gabriela's blog responce

By reading Gabriela’s I learned more about the issues associated with being gay or lesbian. I had the most sympathy when she discussed that some people do not have friends and family that are accepting of their sexual orientation. I image that it must be extremely difficult keeping something like that a secret because you know that the people closest to would not accept you for who you are.
People who come out to their friends and family have to be very courageous because this is such a controversial issue. Harvey Milk was one of the faces of the gay and lesbian equality movement. Because of what he represented and his sexual orientation, Milk became a target and was assassinated. I personally greatly respect Milk because he knew the possible outcome of his actions, yet he still fought for his cause. It takes great inner courage to put your life on the line like that.
Although there has been a lot of progress with this issue, there are still major forms of discrimination against gay and lesbians. For example gay marriage is only legalized in 5 out of the 50 states, and the don’t ask don’t tell policy is still in effect in the military. Concerning the don’t ask don’t tell policy I think that this is in violation of a person’s human rights. I think that a person should not have to hide their sexual orientation. This only protects the person from discrimination by secrecy, this does not solve anything; it only quiets the discrimination.

kimmy's thoughts

Today I chose to read Kimmy’s thoughts. The topic was on Women in the work force. I understood that women were not always given the same rights as men. For instance, women were only given jobs during World War 2 as a last resort, because most men were away at war. Once the men came back, women were fired in order to give back the jobs to the men. This was surprising to me. We often hear about how there is a male dominance in other countries, but for the most part this is not thought to be a major issue in America. But throughout history, women have had to struggle for their rights and equality. Even today women in America are not being treated fairly. Some women do not get equal pay as men for the same jobs; although this issue has improved over the years, it is still present. I think it is important for people to understand that men are not necessarily better than women. Society has been based on male dominance and this trend should be put to an end. I think that this discrimination based solely on gender has gone on for too long.
But on the other hand, this fight for equality has given women a chance to show their strength. Over the years women have come a long way. Instead of every women being a house wife, women are now in the work force and respected. Women stood up for their beliefs and rebelled. Thanks to people like Susan B Anthony, the rights of women have improved.

current events

The clash between Native Americans and Americans has not ended. Currently there are several problems between the two. One of the problems is the use of Native American symbols as mascots. Native Americans say that these symbols are offensive. No other culture in the United States has had a mascot made out of them. This offensive symbolism has also occurred in Germany where the Germans have “named their soccer teams the “Jews”, “Hebrews,” and the “Yids” while adorning their uniforms with grotesque caricatures of Jewish faces..” but people think that it is most offensive that this is the only race that is being made into a mascot. Why is this only happening to Native Americans? On the other side people see these mascots as a part of their team’s history and tradition. This debate has even become violent in some places where car tiers have been slit and there have been protest. Some have mad the change of their mascot, while others continue with the tradition.
There has also been an incident with Native American burial sites that have been made into to oxford’s sports park. Just recently the bodies have been discovered and have been reburied in a different place. Native Americans are anger about this because the new burials have not been done with the aid of a Native American representative. This problem stared because white Americans took the land from a Native American tribe, with out much knowledge of the land. The oppression of Native Americans through history has continued. And now the effects on the race have become evident.

Native American mascots

The debate over weather or not to have Native Americans symbols as mascots continues. Some people think that it this is a sign of disrespect to the Native American culture. Native American is the only culture that has mascots named after them, in America. Some people think that this is racist because it is signaling out and making fun of Native Americans. “Russell Means has compared the practice to contemporary Germans naming their soccer teams the “Jews”, “Hebrews,” and the “Yids” while adorning their uniforms with grotesque caricatures of Jewish faces..” On the other hand, some people say that these mascots are a part of tradition and should not be changed. Personally I think that the mascots are not a big deal. They do not go as far as the German mascots where they are intentionally making fun of the culture. But I do believe that if Native Americans feel offended, then the mascots should be altered so that they are not offensive, but they should not be taken away.

"grace" analysis

The short story “Grace” represents the stereotypes and challenges that many Native Americans have faced. Native Americans are seen to be lesser then the White American. Some thought that all Native Americans were alcoholics. In the story, and young girl describes her experience with this stereotype. The woman in charge of the orphanage that she live in would take her to a tavern to, “show me where all the Indian women was and what kind of people they are, always getting drunk and laying up with men.”(169). although it is true that there is an overall problem with alcoholism in the Native American population, this does not mean that every Native American is an alcoholic. This problem started when alcohol was introduced to the Native American culture by the White Europeans. Now alcohol is being abused by some Indians, and Native Americans are given the stereotype as being drunks.
This story also shows the conflict in culture between Native Americans and White Americans. The predominate religion in American is Christianity, whereas most Native Americans do not follow Christianity. This story shows how some Americans are not as accepting of the Indian culture. The main character, Jodi Ann explains that the woman running the orphanage said that the totem poles that Native Americans made were “a pretend God and that was wrong because God was up in heaven and the Indian people was bad to make the pole.” (169). Americans were not always accepting of the Indian’s beliefs. This made life harder on the Native Americans because their lifestyle and beliefs were not accepted into the society that the Americans had created.
Over the years Native Americans have had to deal with discrimination because of their race, and intolerance of their culture from the white Americans. The short story “Grace” shows this through the lives of two children facing the challenges that many Native Americans face every day.

background

The relationship between Native Americans and the White American population has greatly affected both races. When the pilgrims came to America, the Native Americans help them adapt to the new environment so that they could survive. This helped jumpstart the White American population, because without the help of the Native Americans, the pilgrims would have died out within the first year of them living here. Because of their close interaction with the Pilgrims, the Native Americans caught the diseases that the Europeans brought over. Many of the Native Americans died because they did not have the immune system to fight off the diseases. Although this working together of the Native Americans and the White Americans helped the pilgrim population, it also hurt the Native American population; this is shown throughout America’s history.
In 1830 the Indian Removal act was established. This gave President Andrew Jackson the ability to move any Native American tribe that had land east of the Mississippi river, to unclaimed land to the west of the river. He used this power, and forced the Cherokee Native Americans that lived in Georgia, to move to land in Oklahoma. This was the start of the trail of tears; “As the Cherokee made their arduous journey to Oklahoma, starvation, illness, cold, and despair resulted in thousands of deaths.” This is another example of how the interaction between the Native Americans and White Americans lead to the success of the White population, and to the increase of the oppression of the Native American race. The White population profited from the addition of the land, where as the Cherokee Indians had to start their lives over.
The interaction between the two races also caused the Native Americans to alter their culture. Sequoyah, a Cherokee Native American saw that the White American population was dominating the country. He thought that his was because they were able to communicate through a written language. The Cherokee Indians decided that for them to be able to survive in this society they were going to need to give up a part of their culture; only having a spoken language. Once again this shows how because of the addition of the white American culture, Native Americans culture was somehow changed.
There was one Native American spiritual movement where Native Americans tried to take back their old culture and reject the new ways of the American culture. “Shun such European ways as schooling, Christianity, and alcohol”. This was an attempt to reverse the changes that the White American culture had on the Native American culture. But once again the Americans took control and wiped out the tribes that lived by these beliefs.
Throughout history, Native American and With Americans have always had a relationship. For the most part the relationship leaves the Native Americans worse off, while the white Americans prosper.

Burial sites

In oxford’s sports park, Native American burial sites were found. Archeologists are working to find all of the human remains. But unfortunately some have already been reburied, without the help of Native American representatives. I think that this is horrible that this was not known about before that land was used. Now the bodies that were buried there will be move to another site, just as some already have been. I think that this is insulting to the families of those buried there; they should have the right to stay in the spot that they were buried in. this situation shows the harm that is cause by forcing the Native Americans off their land, and the miscommunication between the races. This goes to show you how bad decisions come back with consequences; unfortunately most of these consequences are for the Native Americans.

"EDITORIAL: Buried in Oxford: Secrecy is a damning trait.(Editorial)." The Anniston Star (Anniston, AL). (Jan 25, 2010): NA. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Deerfield High School. 7 Feb. 2010 .