N-Word Blog #2

I feel like there are so many sides to using the n-word. In the episode of Boston Public I can see the controversy because of the very diverse student body. It doesn't affect us in the same way here in Superior, but I think that if a white person stepped into a person of a different race and vice versa, the people using the n-word would change their mind. Although this is not possible, I wish it was because then everybody could see how it is living in somebody else's shoes and see that the n-word is different to different people.
I think how the word is used is what it is all about. Using it in a positive way is okay to me, but a negative way is horrible. I think in the next generation the n-word will completely change to being a slang word meaning friends or buddies. What parents tell their kids is, "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." This is one of the toughest sayings to be able to believe in because words are the strongest thing you can use against a person. Using your words is one of the most powerful thing you can use against somebody.
I think that saying the word in a positive connotation could be a good way of getting rid of the negative, but I don't think this generation is ready for that yet because kids are still taught that it is a very bad word to say even though it can be used in a good way. The controversy over words will never go away, but the government can't take away our freedom of speech.

Afghanistan

I agree with the yes side of the argument of whether the president should announce an Afghanistan exit strategy or not. The United States has always wanted to just go into a war hoping to resolve it by using overwhelming force, but hope to get it over with as soon as possible; get in, and get out. I think that the United States should establish an exit strategy but not announce it to the world. If we were to do this, it gives our enemy the plan and gives them an up on us.

N-Word Blog

After reading the first chapter. One passage in the first chapter really jumped out at me.

"Before the 1970's, however, nigger seldom figured in the routines of professional comedians. It was especially rare in the acts of those who performed for racially mixed audiences. Asserting that unmentionable slurs derived much of their seductive power from their taboo status, the iconoclastic white comedian Lenny Bruce recommended a strategy of subversion through overuse. In a 1963 routine, Bruce suggested with characteristic verve that "if President Kennedy got on television and said, 'Tonight I'd like to introduce the niggers in my cabinet,' and he yelled 'Niggerniggerniggerniggerniggerniggernigger' at every nigger he saw...til nigger didn't mean anything anymore, till nigger lost its meaning...you'd never hear any four-year-old nigger cry when he came home from school."" (pg. 31)

This isn't exactly Kennedy's point, but I agree with what the comedian said in a way. If people wouldn't use the n-word in a bad connotation, but used it in a good way, everything would be so much better. As the comedian said, if people were used to hearing it said in a good way, kids would grow up thinking of it in a good way and eventually everybody would too.

Socratic Method/Michael Moore

One similarity I found between Socrates and Michael Moore was their style of proving their point. Throughout the whole documentary Michael Moore questions people and the government. He asks about gun control, why people think Canada has less shootings than America, and many others. Socrates is similar in the way that he asks questions to Crito about justice and escaping from the jail. Both of the men are asking questions to get a point across.

Quote from Crito

“Are we to say that we are never intentionally to do wrong, or that in one way we ought and in another way we ought not to do wrong, or is doing wrong always evil and dishonourable, as I was just now saying, and as has been already acknowledged by us?” (pg 49) I chose this quote because I felt it related to me in a way that could help me in the future. Even though many will say what you are doing is wrong, good may come of it. So you should stand up for what you believe in.

Dialogues of Plato Quote

"...and they [charges] were made by them in the days when you were more impressible than you are now--in childhood, or it may have been in youth--and the cause when heard went by default, for there was none to answer." I found that this quote relates to me because when I was younger I believed and thought that what adults and people I looked up to told me was 100% true. Kids will believe anything you tell them and can't think for themselves and what they will choose to believe or not to believe until they develop those skills.

Reflection

When looking back on this year so far, I think that my favorite part was in the beginning of the year when we discussed Lord of the Flies and White Fang. I know if I would have read those books on my own I would not have thought about the connection of man and evil. I really enjoyed discussing whether man is inherently evil or is man's behavior based on society. Senior Social really makes me think about the books or packets we are reading and see the deeper meaning. I also like reading Inherit the Wind. I like talking about the symbolism we see in the book compared with life. I never liked symbolism before this class, but now that I can understand what is going on I really like it. Even though the packets are sometimes hard to read, I have liked those too. The Law and Justice packet really made me think of whether they are separate or together and I never thought of it like that. I have enjoyed all of the topics we've done so far in this class.