Reserch Project 1

For my first research topic I wanted to do something that had to do with the homeless. I found an article that did not quite relate to my topic but I read it in case it did. What I found out shocked me. Many states are trying to pass laws allowing them to give tickets and fines to people that are not wearing the proper clothing. For example a man who was wearing ratty shorts in the winter would be fined. They could say it was indecent exposure if the person were to challenge the fine. This is upsetting in so many ways. In our desperate attempts to become a utopia we are doing what a five year old does when they are cleaning their room. Sweeps everything under the bed.

            We will never be perfect. We will never be even close to perfect if our solution to homelessness is giving fines that we know people can not pay and then putting them in jail. How can we even consider to fine people who have the cloths on the back and ten cents to their name?

            What I realize reading on is that southern people are not all agreeing with this. Some question why the government does this if they insist that it has nothing to do with “cleaning up” then why is it that shorts from Marc Jacobs are not something that can be fined?

            The fact is we are still a segregated country. Not in the common ways of racism like, race and religion but in the way of similarity. Similarity is something that in America we pretend not to think is important. The truth though is that we want everyone to be the same somewhat. We may not want to be exact but there are something’s we like to have in common. There are some people that think we all should be different things that are under the same category almost. We can only be a certain amount of different before we are “too different.” This is upsetting but may inspire a very different type of awareness. For my next research project I will look into the new idea.

5 day Reflection

Day 1
"Arkansa School Offical Acussed of anti-Gay posting"
The story is about a teacher who posted on facebook. "I will wear purple if they all kill themselfs."

Day 2
"Yet Another School Vandilized"
This is really sad to me because I have a family member who works in yonkers school and has had good offers but stays there becuase she loves the kids.

Day 3
"Fordia, Newborn killed by pitbull"
At first this does not look like a social justice piece but there was a lot of abuse on the parents part of the baby.

Day 4
"Children Everywhere Show Gay and Lesbian Support"
This is the opposite of the first article it is about kids supporting gay and lesbian rights.

Day 5
"Facebook Moniring"
It says that more then ever fb is having to shut down groups that are inappropriate on facebook.

REFLECTION

This study is desterbing but enlitening. I feel like words can not capture the emotions that fly through my mind when I read story like these. In america we pride ourselfs on being an"amazing" "great" place, but if this is true why is everything on the news so awful? We are a country that has made progress but the fact that we are diffrent and uniqe sets us apart from the rest. We as a nation can only grow if we except that each of us is different in some way shape or form, some more then otheres but still all different.

Social Awarness Responce to a song

We live in a place where when a homeless man or women calls out you pretend not to hear. You keep walking. You have to keep walking homeless equals crazy doesn’t it? Dirty faces equals bad. These people made a mistake, something happened it might not even be there fault, but who cares it’s not your problem, right? My song is called “Another Day in Paradise” by Phil Collins. Lyrics, http://www.lyricsfreak.com/p/phil+collins/another+day+in+paradise_20108035.html I almost cried when I read the first four lines. They read,

“She calls out to the man on the street

“Sir, can you help me?

It’s cold and I have no where to sleep

Is there somewhere you can tell me?”

That is not the bad part though.

“He walks on, doesn’t look back

He pretends he can’t hear her

Starts to whistle as he crosses the street,

Feels embarrassed to be there.”
What makes this so terrible is it’s true. We walk away. Don’t act justified every single person who is reading this now, has ever read this and will ever read this has done it will do it or is doing it. Listening to this song pushes you over the edge though. Listen you will see, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qt2mbGP6vFI Watching the music video there is a slideshow, one of the signs says and I quote, “Please, DO NOT FEED THE BEGGERS, it cause traffic problems.” This is just another kind of segregation. We ignore them, we joke about them, we wish they were not there, but there just as human as us. No one is asking you to do anything. Not to give money but to not treat them like something dirty. I know that there have been times on the train when I have wished the man in the corner in his underwear in January was not there. Why have I wished that though? Is it because he is not as fortunate as me? Or is it because we have been taught that they are bad unhuman things that do not deserve our compassion.