Ageism

The law gives individuals to some degree an idea of which end of the age spectrum you qualify under. However, does being 'legal' really mean you are mature or not to handle those responsibilities? What makes it okay in countries such as Europe, or Australia for 16 year olds to be able to drink, but in America you must be 21. Ironically, the drinking age when my parents were growing up was 18. So what justification legally signifies the change? One would assume, it is saving lives from drinking or driving, however the law is not stopping from underage drinking. Or what about driving... is a 16 year old kid really ready to take on the responsibility of being behind the wheel when most kids of that age don't even know how to maintain their car (change the oil, change a tire, check the brakes, etc) Another important factor dealing with ageism is being eligible to vote. I feel that students in high school who are learning about politics, and government are an entire group of voters that are ineligible to submit their opinions because they are 'not of age'. So the same question is presented again, what constitutes an individual to be able to vote because they are 18 when they can already drive? Questions, Questions, Questions... all leading to controversial answers that can be justified by some important factor.

Since ageism is an aspect of our society that government controls, will the laws change again?

LaDon's message

I really enjoyed LaDon speaking to our class last Monday. Seeing her side of Mart and the internalized racism she was enforced to be apart of growing up was fascinating to hear. The most impressive part about LaDon is that she removed herself from that environment because she did not want to be apart of it's beliefs and the generalizations/assumptions that were taught to the generations. My mom's side of the family is from a very small town as well, Colmesneil, TX, which is outside of Lufkin. Population under 700. This small town to has similar qualities that Mart exhibits such as strong involvment in Church and expressing the religious beliefs publically, football games being the only exciting weekend event, and the obvious separation between clicks. In Colmesneil, there too is the 'public drinkers' as LaDon said Mart had, the 'church kids', and then the grouped African Americans. From my experience visiting my family in East Tx, I never noticed racist slurs or enforced separation between the whites and blacks, however I suppose it was just more comfortable for the community to act this way. Which leaves me to the question, why is that? Even though racism may be unspoken of now-a-days (slurs and verbal bullying isn't as present) why is the separation still existant? It's kind of like Courtni said in class, she feels like nothing has changed at the end of the day. Sure equality is supposed to be represented by all throughout our society, but is it really? The separation of clicks in communities makes me feel as if this is something we may never overcome. And it is not only restricted to whites and blacks, in public high schools if you look in the cafeteria at lunch you'll see the separation of ethnicities grouped together. Maybe it is more comfortable, maybe it is because only they have things in common, or maybe because internalized racism is still present but "unspoken".

Environment endangerment vs internalized racism

This past weekend definitely reflected how thankful my family is of one another as we had a custody case for my 7 month year old niece since the mediation earlier this semester did not come to an agreement between my sister and her baby daddy. Maya, my niece, is such a blessing for my sister as it not only forced her to become sober, but has influenced her to remain in her sobriety. With that said, her and her baby daddy are now heading in different directions since their priorities are not the same anymore. Therefore, my sister is fighting for full custody. The baby daddy's family is not a stable environment for Maya to grow up in. The grandpa is in and out of jail, they live in an impoverished community in Third Ward Houston, known for the gang activity exhibited there. Among those factors, the baby daddy has a history of drug activity. During the mediation, his family was claiming we were making racist accusations and generalizations because of the community they live in which weren't true, however all of our points of attack were; which is why I had to become involved and testify since I have had a relationship with him since I was in middle school and know him and his family very well.

My point of this blog directs towards our racism discussions we have had over the semester. My family is being accused of exhibiting internalized racism to gain custody of my niece, however the baby daddy;s family is using that as a defense mechanism against us. Experiencing racist accusations is something I have never experienced and really took to heart. I am on the other side of the accusations however, but it still was hurtful to be accused of acting so injustly when my family is no way and has never been a racism family. Just thought I'd share with the you all this experience and how hurtful it was, however at the same time this situation in the end brought ALL of my family together which hasn't happened in years.

Bonded by love and disability article

Wow, this article definitely made me tear up. There's nothing better than a true love story. Struggling with a deficit and still trying to get through life meeting your daily needs, that most people are unaware is tough and not something you can be taught. But the ability to share something so personal with someone who is so personal to you, is a miracle. I truly believe she lived as long as she did because she had his support and continuous love. As the article said, he made sure her lips were always wet and she always had a drink. Perceptions can be misinterpreted. Seeing someone in a wheelchair doesn't mean you understand the fundamentals that person needs in order to get through just one day. This couple living off a social welfare check, but only enough to get them through the day is one of the many examples of our injust government system; which goes into the conversation we had today about ways to getting around the 'top dog' and becoming first on the list. With my continuing education as becoming a social worker, I want to become more knowledgeable of the disadvantages individuals with disabilities face with health care, welfare, architecture, etc. preventing them from receiving the services and resources they need. Being knowledgeable of these issues is important for me as a social worker and the role I play in helping in my future clients, as I want to work in hospitals with discharge planning services.

Social networking and the rise of harassment. How can we get involved?

As technology increases and new social networking sites continue to be created, I wonder if this correlates to the increase in teenage depression, suicides, and sexual harassment. According to the National Study on Sexual Harassment article, 48% of students surveyed experienced some form of harassment in the 2010-2011 school year. The symptoms of experiencing such a serious matter are inevitably affecting school performance, "... 37 percent [girls] said they did not want to go to school after being harassed. Twenty-two percent of girls who were harassed said they had trouble sleeping, 37 percent of girls felt sick to their stomach..." (Anderson, NY Times). Bullying and harassment is all over the internet, which initially continues throughout the school environment where media use is not available. More recently, commercials have been preaching against the use of the internet as an online community for rumors and gossiping because of the fetal results that may occur. These statistics, if I were a parent, would personally want me to become engaged within the school community my son or daughter was involved in. With that said, an action plan needs to be implemented. As our generation becomes more technologically dependent, preventing the use of social networking sites almost seems unrealistic. Therefore, within the education system, especially in low-income neighborhoods where according to this article more harassment and bullying is occuring, educating kids about these statistics and the results this behavior is causing should be apart of the education curriculum. For instance, having auditorium meetings once a month where videos can be shown of this behavior and the social networking abuse, is a tool that can be so easily implemented and utilized that may influence perspectives and the continuing behavior. Hearing stories and lectures about this issue does not have the same affect on a teenager as visually seeing the harassment and bullying, whether it's cyber bullying or face-to-face; documentaries will catch the attention. Therefore, we should use the availability of new forms of media for better use, such as beginning this education on preventing harassment within the school system. Education on drugs and alcohol is apart of the elementary education system, utilizing programs such as D.A.R.E and encouraging kids to become apart of extra-curricular programs such as Cub Scouts. Both programs come to elementary schools for regular meetings and lectures, therefore approaching the administration system with the idea for middle schoolers to hold monthly video clips regarding harassment is a good idea that could very easily happen. The first step needed is just to gain support from the parents, the PTA, and the teachers. As social workers, this is where we come in! Don't talk about it, be about it!

How do the employees of wall street really feel?

Wall street employees portray their true characters and feelings towards the protestors in Zucotti Park. This video really upsets me and is just another example of the hierarchy between social classes and the lack of passion people who (in nicer terms) live with unlimited needs have.

Civil Disobedience or Police Brutality?

After watching several clips, from the ones shown in class, and some I have found on my own searching through YouTube, the question remains unanswered to me... are the protestors resisting authority or are the police acting on their own mindset and impulse from the chaotic rage represented in several cities all over the country resulting in aggressive behavior. Especially after watching this video and O'Donnell's interpretation of it, the police are taking advantage of their authority and penalizing the protestors for exhibiting their amendment rights to freedom of speech.