End Racism.

     This week we watched the movie "Crash." This film portrayed racial tension among black, white, Mexican, Persian, and Asian people. While watching this movie I thought that the main theme was racism, but towards the end I realized that the theme is also people's fear and avoidance of racism. Many people think that if they don't explicitly make racist comments, or call someone out because of their race, that they are not racist. In the movie, Crash, Sandra Bullock's character demonstrated a married women who had a gun pointed at her face and had her car stolen. Earlier, she was implicitly racist for holding onto her husband's arm as soon as she saw the two black guys. Later, when she got home, she was explicitly racist for telling her husband that she thought the Mexican locksmith would give a copy of their key for one of his "gang banger friends." Neither one of these reactions is okay. 

     We have to realize that the news and media make the world seem more dangerous than it actually is. The doctor in Oprah said that only 3% of rapists/crimes are done by people of color. This means that 97% of them are white. Also, in the movie characters assumed that the Persians were Arab just because of their skin tone, facial hair, and the tone while speaking. Some people assume that because someone is Muslim they have some sort of terrorist affiliation, but only 6% of all terrorists are Muslim. The rest are white. This is not what most people think. It’s because of the media that they think this way.  Countless times have a seen people look at others in a certain way because of the color of their skin or an article of clothing. This is not right. We should not make any assumptions before we actually talk to the person. 

Racism is Wrong.

     This week  we talked about racism, which branches out into two parts: implicit racism and explicit racism. Explicit racism is an open, negative act towards one's race. An example of this is the Klu Klux Klan,  who don't try to hide their hate. Implicit racism is the opposite, and an example of this can be statements written newspaper that aren't deliberate. 

      In addition to racism we talked about race with an emphasis on the idea that one of the first characteristics that people notice about each other is the color of their skin, and other physical features. In class we classified different balls into different categories. The class recognized that it's difficult to place them into proper categories in which each one belongs because each ball has multiple physical traits. This demonstration is similar to people. You can't place people in specific categories. For example, just one person can be placed into numerous categories: female, Persian, long hair, dark hair, oval face, brown eyes, coffee/milk colored skin, and list goes on. This proves that two people may have a few similar physical traits, but a group of people can't be placed into definite groups. To me this is extremely disturbing. It's important to realize that everyone is the same on the outside, but has differences on the inside, therefore instead of trying to guess what someone's race, ask them about their aspirations. 

Monopoly: Being Rich Doesn't Mean Being Happy.

This we talked about old money and new money, and the idea that once you start out as lower, middle, or upper class, majority of the time you will stay in that class. An example of this was seen in class when we played Monopoly in groups of four. Player one was high class, player two was upper-middle class, player three was middle class, and player four water upper-lower class. The player that started in the upper-middle class stayed in the that class, and the same happened with all the rest of the players. This is very similar to real life as well. If you are born into a rich family, or you inherit money, you will most likely spend the rest of your life being well off. This occurs because although all the players spend approximately the same amount of money, the upper class player has more advantages compared to the lower class player, such as higher income and the easy way out when they are sent to jail.

We also learned about the difference in being an upper class citizen and a middle or lower class citizen. If you are an upper class citizen, your kids have to start going to a prestigious pre-school, then a private secondary school, a membership to an expensive country club, and a lot more. The cycle continues with generations to come, until your last name is one that will always be remembered.

All in all,  I think it's important to live your life as best you can. Work hard in your career, and enjoy it all in one. Don't compare yourself with those "above" you because having a lot of money doesn't always mean they have a lot of happiness.

Life is much more than just Rich vs. Poor

     This week we talked about the social classes in our country, with an emphasis on the idea that people in the same community receive different incomes that create large gaps between the rich and the poor. Although some believe that they are not making a lot of money because they're not living the mansions that are displayed through the media in shows such as "Gossip Girl" and "Keeping Up With the Kardashians,"  the reality is that these people are actually richer than 95% of the world's population. For example, living in my neighborhood,  I always considered my family and the neighbors surrounding me as middle class, but after our class discussions this week I've realized that we are all much more providential when we compare ourselves to the rest of the world population. 

      It's important to realize that the big name celebrities that we are looking up to, such as the Kardashians, Trumps, and Hiltons only make up 1% of the entire world's wealth. In addition, these celebrities fall in the small category for two possible reasons. They are either old money, meaning that they have inherited money from many generations, or they own an exceptionally large company or business. In conclusion, it's important to realize that we are all more fortunate than we actually think we are. We only think that we are less fortunate because we are constantly comparing ourselves to the rich celebrities surrounding us through the media. According to the Global Rich List, citizens who make $800 annually are considered middle class. In other words, they are richer than 50.28% of the world population. Ultimately, we should be happy with everything that we have instead of constantly wishing we had more because we are a lot more fortunate that we think. 

Don't Assume. Say "Thank You."

     This week we talked about deviance, which is actions or behaviors that violate cultural norms in one's society, these actions can be both positive and negative. We were assigned a positive deviance project in which we were supposed to do a good deed for someone else. My act of positive deviance was baking a homemade pumpkin pie and a card for my mom. My mom and I are so close we are practically sisters. My mom does countless favors for me on a daily basis. She makes me breakfast, lunch, and dinner, drives me to school every morning, picks me up from after school sports and clubs, and MUCH more. But my sisterly relationship with her has caused me to take advantage of everything that she does for me. I gave her the pie and the handmade card thanking her for everything that she has done for me, and she really enjoyed it. She said it was "really unexpected and heartwarming." I think that it's important to not assume that the most important people in our lives know that we appreciate them, and love them. It's important to tell those people I much you love them and care about them from time to time. It could really make their day! 

Boos: The Persian Kiss

      This week in sociology we talked about deviance, which are behaviors that violate cultural norms in our society. We were given a list of actions such as "two men kissing" and "someone with a tattoo." After I started circling actions that our society finds deviant I realized that a person's deviance depends on their age and wear they live. 

       For example, in some Middle Eastern and European countries men kiss each other on the cheek as a way of greeting each other. In French this term is called "la bise" and in Persian it's called "boos." Persian men and women alternate cheeks, with two/three pecks on the cheek. As a Persian, this is sometimes very confusing. Although most Persians take part in two kisses, with people I don't spend much time with I don't know whether they are comfortable with two or three booses. And with family friends that I spend a lot of time with I have to remember how many booses they expect, or else I will be stuck in a very awkward situation.

      For those who have tattoos, I feel like it's more of a generation based deviance. For example, I hope to get a tattoo when I turn 18. My parents are fine with it, and teenagers don't see anything wrong with it either, but I know an older generation may think that people with tattoos are "trashy," "hopeless," or "rednecks." In some countries tattoos are a cultural acceptance for all ages. 

      After this lesson I realized that actions are seen as deviant depending on your age, on wear you live, and sometime even your gender. 

A Fake Role Model

This week we talked about gender characteristics represented in the media. In order for a product to be seen as "masculine" it must be blue or green in color, and the words that precede the product name should have something to do with being "adventurous." On the other, girl's products must be pink and purple, and must proceed with words like "princess." At a very young age girls are deemed to realize that being a girl is all about beauty on the outside, and not from within, which is not true. Boys, on the other hand, are constantly seen trying to be manlier, with their muscles and adventurous attitude. 

After watching my family watch television for the un-TV assignment in my sociology class, I realized that our society is corrupted by today’s media. As I was watching my mom watch her favorite TV show, Monk, I occasionally interrupted her thirty-minute TV show by asking her when dinner would be ready and if she could sign a permission slip. She angrily tells me to stop blocking the television. Clearly watching TV is more important than my hunger.

            In addition to corrupting your mind, today’s media feeds into the constant stereotypes that we make. For example, the Halloween commercials emphasize the idea that young women should be dressed in sexy costumes and men should dress in masculine outfits.

            After finishing the un-TV assignment I realized that today’s media keeps the audience from demonstrating their personal freedom because the media is brainwashing us. I have learned that most things that the media shows is not true, and if you are trying to be something or someone that is depicted by the media you should stop because that person or thing that is supposedly your role model is fake.