this is a different music video than the original, and its shortened, but its the one that airs on TV and just after like 2 minutes he enters a bar called the "Smog Cutter" but it doesnt really cut through the smog. just a place and a means for people to forget. its a solid video, my favorite of the song, despite the fact that the song gets cut short.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBUlTu7tZ8A
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Firefighter Racism.... seriously? Lou Dobbs?
Ok, so I was just channel surfing or whatever while workin on my paper and saw "RACIAL DISCRIMINATION" on lou dobbs tonight... never watched him before really, but thus far, its raising some important questions. the firefighters' lawyer claims that the large numbers of people in almost all government institutions, firefighters, police men, teachers, etc. across the nation in large cities are being discriminated upon because of their race- because they are white. 20 white men are involved in the lawsuit, and Title IV is being used by both sides, different interpretations. heres some interesting quotes i found from an article online:
http://www.firerescue1.com/labor-issues/articles/482889-Supreme-Court-prepares-for-firefighter-racial-case/
"Besides affecting how race can be considered in filling government and perhaps even private jobs, the dispute also addresses broader questions about racial progress: Do minorities and women still need legal protection from discrimination, or do the monumental civil rights laws that created a more equal nation now cause more harm than good?"
"But after the results came back, the city says it found evidence that the tests were potentially flawed. Sources of bias included that the written section measured memorization rather than actual skills needed for the jobs; giving too much weight to the written section; and lack of testing for leadership in emergency conditions, according to a brief filed by officers of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology."
"It is not white racism that plays the deciding role in the success of minorities any more," says Edward Blum, a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute who believes that race should not be considered in employment decisions. That was the case in the '60s and '70s and maybe even part of the '80s," he says. "But it is no longer the case in the 21st century that because you are black you are being held back from achieving what your parents and your ambitions will allow you to achieve. I think that has been crystallized with the election of President Obama."
(ohhhh.... i get it! we have a black president now, racism hasnt existed since the 80's, what the hell are we all talkin about??)
I must have missed when this originally hit the media, because the lawsuit has been going on for a while now, but I think that last quote and some of the stuff that I just heard out of the mouth of the lawyer of the defendents that were racially discriminated because of affirmative action-like ideals, is just frustrating. the website breaks down some of the percentages of the people that qualify for promotion
http://www.firerescue1.com/labor-issues/articles/482889-Supreme-Court-prepares-for-firefighter-racial-case/
"Besides affecting how race can be considered in filling government and perhaps even private jobs, the dispute also addresses broader questions about racial progress: Do minorities and women still need legal protection from discrimination, or do the monumental civil rights laws that created a more equal nation now cause more harm than good?"
"But after the results came back, the city says it found evidence that the tests were potentially flawed. Sources of bias included that the written section measured memorization rather than actual skills needed for the jobs; giving too much weight to the written section; and lack of testing for leadership in emergency conditions, according to a brief filed by officers of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology."
"It is not white racism that plays the deciding role in the success of minorities any more," says Edward Blum, a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute who believes that race should not be considered in employment decisions. That was the case in the '60s and '70s and maybe even part of the '80s," he says. "But it is no longer the case in the 21st century that because you are black you are being held back from achieving what your parents and your ambitions will allow you to achieve. I think that has been crystallized with the election of President Obama."
(ohhhh.... i get it! we have a black president now, racism hasnt existed since the 80's, what the hell are we all talkin about??)
I must have missed when this originally hit the media, because the lawsuit has been going on for a while now, but I think that last quote and some of the stuff that I just heard out of the mouth of the lawyer of the defendents that were racially discriminated because of affirmative action-like ideals, is just frustrating. the website breaks down some of the percentages of the people that qualify for promotion
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
that time of year :-( catching up from last Tuesday (14th)
Okay, this blog should have been here last week but I'm begging for some lenience... the weekend before was crazy bad. and ive been runnin' around with my head in cosmic chaos for the past week. one day, ill learn how to put myself n my needs first... but it never seems like good timing. oye.
Connolly and Noumair- Crossing Boundaries
Group Relations model is beyond merely the in-group/out-group paradigm, theorizing that the "other" designation on the basis of a difference acts through forces that are both conscious (i.e. signifying the difference, in this context, as being undesirable) and unconscious (splitting and projective) processes of identification. Inherently, this model encompasses both psychological and social forces :-) I approve. Projections are grouped with stereotypes under the group relations model, and in semi-sociological terms because every interaction has a symbolically attached meaning, whether it be to a word, color, object, whatever is being identified as the "other", rapid symbolic interaction serves as the projections and stereotypes that the mind uses constantly. The dialogue between the black and white females reveal the levels on which they connect, such as their sexuality, and the levels on which they themselves become the "other"
the "projective identification dynamic" that Medria mentions is interesting in that as a white woman, she feared most her identification as a lesbian, while Debra feared most that her identity as a black woman would fall short in that people would like what Medria had to say over what she did, both presenting vulnerabilities in certain aspects of their identities.
Medria reveals that the most daunting aspect of her black self is the arena of American culture's ideal of beauty. she feels that on the majority, her beauty will never measure up to the beauty that Debra inherently holds, being a white woman. she also reveals the stereotype of white women being weak, whiny, and in need of everyone to take care of them- this bothers her because she does not have the opportunity to take on the same role- "the legacy of slavery has taught us that we must take care of ourselves". Underneath the anger at the hatred of the negative sanctions that come with being black is being Hurt. and this hurt often leads her to act in certain situations as what others call "a wanna be white girl", a behavior that has some truth in it because talking "properly" and presenting herself as neutral, rather than angry or hurt. a lot of projection arises from this identity dynamic and she finds herself in avoidance of discussions about race, latching on to discussion about sexism, which is accepted across all women, rather than only black women. Such an aversion of racial identity greatly contributes to her perceived "white" characteristics. This seems somewhat counter-intuitive as most people of color are more in touch with their racial identity, therefore should be more comfortable with issues surrounding the topic, yet Medria finds herself immersed in white culture and latching on to her lesbian identity, as opposed to her black identity. We are all products of society, but we especially are products of situation- Medria being a well-educated black woman puts forth a 'face' that she deems more acceptable
Connolly and Noumair- Crossing Boundaries
Group Relations model is beyond merely the in-group/out-group paradigm, theorizing that the "other" designation on the basis of a difference acts through forces that are both conscious (i.e. signifying the difference, in this context, as being undesirable) and unconscious (splitting and projective) processes of identification. Inherently, this model encompasses both psychological and social forces :-) I approve. Projections are grouped with stereotypes under the group relations model, and in semi-sociological terms because every interaction has a symbolically attached meaning, whether it be to a word, color, object, whatever is being identified as the "other", rapid symbolic interaction serves as the projections and stereotypes that the mind uses constantly. The dialogue between the black and white females reveal the levels on which they connect, such as their sexuality, and the levels on which they themselves become the "other"
the "projective identification dynamic" that Medria mentions is interesting in that as a white woman, she feared most her identification as a lesbian, while Debra feared most that her identity as a black woman would fall short in that people would like what Medria had to say over what she did, both presenting vulnerabilities in certain aspects of their identities.
Medria reveals that the most daunting aspect of her black self is the arena of American culture's ideal of beauty. she feels that on the majority, her beauty will never measure up to the beauty that Debra inherently holds, being a white woman. she also reveals the stereotype of white women being weak, whiny, and in need of everyone to take care of them- this bothers her because she does not have the opportunity to take on the same role- "the legacy of slavery has taught us that we must take care of ourselves". Underneath the anger at the hatred of the negative sanctions that come with being black is being Hurt. and this hurt often leads her to act in certain situations as what others call "a wanna be white girl", a behavior that has some truth in it because talking "properly" and presenting herself as neutral, rather than angry or hurt. a lot of projection arises from this identity dynamic and she finds herself in avoidance of discussions about race, latching on to discussion about sexism, which is accepted across all women, rather than only black women. Such an aversion of racial identity greatly contributes to her perceived "white" characteristics. This seems somewhat counter-intuitive as most people of color are more in touch with their racial identity, therefore should be more comfortable with issues surrounding the topic, yet Medria finds herself immersed in white culture and latching on to her lesbian identity, as opposed to her black identity. We are all products of society, but we especially are products of situation- Medria being a well-educated black woman puts forth a 'face' that she deems more acceptable
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
affirmative action
one place to start with this issue i think is to educate people on what affirmative action really is... but as we talked about in class, i think it is easier to talk about what it is NOT. like, for example, only a race related issue. i encountered many opinions about affirmative action while writing my paper over the weekend, and for the most part people really make it all about race. and the misconceptions that both tatum and kivel talk about reappear quite frequently, like that it gives unwarrented points to college applicants, it gives jobs that should be 'there's' to people that are less deserving, that it is based on an actual quota and that it is a means of oppressing white people by giving the advantage to minorities. what is most frustrating for me is that even my friends that are women, that are at a disadvantage in the business world, find affirmative action to be not a great idea because they feel like even their jobs are being given away to people of color.
white privilege ideology is this huge overwhelming paradigm that constructs peoples' perception of the world and when asked about solutions to the issue of inequality i am speechless.... where the hell do we start with something that is so big, so enforced, so prevelant in the Way that people think??? the easiest answer is in the education system, but that doesn't affect the other forces like that of the system that we abide by and the ideologies of parents, the general conception of the community, of our society.... it seems like its just such a big issue that the only way we can shift this paradigm is to gather the masses and start the marching. groups supporting anti-racism are unheard-of in my life, like i dont know any that stand out in my mind, which in turn perpetuates the idea that racism isnt an issue.
i cringed when dr. banks said in class "there are people that actually arent gonna change".... because to me, those are the people with the most power, those are the people that are benefitting from white privilege the most and are going to be the biggest obstacle, yet we cant change them??
i think workshops and like team-building things are a great idea, i recall doing tons of them on little retreats back in elementary, middle, and even high school, but still, they were done so within a 99% white community. so we can preach diversity and teach the inequalities, but i dont think anything can reallly be learned without the experience... so now, not only do we have an overarching system, general paradigmatic framework of belief, jacked up education system, but a lack of diversity within communities. how do we change that? build the projects in the middle of upper-class america?? wait, we cant do that.... they have gates...
so theres this color line that is drawn across the business world, the academic world, the communities, the churches, the schools, the cafeteria, its EveryWhere, where do we start??
this is the question that has been hanging in my head since the first time i heard my uncle bitch about them [insert racial slurs, curse words, racial slurs, some more curse words] and my dad telling me that racism is bad and to always block out everything like that and that everybody is equal.... except not everybody is equal. people dont have equal opportunities to education, so there children dont have equal opportunities to education... people dont have equal opp. to jobs, so they stay in the cycle of poverty.... people dont have equal opp. in life, so they live a different life, and nobody around me seems to give a damn, because that problem doesnt exist for them in their world...
im at a loss. i wish i had some more charisma. then i could change some people. start the trend. the trend of equality.... wow, i cant even come up with a trendy slogan about it, how am i going to come up with the rest of the details.
white privilege ideology is this huge overwhelming paradigm that constructs peoples' perception of the world and when asked about solutions to the issue of inequality i am speechless.... where the hell do we start with something that is so big, so enforced, so prevelant in the Way that people think??? the easiest answer is in the education system, but that doesn't affect the other forces like that of the system that we abide by and the ideologies of parents, the general conception of the community, of our society.... it seems like its just such a big issue that the only way we can shift this paradigm is to gather the masses and start the marching. groups supporting anti-racism are unheard-of in my life, like i dont know any that stand out in my mind, which in turn perpetuates the idea that racism isnt an issue.
i cringed when dr. banks said in class "there are people that actually arent gonna change".... because to me, those are the people with the most power, those are the people that are benefitting from white privilege the most and are going to be the biggest obstacle, yet we cant change them??
i think workshops and like team-building things are a great idea, i recall doing tons of them on little retreats back in elementary, middle, and even high school, but still, they were done so within a 99% white community. so we can preach diversity and teach the inequalities, but i dont think anything can reallly be learned without the experience... so now, not only do we have an overarching system, general paradigmatic framework of belief, jacked up education system, but a lack of diversity within communities. how do we change that? build the projects in the middle of upper-class america?? wait, we cant do that.... they have gates...
so theres this color line that is drawn across the business world, the academic world, the communities, the churches, the schools, the cafeteria, its EveryWhere, where do we start??
this is the question that has been hanging in my head since the first time i heard my uncle bitch about them [insert racial slurs, curse words, racial slurs, some more curse words] and my dad telling me that racism is bad and to always block out everything like that and that everybody is equal.... except not everybody is equal. people dont have equal opportunities to education, so there children dont have equal opportunities to education... people dont have equal opp. to jobs, so they stay in the cycle of poverty.... people dont have equal opp. in life, so they live a different life, and nobody around me seems to give a damn, because that problem doesnt exist for them in their world...
im at a loss. i wish i had some more charisma. then i could change some people. start the trend. the trend of equality.... wow, i cant even come up with a trendy slogan about it, how am i going to come up with the rest of the details.
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