Pledged: #5

One of the most startling things the book talks about is the racism in mostly Southern sororities, mainly using the University of Alabama as an example. At that school in particular there is segregation going on in the 21st century and although it is illegal nothing is being done about it. The white girls rush in the fall and black girls in the winter. A black girl who was raised in a white area her whole life and whose father was the largest black land owner in the United States wanted to rush during the fall. She did not get a bid from any of the sororities her freshman year. There was nothing wrong with her. She was pretty, nice and clearly had the money to pay her dues but the color of her skin made her and unacceptable candidate. The next year she decided that sometimes it happens to girls and refused to admit that she was not accepted back because the color of her skin since white people had always accepted her in the past. After all it was the 21st century and segregation had ended years ago. But during her second time rushing in the fall she again did not get a bid from any sorority. That spoke to me. A lot of the stories in the book are from Southern schools and I wish she included more about schools from the North and other areas because I think it puts a strong bias on the book. Although I'm sure at every school there are sororities considered white, black and Jewish but the fact that the discrimination is so strong and true is sad for this day and age.

Pledged: #4

The process of finding a sorority is was amazes me so much. You think that people would want to be in a sorority that they want and that wants them in return for who they are. The things some people go through to get into one is amazing. They change who they are and put up a facade to try and get a bid from the best sorority possible. I think it is sad people try to make themselves a new person just to be accepted for who they are not. Some girls get counselors to train them to be the best rushee possible. With this can include; gets a new wardrobe, picking up new activities to make your resume look the best it can, meeting new people that can write recommendations for you and more. If I was in these girls positions, which I soon will be, I am not going to do anything to change who I am. If a sorority does not want me then I don't want them. I would never want to be part of a group that doesn't care to like me for myself. It is sad that at such a vulnerable time in girls life that they are forced to change who they are and lose their individuality to fit into a mold. You can lose so much creativity and individuality by making people all be the same. Unfortunately, from the way this book makes it sound, it will never be a reality that a sorority accepts differences and appreciates them so that everyone can learn and become better people.

Pledged: #3

Girls are clique and always will be. They are more prone to being in close nit groups. But in general people form groups based upon things they have in college. Being friends with people you have things in common with is what makes an instant bond and and a good support system. The ideas of sororities seem better in theory, girls living in a house together so they can help support and encourage each other to maintain good grades etc, but the problem with sororities is how they actually play out when the cattiness and exclusivity develops. There are cliques within a larger clique. And in certain places, these cliques dictate how people will view you for the rest of your life. Alexandra Robbins talks about this a lot, people can invest everything in a sorority and the name they have. I think that people hold on to their sorority so much and judge others by it because when you are out of college and high school there is no way to be superior and more popular then others and one of the only ways they can accomplisish that is by judging people by their sorority affiliation

Pledged: #2

The book follows girls at a school in the South which I think gives a different outlook than sororities in the North or other parts of the country. Since the book keeps the school the girls are from a secret I looked online to try and find out which school it was and the majority of people said it was SMU based on certain traditions and description of scenery and other things. I lived in Dallas for 7 years which is just a few miles from the SMU campus and a lot of the things sounded very characteristic of the area. Most of the kids from Dallas dont like leaving Texas, let alone the South, and if they don't get in to University of Texas their parents make them go to SMU to maintain their social life because their sorority predicts their standing for the rest of their life. The author mentioned that this happens with a lot of Southern schools. I think that the book finds the most drastic cases of sororities and talks about those only to show how much sororities can impose on everyday life.

Pledged: #1

I am reading the book Pledged by Alexandra Robbins. It follows 4 girls in a sorority and the things that happen to them. I wanted to read this book because I am thinking about joining a sorority next year and since I don't know much about them this is an interesting book to read. It talks about rape and how girls are mistreated a lot and told to keep quite to benefit the sorority. It puts a lot of emphasis on being "sisters" and part of a family but it seems like there is a lot of cattiness and drama that goes on. There are upsides to being in a sorority because you automatically have friends and a social life with little effort but i think that sometimes the book focuses on all the bad parts about being in a sorority. Since the author, Alexandra Robbins, was never in a sorority sometimes I feel like she takes a negative point to being in one and focuses on all the bad that can come out of it.

Marketplace of Ideas: Source #8

An article from hyperallergic.com, a website dedicated to art discussions posted an article about Ai WeiWei's situation and an update on the petition to free him. Change.org has started a petition to persuade the government to release Ai WeiWei. The petition is being backed by prominent people in the art world such as the Guggenheims and others. Recently the petition reached 100,000 signatures. But also with that milestone came attacks. For a few hours the petition was accessible to the public. They determined that these attacks came from within China. It is unsure whether it is a result from hackers involved with the government of other groups who support the government. Either way it is unfortunate that the government has the want and need to take thing like this down that protect their citizen’s freedoms. There have been sit-ins at Chinese embassies across the world in support for Ai WeiWei and other forms of support for his cause. It is amazing that peoplea re speaking up against human rights in China and taking a stand to let the government know that it is not okay what they are doing.

Marketplace of Ideas: Source #7

I read an article from the LA Times about Chinas increasing violations of human rights laws. Experts say that recently this has been the most serious crackdown from Chinese government since Tiananmen Square in 1989. In China most of the freedoms that were gained by citizens have started to be taken away again and the government is falling back to their past. Not only Ai WeiWei is talked about but other writers, artists, lawyers, teachers etc., are all being targeted and arrested for voicing their opinions. These people just disappear. With no warning or word they are kidnapped by their own government. When they ask for people to testify in court, like the wife of Liu Xia a Nobel Peace Prize winner who is not imprisoned, they refuse because they are fearful of their government. When the United States does speak up against the issue they don’t have much persuasion over human rights issues in China. In the coming months there is supposed to be talks with China in Washington and Joe Biden is going to visit China in July.

Marketplace of Ideas: Source #6

I read an article from NPR that was also on the radio. It was published May 1^st. Tomorrow May 3^rd marks the 1 month anniversary of Ai WeiWei being taken into custody by the Chinese government. No one has heard from him since he was taken and the government hasn’t released any information as to his whereabouts. Today, May 2^nd, Ai WeiWei was supposed to be in New York to unveil his newest piece which is bronze heads of the Chinese zodiac. He was not there but it was still revealed to the world despite his unknown whereabouts. The story talks about his blog and how he published at least 5 posts a day and hundreds of pictures. It focused a lot on Ai WeiWei’s views of how Chinese culture is being destroyed and pushed aside and the beauty of the past is being thrown away and ignored. As his commentary on those views he took pictures of an expensive Chinese dynasty vase being dropped and shattered into pieces. Ai WeiWei is an activist and that is what makes his art work powerful. His releasing of the names of earthquake victims was not necessary beautiful art but the message behind it is what was groundbreaking as a piece of art work. Ai WeiWei knows he can get away with more than the average citizen which is what makes him want to fight harder because he knows he has to speak up more for all the voices that are silenced by the communist government of China.

Marketplace of Ideas: Source #5

I went to Amnesty International’s website and found a human rights report in China from 2008. It talks about the growing number of human rights activists imprisoned, under house arrest, surveillance or being harassed by the government. Minority groups and minority religions are persecuted. Even though the death penalty is being reviewed by the Supreme People’s Court it is still widely used in secrecy. Torture is used and Chinese people don’t have access to a fair justice system. Violence and discrimination is still being experienced by women and girls throughout the country. And internet and media is censored by the government. The article goes into even more detail about each section and it paints a picture of how little human rights the people of China actually have.

It is appalling that in the 21^st century a modern industrialized country can be so far behind in their thinking. Today I heard on the news Donald Trump say how we are falling behind to countries like China and I heard the same thing out of Barak Obama during his State of the Union Address. I think that part of the reason is because they are communist and they scare their citizens into being extremely productive but i don’t think they are a country we should aspire to be. Leaders in our country should not be comparing us to China and talking about how great they are when they treat their citizens with such lack of humanity. America isn’t perfect and there are still countless human rights issues that need to be addressed but we should not compare ourselves to a country that has such disregard for its citizens.

Marketplace of Ideas: Source #4

I read an op-ed in the New York Times. It starts off talking about Ai WeiWei’s genius as an artist and how he has an extraordinary ability to say so much with so little with things that are so beautiful. His sun flower seed piece where he covered the ground of the Turbine Hall in London with 100 million hand painted porcelain sun flower seeds. It was meant for people to walk on but it was soon discovered that the seeds gave off a fine powder when walked on that was harmful to people. The NYTimes writer focuses on the fact that art can be dangerous. Especially in Ai WeiWei’s case this is very true.  He was ranked number 13 in Art Review magazine’s list of the 100 most powerful figures in art. This fame turned out to be a gift for Ai WeiWei but also a curse because with that he was empowered to help so many more people but because of the country he lives in he is constantly persecuted. It has always been basic forms with embarrassing him, harassing him, and spying on him but now they have gone to an extreme and kidnapped him taking computer and papers from his offices and accusing him of crimes that are not true. This isn’t the first time China has done this to someone. This situation reminds people of Liu Xianbin, a Nobel Peace Prize writer who last month was sentenced to 11 years in prison. The article gives many other examples of situations just like the ones of Ai WeiWEi and Lui Xianbin. When artists chose to speak out they are risking everything. No everyone wants to do that but the few that are willing always end up paying the price. Many people think that is it the duty of the free society’s in the world to do something to end the oppression but little seems to have been done. China is one of the greatest threats to freedom of speech and people can’t just sit around and do nothing when the people that are putting their lives on the line are being kidnapped and tortured to gain the basic human rights each person should have.

Marketplace of Ideas: Source #3

The Frontline video I showed in class as my issue was about Ai WeiWei and the oppression from the Chinese government. I think that video did a remarkable job of showing exactly what has happened to him every step of the way. I think that for an artist like Ai WeiWei a video is so much more powerful because not only can you see the work he has done and the magnitude of it but you can see first had the persecution he is being subjected to simply because he is speaking out. In situations like this one the emotional side of the subject is so powerful just seeing him being followed, beaten, and the efforts he went through to support the people of his country without a voice. The video gave a background of his art work and how he helped design the birds nest stadium for the Olympics in Beijing but as soon as he realized the Olympics just seemed to support communism and were a band aid for all the problems their country was experiencing he dropped out. It showed how revolutionary he is in China with his blog, twitter, and other means of reaching and empowering the public. When there was an earth quake in Sichuan where many people died, including a lot of school children, due to poor government construction of buildings it really drew the attention of Ai WeiWei. The government wouldn’t release any of the names of people that died in the accident and were trying to silence what was happening in that part of the country. Ai WeiWei didn’t think that was right and got inspired by it and through his blog he collected almost all the names of people that died creating a piece of art out of that and another with backpacks in honor of the school children. When he was beaten by the police in his hotel room in Shanghai that really spoke to me as such a violation of human rights, the sight was so out of the norm for our society and reminded me that these people truly have no one to turn to that has their best interest in mind. Although Ai WeiWei attempts to be a person that does he is just one person and even he faces the same persecution as everyone else. When his studio was bulldozed by the government it really took me by surprise because although the government is very harsh in China Ai WeiWei is still a public figure who is known worldwide. The government isn’t scared of people knowing just what they are doing and the lengths they are willing to take to silence just one person. China is basically letting the world know they are in violation of the human rights guidelines and they couldn’t care less. It makes me question that although these things are in place there is no one to really enforce the rules that every person should be given simple for being.  Ai WeiWei attempts to always be the voice for people that don’t have one. What spoke to me a lot in the video was when someone said most artists and people with in the spotlight would never give up their lifestyle to speak out against what is right but Ai WeiWei would and that sets him apart and makes him a true proponent of human rights, even if his life is being threatened by the lack of human rights in his country.

Marketplace of Ideas: Source #2

I read an article from ABC CLIO database Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society. The Article was titled Human Rights: Overview by Henry Carey. It gave an description of the human rights laws put in place today, where they came from, who makes sure they are protected, and the down falls of them. It said, “The human rights philosophy is simple. It holds that individuals have rights because it is morally right to protect humanity.” The article takes the stand that human rights should be guaranteed to everyone because it is right. These laws are supposed to protect people all over the world from many forms of abuse by forcing countries to follow guidelines. Human rights laws are particularly important in places where there is economic and political development. They make it so that there is a way to hold people accountable for injustices. Since part of human rights is political equality, human rights can steer a country into being more democratic.

          As an issue human rights was brought up by philosophers like John during the 18^th century. It was also an integral part of the Declaration of Independence and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man. These documents brought the idea of human rights into governments and awarded these basic rights to their citizens. Before The Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations in 1948, human rights were seen as something that was up to each state. Over time, many countries have acknowledged that people deserve certain rights just for being human.

          Basic human rights are seen as; the right to life, to earn a living, and to be free from abuse. But, there can be many forms where human rights are taken away from people with torture, murder, and genocide. There are also other forms human rights can be abused with economic, cultural, legal, political, or social injustices imposed on people by governments, individuals, or groups of people. Some ways that these topics affect current situations are sweatshops and wages, discrimination against women and children, police brutality, slavery, and immigration. Any activity that denies people of their lives, their freedom, or their ability to support themselves can be considered as an abuse of their human rights.

In 1976, the UN established the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Several committees are in charge of making sure these laws are implemented and enforced. Yet, a large amount of information about human rights abuses does not come from governments or the UN. It comes from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW). These organizations along with others get information on alleged human rights violations and draw attention to them in hopes that international public opinion will force offenders to change their behavior.

The biggest challenge today is not creating more laws for human rights but making sure that they are followed by countries and groups of people. There have been many accomplishments in human rights since its ideas were first thought of but there is still a lot more work to be done a more success to be seen.

Marketplace of Ideas: Source #1

I was looking into follow up articles about what is going on with Ai WeiWei currently since I know he was arrested by the Chinese government. One article in particular caught my attention it was titled “China Baffled by Support for Imprisoned Activist Ai Weiwei.” I was very interested to read it because it seemed like it was going to be an article where the government was going to explain their actions.

The article says that the Chinese government is unhappy with all the support worldwide being shown for Ai WeiWei. Many organizations have called on the Chinese government to release him because he is only exercising his right to freedom of expression. But, Hong Lei the spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry says, “Chinese artist Ai Weiwei is a suspected criminal and foreign support for him has confused and angered the Chinese people.” He went on to say, “Chinese people are baffled by the outcry from Washington and other Western governments after Ai's arrest nine days ago. And he questioned why some people in some countries treat a crime suspect as a hero, adding that the Chinese people are unhappy about international support for the outspoken government critic.” This really shocked me that the government does not think they are doing anything wrong at all by silencing the voices in their country that are speaking out. I am surprised that the Chinese government doesn’t think this is a human rights situation. Hong dismissed the U.S. report on human rights that criticized China and said, “United States should address its own human rights record and is urging other countries not to interfere in China's internal affairs.” The Article says that many Chinese leaders believe that the support for Ai WeiWei and other imprisoned Chinese like Novel Peace Prize winner Lui Xiaobo are just a way for America and other Western governments to try and collapse the Communist Party. The article also mentions that Ai WeiWei is diabetic and may not be getting adequate  care since his whereabouts are unknown.

State of the Union

I think that there were a lot of good ideas and programs that Obama talked about in his State of the Union Address but I question the feasibility of those ideas. He said by 2035 80% of energy will be from clean sources, 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2015, by the end of the decade the highest proportion of college graduates, eliminate 1 billion given to oil companies and prepare 100,000 new teachers in math and technology. I think that all these ideas are important and what people want to hear Obama say but realistically, I think they are promises that can’t be kept. We are already in a war with Iraq and Afghanistan and we just added Libya, I don’t think that the government will actually be worried if there are 1 million electric cars on the roads by 2015 when they are being scrutinized daily for still being involved in wars costing our country trillions of dollars. I think that all the things Obama mentioned are great ideas and they all SHOULD be done but that doesn’t mean they will be. He built his campaign around the word “Change” but the problem with that is each individual’s opinion of change is different so they all expect different things out of the Obama administration.

I liked that Obama talked about the fact that we are falling behind as a country, although it is pessimistic, which isn’t what people want to hear it is the truth. I don’t think the president should try and sugar coat things there are problems in any country and ignoring them isn’t going to fix anything. With this State of the Union Address Obama has the gift of everyone in the country listening to what he has to say so he needs to talk about things that are important. I wish he would have said that he can’t do these things alone and it is up to the American people to help out whether that means parents making sure their kids stay in school or telling people to buy a more environmentally friendly car then the one they are looking at. I think Obama needed to empower people more and make them feel that the countries fate is in each citizen’s hands.

Invisible Children Assembly

I was very inspired by the story of invisible children. What I was most impressed with was not only what the boys are doing to help the situation but the way they conduct their charity. There are so many times I will hear of a charity and think it is probably doing something great, I just don’t know what. What Invisible Children is doing is remarkable though. They are truly identifying the problems and doing something to fix it rather than just throwing money at the problem. What stood out to me was when Jolie said that Western Society thinks it is okay to just send shoes and act like they are helping the situation, when reality they are just teaching people in Africa to be dependent on the gifts from America. The school that Invisible Children started was amazing. The fact that kids in Africa are being kidnapped and taught to fight while others are being taught to be leaders so someday they can fix the problem themselves really spoke to me. The greatest gift that can be given to this country is to teach people how to be self-sufficient and start to deal with the problems internally rather than depending on help from outside sources. That doesn’t mean no one should help the people but we should help them by providing them with resources to help themselves. The radio project and rehabilitation are just as amazing as the school they have set up. I was extremely moved by this assembly even the way their tee shirts are made from cotton made in Uganda by former soldiers. I want to look into other ways to support and be involved with this charity because I think the work they are doing is remarkable.

Race in America

I read a speech that a 16 year old girl said after seeing “Black in America” her speech was called I am neither black nor white. I’m both. The girl Grace Gibson talks about being biracial in America. She felt that her group was underrepresented in the segment and she gave her take on being mixed. In her speech she says “I am proud to be a child born to two loving, talented, creative people – a mother and father who happened to be of African-American and English descent, respectively. I do not feel confused at all nor do I have an identity crisis. I do not feel lost in society nor rejected by any race because I am all races in one.” This stood out to me a lot. She is so positive about her race even though she doesn’t mention some of the hard ships that come with it. I think it is very inspiring that she is only 16 and is so comfortable with herself and who she is. She truly knows what is important in life and that having parents that love you and being healthy are some of the most important things. She felt that “Black in America” focused so much on the negatives of being biracial but there is nothing wrong with it at all. She talked about how inspiring it is to be biracial because you are a mix of everyone. Grace talks about how inspired she is by Barack Obama for being biracial and starting the change revolution where she thinks people are not only looked at based upon the color of their skin.

I read the article “Call My Name adds color to the AIDS quilt” I was drawn to this article because the AIDS quit has visited our school before and I remember seeing and being touched by it. The first sentence in the article reads, “Since the epidemic began, about 42 percent of those diagnosed with AIDS in the United States have been black, but, according to the quilt's curator, fewer than 400 of 47,000 quilt panels honor African-Americans.” This is was really upsetting to me. Almost half of the people diagnosed with AIDS are black yet they barely even make up a significant amount of those being honored in the AIDS quilt. It is very sad that we can find a way to remember the lives of white people who have lost their lives yet we give so little room for blacks to do the same. The article goes on to talks about a new project called Call My Name where they are going around getting more quilts made to remember African-Americans. I think it is a great thing that they are doing. Realizing inequalities and working to fix them is a huge step in trying to make things more equal for everyone. Although I think that this racism is unintentional I still think it is a problem that needs to be addressed, and it is great that they are working towards that goal. A volunteer working with the Call My Name project said a quote that really stuck out to me, "Sometimes people relate the panel to death -- in actuality they are making awareness of people's life." I think that this project is a great way to, not only see the impact the disease has had, but to remember how great the lives were that were lost. It is to remember that they are people too and something needs to be done to stop this disease in the future.

The first quote on the Exploring Race website says “In Lake County, Ind., the minority population grew from 43 percent in 1990 to 53 percent in 2008 as the number of white children declined, the number of blacks stayed stable and the number of Hispanics increased. There are similar patterns across the country, which leads demographers to believe that whites will be in the minority by the middle of the century.” This really stuck out to me because it related to the articles we read in class that said when a certain population that wasn’t diverse starts to become so then the whites move away. I didn’t really believe this when I read it is class and I was shocked to see that there are facts that it is happening within our on community. I think that diversity is a goal we should aim to reach and that the more integration we have the more everyone can learn from each other. I think it is sad that even in Lake County people are against integration and willing to move away from it. The article did go on to explain that, “more Hispanic women of prime childbearing age tend to have more children than women of other races.” After reading that, it is hard to tell whether the article we read in class is correct that people move away from diversity or if the idea that minorities have more children is actually the reason for this. I think that it most likely is a mix between the two and both opinions are right they just result in the same change of statistics.

Mock Trial Recap and Response

I thought the first case was a pretty straightforward example of sexual harassment. It did not matter how vulnerable Elise Roberts was or how bad of an attorney she was the things that Kevin Murphy said would be classified as sexual harassment. Both sides agreed to the remarks he made concerning Elise and the things he did, those alone are sexual harassment. No matter who the victim is of the comments Kevin Murphy crossed the line. Not only were Kevin’s actions considered sexual harassment, but, the way the district attorney’s office handled the situation made it even worse. It is not hard to move an employee to a different office or to sit both sides down and try to come to a conclusion, but none of that was done at all. I think that throughout the case it was difficult to remember it was not Kevin Murphy who was on trial for his guilt but it was a case against the office for how the sexual harassment was handled. Kevin Murphy was clearly guilty of sexual harassment but that was not what was being looked at, it was the fact that nothing was done to help Elise and that she was transferred because the district attorney’s office didn’t want to deal with the problem. I think the most compelling facts in the case was that office had been informed of the problems between Elise and Kevin, they were aware of her absences, and her declining performance. Yet, they still chose to do nothing to address the situation. Her office could have been moved, someone could have talked to her, or her complaints could have been recognized with reprimanding Kevin Murphy. None of that was done which is why I believe that the verdict of guilty was the correct choice because the office was guilty of not handling the situation of sexual harassment in the workplace in the correct manor. In order to reach a different outcome I think I would need to see evidence that Elise and Kevin may have gone on a date or two and were starting a relationship and maybe a fight happened that caused Elise to complain and make these accusations after the fact. That is the only thing I can think of that would make this case not considered sexual harassment.

     In the second case I did not really agree with the verdict of not guilty. I think that David Jones clearly did something wrong in the situation. A picture was painted that David clearly had somewhat of a temper and couldn’t take “no” for an answer. With that in mind David put a condom on before anything even happened, showing that he was going to have sex that night whether Susan wanted to or not. While I think that Susan may have made some choices that put her in a bad situation, that by no means allowed David to rape her. I think it would be a different situation if Susan said she had been raped after the fact simply because she regretted her actions but that was not the case. Susan said “no” many times and tried to get up and remove herself from the situation. The most compelling facts were that David put on a condom before anything started to happen, her clothes were not even off, and David could never accept the answer “no” from Susan. For the verdict of guilty to actually have been reached I think the above facts should have been stressed more. I feel that too much time was spent talking about his partner for the project and their relationship and not enough time was spent on the actual facts of the rape.

I think that people should be aware that whether it is a comment, or an action if it makes you feel uncomfortable or threatened you have a right to feel that way. I think that people sometimes feel their reactions are wrong and unjustified, but if something makes you feel a certain way its probably because you should. I don’t think this is too much of a significant problem at DHS. I’m sure that people sometimes feel threatened or targeted in a way that makes the feel uncomfortable but nothing that crosses the line too much. I feel that everyone in our community is basically educated on what is right and what is wrong. Although people may not act on those things 100% of the time I think that everyone knows each other so well that people can make pretty good judgments about a person’s intentions and character.

Wisconsin Unions Fight

(Andy Manis/Associated Press) from the article, "Protestors in Wisconsin Staying Put" in the New York Times.

Wisconsin is a state that has a very progressive history. They were the birthplace of labor unions that gave rights to many citizens and now Gov. Scott Walker wants to take all that away. When the democratic state senators fled the state two weeks ago so that Walker could not pass the bill which would put restrictions on unions they were hoping to negotiate with Walker and find a better resolution for the budget cuts that needed to be made. Since the senators left the state Walker has not given in at all and protestors keep coming to Madison. In the article “Gov. Scott Walker's Secret Weapon: The Wisconsin Veto” in The Atlantic it says that the Madison state capitol has printouts of 10,000 e-mails from Wisconsin citizens to Walker, up and down both sides of the marble staircase, disputing his bill which will strip collective bargaining rights from public workers. The article goes on to talk about the veto power that the governors of Wisconsin hold where they can take out specific words from a bill. The fact that Walker has this power makes it very hard for the Democrats to bargain and negotiate with him. In the Huffington Post article “Wisconsin GOP Leader Targets Democratic Senate Staffers’ Access to Copy Machines” it shows the Walker does not have much power to get the democratic senators back to Madison. He already sent state troopers to their houses, where they did not find them, and he cut off the wire transfer of their pay check so they can only get it if they come into the capitol. Originally Walker set a deadline that state workers would start being laid off if they did not return by Friday, but that deadline passed, and on Sunday he changed the deadline to Tuesday. After Walker’s recorded phone call, with a blogger that was posing as David Koch, Walkers plan was revealed as to how he was going to get the senators back. This got in his way and it does not seem like the democrats have any plans to return to Wisconsin. Now, the Republicans are pressuring their staffers by banning their use of copy machines.  One Democratic staffer commented on this by saying, "I'll guess we'll just have to scan things."

            I think it is very noble what the protestors are doing by standing up for what is right. I don’t understand how Walker can be so close-minded about any negotiations in his bill when there are so many committed Wisconsin citizens. Even if he disagrees with their point of view it is the responsibility of the government to be “for the people, and by the people” by ignoring tens of thousands of his citizens he is not doing his job. It seems like government is losing sight of the reasons it was put in place in America. It was established so that everyones voice was heard an a monarchy or dictatorship did not rise. Democracy is supposed to allow all opinions to be heard and considered. By Walker smily dismissing his citizens views and not even bothering to listen he is not doing his job as the Governor of Wisconsin.

The Help: Ending

At the end of the book two maids lose their jobs, a maids husband loses their job, and nothing happens to Skeeter, the white woman who wrote the book. In fact, Skeeter gets her dream job in New York and moves away leaving the maids to deal with the consequences. Although I really enjoyed the book the ending seemed just too happy for me. In a time where there are so many risks with writing a book of maids secrets it seems so usual that the white woman moves away and avoids all repercussions of her book while only 1 of the 8 maids interviewed looses her job. It seems to continue the stereotype of the time that blacks are the ones who suffer for the whites. And actually the repercussions should be worse, it just seemed like the ending was too happy. I do think the ending did a good job of following up with each of the characters and where they left off. But there was not enough on Aibileen. She just leaves Mae Mobley, the child who she has raised, crying in the kitchen. Aibileen loved Mae Mobley and hated the way her mother treated her daughter, and she was just able to walk away from Mae Mobley like that knowing she was the only hope Mae Mobley had to be loved. Although the ending seemed realistic in some way and unrealistic in others I would still recommend the book to anyone. It taught me a lot about how things used to be in the United States and the way our society has progressed and the things we still need to work on. It is amazing that we denied such basic rights to people and fought so hard to make our country more equal. This book painted a pretty realistic picture of the South during the 1960’s and I would recommend it to anyone looking to learn something or if they just want to read a good book. 

The Help: #5

My favorite character in The Help was Aibileen. She was able to find the good in anyone and wanted to help them find it in themselves. She was the nanny for Mae Mobley. Mae Mobley’s mother had very little patience for her and her daughter understood that. Often Mae Mobley would get upset when this happened so Aibileen would tell her often, "You is kind. You is smart. You is important." Aibileen wanted to find a way to make Mae Mobley feel loved when her mother couldn’t do that for her. Since she always knew there would be a time when the children she raised would being to see her as her color, often the time she stopped working for a family, she wanted a way to make sure Mae Mobley would always have the confidence she needed. Aibileen was a very mother like character. She would watch out for everyone and people would often come to her if they had a problem. Even the worst character in the book, Hilly, Aibileen found the good in, she noticed that she was a good mother and treated her kids well, unlike some of the other mothers in Jackson. Aibileen is the character who you feel like you know by the end of the book and if you don’t you would want to meet her.  She has a great outlook on life no matter how many obstacles she runs into and I think that anyone who reads the book will end up admiring her for her determination, care, and love for everyone that surrounds her. 

The Help: #4

When my mom and her 5 siblings were growing up they had a figure similar to the ones we see in the book. Her name was Julia. Julia was like a second mother to all the kids and when my cousins and I were born she helped raise us too. Julia has always been a part of my life, when I was born she was already a part of the family and almost all of the memories my mom and her siblings share Julia is in. I see the similarities between Julia’s relationship with my family, but one thing that really disturbed me was how the women in Jackson seemed to recycle their “help.” They would make connections and then fire these women who were part of their lives and family. Julia died a week ago but she would always come to our family events, we would visit her often, and we would talked on the phone. When I was at Julia’s funeral a few days ago her friends, which I didn’t know, came up to me and said they had heard so much about me and that Julia talked about us all the time. It made me feel good to know that we impacted her as much as she impacted all of us in our own way. Julia and my relationship reminded me a lot of the relationship Skeeter had with Constantine, her maid growing up. Skeeter loved Constantine the way every maid in the book wanted to be loved by the children they raised. I know the book was set in the 1960’s which is the time Julia started to work for my mom’s family. It really shows the difference between the North and the South. Constantine was a part of Skeeter’s family but her mom had no problem firing someone that was part of the family. The relationship my family all has with Julia shows how different the times used to be in the 1960’s but also how people in the North dealt with the injustices of the civil rights movement.

The Help: #3

One thing that really surprised me was when I found out the book was based only 45 years ago. The way that they treated the blacks during that time made me think that these events could have happened mush before that time. When I first thought about it decided that our society has changed a lot since then, but as I thought about it more I decided that our views have progressed but not much more has. After watching the video about Hurricane Katrina seeing when years before they broke the levies so that the black part of town flooded while the white area remained intact and seeing the same thing happen only a few years ago. Even if the flood from Katrina was not intentional it still showed a disturbing parallel between our country in 1965 to now. There is still an affluent, white side of town, and a suffering, black side of town. Even though there may not be a specific divide anymore it is still generally the same idea today: the poor people in our country have no one really looking out for them. You can see this idea in the book when after Skeeter gets her book published about all the maid’s lives she moves away leaving them to deal with the repercussions. Although all the maids don’t let her turn down the opportunity to move to New York and take an Editor job she still leaves the maids to sort out what will happen now that all their employers have read a book with stories about them inside. It was not Skeeter’s intention to do this to the women who helped her but it still shows how unfair the world can be. Skeeter did not make up the stories she simply put them together and wrote what she was told and that is what caused her to get the big break she always wanted. 

The Help: #2

A main part of the book is that Skeeter wants to write a book of memoirs of the maids in Jackson, Mississippi. Her idea is good and she has passion behind it, having lost connection with, Constantine, her maid growing up, but it proves more challenging then she originally thought. None of the maids want to share their stories with her because she is on the other side of the line that is drawn between the blacks and the whites. I understand the maid’s hesitance in complying and sharing their secrets to be published for everyone to read. I still can’t decide whether or not it is realistic that the maids actually share their story with Skeeter. I know that the times were very different back then and there was a huge line between the two communities which makes me feel that it is more convincing that the maids wouldn’t risk their lives and careers for very little reward. Although they finally decide to share their story after a black boy gets beat up for using the wrong restroom I still am not convinced that, that action alone would convince 12 maids to share their stories with Skeeter. Either way that part of the book was interesting and made for a good read and there is no way to really tell if the actions the maids take in the book are characteristic of the time period it was interesting to read and added a lot to the book.

The Help: #1

Overall I really liked the book The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I liked the multiple plot lines an stories that all intertwined and how it let you see the same event from each characters perspective. One thing I liked the most was reading about the different relationships with the maids and their employers. There was the relationship between the hard headed maid Minny and her employer Celia, the woman who has just moved to town and is desperately trying to fit in and gain acceptance from the other women. Celia uses Minny as a way to try and understand the other woman and how they live while also depending on Minny for guidance about how to fit into the group of women while Celia herself is going through tough emotional miscarriages while desperately trying to have a child. Another relationship that we see is between the progressive thinking Skeeter and her maid growing up, Constantine. Although we don’t actually hear Constantine’s point of view we do hear her voice through Skeeter. Constantine raised Skeeter but unlike the other people in the community she realizes this and remembers the fact that she loved Constantine more than her own mother. She recalls writing her every day in college while only periodically talking to her mother. But, throughout the book Skeeter tries to unravel the mystery of Constantine’s disappearance by writing a book of interviews of other maids to try to get a better understanding of how Constantine felt. Overall one of my favorite parts of the book are the different dynamics between the maids and their employers and trying to get a feel how each relationship and personal connection with the maids is deeper than it looks from the outside. It is very interesting to see how the women depend on their maids so much but desperately try to keep up appearances that they don’t matter at all. There is also the relationship between Aibileen and Elizabeth. Aibileen has raised many children throughout her life as a maid but through her we being to see the relationship between the maids and the children they raise. Her employer Elizabeth is the mother of Mae Mobley. When reading the book you really get a sense of how unclear the line is between race at that time. People refuse to trust blacks in almost all aspects but yet they allow them to live in in their house and raise their children to the point that they kids being calling the maids “Mom.” It shows the irony in the cause that the kids will, most likely, grow up to have a maid of their own one day even though they experienced how close the attachment is to the maid rather than the mother.