Maquiladoras (1984) Ch. 54 WL

This article, as dated as it may be was interesting to me. I have an abundance of respect for these researchers who insert themselves into a totally new and unusual environment and proceed to go against the grain of their lives. They put themselves in terrible situations just to gather information and inform the general public. It must have been difficult for her to do this. Her time trying to get a job at this sewing factory was surprisingly similar to many times I have tried to get a job. You have to go through interviews, take tests and still you do not know if you are in. Nowadays it still holds true that it is who you know that really makes a difference. There are so many people who go "undercover" to write about the atrocities that we see across the globe. I remember reading a book about a woman who worked for minimum wage just to see if it is possible to survive. Ultimately I believe she ended up working two or three positions to make ends meet. There is also that guy who ate nothing but McDonald's for a month. These people are interesting to me. It is not enough to see the general public struggling to survive or getting fat, they need to prove it. It is not something I myself would do and am glad others do it for us. OK back to the article. It ended rather strange for my interests, I kind of went huh? That's it. No juicy news to go to bed angry about. I know it sucked, but at least these women had jobs. Assembly work is very tedious and exhausting work, I did it once myself making boxes. Yep I know sounds lame huh, and it was, but as I just said at least I had a job. That is ultimately what I thought while reading this article, these women are working, and one didn't even need to but at least her children now had medical insurance, that is a good thing. What we moms go through to protect our children, is tough, but in the end worth it.

Group 3 Gender Power Discussion

Observer A's Perspective
This discussion has been interesting to me. We pretty much came to an agreement on both subjects. Most of us got our beliefs from how we were raised. Even coming from two different generations (at least I think), I found that when I was a little girl I had been raised by a mother who grew up in the Ozzy and Harriet generation. My mother didn't work and my father supplied us with all the necessary means we needed in life. He was a man of power and distinction. Things are totally different now. The power in the house is often shared by both. It has made a huge impact on how a teenager of today might see their future prospects. Not so much gendered now. I grew up (in the 70's) with the aspects of becoming a "secretary" later on in life. That was pretty big for me to think about. I thought it was a powerful position for a girl back then. Now when you ask girls what they want to be (my daughter for instance) you get a wide assortment of positions that are more liberating. Lawyer, Architect, Chef or Orthodontist are a few that she is tossing around in her mind. Today it is not unlikely to see women aspiring for positions as Engineer or others that would make them more money. I see the generational gap closing a great deal because of discussions that we are having currently in life and in this class. Be who you want to be, It is good to see. Women with power are seen more and more in current media. It is the wave of the future. FINALLY!

Tough Guise.....

This film is very interesting and brought up many points that people just do not seem to think about when we learn about violence. What I thought was interesting was the point about the media's influence on our impressions from what we read or see on television. I have been trying to find articles that specifically name the victims in the headlines and keep coming up short. I think about the boys that did all the killings and wonder about the victims part and what if they had been nicer people and not have caused so much trouble. Can we blame the schools for not recognizing bullies and noting their aggressive behavior towards the less than average individuals? Or do we blame the parents of the perpetrators for not noticing that their children had an arsenal of weapons and the minds to use it. It is a blame game that has been going on for decades and is not about to stop. I am just glad that Sociologists are looking at the outlying reasons that can be causing our kids to grow up in a not so happy world.

Dreams do not make it real, do they?

While I was watching this video I was brought back to my youth and reminded of the videos I grew up watching. I thought about what the narrator was saying and found myself disagreeing with his message. He kept calling the women in the videos prostitutes, nymphomaniacs, and dominatrix's like that was what they really were. I kept telling my television that they were not. That they were just portraying these images because they were paid to do so by the person who was making the video. I did not watch them thinking I wanted to be like them. It was entertainment. The thought that men do make videos to attract their audience is not surprising. This is why we go to movies and watch stupid shows on television. It is all about the mighty dollar and what is going to make a lot of it for these people.
When I was a teenager I knew most rock stars were sluts and that they usually liked their women dressed in as little as possible and doing things I would not like my daughter doing today. Yet I still watched. I still cleaned my house to their music, and went to their concerts hoping to get a closer look at them in all their glory. I wonder what videos would be like in the 80's if they were made like the early ones in the 50's or was it 60's. I doubt that I would have wanted to watch them. So should we crucify the men for being smart enough to figure out what would make them the most money or secretively wish I could have been the one to think of it.

A change of pace......

Hello everyone,
I guess I was getting kind of bored and thought we could all use something to make us think about our lives and how different the world is today. There is some pretty interesting stuff on this web site I went to this morning. I have been there for about an hour. Pretty cool. Here is the link...

Ok so the link did not show up....how about copy and paste this address....
http://www.infoplease.com/year/1970.html
It should open on the year I was born. If you scroll to the bottom you can enter in any year you wish, well only the ones available. It gives you a bunch of useful/useless info that I thought was pretty cool. In case you needed a break from the monotony. I know I did.
Michele

Contemplating the colored girl video....

Today was difficult for me to concentrate on the discussion in class. I had a hard time remembering pieces of the video we watched on Monday. The effects of growing older that I have to live with on a daily basis. So anyway, after contemplating everything that was said in class today I have gathered my thoughts. I saw the ladies in the second video in a different light than maybe some of the class. I saw them as predators. They were disturbing to me. They exerted their power over the white man much like the way white men exerted their power over their ancestors. I have taken into consideration the date of the video but still did not see anything that empowered the women in the video. I saw the end of the video in terms of the ladies climbing up the ladder in their ragged clothes as something very opposite than their ascension to power. For me it was weird. I understand the premise of the video but maybe do not understand it in a deeper sense. Maybe my head just wasn't in the right place today. I don't know. Just wanting to share my thoughts. Thanks for listening.

Inequality & Violence: Patterns of VIolence

Today we are faced with many obstacles that threaten our way of dealing with life. When I was a child it wasn't unsafe to play in my neighborhood, or wander away from your mother at the supermarket. Now we are faced with many things that people see as threats. There are terrorist activities along with crimes against fellow humans. It is getting out of hand. Now with the failing economy, the rising number of poor and hungry people in America and many more individuals out of work. Crime will sure to increase exponentially.
Now as I sit and wonder about the future of my children, I am faced with even more fear. How are the political leaders going to get us out of the horrible mess the economy has become. More and more we see on the news that certain officials who are supposed to be doing right by us are actually dealing with corruption and misguided behavior. I wonder who I can trust and where the future is headed.
There are stories about fear of terrorism, crime, drugs and such throughout this chapter that have negatively affected us all immensely. I remember 911 like it was yesterday. The surreal image on the television that looked like a scene out of a Hollywood movie. Only it was something much more terrible. Yet, in the aftermath it was amazing to see the nation stand together in such a time of need. I hope that in the rest of my life I do not get to see that image ever again, nor do my children.

Chapter 3: Racism

I have a hard time reading this book. It is good to learn about how things evolved, except when it comes to something so ugly. Is it so hard to accept that we are all in our own unique ways different. Why do people have to label people as something other than a person. It is unbelievable to me the atrocities that have unfolded over our history. The space on a job application has so many boxes to choose if you are white, black, Asian and I still don't understand why? Is it so people can discriminate you before they even meet you. What was the purpose of dividing the world in such a way? It is still a mystery to me why it matters. If you leave it blank, do they not hire you? If you are multi-racial do you choose all that apply. What if you are an other. It disgusts me that they even listed an "other."
Do we not pay taxes? Do we not bleed when we are cut? I sit with my family on special occasions and look across a room of wonderful faces. They are full of lovfe and I am honored to have them in my life. I am saddened by what has happened to all races that have been the victims of racism. I can only hope that the less the majority is that are racist the less power racism will have over the world.

I look to the future................

After reading the materials this week I end up coming to a conclusion that for me is disturbing. I have lived a life where nothing has seemed fair. Everything seems to be riddled with excerpts that pertain to men. Gendered writings that are supposed to offer hope to a better future, but at what cost. People have lost their freedom for many of these writings and it is sad that it still happens to this day. I have had the pleasure to grow up looking beyond the color of a person’s skin, to see beyond the culture lines that separate us. I look to the future and hope that we have learned from past failures and can give to my children a brighter life. A life where slavery, prejudice and rage will be something they only have to read about and not have to experience. I realize this could be farther away than I had hoped, but now with a new President brings a new line of sight to my eyes. I see 50 years of racism fade with the glory of a leader that promises change. I listen to Martin Luther King Jr. and his dream that as of Tuesday came true. It is with this hope I can see through the eyes of my children a light that shines brighter than ever before.