Lewis & Clark Moodle

Over the weekend I went to a dance hosted by the Black Student Union. It was really fun and I danced a lot to songs mainly written by black artists. There was one thing that I noticed that my group and I were very quick to judge; there were white people. This is a common judgement that comes up among my friends and I, who are predominantly people of color, about white people and how they seem to be the first to voice opinions on topics about people of color. In class, a question was posed about the microaggressions people of color face, the first person to raise their hand was not a person of color but a white person. It is funny to me that someone that does not face racist comments, or judgements based on the color of their skin, to know more on that specific subject. Similar to when I was at the dance, I found myself judging these white people and thinking what right do they have to be here? But then I realized what makes it so wrong for them to be here? What right do I have coming to this Black Student Union dance when I am not black? Why was my first instinct to judge and feel a sentiment of us and them?

I think this is a common feeling among people of color and related to a bigger society issue. It is a known fact that white people have suppressed many groups of people of color over the course of history. There was slavery and then segregation that still exists today. Chinese people also faced racial injustice, like when they were used to help build the railroads. There are more examples of injustices between people of color and whites, however I am not saying that all white people or people of color have animosity with each other. I am saying that because of these events it has instilled the feelings of separation and sentiment of us versus them. I think that because of these events, people hold others against a prejudice that had backing in another time period but not as relevant today.

I think my feelings of judgement have been influenced by society. Society views people of color as different groups that are not intermixed. We are never specifically segregated but it is natural for people of color to be attracted to each other in a room because we are usually the minority wherever we go. Then, since we usually come together it further instills that feeling of outsiders or difference between the two groups. I do know that this is not always the case: as a child I would want to be friends with all types of races. However, I found it hard to make friends with the people of color at my school because they would group together. I had friends that were white, and I would want friends that were people of color. However, the people of color, for example if they were all Korean, would segregate themselves. Even though we were all Asian, I still felt excluded because I wasn’t Korean. I think that society is to blame for our judgments because the institutions that we grew up with never stopped the separateness or they ignored the differences all together.  

Lewis and Clark college tuition is $50,574, on top of that a student has to pay for room and board, food plan, books, and other fees. With that said, everyone that attends here cannot be from a low-income family. Yes, majority of us are on scholarships but only a select one or two are on a full ride. So, in theory, we all are probably upper middle class, or rich. However, the weird thing is no one wants to admit they have money. People act as if they cannot pay for a $7 meal at a food truck, but talk about their summer home in Arizona and going to Cabo in Mexico for spring break. My favorite example was when I had received a notification that my monthly payment due was coming up. A teammate saw it and asked what that meant, I said “It’s for people to space out paying for tuition each semester” She replied, “Oh, I’ve never heard of that. I paid it all with a check in the beginning of the year.”

 This comment was hilarious to me because it was a typical response from a student that can afford going to a private school. There are such sharp differences in people that will openly admit to having money or go to great lengths to deny it. Why do people act like they have nothing when in this environment it is expected that everyone has money? Is it really being humble/ shy? Or is there something larger at play? It is common to see in this era that the amount of likes and followers a person has gives them validation that they are cool. So, people post about their amazing adventures they have on the weekends, but also want to appear relatable so the next day have an edited photo of a coffee cup and a book captioned, “Just relaxing and chilling today.” Either way, this affect seems to be projected on real life, in that people are also expected to be as perfect as a picture. It seems that people here want to be seen as the really cool and adventurous person but if they tell people they can afford to go on trips in Nepal than the illusion is broken.

In society, people can sympathize with others that are of the same class. But when someone is in a higher class than you are and then talk about their amazing adventures, it creates envy and jealousy. Really there is no difference in the fact that two people go on awesome trips but one happens to have more money than another. It seems to me that society has warped the image of success and money to be a negative connotation. So, someone that talks about how much money they have would automatically make someone feel negative towards them because they are held at a different esteem. This is definitely, related to class struggles and self-esteem. No one wants to feel like they are lesser than someone else. And now it seems to be exemplified even more because of our constant need of validation instilled in us from social media affects. Technology will only continue to grow and impact our lives more which will continue to enforce this type of behavior and thought. Everyone here will continue to hide their money so they will not have to be ostracized or looked at differently if they claim to be poorer than they really are.

This article called “Did this hug end Jen’s marriage” was written by the Daily mail which is practically a gossip column and it describes a theory about why Jennifer Anniston and Justin Theroux have split up. In this article, they describe how a photo of Justin hugging another woman caused Jennifer to throw a fit and end the relationship.  Despite this being a gossip column and not usually based on the facts, there is a point that should be made about the basis of the article. The speculation that there has to be woman versus woman is absurd and typical. Social media is notorious for pinning a woman versus a woman when there is no basis for the fight. Women are constantly put under a negative light in media when they have done nothing wrong. They have taken a common divorce and blown it out of proportion, claiming infidelity to make it seem that Jennifer is being the typical jealous woman. It is a common thing to see in media that women cannot be friends and there must be more underlying the surface. Another example, the two tween stars from the tv show Shake It Up, were quoted in many articles and talk shows where they have discussed being forced to be “enemies.” They described that they did not want to hate each other but were told they had to. Again, two women are being put against one another in order to entertain others.

Why are women continuously being put against one another? This negative portrayal is detrimental to women in society because it makes women always seem petty and trivial. Women have been trying to excel in society despite all of the set backs from men telling them that woman cannot. The institutions that are limiting women from being truly successful are trapping them into boxes with unflattering labels. In every day life, girls in high school and any social setting judge one another and are quick to label another girl unfairly. Girls grow up with social media everywhere telling us how to look and act to be liked. When we see other girls that are more popular we want to tear them down because we have seen it over and over in media. This phenomenon will always be present and spreading through out generations as social media expands. There should be ways where women are not seen as the villain anymore and portrayed as the heroes and comrades to one another.  

There has been plenty of discussion of class in our classroom. We seem to use case studies to better understand these issues and to generate solutions. So I thought I would offer a perspective of my own. Hopefully it raises a few question and offers more solutions. My mom is a travel writer and my dad a car salesman. My moms side of the family is made up of doctors, and scientists. My dads side is made up of laborers such as constructions workers and grocery clerks. There is a clear difference in class between the two sides of the family. It is often that I hear about my aunts new jobs working with NASA while my dads side of the family struggles to find work. I have noticed two main differences in the outcomes of this economic disparity. One is the difference in education that the children receive, and the other is the opportunity to travel. Regarding education, the kids on my moms side of the family are always prioritizing school, they go to private schools and attended preschool as well. The kids on my dads side go to school as often as possible, but don't have the same resources as my moms side of the family to go to fancy private schools. The opportunity to travel has also effected these families. My moms side travels much more often than my dads side, and travels farther on more expensive trips. This gives them a broader worldview. My moms side is also generally liberal while my dads side is conservative. I'm not sure how to piece this all together, but if you have any insights as to what this might mean or if there are any patterns associated with the books we've been reading I would be very interested to hear about it. 

When I am at swim practice I usually have to change how I act in order to match the people around me. I am more upbeat and open around my teammates versus when I am in the classroom, I barely talk and keep to myself. This difference in how I act around different groups of people relates to the want to be normal/ the same. Everyone wants to fit in and be a part of something in order to feel special and wanted. When someone goes to a new place, they automatically seek out a new friend group and may change their style and interests in order to fit in. People learn to adapt to their surroundings because of the need to be normal and accepted into the community.

The reading by Erving Goffman about “Presentation of everyday self,” seems relevant to the idea of fitting into a group/ setting. Goffman talks about putting on a façade to try and mask your true feelings by putting on a different face to the public. This is similar when someone is out with a new group of friends or in everyday life. Someone who is trying to assimilate into a new group would want to be polite, make jokes, be friendly but not reveal too much about oneself. I think it is interesting that when we meet someone for the first time we are not being our true self because we are trying to be accepted as someone else first. When I was receiving advice from friends before coming to college, many people told me to not act like my usual self when I meet new people. They were afraid that I would not be accepted if I met people as my energetic and bold self. This affected how I presented myself every time I met someone because I knew if I wanted to make friends in this new environment I would need to make sure I pretended to be calmer than I normally am. I know that people can be their true self when they are with people they are most comfortable with but I want to know why we cannot always be ourselves in any situation without the fear of being judged.

That point is another factor in society that makes It hard to want to share your true self; judgement. It seems that society has made it so people have to be a certain way in order to be accepted. Social media has also turned into a place where we have to mask who we really are or else no one would want to follow us or like our posts. People want to show their followers how cool they are or else no one would care about their lives. Why does society get to dictate practically every aspect of our lives? Why can we not be ourselves and not be judged? Do we like being told what to do and judging other people?

Recently in the news there has been lots of talk about the Florida school shooting in which 17 people were killed and many lives were affected. The young man responsible for this was Nikolas Cruz who was expelled from that same school and came back with an assault rifle that he legally obtained. This has sparked many discussions from the family and friends of the deceased about stricter gun control. In an article by BBC news called “Florida school shooting: Trump links FBI's missteps to Russia investigation,” they talked about all the factors that lead up to the shooting as well as what is the aftermath. Many of the students who spoke out at a rally are upset and call for more action by the president.

This debate over gun control has been happening for many years. It is sad to see that the conversation is only brought into the headlines when there is another mass shooting. In class, we have discussed what makes people in the age range of 16-18 want to commit these crimes and the logic behind mainly targeting high schools. There are no concrete answers that we had come up with, but probably that target stems from the negative experiences a person had with that place. I think the age range is interesting to analyze because the shooters are mainly teenagers. There are many factors that can play into how these mass shooters were created. I know that violent movies and video games have been a worldwide phenomenon but only America is having this issue. Despite this, I think the main factor that causes shootings from teenagers in America is social media. This new generation is known for technology and having this huge influence from the mass media. Since everyone has iPhones and a platform to share instantly anything with everyone it is easier to become noticed. I think that these teenagers that are seeing ways to become famous are expounding on it as well as they are hearing about these shootings. The want to be famous as well as show to everyone their anger. There are definitely other factors that shape these shooters motives and with further analysis and research there would be more conclusive data about this topic.

1) Do children play out different social structures in play groups? Do they try out different forms of power structure or is it all modeled after what is seen at home?

2) How does our banking system effect our social lives?

3) Do we have a "good" banking system?

4) Do different countries have difference levels of social time? If so , why?

5) Why do people sometimes like to be alone, and sometimes like to be surrounded by people? Is this because of upbringing or is this feeling innate?

6) How have dogs influenced our social structure? Is it possible that the domestication of dogs is the one common tie all cultures share?

7) What percentage of our culture is shared with other countries? Is this a good thing? How has globalization effected this?

8) Do other animals have complex social lives like humans, or is it all based off gut reactions?

9) What roll does time spend outdoors play on our moods?

10) Can "one kind act a day" really make a difference on society as a whole?

I think proposition 64 will be great for multiple reasons. First, is that, because marijuana is now legal in California, continuing to punish prior offenders is cruel and unnecessary. Having an arrest for a marijuana related incident, can make it harder for people to get a job, obtain a loan, go to college, or get housing. The war on drugs was an unjust war centered around underprivileged minorities.  Someone with a simple marijuana violation will now have the chance for that incident to be erased off of their record. The arrests featuring African Americans increased by 20% between 1999 and 2000. The war on marijuana was a mistake, and we owe it to those who are incarcerated because of a marijuana arrest to fix it. There is no reason for someone to be unable to get a job or properly support their family because of something that is now illegal. The rest of california, and even the nation should follow San Francisco's lead.  

This blog entry is going off of our class study about marriage rates. I was reading an article by the Pew Research Center that talked about how only half of the United States' adult population is married. Just 50 years ago, 72% of the adult population was married. Now, people are marrying later, raising a family outside of marriage, and getting divorced later in life. The statistic I found most interesting was how 47% of people who make less than $30,000 a year are married, while only 21% of people who make more than $75,000 a year are married. According to Statista, over 40% of the adult population make $75,000 or more. Coming from a broken family myself, I looked into the divorce rate in the United States. Sure enough, it has spiked over the past few decades. Divorce has become so normalized in our society, and I would love to delve into why that is. I think some of it has to do with the fall in religion in our country. 50 years ago, it was a sin to get divorced, and if you weren't married, you were probably in a convent or a seminary. Women needed to marry men because they couldn't make it on their own. With the little rights they had, the chances of them being financially comfortable on their own were slim. I think another reason the divorce rate has gone up is because of technology and how our world is becoming smaller and smaller. If a man wants to leave his wife and kids and start over, he can pack up and move to a place where nobody knows him. Our society has made it easy for people to give up on their responsibilities. Through the media, government welfare, and high incomes, most people feel like they have a safety net underneath them, and I think that's why the top 40% of our population don't consider marital commitments to be important.

Yesterday, I was watching the Superbowl, and I found myself cynically thinking about what a money vortex the NFL is. Why do we worship these men? Why do we dump so much money into this monopoly? Why do people in the NFL make more money than I ever will, even if I've never heard their names? It's kind of crazy, if you think about it. What good is the NFL doing for our society? My friends got sick of hearing me banter, so I've had the past 24 hours to think about these questions. Surprisingly, my conclusions aren't all that cynical. I started thinking about the ancient Roman Empire; thousands of people would go to the Colosseum for entertainment. People need some form of fun and entertainment; it's in our human nature and our social foundation. On top of entertainment, the NFL provides a sense of belonging and community. Being from New England, when I was walking around town on Sunday mid-day, I felt so proud to be from their, as I saw people wearing Patriots hats and shirts. I've never been a football fanatic, but for some reason, I felt a sense of pride in my hometown and for my team. So basically, I just proved my own argument wrong. The need to belong and find some community is ingrained into the foundation of our society. And despite how I could still argue the NFL is a waste of our money, it's an important part of our society, and, I believe, it's needed entertainment.