John Jay - Vera Fellows Seminar

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Welcome Wonderful Verons, Class of 2015-2016! It's going to be a great year--I feel it in my bones, and am so glad we got off to a very interesting start this morning (all the moving around, being outdoors, enjoying the sunshine, getting shut out by NYC noise, regrouping, and getting a start on what will be many fruitful, intense, stimulating discussions. Yes!!!

So here's how I want to lead off this semester's blog:

It is August 27, 2015. At this moment in time, what do you consider are the greatest threats to the world and to humankind? List three threats. Tell us about one of those threats using any medium you like: write something, provide a link to a video, show us a photograph, use poetry--yours or some else's--talk to us through music, use whatever medium best captures what you think and feel. Let us know why the thing you choose to share captures what you're thinking about, what you're feeling.

20 comments:

Unknown said...: There are many threats to humankind. These threats aren't necessarily visible or tangible, but they pose a very real danger to the world we leave for the future generation. The three issues I would identify as the biggest problem in our society today are:
1. Ignorance
2. Hatred
3. And, one of the biggest threats to humankind is the ability we have created to separate – and distance – ourselves from others. By this I mean that through a systematic separation we have managed to create an "us" and a "them" category. This manifests itself in different ways.
1. "The"y don’t need the right to vote, "they" don’t need jobs, which evolved into their issue isn’t really an issue anymore, women have equality, they exaggerate not receiving equal pay. Feminism is a waste of time.
2. "They" are worth less than us, they are only good for manual labor and making babies, which evolved into they got their rights and look at what they do with it – guns and violence, they cause their own problems. Racism is long gone.
3. "They" are killed for their sexuality, but I am a heterosexual cisgender, what should I care? Why waste time on a movement for LBGTQAI movements?
4. "They" don’t have enough water, but what does that have to do with me conserving mine? Environmental issues are not mine.
Using they allows us to not care, not associate ourselves as one of them.
When a nuclear bomb was dropped on our “enemies of war” and we celebrated victory – despite killing thousands and destroying the lives of hundreds of thousands more:

(A video of testimonies of survivors of the Hiroshima bombing, it is one hour long but very eye opening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4j6uZORxmik)

This pattern has repeated itself through history. As humans we’ve continued to develop and grow. Overwhelmingly this has been perceived as a positive thing. Yet often neglected is that we’ve also continued to develop our methods of harm as well. Using our newer, fancier, and shinier weapons of destruction when we send our “soldiers” to kill “terrorists”:

(A video of US Heroism or US terrorism, pay careful attention to the comments clearly creating an "us" and "them"!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iI9bveFyWhk)

It can be passive too.
When we walk past the homeless person on the street, commenting on how they smell, and how they did that to themselves:

(A video of people walking by their own loved ones disguised as homeless people on the street: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bel3vITdnGE)

When we scroll past the post on Facebook, Instagram, etc about the 19th black transgender person killed this year

(Information on the black trans movement, as posted by #BlackLivesMatter, which unfortunately still creates an "us" and "them" category: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf0dk1KppS8)

These are issues that affect us all, whether directly or indirectly. Hatred is blind, hatred is an EQUAL OPPORTUNITY disease.
I chose this as the biggest problem for our society because a) I feel like it encompasses the most, and b) because it is something we all encounter – and something I believe most of us are even guilty of at one point or another. Working with “at risk youth,” kids who have had encounters with the juvenile justice system and needed some help getting back on the right path, I have had people tell me I am wasting my time. They created their own problems, they won’t change. But when our own kids, our neighbors, and our friends make mistakes we are so quick to help them without judgment. Why can we do it so easily to people that look different from us? Only when we can look past the differences and see the similarities, only when we can feel united around injustices committed to any one, only then can we begin to heal as a community and become an us. Only then do we become humankind again.; August 28, 2015 at 1:13 PM
Unknown said...: FANTASTIC comment Jasmine! And a rich and critical discussion for your fellow Fellows. In order to advocate at your field placements it's helpful to understand the Us and Thems we were brought up with, and the Us and Thems the people we are advocating for deal with on a daily basis. Please respond to Prof Waterston's prompt and also respond to Jasmine's- What are the "Us and 'Thems'" you experience? What Us and Thems do you think the people you will be advocating with at your placements may experience?

One of my favorites is the term "bad neighborhood." We live in good neighborhoods. They live in bad neighborhoods. Critical to dissect and understand as a social justice advocate. As someone who lives in a "bad neighborhood" I can tell you it's the best neighborhood I've ever lived in. WE ARE SOCIAL JUSTICE.

So thrilled to be working with all of you. As Professor Waterston said, this is going to be a great semester!; August 30, 2015 at 5:12 PM
Unknown said...: The three things that come to mind when I think of the biggest threats to humankind include hate crimes, nuclear weapons and climate change. These come to mind first because they all have the potential to either take lives, cause food crises, political instability, water shortage, and/or widespread illness. I think of hate crimes because they are the actions of people intolerant of the race, ethnicity, religion, etc. of others. This is a threat to the benefits of sharing cultures and experiences as we constantly strive to achieve a global society. Climate Change and the use of nuclear weapons are extremely destructive and have the potential to be reduced or prevented. I wanted to focus on climate change because its not something I really cared deeply about until recently. Before I thought the biggest threats to the world were fresh water/food shortage and disease. The first march I ever participated in was last year's climate march in NYC. It was a community response to the U.N meeting that would take place a few days afterwards. I was invited by my sister who was going with her school. I just agreed to go. To illustrate how disconnected I was to the issue I wore a t-shirt with the Standard Oil Company logo on it. I had no intention of ripping this shirt or damaging it to make a statement at this march. I just wore it because it was what I randomly pulled out my closet on that particular day and thought nothing of it. However, my experience at the march, through multiple conversations and observations, raised my level of awareness and concern. I by no means live the most energy efficient lifestyle but I am now forever conscious of how my actions and others impact the environment. I think we can reduce the threat of climate change by not hiding from the facts. It's important for those in authority to not be afraid of difficult conversations about climate change and take the appropriate actions towards slowing it down. I feel like it's important to allow future generations to experience the world too.

Here's one video about a situation in Florida by TYT, a channel I follow:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqnwvSsr4pA; August 30, 2015 at 5:40 PM
Anonymous said...: Three threats that I consider the “greatest threats to human kind” are:
1) Greed
2) Poverty
3) Discrimination

Greed:
In a capitalist society, greed is often associated with power. This is shown within our class system and corporate business models. People who are overcome with greed disproportionately use resources that are essential to elevate those in the lower classes. Greed is also shown within our democratic framework, and the inability of Congress to solve issues within our society. One example of greed is corruption which includes, but is not limited to bribery and blackmail.

Poverty:
Those stricken by poverty are unable to maintain a healthy and fulfilling lifestyle. Children are unable to go to school, their families go without food for long periods of time, or people simply don’t make enough money to live comfortably. Poverty is a universal term, but differs from country to country. This is shown within our concept of poverty and our investment in material items as opposed to education, or food. An individual that lacks a proper education can be seen as poor. On the other hand, lack of money, material objects, or property are also symbols of poverty.

Discrimination:
Discrimination rationalizes injustice, which can lead to acts of abuse and murder. For example, in the Antebellum South, African Americans were segregated and discriminated against because of their skin color. Race relations during that time period allowed for the mistreatment of not only African Americans, but people of color in general. People of color throughout history were not given the “best of the best”. People of color lived and worked in unsafe conditions, while receiving either no education or a mediocre education. However, this is not limited to race, but include gender and sexual orientation as well. Discrimination inhibits the individual, or groups of people from fulfilling their potential and their pursuit of happiness.

Discrimination is one threat in particular, both from a historical and personal perspective, that has greatly affected the development of our society. One example of how discrimination has negatively affected our society, is the justification for the genocide of millions. Within such genocides, society acknowledged the fact that people were killed based on their race, religion, gender, sexuality, culture , etc. Unfortunately, this has negatively effected our nation in which we are still living in the remnants of racism, sexism, and discrimination as a whole.

In NYC alone we are paying more attention to acts of prejudice and discrimination, especially when discussing relations between minorities and the police.

Here is a link for a “Crash Course” on prejudice and discrimination through the lens of Psychology:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P0iP2Zm6a4

As a young Afro-Latina, I have experienced discrimination on multiple levels. Not only have I been discriminated against because of my skin color and heritage, but also because of my womanhood. This also takes into account being discriminated against by my own race.

Growing up in middle school, I was called half-breed a number of times, but it wasn’t until years later when I noticed what it actually meant. It meant that I had tainted blood. Being both Black and Puerto Rican meant that I did not belong to the Black crowd or the Latino crowd, and I was rejected by my peers. Another instance was when I had received a full scholarship to John Jay through a program at my father’s job. I was the only person of color within the room. With this in mind, an elderly woman came up to me and said that this was a huge advancement for my race, and that there are not a lot of Hispanics worthy of this scholarship opportunity.

Discrimination captures what I have felt over the years because it always meant that I wasn’t good enough, that I had to work twice as hard to get half the reward.

This experience also shows micro-aggressions in which a link is provided below:

http://psychologybenefits.org/2013/09/26/how-latinos-experience-subtle-racism/; August 30, 2015 at 6:41 PM
Unknown said...: Hi everyone! Just wanted to start by saying that I thoroughly enjoyed Thursday’s class and that I’m really looking forward to this next year with you guys! By the way, that was an excellent response jasmine. I certainly see how the “us versus them” mentality has and will continue to create more problems in the future. For me, it was definitely hard to narrow down to three issues, as I’m sure everyone is aware that there exist many problems that can pose as a threat to humankind. So the three issues that come to my mind as threats to our world are:
1) Self-centeredness
2) Poverty
3) Indifference
I have chosen to begin discussion on the third threat listed, not because it is necessarily more “threatening” to humankind, but because it is what I feel hits right at home here in the United States. Indifference is everywhere we go. We see it at school, when students fail to put effort in their work and are satisfied with failing grades. It can be subtler, such as not showing up to vote during an election. You may see it at work, when your coworker spends all day playing games on his phone while you’re slaving away. Indifference is the root of disorder because it causes people to lose interest in their surroundings. And worst of all, it’s contagious. People are so quick to embrace this mentality. Adopting this mentality, however, rids us from the possibility of finding our individual passions in life, thus making life meaningless. We need to be aware and catch ourselves if we find ourselves growing indifferent, as there is a good chance all of us our guilty of it at one point or another. When we find ourselves growing indifferent, it may be a good idea to reevaluate ourselves and find out why we have lost interest in something. It may also be a good idea for us to try different things and pursue new passions.
Indifference is a hindrance to growth and progress. For example, lets briefly look into the “Bystander Effect”, which is the idea that the likeliness that a neighboring individual would help someone with an emergency is indirectly related to the amount of people at the scene. In other words, there is a slighter chance that someone would take action to help a person in distress if there are other people also watching. To broaden the scope, lets take into account major issues going on in the world today (poverty, oppression, etc.) What if we all watched and thought “There’s about 7 billion people in the world. Someone else can work to end world poverty. Why does it have to be me?”. This mentality is dangerous. If everyone thought this way, society would crumble before our very eyes. Herb Sturz certainly was a risk-taker who did not have this mentality when he challenged the system and worked for bail reform. In fact, when Robert Kennedy asked David Hackett to partner Sturz with other bail reformers, Hackett responded, “Mr. Kennedy, there is no one else working on bail reform” (Roberts, 2009, p.53). Essentially, Sturz took it on himself to take action and challenge the failures of the system, rather than wait for someone else to come along and do it for him. Progress will not happen if people choose to sit back and expect others to solve the world’s many problems. It is especially important for us as advocates of social justice to be the ones that refuse to sit back and take action. Thus, I am so grateful for this opportunity that we all have to be a part of this supportive Vera community that will challenge us to contribute to the attainment of social justice, whether it’d be through our internship placements or elsewhere.; August 30, 2015 at 7:18 PM
Unknown said...: I believe indifference is growing subtly and that this issue goes hand in hand with the “us versus them” mentality. Personally, I have seen this everywhere and have even had experiences with it myself. For example, back in middle and high school, I was often stereotyped as being good at things like math and ping-pong. While it would not be bad for me to be good at either of these things, I felt that it created an unnecessary pressure for me to fit the stereotype of an Asian American. In other words, it sometimes felt as if society was trying to define me and that I needed to conform to this stereotype if I didn’t want to be labeled as a failure. Despite the many times I have seen this “us versus them” mentality, however, I have always been convinced that this destructive pattern can be broken. Martin Luther King Jr. argued throughout the civil rights movement that those who were racist were not inherently “evil” or born racist, but that they were simply misinformed by society. I agree with King Jr., as I have observed over the years of volunteering at a camp for inner city kids that the one’s who were most likely to make a racist comment about me or other staff members were the older kids, while the younger ones rarely knew what those words even meant. Thus, maybe it’s time to take action and find ways to stop this “misinformation” and “us versus them” mentality from being spread to future generations. Hope that made sense! And would love to know if anyone else views indifference as a possible threat to growth in society
Work Cited:
Roberts, S. (2009). A Kind of Genius: Herb Sturz and Society's Toughest
Problems. New York, NY: Public Affairs.; August 30, 2015 at 7:22 PM
Unknown said...: Hello Verons! I'd just like to say that it is very difficult to follow up after everything that was said and not sound repetitive. Next time I'll have to be one of the first to post!

To me, the three threats to human kind, that I could think of, that may add some variety to the conversation, would be (in no particular order):
1. Self-interest
2. Gender policing
3. Ignorance

Self-interest:
The federalist papers gives a political perspective on how the constitution was devised by our "founding fathers" and its need to be ratified. Alexander Hamilton stated in federalist papers no. 10 or 12 that humans are naturally competitive and self-interested, defending Americas interest to form unions. This reigns true in today's society in several forms that diminishes the moral obligation to be an active agent of social justice. One example would be supporting the fabrics we wear on our backs that is made through the exploitation of young women and children in several areas over seas. Clothing companies support this exploitation for their own competitive well-being: selling shirts for the retail price of 15$ and up for a LARGE, incomparable profit. While many of us wear these shirts without knowing, nor caring to know, where they came from. "Out of sight, out of mind"= our self- interest.

Ignorance:
I forwarded to ignorance because my last example was a great Segway. As aforementioned, many CHOOSE not to know what they are supporting and whose backs they are standing on. The choice to remain uneducated on the suffering of others, or even the everyday life of your neighbor who shares a different culture than you, is detrimental to the growth of us all as a society. This ignorance can cultivate back handed compliments that can truly be offensive to the other who is educated. Back handed compliments like "you're pretty for a black girl" or "you look so.. Cultured today" or "your hair is so.. wild and exotic, can I touch it!?" - all of which I've heard before. I am not an exhibit.

To know more, check out my blog!
https://johnjay.digication.com/andrene.wright/Welcome/published

Gender/race policing:
Gender policing is practiced in several forms. One being the need to tell someone who they are because of how they look in order to remain within the confines of that gender. It is an offensive mechanism to force a socially constructed norm on someone they feel they are obligated to define or understand- a practice of privilege that one has (or feel they have) over another. (P.s- I need to knock this "they" habit.. Who are they?)
This ideal appropriates inappropriate questions like "are you a girl or a boy?" "Are you transgendered or transsexual"? -- all of which is no ones business; August 31, 2015 at 10:58 AM
Unknown said...: Just read the prompt over... you said list three threats and talk about ONE of those threats.... woops!; August 31, 2015 at 5:41 PM
Unknown said...: Three things that are believe are threats to humanity are
1) Transgression as a weapon
2) Social Isolation
3) Elitist Arrogance
I've experienced these, what I would call issues formulating clouds of oppression in spaces that are "safe"
Transgression; I'm naming transgression as threat particularly in this new age of social media facilitated social activism because as individuals are forming their own politic through the cornucopia of social injustices being presented on a daily basis on their news feeds, I'm seeing more and more individuals proudly (and rightfully so) performing their respective identities. Now while this is not necessarily an issue, I find problems arise when individuals attempt to mirror the popular paradigm's oppressive tactics while celebrating their own ideologies. Their ideologies when presented via social media or discussion-based spaces become socially militant and harmful to those around them. By this I mean the individual begins to "other" other identities, particularly if that identity is considered more popular or normative. The identities that are considered transgressive are, instead of sharing/teaching their ideas in a manner that is polite is instead policing the morality or even the identities they consider normative or in opposition to their own.
Examples I could use to better explain this threat are Gender-non-conforming (GNC) or black nationalist identities relying on militant or unhealthy methods of ideology performance in discussion based spaces.
I find that individuals aggressively attack individual they believe to be privileged
What this looks like for me in spaces inhabited by individuals who are gender non conforming are prevalent I often find that I am picked on from expressing my gender in ways that a viewed as normative and therefore privileged . I believe that this is a sort of unhealthy transgression

2) The issue of social isolation partly ties in to the previously mentioned transgression. Human beings are getting more and more adapted to having exchanges via electronics devices. In reference to social issues I believe that makes it incredibly simplistic to dehumanize the user on the other side of the keyboard. Socially isolated spaces induce a sense of being unconnected (although we’re actually connected) to the rest of humanity. I’m thinking of some more obscure symptoms of social isolation which are very different to what we usually mention; depression, etc. I’m finding that socially isolated spaces can create an inflated sense of self because the self or what we find familiar is all we know. We aren’t pushing boundaries and diversifying our ideologies because we operate with an confirmation biases; we only look for answers we already know and that aren’t radical to our own “home-training” (Whether that home be at an institution of an actual home environment, we’re being taught somewhere). Our Isolated lifestyles leave more room for narrow-minded perspectives that are inherently detrimental to our surrounding communities.

3) When I say elitist arrogance I’m referring to the air of pretension that unfortunately sometimes come from students coming from an educational background that is considered elite. I’m making direct reference to private liberal arts colleges that allow students to study abstract critical theory around identity politics in an intensive seminar setting. I’ve found that individuals from these institutions are less likely to validate the ideologies of institutions from less prestigious institutions. This is threat to the intellectual growth to both parties as there is little room for such growth in these combative spaces. Students from public institutions are forced to defend against holier-than-thou private four institutions when their discussions should be a space of exchange and not battle. I feel as though this is a threat because the battle of wits that takes place doesn’t allow for solidarity between the groups who more likely than not experience some of the same issue like racial profiling or misogyny.; August 31, 2015 at 6:29 PM
Unknown said...: I suppose these issues are pressing to me because I actively try to incorporate others ideas into my own so I can navigate more openly with knowledge from all kinds of spaces. I actively try to create safe environments instead of pretending to. I feel that even though we may inhabit different spaces or perform different identities we should be able to speak in a way that facilitates intellectual growth instead of hate/disorder; August 31, 2015 at 6:29 PM
Jessica Jean said...: When it comes to the discussion of threats to humankind and the world several topics come to mind. The major ones that stick out to me are the following:

1) Education
2) Homelessness
3) Social media in the form of creating the bystander effect

These topics have been on my mind since high school and still continue to grow as problems.

• Education: When I mention education here I am not trying to bring up the national standings of intelligence in comparison to other nations nor am I talking about the graduating rates. These subtopics are important but what I would like to focus on is, the quality of education being received. I have read many articles and spoken with several students of all ages (a majority in high school) that believe that school isn’t teaching students what they need to survive, articulate their ideas and become better versions of themselves. Instead they are being tested on the regurgitation of facts and memory. This causes many students to say that school is not for them, leading to a decreased interest in higher education and can more importantly damage society by creating waves of uneducated people.
• Homelessness: I know I am not the only one that has noticed the increase of homeless individuals here in NYC. Everywhere you turn you see someone desperately asking for a handout, passed out on the subway or even collecting what they can out of garbage bins. To me it feels like overnight the homeless population increased and now it’s becoming a norm to see this, which is bad. Reading the signs of several individuals and hearing their stories I’ve become aware that these people are usually homeless veterans, homeless due to a lost job and/or family problem. One can’t be certain if all the stories written on the cardboard boxes are true but it has been proven that this specific population consists of people from these groups. If this continues to happen we will be swarmed by homelessness, lack of services to end this problem and a society that frowns upon a majority of individuals that need help but instead are shunned.; August 31, 2015 at 7:10 PM
Jessica Jean said...: • Social media in the form of creating the bystander effect: This is the topic I find to be the most mind boggling out of three I’ve listed. It is fairly obvious that in todays society social media is something almost everyone is engaged in. From Facebook, to Instagram, to twitter, everyone is connecting with others but disconnecting from the actual world. We learn in class that the bystander effect is something that usually happens when a group of people witness a crime or dangerous situation but do nothing because they believe someone else will be the one to call for help or step in. As if this concept was not bad enough it is now becoming a trend for people to pull out their phones not to call for help but to record the situation and try to make it viral for whatever reason. They say violence is something we are entertained by and this isn’t a lie. The most watched movies, video games played etc are all centered by violence. There has been an increase in physical altercations between individuals and groups over things of all proportions. From as little as a nasty look, a disrespectful gesture or revenge. Too many times in the media are there stories dealing with youth fighting, murders and crimes all caught on camera with lack of intervention. I for one am disgusted by this trend and really hope to find an end to it. Society is being destroyed one smart phone at time. Many of the situations depicted in those videos could be prevented if someone did something. The link I posted below is of a violent beating a young girl encountered in a McDonalds not too far from where I live. In the video you will see crowds of people just standing around and recording this brutal beating and only stopping the altercation when the female passes out. Truly disgusting and if actions like this continue I shudder to think of the world we might live in. Imagine knowing someone in this position and knowing that no one stepped in, or called for help but instead caught it on video. I really wonder where the minds of some people are at times like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uorYfrLE7Y; August 31, 2015 at 7:10 PM
Alisse Waterston said...: Thank you, those of you who have posted. There are some amazing comments here. We could design the whole semester around the points you make. It's so hard to have a conversation on a blog even though we want to encourage you to do so. For example, there's so much in Jo's post that I'd like to ask about (am not sure I understand everything you wrote). There's some stuff I'd challenge you/him on, too. For another example, I find Monnero's post so interesting the way you/he described his coming to understand the threat of climate change and the irony of the fact of his wearing the T-shirt. There's so much there, too. Can you imagine "deconstructing"
the T-shirt? Where did it come from? Why was it made? Who designed it? Where was it manufactured? Where was it bought or distributed? What does it mean to take it, to buy it, to keep it, to wear it. Also, Jasmine provided us a link to a (long) YouTube video of two women survivors of Hiroshima talking about their experiences. One of the women remarks (this comes at the end of the video) the following (which relates to so many comments made on this blog, I think).

"Nineteen years after the atomic bomb experience I happened to come to a memoir written by a woman whose younger sister became missing on August 6, the day of the atomic bomb….and she doesn’t know what happened to her. I read her memoir and towards the end of the book, she mentioned the Vietnam War… there are still people who out there still doing war, still fighting and killing. She said in the book that we must stop this, we must abolish war, we must get rid of war, we must make sure there are no more nuclear weapons on the face of the globe. I read this memoir and for the first time I came to understand that I had some responsibility. It took me a long time to come to know the truth. Once I knew the truth I had to do something, that is why I am doing this… your country [US] has nuclear weapons and here I am giving a presentation to your younger people with the hope that you do understand that humanity and nuclear weapons cannot coexist."

Also, for Monnero and anyone else who is interested, there's a free report produced by a task force of anthropologists on climate change (not to read now but maybe good to download for a later time??). Here's a link to it: http://www.aaanet.org/cmtes/commissions/upload/GCCTF-Changing-the-Atmosphere.pdf; August 31, 2015 at 7:12 PM
Unknown said...: Is there anything in particular that you wanted me to clarify Professor Waterston? I'm more than open to answering questions; August 31, 2015 at 8:52 PM
Unknown said...: The Three Greatest Threats to the World and to Humankind:
1. Environmental Pollution
2. Ignorance
3. Genocide

In my perspective ignorance is a major threat to humankind and to the world because it encompasses so many issues within it. For instance, if an individual is not informed about the laws they are entitled to, they risk the chances of having their rights violated. Another example is, not being educated about your respective communities can make you subject to the risk of inequities such as gentrification, loss of services, and lack home improvements, etc.
Currently, Harlem is undergoing major physical, financial, and cultural transformations due to gentrification, which was ultimately allowed by Harlem residents considering their lack of civic engagement. Simply because people are not involved in local politics, many liberties such as affordable housing will continue to be stripped from Harlem residents as a result of ignorance. Even if there are people who have high civic engagement, it can be meaningless if the person is not aware of the current issues/topics.
We currently live in a society where numerous amounts of people are not socially conscious, and if they are it’s only for as long as social media has it as a hot topic. We live in a time where transparency and equality is what we want but are ignorant in the ways of how these wants/needs are being stripped from us. Furthermore, we live in a troubling time where popular belief is more powerful than facts. Instead of people conducting their own research and formulating their own answers for certain topics, they rather accept what was told to them. I personally believe that only through receiving higher education that you develop the mentality to challenge/question what is being offered for public consumption. Lastly, we live in a time where people, particularly youth, are making poor decisions in life all because they are ignorant about themselves and right from wrong.
In the link below is an image from the text from the book “1984” by George Orwell. I chose this image because from my trajectory this excerpt summarizes why people prefer to be ignorant rather than informed, which is because being informed is dangerous and being ignorant is safe.

http://www.crisismagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/1984-Ignorance-is-strength.jpg; September 1, 2015 at 1:19 AM
Alisse Waterston said...: Hi Jo: Yes! But I need to carve out the time to write it out.I'll try soon.... please bear with me!; September 1, 2015 at 12:16 PM
Alisse Waterston said...: Hi again, everyone. Hi Jo--here's my effort to respond to your post. First, I found your post to be extraordinarily stimulating--provocative--in a good way. Second, I see threads of EXTREMELY important ideas and insights. Third--and as this space and our seminar space are here to enable us to explore, expand, more deeply formulate, push each other, push ourselves, I pose these questions to you, Jo. I've got to enter them into two boxes since my response is too long...

You write, “I find problems arise when individuals attempt to mirror the popular paradigm's oppressive tactics while celebrating their own ideologies.” Now I kind of know what you mean but I would like you to flesh this out with actual examples so that I could be more comfortable that what I think you mean, what I think you are saying, is what you are actually saying. What problems? What kinds of problems? What is the content of “the popular paradigm”? What are the “oppressive tactics” Be specific. What “ideologies” are being celebrated? One way to flesh it out is to provide specific examples. Again, these are great, challenging ideas but they end up feeling less meaningful without the specifics. I am left to guess at what you are saying. I want to know what you are saying.

Similarly, you write “Gender-non-conforming (GNC) or black nationalist identities relying on militant or unhealthy methods of ideology performance in discussion based spaces.” You identify this statement as your example, but I still don’t know the content. What do you mean by “black nationalist identities”? The meaning is not automatic. You need to define it as it is being used in the contemporary moment. It’s a phrase that relies on contingent history. After all, “black nationalist identities” in 1847 in the US may have meant something different on a deeper level (not in the most superficial of ways) than it does in the way you’re using it now (in the US) or the multiple ways in which it was understood in, say, the 1960s (in the US)? Also, what do you mean by “militant” and by “unhealthy” “methods”? What does that “militancy” look like? What is the content of it? What are the methods? And what makes “them” (the methods) “unhealthy”? You write, “I find that individuals aggressively attack individual they believe to be privileged.” Again, what is the content of that privilege? What is the “privilege”?? You mention “normative” but the meaning of this can’t necessarily be fully assumed and should be made explicit. Normative in terms of whom? The larger society? The sub-group? Again, be explicit. Be specific.

more....; September 2, 2015 at 9:59 AM
Alisse Waterston said...: ...continued...

I love your statement that “Socially isolated spaces induce a sense of being unconnected (although we’re actually connected) to the rest of humanity.” Actually, I would edit it as follows: “Socially isolated spaces induce a sense of being unconnected to the rest of humanity even as it also enables connection.” I don’t edit it for the wording per se but for the idea—there’s a contradiction here that in our ever-interconnected world enabled by new technology there is at the same time the (ironic) potential and actual condition of isolation. Is that the idea you are after? In your very next sentence you write, “I’m thinking of some more obscure symptoms of social isolation which are very different to [sic] what we usually mention; depression, etc.” I assume that what follows are what you would call the “symptoms of social isolation”: inflated sense of self, looking for answers we already know, etc. I guess I would say that it’s interesting you frame this in the disease model (“symptoms” and then a list of attributes or traits). I would say it’s an interesting hypothesis that needs to be supported by something more than your own observations. Your observations are great—I don’t want to discourage you from stating them or exploring them or starting your explorations with them. But I do think it would do all of us good if you framed it with a bit less certainty and more in a way that suggests these are observations that deserve more study, more examination. I have to ask you this: Where’s the evidence?

The same question applies to your last point, #3, which seems like blanket generalizations about whole swaths of people. Your observations and experiences have great value and are part and parcel of what we are exploring in this class for their larger meanings. At the same time, if we are to move away from looking “for answers we already know and that aren’t radical to our own ‘home-training’” don’t we also need to avoid making blanket generalizations about whole swaths of people?; September 2, 2015 at 9:59 AM
Unknown said...: I apologize for posting so late, I have been thinking about this question all week, and constantly rewriting my answers out. After a lot of thought I have finally settle on the three biggest threats to human kind being what I will refer to as the three I’s. In order of least threatening to most threatening:
1. Ignorance
2. Intolerance
3. Indifference/Inaction
Like Nicholas has already stated, indifference/inaction is the greatest threat to human kind. I use the terms indifference and inaction together because I am not sure if people either don’t care about addressing social problems because those problems are not directly related to tem and therefore feel like they should not get involved, or if they do care about the issues and acknowledge that they require action, but they themselves remain inactive and wait for someone else to fix the problem.
Of the three, I had a difficult time choosing which is the most important until I opened face book and saw the same photo/video of a Syrian child found dead in Turkey after fleeing the country on what is now referred to as a ‘death boat’ because of its chance of capsizing. Syrian refugees continue to be turned away at European borders even though many countries in the European Union have the resources to open their borders to them. They have turned thousands away at borders, leaving refugees with nowhere to go. Countries with less resources than those in the European Union such as Egypt and Lebanon have taken in more refugees than they can afford to, but the richest countries in the union have left Syrians stuck in ‘no-man’s land’ unable to go home and unable to enter the countries they were destined for. I think this is the best example of inaction because the refugees are fed on less than a euro a day, left without electricity, and physically abused at times by border control. The United States and the UK have spent the last few years talking about helping the Syrian people, but in the end they have done nothing.
Inaction is detrimental. Inaction turns pebble-sized problems into elephantine ones that have lasting social and economic consequences. The Syrian refugee crisis was small and now it has escalated into something unmanageable. There are many examples of this such as the Bosnian War of 1991. Images and videos of the war were spotlighted and seen by millions of people around the world. For the four years that the war took place, people discussed the poor women that were being raped systematically, but people didn’t really do anything. An estimated 10,000 to 60,000 were raped in what the Bosnians called ‘rape camps’. They asked the world for help, they went to the United Nations and pleaded for support, but they didn’t receive it. The United Nations did not know how to go about addressing the problem because it had gotten to large and the world had stayed silent through most of it.
Another smaller example is the NYU student who recently murdered his father for physical and sexually abusing his siblings. He had told friends and members of the community about the abuse he was facing at home, but no one thought it was their job to speak up and intervene. The problem grew until Hassan Razzaq, the 19 year old student stabbed his father.
Inaction is the biggest threat to humankind because removing oneself from situation takes a little bit from our own humanity. Humaneness is important because it connects us to other people and inaction is selfish. Inaction is what hardens hearts and allows injustices to continue. To be social justice advocates we can’t just simply talk about injustice. We need to mobilize our energy towards fighting injustice and helping the most vulnerable people.

To read/see more about the situations:

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/bklyn-man-stabbed-dad-pushed-years-abuse-article-1.2297021

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/03/world/middleeast/brutal-images-of-syrian-boy-drowned-off-turkey-must-be-seen-activists-say.html?_r=0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGvfbR9-MoA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWwNITPX2vk; September 3, 2015 at 12:45 AM
Unknown said...: Tone Policing; http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/09/lessons-on-tone-policing/; September 3, 2015 at 10:05 AM