When did i become a teacher?

In the book Native Son by Richard Wright the main character, Bigger, is an unfortunate African American boy living in the slums and suppressed by the white man’s racism, has seemingly no opportunity to succeed. Native Son is not your regular feel good, rags to riches story, and instead centers around a self-doubting main character and ends with his being sentence to death after murdering his boss’s daughter. The question that Richard Wright leaves me with is, where did Bigger go wrong? Why is this story not a typical rags to riches story? The answer: Bigger had no outlet.
Many African Americans who are born into unfortunate situations make something of themselves by capitalizing on their talents. There have been multitudes of musicians, athletes, scientists, and literary geniuses that have worked hard and created a good life for themselves and their children. These people were capable of bettering their own lives because of their talents and their work ethic. Was Bigger not given the opportunity to succeed? What could his outlet have been? Interested? Check out this webquest.

Native Son

Discrimination against African Americans is not only illegal, but also widely known to be morally wrong. Is the same consideration given to discrimination against whites? For the most part, no. Rick Badie, an African-American columnist in Gwinnett County, writes weekly about racism, hate crimes, and racial violence. In his article Black-on-white racism is just as bad as the reverse Badie writes about an email he received concerning recent black-on-white racism. The email asks, “Why the silence? Racism cuts both ways,” (Badie par 3). The email is referring to Louis Graham, a police chief who “bowed out from a job he’d had for 18 months” after several audio recordings were released that caught him making racial slurs against white policemen in his department. Graham was caught on tape calling someone “that white bitch” and admitting that nine men were not promoted “because seven of them are white” (Badie par 7). Badie suggests that readers “imagine if the situation had been reversed, that a white DeKalb police officer’s racist comments had been digitally preserved. Black activists would have had a field day,” (Badie par 16).

The real societal problem being proposed by Badie is: why is black-on-white discrimination taken so lightly? The only real answer is history. White people have a long history of mistreating African Americans, but now that slavery has long been abolished the playing fields are beginning to level. Although black people have a history of being discriminating against, white people seem to have a future in being unaccepted by blacks. “White folks screaming about black-on-white racism falls on deaf ears,” (Badie par 19). A hate crime against blacks is followed by “press conferences, inflammatory rhetoric. televised marches and demonstrations, demands for apologies, sensitivity training and heads on a steak”, but a white hate crime is followed by the resignation of a police chief and barely any media attention.

Why is black-on-white racism is swept under the rug? Could white people be too afraid to admit they are being discriminated against by a “oh so inferior” black person (heaven forbid!)? Maybe no one wants to hear the “rich white person” complain about his or her problems, and their complaints really are falling on deaf ears.

In the novel Native Son by Richard Wright both directions of racism are blatantly apparent. The main character, Bigger is a uneducated black man who is, in so many words, afraid of white people. He is ashamed of his own skin and afraid of the powerful white man. Him and his friends poke fun by “playing white” and imitating the way that famous and successful white men talk and act. While Bigger has yet to commit any type of hate crime, it is obvious that he is racist against white people. The reversal is just as bad. Biggers family is poor, and even though you can blame a lack of motivation, their skin color makes it very difficult to hold any type of honorable job position. The family Bigger is hired by only hires him because they want to show their support for the NAACP.

Although inevitable, neither reversal of racism is moral or right. Will the African-American people always be associated with crime and inner city? Will white people always be snobby corporate workers? Are any of these questions even true today? Has the playing field between black racism and white racism evened out? Will black-on-white racism one day be worse than white-on-black racism every was? The beauty of Badie’s writing is that his article leaves us asking questions. Hopefully I was able to give you insight on some of these questions, but now its time to think for yourself. Good luck, and remember that everyone deserves to be treated equally, it’s the American way.

Badie, Rick. "Black-on-white racism is just as bad as the reverse." The Atlanta
Journal Constitution. 18 May 2006. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 15
Mar. 2009 .

If Madonna and Brittany do it, so can OTH!

Controversial Issues are no stranger to Mark Schwahn, the creator of the popular teen sitcom, One Tree Hill. By only the second season viewers had seen two high school juniors emancipate themselves and tie the knot, a punk-rock cheerleader turn to drugs, and a single teenage father run away with his daughter to avoid custody battles with an unfit mother. After all of this borderline-inappropriate and almost unrealistic high school drama, was One Tree Hill ready to embark on one of TV’s most controversial issues of all: homosexuality?

Not too long ago, a primetime TV show that airs on a popular network would have never dreamed of introducing a gay or lesbian character, or a plot line based around homosexuality, but times have definitely changed. Each generation is becoming more open and comfortable with homosexuality as the idea of heterosexism dwindles. Children are now growing up in a culture where two men or two women loving each other is no longer sinful or taboo, and gay marriage has become more widely accepted. As our culture changes, TV executives realize they will need to keep up with the times. The lesbian girl plot line that Mark Schwahn introduces to One Tree Hill in its second season is a perfect example of a TV show not only staying current, but proving that heterosexism is unnecessary (it’s no surprise either that the episode where Anna kisses a girl aired during sweeps week).

Anna and Felix are a Latino brother and sister who move to Tree Hill, a town already plagued with drama, for a fresh start. In the past eight years the two have attended ten different schools because of their father’s job. However, their move to Tree Hill was for a very different reason, so that Anna could escape the rumors in her last town about a relationship she had with another girl. In the episode Don’t Take Me For Granted Anna has not yet come out to anyone (no friends or family), and it is obvious that she has a lot of built up frustration.

Not depicted as a stereotypical “butch” lesbian, Anna fits in perfectly with OTH’s cast of gorgeous, teen heart throbs. However, Anna does exhibits typical characteristics of anyone in denial. Anna has an extremely negative reaction to a gay comment made in a jokingly way at a school dance. After the dance she gets drunk to try to mask her feelings, and makes an aggressive attempt to throw herself at Lucas, the boy she has been dating. In later episodes Lucas will be the first person Anna comes out to, and she will admit to Lucas that she tried to throw herself at him to try to “fix herself”. What Anna obviously has not realized, is that homosexuality is not a disease.

After the school dance Anna crashes at her friend Peyton’s (she’s a girl) house for the night before going back to school in the morning. The episode Don’t Take Me For Granted begins the morning after the dance when Peyton arrives at school to see the word “DYKE” spray painted on her locker. Although she is straight, Peyton refuses to be cowed and speaks out against the homophobic students, they feed off people that don’t fight back, yeah I could laugh this off, but what about the girl that can’t, whose gonna help her, silence only makes them stronger”. Peyton defiantly wore a homemade t-shirt to school the next day with the word dyke scrawled across it. The principal insists that she take the t-shirt off and recommends that if she is having problems that the guidance office has a few pamphlets she could read. Enraged, Peyton informs him that she is not gay and if she were some stupid pamphlets would be of no help to her. She proceeds to take off the shirt as ordered, and walk down the hallway and out of the school wearing only jeans and a bra (scandalous? I think so).

In later episodes when Anna does finally come out to a few of her friends, she is embraced with positive encouragement. “Don’t be afraid to be who you are, I won’t tell anyone,” Lucas tells her and proceeds to give her a huge hug. Peyton standing up for gay and lesbian rights, and Lucas accepting Anna for who she is seems to be One Tree Hill’s way of saying that homosexuality is nothing to run from, accept and embrace it. While gays and lesbians are making strides nationally to break down the concept of heterosexism, they will only continue to make progress as straight people, like Peyton, begin to support and appreciate them for who they are. One Tree Hill caught praise from The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) for their multi-layered depiction of a situation many young people are going through.

Ellen Degeneres is a celebrity leader who has publicly announced that she is a lesbian, and she is PROUD of it. It is strong and confident women like her that are helping to break down the idea of heterosexism. Check out the gadget at the bottom of the page, it will update everyday with a new quote from Ellen.

When I was in the military they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one. ~Epitaph of Leonard P. Matlovich, 1988 (Thanks, Marlene)

Is individuality even possible?

Man, woman, or individual? Ellen Apply Keim, a feminist blogger, poses this question in her blog post Gender Differences. Keim believes that “generalizations are dangerous” and “we need to consider each person on a case-by-case basis” (Keim par 2, 4). The author admits that she tends to believe that “men and women each have physiologically-determined characteristics unique to their sex which may or may not determine their behavior” (Keim par 1). The blog post goes on to express that there are characteristics that each sex exhibits, but that an individual is not limited to the characteristics of his or her particular sex. She speaks for the entire feminist community when she states that she prefers to view people as individuals and not divide men and women into separate categories.
Much too often it is human instinct to classify people into groups. Defining people by the group they associate themselves with is wrong. Each person is not a member of a certain classification, he/she is an individual. For anyone who has ever seen a member of the opposite sex, it is obvious that the biological makeup of males and females is different. These difference may physically separate men from women, but “a person's gender has more to do with where s(he) sits on the spectrum of sexuality than with the genitalia s(he) was born with” (Keim par 2) Starting at conception, these differences have a huge impact on our lives. The first question someone asks a pregnant woman is, “is it a boy or a girl”. Girls should have long hair and boys short. Girls should cake on makeup, and boys should not care about their appearance. But why? Keim insists that “There are always exceptions to the rule” and “no one can deny that there are masculine females and feminine males” (par 2).
Not every human who is biologically configured to be a man acts like a lumberjack, just as not every woman wants to be a super-thin runway model. Keim is right in saying that humans should be treated as individuals, but this idealistic way of thinking is impossible. Society has created these restrictions depending on what sexual category one falls into and as I previously stated, the separation begins at conception.
I can honestly say that when I see someone who could potentially be either a male or a female, I almost always whisper to someone close by and ask if they know what sexual category the “he/she” falls into. Everyone has done it because it is human instinct to want to separate the men from the women. Individuality is ideal yet unrealistic.

Who doesn't love a good poem?

In order to be a part of any group, or a part of any society there are certain rules one must abide by.  Wrestlers must starve themselves.  Fashionistas cannot wear white after labor day.  Christians must attend church every sunday.  Girls must wear dresses.  Boys must throw footballs.  As stereotypical as it may sound, it is the truth.  After reading a poem about the rules that every girl must follow, I decided to write a poem about the rules that a slob must follow.  Even if my dad likes to tell me that no one could possibly be as messy as me and accuse me of being inhumane, I am definitely not the only slob in the world.  Lets hope this first blog post gets all of you slobby bloggers interested in my life.

Slob

Don’t you dare touch the pile of laundry until it grows taller than your head; buy more clothes than fit in your drawers, and do worry about it when your drawers overflow; make food but leave the dishes on the sink, leave the pots on the stove, and the plates on the table; eat in your bed and sleep on the crumbs; only run the dishwasher when you run out of spoons; only do the laundry when you run out of thongs; can’t you just not wear underwear?; you’re a slob not a slut honey; this is how you throw your water bottle at the garbage but miss; this is how you avoid ever picking it up; spray Febreeze on shirts that are not exactly clean; braid your hair when the grease becomes overwhelming; shower often, but don’t stress about missing a day; this is how to get your shoes nice and dirty in the mud; make sure you leave a trail of this mud from the front door all the way to your room; when you try something on, put it on the floor not back in the drawer; this is how to throw your clothes all over the ground; this is how to walk on a ground completely covered in clothes and not trip; this is how to find clothes hidden deep under your bed; don’t let your makeup break on the ground, this is actually too big of a mess; don’t dust your dressers; don’t litter out the window, use the floor of your car; but what if the garbage goes under the break pedal?; good drivers can drive without the break; drive through muddy puddles and let the mud harden on your car; use the center console as a garbage when the floor is no longer visible; this is how to stick your gum under the desks at school; this is how to leave cookie crumbs all over your desk for the next student to find; make an effort to not get stains on your clothes; this is how to use tide-to-go when you do; eat in front of the TV without a placement; do not worry about the crumbs that fall under the couch; coasters are unnecessary; this is how to make your room appear clean for guests; convince guests to avoid your room when it is far too messy to even pretend to be clean; this is how you smile innocently when your dad tells you to clean your room; this is how to block out his voice when his requests become demands; this is how to slam your door and stuff your clothes in your closet when he threatens to punish you; this is how to sneak out the living room window when you get grounded for a messy room; hire a cleaning lady as soon as you have sufficient funds.