There are many forms of racism in the world. Usually when we think of racism, it is usually between the whites and the blacks, but there are other less known forms. One example is between the whites and the Native Americans. Many treaties between Indians and whites have been broken in the past.
An American Indian Reservation is an area of land manage by a tribe of Native Americans under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs. Today there are about 310 reservations in the United States but there are 510 tribes. Some tribes own one reservations, some several, some share with other tribes, and some have no reservations.
The first political leader to suggest the reservation policy was Andrew Jackson. In the 1820s, there were soaring profits to be made in cotton farming, and planters wanted to move westward into Native American lands. The Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole peoples lived on about 100 million acres of fertile land in western parts of the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
Just after Jackson took office, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi began to take control of the Indian lands within their state, breaking federal treaties. Jackson supported these actions. In 1830 he encouraged Congress's passage of the Indian Removal Act, which authorized him to give Native Americans land in parts of the Louisiana Purchase in exchange for lands taken from them in the East.
For the 100 million acres of fertile land, the Indians only got 32 million acres back and the land was not as good as their previous lands.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Propaganda Today
Definition from dictionary.com
Propaganda- information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc.
One example of propaganda is in Nazi Germany. Hitler used propaganda to brainwashed the people of Germany. He made them believe that the Jews were evil people and blamed them for the reason that Germany lost in World War I. He made the people of Germany believed that their race were superior to all other races. The most known symbol Adolph Hitler used for propaganda was the swastika; which actually mean "peace". He used this symbol to brainwashed the soldiers.
So where does propaganda exist today? Propaganda exists mostly in magazines, ads, commercials, and radio stations. The Democrats would always say bad things about the Republicans and the Republicans would do the same things to earn votes. Commercials for fast food always depicts the food as delicious, which they are (sometimes), but they never tell about the harmful things in or how the food was made. Commercials for different products would compare their products with another product and show how their products are better.
Sometimes the things that propaganda say are true, but most of the time they are wrong. So you should not believe everything that you hear or see.
Propaganda- information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc.
One example of propaganda is in Nazi Germany. Hitler used propaganda to brainwashed the people of Germany. He made them believe that the Jews were evil people and blamed them for the reason that Germany lost in World War I. He made the people of Germany believed that their race were superior to all other races. The most known symbol Adolph Hitler used for propaganda was the swastika; which actually mean "peace". He used this symbol to brainwashed the soldiers.
So where does propaganda exist today? Propaganda exists mostly in magazines, ads, commercials, and radio stations. The Democrats would always say bad things about the Republicans and the Republicans would do the same things to earn votes. Commercials for fast food always depicts the food as delicious, which they are (sometimes), but they never tell about the harmful things in or how the food was made. Commercials for different products would compare their products with another product and show how their products are better.
Sometimes the things that propaganda say are true, but most of the time they are wrong. So you should not believe everything that you hear or see.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Open Response to Black Boy
Black Boy is an autobiography written by Richard Wright about the early years of his life and years after that.
In his early years, Richard was hungry for attention. Such as when he was little he set the white curtains in his house on fire to see what it would look like, but another reason he did that was to get attention since he was not getting a lot of attention when his grandmother was sick. Another incident was when he would go to a local saloon and stand outside watching people go in and out of the saloon. One day a man carried him into the saloon and everyone started ordering him drinks so he would get drunk. When he was drunk, the men and women would give him a penny of a nickel to go recite vulgar words to another person. He would go to the saloon everyday since no one is at home to pay any attention to him. He goes there not for the drinks but for the attention of the men and women in the saloon.
As he gets older, he started to be hungry for freedom to do what ever he wants. He wanted to write when ever he feels like it, but all his friends and family members discourage him from doing so. He wanted to go get jobs and earn money to buy his own food and clothes, but he was not allow to do this by his Granny because they are not allow to work on Saturdays. However, she does eventually allow him to work on Saturdays since she knows his soul can not be saved. When in his teens, he tried to earn enough money to move North, since in the South the Jim Crow rules does not allow him to do certain things. He does not want to follow the rules of the whites such as to say yes,sir and no,sir to them when being asked a question. Since he could not be a writer in the South, he decided to go North so he can write whatever he wants.
I have not finished this book yet, but I hope to do so soon. So far I find this to be an interesting book and I would recommend that people should read it.
In his early years, Richard was hungry for attention. Such as when he was little he set the white curtains in his house on fire to see what it would look like, but another reason he did that was to get attention since he was not getting a lot of attention when his grandmother was sick. Another incident was when he would go to a local saloon and stand outside watching people go in and out of the saloon. One day a man carried him into the saloon and everyone started ordering him drinks so he would get drunk. When he was drunk, the men and women would give him a penny of a nickel to go recite vulgar words to another person. He would go to the saloon everyday since no one is at home to pay any attention to him. He goes there not for the drinks but for the attention of the men and women in the saloon.
As he gets older, he started to be hungry for freedom to do what ever he wants. He wanted to write when ever he feels like it, but all his friends and family members discourage him from doing so. He wanted to go get jobs and earn money to buy his own food and clothes, but he was not allow to do this by his Granny because they are not allow to work on Saturdays. However, she does eventually allow him to work on Saturdays since she knows his soul can not be saved. When in his teens, he tried to earn enough money to move North, since in the South the Jim Crow rules does not allow him to do certain things. He does not want to follow the rules of the whites such as to say yes,sir and no,sir to them when being asked a question. Since he could not be a writer in the South, he decided to go North so he can write whatever he wants.
I have not finished this book yet, but I hope to do so soon. So far I find this to be an interesting book and I would recommend that people should read it.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Hungry for Attention
This week's question is about Richard Wright, author of the book I'm currently reading in lit class title Black Boy. Is Richard hungry for attention? Is he alone in this hunger?
I would say that the answer is no. Everyone always wants attention to be given to them. Some people would have younger siblings that would get more attention than them and they would try to do things to get attention.
In the story one reason Wright set the curtains on fire was to see what it would look like, but another reason was to get attention, since he was not getting a lot of attention when his grandmother is sick. He also took his father's words of killing the kitten literally to get attention as well. He would sometimes loiter outside a saloon near their flat all day to watch the drunks inside the bar. One day a man carried him in to the saloon and then everyone in the saloon started to order in drinks to get him drunk. When he is in a drunken state, they would have him recite vulgar words for a penny or a nickel. I would also consider this as him being hungry for attention since no one is at home to watch him. He would go to the saloon everyday hoping someone would take him in and buy him some drinks. He goes to the saloon all the time not for the alcohol but for the attention of the men and women in the saloon.
Richard's mother was also trying to get attention. After she got a job as a cook, when she got home she would talk to Richard and his brother for hours about how they now have no father and that they have to learn to take care of themselves.
I would say that the answer is no. Everyone always wants attention to be given to them. Some people would have younger siblings that would get more attention than them and they would try to do things to get attention.
In the story one reason Wright set the curtains on fire was to see what it would look like, but another reason was to get attention, since he was not getting a lot of attention when his grandmother is sick. He also took his father's words of killing the kitten literally to get attention as well. He would sometimes loiter outside a saloon near their flat all day to watch the drunks inside the bar. One day a man carried him in to the saloon and then everyone in the saloon started to order in drinks to get him drunk. When he is in a drunken state, they would have him recite vulgar words for a penny or a nickel. I would also consider this as him being hungry for attention since no one is at home to watch him. He would go to the saloon everyday hoping someone would take him in and buy him some drinks. He goes to the saloon all the time not for the alcohol but for the attention of the men and women in the saloon.
Richard's mother was also trying to get attention. After she got a job as a cook, when she got home she would talk to Richard and his brother for hours about how they now have no father and that they have to learn to take care of themselves.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Response to On Being an American Journalist.
This blog is about a response to On Being an American Journalists by Steve Bell.
Before reading this essay by Steve Bell, I didn't realize how dangerous sometimes it is to obtain information on something such as war. I always thought that the journalists would just go around asking soldiers or other people for information on the war. But as Steve Bell mention in his essay, this isn't the case. In Afghanistan journalists have to travel by themselves, at great risk, to obtain information about the war.
Journalists aren't allow to report any information that may embarrass the leaders. Steve Bell is trying to say to be a good American journalist is to have a accurate reporting for the public to read, so they would know what's happening. He say American journalists serve their country by providing accurate information, which is the fuel that powers the "democratic engine". However, reporting things accurately can come with risks. It may offend leaders and even cause morale problems. People need to know things such as why people around the world consider us "the insensitive bully in the global village". The government hides facts from us to protect us but we deserve to know all the facts.
Before reading this essay by Steve Bell, I didn't realize how dangerous sometimes it is to obtain information on something such as war. I always thought that the journalists would just go around asking soldiers or other people for information on the war. But as Steve Bell mention in his essay, this isn't the case. In Afghanistan journalists have to travel by themselves, at great risk, to obtain information about the war.
Journalists aren't allow to report any information that may embarrass the leaders. Steve Bell is trying to say to be a good American journalist is to have a accurate reporting for the public to read, so they would know what's happening. He say American journalists serve their country by providing accurate information, which is the fuel that powers the "democratic engine". However, reporting things accurately can come with risks. It may offend leaders and even cause morale problems. People need to know things such as why people around the world consider us "the insensitive bully in the global village". The government hides facts from us to protect us but we deserve to know all the facts.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
King Still King?
Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15,1929. He was a prominent leader in the civil rights movement. He's important for helping to bring justice in the world. He's best known for achieving civil rights through nonviolent means, using the methods of Gandhi. One of his most famous speech is his "I Have A Dream" speech, which was a seventeen minutes public speech by him in August 28, 1963, on the stairs of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.
His main goals was to get equal rights for all races, which has been done except economically. He wanted to get rid of segregation. He wanted everyone no matter of color to get along and live among one another without having to be segregated, which has also been completed, since now people from all race can be in the same bus,washrooms,restaurants,schools, etc. with one another. He wanted people not to judge each other by the color of their skin, but by their character, this is somewhat accomplished but their are still people who judge other people by their skin color.
His ideas are still present even today. Achieving justice should be part of every individual's life, because there are still injustices in the world. It maybe present anywhere, even close to you without you realizing it. So it's our job to fix all the injustices, so that it can lead to a better world.
"I have a dream ... one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin,but by the content of their character."
His main goals was to get equal rights for all races, which has been done except economically. He wanted to get rid of segregation. He wanted everyone no matter of color to get along and live among one another without having to be segregated, which has also been completed, since now people from all race can be in the same bus,washrooms,restaurants,schools, etc. with one another. He wanted people not to judge each other by the color of their skin, but by their character, this is somewhat accomplished but their are still people who judge other people by their skin color.
His ideas are still present even today. Achieving justice should be part of every individual's life, because there are still injustices in the world. It maybe present anywhere, even close to you without you realizing it. So it's our job to fix all the injustices, so that it can lead to a better world.
"I have a dream ... one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin,but by the content of their character."
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Response to Children of the Sea
Children of the Sea was written by Edwidge Danticat. This story is a collection of letters that a boy and a girl have been writing to each other. They are both in their teens. I find this to be an interesting story about life in Haiti, because people don't really talk much about Haiti or other poor countries. Only when there's a catastrophe or tragedy then people would start talking about them. I like how the author wrote the story as a collection of letters because then we will know about people's experiences first hand.
In the letters the readers discover the bad conditions that Haiti is in. The boy is part of a group of people call the Youth Federation who opposes the government. They have a radio station that talks about how bad the government is. Well the government doesn't like to be opposed so they sent in soldiers to kill anyone that opposes them because they see them as a threat. So, they are hunting for anyone that is part of the Youth Federation and so the boy had fled and has taken a boat to go to the U.S. The girl that he writes to doesn't go on with him, she stays at her house in Haiti with her family. One person that was in the Youth Federation was "run over by a car" and when the soldiers gave the body of the people they killed back to their families only the person's head remained.
The letters describe the boy's daily life on the boat. There are many people on the boat, one of them was a pregnant women name Celianne. She's only fifteen and she said she got pregnant by a soldier. The boat have a few cracks in it and they have to fill it with tar, but soon they ran out of tar. Soon the boat starts to sink and people were asked to throw away things overboard. Celianne threw her baby overboard for it was dead already and then she jumped in the water to and they both sank. The boy had been keeping a notebook and writing everything down that happens on the boat. Now they ask him to throw away his notebook and so he did after writing down one last letter. He threw it overboard and jumped in the water as well. At the end of the story there's news that a boat have sank but it's not positive that it was the boat the boy was on.
Life for the girl was much different. Her family and her hides all day in their house because they're afraid to come out. There's a gasoline ban so they couldn't get gas to move away, so they're waiting for the ban to be lifted then they were going to leave town. Soldiers in the town makes the children sleep with their parents and if they don't listen to their orders they'll be killed. Eventually they moved to a better place away from the violence. But the soldiers found them and was going to take the girl away but her father bribed them and so they just went away.
This was an interesting story and I'll recommend people to read it if they have not or has not finished yet.
In the letters the readers discover the bad conditions that Haiti is in. The boy is part of a group of people call the Youth Federation who opposes the government. They have a radio station that talks about how bad the government is. Well the government doesn't like to be opposed so they sent in soldiers to kill anyone that opposes them because they see them as a threat. So, they are hunting for anyone that is part of the Youth Federation and so the boy had fled and has taken a boat to go to the U.S. The girl that he writes to doesn't go on with him, she stays at her house in Haiti with her family. One person that was in the Youth Federation was "run over by a car" and when the soldiers gave the body of the people they killed back to their families only the person's head remained.
The letters describe the boy's daily life on the boat. There are many people on the boat, one of them was a pregnant women name Celianne. She's only fifteen and she said she got pregnant by a soldier. The boat have a few cracks in it and they have to fill it with tar, but soon they ran out of tar. Soon the boat starts to sink and people were asked to throw away things overboard. Celianne threw her baby overboard for it was dead already and then she jumped in the water to and they both sank. The boy had been keeping a notebook and writing everything down that happens on the boat. Now they ask him to throw away his notebook and so he did after writing down one last letter. He threw it overboard and jumped in the water as well. At the end of the story there's news that a boat have sank but it's not positive that it was the boat the boy was on.
Life for the girl was much different. Her family and her hides all day in their house because they're afraid to come out. There's a gasoline ban so they couldn't get gas to move away, so they're waiting for the ban to be lifted then they were going to leave town. Soldiers in the town makes the children sleep with their parents and if they don't listen to their orders they'll be killed. Eventually they moved to a better place away from the violence. But the soldiers found them and was going to take the girl away but her father bribed them and so they just went away.
This was an interesting story and I'll recommend people to read it if they have not or has not finished yet.
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