N.W.A. Blog

This quote is a really great one, “Our art is a reflection of our reality.” It really means something. In everything that you do in your life, you reflect who you are and what you believe in. In a very literal sense when you draw a picture people say they are worth a thousand words. Drawings can have so many meanings to them and they all have a story behind them. You could draw a picture based on your home life and about all the emotions you feel about something. I love when people really go in depth with their art and really achieve this goal of showing their audience their perspective. I believe that the people who worked on the album "Straight Outta Compton" really showed what they were feeling and how they were being treated by the law. People could understand what they were going through and the things that were going on in their life. They wanted people to know the harsh reality that was their lives. When Ice Cube and Eazy-E made diss tracks, they were expressing how the felt and getting their point across. These guys wanted their voices to be heard and they wanted to be listened to. When we are assigned papers to write about whom we think we are or something like that, we are writing down our reality and what we believe. Everything that we do in our daily lives, someone is always watching and looking up to us. If you are having a bad day and you are super crabby people will see how you are acting and realize that something is wrong. Maybe not around here but in bigger cities you will see a lot of harsh realities. There are so many kids that, to find a way to escape, write music or draw or create tracks. Some people write and pour out their heart and soul onto a piece of paper hoping that when someone reads it they will feel how the feel and understand what they are going through. Writers are really great at showing people their reality and what they perceive in their everyday lives. I would not refer to myself as an artist in any way at all but the things that I do in my life, I feel reflect me and where I am from and what I experience in my everyday life. Art can be defined as so many different things depending on who you are. In my opinion art is something that you create and make because you want to. It is something that you put time into and work hard on that you try to perfect. Some people can spend hours upon hours and days upon days on projects and their art, others can finish something within a matter of a few hours. When I get older I want to show people my reality through pictures that a take and I want them to feel the same way I feel when I took the picture. Now a days anything in this world can be considered art, you can paint a board black and people will go crazy but to someone it reflects their reality. Someone who is a great example of this would be Taylor Swift and all of the music that she creates. All of her songs are based on her life and what she goes through. She writes about her relationships and the things that she experiences in her life. Taylor Swift really does a great job of reflecting her reality in her art and her songs. Each and every one of us has a very different reality from the next person, and only we really know what we are going through. N.W.A. did such an amazing job of getting people to know who they are and listen to them. Their music changed the name of Compton and hip-hop forever. They all had a voice and something to say, so they did. One song in specific is “F*ck the Police” which describes how they felt about the law enforcement from what they have experienced. They weren’t treated the best by the police and were always looked at as thugs and gangsters because of their color, but they didn’t let that stop them. They have made an impact on so many people that have listened to their music, and that is amazing. They all came from having so little to having so much and being able to make differences in the world. If you asked us all to draw a picture of what we believe our realities look like you would have 12 very different drawings showing 12 different realities. If you asked us to write about our realities we have so many different stories to tell. I think that our voices are the strongest things that we have and we should use them as much as we possibly can. We all have a talent and we can all use it to express out realities and create our very own works of art. People all have different reactions to someone’s art; they can be good or very bad. When the album "Straight Outta Compton" came out, young blacks loved it and what it was saying. White adults were very against it and the message they believed it was putting across. In their opinion it was encouraging violence and abuse and that certain behavior was ok, but in reality that’s not the story they were trying to tell. They were expressing what they knew, saw, experienced, and grew up with. People were offended by this and refused to expect that it was real and actually happening. The law enforcement didn’t want the world to hear these things and to believe it, but that didn’t work. I 100% believe in this quote and it has such a powerful meaning. Everyone has a form of art that truly shows who they are and what they have gone through in their life and that is the reality.

Do We Fail Ourselves or Does Society Fail Us?

I believe yes society can fail people, but it is really up to you if you fail yourself or not. You are fully responsible for what you do with your life and what you make of yourself. Where you grow up and the community you are surrounded by may have some effects on your life yes, but you are fully capable of turning that around. It is not anybody else’s fault if I fail a test for example or burn my mac and cheese, it is me failing myself. Sure society has let me and other people down plenty of times, and will let me down many more times. In the article about Mike Tyson he did grow up in a terrible community and didn’t have a great childhood, this was partially society’s fault. He didn’t have much choice on where he got to grow up, but it was his own decision to do the things that he did therefore failing himself. He did manage to get himself out of a bad community and make something of himself; he showed people what he is worth and what he could do. In Gray’s case his mother partially failed him by doing drugs when she was pregnant with him. But being born premature is no excuse for him being involved in drugs and having trouble with the law multiple times. He let himself down when he kept doing these things that got him in trouble, in the end it cost him his life. I am sure he was let down by society his fair share of times, like in the school system. He attended a poor school where he was not given a whole lot of opportunities; there is not much you can do when you are stuck in a poor community. I believe Gray is still being let down by society in how the convictions of the officers are going. He probably did deserve a better life and just needed some help to achieve the things he was capable of. I feel just because you grew up in a bad community doesn’t mean you can’t escape that and be successful. It is not society’s fault and it isn’t responsible for the actions that you make. In the end if you are disappointed with yourself or your life then you failed yourself, society didn’t fail you.

Racism

Is Racism a Western Idea?

In the first article (Is Racism a Western Idea?) it is about the origin of racism. The author believes that it indeed did not begin in the United States but was around way before the United States was even thought of. A quote that I find very true from this article is “Nationality, religion, shared traditions, and mere geographical proximity are much more common denominators for tribalism and ethnocentrism than is race.” People think that racism started when slavery became about, but that is just not true. Slavery was being practiced in more places than just the United States. People, who were slaves, were slaves to people of the same color, so color had nothing to do with it but social stature did. Racism started from somewhere, where that is we do not really know and can’t quite pinpoint. There are hints of racism in ancient times and Greek mythology. In this article he points out how racism is not whites against blacks, but it exists in all cultures with all people. He believes that racism originated in the Western culture and there must be an end to everything so that means there is going to be an end to racism.

How Racist Are We?

Right of the bat this article starts with saying we are all a little bit racist. In the author of this article’s mind set, they seem to put race into consideration when it comes to jobs and the United States. The author discusses white racism and the affects it has had on our society. Racism is amongst multiple other countries other than just the United States. The author seemed to have a harsh opinion about Evo Morales, the Brazilian President. She seems to believe that he is dividing and destroying the country. America has done studies showing racism has appeared to decrease throughout the past few years. Other races have come to “put up with” different races more. Some studies have shown that people would prefer to live in places with other races present, as long as their race is the dominant one. This article is more about whites and blacks than racism as a whole; in general she is more on the topic of how whites and blacks treat each other. When we as Americans form judgements of people race is almost always put into consideration. The social aspects that kids are seeming to pick up on is simply “whites do better than blacks”, they learn all these generalizations that we make.

Cultural Bias for Racism

Social media is a big contributor to racism in the United States. There are stereotypes on TV and in the world and not just with race. There are thoughts that what you think isn’t really what you think but what the world and society around you has developed your mind to think. “And that’s the question we wanted to answer: are you indeed a racist, or are you just an American?” this is a question a lot of people would like answered. This article describes how your gut reaction has to do with the culture that you are surrounded by. There were studies done that looked towards words and stereotyping. They put words that correlated together and words that did not and words that stereotypically fit together. People had quick reactions to the words that were geared more as stereotypical. They are “blaming” or saying these reactions are not because of racism but because of what culture is around you. So basically the United States and how we live is adding on to racism and how racist we may be. This article was not just about racism though, it was also about sexism and ageism and the stereotypes of that.

My Thoughts

I believe it is personal opinion on what you think racism is and where it comes from. I think personally it is everywhere in every culture, and that it can even be geared to your own race. So yes, in my opinion it is culturally universal. I believe that idea or concept of racism has always been around, just one day the idea of naming or pointing it out came about. I don’t believe media started it; it just enhances it and alters our thoughts on it. The media is a big part of today’s society and affects all those around it, so of course racism will be affected. In one of the articles the author believes racism had a begging so it indeed will have an end, hopefully that is true but I don’t see it happening any time soon. In America you mostly hear about Black Lives matter and whites against blacks, but that fact of the matter is every race is included when it comes to racism. It is all around us and is almost inevitable to avoid. I feel you may not think that you are racist but deep down we all are some way or another.

LOTF Sociology Questions

1.       I believe society can mentally tear down a man and kill him emotionally rather than just physically. For men they can tend to have a big ego and it is very important to them. You can mentally break someone to the point that they wish they were dead, or physically torture them. If you crush someone’s self-esteem it will greatly affect them. In Lord of the Flies when they take Piggy’s glasses, it kills him and he feels absolutely useless. We as human beings know how to hurt people and what can break a man. It is a sad thing to say but society is cruel and messed up.

2.       I think that our savage self will start to overcome our civilized self. It can consume us from the inside out until there is nothing left of our civilized self. It is almost easier to be a little savage and harsh to people. Sometimes people can really get on your nerves and you can’t take it anymore so you just explode and tell them how it really is. Being savage is somewhat of a release, letting out all that anger you have built up inside can help you to feel better. Sometimes people are just savage to get attention and laughs.

3.       A civilization is created by a group of people coming together. I believe people are controlled by society because we want to be accepted. People don’t want to be frowned upon and seen as different so they go with what society thinks is right. Everyone goes with the grain and not many dare to go against it. We have conformed to society and doing what it sees as normal. People are scared of being judged and looked at differently and they just blend in so they aren’t noticed. Our society is corrupt and I think people need to stop allowing it to run their lives.

The Lottery

1.       Were you surprised by the ending of the story? If not, at what point did you know what was going to happen? How does Jackson start to foreshadow the ending in paragraphs 2 and 3? Conversely, how does Jackson lull us into thinking that this is just an ordinary story with an ordinary town? 

a.       Yes; She says the boys are stacking up the rocks, people aren’t too excited about it and don’t seem to make a huge deal of it.

2.       Where does the story take place? In what way does the setting affect the story? Does it make you more or less likely to anticipate the ending?

a.       A village of about 300 people; It says it is a calm beautiful day, kids are playing and people are happy, so I am less likely to expect the ending.

3.       In what ways are the characters differentiated from one another? Looking back at the story, can you see why Tessie Hutchinson is singled out as the "winner"? 

a.       Some are young and old, and have experienced this for many years; She is happy to participate every year but she shows up late this year.

4.       What are some examples of irony in this story? For example, why might the title, "The Lottery," or the opening description in paragraph one, be considered ironic? 

a.       Normally everyone wants to win the lottery, but in this case that is the last thing you want to do. Winning the lottery in our experience brings you good things, but winning in their case is an awful thing.

5.       Jackson gives interesting names to a number of her characters. Explain the possible allusions, irony or symbolism of some of these: 

 Delacroix – religious corruption

 Graves – shows death

 Summers – the event takes place in the summer

 Bentham

 Hutchinson

 Warner – could be seen to show a warning that something bad will happen

 Martin

6.       Take a close look at Jackson's description of the black wooden box (paragraph 5) and of the black spot on the fatal slip of paper. What do these objects suggest to you? Why is the black box described as "battered"? Are there any other symbols in the story?

a.       Black is a bad thing. It is worn out and older than the oldest person in town, some of the original wood color is starting to show. The boys were stacking rocks.

7.        What do you understand to be the writer's own attitude toward the lottery and the stoning? Exactly what in the story makes her attitude clear to us?

a.       She is intrigued by it; she kept it intriguing and suspenseful, you didn’t really know what was happening till the end

8.       This story satirizes a number of social issues, including the reluctance of people to reject outdated traditions, ideas, rules, laws, and practices. What kinds of traditions, practices, laws, etc. might "The Lottery" represent? 

a.       Old fashioned laws, where stoning is seen as ok.

9.       This story was published in 1948, just after World War II. What other cultural or historical events, attitudes, institutions, or rituals might Jackson be satirizing in this story?

a.       The holocaust, they kill those with a black dot, just like they killed those who were Jewish.

In a minimum of 200 words answer the following:  What does "The Lottery" tell us about human nature?  What does it say to us about violence?

We believe that violence can solve our problems and is ok in our society. We have grown so used to it and seeing it all over the news, that it no longer takes us by surprise or comes as a shock to us. In our human nature we learn to follow tradition and not really question why we do things. People never seem to want to change their tradition and the things that they are used to doing. The people in this story I’m sure want to change the way things are done and stop the lottery, but they are too afraid to do something about it. In a way this story partially reminds me of the Hunger Games. This village thinks it is socially acceptable to just stone people if they draw the card. If these people can stone some innocent child without care then they must have no heart. This village is absolutely insane, at first they seem like nice wonderful people but then they turn out to be violent people. Who would ever think of coming up with this “lottery” and why? It is an awful thing to make everyone draw from a box and if they grab a marked card they must get stoned, so they will have a good crop, that is so messed up.

Trump's Attorney General Questions

1.       Who is Sally Yates?

a.       She was U.S. attorney general appointed by Obama.

2.       Why does President Trump have an Obama appointee as acting Attorney General?

a.       He has not yet had who he wants (Jeff Sessions) voted in by the senate.

3.       For what reason did President Trump fire Yates? (How did the White House explain the decision?)

a.       She told Department of Justice employees to not defend Trump’s executive order on immigration.

b.      They said she is weak on borders and illegal immigration.

4.       How did Ms. Yates explain her decision to defy President Trump’s hold on immigration from several countries?

a.       As attorney general her responsibility is to make sure that the Department of Justice is informed by what their best view of what the law is after considering the facts. As long as she is attorney general they will not present arguments in the defense of the executive order.

Barnga Reflection

BARNGA-Reflect on the card game we played in class.

·  If you could describe the game in one word, what would it be?

Frustrating.

·  What did you expect at the beginning of the game?

To not understand it because Mr. Reints likes to confuse us all.

·  When did you realize that something was wrong?

When Rachel came to our table and didn’t follow the rules that we had.

·  How did you deal with it?

Tried to write on the board to explain what the rules were.

·  How did not being able to speak contribute to what you were feeling?

It made my frustration greater.

·   Is my title above appropriate for the game of "culture."  Why or why not?

I suppose, it sounds like a word you would say when you stub your toe.

·   Is a universal language and set of customs necessary for world peace and harmony?

It might help yes.

·   What can a simple card game teach us about our culture?

It is hard to understand someone else’s culture when you didn’t grow up around it.

Empathy

 I believe it is easier for us to empathize with Americans and their struggles than it is for us to empathize with those from a different culture. I personally find it hard to put myself in the shoes of a Muslim or Arab because I do not really understand their struggles or relate to them. I think I can empathize with people depending on their situation.

For some people it is hard to empathize and understand the struggles someone is going through. For me I think I try my best to empathize with someone and help through the problems they are going through. It is really difficult to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and relate to them on that deep of a level. Recently my friend’s dog died and I found it easy to empathize with her because I have gone through losing a dog as well. I understood how she felt and found it easy to put myself in her position and relate to her. But say someone I know lost a parent, I would not have much clue on how they felt and would struggle with empathizing with them. I could do as much as I could to comfort them and help them through that difficult time, but I could not possibly imagine what they are really going through.

I see myself fitting into the big picture of society by doing what I believe is right and being the best person I can be. I would love to be a nice, kind, and loving person to everyone, but that isn’t always going to happen. I will try to empathize with those around me and help them through their struggles and hopefully they will try and do the same with me. Empathy is not an impossible thing to do, you just have to try.