For some reason the video wouldn't work for me but after looking at the satellite pictures I was interested enough that I went on youtube to try to find the same video. I'm pretty sure it was the same one, but I ended up watching that and other videos of the water damage and it was truly moving to see the extreme way that the water just commanded the situation. I know I personally had a really hard time fathoming how a wave could be so detrimental, until i really saw how water just flooded in, devastating absolutely everything in its path and just washing away homes, cars, buildings and boats. I think things like this really remind us that we're merely human and the world is so much bigger than just us. Even though we see this footage and hear all about the disaster I think most people have a really hard time breaking away from their egocentrism and understanding exactly the extent of what is happening in a time of crisis. No matter how hard we try its really difficult to break away from the mentality that this could never happen to me. This all ties in really well with the lecture we had with the guest speaker from Haiti, he explained how things really are in time of disaster from a perspective that you don't see on the news and I think that is very important. It is one thing to hear the news reporting how the masses feel with intensifying adjectives and adverbs, but to really hear the way one individual coped with the situation, what he felt, what he did, what was going on in his head, was truly a unique report. I found it so much easier to connect with his personal trauma than that of the whole country and I think that is an important concept in disaster reporting. Though you really never know what its like until you live through something like this, I think it is important for people to be able to connect and identify with a disaster especially to improve aid and awareness and to get things done efficiently.

It is definitely apparent that this opening disney scene does promote the image of the brutal arabs, and then further plays through stereotypes, as does the rest of the movie. It is though, a cartoon, possibly made with satirical intentions. The problem is that though we have these stereotypical conceptions of other cultures, it is not right to base them as fact and make our judgments views and opinions based on cultural differences and misunderstandings. Furthermore, it is definitely not beneficial to feed this imagery to our youth who have not yet developed any type of worldly perspective of their own, who may grow up harboring these cultural misconceptions. We as a society seem to have a very hard time accepting the fact that some things, some people, some cultures are just different from us. This does not mean that they are wrong, that we as a country do things right, we do things better than everyone else. It simply means we're different. Not everyone grows up the same way and each culture's individual unique aspects make the world go round. It is hard to see the benefits sometimes, of living a different lifestyle from our own. It is much easier though, to see the faults and then to generalize areas that we perceive as shortcomings into cultural stereotypes that are often harmful.
I think Disney likes to make a scene, they like to cartoon and exaggerate features of all types and cultures, but the point is they need to keep in mind their viewing audience. Though it can be of entertainment to adults, children should not be polluted with misconceptions and negative connotations of other people when they have not had time to thoughtfully form their own opinions in the first place. It is very fitting to say that this kind of media "breeds bigotry" and it most certainly contributes immensely to our country's ignorance. Lets just hope that people are able to take these things for entertainment value and that they would be able to laugh at stereotypical satire of their own selves if they are willing to do so at the expense of others. The point is everything of this sort should be in moderation, everything should be taken lightly or else wrong and damaging opinions can easily be formed and spread.

This blog is really interesting because it is all about self realization and its so intense how this person changed how he felt about himself, how he viewed the world, and definitions of "men" and "women." Having an epiphany of this magnitude after being in prison is impressive because it goes to show how the way we are socialized has so much effect on the way that we view the world and the way that we view one another for that matter. What I mean by this is that he has been taken out of his regular social situation where he was basically taught by society and his peers how things should work and what women meant to them and how they should behave around them and towards them. His social and relational attitudes were clearly molded by the environment in which he spent time. When removed from that "normal" situation and placed in a removed environment where he had time to basically reconstruct his emotional and relational way of life his entire perspective changed. Its really interesting that so much of what is put in our head about our opinions of other people and how we act are really not our own ideas. Its scary the way that you can completely change who you are when you change the situation and influences in your life. It is also moving so see such a genuine emotional display. He clearly has a very idealistic image in mind and although no one can be perfect it seems as though he wants to go out in the world and try. I do wonder though, if this stereotypical perfect man that says all the right things that everyone wants to here, is also something that has been socialized into us. I think its safe to say that this version of a man is better than the one that he started as, but it is a very high standard to hold someone to. It is probably difficult for many to attain this high ideal but it is inspiring that he feels it is so important to try. And I would say the most important part of this entry is probably the apology because that is the place he has to start.

This blog was very saddening, disturbing and frustrating for me to read. It is beyond my personal comprehension to think of any one individual committing such abusive cold acts, let alone an entire family of people all with a central focus on one family member as the abuse victim. There is obviously mental instability or dysfunction in any atmosphere that could condone such behaviors. The other siblings must have been manipulated or threatened beyond the comprehension of any normal person's capability. This is one of those things that really make me consider what we discussed in class about how you honestly never know that you personally would never ever commit a murder whether intentionally or unintentionally until you are in the circumstance or until you have lived through the situation that others have experienced. Though it is extremely difficult for people to be unbiased and refrain from passing judgment I think many people might read this and think, “I can’t really say what I would do if I were him.” All of the people involved in this must have had many “sociological string” influencing the way their lives were pulled. This story is so difficult to comprehend that it does evoke the question of whether or not he is telling the truth. I am not inclined to think someone could make something like this up, and I can’t understand why anyone would ever fabricate a situation so bleak, but it does seem so impossibly frustrating that no one in this boy’s life would have ever stepped forward. That no teacher would have taken this child’s words more seriously is so frustrating. It is so beyond my understanding to live life feeling so doomed where no one would take you seriously because your own family that was causing so much pain told everyone to dismiss your stories or even to make sure to make things worse for you. That is just such an utterly hopeless situation that it is hard not to at least have a kernel of thought left wondering, is this really how it happened? Perhaps it is also the way that we prejudge “criminals” that makes me question this. I think it’s a good thing that this project has brought some of these people’s stories out, it was very interesting to see things through a new perspective.

I think this article does a particularly good job of highlighting the fact that prison, especially prison without a chance for parole, is no environment suitable for youth or adolescence. If anything, it seems prison will be an environment that fosters the negativity and hate that a youth offender possessed to get his or herself in trouble in the first place. It seems absurd to treat children as adults in the justice system but in no other aspects of society. It is displacing them from positive societal influence into a non-nurturing, cold environment with no hope for finding their way back to society. Adult sex offenders are often released on parole, yet a child who did not make a mature decision, and most likely made that poor choice under the influence of others or even an adult, should never have a chance to reenter society.

Is a time out for a child not meant to teach them what they did was wrong, let them think about it and then start over with the hopes that they have understood the wrong in their actions? Why then, can we through a child in prison and let them wait there until they die. What is the purpose? Why is this any more just than sentencing them to death? To me it seems worse. It is a waste of a young life, it is a waste of taxpayer money, it seems counteractive to what our legal system is ultimately trying to accomplish.

This memoir of sorts is particularly interesting because this inmate, with 24 years of thinking about what he has done, has whether knowingly or unknowingly, found a way to see the bigger, sociological picture of his situation. The way he looks for the influences that may have affected him, the roots of his problems. Its interesting because that is not something many people are able to do. Its much easier to view everything as a "personal problem." I guess 24 years is plenty of time to think, 24 years is plenty of time to wonder about the things that influenced you. Its important to come to terms with the fact that maybe, a wrong choice was made and faulted, however many other things could pull that choice into your life. It is hard to tear yourself from these dangerous ties if you aren't really aware that they're present. The fact that he brings it back to sex is strange, not what I would have expected him to conclude. I think that part of the story is probably missing because its difficult to interpret why this would be the main influence, the place where he went wrong and made the wrong decision. I think the part that is missing is the crime itself, he does not disclose this information but perhaps it was sexual in nature. Either way, his ability to see his personal problems in a greater scope is remarkable.

This article also really brings back the discussion from class today about psychology vs. sociology. The way he is looking into his mind, searching for an underlying cause is psychological in nature, but the way he uses this information in a greater scheme, and brings it to conclusions is very sociological. The way he refers to the night that he sat and wept in his cell as the time "[He] had finally found [his] ground zero" was really surprising to me, considering he has been in jail for a long time leading up to this, and his crime itself might have been considered that moment. Maybe he means that he had just realized that he was never totally free to begin with, which is a very sobering thought.

This particular confession is especially heartbreaking because there is ultimately no resolve, no happy ending. The remorseful criminal, who is most likely ready to return to society, will never live a free life. The family, who has forgiven, will never have their child, sibling, family member back in their lives. Society delegates punishments when wrong is done, there is punishment. How can we delegate the way that people should be destined to spend the rest of their lives? This man is responsible for his actions because he in the end committed the act, but he even says that at the time, his young life was not fully in his control. It comes in to mind that he has factors, "invisible strings," influencing his decisions or perhaps hindering him in making the right decisions. It is hard to know the whole story, and difficult for a free person to consider the entirety of the situation. To really think that this man has been in jail longer than I have been alive, and with no light at the end of the tunnel is a very difficult thing.

The family's forgiveness is truly a beautiful thing. Basically they are faced with a choice to make, the sociological norm would probably be to harbor spite, hatred, sorrow and possibly even to have this man suffer the way that they suffer. They chose though, to come to terms with their anger, to take a new path. This changed the entire social influence on their lives. The way its unimaginable for some to even consider the thought of committing murder, its hard to know what someone can really be capable of. Capability of forgiveness is also a stunning sociological factor. Where does moral reasoning tie in to all of this? Do these people hold the logic that society would want them to forgive? Was the murderer being selfish, or trying to please someone else, or did he think what he was doing was actually right at the time he did it? Maybe its none of the above. A life in prison is something that, for most is unfathomable. It may be, though, that its easier than facing the real world after something like this. The entirely unique sociological structure of prison changes the strings around.

Soc 001

The show "Toddlers in Tiaras" is designed to be controversial, that is how they get viewers and attention. If everything was fully ethical all the time, and everyone made all the right choices and everyone was happy all the time, many people would probably not be watching the show. Drama and dysfunction make for good television and we, as sociological beings thrive on it. The problem with this lifestyle is that it is nearly impossible to determine who is legitimately doing the decision making, whether its about being in the pageant and what the motivation for it is, or if its about the judging of the pageant all decisions are being pulled and swayed in multiple directions by all of the sociological influences in our lives.

Some might argue that it is irresponsible for a parent to put their child in a beauty pageant, that it is forcing them to grow up when they should be playing and being a kid and not worrying about looks. These parents might say that their child really wants to be in the pageant and loves it. These parents would defend that their child chooses to be in it, that they're not living vicariously through their child, its all for the good of the kid. All, or none of these things could be true. The child could be deciding that they like doing pageants and want to be in them, but would the child make that decision without a parent exposing them to the idea? Would the parent even get the idea if it didn't have some meaning in their life, some connection to some experience they've had or hope to have? All these things aside, consider the way the beauty pageant is run. There is a stereotype of what the pageant winner should be like, what qualities she should possess, what she should look like. The funny thing is, where did that even come from? The trend of what is "beautiful" or "desirable" is completely media constructed. Decisions about the way we dress, do our hair, what body type we go after are all sociological constructions. As previously stated the main issue is that its so difficult to determine what are actually freely made decisions because its really difficult to determine what "being free" actually is. Not only are the behaviors expressed at pageants a construct of this social situation we belong to, but also are the counterarguments. I think its safe to say that those arguing against the pageants have a lot of socially constructed ideas about parenting and values that they didn't come up with all on their own.

All things considered, if the kids are having fun, they should be in pageants; people will continue to speculate and argue; television will continue to be interesting. All things should be taken in moderation, and don't sweat the small stuff.

As a sociologist, I feel inclined to tell you that you need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Though you may think the best way to conquer your problems is to end them, by ending your life, I think you might be disturbed to find out that you are not in fact making a conscious psychological decision to end your life, rather you are allowing society to murder you. Sociological factors in your life are pushing and pulling you to make a decision that you are already predetermined to have a higher risk of making due to yet other sociological influences on your life. If you want to take control, break away from this cycle. Do not choose suicide, because it appears that society is choosing suicide for you. Make your own decision to go against this predicted grain and continue pushing through the struggles you are facing. That is the real way you can take control and conquer the hardships you are faced with thereby conquering sociological drive to commit suicide. You should take comfort in knowing that there are other people out there facing the same struggles especially in your culture with its tendencies to being intolerant to failure. You are facing many pressuring variables such as economic stress, supporting your family, self fulfillment etc. Other people of your social standing in similar situations are very likely having the exact same feelings and worries as yourself. You should feel certain that you yourself are not choosing to have these depressing, suicidal thoughts, they are not your fault. From a sociological standpoint it appears that unseen factors and forces have more influence on our lives than we can see or would like to admit to. The beautiful part of life though, is the freedom of choice and free will. Though you may feel like you have already entered a path of no return, it is never too late to choose a new fate for yourself. Now is the time to step back. Commit yourself to the good things in your life. Find a way to connect yourself to this life you have been given in a positive light and do your very best to turn this around. Don't become the predicted statistic.

soc 001