last presentations, reflections, & a see y'all later :)

     Wow, the end of the semester. I was actually pretty sad yesterday for our class to end, and let me tell you, I am usually happy for the last day of class. Before I go to my reflection of the class, I will first talk about the presentations this week.
     First, the presentation about the elderly really impacted me. In my other social work class, I had been working on a community needs assessment about the needs of the elderly in Austin. From doing my assessment i learned a lot about the needs of the population. But after the group presentation in class, I realized that all the staff at the agencies I interviewed did not mention the great need of social workers for this population. When I saw the video about the elderly being "forgotten", it made me so upset. But like this class taught me, there is no point in being upset if you're not going to do something about it. Now, after this presentation, I know that for field placement, i will look into agencies that serve the older population.
       The nontraditional students presentation affected me in a very different way. As I mentioned in class, my mother is now a nontraditional student. She is having so complete a Bachelor's degree after being a teacher for 25 years. Crazy right? Seeing this presentation made me feel so proud of my mom! Because I know that things are not that easy when you don't have your parents supporting you or when you have kids and a full time job to do besides school. I called her immediately after class to tell her I loved her and that i am so proud of her! So great job ladies! TNT will be a success :)
     Now, for the sad part. Where can I start. I wanted to express myself in class yesterday but we ran out of time. First of all, I would like to thank everyone for all of your sharing and of the support. This class has completely changed me! I was always shy to speak out in class. In the last three years of college, the only class I have ever raised my hand for was french, because I love the language and I love speaking it! But besides that, I always stayed quiet in class with out saying a thing. This class has given me the strength to speak out. I was able to express myself in front of others like never before. And even if I didn't get to speak in class for some reason, I always had the blogs to express myself. This class also taught me that I can make a different. Before this class, if I would've been asked to create and action plan for an issue, i would've done it but never follow it. But now that i look at the action plan for the low income high schools, I KNOW I CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN, I KNOW I CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. It makes me feel great to believe in myself and know I can make something like this happen.
     Thank you professor Gerstenblatt, for pushing us and taking out the best out of each and everyone of us. Thank you for all you have given us. You have given us the opportunity to go through a truly amazing journey that we will never forget.
     I look forward to seeing everyone next semester. Have a fun and safe summer and I will see y'all in the fall :)

Group Presentations

     The presentations this week were all so great!! I am not going to lie, I was a little scared to present because all of the presentations were so great! First of all, After Work Activism was truly inspiring. Being that I have to work and have barely any time to do activities or to make meetings at school, this program is amazing! There is so much to discuss about the issues that are affecting or country as well as our community. Being able to get together with others and discuss issues is such a stress relief. Not to mention the Miday Mimosas... Events like these can bring us all together and together we can make a difference.
     Project H was also amazing! The presentation was a little hard to see. But I love what Project H is doing. The most important part in this presentation to me was realized how much I could relate to it. As I mentioned in class, I was a victim of Hurricane Ike and was displaced. I few years before Ike, I volunteered at the Red cross to help victims from Hurricane Katrina that were displaced. Three years later, I was in the same position. Homelessness can be caused by so many factors, and there are so many victims. I am so glad they are doing the food drive.
     The Executive Order presentation was also a big shock. First of all, I thought I knew what an Executive order was. Now I know, I had no idea. Second of all, I thought you could find everything and anything on google. That was a big shock to me! It is important that we are aware of what this is since it is deeply involved with the social work profession. Great job guys!
    Lastly, my presentation. At the beginning of the year I thought, OH gosh another group project. Let me tell you guys, that has changed! After developing the action plan, I couldn't stop thinking about it and how much I really cared about the issue. I was a student at a low income high school. There are so many services that I wish I had but didn't. Luckily, I made it to this great institution. However, many of my friends didn't. Therefore, I am looking into putting forward the Suena program. I know that all of you guys will be very supportive when I need students to volunteer. I also know that the School of Social Work will help. I am really looking forward to doing this in the near future. So be on the lookout for it! I am really looking forward to the rest of the presentations!  

Woman, 76, crashes into Florida Market

Hey guys, I dont know if you guys saw this in the news yesterday. The link is below:

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/04/woman-76-crashes-car-into-florida-market-injures-10/

So after seeing this, right after the readings and discussions this week I was really angered. This is not the report I originally saw. I saw a report on tv where they were saying that her age was probably the cause of the accident, and a lot of people came on saying that the lady should not have been driving. All the comments were angering me. Who were those people to judge her and whether or not she should be driving. Honestly, the same thing happened to me when i was 16. I was parking my mom's car in the drive way and instead of pressing the break i pressed the gas. I completely destroyed my garage door and part of the house. Thats proof that age has nothing to do with it. Accidents happen. I was also surprised to see that they were actually being charged with careless driving. I just wonder if it were a younger person doing it, would they receive the same treatment?

Ageism and Adultism

       In class today we were able to share differnt experiences we have had with adultism. I had no idea what adultism was before class and before the readings. Talking to others in class and talking about my own experiences showed me that I have so much in common with so many people in class! We have all had similar experiences. What I saw as normal, now i see very differently. As a child I considered my mom treated me normally, like she was "suppose" too. Now i see that there are no rules to how a parent has to treat the child. These rules are all constructed by society. I even noticed myself treating children younger them me how I was taught to treat them. I know now I will be more careful in how I treat others and notice when people are treating others unfairly.
     The reading was really interesting. I have to admit I was really confused with adultism. I kept asking myself, "Is this bad? My mom did this. I do this. What is wrong with this?" This is proof that we are taught to act certain ways that seem normal to us. Another part of the reading that really caught my attention was the part about the police paying so much attention to younger kids, especially minorities. The stop them to question them and search them more often than anyone. All I could think of was the Trayvon Martin case. He was simply walking home with candy and a drink. And because he looked suspicious, he was murdered. The other part of the reading that really got to me was the discrimination against the elderly. I know that the elderly are discriminated so much but it just hurts me so much to see this! It was hard for me to read the section on elderly abuse. I just cant understand how the people that are the most knowledgeable amongst all are treated so badly!I also found it interesting to read the section on the cultures fear of growing old. I had no idea about this. In my opinion, I was always happy about growing old. Seeing how happy my grandparents are I always looked up to them and wanted to be like them. But now I see why we should be so scared. The older population is treated so badly I see why its scary. This is my area of interest so I know that I will try to make a difference. Growing old with so much experience should be a happy time to reflect on accomplishments, not to fear for abuse and discrimination.
     Although the readings were a little tough this week, it just makes me reflect on why I chose to become a social worker and why I want to make such a change and impact on people.

Ableism and Wasteland

          I will begin with my reflection on the reading. This reading was something very new to me. Until I came to UT and took social work classes, I realized that the term minority represented a lot more than race. Its crazy but I didn't even think of women being minority. After reading this article I learned so much! I always saw people with disabilities as normal human beings although I did wonder sometimes how they managed to get so far. When I got to UT, I came to admire so many students like those with physical disabilities who can't walk, see, or hear. Most people may think that because they cannot do some of the things we can, they are not capable of being successful. being here at UT shows you how equal and even stronger some people are even if they have a disability.
      One of the things that stood out to me the most in these readings was how as Americans, our basic rights have made us become very independent people. We can work where we want to, eat where we want to, and basically do anything we want to that doesn't hurt anybody else. But what about those who can't have their basic rights? What about those who do not choose to be dependent but are forced to? And especially the work issue. The book mentions that work is such an essential part to the American culture and it is true. My family in Mexico put family before work and have an amazing time but here, work goes before anything. So what happens to those people that struggle to work not because they don't want to but because they can't or because they don't let them?
     Another thing from the chapter that stood out to me was how a person's disability overshadows their gender and race. Whether they are men or women, black or white, if they are disabled, they are seen as just that. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was what finally gave them the minority status. For me, being a minority is more of a privilege. Not matter what people think of you and how they see you, it is about what you know you are capable of. This brings me back to the students with disabilities on campus. I look up to them, for fighting for what they believe and being so strong! When some people have a disability, feel discriminated, or for example get hurt at work and just give up, these college students are living proof that everything is possible. And that just because they have an impairment, they are not disabled, they can do the same, if not more, than those who have no impairments.
      As for Wasteland, wonderful movie! When it begun it was nothing like I would have expected. It turned out to be one of the greatest projects I have ever seen! I thought it was amazing that Vik Muniz could give so much back to his community and that although he didn't not help a huge amount of people, he helped people who were in desperate need. He helped people who wanted change, who wanted to truly help themselves. Seeing projects like this shows me that you do not have to have much to make a difference in people's lives, you simply have to believe in them and help them believe in themselves through empowerment. This was truly an amazing films that creates new goals for myself in my life :)

homophobia

    Both class and the readings for this week have been really interesting! Seeing that video Monday in class made me really upset. How is it possible that children are being terrorized at school when school is suppose to be such a safe environment? The worst part about it is that people throw the words faggot and gay around like nothing. It is not a word to play around with and they are words that can truly hurt someone.

    The readings for this week were filled with so much emotion! One of the common elements that I saw throughout the readings was fear. Fear by the family and fear by the gay community. One of the things that we do not realize is how much the family is affected by this. Whether they are supportive or not, they are struck by fear. Some fear that they will be treated differently because they have a family member that is different. Others fear for their family member. Knowing they are oppressed and hated by many, there is always fear tat something will happen to them. One of the readings in the book that shocked me the most was the one where bisexuals feared the rest of the gay community because they like both sexes. Now that I think about it, i understand the rest of the gay population would feel that bisexuals are being traders. But its not right. No one should be oppressed. We are all different. 

     Another part of the readings that I found really interesting was the questioning of why heterosexism exist? Who established it? I am Catholic so i know the story with Adam and Eve and everything. But would God really be as hateful as some people are towards the LGBT community? Nope. i don't think so. The book also said that the choices we make about our lifestyle are not personal, they are political. I found that highly interesting.

      I always like when the author adds lists to the readings and the list on this reading was really interesting. SOme of the things on there included how the heterosexual man is considered to be normal and healthy and not have AIDS or be asked to be tested for AIDS. Any heterosexual couple can be affectionate in public without fear of being criticized. They can also put pictures of their family up at work. A heterosexual person is not described as straight, yet a gay person is immediately called gay. One of the saddest points on that list was the one that it is easier for a child to say i have a mom and a dad  than 2 moms or 2 dads. Why can't it be accepted and the child not be hurt?

     I really do hope that one day, as a nation, we can learn to accept that everyone is different. I would hate to have to leave this earth and things still being how they are now. I know there must be something done. 

Feminism, Sexism, and Heterosexism

    The readings this week as well as the class discussions have all been really intense yet extremely helpful in understanding the problems we are still facing today. The beginning of the reading starts talking about feminism and about the wrong way we are compared to men. One of the most disturbing yet very true thing I read in the book was on chapter 70 with the comparisons. Some of them like the meeting with the boss, having a child, getting married, made me really angry. Why if a man and a woman do the same thing, the woman has to be looked at so bad? I want to be a lawyer one day and I know I'm going to be facing situations like this since this that is male dominated profession. It just makes me sad that i will be doing what I love to do and I am going to be emotionally suffering so much! Reading chapter 73 also made a great impact. "To stop violence, against women, women must stop violence against herself" I love this! A lot of us tend to look down on ourselves, abuse ourselves. We also attack other women in our life. It is very important to stay strong and stay together.
This video down here is one I came across. It shows the manly figure in disney movies. I love disney movies, I have been watching them all my life. But honestly I had never realized how sexist they are. They just make this manly figure so much! Especially Mulan OMG i can't believe I had not noticed. Anyways I leave it to you guys to watch.

     The last reading began talking about heterosexism and I can say that I learned something really important, the definition of the term, Heterosexism is the "overarching system of advantages bestowed on heterosexuals, based on the institutionalization of heterosexual norms or standards" and pretty much excludes everyone who is not. The reading them goes on to talk about oppression and religion. It is pretty obvious how much heterosexuality is superior to anything else. Its crazy that we are such a free country yet anyone who is not heterosexual is just seen as a bad person. I really think it is just something that will never change no matter how much we try. Its pretty much like asking for equality for women, we know that no matter how much we strive for it and fight for it, there will always be those who are will not let it happen...

     

RACISM and SEXISM- yes, they still exist

    Let me just start with the Trayvon Martin murder and this controversial cartoon. I was in complete shock. How could this girl do this and get away with it?? The worst part is those who defend her and think she did nothing wrong. All of this angers me. But I guess some people that cant relate to it dont see how bad it really is. Hearing professor Gerstenblatt fear for her son, President Obama fear for his children, and Dr. Aguilar's mother fearing for him, just shows us how this case can really affect some of us. Now why is this girl going to draw something about this murder especially 1 month after the death of this child?? Not only his family but the majority of our country is hurting for this boy, it was just to early for all of that non sense. And honestly I dont think publishing this cartoon will ever be okay. Ugh can yall tell how angry I am???
    Now the videos we saw Monday really bothered me too. I honestly did not know there was that much oppression against women. Like I told professor Gerstenblatt at first I was mad, but then decided that wasnt going to take me anywhere, so then i began to think of my future and my dreams of becoming a political representative and felt much better. I am outspoken and strongly believe in equality so I will make sure to address any comments made to me by those ignorant men. As for now I will continue do my part in my community and advocate as much as I can :) What a week! I truly love this class! Although it may bring some horrible feelings inside I am glad I am aware of all of this. I believe it is better to be upset than ignorant because only upset will I be able to do something about it :)

Gender in our society

        Oh gender, gender, gender, so much to say! Honestly i had never really thought so much about gender and how much it plays a role in everyones life until coming to college. When I told my family in Mexico that I was going to the University of Texas, they were really happy for me but really surprised especially because my older brother did not go out of town to college, they were concerned. I was expected to simply graduate from high school and get married and have kids. Actually 95% of the Hispanic girls from back home did just that. Society and our culture has a specific plan for us according to gender.
      I really enjoyed the readings for this week. There were some quotes from the Adams book that I was like wow, but so true. One of the ones I found really funny was when men search to be approved by other men to have their manhood. I was confused in one of my French classes when I was asked if I was feminist. At first I said no, because I wasn't sure what it was. But I am, because I believe in equal rights. I found it really funny, but true, that it said in the book women want to be equal to men, but what men? Men are not equal, they are all different races and ethnicities. This comment left me thinking a lot! I can't even answer that. The whole violence agains women kind of threw me off too. Why should rape and assault done by men be a woman's issue? Women always have to be on guard and be careful because of men. Its funny because now I don't really like going to many places without my fiancé because of other guys. I feel threatened that I only feel safe with him.
    One of the things that affected me to most was the women's pay section. Now this really angers me. Why if we can do just as much or more than men do we have to be paid less? My fiancé is concerned since I want to go to law school. He is not to happy at the fact that I will probably be making more money than him. Why is it such a big deal? Again, i think this affects some cultures more than the others. Culture plays an immense part in gender. Reading about gender had never affected me as much as it does not that i am learned and realizing so much about it.
      I leave you guys with this really cute but very true and interesting video!

Kony

     I know I am a little late in blogging about the Kony issue I had no internet at home over the break :) But this is a topic that impacted me a lot! When I first watched the video, I watched it with Desiree and our first reaction was, "we need to help! We have to raise awareness and put an end to this man!" I immediately wanted to buy the kit to help out. When more and more people started hearing about it there were a lot  of negative comments about the issues. All their comments were really hurting me. I understand that people have different opinions about the issue but why make so many negative comments when people are dying?
    Now there is controversy about how the funds for the charity are being used and about the creator being arrested. Many people are now against this whole movement. Professor Gerstenblatt mentioned in class today that people are feeling offended with everything. With all of these controversies I still want to help. I can't help with money but I feel that it is important to raise awareness and let the government know that we care about this issue and that they should so something about it. And like I mentioned in class today, we shouldn't just step in but instead get together with the people of Uganda and see what they want from us. We must work together with them and figure out an intervention. i feel that as social work students we should create a plan for the movement that will take place on April 20th.

A Little More About Religion

     Since I read the readings about religion in the Adams textbook last week, it was what I blogged about last week. However, with our discussions in class yesterday about religion, so many more thoughts came up. And seeing that I wasn't the only one in the class who had mixed feelings made me feel a lot better about the inner struggles I have been facing.
     It is not very easy for me to be able to express myself in class, in front of people that I really do not know. But on Wednesday when we were discussing about religion, I just really felt the need to express myself. After I heard Nikki talk about how she is Catholic yet she is against many of the religion's beliefs, I felt a sudden relief. I finally heard another person who is Catholic that thinks just the way I do. At that moment I felt the need to let everything out and let the class know what I had been holding in for a very long time.
    The questions towards my religion and more towards the church have been going on for a while yet they have recently popped back in my head. Not only with the Adams reading and with the class discussions, but if I think back a little to some of the fist readings in the Zinn's book, religion had a big part in that. When the Spanish came to America, they attempted to turn all of the indigenous people into Catholics, they wanted to spread the word. But if they were so religious, why did they torture the indigenous people? Doesn't God teach us to love our brothers? Professor G mentioned how they built the beautiful missions along the western and southern coasts, yet while building them they tortured so many people. And then reading Adams book about how Christianity is a privileged religion in the United States makes me think about the ideas that this country was built on. Through torture, slavery, segregation, sexism, and all of the wrongful things this country has done, this just upsets me. And I am Catholic, I cant imagine how does who aren't feel. I love God, and I love the beliefs of the Catholic religion, yet there are a lot of things that the church has done and that the church believes that I am completely against. What was said in class really moved me and made me feel a lot better. After expressing myself professor G told me that even if I don't agree with bits and pieces of the church that it was okay. That there are somethings I'm going to agree with and some things I am not.
     After struggling so much with all of these thoughts, I can finally say I feel so much better! Before I felt as if I was doing something wrong. I felt I was being a bad person going against all of the beliefs that I grew up with. And although I know that I will probably never be able to talk about this subject openly with my grandma, I can honestly say I feel really great about myself! Who knows, maybe I'll sit down and talk to a priest one on one about all of my thoughts and questions. I feel like I have the courage to do that now. This class has done so much for me that I am so excited to see what the rest of the semester is going to bring us all!

Religion and other stuff

  So about religion, reading the Adams textbook about religion made me think a lot about my own thoughts, my own beliefs. I grew up Catholic and still consider myself one. For a time I was questioning the church a lot but just learned to believe in God and thats all I needed. Today, I have been attending church and reading the bible regularly trying to get closer to God, but this reading made my previous thoughts and disagreements come back up.
   A couple years ago I was very confused. My church said that God loved and accepted everyone. What I didn't understand was why was the church so much against gay couples and divorce. Of course my mom and grandma had a great explanation but I was struggling with my beliefs. Why can't two men or two women be together if they love each other? Im sure God sees that and understands love. After all he wants us to always love one another. And why if your divorced you're not welcome at the church? So is a woman getting beat and cheated on by her husband suppose to deal with it in order to not disobey God? Also when the Davinci Code and Angels and Demons came out I didn't question the existence of God but I did question my mom about the church. The only thing she could tell me was to simply believe in God and ignore all that. So I did but now its come back up. I will always be a Catholic but I will never hide my disagreement with some of the things the church does. The video I posted below made a great impact on me.

   I was waiting to talk about religion in this class so that I could share this video with you guys. When I saw it, it completely changed me. Seeing how religion is and all of the example this guy brings up, one of them being about divorce, makes me really upset. Another example he brings up is how the church has so much money yet there are so many homeless people to feed. This video just speaks for itself please watch it its amazing!
    Now Wal-Mart, lets just say I will never shop there again, not even on Black Friday! It is so disappointing that such a rich company, such a rich family, does nothing but bad for this country. I used to see Wal- Mart as a good thing. A store where you can find anything you need. I would think that any small town would be honored to have such a big store. Oh how I was wrong. This video brought tears to my eyes. Seeing all those families who owned those small stores for generations and were forced to close down broke my heart. What were they suppose to do? How would they make a living now? Its just not fair. And now that I think about it, when I am driving back home to Galveston and I pass through Brenham and Giddings, I see a lot of these small empty stores downtown. I always wondered why they were abandoned and why downtown was so empty. Now I know why. The worst part about all this was seeing how the Walton family, some of the richest people in the country, is so unfair and greedy. They can't help out the workers being exploited in China nor the ones here. This just makes me so upset and so angry!
   On a brighter note, the rest of the culture boxes were great!! I got to share mine and see learn a lot about others in the class. This is by far my favorite assignment here at the School of Social Work.

Racism, classism, and diversity

   There is so much to blog about this week! It was a wonderful week full of so much excitement! First of all I am going to talk about the Adams chapters. Reading about class made me think a lot about my past and how class has affected my entire life. I was never in an upper middle class, but I can say that after my father passed away and left my mom with my brother and I, we were in the poverty class. Luckily I have a very strong mother who pulled us through and tried to give us the best life she could. However there was only so much she could do. I was always in the lower class and around lower people. In middle school and elementary I was always with the lower class people. Our  schools were pretty much divided. Once we got to high school, there was only one high school in my town so everyone got mixed in together. I started having all my classes with the rich kids yet for some reason I could never be friends with them. It was as if our class defined our friendships, our lives. I had never thought about this but now that I do, so many crazy things come to mind.
     Another thing that has been on my mind that I have been wanting to blog about is about or guest speaker on Monday. When we were asked to share in class how we felt about it I realized that the speaker had brought about several different emotions in different people. In my opinion, I saw the speaker as a very positive thing. Although I do feel that the speaker was very negative about Mart and gave us a very bad view about it, her visit brought out a really interesting topic. And although it felt that the visit from the assistant dean felt a little awkward as well, I saw her as a positive thing. Her question to Gwen brought out something positive in all of us.
    The class culture boxes were amazing! We are getting to learn so much about our classmates! It would be awesome if we had more time to go over them and learn a lot more about everyone. I can't wait to share mine next Wednesday and to see the rest of them!

Racism

    After reading both Zinn's book, Adams readings, as well as the discussions and material in class, I have been thinking more and more about how corrupt our country is. I have always been proud of being an American seeing how great this country is. But this class has completely changed my way of thinking. Zinn's book has really made an impact in me. Seeing how the Indians and the slaves were treated really angers me. the worst part about it is that things have not improved as much as they should have. The great flood information we received in class reminded me so much of Katrina! Katrina was only 7 years ago and  there was so much discrimination. I am from Galveston therefore I saw many of the Katrina refugees come into town. I volunteered with the red cross and I got to see and hear horrible things. They were all talking about all their horrible experiences and how the government did not help them. Last month I went to a comedy show and the comedian made a comment about all of the Katrina refugees who came never went back to New Orleans. He mentioned it as a joke but the truth is that they never did. And why? Because they never received the help from the government to go back. For hurricane Ike, I evacuated and they told us they did not know wether we were ever going to get back. It was my senior year and I was being told that i had to graduate in a completely different school. The thought of not going back to where I was raised in was devastating. I cannot imagine how these poor people are still feeling. This only shows how the government does not help those in need. And my only thought is that it is due to racism. All of the Katrina refugees from New Orleans were African American. And most just stayed in Galveston. Being such a wealthy country and a country with so many resources it is sad that we cannot help those in need.

from Gang member to academia

  As I watched the video from gang member to academia, i was completely shocked! I have watched so many documentaries on gangs and there is nothing but bad in them. In California there are more established gangs than what we have here in Texas therefore I always thought that those who were involved in gangs were all either going to end up in jail or dead. When I was reading the article about Victor Rios before I watched the video, I was in shock when I saw he was a professor at the University of California. As I watched the video so many thoughts came into my head. How did he do it? Why did e do it? How did he get out of a gang? Not only did this man graduate from high school, or simply graduated from college, he got his PhD! This video completely changed my views on gang members. With him helping others involved in gangs it made me realize how not all gang members chose to be that. These people that were able to change their ways was because they did not want the life they were having. Like the guy in the video said " theres always room for change. This was a great video that completely changed my way of thinking and reinforces my beliefs that one cannot judge a book by its cover. I leave you guys with another very interesting video about juvenile delinquency and education. Hope you guys like it!  

 

Racism

    As I continue to read Zinn's book, I get more and more amazed at the reality of our country's history. It is clear to me that racism has existed since the beginning of the United States history however I did not quite understand the reasons and the severity. As a Catholic it makes me so sad to see that even the priests and bishops did not see any wrong in having slaves. How could they go on with this seeing how they were being treated? If they knew that God loves everyone the same way why did they continue to do it?
The hardest part for me to understand is how the slaves were brought to the Americas. How can people be so cruel and put them in those conditions? So many died and yet they continued to bring in more and more because they were still getting profit. Zinn mentions that Africa lost 50 million citizens due to death and slavery.
    The natives in Mexico, the natives in the U.S., and the African slaves were all treated in a very cruel way by people of "white skin". Why? For the simple fact that they were dark skinned, different and not from Europe like everyone else. The more I think about it it angers me to think that even after all those deaths and all that cruelty, segregation lasted until the 20th century and racism still goes on today. History is there to teach us a lesson, to remind us of the mistakes we have made in the past, and to guide us towards a better future. Didn't we learn from our ancestors? Why did segregation continue and why does racism still exist today? Even if racism towards African Americans is diminishing, hatred towards Hispanics is increasing. With illegal immigration Americans are becoming more and more resentful towards the hispanic community. We not only see if in our citizens but also in our leaders. The presidential candidates are stressing their plans on immigration and their views on that issue are the ones that will determine their future. I will leave you guys with two videos on racism and immigration. Tell me what y'all think :)

Guest Speaker Diane!

    Our guest speaker today Diane was great! i really enjoyed the beginning exercise and I think that was were a lot of the discussions came from. One of the issues that stood out to me the most was how when we were asked if we agreed or disagreed that poverty was a social problem everyone agreed. However, when we were asked if wealth was a social issue a lot of people disagreed. When I saw this, the first thing that came to my mind was " how is poverty a social issue but not wealth?" As I began to think about it more I realized that maybe some people just thought that wealthy people are happy and don't really have issues. I disagree. Wealthy people suffer from depression and many other disorders because of so much wealth they have. Wealth is also an issue for those who don't have it.
     Another very interesting thing that Diane mentioned was how a person in uniform can be as violent as they want but that as soon as they took that uniform off, they were criminals. I had never thought about it this way and I could not agree with her more. Another issues that really caught my attention was the one about the Penn State coach. When I first heard about the issue of course I thought about the children. But as the news became bigger and bigger, I noticed that they only focused on the fired coach. The media kind of made us forget about the poor children and focus more on the coach. It is crazy what the media can make one do and how it can change ones mind.
    Overall I really enjoyed Diane! We discussed great issues that everyone can relate to. I would really love talking to her again. She brought up a lot of thoughts into my head and made me really think about what social justice and how social problems are.

cultural competence & History shock!!

   With Dr. Aguilar's visit, Lum's chapter 1 and 2, the race culture theory article and Zinn's book I had a big culture and history shock!
   First of all with Lum's chapter about cultural competence and social context as well as the race culture theory article that was about cultural competence, my beliefs about the importance of cultural competence were strengthen. I feel like it is commonly known that cultural competence is very important especially for a social worker. A social worker must be able to understand their clients culture and background in order to properly help them. But when I really think about it, its not that easy. Since I am bilingual, I was raised in a Mexican home but grew up in an American community. I consider myself really blessed to be table to share both cultures equally. This will be very beneficial to me as a social worker. However, not everyone is as lucky. It can become difficult for a Caucasian social worker who knows nothing about the Mexican culture to try and help a client who is having cultural issues. Also, I believe culture is a very big and often confusing thing. I at times even have trouble understanding somethings. I can't imagine how hard it would be for someone who knows nothing of the Mexican culture. I am not really sure how much and how specific cultural courses are. So far, all of my social workers have talked about culture but have not gone into specifics about it. Since the minority population in the United States is growing at a fast pace, this only shows how important cultural competence is. I believe that in order for social workers to be completely successful, there must me specific courses for each culture and they must practice with minority clients in order to help each individual. Yet again this seems very difficult as well. However, something must be done.
    Now Zinn's book, that was something else. When the professor said that Zinn's book was going to be one of the most interesting books we were going to read, I did not think I was going to like it this much! First of all, I love history! I was immediately hooked! As a Mexican, I was always taught that the Spaniards were greedy, that they took all the gold from us. However in this book, things were a lot more intense. I did not realize all of those "Indians" were killed. Not only in South American, Central America, and Mexico, but in the United States as well. This book shows how even back then there was cultural oppression. That just because the natives spoke a different language and used different weapons, they were still human beings like the Europeans. Just because they were different they should not have been treated that way. It angered me so much but it also made me realize that there is still oppression today. Some are still racist and oppressive over others of a different culture. I extremely enjoyed this book and I am really looking forward to reading the rest!

Dr. Aguilar was a real inspiration especially because I feel like I can relate myself a lot to him. It makes me so happy that people that have such a hard time growing up become so successful as he did with determination. Just like me, he is a first generation college student, and seeing him so successful makes me feel a lot better about my future. Seeing all the troubles he has been through only makes me appreciate how blessed I am. I truly look up to him and i know that for sure he will be a role model when I think about my future and what I want to accomplish in life.

Oppressors= Dominant Race???

    After Wednesdays discussion and class and after reading both the textbook and Lum's chapter 3, I learned a lot about social justice but also realized a lot about myself. The discussion in class was a bit intense. Like Desiree, I was also scared to speak up afraid to say something wrong. However so many things were going through my head I knew I had to let it all out here on the blog. 

    First of all, I don't agree that the oppressors are always the dominant race. Any race can be oppressive towards the other. My high school was predominantly Hispanic and African American. Unfortunately, many people from both of these races were oppressive towards the other. I personally have never felt oppressed by a Caucasian person. As an American I have always felt like I have the same rights any other citizen has. But as I began to think about it, I was also thinking that maybe I have never felt like a lot of other Mexican Americans feel because of the color of my skin. I am very light and I have also been mistaken for a Caucasian girl. Even people who are Mexican often speak to me in English and when they hear me speak perfect Spanish, they get very surprised. I believe that for this reason I can't relate myself to a lot of Mexican Americans who feel oppressed by the dominant race. 

    Another thing that I found interesting was how our textbook mentioned how when many minority people are asked who they are, they immediately mention their race or their sex. When I think back at times I have been asked who I am, for example, in this class the second day of school when we were asked this, I did not mention my race or sex. I simply mentioned my strengths and weaknesses as a person, disregarding my race. With this i realized that it is how you view yourself and how you feel about who you are what matters the most. Maybe those who feel oppressed are those who feel the need to express their race and ethnicity to others. I also disagreed that the minorities focus on survival. I feel like survival is a very strong word in this case. I agree that there is still discrimination and oppression in this world but I do not agree that survival is the correct word. 

     Overall I learned a lot from both the readings and the discussion in class. I realized that even if some of us are the same race or ethnicity, we all have different views, different experiences. What is important is to realize the inequality some people face and address those issues. Like the book said, diversity and inequality are very different. It is easy to talk about the diversity in our school but not too easy to talk about inequality. And inequality is what needs to be addressed. 

Is Social Justice Unjust?

    Reading these articles completely changed my idea of social justice. I believed that social justice was for all, each individual. However, these articles demonstrated that how unjust we can be to our peers without realizing it. The article that caught my attention the most and which i believed that summarized the others was Pelton's article. It was the very last article I read but it was the one that made things a lot more clear for me.
     One of the examples he used that was very catching was how advocates of welfare reforms believed that denying welfare to needy women would benefit the economy since the mothers of poor children would be forced to look for a job. This demonstrate that they are willing to be unjust to an individual for the good of the others. The other example about how elderly are given tests in order to renew their liscense was also very interesting. I had never really stopped to think about these things and how unjust we can be at times. Why should the needy women have to suffer and struggle so that the economy can ameliorate? How long will their children have to starve for before their mother finds a job? And why should the elderly be the only ones being tested in order to renew their license? Are they the only ones who could have vision problems? Why can't we all go through those tests to make it fair?
   So many questions came to mind while reading these articles. I began to think about different things that the country does for its citizens and began to critically think about the fairness to each and every individual. There are many things that the state or the country does for its citizens as a whole or as a group  whoever we are all very different. Even in the same culture there are always some people who are completely opposite. So what happens to those who do not belong to the group?
     Stereotyping and grouping is one thing that can completely change how effectively we help others. It is often impossible to help individual clients when they are being put in a certain group or stereotyped a certain way. Pelton states that social work students should be taught in a way in which they will not discriminate when treating their clients. To me, social workers never discriminated their clients. But as you begin to think about it, it is very easy for one to discriminate another by quickly stereotyping and putting them in a certain group.
    These articles stress on social work educators to step forward and teach the students how to effectively treat their clients without discriminating. I used this article as a wake up call. After reading these four articles I believe that from now on I will be more aware of how and when I stereotype certain people and on focusing on people as individuals. When in need, individuals should be able to receive help without being put in a group. We should all be treated like the individuals we are.

First Post :)

First time blogging I am so excited!
I've never done anything like this so I am sure it will be an amazing experince :)