CRASH

1. Matt Dillion's character is racist throughout the whole movie. Without knowing it he shows his fears and advantages against other races. In the beginning when he pulls of the husband and wife, he takes advantage of the fact that he has the advantage of being white. By taking advantage he pulls them over and does a hand check on the woman. Because he's a cop he takes advantage that he has the upper hand in race and social standing. Compared to Sandra Bullock's character, Matt Dillion has similar racist qualities. She is a high social standing wife because her husband is in politics and when she sees to African American men she gives them the look over and a quick walk past when she sees them. She assumes that they are going to try and mug her. In the end she is right because they steal their car.

2. The lock man was characterized falsely in the wrong race group two different times. First time was when Sandra Bullock's character made a comment that when he changed the locks that tomorrow they would have to change it again because she believed that he would break in with his "criminal" friends. Later on when he changed the locks for the storeowner, the store owner assumes that because of his look, he broke into the store. The Store owner was also characterized in the wrong race group when he went to buy a gun. The owner wouldn't sell it to him because he didn't trust him with it.

3. Every one has their own beliefs and their own opinions. Without knowing it people are racist in their own ways. Throughout the whole movie every person had said something racist and acted in a certain way because of some one they encountered. Without realizing it people in our country are racist without knowing it.

4. People tend to stereotype people because of one beliefs that something happened. Without knowing it throughout the movie Sandra Bullock's character stereo typed 3 people. The first time was when she said the 2 African American men and was eyeing them. The second time was when she assumed that the man that was doing the lock would come in the next day and rob them because of his race. Then the third time was when she that that their cleaning lady was not as good as she was. Then in the end, she realized that she was the best person she knows because she helped her to the hospital when she fell.

5. Being racist isn't within our genes. Being racist come from how we talk and what we witness. Chances are that if we see something happen once some one might think about that every time they see that race. But for some people it isn't always like that. People don't just become racist because of their genes, they have to have a certain belief or remember something that happened to become racist.

6. Races are learned from things that happened, things they see, and stories they hear about. Race is highly influence by family because of where they come from. Their background is a big part of their own race and their own beliefs, so this may conflict with other families and other races. As this begins to build together they start stereotyping based on races and beliefs. The media is also a big influencer on what people believe because it is also based of what they see. As the media displays stereotypes they tend to show trends in what happens and who does it.

7. Eventually racism can end. But it can't end for every one. Overtime people may realized that every one is the same and that the background of people will start to blend together. But for others, they will always have the beliefs they have unless they see otherwise. In the movie, the people always see the same things towards others. Every one has a different racist belief against some one else.

Monopoly Wealth Game

In class last week we were given the opportunity to see how managing money depends on your background. No matter how hard you work and how much you get paid, in the end it comes down to what you started with and your luck. We played Real life American style monopoly. In this game, each person started out with a different amount of money and had different advantages to what they were starting with. The wealthiest person had more than enough money and more than enough "stuff" worth in investments and ownerships. While the person at the bottom had barley enough money to keep going throughout the game until they were put into debt. From monopoly, I realized that wealth comes with a lot of advantages that we don't notice until we experience it. If you start off with more money, it doesn't hurt as much if you make a bad choice or bad investment. But if you start off with little amount of money, one little mistake can make a huge difference and make a big set back compared to what you really should be at. Not only did this game prove the wealthy succeeds, but in the penny toss game, it was noticed that if you had more you were able to bet more. Meaning that if you lost anything, it wouldn't affect you as much. While this all relates to real life, it can easily be determined that the wealthy stay rich because they start off with more money, and the poor may have more difficulty to beat the odds.

Class and Social Status

"What a man is depends on his character; but what he does, and what we think of what he does, depends on his circumstances. The characteristics that ruin a man in one class made him eminent in another." We may be quick to assume why some one does something and we may be quick to come up with a reason if we like it or not, but in reality the different social classes say different things. People are always trying their best to their wanting. If some one is content with the way they do things or the way they live, they may not necessarily want to earn more money and devote more of their time to something. To them, their best is what they have. To others, they may have the aspiration to keep achieving. That no matter what they will work harder and harder to achieve more and to make more money. When we look back on everything and think about why people do what they do. We realize that social class and status has a big part in it. If you grow up in a wasp culture, chances are you will not see eye to eye with some one who grew up on a farm. You may even have a totally different outlook on how you are supposed to life and how you are supposed to earn your money. But what you don't realize is that the opposite person may be looking down upon your choices too. People will do whatever they want depending on their circumstances. We can't be too quick to judge why some one is doing something, other than knowing why they did it. Some people choose to work on low income jobs and heavy duty work, while others are given the opportunities that people that are poorer will have to work up to. The characteristics that make up who we are depend on our upbringing and our beliefs. Our class and social status provide us with the opportunities and starting points for life.

Deviance

I believe that punishable deviance is a societal construct. Deviance means that some one is going against the norms. They are contributing either positively or negatively. People that are showing deviant behavior may be randomly helping some one just for the act of kindness. The past week in class we watched "30 Days". This was about a man who spends 3o days in jail to see what it is like and how it feels. Our punishment system takes away the people that are out of the norm. People that are in jail go against the rules and against the norms of our society. People think that sending the men and women to jail with fix the problems that go on, but in reality it doesn't change anything. Because jails do not provide much of a support system for recovering alcoholics and drug addicts, the people that end up in jail are most likely to go back. In our jail system, men are free to walk around, but the daily routines are different than they are use to, so once they get out of jail the possibility they go back is very high.

Socialization/Adolescence Reflection

1. Today I happen to be wearing the necklace my family got me for my birthday last year. To me it is very special because my family started a tradition of getting me a new charm for my necklace at special events in my life. To me, family is very important. Not only is family where I come from, but it is how I raised. Every person is affected by how they are raised. Our nature is our habits and our nurture is how we are raised and how it affects us. My necklace says a lot about me. I love dance and in dance you must set goals to accomplish. No matter what you can accomplish anything but have fun too. It says all my different accomplishments and values, along with my family and how I am raised. In the future I don't know exactly what I want to do, but would like to go into education. A lot of this is from my nature and nurture. My family is very proud of accomplishments and working toward goals, along with helping each other. Being in education I would be able to help other grow too.

2. As an Adolescent, it is very easy to fall into the trap of social status. Because we are constantly changing out minds and working towards different goals, we are unable to establish a social standard. Adolescents are constantly changing their minds of what they are doing. The only thing they can control is their social status and how well the fit in with society. Or if they are able to keep up with the social levels of society.

3. The socialization process is way different in this generation than any other generation. Teens and kids are constantly trying to keep up with technology and social changes. Between computers, texting, and cell phones, socializing is always available. Concerns about this are the how it will affect kids socially. If they are constantly talking through different technology's will teens be able to communication well in person or on the phone? Also, will it make socializing completely different than the past? In the past teens talked in person and saw each other more. With the different technology's adolescents social patterns are changing each day.

4. Gender differences start right away. As babies, when we are born boys are determined by the color blue and girls are determined by the color pink. Generally, girls are supposed to be more girly and sensitive and boys are supposed to be more manly and not as emotional. But in reality, things aren't always that way. People just set different standards for boys and girls. Boys tend to play more sports like baseball, football, and basketball from the time they are young and girls tend to dance, skate, and do gymnastics. By seperating the different sports in the very beginning girls and boys start right away having different socialization. When I was in 3rd grade I did Ice Skating and Hockey. Being a girl doing both of those sports was very different. In ice skating I had a class of all girls and in hockey I had a team of all boys. Because of this pattern, I switched over to skating because of the gender differences.

Child or Adult?

Normal phases of growing up: Infant, toddler, child, adolescent "teenager", adult.

In our society we are unable to put our middle years into a specific category. Us as teenagers are

expected to know what we want when we get older and are expected to be able to make choices.

But while telling us all of that we are unable to put ourselves into a specific category in society.

Up until we turn 18, we are still under all the guardianship of our parents. Yet, once we turn 18 we

are considered as an adult. Even though we don't have all our opportunities we are still considered

as an adult in trial and law. As we reach our middle years of adolescence we are given rights as we

move up the spectrum. At 16 we can drive, at 17 we can see an "R" rated movie, and at 18 we are

considered as adults and are able to vote. Yet it's not until we are 21 that we begin to have more

privledges. In my point of view us as adolescents are consistently being confused as to where we

fit into society. We are expected to make decisions after high school, yet we still don't have all the

laws and abilities as an adult would have.

Nature or Nurture?

The way we act and the way we communicate with others is defined by the way we were raised and by what environment we were raised in. In class we watched the Oprah show. A young girl named Danielle was 8 or 9 years old and barely had the maturity of a 2 year old. The facts behind her actions were how she was raised. She was raised in an environment where she was neglected and barely nurtured. She was taken away from her mother and adopted by a new family. In her case, her nature and nurture was unstable. She didn't have a proper safe home to grow up. Danielle also wasn't cared for as a baby properly. Our nature is what we are born into. The only way it may change is from our caretakers. Our nurture is how we are raised and how we emotionally develop from the way we were raised. Studies have shown that the better balance of nature and nurture in our life as a young child, will affect us the rest of our life. I am just like my family. Emotionally I am very similar to my brother and sister and I have the same mannerisms. My parents noticed my unique personality at a young age. The best way to measure the personality level is by the different social skills. By the time I went to preschool, I was able to socially attribute to the other kids. Nature and Nurture influenced my life entirely.