Violence in Language

Eliminating language of sexism, racism, or violence is simply not an obtainable goal. Our history is filled with history that demands to still be heard today. Even though this language may be seen as offensive, it is necessary that we acknowledge the past in order to create a better, less discriminating future. For example, in Mike Lester’s political cartoon, “NCAA Native American Mascots,” there is irony behind the fact that they want to band Native American Mascots, but one of the executives’ Jeep Cherokee is in the parking lot. Therefore proving, if we try to strictly be “politically correct,” we will inevitably create an “unintentional self-parody”(Kakutani), by repeating the same mistakes we have in the past regarding ignoring our history of violence and discrimination. Thus, it is truly not possible to try to erase our country’s past by trying to mask certain events. In a more linguistic sense, the english language allows for metaphors and hyperboles in order to convey a dramatic tone. The phrase, “You’re dead meat” is not actually intended to hurt anyone when used in a joking fashion. However, trying to implement “alternative phrases,” like the “North York Women Teachers’ Association,” suggests, will not instill peace into our society when violence is filled whenever we turn on the news, listen to music, or watch a movie. While violence is a part of our past, it is also apart of our present. Furthermore in, “Words dont mean what they mean,” Steven Pinker writes that innuendos and double entendres are used in language to imply that everyone is attempting to further relationships and create a relationship of equality. Contrastingly, I believe that these allusive and uncertain remarks may be slightly offensive, they are used to avoid extremely harsh comments that are said to be seen as socially polite. Trying to implement “nonviolent” phrases and pretend violence doesn’t exist in this world will simply deprive our children of the harsh reality.

Persuasive Choice 2

Politeness is a social norm that we must abide by in order to be accepted in society. The simple phrase, “How are you?,” shows our interest in another’s well being. However, these polite phrases are overused to the point of which they rarely connote genuine concern. But if you don’t use these friendly phrases then you may be perceived as being rude. Therefore, in order to fit in with society we unconsciously say these things in order to avoid judgement from others. I once heard a story over the news about a NFL star, Jordan Belcher’s, suicide. One of his teammates was telling a reporter that he had no idea that Jordan was going through a hard time. But the line that always comes to mind was, “When you ask someone how they are doing, are you saying it because you mean it?” Although this story is 4 years old, that line has always stuck with me.  Personally, the response to this repeated expression whenever I ask it is always “Good.” This simple word offers no personal insight and seems to be an automatic response for most people. I have never heard anyone telling me they weren’t doing well while using one of these polite expressions, even if they trusted me and I knew they infact were not doing well. Maybe they felt that the phrase is simply a greeting, and by telling me they were doing bad would somehow be an inconvenience. Although, these phrases don’t show true concern, one must continue to use them in order to be seen as polite and kind.

My Education

Elementary School

For most of my life, racism seemed nonexistent. I grew up in a large white community in Connecticut, and not even one black kid went to my elementary school. Of course, we had learned who MLK was, and from what I understood, racism was a mere event that happened many years ago. Entrapped in my elementary school world, I never realized how this was not the norm for most of the world. I innocently believed that different skin colors belonged in only movies and picture books. (True story: when I was four I asked my Dad if he was African American because he was tan.) Clearly, I didn’t have a very diverse childhood.

Middle School

Now in Middle School, I had a whopping 2 kids in my school that were of a different skin color. However, middle school kids are cruel. Individuality was mocked. Racial jokes and sarcasm were frequently thrown around the classroom. Maybe my classmates justified their actions because they too felt the overwhelming sense of majority that was plagued throughout our school. Unlike the other kids in my community, I played sports in other cities and began to understand that diversity surrounded the cities around me.

High School

When I moved to Troy, I finally got a glimpse at true diversity. Different religions, sexual orientations, economic statuses, and races seemed to blend seamlessly together. Individuality is accepted and never ridiculed. I look back on my childhood years and wonder how living in a caucasian bubble may have affected me today. I truly am grateful for living in such a diverse community.

Flint Water Crisis Political Cartoon

This political cartoon exposes the true corruption behind the Flint water crisis. Thousands of citizens in Flint cannot drink the toxic water, and this cartoon depicts that the governor fears the same water he allowed to harm the citizens. This is ironic because he now is literally given a taste of his own doing. The political cartoon depicts governor sweating and a worried face to prove that the water is truly poisoned. The caption also adds to the governor’s nervous face because he uses an ellipsis and “ah” to show he is apprehensive about tasting the same water he approved for Flint. The title of this cartoon gives the audience the specific event that is occurring- the governor’s congressional hearing. This political cartoon truly shows the corruption behind the government. It is truly tragic that the government could approve of water that is poisonous for their citizens to drink- but they don't want to drink it themselves. This cartoon also raises questions about the safety that our own government provides. Is it all about the money, or do these community leaders care about the citizens?

Curiosity killed the... human?

In “A Measure of Restraint,” Chet Raymo warns humans about the danger of scientific discovery. He reveals that even though these dangers are evident, curiosity still powers our drive to explore. This connects to Don DeLillo’s piece, “The Videotape,” as he explores our natural curiosity to view gruesome violence or death. Both these pieces reveal the human tendency to examine subject matter that is not healthy for our mental or physical state- but we continue to anyway. However, Raymo uses both radium and a tobacco plant to thus prove his claim. His reference to the tobacco plant also reveals that even when humans are aware of the terrible consequences - cancer, addiction, or death - they continue to not only test, but use. Thus, science takes over again. The race to yet another cure- radiation, chemotherapy, and new surgeries- continues. Therefore, his reference to the tobacco plant reveals the seemingly incurable cycle of scientific discovery. While reading this piece I couldn’t help but to wonder if our initial discovery to examine our environment never occurred- would the world better be a better place? Are current scientists creating new diseases that future generations will have to cure? It is hard to try to weigh out all the possible positives and negatives of science exploration- considering the significant strides we are making every day. It’s just a matter of whether the science we are creating today will have bigger consequences for the future.

Tobacco Plant

Puzzle Paragraph #2

While other might say that The VideoTape by Don DeLillo is a piece about the “Texas Highway Killer”; Jeannette Walls might find the perspective of the young girl most intriguing. Walls is a well known writer from her memoir, The Glass Castle. Throughout her book, she recalls her struggle to grow up in a household with very incompetent parents. With her dad out gambling in casinos, and her mom attempting to hold a steady  job as an artist, she had to learn how to raise herself. Trying to find a balance between adulthood and trying to be a normal kid ultimately resulted in bullies profiling Jeannette as a “lone ranger.” However, “The Videotape,” and “The Glass Castle,”  have many themes in common. Just as Don Delillo explores the intense fascination we have with death, Jeannette Walls explores her own childhood fascination with fire. For example, burning her barbie dolls at a young age. Although these themes are very violent, they both prove that the basic human curiosity with seemingly dangerous subject matter is only natural. Furthermore, both pieces incorporate the innocence of a young girl being stripped away. Whether witnessing a murder or being abandoned, both authors accurately depict the effects trauma can have on a child’s identity and well being.

The Onion Satire

In honor of tonight being the Academy Awards, I will be discussing an article that “The Onion,” published regarding Leonardo DiCaprio. It is no secret that Leonardo DiCaprio should have won an oscar by this point, and tonight may finally be his big break with his new movie, “The Revenant.” This specific article titled, “Leonardo DiCaprio Hopes He Screamed and Cried Good Enough in ‘The Revenant’ To Win Oscar,” satirizes how hollywood actors are perceived to be petty and unintelligent. To suggest this, the author of this article uses false ethos by incorporating fake Leonardo DiCaprio quotes into his article. In these quotes, the author uses low diction and repetition to imply that DiCaprio is, in fact, is dumb. For example one of the quotes states, “I yelled really loud in this movie when I was angry and I started crying hard after I got upset, so hopefully the guys who choose the winners saw all that and liked it.” The repetition of the word “I” and his low diction of very simple words makes Leonardo seem very uneducated, and his job seem like a joke. These strategies parody a child speaking and implies that acting is somewhat of an elementary task.

The Cycle of Consumerism

In “Consider the Lobster,” David Foster Wallace reveals how consumerism affects our daily lives. For example he writes, “Try to imagine a Nebraska Beef Festival at which part of the festivities is watching the trucks pull up and the live cattle get driven down the ramp and slaughtered right there on the World’s Largest Killing Floor or something- there’s no way.” This call to action forces the reader to realize that a life is a life- no matter what animal. Besides that, Wallace also creates this parody to reveal how the mechanics of consumerism has brainwashed us to the point where we forget that we are even killing millions in the first place. In our minds, certain animals are food and certain animals are companions. However, Wallace’s piece questions why we tend to categorize animals into either being slaughtered or saved and our morals behind society's actions.

After reading this piece, I really started to question what kind of food I eat and even my own morals behind my actions. Therefore, I started to research how and why animals are born, raised, tortured, and ultimately murdered everyday. The results are, to say the least, terrifying.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBuhSiG1F10

Although my heart was in my stomach throughout this whole video, it reveals the harsh reality of the system that our food comes from. This video forced me to realize that the food on my plate is not beef- it is a cow. The worst part of watching this video was realizing that I, myself, is part of the same system. Although I may not be the person killing the cow, I still played a part of the murder just by eating it. Even more though, I have been raised in this society where food isn’t valued as greatly as it should be. In my family, we often throw food away, make too much, or eat it to the point where we are sickly full. All of these actions disregard the life that was taken for our meal. Ultimately because we know there will always be more at the grocery store. Thus, this vicious cycle of consumerism entraps us to the point where we think of the murdered animal on our plate as just another grocery item.

I Want a Student

I belong to the group of people called students. I am a student.  Not only am I a student, but a learned master of multitasking. All of my peers are also students as well. We tend to all complain about the significant lack of sleep we are getting, the struggles of completing our unimaginable amount of homework, and saying, “I’m literally so done right now” about twenty times a day. Still with the tremendous amount of challenges that we young adults face, I too want a student. Why do I want a student?

I would like to go back to my childhood and depend on my parents for all of my needs. I would like to go back to elementary age and have a bedtime of eight o’clock, so I can always feel fully rested. I want to go back to my adolescent years and my only worry to be about when my next play date would be.

I want a student who will always do their homework, no matter how exhausted. I want a student who can get into the best colleges. I want a student who will never take a sick day in order to keep up with their classes. I want a student who will get a perfect standardized test scores. I want a student who will push themselves to the limit every day in practice after school. I want a student who takes multiple AP’s. I want a student who doesn’t complain about getting up at 6 AM every morning after a sleepless night of worrying about school.  I want a student who will constantly maintain a balance between sports, school, and a social life.

My god, who wouldn’t want a student?

Analyzing the Food in My Fridge

In my family, there is almost no time to properly sit down and eat together. For the most part, dinner isn’t normally a “sit down” meal. Unfortunately, grab-and-go microwavable meals are sometimes the only available option when schedules get chaotic. While actually taking the time to properly look at the food that we have in our fridge, I noticed that we mostly have processed foods and food that is bought in bulk. For example, my dad went to Kroger yesterday and bought ten orange juices. TEN. When I asked him why he bought so many, he explained that there was a “good deal.” Turns out, all of the orange juices expire in about a week. After this conversation with my dad, I couldn’t help but draw similarities between the American family in the book that we analyzed. Just like them, they had way more food than they actually needed, microwaved meals, and unhealthy processed food. This made it clear to me that my family lacks a sense of culture or diversity. Instead of adding a flavor of our own heritage, we settle for what is most easily accessible. To be fair, there seems like there is simply no time to try to cook a traditional Irish dish every night. 

Although the families of Tingo and Shingkhey village may not have the same luxuries as typical American families like electricity, a big home, etc. They all have a greater sense of unity or family in their pictures. Also, the size of their families are a lot bigger than mine, and yet they still seem to be very close. On the other hand, their food is mostly fresh vegetables and much healthier types of food. Although they might lack easy accessibility to their food, their greater sense of family is ultimately more valuable in the bigger picture.

The Continuation of Racial Inequality

While reading, “The Champion of the World,” I couldn’t help but draw similarities to the Black Lives Matter injustices we are witnessing today. For example, while describing the fight the announcer states, “the referee is signaling but the contender keeps raining the blows on Louis”(89). The referee's job is to ultimately make sure that both contender’s play within the rules and to keep both boxers from becoming fatally injured. In this instance however, the official doesn’t punish the white fighter for continuing to “rain the blows on Louis”(89). Similarly, the police that serve as our protection in order to keep us safe, have had the same biased against minorities. Whether referees or policemen, the amount of enforcement used should be distributed equally no matter what race, religion, or gender.

*Nearly 1 in 3 black people killed by police in 2015 were identified as unarmed, though the actual number is likely higher due to underreporting

Another relevant issue I noticed in this piece is the fact that the throughout the strive for equality, the presence of unity is lost. Without any type of consensus between the groups, how could any issues be solved? Macklemore poses the same question in a newly released song regarding the Black Lives Matter movement we have today,

“Zipped up my parka, joined the procession of marchers

In my head like, "Is this awkward?

Should I even be here marching?"

I want to take a stance because we are not free

And then I thought about it, we are not "we"

Am I in the outside looking in, or am I in the inside looking out?

Is it my place to give my two cents?

Or should I stand on the side and shut my mouth?

"No justice, no peace," okay, I'm saying that

They're chanting out, "Black Lives Matter," but I don't say it back”

Macklemore brings up the point that there is an undertone which questions the intentions of 
who should fight for equality. Even though you may not be the same race as the victims, doesn’t mean you can’t be pissed off.  Even though the ultimate goal is to create a world where all ethnicities can live peacefully together, the races are still divided. In fact the only time the white race is mentioned in “The Champion of the World,” is to describe the shortcoming of the white contender during the violent fight or allude to slavery. The separation between the two communities represent an even bigger issue that will have no solution unless common ground is established.