Living in Atlanta this summer made me hate police officers. I am a middle class white citizen so I have had my typical frustrations about speeding tickets but rather than that I always had a respect for them until I moved down in the midst of interracial cultures.
The shelter I was staying at told me a story last year about how they stepped on a homeless, handicap man who was in the shelter's yard. This was supposed to be a safe haven for him where he could take refuge from the police but on this day it was disrupted and the police entered where they were not allowed. When a man stepped in and asked the police why they were stepping on this man they threw his face into the brick wall multiple times and arrested him. I thought this story was too crazy and that it had to have been exaggerated but than I saw it for myself.
As I was driving out of town I watched homeless people being picked up and thrown around by cops on every street I passed. The police are discriminating against the Latino and Black race, and in particular those living in extreme poverty.
This country is suppose to be "God blessed" and full of the "American Dream" but it is really a living nightmare for most. There is no equal opportunity or protection, just dreams dashed.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Unit 3 - Childlike Innocence
Cultural Universals are said to exist, but it is hard to determine if they really do. I think that they definitely do with children though and that children in all cultures need to be the focus of studies.
The Bible states that we should have faith like children and I have always been glad that Jesus said that on His Sermon on the Mount. Children act without reserves until a certain age where culture sits in and behaviors are implied and we forget the innocence that was once there.
A child of a different culture will still understand when I kick a ball that I want to play, when I start clapping my hands that I want to play patty cake and other hand games, and when I blow bubbles its fun to chase them. Kids do not need to be taught that and they will not look at you and wonder what you are doing. They are genuine and we need to find that quality again in adults.
Adults worry too much about what other people think and how their actions are going to be perceived. As a girl I am not even allowed to make eye contact with a man in the Middle East because of my gender, but to me I just want to be friendly. Kids, well they can get away with it because they do not have negative feeligns like they assume I do.
The Bible states that we should have faith like children and I have always been glad that Jesus said that on His Sermon on the Mount. Children act without reserves until a certain age where culture sits in and behaviors are implied and we forget the innocence that was once there.
A child of a different culture will still understand when I kick a ball that I want to play, when I start clapping my hands that I want to play patty cake and other hand games, and when I blow bubbles its fun to chase them. Kids do not need to be taught that and they will not look at you and wonder what you are doing. They are genuine and we need to find that quality again in adults.
Adults worry too much about what other people think and how their actions are going to be perceived. As a girl I am not even allowed to make eye contact with a man in the Middle East because of my gender, but to me I just want to be friendly. Kids, well they can get away with it because they do not have negative feeligns like they assume I do.
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