"White Man's Burden"

As a person who knew nothing about White Man's Burden before watching it today in class, I assumed it would be in some way about student welfare.  Obviously it wasn't.  Then I was confused about why the racial stereotypes were switched and, I confess, I did not realize they had done it on purpose to make a statement until we discussed it.  An embarrassing fact, but true nonetheless.

Ever since AP Psych my junior year in high school, I've been working very hard on the "Fundamental Attribution Error" and I think it has changed the way I sympathize with people.  For those who don't know, the Fundamental Attribution Error is a psychological theory which states that people overestimate the effect of a person's disposition in their behavior and overlook the situational factors.  An example of this would be someone cutting in front of you in traffic.  You automatically assume that that person is a total [insert word here] when in fact they might be rushing to the hospital to see their significant other that just returned from the army with a debilitating injury.

Anyways, I try to combat the Fundamental Attribution Error by creating vivid descriptions of the situations people are in when I really want to hate them for being [insert word here]s.  I think this may have skewed my view of the characters in White Man's Burden.  I felt sympathy for John Travolta's character throughout the movie.  I had some problems with his kidnapping the president of the company, but then I realized he probably was having a mental breakdown being away from his family and was so frustrated by his life situation that he couldn't think clearly.  We shouldn't look down on people who make bad life choices, we should help them find a way out.

Ok, let's get legit people, I felt sympathy for every single character in the movie.  Maybe that's why I cry all the time, because I have too much sympathy and I read too far into things.

John Travolta's wife:  I felt bad for her because John Travolta wouldn't let her work when she wanted to.  However, he said something in the movie about "how are you doing" which I read into to mean that she had had some kind of health (maybe mental health) issue that could have been brought on from too much stress and he was just trying to keep her healthy.

John Travolta's wife's mother:  Even though she acts awfully towards John Travolta, it is possible that she was just really pissed about her daughter having married him in the first place and now that she had to come rescue her daughter she still couldn't believe that he was around and such a schmuck for getting them into that situation.

Lionel (the manager at the factory):  Lionel was just trying to keep up his reputation with the president.  He had to let John Travolta go even though he respected his work and might have promoted him to foreman.  It's possible that he misunderstood what the president was saying about the delivery boy, and thought he was required to fire him in order to follow instructions.

The president:  He used nice words about the delivery boy even though he was rather vague about what steps the manager should take.  His wife was also a bit touchy about showing up for the modelling thing and I felt kind of bad for him.  Oh and also he got kidnapped.

The skinhead (?) that got shot:  He was probably peer pressured by his situation to join a gang and his friends helped him develop life skills so as not to just die from a lack of love.

The old man who shot him:  His restaurant used to be a profitable business, but because the gangs came there all the time he no longer made money and was tired of them attacking people.  A momentary judgement had a lasting effect.

The moral of the story is that I try to see every point of view everywhere, and that's why I was at 92% on the opinion scale on that sheet about our personalities that we got back the other day.  I disliked the movie in general because it made me sad and uncomfortable inside.  However, I feel that way about anything that has any form of "literary merit" which is why I hated AP English.  Aight.

Student Welfare Response

On request from Cara, my response about student welfare will involve wasps.

We have wasps in our room.  Like for real.  And it's not OK.  Two nights ago, I moved my study book to make room for my giant French dictionary, and there was a wasp... RIGHT THERE.  On my bed!  And it was definitely not OK.  In no way, shape, or form should there ever be a wasp on my bed.  Thinking the wasp was dead, I did not inform Cara and got a paper towel to clean it up with.  After putting the paper towel on the wasp, IT MOVED! It was very much so not dead.  So I got our wasp cup (we've had three wasps so there's a special cup to capture them in now), and trapped the wasp under the cup under the paper towel, and then informed Cara that we had a wasp.  Then I put my French Dictionary on top.

Cara went out to find ONE person to help us deal with the wasp problem.  I expected she would get Leah.  About five minutes later Cara comes back with FIVE men to take care of a single, already caught wasp.  Blaise went on to squish the wasp and life was suddenly better.

How does this relate to student welfare?  Well, last week maintenance came and fixed our window screen so that it actually attached to the window and we would have less wasps. We pay tuition to have people who can come and fix our major problems like wasps.

I will probably make a different post relating to my feelings about student welfare, but for the moment, all I can think about is wasps.  Aight.

Welfare Response

I am not 100% sure what the style/content of this blog post should be, so I will just continue how I would respond if we were still in class.

I believe that overall welfare is a very excellent thing.  Obviously, I am not a welfare expert, or really an expert on anything.

However, I have rather strong opinions on life in general:

1.  Everyone has a right to do what they want with their bodies.
2.  No one should ever be bullied into anything.
3.  Respect for privacy is an utmost priority.
4.  Help everyone you can.

There are, of course, exceptions to every rule.  In the case of illegality or bodily harm my opinion changes drastically.  I realize now that this has very little to do with welfare, and more to do with my personal ideas about society.  I also believe that society should take care of people, but not to the point that people no longer take care of themselves.  I think people from Iowa have a certain kind of work ethic that is unparalleled.  I also don't really think that sentence made sense but it took me like three minutes to figure out how to spell "unparalleled" so I'm not going to change it.  Anyways, I personally think I would exhaust all other options before going on welfare.  It's not something to take lightly, and the fact that people  abuse it is sickening.  People who need it should be on it, no doubt about it.  But I would like to think people don't just go on it for fun.  It's a lot of paperwork and it is embarrassing.  No one wants to admit they can't take care of their family, so we should just give them a little shove in the right direction and send them on their way.  That's how I think welfare should be.

My ideals for a perfect society aren't actually solutions.  Or critiques really.  Honestly, they are in no way helpful to anyone at all.  I personally am not informed enough to find a solution.  And those who have insider knowledge typically don't have the resources to make their solutions known.

Oh wait!  Hang on a sec, I have a personal anecdote relating to welfare.  One of my friends has many chronic illnesses.  She has a problem with the muscles around her lungs that cause her to feel as though she is having a heart attack.  She also just learned (last month) that her body cannot process the metals in the air.  Because of this, she has deposits of metals sitting in her body and literally poisoning her from the inside out.  To deal with this, she is on a strict diet and has to take a specific medication to flush out the metals.  However, the medication (last I heard) cost  $200 dollars for a two week supply, and she needs to be on it for at least two years.  Because of her personal situation, she is eligible for Disability.  The disability money does not cover the amount that her treatments cost though, so she has to work instead.  Working enough to pay for both her medications and college tuition inflames her other symptoms and creates a vicious cycle.

Last weekend when I went home I learned that she had dropped out of UNI and is now taking online classes from home at Kirkwood.  That my friend cannot have the awesome college experience that I'm having simply because Disability can't cover her enough really infuriates me.  I don't know if anyone has ever seen me actually upset, but I can guarantee you wouldn't like it.  Somebody needs to get on the shtick and fix this.

Response to Friday's Class

I saved this blog post for today (Sunday) mostly because I was gone all weekend, but also so I would have more time to reflect on what happened in class.  Honestly, I can't remember much except how excited I am about the Scholar's service trip.  I've never been on a trip solely based on service.  I have, however, had my fair share of mission trip experiences.  Mission trips are basically service trips plus God.

For the past three summers, the most meaningful experiences have been the mission trips I've been on.  I didn't go with the church I am a member of, because, well, it's a long story.  Ask me in person if you have a super strong desire to know.  Anyways, the moral of the story is that I was a Lutheran amongst a sea of Presbyterians, which also has no real effect on anyone's life.  (Just try to fit "those who trespass against us" into "our debtors" and you'll see my main problem).

The blending of service and God created the strongest bond I've ever had with a group of people.  Furthermore, it is the strangest bond I have with anyone.  There's my best friend, the hipster, the druggie, the horseback rider, the popular girl, the jock, the bossy twins, and the girl who got pregnant at 14; just to name a few.  Those are the best people I have ever met in my whole life, and I know I could call them up right now and they would sit and talk to me, about anything.  They know more about me than anyone else in the world, both faith-related and not.  We know we are all different, but through service we know we can all make a difference.

The idea that the Scholars do a service trip makes me both nervous and excited.  To quote the Linn-Mar Marching Lions saxophone section:  "no expectations."    I don't mean that quite in the same way though.  The altos needed an excuse to not march well, whereas I need an excuse not to let my imagination run wild.  I know the Scholars won't sit around in a circle on a church floor at three in the morning eating Ritz crackers and talking about how God works through sexual assault.  But I am fairly confident that we can grow closer through service to others.

And that's how I felt about class on Friday.  Though we didn't really talk about it.  Aight.

Environmental Justice Essay

The movie Gandhi directed by Richard Attenborough showcases Gandhi supporting and creating homespun fabrics. According to the film, his reasoning is almost purely economic. However, spinning, dyeing, or sewing your own clothing has many positive environmental effects as well.

The modern process of manufacturing textiles is highly pollutant. ”According to the 1995 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data, 339 textile facilities reporting SIC 22, released (to the air, water, or land) and transferred (shipped off-site or discharged to sewers) a total of 25 million pounds of toxic chemicals during calendar year 1995” (epa.gov). Dyeing fabric uses excess water, and dye fixatives end up in sewers that leak into rivers. Cloth is bleached using dioxin-producing chlorine compounds. Artificial fibers such as nylon, polyester, and rayon tend to be non-biodegradable and are treated with harsh chemicals (Goodchoices.org). However, natural fibers use pesticides which are also harmful to workers, livestock, and the soil. According to the USDA, cotton crops account for about one-quarter of all pesticides in the United States. The Pesticide Action Network is fighting against the use of pesticides by informing about and supporting the Organic Cotton movement (panna.org). Buying and using organic cotton and other sustainable materials cuts down on pollution and waste.

According to the EPA’s Office of Solid Waste, 68 pounds of clothing and textiles are thrown away by the average American every year. That’s about 4% of the total solid waste in the United States (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). The Technical Textile Markets report that the demand for man-made fibers has nearly doubled in the last fifteen years. In her article “Waste Couture: Environmental Impact of the Clothing Industry” Luz Claudio attributes this rise to the fashion agency’s ever-increasing output and society’s consumerist view of “disposable clothing” (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov).

Looking back to the 19th century view on textiles, reuse and recycling was an important factor in everyday life. Clothes were sewn, handed down, handed down again, ripped apart and sewn into something else, then quilted or turned to rags. How then, has our 21st century society come to this point? Dr. Susan Strasser discusses this answer, along with many other now “disposable” items in her book Waste and Want: A Social History of Trash.

Reusing was not as common during the early 1900s, but women still remembered, and kept alive, their mothers’ and grandmothers’ traditions. However, when World War Two rolled around, items around the house and neighborhood that might have been reused were sent to scrap drives to benefit the war effort. Dr. Strasser states, “Paradoxically, the very emphasis on scrap reinforced not the traditional stewardship of objects but the newer habits of throwing things away.” After the war ended, people wanted to spend, and many had forgotten the 19th century ideals of reuse.

The 1950s was an age of disposal. Pre-packaged food and manufactured clothing began to greatly outweigh their handmade counterparts (Strasser). From this point on, our modern perspective has changed drastically from our recycling roots, and we continue to waste more than ever.

There is a New England proverb, “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.” Using this as a guide, society should take on a new role. Making your own clothing from sustainable fabrics cuts down on manufacturing pollution and material transportation. Selecting locally grown materials, or buying handmade from local venders contributes as well. Shopping thriftily and altering clothing reduces waste. Upcycling clothing into fabric lowers demand for new material. And finally, creating anything for yourself provides satisfaction.

Thrill of Decision

Thrill of Decision

I’ve always had a problem deciding what to do with my future.  The way I see it, as soon as you commit to a path, something else interests you.  It’s like the Thrill of the Chase, except it’s the Thrill of Decision.  I’m very interested and passionate in both of my majors, but French and Neuroscience don’t lend themselves to an inter-disciplinary career.  My interests have always been spread thin, and I do worry that I will find something that will interest me more than becoming a neuroscientist.  Because of this, I believe I have two alternate dreams:  one slowly becoming more realistic, and the other attainable, but not worthwhile.

I will begin with my academic dreams.  The study of language interests me greatly, and through my majors I have two different pathways I could take.  Becoming a French professor is always an option, but nothing lower than college-level.  I would need to teach someone with a desire to learn French, not teenagers who take it in high school because their friends did.  On the other side of the spectrum would be becoming a neuroscientist who studies the acquisition of language.  That’s the dream I always tell people about.  I’m never specific about what that means because I haven’t decided quite where I want to go with it.  I’ve decided just to let it play out.

My other dream began in eighth grade when I wrote my National History Day paper on Betty Friedan.  A famous women’s rights leader in the 1950s, she supported getting women out of the home and into society as equals.  Her book, The Feminine Mystique, really intrigued me; and I did a great deal of research on housewives in the 1950s.  As anti-feminist as this sounds, the advertised glory of being a housewife during that time made me want to become one.  I long for the day I can vacuum my house in a shape-flattering dress and pin-curls.  My bread-winning husband comes home from work and sits down to eat the meal I spent all day preparing.  I know the actual 1950s housewives felt no such glory, and that real life differs substantially from the ideals in Redbook; but still, those women did so much for their families with very little thanks from anyone.

Being a 1950s housewife in 2013 is physically not possible, well, because we don’t live in the 1950s anymore.  However, my dreams aren’t entirely mutually exclusive.  My dream dream for my future is to become an academic of some sort combined with a Domestic Goddess.  Without the ideal housewife propaganda, this would include anything I wanted to do.  This new dream allows me to combine my love of learning with my love of crocheting doilies.