Observation Journal #4

The inetresting thing about living in Burlington is that it puts on many disguises. There are aspects of the town that make people believe it is the peaceful, communal area that many preconceive it to be before that actaully arrive. At the same time, many people find it to be a haven for sketchiness, a drug ridden commuinty in which people get too sucked into the scene and find it extremely difficult to pull themselves out. Still others fidn it to be a just another Vermont town, a great gathering of rurals and rednecks. Not to knock Burlington in any way, but I find it to be a community combining all three of those aspects, but it is not just limited to such facets. It is a confluence of past, modern, and post-modern influences, all of which influence the social climate and environment of this settlement of vastly different cultures. That said, my own experience in living off campus has greatly affected the way I look at Burlington. For instance, I live on what I consider to be the very border of the Burlington that many college students are familair with, and the area that often gets a bad rap, the North End. I live right at North Street and I consider that to be the dividing line between Church Street, Big Daddy's, City Market, etc., and and area where the socioeconomic status is significantly lower than in the southern region of the town. I often take walks at night in that area (not alone, of course), and it is a far different environment from Champlain and UVM campuses. You meet some interesting people in such an area, some you were glad you met, some you'd rather you didn't. Just the other night I was returning from a friend's house in the North End, alon on this particular night, when I ran into a dude who seemed to be of Hispanic origin. He was incredibly friendly, saprking a conversation with me about school, what we were studying, where we were from--the usual characteristics of talk that peopel who don't know each other engage in. When I first saw him, my immediate cognition was, "Alright, I'm in kind of a weird area, but don't look like your gonna bug out." I always have a slight feeling of apprehension whenever I walk in the North End alone, but I kept it cool. I enjoyed the guy's company and we had a good conversation. The fact of the matter was I was not phased by his ethnicity, his race, his accent, or any other aspect that made up his personal identity. I attribute my initial feelings of nervousness with the area itself. For an instant, a thought crossed my mind that this guy would actually cause me harm, which was not the case at all. I relate that fear to the fact that I was in a strange area and, like I said, the North End often gets the bad rap. Soem of the coolest people come out of the North End, yet, unfortunately, it will always have a stigma of weariness attached to it. I feel I can speak a little more about the matter because I was actually roobed a few weeks ago, and people will probably get to talking about how I live in a sketchy area. However, this does not mean that someone who lives in that area committed the crime. Either way, this particular area of Burlington transcends the Burlington most are used to, transcending in a manner that is not exactly positive. Regardless, my living in such an area has filled me with new feelings and I get more and more accustomed to the region each day.

Reading Reflection #8

"We Are Getting Past Race the Way Humans Alway Have: Through Races Melding Together"

This quote highlights the general attitde and direction equality and inequality are heading in this country. On the one hand, we have ineaulity which has been rather prevalent throughout the history of the US. As people become more socially aware, though, and as society increases in diversity, it become increasingly difficult to ignore that everyone is, at least, a little different but not so different that we can't be accepting of one another. In this sense, we see a change in equality as well, that it is becoming more and more integrated into society, that we are becoming more tolerant of one another, that we are finally getting over such petty differences as skin color and ethnic background. If we are all Americans, we should not be subject to the hostility, resentment, and anger that such facets as skin color often perpetuate.

This is not to say that differences in the United States will ever disapper fully. Rather, there will always be those figures who believe that difference is an aspect that makes us all Americans. However, there is a fine line between difference and inequality. Difference is inevitable; we cannot avoid the fact that people will have different backgrounds and skin color, just as we cannot avoid the fact that people will have different bone structures and eye color. It is when we look at these differences in a negative light, that we attach debasing connotations to them, that inequality is brewed. It seems somewhat ridiculous to me that "the United States is already evolving into an even more complex tri-racial system"; how can group classification systems become any more complex than they already are? Can we really drive ourselves away from each further than we already have? This change in difference is not simply limited to race and ethnicity, however. As we become more socially conscious, we take into consideration how the "normal" culture looks at gay and bisexual relationsips, the poor and working class, and other disadvantaged populations. At the same time, it is inevitable that opposition will rise in response to this increase in awareness. Jut as there are those who wish for this country to become a beacon of equality in the world, there will always be those villains who wish to bring down a harmonic society. Thus, it is important for us to increase our efforts to integrate veeryoen into a fluid, tolerant, and helping society.

Reading Journal #6

"Equal protection and equal treatment are an illusion."

"The law is a political instrument used by specific groups to further their own instruments."

These two quotes brought some interesting aspects of social justice into light. The ironic thing is that more often than not, social justice is injust. The example of same-sex marriage, for example, where the privileges of the majority status are excluded from a minority population, was particularly striking. Though I am not gay, I personally have no problem with gay marriage. The book brings up an interesting point, however; "Older couples...see marriage as a heterosexual istitution that symbolizes an oppressive system they don't wnat to be part of". It seems that many couples of sam-sex orientation have found a way to live their lives around the law. Instead of being subjugated and compared to the norms of society, gay couples do not commit themsleves to the institution of marriage. The book further states that some older couples find marriage insulting, that their relationship has survived despite not being legally recognized. However, the absence of a legally binding relationship alleviates many of the privileges of recognized marriages. The benefits that heterosexual couples receive is extraordinary in comparison, a veritable social injustice. One facet of the text that stuck out in my mind was that the state we live in, Vermont, fewer couples than expected have taken up the "advantage" of civil unions. It truly does seem that many couples have decided to foresake the institution of marriage becuase it does not fit their needs, nor does it increase their social mobility any.

Another aspect of the text that struck me was the section on crime. It has always been apparent to me that people in positions of power tend to slip their way out of the social justice system, but the extent to which this is true was not revealed until I read the text. The OJ Simpson case is a perfect example of this, and Simpson himself is somewhat of a contradiction of social injustices. On the one hand, he did indeed have some of the legal benefits that whites who stand trial usually benefit from, such as a jury of his race and the ability to buy a good defense. On the other hand, the evidence presented against Simpson cannot easily be denied. If blood from the victim was found in his car, prosecutors cannot take such facts lightly. His acquaittal shocked many Americans, mostly of the dominant white society. As the book explicitly states, "justice has never been blind". And racial profiling and death row sentences are a perfect instance of how minorities suffer from justice that. It did not surprise me when I read that more minorities were pulled over for suspicion of transporting drugs, yet more white people were actually in possession. Though it has been banned in many jurisdictions up to the federal level (excpet when a matter of national security), we shoudl not assume that it is not unpracticed. The death row is another instance in which minorites are vastly overrepresented in an aspect of lawful injustice. Why is it that 50% of those inmates in death row are African American or Latino?There is no question that racism is prevalent in the justice system but what cost do racial tendencies ask for? Someone's life? Simply because keepign someone alive in prison for the rest of their existence is cheaper than killing them makes the death penalty an impractical means of punishment. This furthers racial techinicalities and pushes us further from each other. In so serious a matter as justice, if it is to actually be taken seriosuly, bias an prejudice holds no place.

Obsevation Journal #3

The event described in this entry dates back quite a while, the frist semester of last year, actually. Nonetheless, it shocked me and made me observe the world around me, and Burlington especially, in a different light. I've noticed that many people hold stereotypes about this community, that it is so peaceful, that it's a hippie commune, that there is much room for growth, expression, and creativity. These factors are all true but it is also a place riddled with drugs, poverty, and discrimination, as most cities in the United States are. The point is Burlington is not the magical fantasy land that college students in particular preconceive it ito be. Case example: I walked into the Mobil on South Winooski Street with my friend, my body in desparate need of one of those 99 cent Arizona's that come in a tall can. We make our way to the register, where there are two people in front of us. From the catacombs of the store, a decrepit, haggard man cuts my friend and I in line. I didn't pay much mind to this because the guy looked like his life was had been going in a bad direction for many years. In any case, he gets to the cashier and speaks in a voice that is comparable to a drunk Cookie Monster. The cashier, who is Asian, asks him to repeat himself, a reasonable request because I had no idea what he was saying. Though she had a thick accent, I could clearly tell what the cashier was saying; I had no trouble understanding her. The man, on the other hand, repeats himself in his beastly voice and it is still unclear what he was saying. After about another thrity seconds of mumbling and grunting what he wants but not getting his message across, the bum (I will call him a bum because if you saw him, you would draw the same conclusion) the man says something that thunderously resonated throughtout the store: "Why don't you learn to speak English?" "The people who speak the best English are born in this country." "You need to go back to your country." I was utterly mystified by this display of racial aggression but one customer threatened to knock the dude out, prompting the bum's exodus from Mobil, his prized cigarettes finally in hand. The other coustomers and I looked at each other, horrified and muttering our anger at the scene which unfolded before our eyes. I look back now, a year later, and I wonder why I didn't say something. Obviously the guy was homeless, probably frustrated with his life, and decided to take his anger out on an easy target. While trying to figure out what the guy wanted, I could see the cashier getting increasingly nervous, attempting to avoid an unavoidable conflict. Though I made a conscious effort to speak up next time I witnessed such an atrocious outburst, I have yet to see the level of racial hatred I saw that day. I don't beleive the man hated Asian people in particular, but it could be that he was xenophobe and was mad at the fact that this lady, who is not white, acquired a job and he was left to wander the streets in his moderate insanity. The event made me relaize two things. Burlington is not the quaint, loving community that most expct it is. I also realized that poverty can perpetuate other situations of injustice, in the case, gas station racism.

Reading Journal #5

"Whatever hunger's cause...it can comfortably be addressed with benefit cocnerts and high-profile charity events."

This quote struck a major chord with me because this seems to be a very real circumstance in the United States. We have such an abundance of food and resources that supply nutrients, it verges on disgust. At the same time, the level of hunger in this country also reaches a level of outrage. Being the wealthiest and most "powerful" nation in the world, we should be able to feed all of our citizens, right? This is not the case. The stratification between the upper class and the lower class is such that the rich have too much to eat and the poor are reserved to scraps. Just last night, my Human Behavior class did an experiment, in which we were given a budgt of $265 to feed three people for a month. This utterly shocked me because my mother used to spend $200 a week at the grocery store. I asked myself, "How can anyone live off only $265 a month?" And then I thought, well, how is it possible that my family would need to live off a small amount less than that per week? Are we overeating? Are we indulging in the pleasures of food too much? Is it truly necessary to need that much food? The answer to that question is an unequivocable yes. We had so much food lying around the house, food that was ignored and gathered dust because it wasn't snacks and sugary goodies and things that clog arteries and benefit us in no healthy way. Not to speak bad of my family, but we seem to fall into the trap of overconsumption.

Concerning world hunger, and world health in general, I looked at my family in comaprison to those countries that are starving. We have a veritable world food bank comapred to what some countries are used to. But then I looked at the larger system, the United States itself. For example, one section in the text illsutrates the costs of assisting the victims of the Tsunami in Southeast Asia. Comparitively speaking, the US governemnt contributed very little to this effort, about $950 million. That is but a fraction of what it costs to, say, support the war in Iraq. Citizens of the world, however, especially celebrities, raised billions and billions of dollars. Obviously not all the money came straight out of people's pockets, but it shows that perhaps there is a greater level of caring from people not directly invovled with government. I then looked at a situation that has hit much closer to home: Hurricane Katrina. People are still suffering in terms of health and home living from that natural disaster, and the "releif" that the US governemnt has provided is close to none. Understandably, there are a variety of factors as to why people are still suffering, but I strongly feel that the federal government itself could have done much more to alleviate the misfortunes facing millions of Americans. To further the damage, it is most unfortunate that the Hurricane had to strike in an area where more people are on the low end of the socio-econimic scale than not. In such an area, it is extremely difficult for people to get health insurance, go to the doctor, and repair their ailments. This may be due to "health care suspicions", such as the Tuskeegee experiemnt. African Americans in the New Orleans area may be very wary when looking for health coverage. This mistrust may not lead to anything actaully getting done, but it provides a very different perspective on how sickness is dealt with in this country. It seems that welfare (and I use the term to describe the well-being of citizens) is nto distributed equally, like so many other things in this county.

Reading Journal #4

"The Personal Experience of Prejudice and Discrimination"

This chapter shed new light on the concept of stereotypes, prejudice, and bigotry. We have already discussed how we have internalized racism, but what about internalized stereotypes? If race is culturally and societally established, then so are the thoughts that go along with the ideas, both negative and positive. The one facet I pulled away from the reading was that stereotyping is employed so that people may organize information from the world around them. In other words, stereotyping makes things easy to understand. We separate people into these different groups and think certain aspects apply to all members of that group; instead of looking at the individual, people look at the mass group and think one feature is a characteristic of all members. For instance, I enjoyed reading the materical on "model minorities." Asian people are a perfect example of this thinking by the dominant culture. They are viewed in a postive light on the bases of respect and intelligence, for example, but these views can often turn negative. The text states that these stereotypes are quite resstant to change, that society tends to hold the same views and thoughts for many years. They are difficult to shake and solidify prejudices.

One feature of the chapter that I found intiguing/frustrating/strange was the actual development of racism, prejudice and bigotry. Newman claims that calling someone a racist or a bigot individualizes them and takes the cruelty away from the larger social systems that create it. Without question, this is true. Society is defintiely the root of all racism and prejudice which is why we think the way we do; our thoughts are culturally bound. But, then, is that not prejudice? Is not calling a group racist because a large number of members, but not all, stereotyping them and degrading their status? I believe that individuals can be racist, and that society sometimes has little to no effect on how we think about or view others. I feel as though calling an individual a racist or bigot is, in many instances, better than claiming a group to be so. Though groups hold far more sway and power than individuals, we cannot say that all members of a group are placed in a negative light. If most are, then we can see how they would be stereotyped against because it is easy to place them in one group. However, we cannot call an entire group racist if some are not and then expect things to chnage in this country.

Observation Journal #2

I attended my first Sound Tribe Sector 9 (STS9) concert last Tuesday. Defintiely a show worth seeing. As I looked around the crowd, my eyes dilated from the flashing lighs that beamed unrestrained into the crowd. A crowd which was composed entirely of white kids. I didn't think much of this fact, as I was totally immersed in the music, until after the concert. Drving back from Higher Ground, I contemplated on why the fan base for this band, at least in Burlington, was completely white. It could very well be that I did not look properly in the crowd or that I was just being ignorant and not noticing differences among the screaming fans. However, I kept thinking and realized that every show I have attended at Higher Ground has been either predominantly white or devoid of minority. This may be the result of having a music venue in a primarily white community, but it struck me as strange that at a concert there would be so little diversity. I find music to be a medium through which people gather, interact, and connect much as sports do. Though these instances may have been mere exceptions, and I have no doubt they were, they brought to my mind certain questions. Why on earth are there only white people at this concert? Is this considered white music? Does Sound Tribe disgust, say, a black man or an Asian woman? I know this is not true because I have a black friend who is on the verge of obsession with Sound Tribe. As I drove home, I asked myself, "Are we so separated now that we cannot even enjoy the same muisc?" Music? Music is a universal puveryor of love, expression, and camaraderi. Here, I saw uniformity and a blanched crowd. I am not suggesting that there was a sign posted that said "No Minorities". I simply found it very odd that a band who takes on a variety of cultural music perspectives would host an all white crowd.