A5 Blog 2

I did my Assignment 5 paper on the issue of immigration. What I discussed in my paper was a use of LACK of critical reasoning and lack of research on the topic of immigration. Americans often jump to conclusions and accuse illegal immigrants of taking millions of jobs away from American citizens. The lack of critical thinking on this issue is illustrated by this summer’s “Take Our Jobs” program, sponsored by the United Farm Workers union. In Union President Arturo Rodriguez’s announcement of the campaign, he claimed that farm workers do the work that most Americans are not willing to do. One may argue that that thought is a stereotype, and the millions of desperate Americans would jump at the opportunity to have a job, but interestingly enough this was certainly not the case. At least 500,000 applicants would be necessary to replace the current immigrant workforce in America, so the organization posted an application online for citizens who wanted to work on the farms. Through the website (www.takeourjobs.org), they promised to connect applicants with farm jobs near their area. Between June 24 and July 10, 2010, only 4,000 people responded, and the majority was “hate mail.” According to Rodriguez, only a few dozen have really followed through with the process. This was at a time when the unemployment rate in the United States was high (9.5%). It is quite disturbing that only a few dozen people truly were interested in following through with these job opportunities when there were over 500,000 jobs available. This organization really proved that in certain cases, undocumented immigrants are necessary for our economy to survive. It “is” true that the citizens of our country certainly are not willing to do these jobs, so we need to look elsewhere.

Immigration

For my final topic, I have decided to embark on the issue of immigration. This issue has plagued America for many years, and there still doesn't seem to be a good solution. I want to explore certain aspects that people don't always think about-- for example I want to visit the topic of Enrique's Journey, and elaborate on how often times as Americans, we see these illegal immigrants as faceless people who are invading our country and offsetting the economic balance, but we have to also remember that these people are human beings. I also want to revisit an old program (The Bracero Program) which ended in 1964, which enabled Mexican workers to LEGALLY work farms in America seasonally, and would return to their families when the harvesting season was over.

Logical Fallacy: Slippery Slope

This 2010 ad talks about Mick Mulvaney, a candidate (for State Senator in South Carolina) who thinks Social Security payments to the elderly are unconstitutional. The ad suggests that if Mick Mulvaney had his way, elderly people will be thrown in jail. The reasoning is that they will go broke without Social Security, so they will not be able to pay their bills, so they will get thrown in jail. (Perhaps because they will have no money and will start stealing?) This definitely seems like a slippery slope. Even if people stopped getting Social Security, they wouldn't necessarily all wind up in jail.

Assignment #4 (blog entry 1)

The USC masterplan is a great idea that I believe overall is a very beneficial adjustment that would improve the school. Currently, USC is a very prestigious school located in an area that is not as "nice" as the school itself. USC is located in an inner city where there are a lot of homeless people and poverty. Many excellent students choose other schools over USC because they do not like the area that USC is located in. I know for a fact that many of my friends chose other schools merely because the location of USC was not what they were looking for in a college. This master plan is a great idea because it strives to develop the area around USC to make it a nicer place. The council plans to make the surrounding area more aesthetically pleasing and also bringing in more store, restaurants, etc. that will be more appealing to those attending USC. Another positive element of this master plan is that it will open up many new job opportunities for the locals who are struggling financially. We are in an economic crisis, and with more job opportunities, more people will be able to make money.

The one thing that may be more of an ideal goal is the Jefferson Avenue plan. It appears they want to create a "Third Street Promenade" feel to it, but they must take into account the only people who will be utilizing this area would be USC students and faculty-- the stores they plan on putting in are probably fairly pricey and would not appeal at all to the locals who live around USC. The council may be putting in too much money to redo Jefferson Blvd because that area will not be used by all of the people around it, only USC students in which case it may actually LOSE some money.

Logical Fallacy: Generalization

This particular video is a political advertisement for Carly Fiorina.  The commercial first shows a clip of Barbara Boxer telling a general in court to call her “Senator instead of ma’am” because she “worked so hard for that title.”  Fiorina then comes on screen and explains how this was an arrogant comment made by Boxer.  Fiorina then takes this to the next level and says that Boxer worked for 28 years in Washington for a title, but Fionrina will “really go to work to end the arrogance in Washington.”  This is an extreme generalization.  She is using this example to imply that because Boxer made an arrogant comment, that Washington is an arrogant place.  There is no proof that because one Senator made one arrogant comment, that Washington is full of arrogance.  

President Obama!!

Here is a picture I got from the President of the United States on our very own McCarthy quad at USC!!

 

Sonia Nazario

This speaker that we had was quite a treat.  To be honest, when I thought of immigrants coming to America, all I thought about was them crossing the Mexico-America border.  I had no idea about the grand journey of trying to make it through Mexico and all of the other Central American countries.  It was incredible to hear about the dangerous journeys on top of trains.  What was the most heart-wrenching was listening to her talk about how desperate the little kids were to find their mothers who had left them.  It was tragic that a mother had to chose between leaving her kids behind to make money to support them, or to stay with them and have her family suffer from starvation.  It was so moving when Nazario explained how she went on the journey herself.  It showed true dedication toward her passion.  I couldn't even imagine putting myself in her shoes, riding on top of trains with her life constantly in danger.  It gave me a totally new appreciation and understanding for immigration.  It is a fight and a struggle for freedom, and also reuniting with loved ones.  I think it would be an awesome project to do some sort of a documentary on this-- being able to visually see the struggles and talk to the immigrants would be awesome. 

Engaging Clio Blog Entry #2

I wanted to do my paper on the particular topic of  Lincoln being the "Great Emancipator" because my teacher in high school was really in to trying to debunk myths in history.  When I was young, I learned that Lincoln was this highly revered president because he freed the slaves.  It is true that he freed the slaves, but teachers always put it in a very positive light, making him seem like this idealized extremely moral person.  It was a shock to me when my teacher Junior year had do a detailed case study on Lincoln's life, and we learned that he actually had racist feelings as well.  My perceptions of this topic haven't necessarily changed, but before I started writing this paper, i couldn't really articulate WHY I thought this should be taught in all high schools.  Why would I want to shatter a positive view on one of the great American heroes?  The more I thought about it and researched the topic, I realized that our nation cannot be founded on lies.  Lincoln is not the only figure or event that is portrayed in an idealized light.  Having our hero figures being falsely portrayed as idealized, it gives us as citizens a feeling of inferiority, and when we want change, we might feel like we have to wait on a "messiah" type figure.  It is not a good mentality to have.

Engaging Clio Blog Entry #1

I am choosing the topic of Abraham Lincoln and how he is not the "Great Emancipator" like many people learn.  I know a lot of my friends have been taught about this idealized figure of Lincoln as the slave freer because he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed the slaves in the southern states.  However, I think that his situation needs to be reevaluated.  Lincoln issue the EP for political reasons, and not because he was an abolitionist.  In fact, Lincoln had many racist tendencies.  I think that it is important that people do not have a false perception of Lincoln.  Though he may have been a racist, he has many other qualities that people can still respect.  His ultimate goal was to preserve the union, and he would do whatever it took-- and he issued the EP to attempt to preserve the union.  I think people need to be aware of the REAL  Lincoln, and not the ideal Lincoln.

Movements can make better use out of using social networks if they use them as simply an aid to the cause.  As I mentioned in my previous blog, my school had given many announcements about this "Walk for Water" movement, so we were already aware of it.  A facebook page was then made and everyone who was already interested in the cause joined it.  It was very effective because the majority of the people who joined the group were already semi-passionate about the cause, so the facebook page served as an extra source of information that people would check and follow up with.

Movements have to already have a target audience if they want an online source to be used to it's full potential.  It is more likely that a person will want to join a page if they are already aware of the cause than if they just stumble upon it while surfing the internet.  However, social network activism is very effective because it enables people anywhere and everywhere to have access to information about a movement.

Social Networking and Social Action

To be honest, I don’t really use the “social network” to pursue activism.  I use it for social purposes.  However, that is not to say that I have never “liked” a movement via the internet.  At my school, we had this “Walk for Water” event through my school to help raise money for people in Africa.  We had to get sponsors, and every mile we walked, we raised a certain amount of money.  I found out about this through my school, then afterwards proceeded to “like” it on my facebook to get the newest updates and time changes regarding the fundraiser.  The only reason I joined this group was because I was already involved, and just wanted to be further informed.  Had I just seen this page, I would have no reason to browse any farther and pursue it.  If I am going to be involved in something, it has to be tangible.  I would not have been interested if it was just a page I came across on facebook. 

Blog Entry #2

Please view the images from Blog Entry #1:

            The “old” Aunt Jemima was a classic stereotype of a “mammy” back in the days of slavery.  Her advertisements often included her speaking in broken English, which made her seem uneducated.   The new and improved Image of Aunt Jemima is a drastic difference, and is not as credible as her old image.  Aunt Jemima is still a woman of color, but seems to have lost a few hundred pounds, and is now a very mainstream, non-stereotypical woman.  She lost the bandana, and a lot of other racial connotations.  Now we can only see her face (instead of her whole body like the old advertisements).  Aunt Jemima seems to be a middle class woman instead of a servant.  She has a nice perm/hairdo, and also has pearl earrings. Her outward appearance is a huge step in a positive direction, and is far less offensive.  She appears to be a sophisticated woman, but quite frankly does not look like a chef anymore.  She has the appearance of a school teacher or principal, and doesn’t have as inviting and comforting of a feel as the old Aunt Jemima had.  Though the old Aunt Jemima was an insulting stereotype, she seemed to have more credibility as a chef, and therefore was a stronger, more efficient spokesperson. 

Blog Entry #1

 This photo displays the change of what the old and “new” Aunt Jemima.

Aunt Jemima is the face of breakfast foods such as pancake flower and syrup, which is now owned by the Quaker Oats Company.  Chris Rutt and Charles Underwood were the founders of the instant pancake mix, and they were inspired after watching a Vaudville performance based on a slave named Nancy Greene. She was a stereotypical “mammy” type-- heavy, gregarious, dressed as a servant wearing an apron and a bandana to the song “Old Aunt Jemima.” This image inspired the face of the pancake mix.  Back at the time, that was a classic stereotype of African American women.  However, as time has gone on, Aunt Jemima has lost her bandana and a lot of weight!  Over time, the image of Aunt Jemima has changed drastically.  She now has lost a lot of the stereotype of the black slave, and just looks like a normal woman. 

Clearly in this advertisement, it is stereotyping the speech of a black women or slave at the time.