A Series of Classless Classism? Perhaps Not.

Class and Educational Attainment: It kind of sucks when you read the article and realize how true education is correlated with economic status (153). It really sucks when you see kids with so much potential, but all that is standing in their way is money. And it really, really sucks when you see them settle for something that is below their potential. One of the main problems of these kinds of situations are base solely on the cycle that continues within generations. I think kids are highly influenced by what they see and hear. Yes, parents want better for their children, but some are in such dire situations that their children have to get jobs as a means of survival. Education gets put on the back burner in order to provide for their families, which is unfortunate.

Spheres of Power and Oppression: The chart showing the "Chances of Being Poor in America" is everything that we have claimed to work on. All those civil rights movements and the chances of being poor for a white female is 1/10 as compared to a black female 1/4 (154). So that is double the chances for a person of minority background. Reality: Race has EVERYTHING to do with it. You can work your self in a frenzy, but at the end of the day, those are your chances.

What is Wealth and Why is it Important? While the textbook's definition is dense, there are many ways to view a person's wealth. Here are some that I believe is a good representation: type of car, health, home, clothes, and anything materialistic. Why is it important? Because it will get you places and things that would otherwise be impossible if you did not possess any kind of wealth. I think this is where most of racism is concentrated. I actually didn't know that blacks and Latinos were discriminated from bank lendings. I didn't think that was allowed for some reason. Home ownership, business developments, these are the goals we all have, but because of race and class many are denied these simple rights.

I think this piece in the article ties in with the later pieces on student loans. "9% of Americans between the ages of fifty-five and sixty-four have student loan debt", the average being $17,498 (177). That. is. insane. Most of us go to school to get a degree and have a good job and eventually move up in life, but what is the point if you are being held back from this "mobility" because of these loans? There is no progress. Don't get me wrong, an education is absolute must have for me. But I absolutely get it if a person weighs the negatives of money to the benefits of an education, and feels differently than I do. I get it. From what I see the cost of attending college alone is very discouraging, let alone the thought of have thousands of dollars of debt after completing 4 years. Let's not forget that is if the person gets a good job.

Lastly, the article "Breaking the Girls In" is something that I have seen and read about many times. I honestly think that this type of black market economy is inevitable. People who have power over those who are helpless will take full advantage of them, even if the power is barely there. Exploitation like these are on-going, and the only way to stop it is awareness. But many people are not willing to risk their livelihoods or families to stop something that has grown to such a scale. The exploitation of women and slaves over the world comes with people who will go to all lengths to ensure no one gets in their way. While we have problems with our class and race, in other countries these are taken to a whole new level. And with corrupt governments.. well I think that it will only get worse.

Photos can be found on Tumblr.com and Pinterest.com

Refining Refugee Services

When people from other countries come to the United States as refugees they are presented to a world where nothing makes sense. Most do not speak English and almost all have no means of financial support, other than what they are receiving from their agency for refugee services. The definition of a refugee is a person who is fleeing from his or her country due to persecution on an account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. Yes, this is quite the transition as one can imagine. Through the Refugee Act of 1980, refugees come by themselves or with their whole family, but most come from rural parts of the world that have never known the meaning of industrialization (Singer et al, 2006). This means never having the privileges of having a car, a TV, and anything else us Americans take for granted.

Most refugees are offered immediate services from the time they come over until their resettlement period is over, which is usually 6 months to a year. Services included ESL classes, job search assistance, mental and physical health services, and other programs that allow for better assimilation into the United States. After that time period refugees are expected to hold a job and start providing for their family. What exactly does this mean? Well most agencies do not have the resources that can provide for a family for more than what is avaible. They have to assist the family as much as possible with the limited resources and within a time frame.The only problem here is that 6 months to a year seems like it is too short. Some people do not adjust as well to difficult situations compared to others, which means assimilation and language barriers might be harder for some to overcome. Other factors that are not considered when given this resettlement period are the mental health and state of the client. Persecution and exile may lead one to depression and a feeling of insignificance, thus making it that much harder for refugees to transition. If you think about it, most of us take decades or even a lifetime before we feel “secure” our in life, imagine what these folks are going through.

Yes, there are a lack of funds and limited resources, but it is better to have a high quality services than stretched out resources that lead to negative outcomes. And by outcomes this means refugees can no longer survive on their own and have to rely once again on the agency. Some may just altogether head back to their country due to the high stress levels. There is much resistance to pouring all or most of an agency’s resources into one case, but the reality is that if the quality of service is poor than it will be two steps forward and one step backwards for both the agency and the client. It’s kind of like the saying “If you do it right the first time, than you won’t have to go back and fix anything. Children are the ones who suffer the most when their family gets lost in the system. Imagine that you are a nine year old Burmese child who has fled Burma due to your family’s religious beliefs. How would you behave in school? Can you imagine how much stress this is for a child? “Who are these other children and adults?” they may ask themselves. Stress is not the only behavior that comes out of this for children. Some refugee children are reserved and quite while others are lethargic or aggressive (Szente et al, 2006). It is not unusual for a refugee child to have hoarding behaviors either. Teachers have observed refugee students collecting as much food as possible while at lunch (Szente et al, 2006). The belief was that because the child did not know when her next meal was. She was either collecting food for another time or for another family member. Most teachers did not know how to handle or approach a refugee child due to lack of knowledge or experience, which makes the situation that much more frustrating.

Unfortunately, we are not worry about refugees enough. We have issues of our own. There is racism, discrimination, health disparities, homelessness, and so much more. It is sad to see so many refugees get put on the back burner due to lack of resources because of other internal problems. The sad truth is that refugees communities are not well represented, and most American are not even aware of the needs and welfare of refugees.

"If I had known what I know now, then Troy Davis would not have been convicted."

I could not think of anything else for the rest of that Wednesday evening except for Troy Davis. The fact that there was doubt, and alot of it, was constantly resonating with me. What IF in fact he was truly innocent? I sat at home that evening and was waiting for 7PM to come. I don't know why, I just was. I was hoping CNN would have some breaking news or something. But alas, it was all over the news that no decisions were overturned. Over and over again, all I could think was "he was powerless, absolutely powerless" and nothing could have changed his fate. I was pretty shocked that the supreme court's involvement changed nothing. I can say that there was one good thing that came out of this; the support of the public. I think the most touching thing about this case are the supporters who came together for Troy Davis. If I had to go the way Troy Davis did, then I would have been happy that there were people who believed I was innocent. I don't know what happened that night, no one does, but there is something terribly wrong with the picture before us.

Here's a video with more background:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DGqRFM443Y&feature=player_embedded#!

Most of the jurors stated they were pressured to make false confessions. Some were forced to sign statements they didn't agree with, one could not even read. Martina Davis-Correia, Davis's sister, takes us through what one of the witnesses "saw". If you watch the camera zooms, then you will see that it was impossible how she saw Davis "standing over the body, grinning". This is what I think. You might have your opinions, but I was pretty convinced that it wasn't possible.

I feel like because an officer was dead, people who looking for answers. For someone to blame. They needed some kind of explanation, anything it sounds like. I refuse to believe that something like this actually happened in our country, in this age. Its absolutely absurd and appalling. It makes me feel like it could happen to me, my family, my friends, my classmates, my professors, anybody.

Do I support the death penalty? Yes. Most of my family and friends do not believe me when I say "yes" to this question. It's very complicated for me to explain why, but I will say that there has to be absolutely no doubt what so ever. I have thought about the pros and cons of this "death penalty" idea many times, and I realize that cases similar to Troy Davis's are inevitable, which is unfortunate. But take this case for example:

Lawrence Russell Brewer from Jasper, Texas was a white supremacist. He and a few others were convicted and sentenced the death penalty after dragging James Byrd on the back of his car by the his ankles, shredding and dismembering his body. He did it because Byrd was black. All the evidence was there and there was no questions about who had committed this hateful crime. He said he had "no regrets" about what happened, meaning "Yeah, so?" in my book. He was sentence to death by lethal injection the day after Troy Davis was.

Here's the article if you want to read more:
http://www.chron.com/news/article/The-city-of-Jasper-still-copes-with-racial-2181357.php

I'm not trying to convince anyone anything, but its cases like THESE that make me really believe in the system for this so-called "justice" thing. I will however admit that after the Troy Davis case, I don't know. I would rather people like Lawrence Brewer be locked up for the rest of their life without parole than to risk the possibility of killing innocent people.

What do you guys think? Death penalty or no? Why?

"You knew that you were civilized, and that they were savages"

As the transported Englishmen felt insecure about their position among the Indians, they found new ways of exploitation. Outnumbered and on foreign territory, they searched for those they thought were inferior to them.

"Black slaves were the answer."
"Their helplessness made enslavement easier."

The article states that by the 19th century Africa had lost 50 million human beings to death and slavery. I knew there was slavery on a massive scale during this civilization development but I never imagined, or really took in what happened when I first learned about it. Here are some words and phrases I want to highlight from the article:

• "chained by the neck"
• "different stages of suffocation"
• "abusing himself for laying with a negroe body"
• "killing each other to breathe"
• "cage until sold"

The Oxford English Dictionary: "Deeply stained with dirt; soiled, foul, dirty."

When I was reading the article, just like the the article on the internment camp, I was speechless. I think the main thing going through my head was, how and where did so much hatred and animosity come from? Was the driving force of economy and free labor so much so that human beings were being tousled and tossed like nothing? At a time like that I'm sure social work was nonexistent, and for someone to speak up would have sure cause great upheaval.

In evolutionary psychology it is said that often the "selfish gene" exploits and kills the weaker one, a human nature, if you will. In the case of tribal warfare homicide avoidance, an adaptation that we developed to protect from other rivals, slaves at the time stood no chance. Conflicts of interest unfortunately got the best of that "selfish gene" and as result we are faced with social issues mirroring ones we still see today.

Here is an interesting campaign from the Netherlands that I would like to share with you all. Its very compelling and the ad is quite controversial. It was meant to be offensive and contentious, but the reason being is to capture, confront, and gain the attention of the younger generations to an often neglected subject. I must warn anyone who is going to watch this that it is quite displeasing, so I am sorry if anyone is offended and I would be happy to remove it if you feel uncomfortable. Please keep in mind, this is not a real game, it was an advertisement for a campaign.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMjQAN9ZoxE&feature=related

What did you think of this? Pretty ballsy, yes? Well here is an interview with one of the researchers behind this campaign. The video is pretty long, but its very interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=iv&src_vid=WCgsXRyYXW0&v=mUW3AJjTp1Q&annotation_id=annotation_495488

What do you guys think of this? Point taken? Why do you think it is that schools suppress the dark ages of history and highlight the more glorious moments? Is it shame? Embarrassment? Guilt? I think that it is important to raise these kinds of issues and moments. Its something we can learn from and try not to repeat. (That's certainly ambitious of me to say.)

Slavery is still very much alive today, especially in the sex industry as the host mentions in the video. Modern slavery, as most refer to it. LOVE 146 is an organization that I have avidly been supporting ever since I found out about it in high school. They are very near and dear to my heart. P.S. - They also have some really informative videos on their website. Their mission statement and their goals for their organization definitely plays into the humanistic perspective of giving individuals the chance of having a better life.

"Abolition and Restoration! We combat child sex slavery & exploitation with the unexpected and restore survivors with excellence."

They advocate for those in Asian countries who have been sold in to the sex trade through families, abductions, and so many other heinous acts. They focus mainly in Thailand, where the concentration of the problem is. Check them out if you have time.

How did they get the name "LOVE146"? (as copied from their website)

In 2002 co-founders Rob Morris, Desirea Rodgers, Lamont Hiebert and Caroline Hahm traveled to South East Asia to witness first hand the atrocity of child sex slavery and the hope of abolition and restoration. While there, Rob and Lamont went undercover with professional investigators into a brothel. In that brothel, they witnessed little girls standing behind a wall of glass, each wore a matching red dress with a number pinned to her chest; they were watching children’s cartoons on small television sets. Men were purchasing these girls by the number pinned to her dress. As Rob and Lamont looked at these children watching cartoons they were struck by the eyes of each child. Their eyes seemed empty, without spark of life, like robots. And then there was #146. The only one not watching cartoons, she was staring back through the glass with fire and fight left in her eyes, there was still life there. In her eyes we found our calling. In her number came our name.

Here are the links to their website and blog:

http://love146.org/

http://love146.org/blog

Japanese Internment

It was really upsetting for me to read this article. Everything from the psychological standpoint to the physical abuse of all Japanese Americans during this time period made me feel so disgusted and sad. As a result of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor many Japanese people were sent to interment camp on the basis of racism.

"Not a single documented act of espionage, sabotage or fifth column activity was committed by an American citizen of Japanese ancestry or by a resident Japanese on the West Coast."

Franklin Delano Roosevelt is my favorite president. My history professor told us many great stories about FDR, and I have come to really admire him. Here are some of the many great things he has done for our country:

• Fireside chats: FDR was always a good speaker, and many Americans laid in bed during the cold winters to listen to him during our time of crisis.
• The Hundred Days
• Social Security Act
• National Recovery Administration
• Agricultural Adjustment Administration
• The New Deal

You may disagree with me and think FDR was a horrible president, but I wanted to remind myself of all the great accomplishments he done for us before I start my rant. Executive Order 9066 was signed and authorized by FDR, stating the exclusion of all Japanese people.

Psychologically, the turmoil and frustration that comes along with not knowing what is going to happen to your family member, let alone your own being is unimaginable to me. I would imagine that most of the Japanese Americans at time came to America for the abundant opportunities and the promise of a better life. So for something like the internment camps to happen must have left a distrustful taste. In the article it said that many distrusted "white Americans", but Japanese culture is structured so that obedience is a priority, which led to the removal a physically non-reluctant people. More than likely the idea of an American identity would have been tarnished.

Personally, I would ask myself, "How could my country treat me like this?" Those who were not even near a part of the attack or in anyway connected were disregarded and considered just as guilty as those who were apart of the attack. I feel like the "American" part of "Japanese American" would no longer hold it's meaning and many would feel at a lost.

The Complexity of Identity

I think for social workers it is very important to have a good sense of self. The first chapter of the text "The Complexity of Identity" talks alot about figuring out who you are (or in this case, your clients). I love the line "Integrating one's past, present, and future into a cohesive, unified sense of self is a complex task that begins in adolescence and continues for a lifetime."

It may be really hard for some to come to peace with their past, and for others it may be scary to look towards the future. So for this equation, it makes it very hard to focus on the present.

Being Myself: The Micro Level
The Micro level refers to the individual, their traits, their likes, their experience, and their characteristics. In a setting where there is no judgement, this is the Micro level. Identity formation is critical because it is the structural foundation of who we are. Identity formation is not something that someone can achieve overnight, rather it is something formulated over our life time, until the very end of life even. We learn and pick up things from our surroundings and the people we interact with. Influences come and go everyday, so I think identity formation is difficult because we are always accumulating and experiencing new things, exactly when this "formation" stops is hard to say, to me at least.

Community Recognition, Expectations, and Interactions: The Meso Level

The Meso level refers to institutions in which we are a part of. At school, at work, at the mall, and even at the grocery store is where most of us interact with others and get small tid bits to the question "Who are you?" Slowly, with incremental sections of the conversation, we find out more and more about the people we are with. Here many assumptions of shared values, interests, and culture come up. Here are some examples I have come up with.

A simple one:
"Oh you're at the farmer's market getting carrots again?"

"You must be a healthy person."

The expectation here is that you find only the freshest and high quality vegetables and fruits, so of course you would take your health into consideration. Obligations to your health says you eat only the LEANEST carrots with NO TRANS FAT or preservatives (huh?!).

Now that we have the concept down, the point is that people automatically have expectations and demands based on how we talk, the way we look, and their "knowledge" of the group they think we belong to. This can either create a lot of confusion for the self, or create an affirmation that makes us say "No, this is who I am. Let me show you."

"No, I am not healthy, I was just getting carrots to coat them in three layers of chocolate so I can deep fry them later."

Social Categories, Classifications, and Structural Inequality:
Macro and Global Levels
Social categories and classifications create much social inequality and make for less social justice than wanted. You have the dimensions of gender, race, class, sexual orientation, religion, and so much more. When you combine some of these together, the individual who already faces hate and discrimination only suffers more, especially in cultures where social justice is nonexistent. In social work context, clients may feel like they either belong to the "dominant" group or the "subordinate" group. This can either help with empowering them as an individual or hinder the process if they come from an at risk population.

What does all this mean? I think looking at all three of these levels, it is important to consider where people come from and what they think of themselves at the Mirco level. From there we look at what they've gone through, and what they will come to face on the Macro level. This is by no means a social work action plan or anything related to it. I just linked these levels to give myself an idea of how they differ and connect. How did you interpret these different levels? I looked at this from a sociology standpoint (I took a course on this), so it might differ from yours.

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Here is something really neat that I would like to share. Its a book called "Where Children Sleep" by James Mollison. This book contains pictures of children from all over the world and shares with us what their rooms looks like. From the rooms we can see what kind of life they live. We can see their social and economic backgrounds. We can see their personalities, but more importantly it contrasts how different each child's different situations are. From New York to Nepal or Kentucky to Houston, the differences in economic background is pretty shocking. Keep in mind this book was intended on showing social issues around the world and I believe it was very effective. So I just wanted to include this as I see it tying in with the text on Privilege. Let me know what you guys think.

14 years old, Nepal

8 years old, New York

4 Years Old, Outside Rome, Italy

4 years old, Tokyo, Japan

15 years old, Kenya

14 years old, Scotland

8 years old, Cambodia

9 years old, New York

Photos can be found at http://www.jamesmollison.com/wherechildrensleep.php