There are no words to describe how horrified I am after reading this article. I guess I was a bit naive about some of the soldiers over there. I assume that there were some that were doing bad stuff, but this goes way beyond anything I could of imagined. There needs to be some way to prevent these people from entering the army. Or, if they develop this mind set while they are over there for a while, there needs to be some way to recognize the signs of these psychotic soldiers! It is people like this that make the rest of the world want to attack America, I don’t blame them; after reading this I wanted to give those soldiers what they deserve. Invisible strings or not, nothing makes this kind of barbaric behavior ok on any level. Why do they think that it is ok to conduct meaningless murders for sport over there? Maybe because they are being encouraged by their superiors! These people need to face the full consequences of their actions as if they were killing innocent people here in the United States, no cop-outs or deals.
This class has really made me think about the war that we are currently in. Like most people, at the beginning it made sense. We were attacked on 9/11, so naturally we would attack them back, right? Well now, there is the issue of oil and resources, but after reading this article, it just pushed me over the edge. How can an article like this come out, and no changes are being made? It makes me want to call the pentagon or the president and give them a piece of my mind, and tell them to pull all of the troops out, now! If there are certain soldiers over there killing innocent civilians as if it is open season on bucks, we should drop the entire war and come home.

This article brings forward a lot of things that many people do not think about, and it reminds me of the reading we had to do about “The Five Sexes”. These days, being a man or a woman just doesn’t cut it, it isn’t black and white like it used to be, but how do we deal with the unfamiliar grey area?

Obviously El’Jai should be considered a man if he has been living the life of a man his entire life. His family, friends, son, and even the government recognize him to be a man, but he should understand that the general population just isn’t there yet on being totally understanding. Unfortunately, these things take time, and it is a subject that is completely taboo and should be approached with caution. El’Jai should not of been fired for refusing to answer the question, but it is much more complicated than a simple wrongful termination case. Once the boss had heard that El’Jai was transgender, he should not of come accusing him of anything without any caution or sympathy to the situation. If he had approached the him in a better way, maybe more carefully or nicely, then El’Jai might of told him that yes, he did have an operation, and he wouldn’t of been fired (hopefully). Though the boss was completely insensitive and handled the situation completely wrong, the nature of the job does require him to ask this kind of question, so it was not completely out of the blue or out of hate that he asked it. It is important that only a man holds this position, so the boss was completely entitled to look into it.

The world is changing, and with that, sexuality is changing drastically. Just recently in history, these transgender people are emerging into society, and it was and still is a shock that some refuse to accept. Prejudice and hate is something that is so deeply rooted in society and people, that it takes years and generations to begin to move in a different direction. Look at the civil rights movement during the 1960’s. That movement was long over-due with slavery, the civil war, and so many other things, and still to this day African Americans still struggle. Like this, it will take a very long time for the transgender and even gay community to be accepted into society and treated equally, and hopefully this case will be the beginning of a much more powerful movement.

When we think of a person who is in jail, let alone a life sentence, we automatically think of a thug-like criminal, hard as rock. We do not think about what is going on inside that person’s head, the fact that they have family, or if they are in contact with them. This letter from Rockview was very touching; it is amazing to see that someone who knows they will be spending the remainder of their life in prison can have such a hopeful and positive outlook on the world and relationships. This letter is written so nicely and thoughtfully that you wouldn’t even think it was written by a “lifer”, and we have a lot to learn about the people in Rockview.
Like the writer says, these men inside the prison are not evil, they are just the victims of sociological strings. Most of them are probably very agreeable, friendly people, but certain situations and circumstances lead to a series of events that brought them to a life sentence in jail; it could happen to anyone. No, it is not everyone’s first instinct to kill, but you will never know how you will react until you are in that person’s shoes. This writer brings this to attention, showing us that though he is in jail, he is a good person. The fact that he is still in contact with so many people from his childhood, especially his teachers, shows that he made some really good impressions on those around him, and he is now doing the same within the prison.
We could all take away from this reading. Most of us take our loved ones for granted. When our parents tell us they are proud of us, that they love and support us, do we truly listen? Do we understand how important those words are? This “prisoner” values has seen that those family ties are the most important thing in the world, how will we ever succeed without love and support? If he can understand this concept, why can’t we? We need to act more like this writer; valuing what we have and treating those around us like our own family, making more and more connections in more places, for we never know when we will need their support the most.

Religion of one of those things that has become taboo in our country mainly because there are so many different types and opinions; someone in the room is probably going to get heated up while talking about life after death and eternal damnation. I found this story to be very interesting mainly because they pointed out so many of the flaws in the study throughout the broadcast. They mentioned that there was not sufficient data for the United States, and the only reason why it is these countries in particular are because they are the only countries with religion on their census to see the different trends, so it is hard to say whether this story is accurate or not.
Putting numbers and scientific research aside, it is hard to say whether religion will die out completely. Religion has been a defining part of society for so long, it is difficult to imagine a world without it, but like anything, all good things must eventually come to an end. When this end comes, no one will know, but I am confident that it will not be any time soon. Though it does seem that the numbers of atheists or “non-believers” are emerging stronger and stronger, it does not mean that certain people faith is being shaken. Faith and religion is not something that you can test and prod, it is a personal belief and relationship with a higher being, whatever that may be; it gives millions of people all over the world a sense of purpose in life. Though it may falter at times, I do believe that it will become stronger with certain families and cultures, it is ever changing.
I grew up in a religious community, going to Catholic schools my whole life (up until Penn State), and attending church every Sunday. As I grew up, I began to question the rules and structure of the Church, and now I barely attend Church on Sunday. Just because I do not go to church every Sunday, or follow each and every rule does not mean that I do not try to follow the morality of the religion, and that I do not find “God” in my life in my own way. I believe that religion brings people to live their life more morally than they would without religion (in general) and a world without religion simply seems angry and morbid.
I do not think that religion will entirely die out, but it will change and transform with coming generations.

Polygamy has always meant one thing to me. I’ve always imagined men out in Utah in the middle of nowhere with two or three wives to share. This practice is something that I do not understand, and I know personally that I would be miserable if put into that situation, but for some people it is completely normal and comfortable. I was completely shocked to see the counterpart to polygamy – polyandry, but after watching the video it started to click. It brings up the nature versus nurture argument. It is nature for one man and one woman to be together, or is that simply a western ideal that was taught to us through socialization? The women and men in the video seemed more than happy in their four way relationship, mainly because it is what they know. This small community in India has been operating like this for a long time, and when you grow up watching this “unusual” family dynamic, it seems completely normal.
Similar to China, India is claustrophobically overpopulated which is a very difficult problem to fix. For the people of this village, this is one way to reduce the population on a small scale, for a woman with three husbands would not produce nearly as many children as three conventional couples, or a “conventional” polygamist family. This is also a way to maintain the families money and farm, allowing them to live much happier and wealthier than they would otherwise. This way of life, though it may not be familiar to us, is a very good way to function for these people, it works and it prospers in their community.
Though this is a good way to live for these people, as they said at the end of the film it probably cannot last much longer. Slowly, but surely, they are becoming more and more exposed to the outside, modern world. This world is bringing in good things like higher education and technology, and maybe some of the bad, like the western ideal of a couple. As the outside world continues to filter into their community up in the mountains, as generations pass the youth will begin to question what they have been taught, and maybe even break their boundaries and try something new, which could be a new step, or detrimental for the community.

It is easy to hate a murderer. It is easy to say “they got what they deserve” and then never give them a second thought again. It is easy to forget that prisoner #2786 is not a number, but a man with a background, family, friends, and feelings. It is easy to forget about the existence of prisoners at all when we do not see them in our day to day lives. Though it is easy to cast these “criminals” aside, it is the hard thing to take a moment and look behind the bars, behind the orange jump suite, and into the person. It is hard to empathize with a murderer and actually feel bad for them; how can we feel bad for someone who has done the unthinkable?
While reading “Remember”, it honestly broke my heart. It showed me that this man is the example of why we have prison in the first place. Not only to keep those who are “dangerous to society” away from potential victims, or to pay for their crimes, but also to change and reform. After 26 years in a cell, this man has forgotten almost every detail from his former life and it seems that the only thing he can truly and vividly remember are the details involving the man he killed. He has had time to not only feel sorry for what he has done, but maybe (and hopefully) change into a better human being. Though he will think about Kevin every day for the rest of his life, he will not be in the minds of almost anyone because of what he has done. I guess that could be the sociological issue, how family and friends treat someone close once they have committed a crime of this nature. What if your brother killed someone and was now in jail for the rest of his life? You would be embarrassed right? Ashamed? Would you go visit him, keep in touch, or would you pretend that he never existed? Once a person has been labeled as a murderer, they are now a leper to society. Their crime was horrifying, and of course they deserve to be in jail, but do they not deserve a second chance as a human being?
Being in that situation, it would be very easy to go insane. The combination of the guilt and small cell would make anyone go crazy soon, so the only way he can deal is turn to religion, which is the only place he will be truly forgiven.

The more sociology classes I attend, the more I begin to question how free people truly are. Most people believe that they are completely free in making their everyday choices, along with the more monumental ones like having sex at a young age. Are the girls at this high school choosing to become pregnant, or are there certain strings that go along with their lives. It is obviously shocking to see that 11% of the school’s population is experiencing early parenthood, but it may be a wake up call for the rest of society.
Though these girls are freely choosing to have sex, many outside factors are influencing them. How are parents and adults supposed to preach about abstinence while on screen sex scenes are becoming racier and racier by the minute? Sex is everywhere; it is in our ads, commercials, TV shows, movies, and books. It is literally surrounding kids these days, so why wouldn’t they want to see what all the hype is about? While most see teen pregnancy as the end of a young adult’s future, something that will change their life forever, society is secretly telling us differently. While TV shows like The Secret Life of the American Teenager and Teen Mom rise to the top of the ratings list, their viewers see examples of pregnant teens and what it means to become an early parent. The original purpose of these shows was to scare kids straight into being carful about sex, but it seems to be doing quite the opposite. The “teen moms” are suddenly famous for frankly no reason at all, and it seems that the Secret Life of the American Teenager is filled with sex, sex, and more sex. How are kids supposed to think for themselves when society is shoving all of this down their throats at such a young age?
There are also many “strings” that could be contributing to the high pregnancy rate. The CNN clip mentioned that most of the students came from low-income families that needed help just going to school. Maybe these young women come from bad neighborhoods, parts of town, and have been sexually abused as a child or even in the present. Professor Richards mentioned that women who have been molested often become overly promiscuous in order to normalize what happened to them, which in turn could lead to an easier chance at becoming pregnant. Maybe these women’s mothers had children at a young age, which could be influencing their behavior, or just the peer pressure within the school to have sex.
There are many things that could be contributing to the high pregnancy rate at this particular school and their choices were not 100% free. Though there were strings guiding them towards one path, they could always choose a different way, which makes them responsible in the end; they will have to deal with the consequences of their actions, which will change their lives forever.

The ever popular show, Toddlers in Tiaras, is one filled with laughter and revulsion all at the same time. Watching mothers force their children and somewhat brain wash them into this “beauty” lifestyle is very concerning. What ever happened to the golden rule as a parenting lesson? Now instead of teaching their children how to be a good person, these mothers are teaching them how to out do the competition and do a sexy dance on stage at the tender age of 2. While the children often object to the grueling beauty treatments, the mothers continue with it anyway, despite the cries of their little beauty queen. What is their motive?
An easy answer to that would be that these mothers (and sometimes fathers) are living vicariously through their children in these pageants. Maybe the dreamed of becoming a beauty queen when they were younger, but never actually achieved it. Maybe they were teased as a child for being “ugly” or “fat”, and want to prove something by having a beautiful daughter with the crown to show it. The reason for putting the girls through the pageants could also be outside their control. I’m sure if there was a sociological study on the pageant culture, it would show that if you are American, you are more likely to want to be a beauty queen. Then, even further, if you live in the south, you would be even more likely to participate in the culture. The odds of participation in pageant life could increase even more with age, childhood, religion, and so many other outside factors. These mothers may have the same or very similar lives and not even know it, all they know is that they are having “fun” while spending their entire savings on creating a mini Paris Hilton robot.
Who decides what is beautiful anyway? When did it become desirable to have orange skin, waxy-white teeth, large eyelashes, and large, blonde hair? Women all over the country do the most ridiculous things to themselves to be considered “beautiful” and no one questions it, but when it is being done to 2 year olds on this show, it is appalling. Watching babies being waxed and sprayed is not only disgusting, but it also reveals just how ridiculous the acts are in the first place, no matter what age you are.

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