Final Blog

At the beginning of the year we were asked to explain what we think makes up who we are. After learning about sociology this year, I can answer that question in a whole new way because I have learned that there are many different aspects that make up an individual. I have also learned not to judge a person based on their race, sex, or social class. At the beginning of the year we classified ourselves into identity molecules and this made me realize that there are so many different people and groups that shape an individual. Also, the way a person is raised by their parents will influence how they act as an adult. For example, in my first blog I explained that my dad has influenced me to have an interest in aviation and dirtbiking. There are also aspects that shape a person that are uncontrollable. For example, the media has a huge influence on the way girls feel about themselves, and the way boys are expected to be concerning their masculinity. Learning about sociology has also made me look at my peers in a different way. After I read The Saints and the Roughnecks story, I understand that not everyone is actually how they appear to be. This applies to me at school, even though I am not on either end of the spectrum, I have a little bit of "saint" in me, as well as traits of a "roughneck". After playing the monopoly game based on social class and doing community service hours, I have realized that not everyone is as fortunate to have the opportunities and luxuries that I do. Sociology has made me appreciate the things I have in life more, and also to interact with people different from me.

Implicit Racism

In class this week we have been discussing different races and how they are perceived. Although most people like to think that they are not racist or try not to have negative views of different races, it is very difficult not to classify different people by the color of their skin and their physical features. Its not only Americans who stereotype people by their race, but all people and races have their own opinions of other races, and usually these opinions or assumptions are wrong. In class we did an activity where we had to group people into what race we thought they were, based on just their faces. This was a difficult task because as a class we barely guessed anyone's true race correctly. These results just go to show that people cannot just assume that someone is a particular race based on how they look. I took the Implication Association Test for Race, and my results said that I have "a moderate automatic preference for European American compared to African American." This is disappointing because I like to think that I am not racist and I try to think of everyone in the same way. However, according to this test I subconsciously associate American-Americas with negative words. This could be because of the media's influence and the area in which I live and was raised, in North America with mostly upper-class white people who look like me. This just proves that unfortunately it is difficult not to be slightly racist today due to many different factors, even though most people try their best not to be.

Monopobility

Today in class we played monopoly with rules based on the U.S. class structure. We each rolled the dice before the game started to determine which social class we would be in. I happened to roll a 2 so I was in the lowest social class. After playing the game this way, I realized how difficult it really is to improve your social class in America. Its ironic that it is so hard for most people to better their lives and social status when America has the reputation of being "the land of opportunity". Throughout the entire game I felt like one bad thing kept happening after the next and I just couldn't catch a break. I constantly had to pay the richest people in the game the little money I had after landing on their properties and by the end of the game I was barely getting by on welfare. This short game of monoply was frusterating for me because I knew that no matter what I did, I couldn't win. I can't even imagine how people actually living in poverty in the real world must feel knowing that it is next to impossible to move up and become a part of the middle class. After playing this game I also realized how unfair the wealth in America is distributed since there are only a few people who have most of the money, and a lot of people who have barely any. It was depressing to watch the people who were in higher social classes buy property every turn and give up money like it was no big deal, while I on the other hand had to constantly worry about landing on their properties and had to rely on passing GO just to get my paycheck. I believe that the most common way people move up in social class is when they are growing up and making decisions like studying in school, going to college, and getting a job. I think this because both of my parents are in different social classes than their parents, my grandparents, due to the lifestyle choices they made at early ages. I hope that someday I can belong to an even higher social class than my parents. If that does happen, I plan to help out the less fortunate people in lower classes because I don't believe its fair in America for some people to be extremely wealthy while others barely have enough money to survive.

Breaking out of your social class

This week we've been discussing social classes and how they interact. I don't believe that people from different social classes typically interact with each other due to the distinct boundaries we draw between each social class. It's difficult for people to interact and get along with each other when they live completely different lives and value things in different ways. For example, low income families spend the little money they have on basic neccessities such as food, clothes, and housing. They will buy the cheapest items they can and not really care what brand they are or the quality of them. Rich people however will spend as much money as they can on things they don't need such as designer clothes, mansions, cars, and vacations. Therefore its difficult for these people to see eye to eye since they have such different values and lifestyles. Its also rare for people of different social classes to come into contact because they typically live around people who have as much money as they do. There are instances however where they can come into contact such as when people volunteer at soup kitchens like i did this week at the Uptown Cafe downtown. I really enjoyed meeting and talking to people from a different social class than me that I wouldn't usually get the chance to meet.

Deviance--The Saints and the Roughnecks

For homework we read The Saints and the Roughnecks by William J. Chambles. It talked about teenage deviance in America and after reading it I realized that there are actually saints and roughnecks at Stevenson. As hard as it may be for some to believe, students at stevenson are commonly involved with illegal activities such as underage drinking and drugs. Being a student, I know that there are a wide variety of kids who do these things, even kids who most people wouldn't expect that kind of behavior from. This statement is supported throughout Chambliss' article. The "saints" at Stevenson can get away with a lot more than the "roughnecks" because the saints are the kids who are wealthy, get good grades, and are involved with sports and school activites. The "roughnecks" are typically the kids who come from low income families, are not motivated, and don't try in school. The saints get away with more than the roughnecks because they are not expected to do what they actually do behind closed doors. When a saint is caught doing something considered out of the ordinary for them, this is considered deviance and it is looked down upon in society today, especially at Stevenson where kids feel pressured to do what is expected of them and not be portrayed in any other way.

30 Days Deviance

Today in class we watched the show 30 Days where Morgan Spurlock went to a local penitentiary for 30 days. I found this extremely interesting because I have always wondered what its really like to live in jail. After seeing this show I realized how terrible it is to be stripped of all your basic freedoms basically overnight. The fact that a fourth of all the prisoners in the world are from the U.S. and 1% of the U.S. adult population is in jail is extremely alarming to me. Its also shocking that 50% of the people in jail are there for drug related reasons. I think that our society needs to change these statistics by sending more people to rehabilitation centers or institutions to help them change their lives and learn from the mistakes that got them in trouble in the first place. Before the War on Drugs, drug abuse was seen as a problem that people needed to get help for. However, since then certain drugs and drug abuse in general has become deviant and seen as a crime rather than a health issue. Therefore, people involved with these deviant drugs are getting punished by serving jail time instead of having the chance to get help and turn their lives around like they should.

Masculinity

This week in class we watched a few videos depicting what our society considers a "real man." The video by Lajoie about stay at home dads was espeically funny to me, since my dad is currently a stay at home dad. When we moved to Illinois 6 years ago for my mom's job, my dad had to leave his business in Cleveland. He is still able to run his business from our home in Illinois, and he goes to Ohio almost every other weekend to maintain it. Therefore, he is at home most of the time while my mom is in Chicago working. My dad is the one who takes my sister and I to school when we need a ride, and he sometimes takes us out to dinner or even makes dinner for my sister and I, and has it ready for my mom when she gets home from work. In our society, many people think that it is the woman's job to stay at home and take care of the kids, while the man goes out and makes money. This morning on my way to school I was listening to the radio and I was shocked to hear the talk show people supporting this idea. They were having women call in to say how they plan to have a good relationship if they can't cook for their man. They also said that after a woman has a baby and goes on maturnity league, they are expected to stay home with the baby and cook for it and their man. After they said this, an angry woman called in to argue that men can stay at home too and that it is ok if a man knows how to cook better than his girlfriend or wife does. The talk show hosts refuted that idea and said that if a woman doesn't know how to cook, then she will end up alone because no man will want to be with a woman who can't cook for him. This whole discussion made me very uncomfortable and upset, because the talk show hosts were extremely WRONG to say that it is a woman's job to cook and clean, and that it wouldn't make sense if a guy took on that role. My dad can cook, and he does a pretty good job of it. That fact shouldn't make him any less of a "man", at least not in my opinion.