Blog #6

Being raised in a loving christian family, the Westborro Babtist Church's display of utter hatred made me feel sick.  I have always been taught to love the person and hate the sin.  This applies to any "sin" and often homosexuality was one that was mentioned.  I used to believe that homosexuality was a choice, but as I mature I am realizing that it is not that simple.  While I do think that any human being's actions are their own choice, I do not think that what they are sexually attracted to necessarily is.  From all of the homosexual people that I know, most can describe some sort of traumatic experience that happened to them at a young age.  Others tell me that they were "just born that way."  In the book "Middlesex" I was introduced to confusion of sexual identity due to  both biological and emotional reasons.  Despite Cal being raised  as a girl, she/he was born with an attraction to women.  I found the incest in the book weird because it is blatantly defying my religious beliefs as well as the American social norms.  I was uncomfortable with the sexual scene in the bathhouse with Cal as a 7 year old because it was dealing with children.  Despite my discomfort with certain elements of the story, I still loved the characters and couldnt help but hope for their happiness even if it meant them going against my personal ideals.  Overall, I think life would be better if everyone just lived their life the way they want to, and let others do the same. 

Blog #5

Both "Monster" and "Incognegro" focused on the advantage of race and how it can affect the mindset of people.  In "Monster" the jury's ability to look past Steve's race is constantly in question and it is implied that they see him as just another black criminal.  "Incognegro" is interesting because it provides the view point of two men who get the perks of being white but are actually African American. 

In the book monster one quote stood out to me above all others, when Steve told his mom that "its not about race."  He said this to her after she asked him if she should have hired a black lawyer.  While reading this I felt happy about Steve acknowledging that he was in his predicament not because he was black, but because he was involved with a robbery/ homicide.  After reading the novel "Incognegro" I was exposed to the viewpoint of an African American who was pale and able to get the same perks as a white man.  After seeing the way that Carl was praised as a white man and then hung one discovered to secretly be black, I realized more than ever the perks that came along with being white during that time period.  The videos we watched of the kids destroying the car forced me to see that white advantage does still exist to an extent.  What surprised me the most was that some people laughed about the white kids destroying the car.  At the same time another person called the called the cops on black kids for sleeping in a car. This reminded me a bit of how Carl was loved by the southern people when they thought he was white, but hung after they discovered the truth.  Looking back on what Steve said to his mother about it not being about race; it seems that while his predicament was not because of his race, the way it was being handled may have had something to do with it.  Overall the two books and the video did a good job of creating awareness about racial advantage.

Are All People Equal?

One of the questions asked to the class was "are all people equal?"  The truth is that people are not all equal.  There are small people. There are tall people. There are smart people. There are not so smart people.  Race should never be the determining factor for anything, and it bothers me that it some times is.  A few years ago I was working for a clothing company that was required to meet a racial quota.  I was informed that my hours were going to be cut in half because they needed to hire somone that was a minority and that the person would be taking some of my hours.  At first I thought it was not such a bad idea, that is until the guy who was hired turned out to be an extremely bad worker.  The guy was not a bad worker because he was black, he was a bad worker because he was lazy.  While I realize that racial quotas in the work place are meant to prevent racism, they actually promote it.  My first thoughts after having my hours cut so that I could be replaced by some one who is taking advantage of a system were definitely not "Oh my! I feel so thankful that the government provides equal oppurtunities to all people!" The idea that I am trying to get at is that people should not be treated equal, they should be evaluated and hired based off of their skills and attributes which would make them valuable to a company.  Race should make no difference.  I propose equal rights, not a system that gives advantages based on race.

Max

Max is a Jew who is living in Germany during the WWII era.  He was a fighter at one point but the Nazi party has taken everything from him and his people, forcing him into a lifestyle of constant hunger and bitter cold basements.  Max despises the Nazi regime, and considering that fact that he spends the majority of his time in uncomfortable hiding,  he feels the imminence of war every day.  The Nazi subjugation of the Jews is what drives him into hiding.  Max perspectives are unique because he is the only closely followed Jewish character.  Many times throughout the story we hear Liesel and Rudy complain of hunger, but Max truly understands suffering in a way which they do not.  Max was once a fighter, even if he knew he would probably lose a fight he would do it for a chance at honor.  He is now a fighter for his own life and their is no honor to be gained, only his life to hold on to.  Max even swallowed his pride and went to the Hubermanns as a broken man asking for help.   I  like Max because he doesn't complain.  He is going through trials more tough than any of the other main characters can understand, but he still doesn't feel sorry for himself.

"Prisoner on Hell Planet"

On the first page of "Maus" we find out that Artie and his father are not very close.  We also learn that Artie's mother committed suicide at some point in the past. 

Writing the "Prisoner on Hell Planet" was Artie's way of expressing his inner anguish that he felt after his moms suicide.  The comic also gives a little insight on the relationship between Artie and his father.  At the bottom of the second page the father was crying and the narrator was expected to comfort him.  While being comforted it appears that the father is saying "mother..... mother...." instead of the Artie saying it.  This shows that Artie may have felt like his role with his father was backwards and that it should have been his father comforting him instead.  In the next box over the words "protect what you have" are written in small letters.   I believe that this is Artie's way of explaining that this was the point in which Vladek became the stereotypical miserly Jew.

Introduction

Hello class, my name is Dan Smith. To be perfectly honest it has been quite a while since I have read a full book, I believe the most recent to be the final Harry Potter book.  I spend the majority my free time playing guitar, listening to music, playing sports, and hanging out with friends.  Although I am currently majoring in political science, I plan on switching to pre-engineering.  The element of this class that I find most compelling is that I will be forced out of my comfort zone when it comes to certain contemporary/ diverse topics in society.  I am excited to compare and contrast my own beliefs with the ones presented to me and to ultimately put my own philosophy of life to the test.  Cultural diversity can be defined as the variety of social structures, beliefs, and strategies for adapting to situations in different parts of the world.  Cultural diversity is extremely important for society today because it allows for people to see, on a daily basis, the different options of lifestyles that are available to them.  I am expecting that through practice this class will further my critical thinking and evaluation skills.