Rlopez41's Blog

8:a

Ruby — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:48:54 +0000

As I began reading the first chapters of Drams from My Father, I had to step back and remember this is the life of our president, what he lived through; his experiences. I found it a great way to know more about our president and know how he got where he is today.

Barack Obama discovered the “code of manhood” with Lolo. Although he did not say much, he taught Barack Obama a lot about growing up. He bought him boxing gloves to teach him to defend himself. Although Lolo was not his father, her mother could not help him out figure out this world because she was new to it too. “So it was Lolo that I turned for guidance and instruction. He didn’t talk much, but he was easy to be with.” (pg. 38).

Barack Obama also discovered the unmarked category in his young years. He did not have someone telling him he was different, through magazines and pictures inside of them, he realized it. A man changing his skin color to look lighter like everyone else. In the childhood years the kids would get warnings of being different from not having their hair straight and smooth or be able to cross boundaries from neighborhoods. It is difficult to tell children they are different in society, but they learn through experience or pictures that they are. Even now many things have changed, but not how people look or think about each other and their appearance. Barack Obama did not seem to notice the difference because he lived in a different society with a white mother. Even though Barack Obama had moved from Hawaii to Indonesia, he noticed the difference.

Growing up with the absence of a father and trying to figure out the world through children eyes is difficult, but even more different because he had lived in Indonesian and Hawaii traveling back and forth and now living with his grandparents going to an American school.

week 7:a

Ruby — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:30:10 +0000

After finishing “Always Running” I thought about all the struggles Luis Rodriguez went through. I do believe the only way to stop all the violence is if the whole community, race, or group would stop fighting with each other. What stood out to me was the man who went up to Luis in the wedding, Chava, and told him how much he hated him for stabbing him 8 times and drastically hurting him. Yes, it is not so easy to forgive and forget, but if you never do it, you cannot change what you yourself went through. As Rodriguez states, “you have worth outside of a job, outside the ‘jacket’ imposed on you since birth. Draw on your expressive powers.” (pg.251). We all have histories we were born with. Flaws of our culture to help overcome. It is up to us to make the change, help everyone do the same.

Luis Rodriguez’s lives remind me a lot of my cousins child-like behavior. Social location does impact your lifestyle. Once they moved from all of their bad influences to the suburbs, they began to have jobs and finish school. They became role models for their younger brothers, their story changed.

We can all relate to the struggles of Luis because we all have our own personal struggles as well. I want to make a difference in my community too. I believe we all owe it to our community for helping us get this far, that we need to go back and help out.

Week 6: A

Ruby — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 06:40:02 +0000

After reading, Always Running, by Luis J. Rodriguez, I believe I got a better understanding of social location. Social location is what shapes your identity, the people you meet, the language you speak are constantly changing depending where you live. Rodriguez couldn’t have put it any other way, “I’m a ball” bouncing and going many places. Something that did stand out to me was how his father was a teacher and his mother once a secretary were faced with completely different jobs in LA like housekeeping and construction work. I know many people who once were respected computer technicians, doctors, architect, teacher in their country who come to believe the American Dream is something easily achieved in this country who end up cleaning houses or learning the ropes of construction work.

As I said before, I come from an immigrant working class community where many of these scenarios of Luis Rodriguez’s memoir mention shave in common. I can relate to many of the things mentioned, I have seen many family members go through the same thing. Maybe it is not as bad here in Denver than it is in LA, but the kids face the same temptations and experiences. I believe Rodriguez’s memoir will have an impact on me since I am living in the middle of “both worlds” I am here, but I am there too. By taking this big step to further my education, I know I am leaving the life I always knew behind, and I am willing to change as long as I can make an impact in my community and change as well.

I look forward to reading the rest of Rodriguez’s memoir, I want to know how he ends up in this community that faith has placed him in that leads him to be such a great writer.

Follow-up 6:b

After watching the movie, Walkout, the word that keeps replaying in my head is Chicano, Chicano…I never really encountered with the word that has many things similar to me. I never considered myself a Chicana and would often get mad when someone labeled me as that. I remember the first time Oscar said “eres Chicana” furiously I replied, “No I’m not. I’m Hispanic!” I look up the definition of both, Hispanic and Chicano. I come to fin that being Hispanic means “An American whose first language is Spanish.” and a Chicano is “a Mexican with a Mexican descent.” I guess I am both after all.
I just can’t believe many people made such a difference for better treatment and belief on their future with a walk-out. These video helped me picture what Luis went through. He has been beaten up and put to jail because of what he believes. He is not a criminal, he did nothing wrong when he stood up for what he believed in.
People can make a difference without violence. People do have the power to change the things they truly believe in. We all can.

Week 5: A and follow-up

Ruby — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 05:39:36 +0000

This memoir, The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer, brought many questions for me. As I kept reading, I kept wondering why J.R. Moehringer was telling this part of his life, how it tied to any purpose of life. As i tied everything with his father, The Voice in the radio, I began to understand that all that K.R. was doing was searching a male figure to fill the role his father never filled.

Although my niece is only a week old, I feel her pain already of questioning this fatherly figure in her life. Will she be in search of this figure later on in life too? Is it different with J.R. because he felt a responsibility toward his mother since he was a male? Reading along I can’t help but repeat these questions in my mind. J.R. tried to find a role model for him and found it with his Uncle Charlie, who wasn’t the best example, but J.R. wanted to be just like him. Feeling the pressure to “take care of his mother” he accepted the men who made his mother happy, but sometimes did not work out.

Finding a motivation and setting a goal for the future was J.R.’s biggest accomplishment rather than the determination to ding a male-figure. No one else was going to take care of his mother like only he could. His dreams became his motivation, to become a lawyer and sue his father. Through the excerpts, he always seemed as he was looking for his father, he knew he had done something so irresponsible to his mother by not taking care of his family like he should have done. Having seen his mother struggle and work so hard, he wanted to become a lawyer.

The memoir of J.R Moehringer is a unique one. Many children grow up without a father, but J.R. was strong enough to realize he did not need one, he made his own family in Long Island with his grandparents, uncle and the men. He knew he had to continue to take care of his mother as well.

Follow-up;

After having discussed Woman Warrior and The Tender Bar I understand how silence is also a form of power. As I was reading The Tender Bar I did began to question why he never really said anything and I found it weird how he just went with whatever the other men did. I realized it was a way of “manhood” for them. The men did not have to say much and when they did, it was a “code” for them which later he learned to talk and understand their codes. Overall the point that The Tender Bar shows is that masculinity comes in many ways and forms. With Bill and Bud it was shown as a more intellect way in which these men were not outgoing people with whom to socialize, but were willing to invest in the boy to help him become better through the power of education. With The Woman Warrior, we see how silence is also power by showing the Chinese culture in the United States be silent and not able to say the truth of many lifestyle information because of the fear of being deported. Also silence shows how it cannot be everything in America, it will not help you be educated and productive so you will not end up marring someone without having an education.

Week 4: B- follow-up

Ruby — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 05:29:07 +0000

Although I didnt not hear the conversation of the memoir last Monday of Martha Beck’s memoir, Leaving the Saints, I did learn how to fit an analytical concept to her story on Wednesday. The example of the concept that I never thought about was the one discussed in class about double consciousness to where martha Beck was getting annoyed by Mary who was talking about being sexually active at a very young age. No one had tlaked about it inside their religion which made Martha Beck remember her experience with her father and had a mental and physical melt down. She had been a victim of sexual abuse by her father inside the Mormon church. That must have been controversial even within Beck’s feelings. Not knowing how her religion would react to her testimony, fear of people not believing her is a reasoning for questioning her religion and faith.

week 4: A

Ruby — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 05:38:08 +0000

A lot was told in Martha Beck’s memoir, Leaving the Saints. Martha Beck has faced with sever pain in her muscles and hands, been sleep deprived from a nightmare always awakening her, and has given birth to a son with down syndrome. These are only a few of the identity Martha Beck portraits in her everyday life, but little do we know that the identities she is faced the most is with being a member of the Mormon faith and has been a sexual victim in her childhood and while growing up. Leaving the Saints is a great example of someone facing multiple identities and having them all tie within each other.
Martha Beck’s father was a great writer in the Mormon faith and was well know. For years she grew up in this community and has learned a lot from it since her wedding day. A lot of rituals that she cannot explain she learned on that day. She was a professor at the Brigham young University and there witnessed how protective her faith could be not letting anything be published without being approved by the church. “the brethren in Salt Lake are asking BYU faculty to refrain from publishing in any journals that are considered ‘alternative voices’.” (Beck, 87). Even several topics, such as feminism, the professors were prohibited to teach. “There are some subjects that aren’t suitable for publication.” (Beck, 89). Martha Beck saw how isolated everyone in this faith had to be.
Now sitting down in a hotel room and confronting her father years later about the sexual abuse seemed hard for her to do. Her father was a well known religious figure in the Church and to face him was awkward because he never admitted to abusing her. No one would believe her if she had told someone when she was young. She knew only her father could admit that she was never lying. At some point in her childhood she felt like what she was doing was bad, she felt guilty of something she had no control over. “The images were as real as anything I’d ever remembered, but they were stranger than anything I could have imagined. I had no idea what to make of the religious words and phrases.” (Beck, 125).
Reading about her religious standing and the abuse she was traumatized with since childhood makes it really hard to find a true identity. Here is the man that is her father, but has been abusing her since little and is a religious man. He never admitted to ever sexual abusing her. She blamed it on the “Evil One” and it was never him. Some evil spirit made him do that sacrifice with his daughter. Martha Beck is his daughter, but is a victim of his as well. She also is a member of the same religious community.
The Mormon community as Martha Beck describes is not bad, but hides a lot of things that people should know about. Martha Beck is an example of what many Mormons deal with, but cannot ever say to the Church because it is something unbelievable someone would do to them. Martha Beck’s father was a victim of this type of abuse himself, but never revealed it to anyone. “I’ve made contact with a small boy who has been waiting the better part of a century for someone to find out, someone to believe him, someone to be his sanctuary. I know exactly how he feels.” (Beck, 139).
Martha Beck is dealing multiple identities, but all have to do with each other like this religious identity of hers and the sexual abused identity that ties in with her father who is a very religious man himself.

follow-up week 3

Ruby — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 05:45:45 +0000

Being able to read different thoughts of the readings from my classmates opened up many new thoughts for me. Jake’s blog made me realize how it is not just religion, but our own morals that contradict with government sometimes because everyone had different morals.

The video itself made me think what a greater perspective towards politics than the readings did. The video did frustrate me because of how things really seem to be in politics. I feel as if some of the presidents use the religious term as a “dog biscuit” as Nancy put it to get people to vote in order for them to have power, but once they have it they break all religious promises made. Throughout the campaign they advertise things they themselves know it would be difficult to do such as school prayer. Religions have been let down by presidents, but a reason why they got involved with politics has to do with that. The focus of having Evangelist vote. One thing that stood out to me was the sticker that said VOTE with a cross for the letter “t” and the American flag decorated letters saying something about our nation.

Both of the videos also made me understand how complicated a homosexual’s everyday life is. The things that people deal with everyday is just so hard to believe that “normal” people do not understand. Mel White’s memoir also had a great impact in understanding and accepting people just the way they are. Throughout Wednesday’s conversation I could not help but to think how ignorant I have been with one of my good friends. I have known her since our 7th grade year and she came out to all her friends our junior year of high school. I supported her because I never saw her any different, but we grew apart because she was living her life like she desired for so long and I just was not there to help her throughout the problems because I did not take the time to understand her. I never judged her, but I never really was a friend in the most important part of her life, accepting and being accepted with the fact that she is a lesbian. I do not see her any different from the girl I’ve known, but now seeing the videos and the memoir I come to realize that maybe I am not doing anyone any good if I do not learn to see her different, because she is different and I have to treat her like the real her. It is not bad for me to try and reach out to her in a different way by helping her confront her problems she constantly faces that I never realized. After class I gave my friend a call, it felt good to tell her how much I appreciated her and that I am here for her no matter what!

week3

Ruby — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:42:01 +0000

After reading both, “letters on Liberty and Religion” and Ralph Reed’s Active Faith ch 1,I understand the different views between religion and politics. In Thomas Jefferson’s “Letters on Liberty and Religion,” he mentions that everyone needs to work together to be able to have an opinion of hteir own without being afraid of power or faith. Jefferson states, “If I could not go to heaven but with a party, I would not go there at all.” This really stood out to me because it made me understand how deep his faith is that he does not want to categorize it with his politics view.

In the first chapter of Active Faith, Ralph Reed describes how christian faith seems to influence politics, but is never quite to successful in doing so. Just like the past, the christian faith has madebad desicions with power in the past such as the Salem Witch Trials, but now people view religions as a tyranny if it were a big part of politics, but that would not be the case. Everyone has or should have some form of belief in order to be satisfied with who you are and what you’ve done without that sense of faith of something greater just like Lee states, “you can acquire all you want and still feel empty.”

Like reed states, “Faith to me is not an ideology but a way of life.” I believe politics and religion will never truley settle middle grounds, but without faith you cannot know what your priorities are in sense of who you are and what you can do as a leader. I do not know, the issues between Church and State have bee controversial from the beginning, since our nation was started. I assume power is the problem and settling the issue is even harder.

week2

Ruby — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 04:56:56 +0000

From the beginning to end, Harriet Jacobs leaves the reader engaged in her experience. Linda, the character learned to read and write form her first mistress. when studying about this period in history we tend to hear about all masters being so evil. Although the majority were, there were those who treated their slaves well like Linda’s first mistress. Linda’s power was her reading. She would write notes and receive them form white folks. She never was angry about how they treated her, and she treated everyone equal. She fell in love with a white man and did not judge anyone of color or white. It is amazing how unique this person was because in today’s world we always feel like we cannot do nothing because we feel less in society, we feel weak because of our race. With Linda this was not the case. She taught an old man from church how to read the New Testament. It amazes me what a strong woman Linda was to stand up to her master and not let him take advantage of her. It was strange to me that her master cared for her without knowing the reason behind it. Painful lives of loved ones must have made one feel weak and defenseless to protect them. “Don’t you hate me Linda for bringing you these things?” (pg.67).

Even children were confused to who they should remain even more faithful to, their slave parents or their masters. “One day, when his father and his mistress both happened to cal him at the same time, he hesitated between the two.” (pg.5). In my culture you obey your parents and no one is above them, well that is outside of school. I would feel like I would be disrespecting my dad if I were to go to someone else first if they called me, but I would be very confused as well to see someone else in the household have a greater power than my father. Linda’s brother must have felt the same way and his father must have felt worse knowing his children could not be all his to correct and teach.

I can’t picture being as strong as Linda when times were so tough. I couldn’t picture seeing my child be sold off to other slave owners. I can’t imagine the pain the slave mothers would go to wishing their infants’ death instead of growing up as miserable a they were. “Death is better than Slavery.” (pg68). I could not picture being seperated from my mother or sisters either. This reading made me realize how slave women would be so miserable and live just in hopes to free their children one day.

Sojourner Truth talks about a place for women, equal rights. She says men shouldn’t be so afraid to give rights to women. Women will only take as much power as they need, not abuse it! “you need not to be afraid to give us our rights for fear we will take to much-for we won’t take more than our pint’ll hold.” (pg. 3).

FOLLOW-UP:

In the discussion about the readings I learned about how the double consciousness and interlocking oppressions and privileges about people. Just like Harriet had interlocking oppressions of being a slave, a woman, and knows how the “white person works.” WEB Du Bois saw the different sides racism being an American and being black. The “cult of womanhood” also brought up an interesting point. Truth explains that she can work, is physically strong, eats a lot, and raises white woman’s children. She does not fit the cult of womanhood because in order to fit that cult that the white woman fit in she would not be able to work, was upper-middle class, lived in household where she got help raising her children; she would just supervise. She would also be subserviant to her husband and would be virtuous, not passionate, and cultured. Black woman servants could not fit into this cult just because they did all these hard worked things that white woman did not have to do.

All of these writers bring up a view of how hard it was to be black, be a woman, and try to fit in society. Their views were very different from whites. Both whites and blacks lived in America, but lived in different worlds that seem like they would never meet.

The perspective of the other two readings from Wednesday’s discussion had a really big impact in how we see both sides of racism in our nation. To me it was supriising to read about advantages that were listed, but also suprising that many of my peers do not see themselves as privileged because of a choice they made, it is the world they were born into. This does not make them ignorant, but people place them in just one category which is not correct.

week1

Ruby — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:57:32 +0000

First Blog: Identities and Social Locations

Everyone identifies with themselves differently. Social location has a lot to do with it and when I read this article I got a deeper understatement of how big of a role location plays in our identity. I did write down and thought deeply how I see myself and who I am. I am a teenage mother who is striving for success. I want to be a well rounded person who is able to provide for her family and make an impact for the greater good in her community. Others probably think I am just another statistic of teenage mothers and want me to give college a “try.” Media, community and religious institutions put me in that same category of young hispanic mothers. My home is my family, wherever they are I am comfortable there. I can always fall apart there and make mistakes without any judgements. I can count on them whenever I can’t figure it out on my own. My community is the same immigrant working community I grew up in, with the exception of the wonderful teachers I have had cheering me on along the way. This is the only community I have known and now coming to DU I feel out-of-place because in my community I was the majority and now I am out of my comfort zone in a community I am not familiar with. The social groups I want to affiliate with would be intellectuals that understand my struggles and have their own. I want to affiliate myself with upper-class people who are generous and seek out satisfaction helping out communities like the one I grew up in.

Identifying yourself first is what makes you realize who you are and what you are all about before knowing where you want to go in life and what you want to do. There is always room for improvement to better yourself.

After reading Smashed, I realized that I am ignorant to the fact that it is also women who abuse alcohol. Koren Zailckas’s story really opened up my eyes on how many women alcohol it affects. Once having such an unhappy childhood alcohol became an escape for her. She never really found out happiness with alcohol either, just an escape. I wonder what it would be like if someone had payed attention to her problem. We all have to go through something major in a point of our lives to really understand what we want out of life and how much we are willing to work for it. With alcohol she felt complete, and everyone needs something like it to feel complete. “I have pieced together some courage to pull around me. I feel like a quilt made form scraps.” (pg.119).

FOLLOW-UP:

After hearing everyone’s opinions about the memoirs we read, I realize I am not the only one. Everyone has a struggle in their lives that they are constantly fighting with. I was amazed to hear Stephanie’s story. I had no idea her ethnicity. I am so interested in hearing about such a unique ethnicity as hers. It must be really though. For many of us, now coming to a University with a variety of people who come from different places and different beliefs, is tough to make yourself fit in. My sister recently showed me a tape on a news website about a little white boy getting beat up by his black peers in a school bus. It was so hard to see. I pictured the little boy’s pain and how out-of-place he felt and wondered why the school bus driver hadn’t stopped them from hitting the boy. I wish we can all just be accepting of everyone because it is very interesting to learn about other people’s backgrounds.I believe we all have to embrace our differences and be proud of them!