Intangibles I’ll Take on My Journey

On my Journey of life, I will need a lot of things to take with me. The first thing I will need on my journey is my Mom. She always is there for me through all tough situations in life, and I always know I can count on her to save the day. The second group of people I would need to bring with me is my Cousin Marlee, best friend Nadia, and other best friend ,Derrius. All three of these friends and family lift me up when I am down, and allow me to have fun and enjoy life more. I have had some of my best memories with this group of great people. I also included paint brushes and paint in my backpack, because painting is my favorite hobby. Whenever I am stressed or just want to relax, I always turn to painting or sketching. I included a picture of a burger because I love food, and I know as long as I have a good meal I’ll be super happy. Last but not least I included a picture of a Himalayan cat, because I have one that I adore. Her name is Bella, and she has the sassiest personality. I would definitely need her for some entertainment as well!  

Research Project Intro and Body

Equality is a subject that is near and dear to just about everyone’s hearts. The fight for equality and fair treatment is an issue that is a long lasting fight for African American’s in America. The 1960’s was the peak time of the Civil Rights movement, in which African American’s fought for equality in every aspect of life. Over time, different films that display these hardships and struggles have been made to make others aware of these issues. One movie in particular that depicts these experiences is The Help, directed by Tate Taylor. This drama features a long list of award winning actresses, that help to accurately portray the hardships of African American domestics during this time period. Through each woman’s individual stories, this film gives you an inside look on what work, education, and life in general was like for these women.

When reviewing accounts of actual African American women that lived and worked through this time of grave racism, and also watching the movie The Help, it is clear that the two are accurate reflections of each other. Some of the main issues of women at this time included maintaining their own households, while still taking care of the white homes they were employed to. The film in return gives you the stories of not only just African American maids, but also their Caucasian employers.

A scene displaying African American maids from the drama, The Help.

The Government- Friend or Foe?

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. exclaims, “the moral arc of the universe bends at the elbow of injustice.” Dr. King writes about injustices in the government, in the 1960’s, in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” In series of essays, King gives his explanation of why he feels he has a moral duty to not  wait for justice, and to fight injustices directly. Henry David Thoreau, an American abolitionist and essayist, writes in his text, “Civil disobedience,” his conceptions of the many injustices within the government , and why he feels the need to “set aside,” from it. While Dr. King calls for reform and unity with the government and people, Thoreau calls for a separation to repair the relationship between state and citizens. Overall, both men feel strongly about the need to point out flaws within the government, but differ on their overall approaches of how to correct these injustices.

A picture of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. , and a quote from Henry David Thoreau.

 

 

Sattire As Effective Argument

My cool parents that are both left handed!

When reading the two different appeals, I was looking for the writer with the approach that had the most significant information and reasoning behind their logic. In the “Vertical Negro Plan”, Harry Golden gives his insight on the solution to fixing the still prevalent segregation of the late 50’’s. Although his proposals seem insane, the writer does have an ethical voice. His points are actually pushing for the bettering of our society. He mentions at the start of his argument, “There are fourteen Supreme Court decisions involving the use of public funds; there are only two “decisions” involving the elimination of racial discrimination in public schools.” By mentioning this, he instantly shows his good character and credible knowledge, no matter how crazy his proposals may sound. However, the second article “Left-Handers (Those Sickos) Got No Reason to Live!” by Roger L. Guffey, approaches his appeal with a far less sensible argument. He attacks people that are left-handed without any reasonable knowledge about why they should be attacked. He does not try to show he is speaking from a good character, instead he approaches the audience with the most severe intentions of them all. He exclaims we should even pray that, “God will strike these little perverts dead.” In no way does resorting to violence instill an easiness in the audience. Overall, Harry Golden’s appeal is far more understandable and ethical. Guffey’s appeal in no way can better the society, and does not include credible knowledge to be considered. Although his proposals are outlandish and unrealistic, they are not as bad natured and violent as killing off people for what hand they write with.

Racism in Movies

The movie I chose was The Help, directed by Tate Taylor. It is a riveting movie about house maintenance in Jackson, Mississippi, during the 60’s. Around this time, there was still heavy segregation and racism in America. In the movie, you are introduced to multiple maids, and get to see inside their tough lives as “the help.”  A Mississippi woman sets out to give these women a voice, and takes down written accounts from each. The movie gives a great image of how poorly African American people were treated at this time, and the inequalities associated with it.

This issue is compelling to me because I am an African American woman, and although I was not alive during this time, the issue is still near and dear to my heart. I have grown up all my life hearing stories from elders in my family of their hard, harsh experiences growing up African American. Many of my grandparents and older Uncles and Aunts were not given the same opportunities as I was, because of the social injustices and inequalities of the time. This topic still resonates with me, because there is still so much racial prejudices in America today.

This issue has had so much meaning in my life. In history classes, it was always a topic I looked forward to listening and learning about. To my knowledge, house maids were treated very horrible in the 50’s and 60’s. During the time, this was close to the only job that was given to African American women. Many of the maids had to leave their own families, to cater to and take care of the white families that employed them. Subjecting African American women to this job was a way of oppressing them. If maids were not meeting the standards of their employers, a number of harsh things could happen to them. Overall, maids of this time had hard lives, and endured many hardships in every aspect of their lives.

I think overall I need to learn more about the relationships between maids and the families that employed them. Also, I need to research more of the overall things happening with racism at the time. I should find out more about racism around the area the movie is based in, Jackson, Mississippi. There is a lot more that I can learn about the social issue and present day issues associated with it.

The Movie cover picture (Directed by: Tate Taylor)

Step 1 in Building a Rebuttal Argument

In “Honey Boo Boo’ comes, society values go,” the point of the speaker is to get the point across that society has a warped perception of what is interesting, and “entertaining.” While this can be argued to be true to some people, I am arguing that this generalization and assumption is strictly opinion based. For example, who is to say or decide what is socially “acceptable” and “moral” to watch? I am arguing that as time goes on, new inventions are made, new forms of entertainment comes about therefore entertainment that once was in the past, may not be what is present now. Things that once was important in ancient times may not be the main focus of people in the world today.

In the article, the speaker starts the article by basically explaining his/her stand on how the worlds perception of entertainment is morally corrupt, and “wrong compared to the thoughts and concerns of the world in ancient times. The speaker starts off by explaining that we are taught as children not to find joy and entertainment in the suffering of others; however, reality tv has now taken that life lesson and but components of it in every show. Reality television is normally based on the “crazy,” family that is socially “different” from everyone else, making it entertaining. They then go on to explain how he had to turn the channel to a historic documentary about Alexander the Great. Then the speaker uses events not the documentary to show how the things that are important to people now, were in fact “nothing” compared to events in the history.

I am mostly questioning how and why would we take their opinion as credible. The speaker does not explain whether they are some type entertainment specialist, so it is hard to take their opinion as correct. The credibility of the speaker basically makes or breaks the effectiveness of the overall message.

A picture of Honey Boo Boo courtesy of (www.thenarcissisticanthropologists.wordpress.com) 

 

 

 

Argument Style

(A picture of myself at one of the Football home games last semester)

People often believe arguments are negative, but in actuality I believe that arguments are a way of expressing your feelings and beliefs in an effective way to others. The last time I had a real argument was around a month ago between me and my parents. My parents wanted to get rid of our old cat we have had for around 8 years because she was “spraying” all over the house, which is a way for cats to mark their territory when knew animas are brought around. My overall audience in the argument was my family in which the overall goal was to prove my point that it was not right for us to get rid of a great pet we have had for so long because she was causing a little trouble.  I tried to show them and make them remember the great memories we have had with Bella and the good things that she has done over the years.

The argument style I chose for this argument is typical of what I would normally do in any argument. I try to show why my point or idea is for the greater good and will overall help others around me. In an argument I never try to prove why the other opinion is wrong, but rather prove why my argument or opinion is credible, and the right opinion to take into consideration in any situation.

I think my style of argument goes hand in hand with not only the way I was raised but also with my overall character. Growing up I have always been the “soft” child, the one that would always be very sympathetic to others problems. I think a lot of my argument style can be credited to my religious upbringing and being educated in the Catholic faith up until college. Growing up we were always taught that our relationships with others is in a way how God communicates with is, so when arguing I have always tried to make arguments more on the positive side rather than just discrediting the opposing side.

I do currently like my style of argument because it shows a lot of who I am as a person. I think everyone’s own style of arguing shows their own way of how they express themselves to others. I like to think when I argue with someone my points are fair and shouldn’t leave the other person feeling like they are getting left short. I take full consideration of others opinions and empathizes easily with others ; however, I do hope to improve on my argument style by being more firm in my style and perhaps being a little less flexible when trying to prove a point. Sometimes I can get caught up in trying to to seem just or fair instead of focusing on my true argument and staying true to my own opinion.