspot.com/2012/02/78-it-takes-toll-on-your-health.html

Breast Feeding---when is it right to show?

This article about a woman who has a picture of her and her son. She was breast feeding her son, but come on! really! It doesn't look right. The kid is 3 years old and the picture doesn't show love between the kid and mom it looks like child porn really... What u guys think?

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/breastfeeding-mom-time-magazine-cover-speaks-today-show-article-1.1076845

PLEASE KEEP BLOGGING!!!

I loved everyone's ideas and feedback about issues in the world this semester. I would truly appreciate if I could see your blogs more. Great Job this semester to everyone and remember to keep the Peace Going!

With Love- Last Social Justice Blog

What is love?

I wanted to start off my blog with this inspirational song.

Love is just forgiveness when you know you've been done wrong

And taking every heart break and turn it into song

Love is just believing when you can not see the light

In every situation, shine as the brightest star

And when your back's against the wall

Don't you even think of falling

And if you feel you strength is gone

Don't give up the sun will shine in...

At the beginning of this semester our Social Justice class I felt very pressured and lost. I did not know what to do, what to expect, and naturally I wanted to get a good grade so I decided to do everything the syllabus directed. I was completely lost with the whole LR and Wiki business and the Blog was just a pain in the you know what!

I decided to just go with the flow and to always ask questions to Prof. G when I felt like I truly would never find the answers on my own, and I was able to move forward. 

Oh! the readings! The readings really upset me when I first decided to tackle them; I felt like it was too much. I think the reason was because I was overwhelmed with the lack of knowledge from working the Wiki, the Blog and the class structure (which was so  free and conversation-fueled). I was also struggling with finding order for my morning Human Behavior class and my later class Communities and Organizations for Mondays and Wednesdays.

So when I got the hang of the blog, and the readings from the Zinn and the Adams book, I was really engaged, I mean really engaged. I liked how the Zinn book spoke like a novel and how the Adams chapters had information and also personal essays that totally helped me see the big picture. I was also became very engaged with the blog because I was able to not just put ideas that related to the readings but also my experience with the new world I was beginning to discover as well.

The project. Wow. This part of the course was the best. I can say that I truly do feel like an advocate. One of the best parts about the project was the interviews we had with the actual homeless individuals. My mind changed once I began to talk with my interviewee. I had biased stigma in my mind that I could be in danger for speaking with these individuals just because of the negative connotations that being homeless signifies sometimes. However, after I began to speak with my interviewee, Larry, I felt very good; Like if I was talking to a friend, I guess a true humanistic connection.

I really want to thank Prof. G. for including this project in our course work and for letting us structure it the way we did. I loved making the videos and showing them to the class with such pride. I also appreciated the other social justice projects and I will love to keep a memory of them for the rest of my life. 

Wow. I never want to finish this entry but I know I have to. (tear, tear...)

I can say that I will have an impact in this world. Even if it is in small portions. I take great pride for what I learned in this class this semester. I want to appreciate everyday like if it was the last day and help others see it that way too. I know difficulties will come and go and it is up to me to choose the path that will lead me to the best outcome. I want to advocate and empower the individuals and communities I work with to change their's and other people's lives for the better and learn that everyone deserves to be happy.

This class taught me that I have a voice, even if it is in writing instead of vocal chords. I want to end by saying that I wish everyone a successful and life-changing experience in Social Work everyday. I also wish that inspiration and self-compassion for yourself never ends as well because we are our own selves best friends. Love, Live and Move forward. 

With Love,

Veronica

Presentations and thougths

I am so glad to have presented already, it took A LOT of weight off my shoulders! but..

I just want to express the experience I had presenting and doing the project as well.

1. When this project on the homeless population began I was nervous to work with new classmates that I had never really spoken to. I was very shy at the beginning of the course but as the project ideas for our topic began to unfold I felt much better about speaking my ideas and it greatly helped that the girls I worked were so Awesome! The interviews happened and being part of the interviews with these homeless individuals really touched me and they really scarred me too because I felt really hurt that there are millions of people out there that have no where to sleep, food to eat, or family to support them sometimes. It just makes me realize how fortunate I am to have all the things I do. I try to complain less now and help more!

2. When we gathered all of our data I wanted to created millions of interventions! No lie ask Irene, Symone, and Adrienne they were in the same room as I (I was loaded on coffee too so that helped ha!) I decided to help created the two videos that we presented to the class and with hard work and great team members and participants they turned out great! When it was time to present I was a bit nervous but that is all because I never really speak in front of 20 people, but it all turned out great!

Thoughts..

I feel very dedicated to the community I belong in now. I belong to the UT/Austin community and I want to do more to get involved with causes like Women Reproductive Rights, Homeless populations, Education, Immigration and their rights, Recycling keeping the world Green, Public Health, LGBTQ and many more! I will do this firstly by joining After Work Activism baby! (I'm logging into Facebook right now to find this group). All joke aside, I feel that I was brought to this world for a purpose and I am glad to know many people who feel the same way. If not us then who will begin to bring change to the world? The key is to get everyone to know that there is a better life if everyone just accepts the realities that people need help and people are different.


PEACE!

Conversation with my little brother about Mothers day

Me: So Fredy what are you getting mom for Mothers Day? I think she deserves some flowers.
Fredy: I don't know...ehh yea flowers are pretty
Me: how many would you get mom?
Fredy: I think 100
Me: Do you know how to count to 100 yet?
Fredy: No but Megan  does.. =]

I just love these conversations with my little brother. He so sweet and goofy!

*Megan is my niece who is 6, Fredy is 5 years old

Ageism and Melancholia

I love you forever
I like you for always
As long as I am living
My baby you will be...

I feel like crying every time I see this book and I remember that part of the book above.

I used to read this book to my niece when she was a toddler.  She is 6 now.  Now that I remember because we have been talking in class about Ageism, my niece would always ask WHY; why did she have to go to sleep at a certain time, why did she have to eat her veggies, or watch a certain TV show that my sister and I wanted her to watch.  I used to live with my sister when my niece was growing up and I feel like her parent almost.  I remember thinking she was a rebel but she was just confused why she had to follow certain rules when we didn't even follow those rules sometimes.  She was always sure to say "well you did that wrong too!"

I love that kid, I miss her.


I liked the readings this week that talked about how according to your age you are treated a certain way.  I found it that I am not quite the adult that society sees me as because I still depend a lot on my parents but in class my group members saw it a totally different.  They pointed out that because they were a certain age they were not able to get an internship or taken serious because they were classified as still too young. I can totally understand that side too.

 I felt really bad about my actions with my niece when classmates pointed out about kids not having a voice.  I remember that my niece had something important to say when we ate dinner and I would make her hush-up.  I feel like we were really hard on her now that I look back.  I can say that she is very well behaved but I just feel that maybe we were too strict with her. In addition, since we were so strict she would later take those strict habits and impose them on her younger sibling.  When I first saw her scream at my little brother, who is a year younger than her, I felt like WOW, that is exactly how I speak to her or scream at her. I felt really bad. I just don't know, I guess I was frustrated, but I am not saying that I am not guilty.

I try to be very loving to my niece and support her in her reading and other great abilities because I know she is a special kid.  I advice my sister to not make fun of my niece so much because my sister is pretty tough with her sometimes and my niece just wants to be understood and loved.  Not having a father really hits her in the tummy sometimes because she sees other kids with two parents and often wonders "why can't I have that too?"

It's truly a dilemma but reading these articles really made me see that children are very important and need attention and understanding more than anything.  I want to further my education working with kids with Communities in Schools because I want these kids to have a voice when they are often taped in their mouths to not speak. It's really inhumane what adults sometimes do to control their children.  I understand it's for love parents think they are acting protective for but it can get out of control.

NOW THAT THE SEMESTER IS COMING TO AN END....

Here is a beautiful song that gives us inspiration to finish up strong =]

Let's Finish Up guys, we can do it =D

Ableism and Wasteland

This week was very thoughtful and emotionally touching for me.  Reading the Ableism papers and watching Wasteland was just really inspiring to do something for someone other than myself.


Ableism
When I was reading these essays I was pretty shocked about the various services we lack to help people with disabilities. In my observations I wrote about a time when a client with a disability tried to open the super-heavy door we have at the hair salon and we really should provide an easier way for them to open the door.  We have clients with disabilities come in the salon all the time and we need to provide a more accessible way for them to enter the salon. A few points that I found very interesting from the readings was that 72% of people with disabilities are unemployed and they also have an income less than half the national average.  I thought this was ridiculous!  I also read that many of the employers at stores or agencies ect don't want to hire people with disabilities because they feel they would cost the company money or they would not be able to perform the job's duties effectively.  However it has been reviewed that workers with disabilities work more efficiently and are most likely to not get hurt in the job unlike an "able" worker would.  I also found out that disability is caused by physical structure and social organization of society.  Poor architectural planning creates physical obstacles for people on wheelchairs or people who can walk but can’t get up stairs because it has been created in the young adult white male paradigm in mind. I really understood this when I looked back at the example of the client that was having trouble entering the salon. "Physical imperfection if thought to spoil..." (Adams, 481)  I was raged by this comment and the example the author gave about how a disabled woman married a able man and a father of her friend went and told the groom he felt sorry that she had placed a burden on his life now that they married, I mean really!? That's just outrageous, she should not been seen as a burden just because she has a physical or mental disability or the latter! (Excuse me I get upset very easily).  One more interesting thing was how disability compared to race is marginalized. The author of this essay wrote about how in an article a man was a victim of a hate crime because of his race however, the article mentioned very little about his being disabled also. I thought it was awful how something that is more talked about like race can undermine something just as important like a disability.  AND one more thing.  Sports. So I am a Bulls fan and I was thinking about that today and I thought, wait there are leagues of disabled basketball players but I never see them on TV or hear them on the radio or anything like that. I never hear that there will be a local tournament for disabled persons. It's really sad that players with the ability to run and shoot the basket are more seen than others who may as well shoot the basket or be better than famous NFL players.


I understand that just like racism and all other types of "isms" ableism is something that able people take advantage of because they feel like it's something they should not worry about, but I would like to start looking at the other side and consider advocating for those who need this type of help.  My next step is to talk to my supervisor about installing an automatic door for the salon I work in. It may not work but I will keep advocating for it and I may start a petition to get this important cause going. I want to make people feel like they can enter the salon safely and easily;  not only able people should have the ability to enter the salon.

Wasteland
I just want to say that this film was very inspiring. I not only liked how much community involvement the workers in the film had but the noble cause that Vik gave back to his roots.  I would like to one day give back to the country I grew up in and that helped shape my simple and noble feelings about things.  Because I grew up poor and with barely anything ever to eat or sleep in sometimes, I see material things as not necessary.  I literally would give all of my things away if I wanted to because they don't make me happy, I feel that my family, friends, and the blue sky makes me much happier. Anyways, I really appreciated the community involvement the workers had and how they all received a portrait of themselves because they are beautiful.  I loved how much money they first portrait at the auction won! I almost began to cry because of that! And finally I loved how the workers began a learning center with the money they were given. It's great to see these kinds of things happen even in very poor areas in the world, just goes to show that income does not separate us much at all. We are all dreaming of a better future no matter where we are, we are trying to find happiness and peace.

Joel Burns

I want to have this video in my blog because I truly appreciated what Joel had to say about his experience and the experiences of the kids that have ended their lives due to the punishments of society. I do believe it gets better too.

HOMO-BI-HETER0...Sexuality

WOW Again!! I learned so much from the readings this week and a few of them caught my main attention.  I am going to sound really angry and that is because I am but hang on, this all are things we should all be acting upon:

 I want to start on a great point that chapter 78 made about how society sees sexuality: "love for sameness (homosexuality) makes people different but love for different (heterosexuality) is seen as right and accepted". That really doesn't make sense and, individual sexual preference should not matter, it's non of society's business!

Then came the discussion on institutional homophobia and I thought about what May had said in class this week about the school that would not allow the elementary school kid to dress in feminine clothes. I think that people, children, and everyone else should be able to dress in what ever way they prefer, institutions, especially school which is almost a second home for kids, should not be putting those type of rules because they are impeding kids from expressing their unique personalities.

Oh the medical model! I was so upset when Prof G read to us that homosexuality is seen as a mental disorder, So why do heterosexuals not have a disorder for that same reason too?  I don't think its fair to say that someone has a mental disorder because they have certain feelings for someone of their own sex. I think that the medical model is hurting all individuals everywhere because individuals who are homosexual, transgender, bisexual and all other that exist go through adversaries in consequence.  The video that Prof G showed us was pretty tough for me to watch and listen because I would not want any of my friends, family members or anyone else in this world to ever have to end their lives because they don't feel accepted by society.  It's cruel and humans are not all the same so people need to learn more about homosexuality, bisexuality, transgender, and all the other sexes.  The binary should not blind everyone thinking that it is only right to have two sexes like there is black and white colors. NOW that I notice we have black and white colors, we also have hundreds of colors that mix and make new colors thus, that is sexuality; it is not a fixed black and white one person can be a rainbow while one is a green and pink.

My personal thought is that sexuality and all of the realities that go on in the world need to be taught at an early age because frankly right now I am fairly traumatized of the horrific things that are happening and no one ever told me. I like how Dr. Aguilar said he was going to explain to his son about the cartoon that was posted in The Daily Texan even though he is young.  I think it is better to prepare children instead of protecting them because when real life comes there will be no one else but them to protect themselves.

"Everyone is heterosexual until proven guilty" (Adams, pg.379).  How wrong is this having to hide who you are for the acceptance of society!! It's wrong and unacceptable for someone to have to conform to society this way. Again I stress that sexuality should be talked about more because all we ever hear is that it is a taboo.  Being homosexual or sexually active is a taboo.  If anything sexuality is one of the most natural things we still have and it's beautiful too but all of the taboo behind it takes the beauty away and gives it a negative connotation. I decided that I will be more alert when I see these kinds of injustices happen and I would like to join an organization helping to talk more about sexuality and advocating for homosexuals, bisexuals, transgender and all other that exist.  We should all be treated fairly an be feel free to love who ever or how many ever individuals we want. It's a precious freedom that should be elaborated in the Constitution of the United States!!!


Extra but still part of the talk:

The Public Health Carnival was great if anyone made it, it was this Thursday.  I saw so many people coming together to have fun playing games, eating sweet food, and winning prizes. But the best part was that I saw many homosexual individuals and others coming together for the same cause.  I was so happy to be helping out. Public Health is important for individuals that are sexually active because protection should always be a must!  I liked how everyone came together and everyone felt accepted there.  Of course Public Health organizations and agencies came by to talk about the importance of staying safe and healthy and I liked how inclusive everyone felt.  I like this from UT and I wish there were more of these organizations celebrating something we all have in common. GO PUBLIC HEALTH!!! =]

Wearing Make up?! YES OR NO?

http://www.squidoo.com/make-up-yes-or-no

I thought this quick article says a lot about the idea that make up makes women feel better about themselves. In my opinion women won't be judged as much if they wear make up and that is why they possibly "feel better". I mean if I was constantly pressured to do something and after I begin to do it suddenly and I feel better, well, that only meant I feel better because I no longer get that extra pressure. I think women and men are beautiful without make-up but society has made us all believe that make up is better for women to look beautiful, I don't agree with that; people should be allowed to do what they want, wear what they want and look the way they want and not have to feel bad for wanting to be that way.

Link to the evidence that Zimmerman's father is a retired judge

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/03/28/1078407/-Zimmerman-is-a-son-of-a-Judge-Detective-was-told-Not-to-Arrest-George

Sexism and Trayvon Martin

HEY everyone this week we had some really hot topics to discuss! I would like to start with Trayvon Martin because it is a topic that I still don't understand very well. 


So in class everyone has many feelings toward the case and I feel pretty sad for the kid and for the family I would never want something like this to happen to my little brother that is now 5 growing up or my brother who is 22, it's pretty scary. As much as everyone wants to say this was not racism it was self-defense, well why was Zimmerman following him? I mean was he a security watcher or police to be doing such a "look out"?  I feel pretty shitty because he was left to go without any charges. SO here is a little scope for everyone that didn't know Zimmerman had prior police charges and I believe a felony or two and he was released of these charges because, I believe his father or grandfather is an all-time important retired judge. OK! So this just sounds super fishy! It's truly unfair to be using family power like this to cover something like this death, if that is what they are doing! IT'S the 21st century this needs to STOP! I know it will take years or even centuries to change this irrational hate we have for each other and differences but we need to start. WE! ALL of us even if it is all the social workers of the world or even the United States.


I understand the complexity of this case, of the world, but I don't want to rely on the complexity of it and leave it alone because of that because as much as we want to say that we have social order we don't. We have American privilege, I understand, to even speak our minds which is something other people in the world don't have, but we have it and it's our choice to make a change in this discriminatory world, society, life! 


This case is just a match to the fire we can bring to the justice flaming lantern.


SEXISM
Oh, how I liked these chapters on Sexim! I especially liked chapter 72 where the author spoke about his grandmother. I see my mother and I think to my self, wow, she has done so much for me, and she still does.  My father has done so much for me too but man MOM you brought me to life, you could have chosen to  not have me but you chose to, you chose to give me life and now I am here. Like I said not saying dad is not important because of course he also contributed to my being and my well-being still, I'm happy to have my parents I really do!
Moving on to chapter 73 with the poem I picked out a great part that the poem talked about and that was the love we have to give ourselves as women. A lot of the times we are discriminated by men in the work force, at home, in school, but as women we discriminate against ourselves too. I feel that it's important to know that and to change that because we can't expect to change anything if we still have those negative feelings toward each other that way.  Chapter 75 was really important for me too because as I am reading these chapters I kind of start to see a correlation of interest, I want to become an "accredited feminist" I really want to take a feminist class during the my experience at UT to find how to create change this way as I had mentioned in my argument before in this blog.  I want my voice heard and my hands to change some aspect of this injustice life. Why not? Why can we not dream of change? The woman part of that wall is gone, I know I can make a change, I need education, experience and  strength, that is all achievable and yes I will create change. This all leads to the last chapter on sexism and this one touched my heart the most for this: " The compelling reason behind activism is that our most personal lives-even the intimacy of death- are actually embroidered in the reality  of public policy, foreign policy, military aid, and economics. Each day, then, I like the women in my family before me, and like so many other women in the world, recommit to continue this  struggle for life, and to celebrate it's beauty in the process. That struggle and that celebration are who we are as women, as we take responsibility for our destinies." (Winona LaDuke, pg.369).  I just loved this ending paragraph because I really see myself becoming an activist, a woman who will fight for what she thinks is right and will challenge anything or any one who wants to put my feelings down. 


I am the kind of person that loves to hear other opinions and I really take in consideration of what everyone says, that is at most why I am so quiet, I am an analyzing sponge, so when I make a decision I have had knowledge from various parts of different opinions from all sides. I feel that this is something that makes me very special and unique. I think this will be something  very useful to keep as I move on in my studies and change for the world in my life. =D 




Live, love, and keep the peace everyone! 

EXCERPT FROM ZEN AND THE ART OF MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE ON GRADELESS SYSTEMS

I read this excerpt and I was just shocked; with happiness!
I feel like the greatest times I have learned is through classes that do not grade me but that push me to participate and become engaged in the conversation.  (I'm totally being biased with my social work classes) But really, classes that don't grade me don't put that pressure.  Other classes make me feel that when I take a test and get a 65 on it I'm a total loser and I should not be in the class in the first place, when to be really honest I really enjoyed the class.
I do have to admit that if there was a no-grade curriculum then I'm not sure that I would be able to have all the theoretical information I need to use in my work outside of school.  I would have to do extra work on the side to find information to back-up arguments.

Well, that was just a quick blog on this awesome excerpt! Thank Prof G!

Important quotes I took from the "Lagging Behind" NYT article

Mr. Ferguson said that while minorities lag behind whites in things like homework completion, it is wrong to infer that they aren't interested in school. ''High achievers are more often accused of acting white than low achievers, but it's because the low achievers suspect the high achievers believe they are superior.'' ( when I was younger and in my honors classes I was often seen my my ethnic friends as trying to be white, or high achiever, I can see how this still goes on, it's not right and to be honest I would do the same with some of my black, aisan, or ethnic classmates that I would see, but my problem was that I didn't know why they were more educated or seemed to be, and the only way to go was to pick on them because everyone else was doing the same; true ignorance there.)

''I would agree with Ogbu that there are youth cultural patterns and behaviors that are counterproductive for academic success,'' he went on, mentioning socializing in class and spending too much time watching television. ''But when they engage in those behaviors, they are not purposely avoiding academic success.'' ( I agree with this comment because even a white kid or any race kid can be a total freak for TV and lag behind because of that but truly a kid that is not white will get the negative connotation that they are just not trying hard enough, that is why they keep failing, NOT TRUE!)

Roslyn Arlin Mickelson, a sociology professor at the University of North Carolina, instead concluded "I believe, based on my own research, that the center of gravity lies with the school system." ( schools are the ones that are not tending to all the students needs equally and it keeps happening it's not right!)


Professor Mickelson of the University of North Carolina found that working class whites as well as middle-class blacks were more apt to believe that doing well in school compromised their identity. (what is this about white-working class and black-middle class? Isn't the same thing merely?)


''The kids turn on it, they sacrifice their spots in gifted and talented classes to belong to a group where they feel good.'' (this reminds me of how Prof. G mentioned about her daughter transfering to another university to feel more comfortable because at the one she was prior she really wasn't because of judgement by other students (correct me if I am wrong).

Kony 2012 More facts not stated before

I found another article that talks about Kony and the other things that were stirred when the Kony 2012 campaign was made. Again I do not mean to shun this, I'm just laying out the facts.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/21/opinion/in-uganda-kony-is-not-the-only-problem.html?_r=2&ref=todayspaper

Sexism, The Achievement Gap, and Kony

Whew! It's been a pretty crazy week! 
KONY 2012:
I want to start off with the Kony business because over the break I heard a few things that kind of stirred my thoughts about the actions that are being taken against this situation with the Invisible Children organization. Firstly, I found out that Kony is in the top 10 list of the most wanted in the world. BUT, I was surprised to learn that a big reason for that is because Kony is ageing.  The most wanted in the list are listed by age; before in the 80's, I believe (correct me if I am wrong), he was doing a lot of this and he was doing it without any kind of army fighting against him. Since he has become older he is becoming easier to track down.  I also felt pretty bad that the Ugandan army is actually helping him; to no surprise that is also how the Mexican government has been acting with the drug cartels, anyway, Below I attached an article that tells some facts that were not told by Mr. Russell who created the Kony2012 organization.  Although I am disappointed to say that they really should not be asking for any more money because there really is no need for donations if the campaign will end soon, I do appreciate the fact that they want to put out there that Kony is real, and that he needs to be stopped! I still believe in bringing him to justice but I don't believe too much in the whole Invisible Children campaign as much as I did before.

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/invisible-children-hides-truth-article-1.1041118

SEXISM
GOSH! today I saw so much of this doing gender thing and I thought to my self wow, how crazy is this. Before I would think yeah I do act like a girl and guys do tend to act like guys but to actually see it and think why does this happen in the first place, it's just amazing. I guess what I am trying to say is, yea we biologically are different from men but where do we draw the line at that and then become equal? It's as bad as classism is, and back to that oppression argument:  I am a woman and I will always get payed less than a male would doing the exact same job that I do.  Why is that?! I am intrigued to learn more about this and to make a change.  See I know that many things are made for men to handle and some are for women to handle as well but I'm still struggling with the question well when can we both perform the same tasks without being called a Tom-Boy or a Fag; you know!? I feel that I do wrong when I think more deeply.  For any of you who watch TV now a days I see men looking more feministic, like cleaning up their eyebrows, putting tighter clothes on and wearing shorter shorts, I will admit I did say "wow they look like girls!"  I feel really bad now but here I am admitting to my mistake, Please be proud of me.
The whole sexism discussion is pretty intense because I have always had to deal with the analogy from friends like in soccer: "if you want to play with boys then get ready to get hurt!" like really, why do men have to feel that just because they are somehow able to build more powerful fit think that girls have to get to their level when having to do a type of sport or job that they do because it is more characterized with them than with women? Any thoughts Girls and Guys? I'm really not mad I am just questioning something that I see everyday.

The Achievement Gap Presentation
Oh, "make a change social workers because you are the only ones that can save our little kiddos".  Look, I personally do want to join a board to get to know more about the types of changes they are doing to the educational districts of our children and even college students like us.
I do agree, like many in our class, that the speech by Dr. Johah was a bit too one sided and BROAD, I mean yeah let's make a change, but how? Ok just be mentor, be part of a board, but what else what else did he have to say about education? What I needed from this lecture was to learn about how race and ethnicity is still playing a role in our grades between people of color and whites.  What are the educational boards doing to change this?  I was really disturbed when Gwen asked her question and he asked her back swiftly, he almost made her look like, well woman use common sense what are you doing now that is working?, yeah just keep doing that and you will be fine. I feel like he made it look like "common sense people" use your common sense! That just doesn't help us.

I do like how he mentioned in the beginning to act collectively so if anyone is able to get connected to a way where we can send comments to Dr. Jonah or our Dean about this matter please let me know. I really will take this from the lecture "give back to the people who have helped you" I did like that because I love my parents, my teachers in my school years, and little people who are hungry for education and I WILL GIVE BACK. I don't dream to become rich, I dream to bring peace and harmony to the world and I will be poor the rest of my life for this dream but I really don't care.

Alright guys don't have nightmares now. Comment please! =D

Professor Alexander

I began to read the article Professor G sent us and I decided to google the speech that Professor Alexander spoke when she was promoting her book "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness".  I was just stunned when she mentioned that the Jim Crow laws are not so different from the criminal justice system that there is today. Not just because the Jim Crow laws are gone does it mean that there is not a racial cast system.  There is.  "The individual success stories of today of Blacks today suggest that the old system does not exist..."  

So I guess there is just a reshaping of the system that there was before when there was slavery! That's ridiculous and sad and true.  I should also add that it's not just black individuals that do through this discrimination its basically anyone who has been "convicted of a felony" I hate that question that they ask you when you are filling up an application for assistance or work. 

Any thoughts??

Religion Blog

Let me tell you a little bit about what I know about religion.  I know that there are many types of religions and that I am Catholic by default because my parents are Catholic too.  My parents and I would go to church on Sunday but when we would come out my parents would start to argue about every little thing going on in their lives.  So in effect I ended up not believing in church, I actually thought church would bring more problems to my life especially because every time we went they would keep asking for money. Well that's me and religion.

Though this experience with church didn't go so well, I still felt safe, like something or someone far but close was taking care of me.  I got to go to college, I learned to drive, I got a great job cutting hair, I met my loving boyfriend, my family has gotten a bit better, and I have great health, I never go hungry, and I always have someone to go to when I'm scared about something.  Soooo, how does this all connect, well it turns out that I do believe in GOD, it might be that I don't believe in the church system but I know that somewhere somehow God is taking care of me and my loved ones.  I believe God is within me in my heart and that he will always take care of me.  I not only believe in him I believe in myself.  And I think I am ENOUGH just like Brene Brown said in her Ted talk.

The readings:

I liked how professor G mentioned the different myths in our society that "there is freedom of religion" like the Constitution states and that "there is separation between church and state" (yea not true at all)!

Wow, really intense readings in the Adams chapters.  As I live in this society I didn't fully capt how embedded we are with religion.  Of course now it's obvious because the foundation of our nation began with religion; it'still very common today to use religion for many reasons: to do bad things and to do good things.  It was interesting to know that Thomas Jefferson was the person that began the now famous myth about "separation of church and state" when what he really meant was that there would be a wall between the state and church no true separation (correct me if I am wrong).

About "everyone can practice their religion they want" I was really astounded about how much hatred has been implicated on people who practice basically any religion that is not Protestant in this country.  I could not believe how religion was used to justify murders, discrimination, hate crimes, and just any horrid things done to people who were different.  It's true but a lot of the times we see that someone was beaten or hurt because they were seen as different; going against the norm.  The normal religion in this country has been Christian and that's just not right.  Our country if full of diverse people and cultures that there should not be one religion that can take over others.  I was really upset at how there was a lot of hatred after 9/11 against Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, and Hindus because they were also seen as targets of danger.  It's just sad to see this all happen and keeps happening still.  Diana Eck wrote " Different may trigger uncomfortable feelings or fear...we are afraid of ourselves'' (pg.240)  That is really strong because I feel like that when I see something I don't know I am suddenly afraid of it, but what do you do with that? Do you run away? Do you stay to find out more about it? Or do you fight with it and try to destroy it because it's not like you?  This is tough and yea, to be honest, I would probably run away scared.

Oh holidays in the US. Columbus Day, (which I now will dedicate the rest of my life to tell everyone I know that he was not a hero but a killer who should not be celebrated ever!!!!), Christmas, Thanksgiving, President's Day, Easter, Sundays= no work days...Oh the list goes on.  I really did not see how many holidays there were already dedicated to Christianity it's quite amazing.

I mentioned that religion can be good too and I mean that with all of my heart.  I can kind of see all of this how Brene Brown said in the Ted talk: that when you see negative things it's really hard to see the good things because the negatives blur out the rest.  I can see how many Christians are discriminated against too; so the tables turn.  My friend was a very faithful Christian, very devoted to his religion.  He is a very loving person and really polite I have never seen him offend anyone. I basically always see him smile.  So one day another one of my friends asked him things about the bible and about different things that made him uncomfortable about his faith; questions like "did you know in the bible it says nothing about going against slavery... did you know that Christianity is the most corrupt religion in the world..." Man I could tell he was not liking the conversation so I decided to just talk about something else.  A few weeks later my friend decided to talk to me very seriously about his religion and he had decided to become Atheist. I was just in shock. I asked myself, did that uncomfortable talk really affect him so much to make him change his religion affiliation? I could just see how the tables had turned and how Christians are also discriminated against, in some form of revenge, and that just doesn't make things good either.

So to end this blog I leave you with this last question.  When faced with something that one doesn't know enough about does one run away? Does one stay to find out more about that/it? Or does one try to destroy it because they fear that they are too different?



HAVE A GREAT SPRING BREAK EVERYONE!!!

KONY 2012

Don't mean to copy Desiree but I was deeply inspired to make a change this April 20th so I will post this link to remind myself and the rest who follow my blog. Let's help the kiddos go back home and have Kony arrested for the horrid things he has been doing! It's enough already!



http://vimeo.com/invisible/kony2012

Thoughts about Walmart and Vulnerability

I want to say that this class is really changing my life.  In many ways I have been learning these "hard-to-talk-about" topics and it has been alright.  No one has punched anyone in the face for speaking their mind and that is something I am really proud of because I know how sensitive some topics can be.

I really enjoyed talking about Wal-Mart on Monday because I had built this little shell around me that I would not got to Wal-Mart ever in my life again because they were corrupt and unjust to their workers.  I can see now that it should not be that way.  I understood what Morgan said about her having a job and when the company went through a hard time she also saw her hours being cut and that affected her negatively.  I feel that if I would still have the mentality that I was never going to go back to Wal-Mart and convinced more people to not go shop there, then many workers would lose jobs.  I feel that a different approach can be taken now and that is to help organize workers to fight for their rights as workers and build organizations that will help workers.  That way workers will keep their jobs and they will have policies and laws backing them up if they are facing discrimination or injustice at work.  I also decided to stop going to the little "self-check-out boxes" when I went to Wal-Mart today because I do not want workers to have their jobs taken away by a machine (besides they make less mistakes when they check me out unlike the dumb machine that ends up charging me twice for an item).

Ohh vulnerability.

I really thought that vulnerabilty was a bad thing. I really did because I see myself as very vulnerable.  In my experience at UT I have been sick at least 70% of the time.  When we saw the clip of Brene Brown speaking about vulnerability I felt like her, that it was something that needed to be intervened! While she kept talking and she finally got to the realization that it really was not such a bad thing, that it was actually good, then I felt like WOW!  My mind changed completely because all of this time being vulnerable is helpful; you have to be "whole-hearted" give your all even if your all means that you have to show your weak/bad sides.  I like how she said we live in a vulnerable world and it's true you don't know when you will die, it's something that you just have to keep in the back of your mind and move forward embracing every day.  "You cannot numb bad feelings because when we do that you numb good feelings too..." (Brene Brown, TED talk)  I really liked this quote because I feel that I personally do this all the time.  When I am stressed about something at home like with my parents fighting I can't see the positive things we have been through, I don't see the strengths in their relationship and that is not helpful.  In having those issues I tend to over think them and then it ends up hurting my relationship with my boyfriend because I stop talking to him because I am so worried about my parents that I leave him behind.  So from no on I have decided that  I AM ENOUGH and I think that everyone is too, no matter SES, gender, class, race, political affiliation, or what ever else.

I leave you with this awesome video of Brene Brown " The Power of Vulnerability"

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html

Classism

Wow! The classism readings for the Adams book were intense! I didn’t realize that there was more to classism than just lower, middle and upper class. 

I want to start off with one of many myths that exist in this great nation: “if you try hard enough you can become a millionaire just as the other 1% of the US”.  This is so depressing because it is NOT true!  Even if someone tried hard enough in this nation to become wealthy and stable for their family they cannot do this without facing hardships and discrimination.  Other few myths are: “We are all getting richer…Everyone has equal chance to succeed…” (pp148)  I work as a hairstylist and I was once talking to a client about equal chances in success in this country. I told him I would like it if we had a society where everyone helped each other; somewhere where people could only reach a certain point in wealth and could not go above because they had to let the rest that were down the latter get up eventually.  He did not agree with me; he said that if he was able to succeed where he is, that it was not okay with him helping others that have not worked “as hard as he has to be where he is today…” I really did not know what to say.  I understand he could have been a “one in a million” case that actually started from level zero and worked his way up, or in contrast, he could probably just be someone whom inherited some wealth from his family and thus feels his family worked hard and he thinks “he worked hard to be where he is now” too.  But to the point, I personally feel that everyone should get the chance to succeed and if there is someone in need then they should be helped by his/her fellow citizens not just the government.  I know I will never become a millionaire because for one: I do not have accumulated wealth in my family, I do not have the income flowing into my bank account like crazy, I am a woman who will always face discrimination in the work  field, and my heritage (being Hispanic).  It’s kind of sad to put it in this perspective it almost sounds like I am complaining that I will never move up on the economic latter but it’s just reality per se.

Education correlates with class: I think this is true.  I know that I did not go to a high rating school, I went to a middle-lower division type of school and to be honest I was absolutely not ready for college!  I did not know what to do; high school did not prepare me. 

Another important thing I learned was that “class divisions arise from the differences between those who won and control corporate enterprise and those who do not” (pp154).  I think this division is important to know because I see the Wal-Mart case and I think they are a corporate business and they are definitely doing whatever they want with the workers; paying them low wages and discriminating awfully.  Something else is that I have personally feel that has happened in my family is the decline of leisure time and break down of civil relations.  My parents could never spend time with us at night to do homework with us because they would get home very late from work and were too tired to help us or even watch some television with us on the weekend.  I see the same thing happening to my sister who is a single mother, working two jobs for my niece and paying bills for her new home.  It hurts me to see her that way because I know that she is not the only one who goes through this.

I learned in the readings that debt is accumulated because families or individuals want to keep a high standard of living and in result they end up with hundreds of dollars in debt.  One thing that really upsets me is the loans: “…needed-based loans have risen 95% and merit-based have risen by 350%...” So only the “smart” kids can get the best loans.  There is also less and less money being put in savings accounts; there is no money to save when the little money earned at work and is spent in the first week of the month with all the home bills.  Another is health insurance: many families including mine do not have health insurance.  The premiums set by the health insurance companies are tremendous and sometimes they don’t even cover the doctor visits or medicines needed.

Classism connects with discrimination a lot.  I think that the idea of class in our society is so wrong.  I can probably stress this idea until I die, but I feel that everyone should get an equal chance to the pie that is wealth and prosperity.  It sucks that some people think that they have “worked harder than others” when in reality everyone is working hard to try to make their way up the economic latter.

Any thoughts…

Workers going against Walmart

http://www.jwj.org/walmart/index.html

Ok guys this is a link to the organization that is doing its best to change walmart!

Wal-Mart MOVIE

WOW!  First off, Thanks Prof G for the snacks, you are great!
I had first heard that Wal-Mart was an awful corporation before but after this movie I was just in shock.  I don't know if I will be able to step into another wal-mart store now.  As I was talking to one of my classmates, I mean I feel like this store is awful in the way that it treats its workers like crap and is super discriminating with race and gender and probably more, but I don't know if my reactions will last for ever since this corporation is so accessible to broke people like me.

What shocked me the most was the girl that was in China.  I cannot believe that they are living in such poor conditions when we are over here just driving 10 minutes to a store to find a toy or piece of clothing, and just to say "this is cheap" or in a way "worthless" when people like the girl in the movie are working in such a horrible place for NOTHING, for us to say this is worthless?!

The one thing that gets me even more is that walmart is so available to people who don't have much money and when it is all they can really afford.  Like another one of our classmates put it the other day, she is trying to eat healthier like wholefoods but it's hard, a college student with such a short budget can't afford to eat healthy and there it is: Wal-Mart comes to the rescue or more like destruction.  I guess walmart may be benefiting the buyer positively with low prices but I don't know if that is enough to cover their disgusting treatment of its workers.

Bring on the fire...

I like this song from little dragon because it shows how little you can be in a society when you look at the bigger picture.  I love how she sings tooo haha! Enjoy =]

Racism, discrimination and Culture boxes

Alright everyone... I feel full-blow, like a helium balloon about to explode with so much to do and so little time! So this week in Social Justice...

I wasn't in class Monday but as I heard from the conversations on what "worked" and what "didn't work" activity I got the impression that it got pretty intense.  In class I have noticed that topics get pretty hot sometimes but I have learned to try to keep my emotions away and not necessarily take in offense because I personally am very subjective.  I try to look at the whole picture and I try to catch myself in the moment of anger or frustration to see someone else's point of view.  Racism is definitely something that is very true.  It is around just like I had said before, because as children many people of a certain race grow up with mostly their own race leaving room for curiosity and potential prejudice about other races foreign to them.  It's a touchy subject because I myself do feel like I am racist even to my own race sometimes.  I guess it's good to have awareness that you do go through very natural human issues just like anyone else, except as a social worker I want to be able to be aware but also try to not be so prone to those negative thoughts.


About the culture boxes.  I really enjoyed every single box that everyone had to present.  I enjoyed seeing the different ways people see each other and how they think other people see them.  In a way this was a chance to get to know my classmates a bit more personal.  I really appreciated how people went up there to present many things that are important to them and some that was truly significant in their lives. I liked how everyone got to share their ideas and that no one judged anyone when presenting.  This is one of the many great things about this class.  I feel like the readings can get a bit overwhelming but when we all get to share our ideas and be able to express ourselves makes the class seem just right.

The articles for affirmative action were very interesting and I like how Shirley put some of the ideas about affirmative action into perspective.  Like Shirley I also agree that a student should not be chosen to be accepted to a college because of race or gender solely.  I think that character and grades and other aspects of the individual should be taken in\to consideration.  I think that it is a good think to want to keep a diverse environment in schools, so in a way I don't know that we are able to keep a diverse school environment if race is not taken in consideration when accepting a student.  So in a way I am kind of stuck in between.  I feel like if a school accepts students on gpa, scholastics,  and achievements then we might end up having a homogeneous population.


Any thoughts...

Marable and Fatal Flood

I did not quite understand in the beginning of the course how Prof G. would comment "...before there was Katrina there was Katrina..."  After Prof G read to us about the Fatal Flood I was just in deep pain and anger! I don't understand how people in power can go everyday without feeling remorse that people are deeply affected while they only think about their own interest.  People drowned and lost their homes that they worked hard to build; all because of money.  I can probably preach til my lungs run out of breath but, I DESPISE how much people care about money; I hate that you can't just have one thing you have to have more and more! That is just sick because we could be helping one another but we choose not to.  I might be going out tangent but millionaires think they are helping when they donate 3 or 4 million dollars to a charity but what about the rest of the millions of dollars? What do they do with so much money? Look at how many people are starving or dying from disease because of this bipolar society we have built! Why do we let this happen?!


The Marable article was truly interesting.  What really got me was the part where Marable talked about how "mass unemployment feeds into mass incarceration..." I agree with this statement because I remember reading for one of my classes this semester how after the slavery ended for African Americans they were basically put in jail for no good reason.  It shocked me to know that 5 million people in the US cannot vote because they are in jail or have lost their privileges to vote.  How does that happen? I don't understand how the government expects people to contribute to the economy and society when they are making it extremely difficult to get by; taking such an important thing like voting is like taking their voice away!

This article made me feel very angry of what kind of discrimination in the macro level we are facing.  In the article it talks about working together for change and I agree with that.  In my Communities and Organizations class we have been discussing how important it is to work together because alone one can not do much change.  This week we discussed about the importance of advocating to work toward social change.  There is so much that goes into changing society's ways because anything we change affects everyone, even if one person gets impacted more than another.  There is so much that goes into changing but I would like to achieve social change one day.

I want to be an activist one day and say that I would like people to respect each other and their beliefs; that we could sit in a restaurant and eat without feeling uncomfortable; to choose a job you feel you are more than capable to work hard for; to love one another no matter what we may belief or what color skin we have; that we could help one another instead of hate one another because there are misunderstandings and lack of knowledge; that we could actually have a melting pot in society where everyone has right to everything no matter what.


any thoughts?

Go Obama!

Alright everyone, I support Planned Parenthood and he is an article that totally bashes this non-profit organization that is trying its best to help the lower and middle class be sexually-safe.  I feel that people that go against this organization is a) ignorant and b) greedy.  Please let me hear your thoughts on this article! I totally support Obama in being firm in his decision to support Planned Parenthood! Go Obama!

http://www.catholicvote.org/discuss/index.php?p=16064

Why is different so Wrong?

I love this video because of the awareness Erika Badu shows us.  She gets naked without caring what anyone thinks. The best part though is the end where she talks about being killed because that is what society has made people do when they find someone else so different from themselves.


What do you think...?

Racism readings

"..racism is racial prejudice plus social power..."(pp.86)

Wow, these chapters kept me so engaged let me tell all of you!

It is interesting how the book explains how prejudice starts. So basically if you look at how culture is structured throughout the world, typically we see that people who have the same beliefs, thoughts, and norms stay TOGETHER! I know from my culture, Mexican-Americans are very family-oriented; we tend to live in the same neighborhood and streets that our parents or relatives do and the family just keeps on growing.  Thus, we all stay to our selves and many times I have caught even myself thinking, "Wow, It's so weird that this person is acting this way", because I don't know the person's culture or values.  It's interesting to have this in perspective and to be a possible explanation to how prejudice and racism may start.  Like the book said, we all have some racism inside even if you want to be as transparent as you can.  Of course I am not at all advocating for it either it is just something to have awareness over and to know to correct at times.  So no true "desegregation" exists!

Another part that I liked is the concept of being AMERICAN, so how do you have to look or sound like to be considered American? I remember the part in the book where an Asian-American individual was on a taxi and the driver asked him how long he had been in the U.S. because his accent was really good! WHAT!?   This is very true though, I have had experiences myself when I am also asked how long I have been in this country because I look Arab and that I speak English very well, I mean... It's a bit annoying at first but when I put it in perspective I think everyone has some ambiguity about stuff.

Our society here in the United States has taught us to fear certain races.  I liked the chapter with the Oriental fear where we are taught that "others" are different and their beliefs and we should fear them because of that.  I remember when growing up my parents did not want me to be friends with African-American kids because they said that they were different and that we did not do things like they did.  I feel so ashamed for that but the reason I feel like this now is because I have experienced different friendships now that I have been in school.  I can see how someone being raised by a culture that teaches those negative ideas, and lacks experience with education and values that other people hold, would make a mistake like my parents.

Another strong point that the book brought was the invisibility of the American-Indians.  It talks about how since there are "no real Indians anymore" then the discrimination against them does not exist either.  This just makes me think about the racism debate.  People feel that since we don't have slavery or sweat-shops or anything extreme as we did before then it doesn't matter anymore; again it goes invisible because in order for racism to exist there has to be extreme oppression.  Abolishing slavery did not end discrimination.  The same people that were enslaved were put in jail after the 13th amendment passed when prior to that jail was populated in majority by white individuals.


Man this whole experience with knowing the cruel facts and in ways that I may still contribute to racism or prejudice acts overwhelms me.

Any thoughts?

Cruel but let's look at the whole picture

http://lancasteronline.com/article/ap/583364_Mo--teen-gets-life-with-possible-parole-in-killing.html


What I kept thinking when I read this article was, Why did this kid do this to a 9 year old and then write down her thoughts, and thennnn go to church! Man I was pissed.  But like I have been learning in class I ended up looking at the whole picture, this kid was on drugs when she did this, her family has been screwed up since the beginning, she did kill and she is guilty.  I don't know, I just feel like all these things happen every time and then people are sent to jail without any sort of help just with the promise of parole but what do you do to help them rehabilitate?  I feel like this a band-aid case again where instead of helping the individuals in jail rehabilitate they are put behind bars for immediate fix is all.   They end up doing worse when they get out of jail and they end up in jail again or end up killing themselves.

Oh man!

Any thoughts??

Guest Speaker Dianne

Alright! More and more juice to marinate these thoughts like Prof G calls it.  First off I want to say that I liked how Dianne began her presentation today with the social problem exercise.  Personally I think the way things become social problems is that we are such a socially constructed society that yes, society can be the root of problems like the way we consume unhealthy things leads to cancer and then they grow so big that we see things as not social problems but let's say, medical problems. 

What made me decide where to stand in the different parts in the room like some my classmates said, is of course my upbringing that my parents taught me what is right and what is not, reading books, watching the news, personal experience, all socially constructed, I am a socially constructed product.  I think of this and it overwhelms me how complex society as a whole is.  If we were to change one thing then how would that affect the rest? Wow, I have one more year to go before I get my bachelors and I am getting so scared as time gets closer to go into the real world.  In dealing with this whole anxiety I realize there is no way I can change anything this big on my own, I need help from others to make a change.  I keep the quote from Zinn in my mind to calm me down, "...every social movement starts with disappointment..." and let me tell you I am very disappointed even with my self that I am not on top of the news or articles or current events happening in the world.

Many thoughts were spoken out loud today and in the end I think,wow, we are so embedded with different issues within issues what if one day we really did change the world, would the world end because we solved the impossible puzzle that life is today?

Any thoughts?

Once again history and questions

So here is something knew that I learned reading this great book by Zinn.
1. The rich industrial elites created the pyramid of wealth by creating oppression in many levels
2. They were also able to pay away their duty to serve the military ( and I thought they only did that to get into rich schools)
3. Bankers and the government including the Supreme Court helped them using the 14th amendment by 288 cases atone point in time when only 19 cases were dealt with African Americans.

Those are only a few of the many realities this book is bringing to me every page I read!

In class Monday we talked about how we should always be questioning everything.  I like that idea because there are many times when I feel that something is not right and when no one else says anything we are left with conformity and with possible injustice building up in front of our eyes.

Another thought in my mind is the millions of people dealing with obesity.  In our human behavior class we talked about the fact that it is hard to eat healthy if you live in an area where the cheaper food is unhealthy but easy to drive up and buy.  As a college student I am always shopping for the cheapest things I can get.  I am not afraid to say this but I buy the cheapest laundry detergent in HEB because that is all I can afford.  Just imagine me buying in whole foods- ha no way!  I questioned myself during the whole video we watched about the kids in programs being taught to eat healthy and to lose weight, Why are there so little programs like that?  Why is society so embedded with unhealthy food all around this world (because this problem is world-wide now)? But then I think its like if a kid goes to school and misbehaves, yeah he/she will be put in time-out in class but he/she is not going to learn anything if they ultimately go home to parents that let him/her do what ever they want! I mean this might be a ridiculous comparison but I feel like I am in that situation, I cannot eat better or healthier if I go back home everyday to eat cheap fast food just because that is all I can afford money-wise and time-wise.  I totally sound like a cheap person but what can I do?

So here again we are dealing with class structure at its best.  I'm sure more rich people can afford to go shop at whole foods and be aware what unhealthy fast food does to you in the long-run.  But the rest of us are in this trap.  I truly understand people dealing with obesity because first of all it is not easy to lose weight when you have been eating unhealthy for years and second its even worse when the food you see being advertised on TV is either too expensive to even crave or so unhealthy and cheap that you end up eating that instead.

I leave you with this quote, I know I probably threw way too much in this blog, but here is a great person in "Books Of Our Time" that motivates me to keep going:

"Optimistic is a word that I don't really believe, I see the terrible things that make someone feel pessimistic, the starvation the wars going on, I am optimistic in the long-run not in the short run..."

Zinn and More goodies

When I first started reading this book I found it a bit confusing especially since we started from the afterword and then at chapter one.  However, when I began chapter one like mostly everyone in class I was not able to let go of it. In many aspects I feel like this book is going to help me open my eyes to new realities of the world that I did not know before.


Moving in to more fun, in the interview article with Zinn and Bigelow I was just so stunned at how much more cruel realities happen between the big world powers and small countries that sometimes go unknown because they are so small that no one even knows they exist. For example Haiti was brought up in the interview and I believe this was really important because I too remember in the history books only having one small paragraph about their independence.  I did not see anything about how much we have neglected to help them and how polarized our incomes are compared to them (Haiti is the one of the poorest countries in the world and the U.S is one of the richest, yet we do nothing to help (Bigelow, 2010)). 


Motivating words from Zinn:
"movements begin with discouragement..."


I liked how toward the end of the interview a 6th grade teacher brought up the subject of discouragement about her students maybe seeing so much of it and being affected by it.  I love how he put this subject into perspective showing the different times in history where a group of people felt discouraged for multiple times during their struggle for change and sometimes some died in the act of such a struggle, BUT, the movement did not end, that is the reason we have the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, because the people did not give up!  This is one of the most encouraging words I have heard truly, I feel like Zinn is opening doors to truth and also opening them wider for me to realize that on my own I might not be able to change what I want to but I can with a larger strong group that won't give up til the end.


Zinn you are my hero!

Dr. Aguilar visit and more

I enjoyed the visit from Dr. Aguilar! He really spoke to us with his hand in his heart.  Through the examples of his own life experiences I could really understand what type of concepts he was talking about.  The most interesting part of the whole presentation is that he brought to light once again is the fact that we cannot change somethings, like he said "you can't change the fact that I am colorblind, AT LEAST NOT NOW..." I appreciated that a lot because sometimes I get caught up with the ideas that I am not doing anything(or enough) to change the world, but I can't do it on my own, nevertheless, it can't all be changed at once.  I look forward to going for what I want to help change in this world, but now I hope to change only what I know will be feasible according to my surroundings and resources.


Changing the subject a bit...


The rapping explosion!

I personally would not listen to rap if I had the choice between it and alternative rock. I do have to say though that I am beginning to appreciate it because in this political rap I am not seeing the typical "lil wayne" rapper making women look like they are just wash cloths.  Anyways! This article portraying rappers like Deeb, Mr. Toure, and Mr. Ben Amor is really getting to the core of what the rappers are really trying to show.  I think rapping is strong and powerful so using this type of art to impact society and our generation for social change movements and all is great! Power to these great artists!

Readings for the week

Last week we talked about two very interesting things in my opinion: Dominant and Subordinate groups.  I  thought that it was very interesting to know that subordinate groups know the benefits the dominant groups have and they are constantly trying to survive in society while dominant groups sometimes go without mentioning their benefits because they are so taken for granted they don't realize how good they have it.  When I was growing up I knew that I was in a subordinate group just because of the number of crayons I had.  I knew that compared to the 64 pack of crayons the rich little kids to my 10 pack, I knew money mattered and I wanted my parents to have more to buy me the crayons the little kids had to feel special in class too.

I liked this week's reading and how it talked about identity and how there are micro, meso, and macro levels that can define our identity. As a young woman and part of the UT community I understand my stance in society.  However, I wish I could make a greater difference in the macro level and change the roles that society usually inputs on us: as a woman you are not able to fight with the rest of the men in the military and as a woman you have to be thought of twice or maybe three times before people decide to elect you to be president.

Our generation is growing and here is a question for you. If our community is constantly changing and growing together, becoming allies, marrying out of their race, and having relations with other groups of society could this help the discrimination we are going through now end? Maybe having more understanding and respect for the different attitudes people have would help up break the chains of discrimination?


Social construction was a part of the reading I really liked too and how sometimes we go by labeling people and unconsciously recognize people because of that label.  I have for instance a great operah singer that I really admire, Andrea Bocceli, that I grew up thinking "he's the blind guy that sings real pretty..." I see how wrong I was for thinking that way when I was little.  I try to step out of those heuristics to remember people because they are not fair and demean people of their talent.

The five faces of oppression is one other subject that I really liked.  The one that stood out the greatest for me was cultural imperialism.  I thought this was really interesting because when this oppression is in action the person being oppressed is thought as invisible in society but also marked as the other; thus, your values are taken away and the label you are placed with is just "other" ( you are part of the other group).

To be truly honest, I feel that sometimes I am part of the oppressive group and part of the oppressed group just as equally.  What I like about this class is that it is opening our eyes as social workers to see that we are not perfect and that even if we end up oppressing people we will be conscious of the societal modes that are making us act that way. Constantly being aware of our positive and negative effects on the world will help us reach out to and speak for social justice.

Peace is the one aspect of life that I wish for everyone in this world one day...

"Don't let anyone tell you, you cant"

I think this is a good example of how people living in poverty or just in low income in society sometimes feel they can't excel. However, I like how this video kind of twists at the end with a motivational notice that dreams can be met but you have to "go get it" and don't let any one tell you you cant!

Some thoughts

So Wednesday we talked about the oppressed: dominant and subordinate. I would like to say that personally I feel that I am a subordinate individual because I have two major characteristics. I am a minority Latina and a woman. I had a conversation with my boyfriend today and I feel like a lot of the times that I talk about something he usually ends up having the last word in the conversation.  I don't mean to say we have a bad relationship or that he is the one in control of the relationship I just saw how this whole concept of being a subordinate fell into place in front of my eyes and I was just awed and I could not say anything about it.  BUT! This realization has just encouraged me to speak my mind more and bring to light more of these amazing socialization realities that happen every day.

Social Justice entry

Alright everyone! This entry might be a bit crazy but forgive me this is my first time doing any of this blog business thing. Anyways! The social justice/injustice articles really opened my eyes. In that sense I mean, when I first decided to consider becoming a social worker I knew that there was  injustice thus,  I wanted to help everyone struggling with it. When I read Pelton's article I was shocked when he pointed out that when you look at group differences instead of commonalities you are creating discrimination (Pelton 2001, 436). However it leaves me thinking if we don't consider the differences of groups how would we know what they need?  Another question that arose was the one about groups. So if we should not group people to implicate an intervention then how would we be able to reach out to the greater population? Pelton said we should focus on the individual but our population in this world is of 7 billion how would we be able to reach out to so many people? Everyone needs multiple needs not just simply food or money ect. I am not trying to say we should stick to only doing group focus but of course individual needs too but in order to reach our population we would need to look in macro level terms  and also consider helping the other people who have not been included in this intervention processes.  I leave you with a quote from Scalon "Coalition  building and political activism require that interest groups be able to identify some benefit for the expenditure of time and...capital in pursuit of justice for others (Scalon and Longres).

Im excited to further discuss this in class Monday!