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Illegal Immigrants are much more useful than the ignorant rednecks who do nothing all day but patrol the Rio Grande, contributing nothing to society

The Tortilla Curtain, by T.C. Boyle

The Assignment.

I believe illegal immigrants are vital to the American society, as well as the American economy. They take jobs that Americans do not want to perform, allowing Americans to take higher level jobs, which pay more and are often less intense than the lower level jobs. In general, Americans prefer to be on the receiving end of service jobs. Many employers depend upon illegal immigrants to function, some of which would have extreme difficulty hiring Americans. The cheap wages which illegal immigrants accept allow employers to make a larger profit, which can be used to grow his/her own business, or invest money elsewhere, promoting other businesses; this promotes Americas economy since there's more money floating around in investments. The only negative I see on illegal immigrants is the drain on the healthcare system: since hospitals are required by law to treat everyone and aliens often do not have insurance and cannot afford to pay the bills, hospitals run up large debts, ultimately burdening American taxpayers. Unfortunately, there's no easy solution to this problem.

I think our country wold be worse off without the current number of illegal immigrants. There'd be a shortage of bus boys, dishwashers, fast food workers, custodians, constructions workers, and many other behind-the-scenes jobs. We may not interact directly with these people all the time, but we depend on them daily. They contribute much more to society than the ignorant, inbred, jackass rednecks who spend all their time patrolling the Rio Grande; these parochial jackass hypocrites are the true terrorists who distort and misconstrue America's principles. Actually, our country and species would benefit if all these people were replaced by immigrants.

My PowerPoint Presentation:

Contributers to Society:

Useless, ignorant Redneck:

Which group is really the larger problem?

Black Culture/Racism Web Quest

Create Rap Song/Poem

Instructions: Browse through the various media sources here to gain an understanding of the hardships that face many African-Americans living in a white-dominant society. In addition, research black culture and racism. Then, create a rap song or poem through the eyes of an African-American, which discusses these challenges, difficulties, and the culture. Post your lyrics on your blog and copy a link into the comments section of this blog with the title. If you would like, you can record your song using a backing beat and post to your blog.

Here is a long list of quotes dealing with racism from the novel, "Native Son," by Richard Wright.  You must use part of at least two of these quotes in your poem (the more the better).  You don't need long quotes at all; just parts.  Remember, in your poem, you can take the place of Bigger and speak as if you are experiencing his situation.

Socratic Seminar On Native Son 3/30/09

Questions:

1. How did you like the novel?  Did you anticipate the ending?
2. Do you believe the novel accurately portrays race relations in the 1930s?
3. Obviously, our society has been integrated publicly and minorities now have equal rights, but is there still social discomfort and disliking with regard to different races?
4. Has Racism subsided or has it merely changed forms?  Has it just become more covert?
5. Do you think people will ever overcome racism and live as one?
6. Would Bigger's trial have been as large an event if he had been white?  Would it cause so much uproar?
7. Do you think Bigger's murder of Mary was inevitable due to the suppression of blacks by white people?  Are white people to blame for this incident as much as Bigger?  By suppressing a whole race, does this not increase their feelings of estrangement and lead to and inevitable rebellion?
8. If society had not been segregated, and blacks and whites interacted on a regular basis, would all of these events take place?
9. Is this all Bigger's fault?
10. What do you think of Mr. Dalton?
11. What was the purpose of the communist part?

Racism in the Work Force

In the article Study: Black man and white felon - same chances for hire by Devah Pager, researchers set up an experiment to determine if racism played a role in the hiring of job applicant with a criminal record. The researchers categorized applicants into four categories: black ex-convicts, white ex-convicts, black men, and white men. All the men were given similar qualifications on their fake resumes. They found that non-criminal white men were twice as successful in getting a job as non-criminal black men and criminal white men were just as successful as non-criminal black men! “Being black in America today is just about the same as having a felony conviction in terms of one’s chances of finding a job” (Pager).
Based on the results of this experiment, blacks do have a tougher time getting jobs, and must work much harder than similarly skilled whites to accomplish similar goal. Employers seem to prefer white employees over black ones for several reasons. They may feel that their costumers will be more comfortable with white people and therefore bring in more business. Employers may also simply be racist themselves and not want to work with black people. They may have preconceived notions regarding work ethic or criminal behavior. They may also fear the different culture and prefer their own. Besides being uncomfortable, employers may feel unsafe or threatened by black workers. In the Native Son, black protagonist Bigger feels restricted and confined in the white society. Bigger said that whites won’t let blacks do anything and that he feels like he is locked in prison. This is interesting because whites who have been locked in prison fair the same as black men with no criminal record. Bigger is subjected to this double standard for blacks and will realize that if he wants to conform, he must work extremely hard, and that it is not worth the effort for him. It is much easier for Bigger to commit crimes and rob people than to live honestly in the white community. Bigger’s employment by a white man is very rare for a black man in his community, so he doesn’t know how to handle the situation and is surprised when his expectations are wrong. Bigger’s initial interaction with his white employers is very awkward for him. In the 1940s, racism was much more prevalent and conspicuous: employers openly refused to hire blacks just based on their skin color. Today, employers can’t be as open about racism, and sometimes hire less qualified blacks for affirmative action.
Black people must work much harder than whites to achieve the same results simply because of the color of their skin. White people often feel uncomfortable around black people because they are not used to their culture and are only aware of rumors and stigmas, which are extremely broad generalizations that are often untrue. Due to poverty and the conditions of many black communities, a life of crime is much easier to pursue than one of an honest living. Gangs provide the only security young blacks have, and often engage in criminal actions. The work force has been integrated a lot over the past few decades and has certainly improved; however, there's obviously still room for more improvement. Blacks may still have to work harder than whites, but it is no longer impossible for blacks to attain high-level positions working alongside whites. The integration of our culture progressively improves as we move away from the segregated era, and blacks' value to employers will eventually equal that of comparably skilled whites.

Pager, Devah. "Study: Black man and white felon - same chances for hire." Weblog post. Anderson Cooper 360°. 9 Aug. 2008. Cable News Network LP, LLLP. 18 Mar. 2009 .

Heterosexism

In The Seinfeld Episode, The Cadillac, the heterosexual perspective is promoted. None of the characters are gay and they all try to find members of the opposite sex to date. George is engaged to marry Susan, but is trying to find a way out of the commitment. Jerry starts dating a girl exactly like him, and Elaine pretends to have a boyfriend to help George create a lie to tell Susan because he was spending time with another woman. Kramer is having a battle with the cable guy throughout all this and Jerry's dad is impeached from his senior community presidential office. Homosexuality is never mentioned or alluded to in the episode. However, heterosexuality is shown frequently. George and Susan are free to marry because of their sexuality and they can publicly display their affection without fear of harassment. The characters are all straight and don't associate with any homosexuals in this episode (and most others).

Susan could be analyzed because after dating George for the first time, she became a lesbian until Kramer brought her back. However, that spanned several episodes.

Click here for a link to the script.
Click here for the Heterosexual Privileges.
Check out the Seinfeld gadgets below.

Is gender relevant in business?

In the article, Does Gender Matter by Stephen Long, the author discusses how women perform in positions of power, such as in businesses. A point was made in a referenced article that women must walk a “thin pink line” in how they command their employees. Women leaders do not want to be perceived as too bitchy or too girly, so they must balance themselves to appear just right. The author says that both men and women in powerful positioåns must balance between the two extremes (Long). Women are not alone with that issue; all leaders have that challenge. The author says that gender is not the issue; the issue is merely that of competence.
I agree with the author and don’t believe woman face any for struggles managing other people than men. Men also have the issue of appearing too much like an asshole, or too wimpy. By being in a position of power with the authority to terminate and/or reprimand subordinates, respect comes automatically because people do not want to lose their jobs; and if they do, then they won’t be an issue for very long. Only if the woman in charge shows weakness and puts up with crap from employees will she have a difficult time dealing with employees: but men have that same issue. The skills mentioned that are required to lead successfully are not gender specific. Each leader must find the best way to lead for himself/herself because different tactics work for different people and different employees. Success in business is not dependent upon gender, it is dependent on competence, as the author said, or luck. There’s plenty of men who have failed in business, and plenty of women who have succeeded.

In business, the most successful leaders, regardless of gender, are usually those who make hard decisions for the best interest of the business with no regard for humanity: these people are often assholes and bitches, unfortunately. The most successful leaders are those who are uninterested in their appearance, or delusional about it. Leaders who are disconnected from their employees and apathetic about them will be able to make hard decisions. In addition, leaders who have no ethical concerns and are willing to take down competition and stab people in the back. Success in business is not dependent on gender.

Check out the business quote of the day gadget below...

Long, Stephen. "Does Gender Matter?" Weblog post. Fast Company. 9 Feb. 2009.  Mansueto Ventures LLC. 20 Feb. 2009 .

Anarchist

Groups of people with some common interests or characteristics behave and think similarly.  The following poem lists the rules that members of a group must follow in order to remain in the group.  This is a poem about anarchists.  It lists the rules that anarchists must follow.  Actually, they don't have to but most anarchists' beliefs are consistent with this list.  The poem is written in the style of "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid.  For information on anarchist, such as a definition and philosophy, go to this website.  For examples on governmental abuse of power, go to this website.

Anarchist

Don’t follow rules; don’t respect authority; do not follow tradition; do not trust authority; question everything; protest – or don’t; disagree; do not be patriotic; don’t vote, but I want some say in government; do not follow religion; do not work for the government; do not pay taxes; do not attend town hall assemblies; do not conform to trends; reject the notion of an omnipotent, omnipresent god; think logically; think critically; accept only that which can be confirmed through science; mock radical believers who are incapable of forming thoughts and must be told everything; mock those who follow tradition and believe something by accident of birth; mock those who are willing to sacrifice their lives, or other people’s lives, in the name of a God who condemns killing; laugh at those who believe God loves all people, as long as those people’s beliefs are consistent with their own; view the bible as a novel in fiction; view religion as a mechanism for mind control; religion is as corrupt an institution as government; do not trust the media, the media always lies to promote its own agendas; the media disperses propaganda to control thought; don’t follow rules, rules are designed to keep people subservient; rules are often made arbitrarily to make people conform or keep them obedient; think freely; do not be afraid to think outside the box; question the logic of rules; expose the hypocrisies present in all authorities and institutions; expose politicians as the selfish, greedy, corrupt, power-hungry savages they are; protest the idea of men assuming power over other men; use nature as a guide for an idealistic society, nature has been working well for billions of years; the best entities on the planet are dogs and monkeys, humans should aspire to live like them: stress-free, happy, and completely free do whatever they want; if hierarchies exist in communities or packs the positions are all temporary and easily altered, and alpha dogs don’t seek pure power over others, they seek food and well being for all; Koalas don’t lock each other up for getting high on eucalyptus, they just enjoy life; denounce modern society and refuse to be a part of it, or be apathetic, whatever; follow all these rules or don’t, it doesn’t matter.