I decided to do my blog entry on A Tale of Two Families. I wasn't really shocked by the differences but I was shocked by how BIG the differences were. Here's a short summary about each family.
Byron
He's an African-American whose family purchased a home in Chester, PA. Their home cost $6,500. His family gave $1,000 for down payment and had the rest financed. His father had a low-income job and stated that black men were the last to get hired and first to get fired. His family wasn't wealthy. Byron received an academic scholarship, so he could attend an ivy league school. His family sold their home for $29,500. They didn't really see a profit because they spent a lot of money of repairs. Byron purchased a condo and he has to make mortgage payments every month. He also has to financially responsible for his parents.
Max
He's a Caucasian-American. His family purchased a home in New York for $21,500. His father started his own business in 1965. His father's business went well and was able to send his three children to private colleges. He celebrated his bar mitzvah at age 13 & received a lot of money as gifts. By the time Max was 18, he was able to use his savings and money from his parents to travel, explore his interests, and go to college worry-free. His parents sold their home for $299,000. They were financially stable and were even able to give money to their kids for down payment of their homes. Max purchased a home and lived worry-free.
If you look at both summaries, there is an extreme difference when it comes to the economic situation of each family. This was back in the 1950s but this continues to happen in modern-day society. It's unfortunate that everybody continues to be discriminated by their race and skin-color.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Week 9: Social Construction of Gender
Gender Inequality has affected very greatly on how society has constructed Gender. Gender is used to qualify whether a person can or can't do a certain type of job. It's also used for other reasons in society. Gender has been used to classify people, not because of their sex, but because of their "weaknesses."
Women are considered to be the weaker sex. Therefore, gender comes into play. Society considers that gender should decide on what our place in society is. It also suggest gender should decide on what jobs we should have. All this is due to how society has constructed gender.
I do and don't agree with some of the sociological perspective on gender.
Women are considered to be the weaker sex. Therefore, gender comes into play. Society considers that gender should decide on what our place in society is. It also suggest gender should decide on what jobs we should have. All this is due to how society has constructed gender.
I do and don't agree with some of the sociological perspective on gender.
Week 8: Why Should We Care About Global Inequality?
We should care about global inequality because it affects our everyday life, just like Jennifer Lerner said on the podcast. She made very important points about everything that's affected. Global inequality affects the prices of goods, the economy, and the world environment. Jennifer said that our countries are intertwined. That's very much true. The United States relies on other countries for petroleum and crude oil. If this relationship becomes unequal, then the price of gas will be sky-high and it will affect the economy greatly. Global inequality can lead to wars. Wars lead to an economic crisis and deaths of hundreds of people.
Week 7: Social Classes
How much do you think social class matters in the U.S. today?
I think that social class matters very much in the U.S. today. Most people now treat you by your monetary value than your personal value. If you're rich, everybody wants to be your friend. If you're poor, then people are embarrassed to be seen with you. It's a very sad thing but it's very true. I know because I experienced it for many years.
My father started his own drywall company in 2004. His business was going very well for him and my family starting receiving more income. When he began his business, we were living a single-wide mobile home. Three years after he created his business, we moved into a custom-built brand new home in an exclusive area. Our house was very beautiful. We were always having parties and always spending money. People started to refer to us as the "new millionaires." My parents bought several new cars. Everybody was always coming over to visit and people would suck-up to my father. Unfortunately, his business stopped doing so well in 2009-2010. We had four cars repossessed and our house was foreclosed on this year. When that happened, most of my family's so-called friends disappeared. They stopped talking to us or they changed because we were no longer "rich."
After having experienced that personally, I do think that social class matters very much. One the stories from website that shocked me very much was the one about the woman named Val. Her father wouldn't accept anything from her. I've seen this many times. The "poor" parents don't want to accept anything from the "rich" sons/daughters-in-laws because they think that's a way of humiliation.
I don't think that this will change. I think that it will get worse. Social class matters very much and it's almost how our society is divided.
I think that social class matters very much in the U.S. today. Most people now treat you by your monetary value than your personal value. If you're rich, everybody wants to be your friend. If you're poor, then people are embarrassed to be seen with you. It's a very sad thing but it's very true. I know because I experienced it for many years.
My father started his own drywall company in 2004. His business was going very well for him and my family starting receiving more income. When he began his business, we were living a single-wide mobile home. Three years after he created his business, we moved into a custom-built brand new home in an exclusive area. Our house was very beautiful. We were always having parties and always spending money. People started to refer to us as the "new millionaires." My parents bought several new cars. Everybody was always coming over to visit and people would suck-up to my father. Unfortunately, his business stopped doing so well in 2009-2010. We had four cars repossessed and our house was foreclosed on this year. When that happened, most of my family's so-called friends disappeared. They stopped talking to us or they changed because we were no longer "rich."
After having experienced that personally, I do think that social class matters very much. One the stories from website that shocked me very much was the one about the woman named Val. Her father wouldn't accept anything from her. I've seen this many times. The "poor" parents don't want to accept anything from the "rich" sons/daughters-in-laws because they think that's a way of humiliation.
I don't think that this will change. I think that it will get worse. Social class matters very much and it's almost how our society is divided.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Week 6: Technology=Isolation
Do you think Americans today are more isolated due to technology?
When it comes to technology, it's amazing all the advances that are being made everyday. Technology is advancing a little too fast for us to adapt to it so quickly.
I do believe that Americans are being more isolated today due to technology. Practically everything we do can be done with our cell phones or any other electronic device. I will use myself as an example. I remember that whenever I wanted to see my friends, I would have to go to their house. Nowadays, all we need a camera and an internet connection. People are becoming so obsessed with technology that it's leading to pervasive behavior. People can't live without technology.
I recently visited a friend. Her entire family was divided. Her mother was texting on her cell phone. Her father was on his laptop on facebook. One of her brothers was playing video games alone is his room. Her other brother was on facebook on a laptop. She said that her household was like that everyday. Her family only got together whenever they went out together. They even remained on their devices while they were eating dinner. They had become an isolated family.
I honestly do believe that technology is isolating Americans. Technology is extremely beneficial to our society but I think that the amount of use should be limited to people. If it's isolating us this much already, I can't even imagine what it's going to be like in the future.
I found this image on facebook. It's suppose to be gag image but it describes exactly what's happening with modern-day families.
When it comes to technology, it's amazing all the advances that are being made everyday. Technology is advancing a little too fast for us to adapt to it so quickly.
I do believe that Americans are being more isolated today due to technology. Practically everything we do can be done with our cell phones or any other electronic device. I will use myself as an example. I remember that whenever I wanted to see my friends, I would have to go to their house. Nowadays, all we need a camera and an internet connection. People are becoming so obsessed with technology that it's leading to pervasive behavior. People can't live without technology.
I recently visited a friend. Her entire family was divided. Her mother was texting on her cell phone. Her father was on his laptop on facebook. One of her brothers was playing video games alone is his room. Her other brother was on facebook on a laptop. She said that her household was like that everyday. Her family only got together whenever they went out together. They even remained on their devices while they were eating dinner. They had become an isolated family.
I honestly do believe that technology is isolating Americans. Technology is extremely beneficial to our society but I think that the amount of use should be limited to people. If it's isolating us this much already, I can't even imagine what it's going to be like in the future.
I found this image on facebook. It's suppose to be gag image but it describes exactly what's happening with modern-day families.
Week 5: Criminal Justice System
I think that the criminal justice system in the United States is unbalanced. There are criminals who commit horrendous crimes and they are given a minimal sentence. There are criminals who commit insignificant crimes and they are given extreme sentences. If we were to analyze at least half of all the cases in each of our counties, we would see that harsher sentences are given to people who committed an insignificant crime. I recently read about a man who was given two years in jail for being in possession of a marijuana cigarette. After that, I read about a man who raped a woman and then tortured her. He was given five years in jail with all but six months being suspended. He would only be in jail for six months and the remaining 54 months would be on probation. That's absolutely ridiculous. I believe our justice system should be changed. There should be harsher punishments for people who commit sexual crimes or murder.
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