Issues with minorties

Without a doubt America is built on the murder of natives and black slavery. For over 200 years blacks have been enslaved and for roughly about 100 years blacks have been segregated until the 1960s. De facto segregation may have legally been changed but there still is de jure segregation (separation by culture and socially).  Especially in the southern states, blacks and other minorities are separated and there is general hate between the races.  For example, in Alabama, a majority of white students have succeeded in the vote to not have blacks in school clubs and frats. This was just last year. The racism in the 1920s was far worst against blacks and even white immigrants (italians. jews, russians etc).
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/119156/segregation-lives-university-alabamas-sorority-row.

Following the civil war there were dozens of accounts of blacks fighting back, but it was a white mans world and a white mans country. Following the Tulsa Riots in the 1920s (riots against blacks and lynchings) lynchings increased even more due to white supremacists and the Ku Klux Klan. Even the North was racist, so following the riots whites stormed into black towns and cities and which leaded to many burnings, lynchings, lootings, and many killings. This led to the phenomenon of "white flight." 

White flight took place when very poor black communties got tired of the treatment in the South and migrated to major cities in the North expecting a better and more settle life which turned out to be the opposite. When blacks moved the whites took a "flight" and moved into the suburbs and left blacks in the inner cities which still leads to huge poverty problems even till to today. When blacks are left in the cities with no money, it leads to huge unemployment, horrible housing, poor education and funding, poor medical care, and hate between blacks and whites. You can still see these problems in modern cities, even Denver, That's why the farther you get away from the cities the lighter the skin is for people. 

Following white flight gangs were created not only because of prohibition but the invention of more drugs after 1920. Prohibition created organized criminal gangs all around the country and in every race,  You can still see the impact of slavery, segregation, and prohibition still to this day. Racism is alive and well but not as bad as the 1920s and the following decades. Whites, blacks, and people of all races are still looking for a solution to these issues but time will decrease the violence and hate. Hopefully one day, the races could exist peacefully in the US and not repeat the mistakes and treatment of people in the past. It is undeniable what whites ancestors have done and justifiable the hate blacks have towards whites. 

Civil Disobedience

Civil Disobedience Post

Quote 1: “The government is best which governs not at all; and when men are prepared for it, that will be the best kind of government which they will have.”

                Thoreau’s quote can be easily supported by people who have been oppressed by their government as well as people who are outside of the spectrum. The government can be easily manipulated and abused by parties or people as well as it could be executed in positive reinforcing ways. Thoreau supports his statement quoting “Witness the present Mexican war, the work of comparatively a few individuals using the standing government as their tool,”  (Thoreau 16-18). In history, a government ruled by few individuals or multiple is a reoccurring theme, even in the modern day world. Such modern countries under authority rule are North Korea, Belarus, Laos, Vietnam, Hungary, Burkina Faso, etc. Thoreau was not speaking of full out anarchy but a time where less people can be governed and men are more honest, especially throughout the government

Scrapin goats

The role of fear in our modern society is manipulated by person/peoples to achieve political goals or to put blame on other person/groups. A modern example of scapegoating is after 9-11 many Americans targeted people of Middle Eastern ancestry as possible terrorists. Scapegoating is usually put on to people who are “guilty by association” and stereotypical traits. Scapegoating at its most extreme is genocide, which hasn’t been a problem for Americans, nor the rest of the world to commit. Society scapegoats because of greed and ignorance. The conflict is started when two or more parties have a triangulation of desires. As tension increases on both sides, one person (the scapegoat) gets expelled or killed by the group, and the cycle repeats.   

                Society puts blame on others because it is only part of human nature. Scapegoating is seen not only many times in US History, but hundreds or even thousands of times in world history. Not only are scapegoats put on the wrong people, but usually leave tension through groups of people years after the a “scapegoat event”. Another arguably modern scapegoat would be treatment of blacks and other minority races. As having my own personal experiences growing up in a very Hispanic family, cops target darker Hispanics more often than any Caucasian. It’s common for whites to blame the economy on Hispanics or saying racist things because colored people are often scapegoats. Colored people are more likely to be pulled over, searched or put in jail. The scapegoating of colored people in the US will not end for a certainly long amount of time. 

Separate Wars, Similiar Experiences

The Vietnam and Iraqi wars that America has participated are mostly seen as senseless wars to the American people. The wars were fought for two different reasons yet you can draw and compare experiences from American veterans of the war. Not only have I had experiences with my father, and lived with him when he returned from the war, but every soldier handles themselves after their war by taking the best path for them. Whether it is to talk about it to others, or go to therapy, they find a way to make it best for them. Kobe Bazelle is an American soldier who keeps a blog and talks in Iraq. The blog he talks in is not only a coping mechanism for him but he's also helped others along the way. Kobe states "sometimes people never know how they are helping others" (14:18) regarding a woman who emailed him on how she lost her son in the war before he made it home. In Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried”, Obrien used the book he wrote to cope with his own struggles from the Vietnam War. O’Brien states in the book “I can be brave. I can make myself feel again.” (P. 172 O’Brien). The quote deeply underlines the extreme emotional and conscious pressure he had put on him, and still could be there. Both examples serve as how both soldiers from different wars can relate on the same level, and can tell their story to us.

Simple decisions in time of war can put one or more people in danger. For example, Bazelle talks in his blog about how a stupid placement of ammo almost cost him and others their lives. "Having the ammo on the outside of the vehicle was the worst fucking idea ever and whoever had that idea should be fucking shot.” The decision was based off orders, and they could do nothing about it. In “The Things They Carried” Lt. Jimmy Cross followed orders, into where he put Kiowa in a deadly position. Kiowa later lost his life, leaving Lt. Cross with nothing but shame and gut eating guilt. "But it was a war, and he had his orders...A stupid mistake. That's all it was, a mistake, but it had killed Kiowa"(P. 161 O’Brien) Mistakes are made even in life threatening situations, yet life goes on whether a person moves on and recovers, or being slowly drowned by their own guilt. Two very different wars, yet the same pain and encounters are shared. 

Blog Assignment 1

The Things They Carried and On Keeping a Notebook both highlight the importance of telling and sharing stories to keep them alive. Based off fact, stories are never told %100 truthfully based off our mood, setting, etc. Human perception rather exaggerates certain things or people and changes a story completely based from the author. Both authors (O’Brien and Didion) agree that story telling proves to be more believable and interesting, usually because they are remembered and told from eventful moments in a person’s life. "By telling stories, you objectify your own experience. You separate it from yourself. You pin down certain truths. You make up others. You start sometimes with an incident that truly happened, like that night in the shit field, and you carry it forward by inventing incidents that did not in fact occur but that nonetheless help to clarify and explain" (O'Brien, 152). O’Brien is clearly stating that objectifying your own experience is better than the factual happenings from the event you experienced. I agree with what O’brien is stating, because my experiences have me made me the person I am today whether it was for the best or worse.  The tools (experiences) that we are given in life determines the person we are, depending on how we interpret them and how we absorb them. Didion further supports the idea by saying "So the point of my keeping a notebook has never been, nor is it now, to have an accurate factual record of what I have been doing or thinking" (Didion, 83). Didion plainly states that it was never for facts or records and continues in the next paragraph. “Very likely they [relatives of Didion] are right, for not only have I had trouble distinguishing between what happened and what merely might have happened, but I remain unconvinced that the distinction, for my purposes, matters.” (Didion, 83). When Didion compared the “same” memories to other family members, they told her that her memories were wrong based off their own memories. The pinnacle of the subject is that every person has unique experiences that we will never have. Everyone you know is in their own little world experiencing some things we will but from different angles. Not only is every person special in their own way but their experiences are as well.

                Identity can play a key role in Authors writing. The author can use their Identity in many was such as affiliating themselves with certain ideas or sending a message to the reader of their own ideas. As previously said before, our experiences determine who we are, and that is our identity. As humans we can look at our own selves and our own body and distinguish our identity, and look at a decade old pictures and identify ourselves and our differences.  As you read The Things They Carried, O’Brien feeds an eating guilt thinking and writing about the war, wishing he could never experience the horrible events that transpired. “But the thing about remembering is you don’t forget. You take material where you find it, which is in your life, at the intersection of past and present.” (O’Brien, 83) O’Brien identifies himself with his memories who makes him into then person he is. Tragic and first time memories stick with us with most as we are the most vulnerable to the stimuli that affects us. That is what identifies us is the memories that still linger in our brain, teaching us valuable lessons or putting your mind into a less healthier state. To add on Didion states “It all comes back. Perhaps it is difficult to see the value in having one self’s back in that kind of mood, but I do not see it; I think we are all well advised to keep on nodding terms we used to be whether we find them attractive company or not. Otherwise they turn up unannounced and surprise us, come hammering on the minds door at 4 a.m. of a bad night and demand to know who deserted them, who betrayed them, who is going to make amends.”  (Didion, last page). We must accept who we are and our identity, and even our past identitys because we must make amends to the things we have done to others, and the things they have done to us. Whether what we write down is true or not, the memories we hold dear to us is what matters, and what molds us into who we are. The importance of writing is not only to hold memories, but to help us learn as people, and give us experiences that can mean something to us. 

Random Notes to My Son Analysis

I have learned various lessons from the poem “Random Notes to My Son” by Keorapetse Kgositsile but I did not understand most of the poem at first glance. Prior to reading the poem I had very little background knowledge about the poet Kgositsile. When I first read the poem, it came off as very complicated and complex, only some things made sense. I took a very ignorant and close minded approach to the poem only due to the fact that I chose this poet because he is the father of a rapper named Earl Sweatshirt. I had many questions on what certain phrases or things meant, and after hard research and studying I found my answers. But I’m glad I took the time to study Kgositsile and the poem because not only was I educated on his struggles, but I was given advice I can use for the rest of my life. I may not have the same experiences or struggles as him, but I can use his advice in my life. The poem does not have one meaning like most poems do, but several different lessons to absorb.

As soon as I started reading the poem I did not understand very much of it. “Beware, my son, words that carry the loudnesses of blind desire also carry the slime of illusion.” Kgositsile is talking to his son Earl, in which he is talking about his sons early productions in rap which had dark lyrics but with no dark intent in “real life”. He is telling his son that words are very powerful tools but if used incorrectly only serve as an illusion to distract people from the truth. His son did take notice of this and changed his style in his latest LP, but it great advice to anybody. “Dripping like pus from the slave's battered back” was an extremely hard simile for me to analyze. Before, I thought it was a reference to slavery or apartheid in South Africa. His simile means that illusions are also beat into us from our culture, just like a slave is beaten by its master, shaping ourselves into people that we aren’t.

In the second verse Kgositsile give a horrible image through smart and foul word play: “But here now our tongue dries into maggots as we continue our slimy death and grin.” Kgositsile is saying that people today are losing the ability to speak about anything meaningful, like the messages he writes through his poetry. The poem continues, “Except today it is fashionable to scream of pride and beauty.” Kgositsile continues his message into saying that people today only talk to about superficial topics such as wealth, jewelry, and appearance instead of deeper human issues. There is a large amount of dramatic advice given to Earl and readers of the poem.

Kgositsile left his son at the early age of six, to which he writes about his son’s feelings. “Confusion in me and around me confusion.” Earl had a hard life growing up without a dad only to rely on his Mom, who was a single parent. Kgositsile may not be directly approaching the song “Chum” Earl composed and sung, but he does understand his son’s confusion and struggles. Earl talks about his struggles with his dad through his rapping, “It’s probably been twelve years since my father left, left me fatherless And I just used to say I hate him in dishonest jest When honestly I miss this nigga, like when I was six And every time I got the chance to say it I would swallow it.” (Chum, Earl Sweatshirt). Kgositsile was never there for Earl as a kid, so he reaches out to him through is poetry.

“Today we move, we move?” Was the last line of the poem. I did not understand it the first couple times I read it. The repetition of the words “we move” imparts a call to action, and away from passivity. Kgositsile has given great advice and has helped me take a step back from the world and reevaluate myself. I’m going to turn this knowledge into life advice, and think before I do things or say things. I have not only learned a lot from this project, but I have learned so much from this class, including writing and open mindedness. 

Coach AP interview

The day before the interview, James and I rushed to Coach Paddocks classroom to speak to him about our interviews. As we approached the classroom we did not hear his booming, calm voice. Instead we found his student assistant doing assistant activities. We questioned the student assistant asking where Coach Paddock is, having her only reply in murmurs. In the meantime we messed around and cracked jokes. I wrote on the white board Coach Paddocks favorite numbers, "420 ÷69=Dong". James was amazed by my cunning math skills and my Einstein sized brain. The student assistant left early, and not soon after, you could hear a faint noise of someone walking in flip flops outside the hall. Coach AP walked in apologizing for the wait, and he quickly noticed what I wrote on the board, only to laugh knowing it was me. I scheduled my interview with him for Friday, and made my way back to my favorite class Advanced World lit. & comp. taught by my favorite teacher Mrs.Cawlfield.    

The day of the interview I walked into Coaches classroom, only to be greeted with a warm smile from Coach and asking how I was. I aid for Coach 4^th period, so I patiently waited in my seat preparing for the interview until he was done teaching. As I keep restudying my poem, over and over again, I finally come up with a few questions. As soon as Coach finishes his lecture he approached me saying “So should we do this interview in the hall, or where would you like too?” To which I replied “The hall will work, its fine.” I followed Coaches footsteps to outside in the hall, handing him my computer and got ready to record the interview. “I got you coach here we go.” I pressed the record button and thought to myself what questions should I ask after he’s done analyzing the poem. Once he finishes he hands me back my laptop only to say “wow.” His face was not only surprised but was amazed by the poets writing. I put my interviewer face on and ask my first question of the session, “What is your opinion on the poem?” Coach Paddock pauses and thinks for a moment. “ I think there is some amazing advice in there, in terms of what the father is saying to his son about blind desire can lead to ultimate downfalls, uh because it will blind you from the truth and from the correct path that you would want.”

I thought hard to summon a new question to my mind, but thankfully beforehand I wrote some questions on a separate document. “In any part of the poem can you find relatable or identifying with yourself?” He shot a look to the ceiling to find inspiration in himself to answer the question, “Um, sometimes yes because as a coach your ultimate goal, you know in a competitive world is try to win the championship, but were also in the business of molding young people into showing them the right way to act upon things and act. So you’re constantly tested on ethical decisions on how you treat people and the way you approach your job, unbridled ambitions can be dangerous at times.” I managed to comprehend his words and thought about what he said, but swiftly changed my mind to another question to ask him. I paused for a moment as a couple walked in the hall laughing and talking so they did not interrupt out interview. Coach and I made eye contact again and we continued the setting we had.

“What do you notice most about the poem?” I inquired. Coach Paddock again then paused and glanced away down the vacant hallway and faced my eyes again. “I think that the language was pretty striking, you know when it makes references to slaves and their battered backs, the pus, I mean there is some very descriptive vocabulary that brings some tragic images to mind as you read. So it really kind of connects in terms of significance in the words the poet was using.” I desperately tried to think of more questions to ask him, for only I had three written down, and thought I could think of more on the spot. I finally asked one of my last questions. “Is there anything you find confusing in the poem?” Instead of pausing he answered fairly quickly, spewing words out of his mouth like Busta Rhymes would in any of his verses. “The only thing I’m not sure of is the author African American or not because the talk of black power and things like that. I do not know if that is negative that he is approaching to his son or a positive. I’m not really sure of whom the author is or if there is an attentive audience of this poem other than his son.”  The mood of the interview shifted to us both having the feeling it was over. I concluded our talk with one last thought to ask, due to the fact I did not come fully prepared with a full list of questions. I blurted out my dull-witted amateur question, “ So uhh is that the only part you’re confused about?” to which Coach replied “Yeah, I think so.”

“Alright!” I exclaimed in my inside hall appropriate voice. Coach then said, “Was that deep enough for ya’? You sure you don’t need more? This interview was only about five minutes!” He smiled brightly eagerly waiting my response, “Nah coach that’s it, thanks a lot!” We walked back into the somewhat mellow hard working math classroom, he patted me softly on my back. “Anytime ya need help buddy you can come to me!” I sat down in my seat to recap and think about the interview. I put in my music and let my mind wander. Not only was I glad to learn more about Coach Paddocks opinion, it helped me know him better as a person. Coach is not only an authoritative figure I can look up to, he is a deep passionate man I can learn from as a genuine human being. The only thing I regret not doing is asking better questions.