End of the Semester Thoughts about Social Justice!

During this semester I have learned a lot about myself and a lot about certain subjects that I have been nervous to address in the past.  For instance the gay community; I have never really tried to address the fact that I have in the past said some things jokingly to my friends about the subject of homosexuality.  I never knew that saying these joking accusations could hurt someone’s feelings and the simple fact that it is just as wrong to say these vulgar remarks as using racial slurs for people with different skin colors.  After taking my social justice class I have become more aware of my actions and have become more understanding of all different group types.  I feel that through this course I have realized how immature I have been in the past, and how I have become a better man because of it.  I feel proud to say I can go out in the community with an open mind and treat everyone with the same, rather than being closed minded and rejecting people before even getting to know them. 

By realizing how much I really needed to mature to become a more socially competent human being, it makes me wonder how far other people need to mature to do the same as well.  What I need to realize it is not that simple for people just to come to grasp with some personal issues that they might have, but I believe that if I can help society by moving past my own issues, then there will be one less person that will commit social injustices in society.  So after this course I can say I have come a long way and I will do my part to help society become a better place and I hope that people can do the same.  If people can just accept people for who they are, rather than what social group they belong to, society could be a beautiful place to be a part of.  I hope that after reading this you can do your part as well and help the world become a place where everyone is created equal.  One by one we can make a difference in this world and maybe one day we can see a beneficial change.  Until we see this change we can treat everyone the way we would want to be treated, and perhaps one day the dream of an equal society can become a reality.

Mistreatment of Undocumneted Workers

Here is a question for you guys, do you believe that un-documented workers that are employed over here in the US, deserve to receive the wages and safe workzones they deserve.  These companies that hire undocumented workers know that these workers cannot find work elsewhere and are able to abuse this power.  They will hire workers for wages less than minimum wage in some cases and work them for long hours.  They also have unsafe work zones for some workers, such as construction workers.  The construction companies won’t hold safety classes before entering the job and allow these workers to work in unsafe zones with no training.  Doing this, a lot of undocumented workers have died and or have been seriously injured in these unsafe zones.  A large percentage of these un-documented workers don’t receive all the wages they are entitled to, because these companies know that the ndocumented workers can’t go to the authorities to report them.

                Even though these workers are here undocumented, they are still human beings.  They are doing the work, and they deserve to be paid.  They have families and homes just as everybody else and they need to survive off the wages they work for.  How would you feel if you worked a long week doing hard labor and you are out of money come payday, and when you go to get your paycheck the employer gives you one third of what you should have been paid?  This kind of mistreatment would not stand if it was an American Citizen, why should it be any different for an undocumented worker?

                People here undocumented is a totally separate issue; this is an issue of fairness and the defense for the common human being.  What needs to be done about this issue is that these companies that are willing to hire undocumented workers need to be held accountable for their actions.  First off the safety issue, undocumented or not, needs to be taken care of first.  An unsafe workplace should never be tolerated and these deaths or injuries should never have to take place before we do something about it.  Next thing that needs to be stopped is the unpaid wages for the work that has been done.  Regardless of if the worker is legal or not, if that person completes the work, that person deserves to be paid.  We as America are better than this and it really makes me sick that this type of mistreatment takes place.  We cannot keep turning our heads the other way and let these injustices take place, and we need to take these issues head on.  This issue needs to be stopped and stopped now!

Here is a video on for you to watch and maybe it will help you understand that this is actually taking place.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMbucj2n6Yw&feature=player_embedded

America the Beautiful!!

How much do Americans really take for granted?  In my class we watched a movie called “Wasteland”, which depicts an artist who goes to Brazil to film a documentary/art project to try to help the trash pickers.  These trash pickers are Brazil’s form of recycling because the country does not have recycling.  The dump trucks would come to this dump yard and dump the trash, and then hundreds to thousands of people would walk through picking out all the recyclable material.  These “pickers” are happy because they are not having to live a life of prostitution or drug dealing and can make a living in a respectable way.  The workers only make $25 a day and they are happy with that pay.

Again how much do Americans take for granted?  These people in Brazil are happy to dig through trash and filth for $25 dollars a day working god knows how many hours and Americans only have to work 8 hours a day making at the minimum $58.  I would love to see a business man, a doctor, even a garbage truck driver, to go over to Brazil and work just one week in these conditions.  What do you think would happen?  They would whine and complain about the work and when they got paid they would flip out on how much they got paid for it. 

Americans need to start to realize we have it good over here.  Even though our economy is in the dumps right now, we still have it a million times better than a lot of these other countries.  I believe that Americans have a much skewed sense of reality and are so spoiled we don’t even appreciate the good things in life.  To be able to have a minimum wage, to be able to not have to work more than 40 hours a week unless you want to, to have government assistance (such as food stamps and unemployment), and to have the freedom to go out and achieve anything we want.  Now granted it is much more difficult than some to get by in America, but even the poorest communities still have it better than third world countries.  Americans need to open their eyes and see what a beautiful and blessed country we have and to realize that even when times are hard you still have it better than most.  If we as a country could all think this way, a more peaceful happy society will emerge. 

Here is the trailer to the movie so you can get a better understanding

http://vimeo.com/16290358

Homosexuals are People too!!

My Social Justice class keeps coming at me like a whirl wind.  This week we were talking about homosexuality and the strife they have to endure.  Now that I am older I never really thought of any issues with homosexuality, other than societies laws against them (such as no gay marriage in certain states, and no rights to possessions for gay spouses), because I view them as normal people in society.  I have already forgotten what it was like in high school and even my own viewpoints towards the gay community.

            Growing up with my friends, we always made fun of each other if we showed any sign of femininity by calling each other “gay” or “fag”.  I never thought anything of this because it was just a norm in my high school.  Now looking back what if one of these young teenage boys that was having trouble dealing with what his sexual preference was or trying to figure out what was wrong with him, over heard me and my friends saying these kind of derogatory terms.  When I thought this, I immediately felt sick to my stomach.  No one from my high school killed themselves due to being harassed for being gay, but what if someone did?  What if that someone would have killed themselves because of what he overheard from my conversations with my friends?  To this day I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself and now after taking this class I am having a real hard time forgiving myself for my ignorant past.

            It is so easy to say things that can hurt someone else without even knowing it.  Using the term “gay” or “fag” as a joke is wrong in every way and as a society we must be conscious of what we say.  Homosexuals, Lesbians, Tran’s genders, and many others are all human beings.  No one today should be judged for the color of their skin, what sexual preference they are, what socio-economic status they belong to, or what culture they are from.  America promotes itself as a diverse society and that we are all created equal, than why are there still these prejudices’ that exist in our society.  I myself will start being more observant of these types of terms and start to fight against them when I hear them.  Being guilty of this I am disgusted with myself and I will devote myself to make a difference.  Through word of mouth, through being educated, through social interaction, we can make a difference.  I will fight for the equal rights for everyone till the day I die and I hope one day I can see an America united, rather than an America full of separation and hatred.  We as a society need change, until we make that change, America will never be the country I can be proud of.

Why Still Inequality for Women?

In our society today we have many issues that need serious attention to help find a solution for them.  One of these issues that I am having a hard time dealing with is the issue surrounding the inequalities between men and and women.  I honestly have felt that that issue was a thing of the past, but in my class this week I was sadly mistaken.  Women still make only 75 percent of what a male does, and still many men believe that women are incapable of being able to perform adequately in some so called “male jobs”. 

            I do not understand how this is still happening today, because I have never been able to witness it first-hand.  I have never researched any of these statistics, because I was naïve enough to believe that this was not an issue.  I thought that just by seeing women in the workforce, women in leadership roles, and women in the military, that this issue was a thing of the past.  How can an employer pay a man 25 percent more than a woman who has the same experience and educational background?  This just disgusts me, woman are fully capable to handle any job a man can, and we need to put an end to this immediately. 

            What is really holding this back is the fact of sexism?  If women show any cleavage in her business attire she is considered a whore and should not be taken seriously.  What it really is is the face men are weak and look at women in an unprofessional way.  I honestly believe that it is the simple fact of fear and jealousy.  I believe men are scared that women will take over and men will be left in the dust.  This is absurd; women just want the equality that they deserve.  They are not fighting to take over the world; they just want the same opportunity that every man has.  Men need to stop being so insecure and accept the fact that women are equal to us.  Men need to embrace a future established on equality and stop holding this country back from that.  We need to show the world that this country can lead by example, so women everywhere can finally be looked at as a person not a gender.  My vote is for equality, my vote is for a better America, and my vote is to make a step forward for this country rather than just prolonging the inevitable.

Here is a video on the price gap at UT.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwN6-Pe3o3w&feature=player_embedded

Curse of the "Standardized Tests"

This week in my Social Justice class we were discussing standardized testing in high schools. Government is constantly cutting funding for education, while expecting more from schools. If schools don’t meet certain criteria then their funding is cut off. I believe this is completely wrong and there are so many better options to fix these issues. Education is one of the most important parts in the success of this country and American citizens are allowing the government to ruin the educational system.

I believe the best way to go about achieving better graduation rates and improving grade point average of students is to stop the standardized testing. As crazy as that sounds just listen to what I have to say. I believe I am a rather intelligent person, but I have never been the best at test taking. Where I have excelled the most and had the most success is when tests weren’t the most crucial part of a class. I have taken a few courses in my educational career where the teacher doesn’t grade by testing, but by participation and through project based instruction. Not only have I received better grades, but I have retained the most knowledge after completing these courses.

My rationale behind this is that there can be a lot of anxiety when it comes to standardized testing. You have to be able to memorize terms and key terms, but you aren’t tested on the real meaning of the material. When I study for a multiple choice exam, for instance, I memorize what I have to and throw all other information that is not going to be on the test out. This is wrong, who is to say that that other material is not important? Also with all the stress and anxiety from the fear of failing the test, I feel that I hold the information for a matter of days after taking the test. With not being graded by testing but by participation I am able to engage the material from a different perspective. I enjoy learning the material and without the anxiety of test taking, I am able to retain the information longer. I am able to retain more information due to the fact that I am not focused on key terms, but rather the content and application of the information. Without having to memorize, I retain the meaning of the information and I am able to use the material well into the future.

We need to stop standardized testing as a solution to the education system. By making school relevant to the student I believe that the government would see vast improvements in the quality of learning in schools, lower dropout rates, and more benefits to students. Kids will start wanting to attend school and by God enjoy it. Learning is a beautiful aspect of life, why do we have to make it a scary burden? I believe that with this new method of teaching we will see a better graduation rate, more intelligent youth, better GPA’s, better job skills from students emerging into the workforce, and a stronger, better America.

                                                                                                                           

Wal-Mart, Societies Worst Bully!!

            Well yet again another surprise in my social justice class this week. My beloved Wal-Mart, the one stop shop, had some skeletons in its closet. After watching“Wal-Mart, the High Cost of Low Price”, I feel disgusted for even shopping there. When Wal-Mart came to my home town in Pinetop AZ, I was too young to realize what this store did to my town. I asked my parents recently what had happened when it came into town, and my fears were proven real. All the Mom and Pop shops went out of business and many families were left with no income. How can a corporation be ok with doing this to rural communities?

            A man from the movie was a manager trainer for Wal-Mart for many years, and he stated that they would go to these rural communities before a Wal-Mart was built. While in these communities they would drive by all the businesses estimating how long until they would go out of business. One of Wal-Mart’s main slogans is how much improvement their store will do for the community, when in all actuality it tears it apart. It shows that their main intention is to take over all the business in town, and they never had the intention to help the community in anyway. If an individual was hired by Wal-Mart they would receive unfair wages, and be offered way over priced health coverage. An employee has a choice; with the budget they receive, to decide whether to put food on the table or to have health coverage. They also would tell their employees to use welfare, food stamps, and many other city offered aids to survive, rather than offering their own coverage’s. How can a multi-billion dollar company not be able to afford to pay their employees a fair wage, and offer decent benefits for working there?

            Wal-Mart is a supreme example of a monopoly and they need to be reprimanded for the damage they have done to this country. If our country allows Wal-Mart to get away with these infractions, this country gives the green light for any other corporation to do the same. The brief issues that I listed in this blog are just a small fraction of all the horrible activities that Wal-Mart is involved in. Is America really this naive to just sit and not believe that this is really going on? These companies are getting away with murder, and America is just sitting back and allowing them to get away with it. We as a country need to take control back into our own hands, and stand up to these corporate giants. How many more rural communities are we going to allow to be subjected to this unfair business monopoly, how many more families are we going to watch lose their life work to a social bully, and how many lives have to be put into poverty before society finally says no more? How much more America, how much more?