A New Perspective

In August, my first blog was a very generic description of who I was and why I was taking sociology. After taking the class, however, I’ve come to realize that my descriptions should have been much more in depth. I am not just a student in high school taking a sociology class. I am a student who has been cultivated and brainwashed into becoming similar to my peers around me. After 17 years of being in my specific school system, I have learned to appreciate opportunities and always strive to be a good student in every one of my classes. So, when my friends told me that sociology was an “easy” course where we would mostly just learn interesting things about people- I immediately signed up. I’m someone who likes learning about my surroundings, and because we don’t have to take a final and there is barely any homework- I knew it would be easy for me to excel. Now, however, I have realized that my course decisions shouldn’t be based of grades. Instead, I should take courses that really interest me and support my values and beliefs. Sociology ended up being a great course because I learned a lot about why I am the way that I am and why everyone around me influences me to be this way, but I now know that my decisions in life can’t be based solely on taking the easiest route that will immediately put me ahead of the game. This valuable lesson has helped shape me into a better person because I’ve realized that now, as I’m heading towards college, I need to make decisions that will follow these guidelines. I need to also realize that because I’ve lived in this community for so long, it has definitely shaped me greatly. Although this area has taught me to value academics and opportunities, I need to also get in touch with people in the world who have different perspectives and who are from different backgrounds. My goal in life is similar to what I said in my first entry: to find my purpose on the planet and live my life to fulfill this purpose and to live to simply enjoy life. But, I have also learned that enjoying life doesn’t mean just getting A’s in school and going to the perfect college. I’ve realized that it’s much more about looking at the world from different perspectives and appreciating what is truly valuable in life. 

Race

This week in sociology, we focused mainly on racism. While watching the movie "Crash," we all gained a greater perspective on how almost everyone is racist, but on a subtle level. Because of the society we grow up in, we are shaped to harbor these stereotypes. We often take these generalizations into consideration when we make daily decisions. For example, a woman in the movie decided to hold her purse tighter and move closer to her husband when two black men passed by the couple. She, from years of brainwashing, believed that she needed to steer clear of them in order to protect herself. This is a great example of implicit racism. She was definitely wrong to do this, but her assumptions ended up being correct. The men stole their car and threatened her. Being black myself, I wasn't too happy that her thoughts were right. I wanted the black men to overcome their stereotypes, but I eventually realized that this wasn't the goal of the movie. The movie was supposed to get us to realize that (whether incorrect or not) we all have some hint of prejudice in us. So, we need first realize these stereotypes and then work towards avoiding them.

Race

This week,  we have been focusing on race in sociology. We've mostly been doing little demos and mini lessons to help us ease into this new lesson. So far, we've learned that it is part of human nature to place people into different groups. Many of these groupings are based on race. So, many social groups in our society are divided among racial lines and groups of different races inevitably develop stereotypes about other racial groups. This is a really sad cycle, but I don't think it will ever end. Past examples have taught us that it's simply in our nature as human beings to do so. However, I hope that we can slowly begin to put limitations on the stereotypes we create.

Minimum wage

Lately, we have been focusing on the large gap between the rich and the poor in sociology. We even watched a video that depicted a perfect example of this. In the video, a man and his wife tried to live 30 days while being paid minimum wage. I always see adults working at places like fast food restaurants and grocery stores, but I have never taken the time to really sit down amd see what their life is like. The people on the show had an extremely difficult time making ends meet, and they were only doing this for a short period of time. I can't imagine what it would be like to live your life pay check to pay check on a daily basis. After this unit, I think I'm much more thankful for everything I have. Also, I have realized that our country really isn't one of equal opportunity. 

Rich vs poor

This week in sociology we focused on differences in income rates and the huge gaps between the rich and the poor. I was really surprised to find out that where we live, we are in the top 5% of the united stste's income. Also, when compared to the rest of the world, americans are richer than 95% of the worlds population. These statistics were really shocking and scary because it made everyone realize how sheltered we are from the rest of the world. A lot of us only look up when thinking about social class an forget about everyone living on less than a dollar a day. Maybe if we all did a little more to help the less fortunate, we could change the gap between the rich and poor.

Poor vs. Rich

During sociology this week, we've been learning about how certain groups of people are almost set up for failure right at birth. Our society guarantees success for the elite and the rich. However, for all the normal people who don't meet these standards- life is difficult. For example, someone living in an upperclass suburb is less likely to get in trouble for being involved in drugs than someone living in the projects. This is because those living in lower class societies are initially more suspected of being involved in such acitivity. People in lower social classes are given less opportunities than their rich counterparts and as a result, it is much harder for them to rise above and achieve a greater level of success in their lives. We also read about what life was like in jail and how those who end up in jail almost always go back. Society has labeled these criminals as criminals for life. So, instead of correcting their behavior, jails serve as environments that inevitably suck in those more susceptible to this kind of a life (the lower class). I wish this wasn't the case for most societies, but, sadly, individuals in lower classes are almost always stuck. I hope that sometime in the near future, our government will develop new programs to help these people or that the rich will eventually develop the sympathy to see the poverty around them.

Corrupted Research

During sociology this week we focused mainly on a certain article in class. The article we read for this week dealt with reasons why white middle class males kill. Most researchers believe that these killing sprees go on due to mental issues. However, recent sociological research has led observers to believe otherwise. These children are raised in environments that cultivate this sort of behavior. The boys are usually facing some kind of bullying during school and come home to parents who promote violent habits. Also, the boys living in these environments are taught to always conform and follow the social norm. To those around them, it isn't alright to look or act abnormal. Many of kids can't handle this level of pressure and as a result, face abuse from those commenting on their abnormalities. It isn't always the kids themselves who are mentally insane, instead, it actually has more do with these aspects of their lives. In a lot of the shooting cases, the students didn't show any remorse after what they had done. They targeted the people in their lives who had done them wrong and these people were usually their attackers or bullies. I'm not trying to make it seem like the events going on in these situations should be deemed as okay because of the environment the boys grew up in. I'm just offering a reason for WHY this happened. Now, hopefully, school officials will use this information to learn how to prevent shootings.