johannasachs - Tumblr blog

[johannasachs]

My learning experience in a comic:

Last but not least: here is me in my comic and the thoughts I had during this learning experience. I used a website called "storyboard that" to create this comic, cited in my other learning experience post.

[johannasachs]

My learning experience:

This is a long one, but I have a lot of thoughts… (please expand post)

I wanted to add this photo because I truly think it explains my learning experience and I admit that sometimes I too am too quick to judge- rather than understanding. Although I still don't agree with the people and posts I have looked deeper into, I think I gained a deeper insight to their side and perspective of things. I don't know where Andrew Tate comes from and how he was brought up. His core message in the video was that women should all be wives and have children and will never be career driven people because if one doesn't have children, one will never be happy. This is not mentioning women who aren't able to have children, women who have lost children. It is not something that everyone will relate to because it can be incredibly hurtful. There is a difference between Andrew and I because we just do not agree on this topic the same way. Like I mentioned above, I do not know how he grew up or who his family consists of and what traditions they may have, and it would be equally as unfair for me to judge him based on that.

Similarly, I feel that this happened to me with reading more of the comments on the “Anti-vax movement” Reddit post as well. Why is there a difference? Because morally I do not agree with the anti-vax movement, but there were solid points made in the comments. Did I change my mind about it? No. Did I gain a deeper understanding on why people choose not to get vaccinated? I did. I understand that the main point of the post is that people who choose not to vaccinate their children are lagging in either science education, are old school, or distrust the government. I understand why people aren’t fully able to trust the government in this time, but with vaccines being scientifically proven to be safe and effective, there is little reason to believe otherwise. For others it is about control and power and that again is a personal thing. It is reasonable to say “Hey, can you give me some more info on this” or “I don’t feel comfortable because I don’t know enough and haven’t been properly educated on it”. This was an interesting read for me with many different opinions in the comments.

For my next journal entry, I am not sure if I really changed my mind. I did a bit of looking into and reading about Elon Musk in general and I will say that he must be an intelligent individual- there is no doubt about that. Do I think he spends his money wisely? No, I can see better ways, but he did work for his success, so it is up to him! Although there were negative comments about him becoming the new CEO of twitter, I would wait it out and see how things go instead of making assumptions about how it will go. I think there is a difference between us because if I were to put myself into his shoes, with his money and success, I would put it toward a greater good. But it is okay for us to be different that way. My initial thought about him was that he is another white man that comes from money, but now I know that he is intelligent and has worked for his successes.

For Meghan Trainor’s song “All About That Bass”, I have changed my perspective on it. When I first heard it- up to when I did my journal entry, I thought it was hypocritical and wrong. Our difference is that she was upset that many magazines, runways, society, etc., were only showing off and romanticizing “skinny” people. I do agree that one does not have to be a size 0 to be beautiful, however in her song it was almost like she was saying “if you are a size 0 then I’m going to judge you.” It felt like she was projecting, and I got upset over it. For it being such a popular song, I didn’t take other people’s perspectives into consideration. “Bigger” people often do get more hate, and I know that she didn’t mean harm by the song. I do think that she was trying to protect herself and people around her and have a positive outlook on her body (even if I don’t agree with the message, it brought across).

“Why schools are banning yoga”.. Ahh. One that I am still trying to understand. I am an understanding and open-minded person- no doubt about that. I do often try to see things from different perspectives and be empathetic toward people and situation. This one I am not sure I can get behind. Yoga to me is relaxing your body and mind. I don’t think about who invented it, who practices it or what religious or spiritual aspect there is to it. It is exercise and it is healthy for the body and mind. I know the main difference lies between my religious views and parents’ religious views. I can understand if people don’t want their children learning about certain topics in school if they find it is inappropriate. I also did not think about religious views when it comes to yoga in schools- maybe that’s on me. This is one topic I’d still like more insight on, because respectfully, I do not fully understand it just yet- but am always willing to learn. :)

Next is my Roe v. Wade caricature. This one is controversial and interesting, and I know many people have different opinions and I could talk for hours. But here goes: while I do not agree that abortion should be illegal, I do understand why people do. While I do think that every woman has the right to do with her body as she pleases, I understand that there are people who think otherwise for various reasons. This could be religious, moral, or societal reasons. Many people get villainized for being pro-life – like in the photo. That is not the case for everyone who is pro-life. Some people may have had bad experiences with birth, some may not understand the concept fully and choose a side. The one thing that bugs me is that men get to decide what a woman does with her body. This being said- no, I did not change my mind about it, but I do understand both sides.

Finally: Waco. This mini-series was an incredible and emotional watch for me. Where do we differ? Same as before- I simply do not understand the religious viewpoints of this series and would still like more information. This being said- I do understand what it feels like to really believe in something. To have faith. This was important for me to remember because that is what these people’s lives are based off, faith. Although there are many aspects of the series that I cannot imagine in my own life, I do see how and why the Branch Davidians were part of their cult. It had to do with belief, upbringing, friendship, faith, spirituality, etc. It was a great watch and a great learning experience for me. Instead of saying “this is messed up”, say “this is something I have never seen before, but can you imagine believing this strong something?” It’s okay to let people be who they are if they aren’t hurting anyone.

I did learn a lot from this experience and think it gave me a deeper understanding of some of the topics I’ve read or watched. I always appreciate learning more, especially about other people. As an empathetic person, naturally I like to put myself in other people’s shoes and I am okay with having my opinions challenged!

References:

CropticaL. (2022, June 11). Andrew Tate brutally reality-checks western women. YouTube.

CBC/Radio Canada. New twitter CEO Elon Musk floats charging $8 a month for Twitter verification | CBC News.

Wong, A. (2018, September 20). Why schools are banning yoga. The Atlantic.

MeghanTrainorVEVO. (2014, June 11). Meghan Trainor - All about that Bass (official video). YouTube.

R/science - despite overwhelming scientific evidence that vaccines are safe and effective in preventing childhood diseases, a significant minority remains skeptical, such as the anti-vax movement. mathematicians show this may be due to "hysteresis", where an effect persists despite changed initial conditions. reddit. (n.d.).

Clever Prototypes, L. L. C. (n.d.). Log into storyboard that: Storyboard that Login Page. Storyboard That.

"Waco", I watched on Netflix but I don't see it on there anymore.. it was developed by John Erick Dowdle and Drew Dowdle, and premiered on January 24, 2018, on Paramount Network. Here's a link to the Wikipedia page talking about the series: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waco_(miniseries)

The Roe v. Wade picture I found on google images which came from this link :

The photo I used for this post is from pinterest found here:

[johannasachs]

October 30/22

As my last journal entry I wanted to talk about a movie I watched called "Waco". The movie is about the cult The Branch Davidians lead by David Koresh in Waco, TX in 1993. My gut reaction to the religious cult and religious views in this movie were negative as David claimed to be the real Messiah and took "spiritual wives" including children. He had children with multiple women of all ages and that is wrong to many people. It was difficult to watch without judgment because I stand on the opposite side, but it gave me insight into other peoples perspectives, which I can appreciate.

Thought of the day: As difficult as this movie was to watch, I understand some different points of view, and it is very interesting to see.

[johannasachs]

October 29/22

This picture was interesting to me and immediately sparked negative feelings about the supreme court decision in the Roe v Wade case. Although there is no actual written context other than the two speech bubbles, it is obvious what it means. A white older male making a decision for a woman, stating that it is her body but she doesn't have any choice over it. It feels wrong to be on this side of media, although I understand that this is a mock image.

Thought of the day: I find it a little strange to try to understand this side of things, especially being a woman. It almost feels like my mind wants to immediately fight this side of things and not try to understand it.

[johannasachs]

October 28/22

As someone who personally enjoys yoga and mindfulness and would love to see more of it in the classroom, this article intrigued me. I was interested to read the reasons as to why schools would ban something that seems to be helpful to a lot of students. One of the reasons is that yoga promotes a non-christian belief system, therefore many parents disagreed with it. As someone who is not religious personally I do not see how yoga should be banned in schools, but I am looking forward to do some deeper diving and familiarize myself with differing opinions.

Thought of the day: It's important for myself to remember different aspects. When I first read the headline of the article, I didn't even consider a religious viewpoint.

[johannasachs]

October 27/22

I wanted to get a better understanding of this song because to be blunt- I do not like it whatsoever. I always found the lyrics offensive and judgmental. Instead of creating a song about Body Positivity, it feels like Meghan Trainor basically made this song to shame "skinny" people. I was nervous to dive deeper into it but I do believe that there are some psychological sides I have never considered. This song bugged me when I first heard it because I have struggled to gain weight because of dietary issues, something out of my control, and it felt like I was the one being judged..

Thought of the day: There is a difference between Body Positivity and only being positive about your own body while shaming others.

[johannasachs]

October 26/22

For today, I chose to read a news article about someone I choose to never pay any attention to. My initial reaction was something along the lines of "What can this man do to ruin my day today?" Honestly, I don't know much about him- all surface level stuff and the usual controversial social media post. I know he is extremely rich and posts some potentially triggering things on social media. He is a white, straight man, and for him to be so rich and influential has always rubbed me the wrong way. Many people use twitter as educational tools and some are worried that he will take this away from them. Others are considering deleting the app before the change takes place...

Thought of the day: I do wonder how and why Elon Musk is so extremely famous and I should look into it instead of judging without actually knowing anything.

[johannasachs]

October 25/22

Today, I did further digging into more controversial topics on reddit that I never look at. At one point in the pandemic it was hard to avoid this topic, but now I can choose to ignore it. This was interesting because I saw many people conflicted over the headline of the post. the anti-vax movement is harmful to people. I was hesitant about reading this because I have grown annoyed with this topic over the pandemic, but I gained some good insights. One specific topic that stood out was "I don't see anti-vax as a movement, as much as a uncontrolled symptom of the corruption in our healthcare system. I don't think the movement could have ever taken off without a history showing the hysteria could be valid."

Thought of the day: People who choose to vaccinate aren't "sheep", and people who choose not to vaccinate aren't "conspiracy theorists".

[johannasachs]

October 24th/22

Although this is not something I watch or necessarily agree with, I decided to do my first journal entry on this video of Andrew Tate. From people around me I knew he was a controversial character so i dove in. My initial thought was "WOW, this is one way to state your opinion.." As a woman myself, I was initially slightly offended by some of his comments and wanted to click away, but kept watching for the sake of the assignment and deeper learning. I was nervous as well because he is a big influence on teenagers (specifically teenage boys), as well as adults. Big influences like this can really (re)shape the way the rest of society thinks.

Thought of the day: Although we are different, I understand we may have different upbringings and differ in the way we think. I do not have to agree or engage with Andrew Tate on a daily basis and if he wants to post his opinions on the internet, I cannot change that.