Prejudice

Ironically in AIS class we are talking about slavery and racism, etc. and we also have to interview someone for a project in AIS. Now, the person I interviewed is black and talked about the prejudice she came across in her hometown and in the north shore area. Really I find it disappointing because it seems like we (people) are still quite prejudiced in reality. Eliza (it's not her real name) said that in her hometown down south the prejudice was straight out, but in the north shore the prejudice was more subtle. If Eliza said hello to one of her son's teachers on the sidewalk, they would walk right past as if they hadn't heard her say anything. But this was around the 60's but she said that it has gotten a bit better, but (I guess to her, not too much better).

I hope that as a country we continue to get better at treating each other equally, not only on the streets but in every aspect. I definitely would not have liked living in fear everyday wondering if the KKK was going to hurt me or someone I know. Or being afraid to go out at night. Is that right? I don't think so. But maybe things will change now that Obama is in office. America was founded on the principle of equal rights, we need to stick to that.

Obama vs. McCain all over again

I just want to start out by saying that in this blog, I'm not trying to offend anyone, I'm simply pointing out some information that, for me personally, is a bit ironic & amusing.

Ok so you know how some people (the Tea Party) are calling Obama a muslim? Well, that was only because when he lived in Indonesia he supposedly went to some kind of radical muslim school, however he went to a public school and also a christian school (to see an article about this CLICK HERE).

 Now, if some people think that Obama is a muslim why wasn't John McCain called an immigrant? He was born in the Panama Canal Zone, albeit on a U.S. base, which is a poor latino country, and he became senator for Arizona where there is so much trouble going on with the U.S. trying to keep out the illegal aliens! For more background info on McCain CLICK. 

Personally I think this is a bit ironic that Obama was born in Hawaii but is called a muslim, while his competitor in the Presidential Election was born in the Panama canal Zone! This just relates to my AIS class because we will most likely be studying American Presidents. YAY!!

Words

         Have you ever thought about how much words are twisted around? In AIS we were just having a discussion and it was so interesting because someone makes a comment, and they know exactly what they mean, but maybe no else does. They might have to clarify their thought or give an explanation so they can get their point across. These miscommunications happen all of the time, and it reminds me of the media (and by media I mean newsrooms, reporters, and...oh yeah! the paparazzi). These people are constantly taking what people say and twisting them so that they might mean something else entirely (whichever will get the most popularity or readers). It's unfortunate because this is the way that conflict starts and then it is very hard to stop.

         I definitely wouldn't want my words that have been turned around printed across the news' headlines, but maybe some people do. 

         I guess we have to be careful about what we say as words can hurt more than a punch. You know that rhyme 'sticks & stones will break my bones, but names/words will never hurt me'? It's definitely not true, well except for the part that stones or sticks can break bones. But I hope no one has discovered that the hard way. 

       Be careful with words because they don't always mean what you want to say. 

Is the white man a hero?

    Ok, so, I went to Peru this summer and it was unbelievable. While we (I went with a group of people) did a two day trek into the mountains and while we were hiking everyone was just trading stories. It was so interesting because our Peruvian guides told us that many (white) powerful people thought they would help the natives by giving them hiking shoes to wear. And these people were used to wearing sandals so of course they would think the hiking boots would be uncomfortable. But they had to wear them (if they were trekking) until the checkpoint where people would make sure they had the boots on, then once they were out of sight, they would take them off!
   This kind of "helping has been demonstrated over and over and over again in history. Right now this is especially demonstrated by America by the way we went into Iraq and various other places in the Middle East (but there are many other examples throughout history). America didn't ask if they needed help, they just "said" you need help; and then tried to develop them in America's image instead of their own society. Would you want someone to barge into your room and say "I'm gonna help you do your homework (or something like that) even if you were doing fine? I know I wouldn't. I don't think it's up to any one group to dictate what another needs or doesn't need.
   Is the white man a hero? Personally, I don't really think so. But there are so many different connections with this question in history that everyone has a different perspective on it. So tell me yours.