Week 14 - Government and the Economy

I currently witness a problem with the high unemployment rate in America.  Considering we were on the brink of a worldwide depression I believe the government did the right thing with invoking "quantitative easing", QE1 and QE2, as well as saving the banking and automotive industry.  As it turns out the government made a profit on their returned investments.  That in and of itself saved millions of jobs.  With out the recovery initiatives we would be in a much greater hole.  


But now the focus needs to be on the government supporting or getting out of the way of businesses so they can generate jobs and grow the economy.  Be that with tax breaks, business friendly laws, grants, or other assistance.


Americans need and what to get back to work and the government, "by the people for the people", need to make every  reasonable effort possible to promote that effort.   


Check out what other students and professors have to say about the subject in this short video clip.


 http://economics.about.com/od/howtheuseconomyworks/a/government.htm

Week 13 - Religion and Education

My position supports the teaching of religious principles as a foundation for both formal and informal education.  I do not subscribe to the teaching of one religious believe over another in public schools, that would be ethnocentric.  However, I do believe in teaching the cultural universal virtues of religion, that being values, ethics, morals, and principles.  These virtues can be used to improve both formal and informal education.


I support this thesis by the opinion that religion in and of itself is a curriculum, much like philosophy.  It is a social science curriculum and its objective is to teach the theory of how one should conduct themselves in the world or what Socrates called "how we ought to live."  


Merge science and religion, fact and faith, and see if you agree with what Einstein concluded.  Watch the short video clip.
http://wings.buffalo.edu/hced-center/NewFiles/Glaeser.pdf 

Week 12 - The Family & Intimate Relationships

Since the definition of family may vary depending upon the culture or even the individual and if the definition of family is open to cultural and individual relativism then I would agree with the sociologist, historians, scientist, and scholars.  So long as the definition may  include immediate blood relatives, married into relatives, community, gangs, best friends, mentors, etc.  


I agree because human beings are not only shaped and molded over their lifetime by global socialization but to a greater extent by the micro-level.  Intimate, trusting, and binding relationships are more meaningful and influential to individuals. They shape your character, beliefs, morals and even your personality to an extent.  This helps to create the person you become and therefore determines what type of contribution you will make to society as a whole, be it beneficial or detrimental.  


It the family unit is not already a positive impact on the global community then it would need a significant change in its belief system of morals and ethics.  Ethics and morals means to "consider the needs of others and do what there are the best reasons for doing giving equal weight and measure to all parties affected."  A family can gain these morals and ethical beliefs for religion, positive social groups, volunteering, education, etc.


We are all family!
http://family.go.com/

Week 11 - Stratification by Gender & Age

"The Experiment"

I chose a comment on ageism.  I chose this comment because there was an opportunity that presented itself so I wanted to take advantage of it and be spontaneous at the same time. 

I said the comment to two of my friends.

They reacted jokingly in support of my comment and responded with similar comments.  I anticipated this kind of reaction because they tend to take things lightly and follow along with the theme of the moment.

I think the reaction I elicited perpetuates the greater societal norms and beliefs because it reenforces and in a light hearted manner legitimizes the stereotype.

http://www.ilcusa.org/pages/projects/ageism.php

Week 10 - Racial and Ethnic Inequality

I can recall an incident.....


It was the summer of 1995.  I was driving southbound on the New Jersey Turnpike, heading back to Dallas, TX, what was then my home.  I had recently purchased a pre-owned black-on-black convertible Porsche 944 (sweet) and was so enthusiastic about driving it that I took it for two long drives that summer.  Once to NYC and the other to Atlanta, GA for "freaknik" (off the hook party).  Where was I?  Oh yea right, "the incident."


So I'm driving down the NJ Turnpike, 10 mph over the speed limit (the acceptable norm), when this young white State Trooper pulls behind me and lights up his cruiser.  First I thought he was in pursuit of someone else so I switched lines, but he switched with me.  So my initial thought was "what the fu*k".  Naturally, I pulled over to the shoulder of the highway.  One of my older brothers, Joel, is Commander of the 7th district in Washington, D.C.  7-D is S.E., so he is running the toughest area of Washington.  Joel told me how to handle situations like this so I followed his lead.  I turned my vehicle off, placed both of my hands on the steering-wheel so the office could see them and greeting him with respect (Hello officer.  How are you doing?  How may I help you?).


The young white officer, about 28 years in age, asked for my drivers license and registration.  Once he had it and confirmed that I was the owner of the vehicle (because of course a young black brother should not have the means to acquire such an expensive car), he told me that he pulled me over because I changed lanes without signaling.  My second thought was the same as my first, "what the fu*k."  Who really stops someone for not signaling.  This seems rather "selective".  But I dismissed it and admitted my offense to the officer in hopes to get off with a warning.  


Do you think that is what happened?  No!  He starts peeping into my Porsche and begins to ask me a series of questions like.... do you have any illegal drugs in your possession?  Like if I did I would say "huh yea?"  Daaa!  So he asked me to step out of the vehicle.  Wheew, boy why did he ask me to do that.  My temper started to fly in my head and I wanted to begin to verbally lash his azz.  But I remembered what my brother Joel said.  Stay clam and do not antagonize the situation.  So I did.  I remained clam and I stepped out of my car.  He then walked to the back of my car and said I see you have Texas tags?  I said yessss.   He said the laws are different in the state of Texas, they allow you to carry concealed weapons.  Do you have any guns or other weapons in your possession?  I said no I do not.  He said well what do you have in the trunk?  I told him my luggage.  He asked if I would not mind opening the trunk. In the spirit of cooperation and to get on my way I opened the trunk.  Why did he do what he did next.  He began to search my trunk.  I stopped him dead in his tracks, closed the trunk and told him that it was illegal to search my vehicle without probable cause.  What the fu*k was he thinking?


Well he got pissed that I knew my rights and starting to try and escalated the already unnecessary situation.  The officer said I can keep you here while I call in the dog unit to sniff for drugs or weapons. I said go the fu*k ahead, I know my rights and you ain't check'in shyt. 


He returned to his vehicle and I returned to mine.  He ran a check on my license, tags, and background.  Naturally it came up clean and that probably pissed him off even more (smile).  Well, after about 20 minutes he returned to my car, gave me my license and registration back along with a ticket and the standard blurb about the ticket and my rights.  I'm thinking, my rights... yea right you racist son-of-a-bit*h.  Well we parted ways and I continued on my way down the turnpike.


Would you believe that I got no further than a mile down the road when he turned his lights on me again.  I'm about ready to blow.  I'm cursing like all outdoors and thinking... this must be an episode of "Punked", but wait I'm not a celebrity.  Okay, the same routine....  I stop, turn the car off and place both hands on the steering-wheel.  The young white officer comes up to  the window and said I am stopping you this time because you made an illegal lane change.  I said WHAT.  He said it was illegal to change from the left lane to the right lane and back to the left lane. LOL.  No literally, I laughed out loud in his face.  I told him this is a joke and begin to go off with racial profiling accusations.  Remember this was 1995, the beginning of the whole New Jersey State Trooper profiling fiasco.  I rolled my window up half way and got on speaker phone with my Prepaid Legal attorney while the officer stood outside my car with his right hand resting on his .40 mm Glock.  I used speaker phone to intimidate the officer with the conversation and also because Prepaid Legal records all conversations so if the officer said anything fowl and decided to blow my brains out at least it would be recorded for the trail and my family could reap a large lawsuit :-0

My attorney told me to cooperate with the officer and that he would file a harrasment lawsuit against the officer and police department.  I was cool with that so I went head and gave the office my license and registration again.  

He later returned to my car with a second ticket and we parted ways.  Well, kind of.  He followed me the rest of the way down the NJ Turnpike until I crossed the Delaware state line.  


Well, I got over the incident and never filed the lawsuit.  I believe I handled the situation fairly well.  My behavior was a bit emotional but justified so I would not change it if I had to go through it again. 


http://sites.google.com/site/greattrustspace/great-strategic-objectives

Week 9 - Inequality in a Global World

I feel the U.S. government has a thin line to walk when addressing violations of human rights and inequality in other countries but I feel we should be very active in trying to address these issues.


We must allow for "cultural relativism", but pure cultural relativism is only culturally-specific beliefs.  Cultures have admittedly been wrong on issues of human rights and have corrected themselves.  Therefore we have to allow for objective truth or "moral realism" and still be able to say what is inherently right or wrong within a culture.  Cultures disagree but all cultures share some common values in order to exist as a harmonious civilization.  Human rights and equality are two of those values.  


I believe once we cross the line of basic core values for harmonious existence is when we start treading into ethnocentrism and neocolonialism territory.  This is not a black and white area.  It fades into shades of gray and requires careful bilateral communication and agreement between all parties that will be affected.   


But every individual, culture, and geography of this plant are unique and diverse .  So global inequality is inherent and natural to the extent of natural characteristics and resources.  For example the Middle East and Africa are rich in oil and diamonds, whereas the U.S. is rich in technology and agriculture.  Inequality is natural.  Where it becomes unnatural is when  power, greedy, selfishness, and politics dictates how the worlds resources are distributed.  So there will always be HDCs and LDCs.  That is not the issue.  This issue is how morally and ethically responsible will the world be in sharing its resources.


We must be careful not to forget that sociology and philosophy, in this case morality and ethics, are identical twins.  To separate the two creates poverty, famine, illiteracy, disease, greed, wars, and world divide.  But to keep the two joined in their natural state promotes wellness, unity, education, nourishment, and sharing.


I feel this way because it is the innate nature of all human beings to love and care for one another.  

http://www.baylor.edu/christianethics/GlobalWealthArticleHicks.pdf

Week 7 - Stratification and Social Mobility in the U.S.

I have chosen Baltimore City as a micro level segment of the U.S. population.  I choose Baltimore City because I lived there for 4 years, so I can speak from a real life perspective.

Baltimore City is directly and negatively affected by both stratification and social mobility.  If you have ever been there it is like a city that time has forgotten.  The extremes of stratification are noticeably evident.  There are four social classes in Baltimore City.  They are the upper-middle class, lower-middle class, working class and underclass.   20% of Baltimore city residents live below the poverty line so they are considered underclass.  The stratification between the classes of have's and have-not's are alarming.  Socioeconomic, institutionalized racism, drugs, crime, lack of jobs and equitable educational facilities are what fuels the problems in Baltimore.

Relative deprivation is so blatant but yet the sense of helplessness is so strong that people turn to drugs to alleviate the emotional pain.  A bureaucracy that is plagued with global economic strain is hardly in a position to help and even when it was prejudice and discrimination hamper the efforts.

I subscribe to the "concentrate on the future" theory.  This theory focuses on prevention.  I suggest stopping the bleeding by stopping the perpetuation of the problem.   I propose applying a direct and consistent wave of resources to help the children.  Better schools, computers, after-school programs, summer camps, after school and summer meal programs, mentoring, field trips and exposure to more positive cultures within the children's own racial background.  This will improve the children's self-esteem and give them hope and a fighting chance at the future.

To fix the problem from a "root cause" perspective I would driving a stronger business economy into Baltimore through tax breaks.  Much like what was done in Washington, D.C.  Business brings jobs, then people buy homes and the city receives more tax revenue. This new revenue stream would fund the project.  But the commitment has to be with driving the revenue into the lower income areas to help the next generation and stop the perpetuation of the social class problem.  

This would not be easy but it can be done.  It would take a committed legislature and an asserted effort but it is possible.


http://www.baltimoreorless.com/tag/social-class/

Week 6 - Question One: Formal and Informal Social Controls at Montgomery College

What mechanisms of formal and informal social control are evident in your college classes and in day-to-day life and social interactions at Montgomery College?


Formal Social Control:


College Classes - Professors exercise formal social control over their classes by use of their social role and status as an authority figure.  Students are obedient to their professors and adhere to their rules and expectations, which are covered in the syllabus and imposed during every class session (e.g. raising of hands to answer question, discontinuing sidebar conversations when asked, adhering to class schedules and assigned task, etc.).


Day-To-Day Life - Montgomery College, as a social institution, has a set of policies and norms called  "the student code of conduct", which are handed down by the Board of Trustees, a bureaucratic component of the organization that uses rules and hierarchical structure to govern the schools outcomes.  Some of the deviant behaviors that they look to prevent are smoking on campus, reasonable dress codes, littering, theft, appropriate use of college email, sensitivity to the multi-cultural student body and a sense of cultural relativism within the microcosm of Montgomery College.   


Social interactions - Whether interacting with school personnel, such as financial aid, guidance counselors, or the cafeteria casher deviant behavior like vulgar language, physical assault, or disorderly gatherings are not tolerated and campus security is on the premises to enforce adherence to these social norms. 


Informal Social Control:


College Classes - Most classmates are annoyed by fellow students that will attempt to cheat by looking on their papers, come to class late and disrupting the session, unprepared for class and have to infringe on the resources of the prepared student.  The deviant student is frowned upon, looked at negatively and made to feel a sense of shame and embarrassment, which stigmatizes that student.


Day-To-Day Life - Students expect their fellow students to conform to basic social controls of waiting their turn in line, holding the door for others if they are directly behind them, giving them the right-a-way if the are a pedestrian in the parking garage, and respecting the "rule of silence" when studying in the library.  Deviance to these social norms can be confronted directly by peers, given disrespectful glances, indirect verbal chatter of condemnation or sometimes even result in physical fights.


Social Interactions - When students interact with one another in lecture, lab, at presentations, or in the social gathering areas informal controls are evident in what is considered "cool."  It is not cool to grope a girl in public, curse profusely, or fight.  Fellow students who deviate from these behaviors are ostracized, shamed or made to fell embarrassed.  This stigma can make them feel like they are in the "out group" and encourage them to conform to the social norms. 

http://cms.montgomerycollege.edu/pnp/#Chapter_4

Week 5: Team 2 - Question 2 - Rebuttal to Team 1

Team 1 - Argument 1:

The mass media lets the society know about new television shows and fashion trends/styles to keep society update to date.

Team 2 Rebuttal:

These new television shows have increasingly depicted sex and violence as their story-lines.  There has been a 96% increase in sex, violence, and profanity between 1996 and 2005 and a 400% increase in teenage female abuse between 2004-2009. (see link).  The message is clear.  Mass media has shared responsibility for the increased deprivation of society.

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/negative-influences-of-media.html


Team 1 - Argument 2:

Smaller media companies are not controlled by big companies and are not as widely viewed.


Team 2 Rebuttal:

The size of the network does not necessarily make it more autonomous.  Media is business. A big business that requires revenue streams, which are provided by advertising dollars.  I would argue that the nature of any business is to generate profits and grow the business.  Having said that, a smaller network would probably be "hungrier" than a larger competitor to grow and increase revenue so it would be even more susceptible to broadcasting whatever would generate the most revenue in both advertising and consumer programs. Size does not make the influence an less influential.  If anything it may make it more influential.



Team 1 - Argument 3:

From a cultural prospective mass media keeps people up to date.  People should do what they want regardless of mass media.


Team 2 Rebuttal:

And how does mass media keep people up to date?  By regulating or gatekeeping what they are exposed to.  Thus they are controlling the message and the content of the message as well.  Then they spread this message throughout their geographical reach.  This is called "resocialization".  This is how cultures lose their heritage and beliefs. 

Week 4: Taxation Without Representation $$

I chose the Romanian witch tax because it is such an extraordinarily unusual topic.  On the surface it sounds like something out of a "Twilight Zone" television series.  Witches and bureaucracies?  What an oxymoron.   But there is actually a legitimate thesis to this story.

After a devastated world recession many underdeveloped countries are still trying to claw their way to recovery.  Unusual circumstances require unusual measures.

Yet we must be careful because bureaucratic events in other countries sometimes influence our own.  Uncommon or unusual taxation on individuals like myself could have personal and societal effects on us all.  I do not foresee any immediate ramifications but we most be vigilant, less we fall pray to unsuspecting taxation.


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/07/world/europe/07witches.html

Week 3: Cultural Relativism and Human Rights

Sati - The burning of the Widow

Sati is the Hindu custom of burning the living wife with the deceased husband at his pyre (funeral).  It was practiced in India.  The meaning of the word "sati" means righteous and the act of Sati brought much respect and honor to the widow and their family.  I believe the wife was considered to be the 'property', if you will, of the husband and so when he died the wife had to go with him.  But not all widows voluntarily committed this act of what may be considered suicide.  Some were forced to do it begging and screaming against their will.  The custom is believe to not have religious roots but social origins, dating back to 400 A.D.  In 1829 the practice of "Sati" was outlawed by the ruling British government.  However, old norms die hard.  It took several decades before the practice really ceased and even still there were a few recorded incidents as recent as 1987.

In our western culture this act would be consider a human rights violation.  It is against our laws and mores.  It would basically be considered an act of murder or at the very least suicide, if the widow voluntarily performed the act.


The Hindu culture could most likely defend this practice as a cultural norm, historically accepted as far back as 400A.D.  


Personally I do not agree with the practice at all.  I believe it to be primitive and unacceptable.


Your thoughts?



Wikipedio.org. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sati_(practice) (Last updated 22 January 2011)

Week 2 - Theoretical Prospectives and Research Methods

In reflection I feel that the subject matter we have read, discussed, reviewed and been quizzed on provides me with the basic foundation of what I will require to move successfully forward in Sociology 101. It has afforded me the knowledge to assess and gauge further studies and assignments in a more thorough and meaning manner. It is kind of funny, because I have already begun to become more cognizant of peoples actions, my interactions with them, the different cultures at the school, how they interact, dress, socialize, etc. Sociology is much more useful then I ever thought or imagined. I think I am going to enjoy this class :-)