Blog #3 Assignment (People's Perception)

Brandon Scales

Social Science

7/3/11

People's perception and lack of understanding has a direct impact on one's identity.  People are very concerned about what people think of them. When I was in church, my favorite artist/preacher Tye Tribbett was preaching on the subject of “people’s thoughts”.  He gave an example of musicians and singers posting videos on YouTube/Facebook. He said that when people post videos on Facebook and they ask, “what do you think?” If you know your music is good and sent from God, why do you need someone else’s opinion? God is the only one that should judge you because everyone in the world is not perfect so they shouldn’t criticize or judge you in anyway. If someone commented on the person’s videos and said you should stop singing gospel music. Now it’s going to impact you singing style because of what someone else think. In class we talked about Blacks and Whites during segregation. The white people always discriminated against blacks and they thought they could do what ever they want. The perception of the whites impacted the Blacks heavily. Black people began to protest and start movements in the south. The conclusion of fighting for equal rights paid off because we are treated the same as everyone else but we are still judged by our outward appearance. . In “Five Faces of Oppression” exploitation, cultural imperialism, violence, powerlessness, and marginalization all impacts a person’s identity. Exploitation is when your put on display, this affects an individual because they might be shy and they don’t like to be in front of other people. Cultural imperialism is having authority of another culture. Violence can impact someone because they can be a peacemaker and hate violence. Marginalization is putting a line or barrier that separates you. Powerlessness is when an individual has no control, if you have no control then you can’t have power your life. In “The Complexity of Identity: Who am I” the looking glass self is an example of people’s perception impacting one’s identity. Tatum said, “the. Image reflected by others is similar to the image within". When others say something about you, that's them looking at you as if they were a mirror. This impacts a person because someone’s outward appearance isn’t his or her full identity. You have to get to know the person to know their identity 

PBS New Americans Assignment

The "New Americans" are people from around the world that cannot return to their homeland. This is for different reasons, for the Ogonis they were forced out of their homes by discrimination and persecution. The Ogonis are from a refugee camp in Benin, West Africa. Their family opposes the Nigeria's military government and the Shell Oil Corporation. For years the government and corporation have been permitted to drill oil into their homeland causing an environmental disaster. As time progressed violence caused the Ogonis to relocated to the United States. Israel and Ngozi Nwidor live in a tent with two of their children in Berlin, Africa. Their family is resettling in different cities in the United States, because they were forced out of their homes. They are looking for a new beginning in America. Israel is a chemical engineer and he was unable to get a job in the oil industry Nigeria because of discrimination. Now in America, he looks forward to being accepted and being free. They don't understand America because they never been there, they just go by what they hear. Ngozi (Israel's wife) stated that "I've never been to America. When I get there, I will join others, do the way they do, that's all." It sounds easy and it's a well though concept but it's about the survival of the fittest in America. Only the strongest will survive. Someone also relocating is Barine Wiwa-Lawani (the sister of Ogoni activist Ken Saro-Wiwa from England. She has four children and she was educated in England. Her catering school and two restaurants were bulldozed by the government. Now she is forced to move to Berlin. Their fears and challenges would be the job search and difficulty understanding the language. All of their situations are difficult but they have to make the best of it and live with it. The Ogonis will have a new chapter of their life in a country with equal opportunities. They have to leave their family and it was wrong how the government kicked them but that's life. At least now the Ogonis can start new and have a better life in America. Barine Wiwa-Lawaina was mistreated and was put into a difficult situation. She went from having businesses to having nothing. Now she lives in a location where there is discrimination and no opportunities. The difference between these two cases is that one family is going from nothing to something and the other family is going from something to nothing. There are disadvantages and advantages of these relocating situations but they have to make the best out of it. The government caused these issues and if they don't stop causing these issues things are going to get worst.

Brandon's "Who Am I?" Assignment

Beverly Daniel Tatum is the president of Spelman College. She is an African-American writer who is concerned about the world’s identity. She focuses on race and racism when she writes in her books and teachings. Tatum is also known for writing the book “Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? Beverly Daniel Tatum is an intelligent African American woman who  is concerned about racial identity.

The looking glass self is multidimensional, it’s the all around reflection of you. Examples of the 'looking glass self" is being poor, gay, lesbian, Chinese, Christian, or one's gender. Tatum said”the image reflected by others is similar to the image within". When others say something about you, that's them looking at you as if they were a mirror.

The social context is the setting of people you’re surrounded by. It's also what happens in the society around you. Who did you surround yourself by when you were younger? What type of sports do you like? What languages do you speak? These are some questions that explain social context in this short story "Who Am I?” She refers to human behavior and the identity of today's world.

The dominant groups have the greatest influence in determining the structure of the society. They assign roles to the subordinate groups (incapable of performing the preferred roles) that reflect their devalued status. This means they reserve the most highly valued roles in the society for themselves. They tell jokes that criticize a particular group. They don't like to be reminded of the existence of inequality, they feel like their above others. Mainly the dominate group does not  know the experiences of the subordinates. The subordinate’s simple principle is to "pay attention to those who control their outcomes." So be aware of how you behave around people in authority because it can affect your future. The subordinate’s key is to focus on survival. Avoiding the rage from the dominant group is important to survival. The history of subordinate groups is filled with troublemakers. Each subordinate group has their own relationship with oppression. Their relationship revolves around racism, sexism, classicism, and ageism. These factors determine how one's attitude and perception of life will be affected.