Final Blog

Upon reviewing my beginning of the semester blog about who i am, i realized some critical flaws regarding my definiton of myself. First of all, i started defining myself with the fact that i am an athlete; i presented that information as the most important compontent of who i am. Althought it is a very important part of who i am, it is by no means the most important. I realize now through sociology how much more of an impact my family and friends have made on my life, and that i wouldnt even be in sports if it wasnt for them. I also realize i didnt even mention academics in my first blog, and that is what my whole future is based upon. Let me repost the definition of myself with my newfound knowledge of sociology.

I'm Matt and this is my first blog ever. I physically do many things that contribute to the person i am today, but nothing defines me better than my family. Ill start with my dad, who is the biggest influence in my life. My dads dad died when he was 13 years old of an illness, and my father remembers feeling helpless. From then on, he dedicated his life to medicine and is now a very successful surgeon. In addition to that, he stays in brillinat shape and eats healthy. My dad is my biggest role model because of his tireless work ethic and his continuous hunger for knowledge. He has inspired me to be the best i can, to excel in both academics and sports. Getting into U of I engineering was the pinnicle of my academic life, and he coulndt have been more proud. He leads the life i want to live, and has been the most important person in my development. I also have two siblings, a sister and a brother, who are both athletic. Without them, i wonder if i develop into the athlete i am today. Their involvement in sports only encouraged my involvement in sports, and today i am a starting catcher on the varsity baseball team, a position i have worked my whole life for. Sports in general have contributed to my character because of the constant exposure to failure. No weak man can make a living playing sports, and it has taught me many lessons about failure and success as well. My family- not my class, my race, my status or my religion- has shaped me into the person i am today. Of course, there are several other minor factors that have built me, but nothing more important.

Mixed Blood

The mixed blood article was a unique account of race in the world. The author contended that race itself does not exist, its just something people create to organize us all into groups. As Americans, it seems obvious that race is a concrete thing, skin color, and how can something that clear not exist? Race is more about the perceptions of people based on their skin color than their actual skin color. And because it is all perception, the actual thing does not exist. For example, someone who may look white can very well be black, if a parent was. According to our society, the offspring of any couple where one of the parents is black is automatically black. Even if the dark skin was recessive and the baby appears white, the baby is still technically black. However, society will not treat this child as a black person, because it does not appear so. If race was truly only skin color, perceptions would not matter. 

Race is different all across the globe. In Brazil there are many different categorizations of people based on much more than skin tone. Brazillians take into account eye color, hair color, body stature as well as skin tone. So, its possible to leave America one race and arrive in Brazil a different one. Race is fabricated to make it easy for Americans to distinguish people, but really it tears us apart.

Crash

This week was the first time i had ever seen the movie crash, and it really laid an impression on me. Its all about different accounts of everday racism, profiling and discrimination. Its amazing how much horrible action goes on everyday, but the ironic part is some of the worst crimes are committed by people who dont claim to be racist. The best example of this from the movie is when the off duty cop picks up the black guy as a hitch hiker, which is something a racist would never do. However, his implicit feelings take over and he cant avoid having hostile and cynical feelings about this man. He ends up shooting him dead because the cop thought the man was reaching for a gun out of his pocket, when in reality he was reaching for his st christopher amulet to relate to the white man. In lincolnshire we are not really exposed to this kind of overt racism, but we know it exists. The movie provided us with a visual, an alarming one at that. overall i liked the movie, even tho i missed day 1.

30 days in minimum wage

Morgan Spurlock has a lot of courage to do all the things he does. He experiances what average americans go through every day, from prision to minimum wage. His show has no strigs attached- he pretty much leaves his real, successful life behind him in every way and ventures out into the world to experiance things in a genuine fashion. I always figured it would be hard to survive on minimum wage, especially if there is more than one person in a household, but the extent that Spurlock went to to save money was astounding. His fiancee walking to work every day to save on bus money, eating rice and beans every day, and passing on a 6.50 conservatory ticket are little things that he had to go through. And he did it for just thirty days. Imagine an entire year, or an entire lifetime trying to save money, living paycheck to paycheck. I know we are blessed here in Lake County, but its really eye opening to see (almost) first hand what a minimum wage life is like.

Those poor people

The video in class has really opened my eyes to a less fortunate America that I am not exposed to in any way at all. All my life i have been very priviledged to grow up in the area that i live with the family that i have, with no dysfunction at all. It is very eye opening to see these families in trailors struggling to get by on a Burger King salary, without even a car to get u there. Its a shame because these people are in fact hardworking, and they dont know any way else to make a living, in part because of a lack of education (which might not have been their fault) or a lack of support. And the number of people living like this is greater than the number of people living like us. Poor/working class America is something i have no exposure to, because i have been sheltered my whole life in a very blessed neighborhood. The community service project and this video has deepend my exposure and my understanding of these people, even if it is to a smaller degree.

Deviance

Society is too proper. Way too proper. Not just in Lincolnshire, but in general. So much of society is based on image that people change their normal behavior just so they are perceived in a certain way. For example, I was reading an article in ESPN The Magazine about Alex Rodriguez discussing how obsessed with his own image. The author mentions how he went to dinner with Rodriguez, and Rodriguez ordered his meal based on how the reporter would perceive it, and not what he actually wanted to eat. That is very deviant. Its not normal. Its weird. Its all because society has these boundries on normalcy and ARod doesnt want to do anything that could ruin his reputation to the extent of ordering a different meal. This is ironic because that in itself is weird and makes people think ARod is a nutcase. He is. 

But this offense isnt that serious at all. So what if ARod orders a normal meal when he wants something weird, its not against the law. Society goes to the length of making extremely deviant behavior against the law, and can make u do seriuos time if you are caught in the act. Its stupid. Im not necessarily saying all laws are stupid, because many are necessary. But just because Illinois thinks marijuana is deviant they can have a state wide ban on it while in California just a short 1500 miles away its 100% legal (for medicine). None of it makes sense. Have some uniform laws and let people decide their own fate. 

Gender

I'll start by sayin this is last weeks blog, sorry sal for not bloggin. Last week the primary focus in class was on gender. We talked about different roles and characteristics of the two different genders as perceived by society, and many of the girls were outraged. The characteristics list for females seemed insulting, listing unintelligence, passiveness, physical weakness, among others. Males on the other hand were listed as dominant, competitive, primary breadwinner, intelligent and creative. Needless to say this made girls in the class angry while the guys in the class were demonstrating their competitive nature (because they seemed to win the gender battle on paper) by shouting praise. This list is no doubt controversial, but it is at least fairly accurate. It would probably be more accurate in the 50's, with the classic stay at home mom taking care of the children while the father was working. Fifty years ago, not many women challenged their apparent duties as a women and did different things. It wasnt necessary to have a proper education, or to be decesive or to have a job. But now, more and more women are changing their roles in society and becoming more career oriented instead of being family oriented. Roles for males has not changed much. Still today, as with 50 years ago, men want to be the primary source of income for their families and support them. Its a sign of worth and importance that no man wants to give up. 

Madness

This week I have really gotten a change to see how influenced we are by our environment. There are agents of socialization everywhere, especially school and family. However, for the next month, it is incredible how many peoples actions will be influenced by the NCAA tournament. March Madness is a magical time that happens once a year, and people really live and die with it. It will bring out the absolute worst in people when things dont go right. It can put people into depression or leave them in a state of ecstacy for weeks after if they happen to win. ESPN has specials on the tournament and how to fill out a bracket. Supposedly this is a science called Bracketology and is known throughout the nation.
This tournament is so powerful, people stay home from school to watch it. Although CBS is on in the commons, the fact that most teachers dont have the TV on during class makes people not want to go. That is insane power for something to have. Even as im blogging, i have one eye on the scoreboard, and clemson just lost that sucks did anyone have michigan? I cant write too long because i dont wanna miss any more game time. I am a product of the Madness, and i am proud.

"There is nothing innately shameful about being dependant"

Its amazing to me how dependant humans are on other people, at every age. Morrie had a quote regarding Mitch as someone who is afraid to attatch to others, to need others. Considering one theory of our existance is one in which we evolve and have to fight for survival among predators, it seems unlikely that we would need each other so badly. My baseball coach keeps saying OSS, Only the Strong Survive. But is it really true? We as a species are so intelligent, but as infants and as old people we are definatly not strong and cannot survive on our own. Most animals can survive on their own weeks after birth, if that. Horses can walk the day they're born. Birds live on their own the second they have the strength to fly. But humans have to be nurtured and cared for and loved for a much longer period in order to survive. And yet, we rule the earth. The Genie girl who was isolated for many years couldnt do anyting for herself, which proves our dependance on others.
The dependance isnt a bad thing. It developes us into who we are. All humans are effected by their environment, especially their families, and usually for the better.

Bemused

The article "Bemused in America" really gave a foreigners view of America first hand. There are so many things we do and words we say that make no sense at all. Someone from Europe could learn perfect english, but still be recognized as a foreigner because they are not used to our cultural norms. The article mentions five categories of cultural difference, but I think one of the most important is language. The English language goes so much beyond grammar and meanings of words. Its implication and figures of speech and sarcasm that other people may not catch on to. For example, the author uses the phrase "passing away" as a great example of strange english. Any American could tell you that means to die, but to a foreigner not familiar with these phrases, trying to piece together a meaning from "to pass" and "away", it is nearly impossible. The author made a fool of himself asking when the person that passed away would be back. Also phrases like "piece of cake" are huge curveballs to people who learn english as a second language.
Mores and folkways are so different from country to country, its very important to learn cultural norms before visiting, because its possible to insult somebody without even trying.

I was only here for half the lesson so.....

Unfortunatly I had two disruptions that hindered my ability to listen to the culture lessons in their entirety for the past two days. The deans have no respect for sociology. Couldn't they have waited a period and taken me out of math? Unbelievable. But the culture differences I did hear were vast. Its pretty crazy how simple gestures can mean totally different things in different countries, like the A-OK symbol meaning butthole in Italy. Speaking of that, something even as common as toilets are very different. Japenese toilets are on the ground so there is no seat for sitting, which keeps the experiance more sanitary. Ive got to say it makes sense. Public bathrooms would be much less uncomfortable if there was no seat-skin contact between everybody on earth.
And also signs of respect are really different around the world. Showing respect in the United States means looking someone in the eye, maybe shaking hands, and generally not saying anything insulting. In some eastern asian countries (china, south korea), respect is measured with a bow. I watched a show Lie to Me, which is on Wednesday 9/8c on Fox (which is not on this week because of a two hour American Idol show, I'm furious!) , and on last weeks episode a body guard showed the korean ambassador's son a lack of respect by giving him a shallow bow. The body guard is treating the ambassador's son as an equal, which is a sign of disrespect givin the different statuses. In America we don't even bow. And I doubt the average american would recognize the shallow bow as a lack of respect. This all reflects the cultures we grow up in.

From now on, you're C

C had two people in his life that were father figures, his true father and Sonny. They both played different roles in his upbringing, and Sonny respected them accordingly. Growing up, C spent a lot of time around Sonny and his gang, and Sonnys advice shaped the way he was more than his father's warnings. Sonny gave C his nickname, he let him roll dice, he let him hang around the bar all because he didn't rat. C valued Sonnys words more than his fathers, which is unfortunate because as it turns out Sonny didn't trust C at all. This is obvious when Sonny holds up C when he thinks he did something to his car and yells at him and hits him over something he never did. Despite C's truthful pleas to be let go, Sonny doesn't believe him.
His father on the other hand was never really a friend to Calogero. He kept telling him how to live his life: to stay out of the bar and respect the working man. As much as C should have listened, he didn't respect his father as much as he did Sonny. His father is truly the one who cared about C, and also the person who C emotionally hurt. When C and his dad got into an argument and said he was taking his anger of being a bus driver out on him, his father was devastated by that. C lives his life throughout the movie backwards, giving too much respect to the mob leader and not enough to his father.

Someones gotta go...

The abandon ship activity clearly defined our values of how "worthy" one person was of living over another. The rate at which our group eliminated some of the members was astounding, and some of them we didnt even consider letting them stay. The drug dealer, the old couple, and the fat millionaire didnt have much of a chance because they have no usefulness on the boat. However, we kept some people who were disabled and physically could not help row. The quarter master and the army captain both stayed despite physical imperfections. The quarter master was kept because he was the father of four children at home, and we decided a wounded father was more valuble to keep aboard than a healthy single millionaire. However, the old couple had the largest family of all, but their children were already parents themselves, so nobody depended direcely on them. If the grandparent was raising a grandchild for one reason or another, it definatly would have changed the situation. The new reality on the boat forced desperate decisions to be made, and what easier way to make them then my majority vote. No one person took direct charge, which probably would have been different had this been a real situation. Different cultures that value different traits in a person would have done the activity differently. This idea of a unique sociological reality is prevalent in many different instances, the F227 and the abandon ship are just a couple examples.

Are you gunna eat that?

This week in class delt a lot with cultural norms and taboo regarding consumption of various things. It started with saliva. To me saliva out of the mouth becomes this totally unnatural and unpleasing thing. Being a baseball player, I admit to being a little hypocritical because I have developed an unflattering habit of spitting outside of a baseball diamond. Spitting is acceptable in baseball, but in our normal everyday society it is not. Sharing saliva outside of the mouth is, to me, not even comparable to doing the same within mouths. I think the mental difference lies with focus. If asked to sip spit off a spoon, the entire focus of your brain, and not to mention your stomach, is on that spit. There is nothing else happining to divert you from thinking about what you are doing. However, kissing provides an alternate focus and the mind is not concerned with sharing saliva. There enlies the difference.

The whole F227 cannibal article didnt really freak me out too much, because I have read various accounts of people surviving by eating people, most notably the Donner Party in the westward expansion times, circa 1840. I think it is a terrible and harsh reality to have to do this to survive. Needless to say, the article made me think of if I would do it. And the answer came down to pretty much one condition: temperature. If the bodies were frozen, as they were in the article, and the Donner party for that matter, I think I could eat the bodies to survive. However, if it was very hot and bodies were rotting and decomposing as time went on I dont think I could physically digest it. Blood plays a big role too. With colder weather, blood wont be as free flowing, and therefore easier to eat the meat. But in the heat blood would be everywhere and once again I dont think I could handle that. But who knows, ive never been in a position remotely close to this, so these feelings could be completely wrong if a time ever presents itself.

Obediance is Human Nature

When the Meyer article was assigned, and I saw that the title was "If Hitler asked you..." I immediately knew what my response was: no. I thought to myself there is no way I would ever obey Hitler, because what he did was so horrible. Even as a read and annotated, I disagreed with the author's assertions that people would probably obey Hitler, because I didn't have an open mind to the concept Meyer was trying to prove. I believe thats how the majority of people now would react to that question. No chance would I obey Hitler, because that would be wrong. However, Stanley Milgrim's study proved otherwise. It proved that humans as a majority submit to authority, even if that is at the expense of the subject. If personal responsibility is non existant, which it was in the Milgrim case, then people will obey because its not their fault; they were just doing their job. And the same can be said about the people that obeyed Hitler. They were submitting to his ultimate authority because they could blame Hilter's orders and alleviate their own responsibility. People don't necessarily care about the subject if what happens is not directly their fault. I think this is a major flaw of human nature, because the people are not really thinking for themselves. The "teachers" knew they were hurting the "learners", but decided to ignore their own morals for the betterment of the study. I don't like how it works, but unfortunately I also believe it's human nature and is present in each of us.

I'm Me

I'm Matt and I've never blogged before. I do a bunch of things that define myself. I am an athlete; I play baseball in the spring and basketball in the winter. I love playing sports, and I do so all the time. I was on the varsity baseball team last spring and I'm hopin to grab a starting spot this year. Not only do I play conventional sports, but I also water/snow ski and scuba dive. I got my scuba license in seventh grade so that we could go diving as a family on our first vacation to Hawaii (my dad previously had a license for several years). Scuba diving is an incredible experiance and is so unique to all my other sporting experiances. Besides my sporting background, I spend a lot of time with friends and family, including my two golden retrievers, Bandit and Boomer. My dad is a big part of who I am today, mostly because of his discipline. He expects nothing but the best. I've always worked hard at everything I do in order to meet his standards. A month ago I got into U of I engineering, and I am planning on going into mechanical engineering and finding a career there. I have no specific aspirations career wise yet, but I'm sure my college experiance will take care of that. Some other quick notes about me is that my favorite type of music is rap, namely Kanye and Lil Wayne, but my favorite bands include avenged sevenfold, red hot chilli peppers, and aerosmith. Im a big cubs fan, so no messin around there. So now I'm just kickin back and crusin through senior year. Keep an eye out for that baseball team we got. Should be unreal.