Spheres of Influence

     As I read through Annah Anti-Palindrome’s article, “This White Feminist Loved Her Dreadlocks Here’s Why She Cut Them Off” I felt a mixture of emotions. I was familiar with what cultural appropriation was but I never really put too much thought into it. At first, I felt similar to the way Annah felt when her friends were telling her it was offensive to wear dreads. In my head, I was thinking that people need to loosen up…what’s the big deal- it’s just hair? But the more I read it the more I realized why it could be seen as offensive. As a person of color, I am lucky to live in a city that, compared to other cities, is pretty open-minded and diverse. Because of that, I have grown up without feeling the same weight of discrimination and oppression that people of my race feel in other parts of the country. So I have to remind myself that just because even though I am half black, I don’t have the same experience as other people of color. Just because I am not offended by a white person wearing dreads, doesn’t mean it isn’t offensive to other people and should be something treated with cultural respect.                                                                                                                                          

      I found Drew Dudley’s TED talk about every day leadership to be very inspiring. The way he discussed leadership really resonated with me because it is so true that society makes it into something so much bigger than what it should be about. I do not see myself as a leader because I am an anxious and introverted person, and while I do want to make a difference in the world and do my part in making it a better place, I feel hesitant to carry the responsibility and pressure of being a leader. It is interesting to think about those “lollipop moments” that he mentioned and how we might not even remember certain times we have had impacts on people’s lives and been leaders to them. He made a huge impact on a girl’s life and he did not even remember doing so. That day, he was that girl’s biggest leader, and that probably was not even his goal.                                                                  

     Nicholas Christakis’s TED talk on the hidden influence of social networks really opened my eyes up to the strength in social networks. The examples he used of the obesity epidemic, or the widow effect made me realize how these connections we have are so much larger than we think. How we act, what we believe, and the actions we do, impact so much more people than we think. I really liked the point he made at the end when he said, “if we realized how valuable social networks are, we'd spend a lot more time nourishing them and sustaining them, because I think social networks are fundamentally related to goodness.” This is so true- I feel like if we really knew how valuable social networks are, especially in today’s age where social network consists of our social groups on social media as well, we would be a lot more careful about what we were putting out there. 

Empowerment

     The videos and the readings were very inspiring this week. One of the readings, The Liberal Millennial Revolution from The Atlantic, made me realize just how many millennials there are and how different they are from older generations. This generation is so much more left and liberal than the older generations. The article said this has to do with the fact this generation is so diverse and other factors. It probably also has to do with the internet and the easy access to information. The more knowledge we have, the easier it is have an open mind and stand up for what is right. That said, as mentioned in Professor Sepp’s blog, many people are guilty of “click-tivism” in which “often we are tempted to call out the circumstances in some way (social media, for instance) and vent our irritations – then move on.” I found myself questioning whether I am guilty of this and I realized that I am, in a way. I often find myself so wrapped up in my own life and school work that I will make a big deal about something but not do anything to try and fix it. For example, when the election was going on, I was very much against Trump and would talk and talk about how bad it would be if he won and how we have to stop it from happening, but at the end of the day, I really did nothing about it. I didn’t attend any protests or anything. Was I not empowered enough to do something or did I just not care enough? Maybe a little of both.

     One of the TED talks that I found really interesting was by Vernā Myers: How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly toward them. In her talk, she discussed the ways in which we can help society overcome its biases, particularly against black men since they seem to be the population with the most biases against them. She mentioned names of recent innocent black men killed by officers and said there are three ways we can prevent this from happening. One of the first things was to get out of denial and admit that we all have biases. That is such a hard thing to do, especially when you try to be an open minded person and would like to think you don’t have any biases. The next thing she said to do was to “move toward young black men instead of away from them.” The third thing she said was “when we see something, we have to have the courage to say something, even to the people we love.” I have a hard time with this one, especially when it comes to standing up to a family member or friend. When it comes to standing up to a stranger, it is a little easier because you don’t have to worry about seeing them later or ruining a relationship, but you can make the most impact by standing up to a loved one. 

Institutional Inequity

This week’s assignments really opened my eyes up to the institutional inequity that goes on in the world- especially in the United States. While the U.S. might be advanced in some areas- it is far behind when it comes to the prison system. The United States locks up more people than any other country in the world- while it only makes up about 5 percent of the world’s population, it is responsible for 24 to 25 percent of the world’s prisoners. About half of these prisoners are non-violent. In the video, Frontline: Prison State, it shows us into the Kentucky prison system and the one year journey through the system of 4 residents from Beecher Terrace, a housing project in the west end of Louisville, Kentucky.

What really stood out to me in the video was the obvious prevalence of the population being targeted by the police- African American. Starting at a young age, African Americans are put at a higher risk for run-ins with the law. For example, 2 of the high schools I went to in Austin were Bowie High School, which is a primarily white school in South Austin and Austin Can Academy, which is a primarily black and Hispanic school in East Austin. During my time there, which was only a few months, I did not see one white kid there. By contrast, most of the staff and security officers there were white. Bowie had about 2 unarmed security guards and rarely had random drug searches done. At Austin Can Academy, there were probably about 10- if not more- armed security guards who, along with the staff, treated the kids like cattle and would literally pull them out of the crowd by the back of their shirts if their shirt was untucked or they were wearing a hat or they seemed the least bit suspicious. They treated the kids with no respect and were constantly kicking kids out and busting kids for breaking the rules of their probation. They also had random drug searches at least once a week- if not more. Well, of course if you put that much police presence in a school you are going to end up with more arrests and instances of drug possession. If you did the same number of random drug searches at a school like Bowie or Westlake, you would probably end up with quite a bit of offenders- the only differences is that instead of going to jail, their parents would send them to a rehab center and be able to keep their record clean.

A particularly sad moment from the video was when one of the girls who had been locked up, Demetria Duncan, was talking to the camera and repeating how she just doesn’t care anymore. I watched a video in one of my other classes that talked about how when kids say “they don’t care” it really means that they don’t feel cared about. And it makes perfect sense why she would feel this way- the system has let her down. She would be able to be out jail but her own aunt won’t take her back in and she doesn’t have anyone else to stay with. It seems like there should be a better solution for kids in her position. As a social worker, I would try to find a therapeutic environment for them that doesn’t make them feel like prisoners and work on giving them the life skills and resources to be a successful member of society. 

Stigma

When it comes to stigma, I feel that we all have certain kinds of stigma we worry about being labeled as. A common stigma for boys is to be seem as weak or unmanly. The video and reading, “There's Something Absolutely Wrong With What We Do To Boys Before They Grow Into Men” and “11 'Girly' Things Men Wish They Could Do Without Judgment” does a great job at analyzing how this stigma affects males. I am often too focused on all the unfair advantages men have over women in society that I don’t stop to think of their struggles. In the article, they pointed out how it is easier for women to get away stigma-free wearing masculine clothes that it is for men to wear feminine clothes and act ‘girly’. This is so true, in women’s fashion, we have boyfriend jeans and can wear pantsuits- but if a man wore a dress, he would be seen as a cross-dresser and would most likely not be accepted by most of society as a male. They would categorize his as transgender, even if he identified as a straight male and just enjoyed wearing dresses.

One aspect of the ‘be a man’ mentality that really bothers me is that they are discouraged from showing emotion and being sensitive. Men have the potential to be just as sensitive and emotional as women but the fact that society frowns upon these type of men and our quick to stigmatize them as weak or gay, causes them to turn those feelings into anger and frustration. I feel that this is part of the reason why most rapists are men. If we didn’t put so much pressure on boys to prove their manhood and strength, maybe we wouldn’t have so many instances of violence from men.

The articles and videos this week made me realize just how strong of an influence society has on young boys. My brother is two years older than me so growing up we were pretty close. My parents raised my brother and I the same way and made a conscious effort not to use language like ‘be a man’ or ‘act like a lady’ so as not to make us feel pressured to act any other way than our natural personalities. They taught my brother it was okay for him to cry and be sensitive- my dad leading by example as I have actually seen him cry more than my mom and is a very sensitive and caring man. This seemed to work well with my brother up until he got into school. I remember we used to play dolls together and he would dress up in my dresses, but once he realized that that was considered ‘gay’ or unmanly, he quickly stopped. Before he realized that boys were not ‘supposed’ to play with these girl toys he enjoyed it, but once he learned it was not cool, he no longer wanted to play. Even with open-minded parents who encourage their son to be sensitive and caring, the fear of being stigmatized as unmanly is stronger and ultimately won.

Identity and Social Interactions

     The TED talk by Jaqueline Novogratz, “An Escape from Poverty” was very moving. In her talk, she discussed the poverty people face in the Mathare Valley slums in Kenya. She particularly discusses her interaction with a lady from the slum named Jane. She discusses Jane’s journey and struggles and how she was able to overcome those struggles and help others struggling. As Novogratz was talking, I found myself thinking of my mother and all that she had to go through go get to where she is now.

     My mom grew up in a small, impoverished, village in Kenya called Kamukunji, in a similar situation as Jane and the people of the Mathare Valley slums. It is truly a miracle that she is where she is now and I have so much admiration for her. As a girl, she was discouraged from going to school- she had 4 brothers and 4 sisters and when her family couldn’t afford to send some kids to school they just sent the boys. The same came to food, when there wasn’t enough- they only fed the boys. It was a really screwed up childhood. By high school, most of her female classmates had started dropping out and having families. Similar to Jane, she had a goal and a dream. It was not so much of a dream of what she wanted as much as what she didn’t want. She didn’t want to be like the women in her village. She didn’t want to marry a man at 14 and spend the rest of her life as a servant to his every need. She didn’t want to fall asleep and wake up hungry. She didn’t want to get AIDS or have to sell her body for money. It was fear of these things that motivated her to get to where she is now.

     When I was 13, my family took a trip back to her hometown to visit family and see where she had grown up. It was the first time she had been back in 20 years but the people in her village still remembered her. She was the first female at the time to ‘make it’. After she came to America though and went to college, she was able to break the cycle in her family. The other girls in her family realized that it was possible and finished school and are doing ok- better than the boys. Back then, people thought she was crazy for not marrying a man and thinking that she could support herself. It was not until she got a scholarship to a college in New York and was able to get a job and start sending over money that they realized she wasn’t crazy. It was really emotional to see my mom reunite with classmates on the streets and see what her life could have been. When I hear stories of people like Jane or my mom, it inspires me so much more to work hard and make the world a better place for those who are struggling.

Theories of Difference, Part 2

I found the reading this week entitled, “How We Find Ourselves; Identity Development and Two-Spirit People” by Alex Wilson to be very enlightening. Wilson discussed two-spirited people- a topic that I really had not known much about- and how society fails to accept those who are different. It was so sad to read about the injustices and discrimination that the Indigenous American culture faces at the hands of the government. In the article, the Five Stage Minority Identity Development Model is discussed which basically outlines the stages in which a minority develops their identity. The creator of this model, Susan Barrett, created this to “encompass the experiences of all others, including those of us who have been “othered” because of racial and sexual identity.”

After reading through the different stages and learning how being considered different causes you to have these complexes and suffer through unnecessary shame and feelings like somethings wrong with you it made me question  how much simpler everything would be if we would just stop trying to make everyone the same. This relates to Rosie King’s TED talk, “How autism freed me to be myself.” In her talk, she discusses the benefits and downfalls to having autism. While there are some hard things about having autism, she says she wouldn’t change it because it allows her to be creative and be able to communicate with her brother and sister who are also autistic. This got me thinking about what I might be missing out on by trying so hard to conform to society’s standard of acceptable. As someone that struggles with mental illness, the decision to take medication was initially made with the hope that it would allow me to live a safe and fulfilling life. But, in my opinion, the real goal for them was to fix whatever was “wrong” in my head and make it so that I was “normal”. Who decides what is normal though? Similar to Rosie King, before I took medication- I was able to escape the real world with my imagination and feel free from society. That said, I could not sit through a class, or even make it to class sometimes because of it and eventually decided to just drop out of high school. While medication made it easier to feel “normal”, it took away a big part of who I was. Yes, it allowed me to better function in society, graduate, and be more productive, but it also took away my ability to see things differently. It is understandable to see why medication might be necessary for some people but it seems like a lot of these mental illnesses are exacerbated on those who are different by making them feel like something is wrong with them. I feel like it would be best to find some sort of balance for people who deal with these issues instead of being so quick to medicate them. It all seems to go back to the fear of the unknown. People are scared of what they don’t know.    

Theories of Difference, Part 1

Lee Mokobe’s poem about what it feels like to be a transgender was so powerful. Her use of imagery in the poem and the passion that she spoke with emphasized the truth and importance behind her words. A part of the poem that I found especially enlightening was when she described her “coming out”- or lack of.  “Naturally, I did not come out of the closet. The kids at my school opened it without my permission.” Her comparison of a house to her body did an excellent job of explaining what it feels like as a transgender. She explains, “It had nothing to do with hating my body, I just love it enough to let it go, I treat it like a house, and when your house is falling apart, you do not evacuate, you make it comfortable enough to house all your insides, you make it pretty enough to invite guests over, you make the floorboards strong enough to stand on.” Her poem in relation to identity theory offers a view point of the struggles and societal opposition a transgender person will go through by defying society’s attempt to choose one’s identity.

Mia Birdsong offered an interesting perspective that addressed the ways in which the story we tell about poverty is not true. This story she talks about is the one in which we tell ourselves that if you work hard enough, you will become successful. In saying this, it goes on to imply that those who are not successful simply did not work hard enough. “We have a wide range of beliefs about what that something wrong is. Some people tell the story that poor folks are lazy freeloaders who would cheat and lie to get out of an honest day's work. Others prefer the story that poor people are helpless and probably had neglectful parents that didn't read to them enough, and if they were just told what to do and shown the right path, they could make it.” When it comes down to it, what separates the rich from poor is luck, among other factors. Birdsong goes on to mention how she is the exception. I really liked her solution to how to help put an end to poverty. Instead of relying on wealthy people to solve the problem, she suggests to turn to poor people themselves. She says, “The quarter-truths and limited plot lines have us convinced that poor people are a problem that needs fixing. What if we recognized that what's working is the people and what's broken is our approach? What if we realized that the experts we are looking for, the experts we need to follow, are poor people themselves? What if, instead of imposing solutions, we just added fire to the already-burning flame that they have? Not directing — not even empowering — but just fueling their initiative.” This is such a powerful statement because it challenges society’s view of poor people’s capabilities. The answer to the problem of poverty can actually be solved by the people in this population.