Reading and Writing for Social Justice
Naomi Giancola 802
I think this is a form of social injustice because it deals with one human using stereotype as an excuse to take another humans life. In this case, a neighborhood watchman, Zimmerman, was in his car keeping watch when he saw Travyon walking along the street alone at night. Seeing as Travyon was black and had a hood on, Zimmerman assumed that Trayvon must be up to no good. If Zimmerman had ignored the stereotypes and just asked Treyvon where he was going, like he probably would have done if he had seen a white boy with a hood on, everything would’ve most likely been fine. This makes me really mad because I live near the Projects on bond street and I have seen people get arrested because they were walking to get a coke or something from the deli but it was night time and no one else was around and they were alone. There is no justified reason to arrest someone who is just doing their normal everyday thing.
#2- People not getting enough psychiatric care for mentally ill
- Mom yelling at crying kid to shut up
- Illegal immigrant hard labor for almost no pay
One issue that I feel very strongly about is the mom yelling at her crying kid because the kid has no control over the situation. I don’t know any people personally who have been abused, ever, but I know of people who were abused when they were kids. It’s really a horrible thing to ever have to go through, emotionally or physically. There is never any good reason to hit or yell mean things at a little kid. Most of the time they don’t even know what you are yelling or hitting them but the yelling can leave ever lasting emotional scars and the hitting can leave temporary scars but the memory can be forever etched into their minds. There are many books about child abuse but the books are really only about the worst cases. So many kids probably don’t even know they are technically being abused because they are just so used to it. I think that if more people were more educated about child abuse, everyone could look out for small hints and save the small abuse from turning into something even bigger.
#3- Interview
Me- What do you think is good about our world?
Dan- I think the, well, that's a very broad question but I would say that the change in people's participation in their governments and that most slavery had been abolished and that most people have been able to have a say in their government.
Me- What do you think is unfair about our world?
Dan- I think it is the access of people for daily nutrition, just daily simple nutrition. We have enough food to feed everyone in the world and that its shouldn't be sent in politics. Food should not be used as a weapon. I think that governments should do more to provide basic nutrition and education to their citizens. Housing I pretty well dealt with in most countries. Housing, nutrition, and education. Those are the basic things people should get.
I think that my dad is right, that people really do need to have food, education, and a place to call home. Although there are bad things in the world, I agree with my dad about the good ones. He said that most slavery has been abolished and that’s true. Even though most of it has been abolished, there are still places where being a slave is not necessarily legal but it’s not really illegal either. And people having a say in their own governments is really a very good thing because if people have a say in their government then they might feel more obligated to not destroy their country and not rebel against the government.
#4-
#5- My cousin, Jamie, always buys the homeless person on her block a bagel every morning for breakfast.
Interview
Me- When did you start buying the bagel?
Jamie- I guess when I was about 14 years old.
Me- What made you start?
Jamie- Well this guy was always asking people for money to buy food but no one ever gave him any money and I don’t think its ever really a good idea to give anybody money because you don’t know what they will do with it so I bought him a bagel.
Me- What was he like when you gave him the first bagel?
Jamie- I think he was a little startled but then he took it and said thank you and god bless, I think. That was like 5 years ago so I can’t quite remember.
Me- That’s okay. Have you seen other people doing nice things like yourself for other people?
Jamie- No, not really.
Me- That sucks.
Jamie- Yeah, but I really wanna start a soup kitchen when I get out of college to help more people like him.
Me- That’s awesome!
Jamie- Yeah I can’t wait!
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My cousin is one of the nicest people I know and know that I know about this; I think she’s even nicer. If people gave out food to homeless people instead of money then they might be more grateful and maybe not as tired all the time and since they wouldn’t have to spend as much money on food they might be able to spend money trying to get a job. I think my cousin is really a true inspiration. I think if more people just did a little bit to help someone every day then the world would be a much better place.
#6- “And no one knows, that you cry but you don't tell anyone, that you might not be the golden one. And you're tied together with a smile and you're coming undone." -Taylor Swift
I think Taylor Swift was talking about how she and other people try to keep people from seeing how sad and vulnerable they really are because they don't want people to be able to attack them in an emotional way. Crying alone is one of the worst feelings in the world because you feel like no one cares and then the next day when you have to go to school its even worse because you have to put on a fake smile so people think that you are okay. I think the social issue this is referring to is depression. Depression is a really big social issue especially in teens because people who feel that way might be too scared to tell anyone because they don’t want everyone to know. When Taylor says that the smile is coming undone, I think she is referring to how she just can’t take it anymore and she’s given up on trying to make people think she’s okay. This line made me feel like I should just hug everyone I see because at my age, there are so many people faking smiles and I really want to make those smiles real.
#7- Pretty Little Liars
· Faking It
In the movie and show business, all of the main characters that are teen girls have beautiful blonde or brown hair and always wear make up. All the girls live in small rural towns and have way too much money. All of the “normal” girls wear makeup every day and only wear expensive shirts, pants, dresses, skirts, and shoes. The only thing that is a little true in the shows, that I watch, are the family problems. These portrayals of teens make me feel angry. The people that I know live in big cities, don’t have buckets of money just laying around, and don’t wear a ton of makeup every day. Even though the stereotypes on the shows are over exaggerated for the people that I’m close too, they are not so over exaggerated for the people that I know who live in small towns. I have a few friends who live in small towns and yeah; some of the things in the TV shows are true. The girl I know wears a lot of makeup to school, has really long beautiful blond hair, wears expensive clothing everyday, but she acts nothing like the girls in the TV shows. As much as I love watching the TV shows, they help me to know that I would never wants to live the life of one of those girls. It would just be way too overwhelming. Although I would never really want to live the life of those girls that doesn’t mean I haven’t thought about what it would be like to be one of them. I know that I would not fit in at all and it would probably be a disaster. I think maybe if the girls didn’t have so much money and didn’t wear so much makeup, they could be more relatable for other girls.
