Stereotypes

All women
Are skinny And weak
And have long hair
And pretty
And have children
All men
Are muscular
And strong
and handsome
And have short hair
And have children
Women do chores
And men go to work
Women like men
Men like women

All one society
A "perfect" society.

¹per·fect, adj \ˈpər-fikt\

a : being entirely without fault or defect : flawless

This is not perfect.

Mother to Son

"Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor—
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So, boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps.
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now—
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair."
-Langston Hughes (1902-1967)

In the poem "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes, Langston takes the role of a mother, speaking to her son about what her life has been like and the troubles that she's been through. The poem acts as a kind of motivational speech to the son, telling him, "Don't you set down on the steps, 'Cause you finds it kinder hard." The mother is telling the son not to give up because life get's hard, and that he's not climbing a crystal stair, like some people.
The crystal stair in the poem represents perfection, and how not all people get to live the kind of life where everything is perfect. The mother, speaking to the son, is telling him about all the difficulties that she's had in life. A splinter, a tack, cold, bare floors or torn up stair boards. Some things hurt for a minute, like a splinter, but some leave bruises for days, or even scars and cuts.
The time period in which the poem was written (1922, around the time of the Great Depression and when African Americans didn't have as many rights as they do today and were discriminated against) also relates to the theme of not giving up because of bumps in the road like in "Mother to Son".
Even 41 years later, there were still issues with discrimination against African Americans.
On August 28th, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. said:
"...We must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land."
In the poem "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes, not only does the son represent a literal son, whose mother is telling him valuable information that he'll use throughout his life, the son also symbolizes the whole entire African American population in the United States in 1922, and Hughes is telling them not to let a ripped up floor board, or being tired of climbing, stop them from reaching their ultimate goal: equality.

Social Awareness Journal - Day 5

Day 5
Wednesday, October 27th, 2010
Abortion: Pro-life, or Pro-Choice?

"Abortion: the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus"

"There are two many answers to the question of abortion access. They can be grouped into two basic positions:

Those promoting a pro-life or anti-abortion position say that the government should override a woman's decision to have an abortion in some, many, or all cases, and require her to continue her pregnancy to childbirth.

Most pro-lifers base their stance on the belief that human life, in the form of an ovum and spermatozoon, becomes a human person during the process of conception. Thus, a human pre-embryo, embryo and fetus are all persons entitled to fundamental human rights, including the most basic right: to be allowed to live. The lives of two humans are being considered here: that of the woman and her the life of the pre-embryo, embryo, or fetus.
Those promoting a pro-life or anti-abortion position say that the government should override a woman's decision to have an abortion in some, many, or all cases, and require her to continue her pregnancy to childbirth.

Most pro-lifers base their stance on the belief that human life, in the form of an ovum and spermatozoon, becomes a human person during the process of conception. Thus, a human pre-embryo, embryo and fetus are all persons entitled to fundamental human rights, including the most basic right: to be allowed to live. The lives of two humans are being considered here: that of the woman and her the life of the pre-embryo, embryo, or fetus.

Those promoting a pro-choice position say that the government should not interfere with the woman's decision, or should do so only under very rare circumstances. She should be able to have an abortion in many, most or all cases.

Most pro-choicers base their stance on the belief that human life becomes a human person at some time after conception -- perhaps when the embryo's heart starts beating, or when the fetus first looks human, or it becomes sentient, or it has half emerged from its mother's body, or is born, or is severed from its mother and is functioning independently. They feel that a woman should not be forced to go through a pregnancy and childbirth if she does not choose to do so. She should be allowed to have an abortion if it is done before her embryo or fetus attains personhood."

Abortion has become a major way for people of different opinions to clash. As you read in the article above (cited below), there are two different point of views on abortion. I, myself, am a pro-choicer, because I beleive that a woman has the right to do what she wants to do with her own body. But, at the same time, pro-lifers beleive that a baby, even as a fetus, is still living and deserves a chance at life. Pro-lifers think that no woman should have an abortion.

www.m-w.com
http://www.religioustolerance.org/abofund.htm

Social Awareness Journal - Days 3 and 4

Day 3
Sunday, October 24th, 2010
Poverty, And Its Effects On People Worldwide

What is poverty, anyway? Poverty is "the state of having little or no money and few or no material possessions". While many people around the world can afford everyday expenses such as food or clothing, 97 million of the 471 million people living in Eastern Europe and Central Asia live on less than 2 dollars a day. Also of those 471 million, 24 million live on less than 1 dollar a day. Nearly 50 percent of sub-Saharan Africans live on less than $1 a day, and the number of people in South Asia who live on less than 1 dollar a day reaches almost half a billion. In South Asia, 240 million people don't have access to safe water, and half a billion don't have proper sanitation.
The poverty rates don't even end there. There are tons of families, children, and adults living in poverty in the United States. In fact, 37 million Americans are living in poverty, and nearly 35% of the poorer population in the US is children. The ratio of children who live in poverty in the US, is 1 to 6.

The fact that there are so many people who live in poverty around the world is so depressing. Here I am, typing this on a computer, in my own room, in my own house, with my own family, who makes an average amount of money each year. We're certainly not in poverty, but we're not rich, either. And the funny thing is that I never really remember thanking anybody for what I have. I know that on my birthdays, when people give me gifts, I say thank you. I say thank you when I get presents on the winter holidays. But have I ever thanked anyone for what me or my family has? Or what we don't have?

Day 4
Monday, October 25th, 2010
Sexism...

sex·ism - noun \ˈsek-ˌsi-zəm\: prejudice or discrimination based on sex; especially: discrimination against women

2: behavior, conditions, or attitudes that foster stereotypes of social roles based on sex
Sexism exists. As you read above, sexism is the belief or attitude that one gender is inferior to, or less valuable than the other.
Sexist statements include things like, "women can not play sports such as football or 'fight'" or "men can not go to salons or get their nails done". These statements discriminate against certain genders; male, or female. "But what's wrong with sexism?" someone might ask. To be short, sexism is just another form of any other kind of discrimination, no worse than racism or other types.

Just like what I said on my point of views of gay suicides and the people who bully people who are gay, I just don't understand it. And I don't understand this. Why would someone feel that they're more superior to someone else just because of their gender? I appreciate women who stand up against sexism toward women (although there is sexism against men, as well). I especially love feminist artists, and how they express their ideas about sexism and feminism in their artwork. It says a lot about how some people in our society today think about sexism.
I'd like to give a shout out to Kiki Smith, my favorite feminist artist, as of...yesterday. ;)

Cite: wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
http://www.npc.umich.edu/poverty/
globalissues.org
http://www.nccp.org/topics/childpoverty.html
thinkquest.org
savethechildren.org

Social Awareness Journal - Days 1 and 2

Day 1
Friday, October 22nd, 2010
Gay Suicides - The Pressure that Society Puts on People Who are Gay

Recently, whether you read it in a newspaper or heard it on the news, you've probably heard about Tyler Clementi's suicide. Tyler Clementi was an 18-year-old gay freshman at Rutger's University, who committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge on September 22nd. Clementi committed suicide after some of his classmates posted footage of him having a sexual encounter with another man. People were shocked, and still are, by his suicide. What some people aren't aware of though, is that Clementi's suicide is just one of many that have been committed over past few months. On September 9th, 15-year-old Billy Lucas hanged himself "[after] what classmates reportedly called a constant stream of invective against him at school."
Then, just a little less than 2 weeks later, 13-year-old Asher Brown shot himself after he told people that he was gay. And, around a month ago, another 13-year-old named Seth Walsh hanged himself, after being "apparently unable to bear a relentless barrage of taunting, bullying and other abuse at the hands of his peers."

My reaction to this? What has the human race become? Who are we to make fun of, and put down, other people because of their sexual orientation? What's the motivation? Or satisfaction? Why do people think that it's okay to push people's emotional limits, so much, and so far, that they commit suicide? That they take their own life, because they're not "socially acceptable"? Think about that.

Day 2
Saturday, October 23rd, 2010
Injustice: What it Means To Be Small, Be Susceptible, Be an Animal

Have you ever seen commercials on television about how many animals are abused each year? What about the ones that tell you how many animals are put in shelters, how many are used for fur, or how many are used for testing make up products or drugs ? In case you haven't, or you've forgotten the number, I'll tell you. Millions of animals are abused each year. Approximately 6-8 million dogs and cats in the United States are put in animal shelters, and of those 6-8 million, approximately 3-4 million are euthanized. In 2006, more than 350,000 baby seals were killed for fur, including more than 30 million mink, foxes, chinchillas, and other animals that are killed on fur farms each year, by electrocution and poisoning, as well as approximately 2 million dogs and cats worth of fur that's exported from places worldwide, and mostly labeled as fake here in the United States, also unaware that some of these 2 million are skinned alive.
In animal testing, approximately 25 million vertebrate animals are tested in the United States every year. If you include invertebrate, the number goes up to 100 million.

The thing that disturbs me the most about how many animals are abused or put in shelters every year, just in the United States, is that so few people actually know about it. Yes, we all know that animals are abused and put in shelters, and that some are killed for fur or testing, but people never really tend to look at the number. I can compare it to an ordinary person: they find a fatty snack that they really like, but never bother to look at the nutrition facts, and eat it almost every day. Over time, they get more and more obese, but they never notice. Then, one day, bam! They look at the scale, and their whole situation just blows up in their face. It's the same this. People never really look between the lines so see the facts that they're missing, and then, all of a sudden, they realize what's wrong, just when it's too late. What's going to happen when the animals that humans hunt become extinct? Or shelters are overridden with animals? Or, no animals are even left?

Appreciation - The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

Besides our favorite things and what we liked to do, there was one thing that set me apart from most of my friends. It wasn't my culture, my religion, or anything of that sort. It was one thing that even I didn't realize until a week or two ago. It was the fact that I had never really read any "childhood books" in my childhood.

I remember reading Charlotte's Web when I was little. I remember skimming through A Wrinkle in Time, and hating it. I also remember the new copies of the whole Chronicles of Narnia that my aunt gave me when I was about 6 or 7 years old. I sat in my room and read The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe when the sunlight dripped, and leaked through my windows in the afternoon. I sat and read on the cold, blue tile bathroom floor and closed the door, when I didn't want anyone to disturb my reading. And after I had read just The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, I gave the whole Chronicles of Narnia away.
Why? I don't actually remember. I just gave them away without a second thought.
But now? I wouldn't give up my book filled with The Chronicles of Narnia for a million dollars. (Ok, I would, but you get what I'm trying to say).
Although I didn't realize it when I was younger, the whole entire Chronicles of Narnia are filled with magic, and The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe especially.
The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe is one of the most well known books by C.S. Lewis.
It contains hope, joy, sadness, loneliness, and, finally, the magic that has the power to
transport you and make you feel like you're in Narnia with Lucy, Edmund, Peter, and Susan.
The whole entire book, you have the "Don't look into the closet! Don't look into the closet!" kind of feeling like when your watching a scary movie. C.S. Lewis keeps you on your toes, alert and aware, but at the same time dreamy and isolated as you imagine yourself in Narnia.
How does he do this? Description. Sentence length. Adjectives and words that evoke feelings. Not only does C.S. Lewis use these things, but most writers do too, and these things are what make a story come alive in front of the readers eyes. These things make something 2-D, like words on a piece of paper, turn 3-D like a colorful pop-up book. You can visualize the story in your mind and relate to it through your own life and experiences.
Obviously, C.S. Lewis did a good job: there are multiple editions of The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe, a movie, and even more Chronicles of Narnia books that I'm reading now that I know how great the books are.

One of my good friends once told me: "Always try new things. You never know what you might find." Now, I can never say that that wasn't true.

Never Shut Yourself In A Wardrobe

"Edmund can be so rude! Lucy, Peter, and Susan seem so sweet, but Edmund is like the odd person out."
"What's up with the whole, 'don't shut the wardrobe door' thing? Is it bad luck? Lucy and Peter haven't shut the wardrobe, but Edmund has...more 'odd one out'? Or symbolism tying into that? It's mentioned so much."
If you ever read the book The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, you would probably notice that all the kids that the Professor had adopted had good manners, were sensible, and were fairly nice to one another. Except for Edmund.
Consistently throughout the book I see situations where Edmund is left being the odd one out. First, he's horribly mean to Lucy when she tells them about Narnia. Even after he went there himself, he still pretends that she's making it up. Peter and Susan, however, make the effort to beleive that Lucy is telling the truth by consulting the Professor.
Next, he closed the wardrobe door. Now, at first this may not seem like a big deal (it didn't to me either), but since C.S. Lewis mentions the fact that one should never oneself in a wardrobe time after time, I've come to the conclusion that it must mean something. although I haven't figured out what yet.
So while Peter and Lucy sensibly did not close the wardrobe door on themselves when the went inside the wardrobe, Edmund immediately shut it, obviously not knowing any better. This is another example of him being the odd one out. You can't say that he didn't know any better because he isn't as old as Peter, but Lucy is younger than him, and yet she knows not to shut the wardrobe. I keep wondering why he closed the wardrobe. I mean, they all grew up in the same family, Peter the longest and Lucy the shortest, so why don't they all know not to shut a wardrobe behind them?
Another reason that Edmund is the 'odd one out' out of the four siblings is the most obvious reason in the whole book: he went against all of them to be a spy for the white witch. I mean, who does that? Who goes against their siblings (no matter how much you think they're the rude and stuck up people when you are) and basically hands them a piece of paper with their death sentence on it?
Edmund is nothing like his three siblings. While they are nice, understanding, and trustworthy, he turns his back on them, Aslan, and the creatures of Narnia for the witch and her stupid enhanced and enchanted Turkish delight.
I think that throughout the book, Edmund changes though. Even though in the beginning of their stay in Narnia he betrays them to the white witch, by the end of their stay he is one of the two kings if Narnia, one of the people that helped fight against the witch, and has fought countless battles against evil forces that may have still been lurking.
I don't that Edmund will ever be exactly like his siblings, because there is always one odd one out, but through his journeys in Narnia he gained trust, loyalty, friends, and the right to be named one of the kings of Narnia. Long live the Queens and Kings!