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Power of Words: Cultivating the Commons Project

For this semester in class students had to come up with an outside community event either in town or on the college campus. I chose to do an open mic poetry night. The open mic was centered around diverse friendship’s and what its like to have them. My Event was called Friendship Matters Open Mic. It was held on Thursday the 27th of april at 8pm on MCLA Campus in the Student Market Place. 

For my event I had set up a Fender Speaker and Mic kit so that the students presenting would be heard. I also rearranged chairs to make two rows so that people who were not performing at the time could sit down. 

I started to set up for my event around 7:45 pm because my event started at 8pm and I had no idea if there was going to be a small crowd. At 8pm I had two audience members which I introduced the open mic two and they performed two poems and a rap. These two people are my friends Brittany and Destin. 

After they performed I performed myself, reading a short poem on being stereotyped. After that I cut my event short because an audience still hadn’t gathered or no one was there whom had emailed me to be in my event. And this was an hour into my event. 

I have found with trying to do an event like this I should have had my flyer up at least a month before the actual event. I have also learned that I need to better market myself on social media and not post things last minute like I had for this event. 

This is the link to the prezi I made to share with my class. 

https://prezi.com/jvxindl6y1g8/edit/# 

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Power of Words: Repairing the Breach: Heather McGhee and Matt Kibbe

While listening to this pod cast Matt Kibbe was relaying a memory he shared with the lyricist of the Grateful Dead about the internet. What I found Matt had to say was quite interesting because he was talking about how people should have the right to know anything they want to know with only the capacity of their own minds stopping them from understanding the information. I find that this quote reminded me about the documentary we watched in class last week Precious Knowledge and how the teachers of the Raza Studies were getting their students to seek the “root of the truth”. 

This is the quote that Matt Kibbe shared “John Perry Barlow, he was a lyricist for the Grateful Dead, that’s how I met him. And he talks about something called “the right to know.” And there’s this great quote that I quote all the time from a couple years ago, where he says that “the right to know is the opportunity of anyone, anywhere, whether you’re in the uplands of Mali or Midtown Manhattan, to know everything about a subject of your choosing, only limited by your capacity to understand it.”

I find that this quote is really relevant in todays society with all this fake news going around, that people, because of social media and because of the internet, see something once but they never think anything of it again or take it as the truth. And I wonder is it because they don’t care whether its fake or true or is this news something out of their capacity to understand. Has the education system failed them so much that they are just reciting fake news back to other people because of the banking system of education and not taking it upon them selves to do problem solving thinking and seek the root of the truth. 

I feel as if today people don’t have the time or the energy to seek the root of the truth anymore or even go look for something they are interested in because everyone is so strung up on what they can do next, gain that instant gratification. 

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The Power of Words: Pedagogy of the Oppressed By Paulo Friere

Right away I was struck with interest when reading Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Friere. What struck me the most was the regain of humanity of the peoples being oppressed, but done in a way were both the oppressed and the oppressor gets this humanity. That when this regain of humanity is done for both parties then the histories can be looked at from both sides on an equal field.  

“Because it is a distortion of being more fully human, sooner or later being less human leads the oppressed to struggle against those who made them so. In order for this struggle to have meaning, the oppressed must not, in seeking to regain their humanity (which is a way to create it), become in turn oppressors of the oppressors, but rather restorers of the humanity of both” ( pg. 44). 

I find this quote from the book relevant to the film Precious Knowledge because the students were taking protest against the school board and the state in a non violent positive way, by their actions in protest. They wanted to reclaim their classes in a way that would not turn them into the oppressors of the school board or state. Even their teachers told them that they can not act in the same way as the school board because then it would just in turn solidify the school boards ideas that the classes are violent and anti American. 

What else really stuck out to me was that one of the teachers and founders of the Raza Classes said that the point of the classes were to “Seek the root of the Truth” and I think this book does just that, that the peoples being oppressed want to seek the reasons as to why they are oppressed and seek the roots of their histories. And in order to do so they have to find worth in their histories and their lives as human, and that is what the students at Tuscon were trying to do, find the root of the truth through these classes but also find the root of their histories and stories. 

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The Power of Words: Film Precious Knowledge

Today in class we watched a film called Precious Knowledge. This film was about how the state of Arizona band cultural history classes from Tucson Arizona High school for what the state thought to be racist, anti-American, and hate filled. These classes where just the opposite of what the state thought. These classes centered around the Hispanic and Latino Histories in the United states as well as in Mexico, Central America and South America. These classes were an outlet for students in Tucson high school to learn not only about american history but other countries histories as well. Most of these students were able to better understand about where their ancestors came from and what has influenced culture today.  

I found this movie to be very powerful because the school district and the state wanted to take away classes from students that were not only educating students in different areas of life but also raising test scores and graduation rates. If it weren’t for these classes most of the students would have dropped out. Why take away something that is going to over all improve the ratings of your school? it doesn’t make sense to me. To me these classes showed students that American History isn’t just the single story of the founding fathers, which personally I find to be really flat and boring, but it showed students that history is more culturally diverse. These classes taught students how to ask questions that a lot of people don’t like or are uncomfortable with, taught students how to stand up for their needs and wants in a way that was peaceful and non violent. These classes were designed by the teachers as an out of the box way for students to communicate with each other. Most people whom were against these classes were against them out of fear and ignorant beliefs. Not a single member from the school board went to see what the classes were like, only one member from the state went and saw what the classes were like but even still he believed that the classes were promoting hateful ideas. 

To me this movie was upsetting because the state was denying students the right to become educated on something other then the single story. If every one is so focused on the single story then the voices of so many other people get lost. I dont think it was right or fair of the state to ban the classes, its just telling students that their voices in education and in the outside world dont matter, when in fact all students voices matter. Becoming knowledgeable on all cultures and ways of life are important because learning about others gives us new experiences and then we are able to use those experiences in other situations. I thought that the super intendant of the Tucson school district was inappropriate and unprofessional, he was letting his own fears and insecurities get the better of him, he didn't or couldn't see that having conversations on race and culture actually bring people together and make people more understanding and sensitive, instead, he was so against other races or ethnic groups that he was the one who was in fact doing the harm, and not helping his own students. The whole point of being an educator is to show students the way to questions and answers that have yet to be discovered, and to lead students to the root of the truth, not to turn away from it. 

Over all I think this is a good film for every one to watch at one point in their educational career, because it shows us that not all voices are heard in America. If all voices were heard in America there wouldn’t states banning classes from schools.

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Power of Words: Borderlands / La Frontera By Gloria Anzaldua

Borderlands/La Frontera written by Gloria Anzaldua has so much to describe in its sections. The book does this describing through memoir, poetry, history, and criticism. I find that woven together in the way the text is presented works with what Anzaldua is trying to say. All of the pieces flow together and fit inside of each other in the different forms the text are presented in. 

What I would like to focus on is how I felt that this book was very personal. As if Anzaldua was writing it as a self refection. Or she was trying to keep a record of her own personal history. Anzaldua does this by sharing bits and pieces of her past and her childhood. Through the memories of her child hood and her younger life she creates a setting for the readers. This lets the readers know the location on where all the other events in the work take place. 

What I found that resonated with me were the images of her father and working on the farm, and the description of how mothers raise their sons to treat their wives a certain way. With these memories there is a lot to be said about the culture of Anzaldua’s identity as a Chicanas women.

My example is from the text starts on page 31 toward the bottom of the page. Anzaldua is talking about how her father became a sharecropper and how the rest of her family also had to work on the farm. This passage stuck out to me because it tells us how much of a struggle her family had to go through but also the fact that the owners of these large farms were over all nonchalant about the people working for them. As if huge barbecues would make up for the lack of support these families on the farms got. 

“  To make a living my father became a sharecropper. Rio Farms Incorporated loaned him seed money and living expenses. At harvest time, my father repaid the loan and forked over 40% of the earnings. Sometimes we earned less then we owed...I remember my mother attending some of the meetings sponsored by well meaning whites from Rio Farms. They talked about good nutrition, health and held huge barbecues. The only thing salvaged from my family from those years are modern techniques of food canning and a food stained book they printed made up of recipes from Rio Farms’ Mexican women. How proud my mother was to have her recipes for enchiladas coloradas in a book” (pg.31). 

I find that this quote says a lot to the way Anzaldua lived in her childhood. Just this one image is so personal, and even though I have never lived on a big factory farm I can still connect to this image because I have had my own struggles with my family. I just think that adding in bits of personal information about her life made this text more of a representation of what happened to her and the questions she is asking as to why things happened the way that they did. I dont find this book to be attacking anyone for their culture or race but I do find that it is shedding light as to what happened to a group of people in this culture and of this race.  

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The Power of Words: Trump’s Populism

What I am gaining from reading about Trumps populism is that its just a bunch of contradictions and gimmicks. Trump says he wants to do all of these things like get rid of immigrants, build a wall, and create more jobs. But at what cost? 

The articles I found are from The Boston Globe, and The Atlantic. They both say that trump is just reaching, grabbing at any source of money the country has to make these impossible tax cuts, and create tensions with other countries that work with us to keep our money from going under. From what I understand is that the populous aims to achieve short term goals instead of long term goals of saving and investing. There is no real long term goals from the Trump populous. At the rate that he is going, he is going to create a deficit that younger generations are going to be working their lives to pay off. 

What ever Trump is planing to do, it is not going to be in favor of the working class peoples. 

https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2017/02/26/trump-foreign-policy-populism-doomed-fail/BwXb9WPTrTKxGXfqlpeu5H/story.html

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/01/trumps-populism-is-a-fiction/513989/

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The Power of Words: On Whiteness

Laila Lalami who wrote “The Identity of Whiteness” for the New York Times says this “At the heart of this anxiety is white people’s increasing awareness that they will become a statistical minority in this country within a generation. The paradox is that they have no language to speak about their own identity “white” is a category that has afforded them an evasion from race, rather then an opportunity to confront it” (pg. 45). When I read this passage I thought about Rachel Dolezal. I thought that maybe Dolezal under the pressure of going out into the community to bring awareness to people as a white woman, couldn’t confront herself for being white. That the only way to feel as if she is making progress with her work was to claim that she identifies as being black. 

Nell Irvin Painter who wrote “What is Whiteness” also for the New York Times lead me to my thoughts about Dolezal while reading the other article because they say “Ms. Dolezal, believed that she could not be both anti-racist and white. Faced with her assumed choice between a blank identity or a malevolent one, she opted out of whiteness altogether” (pg 1). 

I don’t understand how someone can just opt out of something they were born into. Dolezal was born white, yet she is choosing to identify as black. All of this makes no sense to me. I didn’t think that race was something someone got to choose. Is Dolezal just uncomfortable with being white because of all the tension that is going on in the country right now? I am just so lost as to why someone like Dolezal would choose to identify as a race that has faced so much hardship over the course of history. If anything wouldn’t it be advantageous of her to be an ally, using her privilege to spread more awareness on what is going on in the country. 

What I also found interesting was what Lalami said about identity “White identity needs black identity in order to define itself, and therefore cannot exist with out it” (pg 43). Its almost as if saying one can’t live while the other survives. But in order for something to stand on its own, it has to be independent. And maybe white identity isn’t independent. But if people worked to make it independent, then maybe people would be more aware of privileges of being white or the disadvantages to being white. And if both identities white and black were separate from each other then there could be a solution to deconstructing the social construct of race as a whole.

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The Power of Words: Obama and Coates

To be honest, I am finding it difficult to write about Obama and Coates in a comparing and contrasting way, where one idea is contradicting the other. I find that both points are valid in a sense that like Obama, we as people have to come together and realize the things that bring us together and begin to work as a whole. But then like Coates, I find that if people don’t look at the differences and the histories behind the differences, then this collective Obama talks about will never be achievable. 

When I think about the idea that Obama poses, when he says the American story is a common plot were all characters will have equal narrative value, I am drawn to the idea Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie poses in her Ted Talk “The Danger of A Single Story”. Adichie says that “The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete.They make one story become the only story.”

I have a circulating idea that Obama ideas could fall under this because, Obama talks about the American story as a common plot where all “Characters” have a narrative, taking away the individualism of stories as a whole. There for, the American story falls under this idea of a stereotype, because the american story doesn’t look at its histories. It’s almost as if the American story doesn’t want to claim to what happened in history. And Coates says that in order for there to be a change we have to look at the histories of the country. That we have to wake up from this American Dream that keeps us trapped in world were every one can achieve the same goals. 

I think about what we discussed in class about The American Dream. This dream is a stereotype because if falls under the impression that any able bodied person can achieve this dream by going to school, getting a job and doing the next right thing. But then we know that there are factors that can prevent someone from achieving this dream weather it be  money, education, ability, status, race. People dont want to think that these factors can enable someone from achieving what they want or the so called dream. 

If the American people wake up from this dream as Coates suggest then there would be chaos because people as a whole collective are not ready to look at the wrongs done to others. There would have to be an acknowledge and amends process. But if people think that they did nothing wrong then there can not be acknowledgement and there can not be amends. 

I find that in both Obama and Coates they circulate The Dream or The Story. This dream, or story is just one single point but there can be two different ways of looking at it. Obama takes an over all approach to this idea, trying to include every one. While Coates believes that there is a dream but not every one is a part of this dream and that in order for every one to be a part of something, the “dream” needs to be deconstructed. No matter what topic either of them discuss I think that this “Story” is the focus point always being cycled over and over again.  

this is my link to “The Danger of A Single Story” becasue of the quote that I cited.  http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story/transcript?language=en

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Power of Words: Between the World and Me:The American Dream

When talking about the book Between the world and Me written by Ta-Nehisi Coates in class, the topic of The American Dream came up. I understood the novel describing the dream as something that not every one could be a part of because of limiting factors such as ethnicity and economic standings. But that every one whom was subscribed to this “dream” needs to wake up because it was not reality for many of the population. 

We discussed that “the dream” was a constructed notion. An ideal that didn’t seem to fit what was happening in our world today. What I noticed is that in the blogs that I chose to read was that, “the dream” or “the American dream” was a key point that came into question. And I agree with the idea that the dream should be in question because not every one fits this standard mold. Not every one is going to live up to the aspects of “the dream”. I find that the dream can do more harm that it can help. It is very self limiting and exclusive to those whom dont fit the norm, and the norm, in a country that is so ethnically and culturally diverse, is to be white. Being white is the set bar. Every one is trying to achieve being white in some way such as in the media, language, dress, beauty, behavior, education, and so on. Yet there should be no set bar because there is so much diversity in the world. The dream doesn’t take this diversity into consideration, it rejects it. 

I find that if people were to wake up from this “dream”, this ideal that drives americans, there would be chaos because then there would be a realization that “the dream” is a social construct. If america gave up this dream, then americans would have to realize past histories that were destructive to other groups of people. There would have to be an acknowledgement of what happened and amends would have to be made. But I dont think that american people are ready to wake up from this dream. And this cycle of exclusion is going to continue to happen and this notion that being white as the set norm is going to continue to just get higher and higher until everything focused “the dream” is out of sight.  

Disclaimer: I am half latino and half white, I do not think that being white is a bad thing at all because its an ethnicity. But I do find that having this cultural norm that being white is the set standard, linked with the dream is excluding people like my self whom are mixed, and people of color. Being white is seen as an advantage while being mixed or not being white at all, is seen as a disadvantage. I have always felt somewhat out of sorts because of this.

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The Power of Words: The Obama Speeches

He was “the bridge” as David Remnick stated on page 11. My only question is if Obama is the bridge that unified the nation, does that make Trump the troll whom lives under the bridge? 

Are “we”, the people of this country, back in a political darkness that Obama wanted to pull “us” out of? Doesn’t all darkness give way to light? Or will we never see the light again. Does Trump even know how to turn on a light? 

I found this article on Obama’s speeches to be very insightful. There are a lot of things about Obama that I didn’t know about before, or wasn’t aware of. I found that through out reading this article that Obama wanted, (or it seems to me) a reconciliation of our past histories as a country, while trying to compare it to the present in a way that, made our countries future story more dedicated to issues that were happening in the present. 

I found something that struck me as interesting on page 11, where Obama is addressing Wright, his minister. ““Wright’s profound mistake”, Obama says, “is not that he spoke about racism in our society. It’s that he spoke as if our society was static; as if no progress has been made.” Wright spoke “as if this country- a country that has made it possible for one of his own members to run for the highest office in the land and build a coalition of white and black, latino, and asian, rich and poor, young and old- is still bound to a irrevocably tragic past.”” 

I felt in the moment of reading this, that it was as if Wright or Obama were contradicting the past. In some way this part fell off to me because, I felt as if the both of them wanted to be removed from this irrevocably tragic past. But the truth is, America does have a very tragic past, it shows in our history as a country. And while there is progress toward becoming more then our past, the progress itself doesn’t take away from the facts of what happened to different groups of people since the start of this nation. We cant ignore or remove ourselves from what happened bc what happened is never going to go away, and ignoring what happened wont solve the issues of racism or this divide ( that I feel is slowly getting bigger). But we as a whole collective of people can come to acknowledge what happened in our history and work as nation’s whole to make amends. 

Another passage I found to be interesting was on page 13 toward the middle of the page. It was a part of the speech Obama gave when he was overseas in Cairo in 2016. “All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time. The question is whether we spend that time focused on what pushes us apart, or whether we commit ourselves to an effort . . . to find common ground, to focus on the future we seek for our children, and to respect the dignity of all human beings.” To me this quote speaks all kinds of truths. Why are we as human beings so hyper focused on what pushes us apart? I have always questioned this. In more sense I am worried that over the next four years Trump will take these divisions that are already so prominent and spread them even further, creating such a separation that one side one be able to see to the other. When will we as human beings come to realize, that yes, while we are all different and have struggles and joys, that at the end of the day, we are all the same. 

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Power of Words: Between The World and Me

   I first read this book over the summer. A friend of mine suggested that I read it because she had read it for one of her classes and loved it. At the time she was reading it for a class here at MCLA called Conversations on Race. It took me little time to start and finish the book. I have looked at it again for this assignment and I am still moved by what Ta-Nehisi Coates had written. 

   What I find important about this book is, even though Coates is writing to his son, he uses his own life experiences to make the work contemporary so that his son can also relate to the work. Even though I myself did not go through the experiences Coates did, I still find that it was a very relatable piece of writing, such in a way that he is talking about human experience, what it means to struggle but also what it means to  build your life to the top. 

  What I noticed the most is that Coates wants his son to be self aware, aware about whom he is and what is histories are because if he isn’t then there is going to be ignorance. But its more then just being ignorant, its about not letting this ignorance that everything is okay have the power over you, or to let the people whom want to force this ignorance upon you have the power either. Coates in this work wants to teach his son to become more then what he is but have the knowledge and wisdom to understand that being what he is doesn't define him, that the definition has no control over his mind or his body. 

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Power of Words: Name Analysis

For this prompt we have to analyze our given name or any name we have. But before doing so we were asked to read “Naming and Identity” written by Felly Nkweto Simmonds and “On Faggot: A Travelogue” written by D. Gilson. Both of these works define words and names.  

 My full name is Cathleen Curran Lima. I have other names as well such as Catie, Cate and Cat. Yet most of the people I know don’t have any idea that my “full name” is Cathleen. They always assume it’s Caitlin or Catharine, which is fine. I just think it’s kinda funny the look of surprise I get if I have to correct someone on what my name is. Here at school I go by Cat. Which is less of a mouthful then Cathleen. At home I usually respond to anything, my eighteen year old brother likes to call me noob  or a frittata, but normally it’s Cate while I am at home. 

I decided to look up the urban dictionary definition of my name, Cathleen. This is the websites top definition of the name, “Name for girls of Scottish or Irish heritage, spelled the Scottish way. Only the most mouthy, stubborn, cool, smart, caring, nice girls are named this”(urbandictionary.com). Regardless of the definition I don’t think I am mouthy or stubborn. But I am Irish, most people don’t know that either about me. 

Little did I know that Cathleen was a popular name in the early 50′s all the way through till the 70′s.Then the name slowly died down to reappear again in the 90′s, which makes sense because I was born in 94. I also found that 42 countries have the same version of the name or a different spelled out version of Cathleen. Mostly they are a lot of european countries, while there are some south american influences as well. (behindthename.com)

The meaning I found behind the name Cathleen in several different countries was pure, innocent and clear. I also found that Cathleen is derived from Caitlin in Gaelic. I wouldn’t say that I am any of these things, although I do try to live to the best of my ability for my own life, and try to treat everyone as how I would want to be treated. So I guess a little of my personality matches up with this definition of the name. 

I also found this definition as well from a website called Seven Reflections, “What Does Name "Cathleen" Mean, You are cheerful and friendly, but are apt to have an emotional life. You like to have several lines of effort going at once. You are a good talker and promoter and seldom worry over anything. At times, you can be impatient, and impulsive. You have the ability to bring an idea to completion. You can express yourself joyously and constructively. You might be psychic, but not know it.You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.You are seeking freedom, opportunities to enjoy life: to make love, to go places and to do things. You are very adventurous and willing to take risk to achieve your objectives. New ways and new experiences can't satisfy your restless nature. One adventure leads you to another. You are honest and fair, because you know that this is the only way to receive justice and honesty from other people. But your personal growth is vital for your, and it is difficult to be tied down by rules and obligations. Your restless spirit might best controlled by choosing the field of work that meet your demand for action and adventure.” Looking at my life this far and becoming more self aware as time goes on I can see how my personality matches up with this name definition is saying. I do find for the most part that I am friendly and cheerful, that I can be emotional and impatient but I am also fair and honest, I think that for the most part this definition is kinda spot on. Its weird to think that this definition was written about my name but it also fits my personality as if some one was looking in on my life and writing down things they noticed.  

I got named after my aunt, my mothers eldest sister. It was honestly because my parents couldn’t think of a name so they chose a family name. My aunt is also my Godmother. My aunt and I go by different things, while I am a Cate or Cat, she is Cathy or Cath. I don’t ever go by Cathy, honestly I don’t like the sound of Cathy and I don’t think it fits my quiet, happy personality. To me Cathy sounds like an old cat lady, which not for nothing but my aunt is an old cat lady, described to a t and I am not. I think though as I age, I might be an old dog lady because I like dogs more then cats. 

I also have a cousin in Brazil on my father’s side named Cathleen. I was told that she was named after me, so the family name continues on in a different legacy. While Her name is Cathleen, in Portuguese it is spelled different such as Catarina. Growing up as a kid I was always so excited that someone was named after me. Thinking about my cousin now I am just so honored that her parents would choose to name her after me. 

I have never really looked into my name before. Now as a somewhat adult getting ready to function in the adult world, I find that Cathleen is a strong name that can stand on its own. My mother always told me that Cathleen is going to look independent, and wise on professional paperwork if I choose to go into the professional world. Also that Cathleen looks better on a book cover or inside cover page then Catie does. Which is why when I was fifteen and sixteen years old she wouldn’t let me legally change my name to Catie. As of now, I am glad that she didn’t let me change it because to me, Catie sounds like a younger girl in middle school, whilst Cathleen or even Cat sounds more mature for my age, a young person whom is ready to enter society after being in school for so long. 

I never use to like my name growing up because of the “old cat lady” factor but now, I think that my name has more value then just being an “old cat lady”. To me, I am more accepting of the name I was given. And that my mother, who stopped me from changing my name, was right, that in an “adult” setting my name will look better on paper work then Catie. I thank her now, when my younger self was to blinded to see the wonderful name I was given. 

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Power of Words: Bad Feminist

I have just recently read “Bad Feminist: Take one” “Bad Feminist: Take Two” by Roxane Gay. I have read Gay previously for another class last semester. This was my first time reading “Take One” and “Take Two”. I can say though that Gay makes a point, that there is no right or wrong way to be a feminist. And if you can’t be your true self and be a good feminist, you might as well be a bad feminist.

In most ways one could say that I have a feminist mind set. Or maybe I, like Gay, are more self aware then others when it comes to things like for example equal rights or equal pay for women. To me all women should get equal rights and equal pay, that sexism be left out of the office and belittling someone shouldn’t come about just because one thinks they are better. I am here to tell you that you are not better or worse then anyone else on this planet. We are all the same. 

 It is kind of a common sense, no brainer issue that women should receive the treatment they deserve, yet women don’t get these things. Women make up half or more of the population and are still treated with disrespect. I just don’t understand sometimes, why women are treated the way that they are, it makes me frustrated. And this whole idea, while it is true that women are mothers, sisters, daughters, aunts, cousins etc, women should get treated with respect because first and for most we, women, are human beings just like the other half of the population. Women are human beings and should be treated with kindness and respect because its the right thing to do. Not only is it the right thing to do but its also common courtesy to treat someone with respect. 

I just dont understand how people treat other people in their every day lives like crap. Its always best to treat people the way you would want to be treated. 

I am a women, a young women about to graduate college and parts of me are excited and other parts are nervous, like I should be. Yet because of being a women I have no idea what is going to happen to me if the media, public,and new government office keep viewing women as objects to be treated with out respect once I leave the safeties of my school. 

If things dont change now, will they ever? 

“Feminist are just women who don’t want to be treated like shit” ~ Roxane Gay

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Power of Words: keyword / catchphrase 1

Identify a word or phrase that circulates in public discourse—a word that you think deserves to be reflected upon more deeply than we usually reflect on it. Then think critically about this word and write at least 3 paragraphs about how you hear this word used today.  What are its meanings?  (Note that "meanings" is plural not singular!).  In what contexts do we hear the word used, and for what purposes?  What are the underlying connotations of the word or phrase?  Why do you think it behooves us to think about this word more deliberately? 

A word that I hear a lot of late, is the word climate. Climate is a word that is usually attached to the weather. Or when I think of it. But, the word climate is being attached to the word political. Which is fine. I’m just not sure how I feel about climate being attached to political. Usually it’s said when speaking in negative connotations about the recent election and inauguration. The people using the phrase say something like  “the recent political climate has been hard and difficult for every one”. This phrase or these words are all I have been hearing when there is a conversation about politics. 

The meaning of climate is the weather conditions prevailing in an area over a long period of time. But what climate means when it is paired up with political is something totally different, such as current mood and opinions of a populace about political issues that also currently affect that population. And this second meaning is normally how people use the word in todays discourse. I totally agree with the second definition, there is a mood about the general public when the election or recently the inauguration is being talked about. I find that the current undertones are a negative one and that no one feels okay about the choices that were made by many and their peers.  

The purpose of the word climate in this sense talked about with politics is to describe the over all feeling of what is going on in the country. The mood is very grim and it has been that way for a long time. I usually hear this word or phrase described with context as the political climate is at an unrest. 

[thisisthestart]

Power of Words: First Post Reflections

Words are every where. They are the culmination of everything we do in life. If we as a human race didn’t have words or symbols would we be silent or would there be other forms of communication? 

To be honest on the first day of class I was so tired. I had gone to bed wwaayy to late the night before and had gotten up super early for work. I am taking seven classes this semester in order to graduate. I am in class all day on Monday and Wednesday, but I guess thats my own fault. 

 In class we discussed what words are, and how and when you say something to someone else, the words spoken could have different meanings to different people. Words are a powerful way of self expression, and I agree with that. I think over all it was a first good class. There was also a video we watched on a writer from The New Yorker. He talked about speech and the different aspects of speech, he also talked about listening as if you were a traveler, and by doing so the way you listen will change but also, the way you talk to someone will change too. That you will develop a self awareness about what and how you say something to someone else. 

I am excited for what this class can teach me about words. And how to manipulate words in ways that I want so that I can be come more self aware with the way I speak and, the way that I write.