See What Students Say
Writings by Students
2008
_THE POLITICS OF TERROR
Eva Cabrera
I am so pissed off right now. I went to my friends funeral on Friday. He was 24, an Army reserve and died from a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. During the service the Army presented his family with awards and medals. First of all it is sad that someone must die in order to receive these acknowledgments. Second, half of the shit the Army talked was so deceiving. They said my friend got awards for fighting the war on terror, the struggle to fight global terrorism, terrorism in Afghanistan.
I wanted to yell and scream and I think I would of only I have respect for his family's pain. The Army guy rambled on about how his death was not in vain and how he died protecting this country from the attackers of Sept. 11Th. They said he was a hero of war. I couldn't believe it. All the lies they had said and how brainwashed themselves were.
What protection, what honor in dying? I mean if we want to die for a cause we might as well join the Islamic fundamentalist side, they have a purpose they have a cause. A real one that is protecting their land and not about oil power and world domination. This country used him to do there dirty work and I am Mad!!!! I do respect him but feel his death was in vain.
#1 Politics of Terror-
I got that this article was talking about the counter insurgency groups we have and how if not more destructive they are . I agree how we call ourselves counter something and yet endure more pain. It is shown throughout our history that we used these programs as a method of power not of salvation. We are not there to help the people out but to become dominant in that area. I mean we have wiped out tribes, massacred villages, raped women and children and the list can go on all in the of "DEMOCRACY". To me its all crap. It amazes me how they think they are doing something right. How can they believe that when they are fight supposedly violence with more violence. It makes no sense. In fact we have done more barbaric things people than any one in history. Terror is what we cause but when somehow someone else does it it becomes a crime. Who punished us?
#2 An Arab Woman Blues-
#! PART1 - ------ - I thought this was beautiful yet touching. I kinda thought things are like this but she puts it great. It true, as Americans we are programed to think, live and behave a certain way. I was that person until I became aware of the truth. I am ashamed that I do not more, but I face the reality of my life no money and single parent and I can barely survive yet try to help someone else out. All I know that I do not fall asleep easy. I know that we are doing great harm instead of something good.
#2 PART 5 - ------- I couldn't agree more. It is all about the dollars. It about the domination. We stop at nothing to achieve out goals and yet we view it as heroic. We have killed thousands and what do we show for it. Yes, we might be the powerful nation of the world, but we are liars and arrogant. We have done things that are unjustifiable. It does not matter what our government said it is doing but it is wrong. It is not right and what we are doing is wrong and I am sorry that my money goes to fund this attack but there is nothing I can I do about it. I am also stuck in world of troubles and I have no way out. I have to pay bills and put my daughter though school I must eat and help my mother out. I need to work to survive but I know that my money also goes for this stupid war that I do not agree with. In part all of us are guilty but most of us have no choice. If I had money to support the resistance I would. And if makes any difference I did not vote for BUSH. never!!!!
#3 PART 4- ------ - I completely understand her. Who wants to be outcast ed , who wants to be 40 in constant fear that there lives might end. We as Americans take things so lightly. We do not realize to the expense that other go through in order for us to live "normal" lives. It is amazing how some of us think we are doing the right thing by invading another country. No One asked for our help. Let them run there country what ever way they want, if they want peace so be it if they like war so be it, if they want democracy so be it vice versa so be it. WHO CARES? It is there country who the hell are we to say anything about. It pisses me off to know that we have always been involved in wars of this world and yet seem to have a weak argument for it. There is no real reason for war besides power. The American government can care less. To me that's messed up.
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Gustavo J. Osorio
Race & Ethnic Relations
Sep. 18, 2008
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS AND THE INDIANS
" Las Casas tells how 'the Spaniards grew more conceited everyday".
The imperialist mind is arrogant. Not over-confident, but scornfully proud. Proud not of their slaughter of the Arawaks, not of their raping of women, for the worst pride is not immediate satisfaction of accomplishment, but the pride that makes men blind to justice and equality. Around the 13th and 14th century, the upper hand was of fair skin and since Europeans were more in touch with the gory competitive spirit of war, land and power, when the Arawaks exposed their means of sharing through their welcoming disposition, their kindness was taken for a weakness to the Spaniards. The natural feeling of superiority did not make them proud of their actions, as their actions were just deemed as their righteous execution of their divinity.
"For a time he owned a plantation of Indian
slaves worked...Las Casas (who at first urged replacing Indians by black slaves...later relented when he saw effects on blacks)"
Las Casas was the lesser portrait of evil in this Imperialistic movement. You cannot say he was a good man. I found it astounding how the most righteous man of the camp was a Priest, when all the clergy and religious authority where the ones who ordained war on all the non-Christians in the new world. It says that Las Casas repented having slaves and his view on the preference of enslaving blacks as replacements. While that seems like a picture of non-pious humanity, it shows how at this time, what the least evil men where thinking. Because of the way the Christian world conditioned it's minions, it was damn near impossible to be compassionate to non-Christians and especially non-Whites. This just shows how the nurturing of violence and slaughter was the general consensus and that the feeling of mercy can overtake any man in any time. The red emption of Las Casas became his testimony, without that we couldn't make an assessment this profound.
BARTOLEME DE LAS CASAS, BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE DEVASTATION OF THE INDIES
" The Indies were discovered in the year one thousand four hundred and ninety two...Spaniards...intention of settling the land...The large and most happy isle called Hispaniola...it is as though God had crowded into these lands the great majority of mankind...These people are the most guileless...most devoid of wickedness and duplicity...obedient and faithful to their native masters and...Spanish Christians whom they serve..by nature the most humble, patient, and peaceable, holding no grudges, free from embroilments, neither excitable nor quarrelsome...also poor people, for they not only possess little but have no desire to possess worldly goods. For this reason they are not arrogant, embittered, or greedy...They are very clean in their persons, with alert, intelligent mind...very apt to receive our holy Catholic faith...insistent on knowing more and on taking the sacraments of the Church and observing the divine cult..missionaries...need to be endowed by God with great patience in order to cope with such eagerness...goodness of the Indians is undeniable... "
THE DIVINE RIGHT TO OCCUPY THE LAND
"Thou preparedst room for them".
Reading this piece. I found out how mentally strong the drive was for such aspirations to occupy a new world. I absorbed it as a strong justification, being that the argument the bible makes as far as God placing a people in a land is discrete propaganda but is disguised as the holy truth. I can see how many protestants like John Cotton were extremely convinced of their right to manifest their will towards new land. By intaking the words myself as if a mind of protestant society at this time, I know that this is the only thing that can inspire war and have it become an unstoppable righteous force in a sense of "higher purpose". The concept of this divine right was set in stone to all recipients of the word with passages like "daily bread may be sought from afar" and "...for such as they who are sent have power to command"
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Shaquita Love
Race and Ethnic relations
June Terpstra
Reading Reflection #2
These weeks’ readings focus on a specific group of people, African Americans as a culture and a race. We are indeed unique because we were taken from our native lands, and we were forced into a unique form of slavery, which involved racism because we did not look like our conqueror/ terrorists. The psychology behind the human race is bizarre. When I look at the soldiers in our American Army, they are trained to turn their minds into BEAST mode, in which they have no feelings, only animalistic characteristics. Within this reading analysis, I will reflect some personal stories that indeed talks about the African American male, and how we are trained to work with the white race, as well as our race. I will reflect on each reading, and show you how my mind processes over certain words, or on the opinion of the author of the piece.
This man is an African psychologist who studies the human behavior and psychology of the African American male. As you notice, the American society never speaks up on the African American female until later on, after the Women’s Rights Movement. This article had to be written in the 1960’s or in that time era because this piece describes blacks as being
Within this article, Fanon is very intelligent in how he dissect how the African American male thinks and acts. I will allow him to do this study on us, because he is a part of our race, but we are a special breed of the African descent. I hate it when white psychologists try to analyze us and our actions as a race. Who gives them the authority to analyze me? I am mad indeed at the white race. When I look on the television and I see on the new, it’s always some drive by shooting, or children getting shot because of gang violence. In reality, the white ran and operated Federal Government is responsible for a lot of this. I’m not saying that we can get away with this stuff because we have been oppressed so long; I’m just saying that the Government has a role in a lot of things that is frowned upon by them to us.
For instance, the Drug Wars in
On special occasions, like Christmas, I can’t even go over to my father’s side of the family houses. They argue and physically fight over family feuds within the extended family. Half of the time, it’s because my Aunt is high, and she is just causing too much drama. Alcoholism is also major in the black community. My father has been drinking since I can remember, but he never gets sloppy drunk, at least not when he’s around me. He is the only person in his family that I can say knows how to monitor and consume drinks responsibly. His family does not know the limit and the effects that it has on you body, liver and brains. When they get drunk, it’s a wrap.
I kind of got off of the subject, but I meant to discuss language and how we use language as a race. Yes, we do have our own kind of language, but it ranges from city to city because we all have different dialogues. We as a black race tend to stick together, but we are mostly torn apart by the white race. This is with gang violence. The whiter race does not like us to stick together because when any group gets together, there is power in a group. Okay so back to the subject, we have our own way of talking to one another. When we are in schools, and are around Whites in any way, we know how to switch that “blackness” off and on when needed. This concept is tricky for me to analyze, because my brother moved to the suburbs with my Uncle. This was the best decision my mother can make, because my father did not live with us. My brother needed to be disciplined by a male so my Uncle was the male figure. My father never left our side, despite the divorce. He always took us on bike rides to the beaches and zoos; he loved us and still takes care of us. Okay, so my brother went out there for only a semester, and his language changed dramatically. He still talks like this to this day, but let me tell you the reactions that my family and others thought about him. His childhood friends though he was turning too white on them, so they stopped associating with him. Currently, the system has gotten his friends (jail, parole, probation, felonies, and misdemeanors), while my brother is beating them system. My immediate family never shamed his dialect and use of words. We just asked him how the new environment was. He loved the new environment. He assured us that racism still does exist because he faced it only amongst the older white community in the suburbs. He attended Elk Grove high school. He loved how his teachers and classmates loved him. But he was indeed speaking like them. His language indeed contributed to how people, both black and white thought of him. To this day, he still speaks proper. He is not acting white to me. He is still himself, and he knows where he came from. Occasionally he does talk in slang, because he’s a comedian.
This is another article that was written by Frantz Fanon. This was a speech to Congress of African Writers.
… marked off by signposts and fences….. My thought s wonders off into wonderland. Okay, so I reside in
Currently, our complex now has security camera that is posted around our complex. This is due to the increased drug trafficking that has been going on within the past 4 years. Yes, drug trafficking is an issue and it should be resolved. But I do not agree with how the Police officers and how they are enforcing rules and policies on our youth, primarily African American youth in our community.
Recently, like two or three weeks ago, they just installed the security cameras. All of these security cameras to me are invading privacy, and we do not have any privacy. These cameras are linked to the Chicago Police Department. As I was walking up to my town home, I saw some of my neighbors outside, socializing. I told them that they know the white neighbors a re going to the police stating that we are soliciting, and that we are not allowed to hang on my block, which is called Bosworth. My neighbors laughed it off stating that they weren’t doing anything, and they weren’t moving anywhere. All of the town homes received letter stating that no one can loiter on Bosworth, and that the Alderman along with residents banded solicitation on Bosworth.
I went across the street to Walgreens for 10 minutes, max! When I came back, there were my four neighbors standing scared straight, as 4 police officers had guns pointed directly to their foreheads, instructing them to lie on the ground. There were 6 squad cars, along with 2 detective cars. The youth was embarrassed of the whole incident. Other police officers searched my yard and my neighbors’ yard in hopes of finding drugs that were thrown in the bushes. The reality behind this whole conflict was that the white neighbors called the Police on them because they were soliciting. When they see us in their neighborhoods, they do not like that. Those young men were outside, talking about how school was going, and catching up on sports. They were not distributing or engaged in any type of drug activity. Don’t get me wrong, I know that we al are supposed ot feel safe and secure in our homes. The government has the power, and the laws are designed for us to follow.
Speaking of laws and equality, talk about the cocaine crack sentencing is bizarre and it is set up for the black man to fail. By the mid 90’s, hundreds of African-Americans had been prosecuted for crack offenses, but relatively few whites. In 1993, for instance, over 88 percent of the mandatory minimum sentences for crack were imposed on blacks. Aside from the obvious racial disparity, the law did not seem to be doing its job of deterring crime. The crack epidemic expanded at the same time as the prison population. Part of the problem with the 100:1 ratio was that it was an incentive to sweep up the members of a drug conspiracy who were most easily replaced....
For nearly two decades, the 100:1 ratio was part of mandatory minimum sentences and the federal sentencing guidelines. However, recently the 100:1 ratio finally was bent back toward reasonableness. First, the United States Sentencing Commission modified the federal sentencing guidelines. It reduced sentences for crack cocaine relative to powder, but still provided stiffer sentences for crack. The government is designed unfairly. That’s a damn shame.
This article also talks about how within our native society, we tend to hold on to cultural norms and traditions to keep our culture alive. Soul Food is look on as a national African American custom and tradition that originates from the South. In the old days, the slave masters would give the field slave (there is a difference between a field slave and a house slave) the leftover scarps to eat. From those scraps, we are creative and we have dished out some meals that are still enjoyable to eat. Within Soul Food dishes, we always eat the pig, which is the dirtiest animal. We eat chitterlings, with Louisiana Hot sauce. We also enjoy eating Hog Mog’s, Pig’s Feet, Collard Greens, Red Beans and Rice, and other favorites. Our most favorite and common food that we eat is Fried Chicken and Macaroni and Cheese.
Soul Food is linked to serious health problems such as high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack and death. The white men were smart enough to give us the food that will slowly kill you. Yet we still eat this cultural food, and we keep this particular tradition alive. I personally do not eat a lot of soul food because I want to eat healthy. I do love Fried Chicken though. I try to stay away from pork because it’s not good for you at all. We as a people of native African descent have to become conscious of the health problems, and how Big Mama died. We as a race have to come to a consensus that these foods are not healthy for us. We need a change.
The legal documents in this piece give the Christian Pope the right to say that non Christians are less than human. With this being said, the Catholic Church gives Christopher Columbus the right to occupy native lands, because the people who are present are not Christians. That’s fucked up, and again, history repeats itself. What’s the point of reading this? Is it to make me angry? Back in the old slavery times, us, African slaves, and the first breed of African Americans was looked upon as 3/5th of a person. How can you measure a person? We were also looked as cattle, rather than human.
The Doctrine of Discovery is still prevalent in today’s society. Everything that the government owns and operates is in the favor the ideal white upperclassman man. This is one reason why I want to move out of the
It’s also crazy to me that the government states to the Native Americans that they have a right to “occupy” lands. This was there land form the beginning. The tragic Trail of Tears makes me sad to my stomach. My great grandmother Annie Haywood was a full blown Cherokee. This Doctrine helped kill my cousins, aunts, and uncles that I will never know.
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Brenda Rios
Reflexive 2--202
In the article, "Cracks in the Constitution," right off the bat I found myself engaged in this reading because I truly do feel that the constitution is a "product of duplicitous politicians and their closes friends scheming to cut the best deals for themselves by leaving out the great majority of other who didn't matter." Yet, the reason I found myself so into this particular article was because even though I truly do have feelings of resentment towards the constitution, I don't exactly have that much knowledge on topic to support my case and my side. The reason being that my entire life I was taught only one viewpoint, the white man version, which is not mine. So accordingly, I was taught why the constitution is so great and may even find myself having even arguments to refute those opposed to the constitution, all of that being from what I have learned. Thus, as I started to read the other side, the opposition to the constitution, it captivated me and I felt somewhat empowered, as if it was finally laid out for me, and it made sense.
So as I continue to read, I have found myself angry again, as I have found myself being with the rest of the articles I have read in this class. And it seems to be a continual cycle, years after years, the government continues to enact many laws. And if in some way or another it backfires, the government finds a way to tweak those same words it made precedent into something that conveniences them. And opportunely for some reason never the rest of us. Amusingly, the constitution claims it's for the people, "we the people in the U.S," whom I believe that in itself says a lot. As if they saw themselves as the people of the U.S, at least those that mattered most were "we" and then there were the rest of us. It's pretty apparent that the rest of us may not have been considered much, but hey at least they let us think that we were.
As I got to the quote, "Women, blacks, Indians and children couldn't vote..." it triggered my memory to what two students in class were saying. They spoke about how America is so great and couldn't understand why people spoke so bad of it, especially if many were all coming into the United States. It made me stop and think about the constitution being read from a white male with advantages perspective; to them this constitution fits like a glove in many ways. So how could any of us, or thus the rest of us, complain, life is great and we all have opportunities. Yet, when your constantly being stripped of your possibilities of achieving that greatness, made to work 10 times harder for the same opportunities as your fellow white counter part, life doesn't seem so great, and America doesn't look so free. I guess ignorance is bliss.
It has become more obvious to me now that I am more informed that this quote makes sense, "its opening words are meaningless window dressing." If you learn the constitution the way you were taught in school, only to read, learn and understand what is written, and not to question what is the "Supreme law of the land" and to live only by what is taught, you fail to see through those words. However, if you simply start to peel away the layers, and read the history from both ends, only then do you realize that there's a lot of one-sided convenience, around and between the lines. Therefore, you must understand what went before in order to understand what is now.
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Week 3 Readings and Response 315
Shirish Shah
The article by Eqbal Ahmad is very interesting and speaks truth about changing labels and images from time to time. The American government is so fucked up all they want to do is use individuals or countries for their personal benefit. When the source becomes useless or non-profitable it is discarded or put on the hit list. The author mentions Osama Bin Laden as an example and I would like to use Saddam Hussein as another example. There are countless images and video with him and leaders of United States shaking hands and greeting each other and all of a sudden he is target number one because interest is conflicting. Iraq has the second highest well known oil reserves in the world. Oil is a very important energy resource which is in very high demand.
What should really be discussed is the American Terrorist. Our nation has caused more problems than any other country in the world. September 11, 2001 is the key date and event that the current USA administration uses to wreak terror in the Middle East. IF you compare the death ratio from the events of 911 to the current situation going on 8 years later, its mind boggling !
Who are the real terrorist of the world! In my opinion it is the USA government! When the word terrorism is used the image comes to mind things blowing up and people running and screaming. That is what we are program to believe is terrorism, but in reality it has many different forms. Sanctions, trade agreements, tariffs, occupation, currency manipulation, the list can go on and on. When you bring fear to people whether it's with guns, bombs or what they are going to eat tomorrow it is form of terrorism to me. The lack of freedom is terrorism to me.
Reading Edward Bernays my first thought in mind came of George Carlin god bless his soul. I also believe him and it's very sad that people are that ignorant! I think the invention of the television messed up the population. As George Carlin puts it, we act, dress, think, eat, sleep and any other possible act according to the tube! Media and propaganda have had complete control of the population. Personal and critical thinking has been wiped out and the people are turned into unintelligent sheep of heard that just follows whatever the main power wants them to do.
The media is very powerful tool to get the people to do pretty much everything. Every opinion a person has comes through the tube. In the United States I can safely say every person either owns a television or has access to one. It is one of the greatest inventions but misused by the powerful to maintain power. It seems like the greatest of inventors and scientist fall prey to the powerful. Albert Einstein is a very good example. A very smart man created something so terrible for the world. The human mind can do great things and can create very bad things. I always ask myself why is it always on the negative side? Why do the smartest and the brightest become thieves and criminals?
Information is a key source for the population of the world. The media unfortunately is controlled by one group and is not democratic in any way shape or form. When the information is controlled by one group that's when injustice occurs because the population is not getting a truthful report or the real scoop on what's going on. In times of war, the media outlet has been misused and has led masses of people to follow puppet politicians to their own personal agenda. The internet has opened doors but I believe they will get hold of the web soon too.
The United States of America is not a country anymore! When they print the next map it should be called United States INC! Corporations have total control of this country. No matter where you go you see the big logos of these corporations. Travel is not fun anymore because you see the same dam restaurants no matter where you go.
Globalization is the key ingredient along with capitalism that is going to tear this country down. Low wage jobs and exportation of skilled jobs is making this country go down the tubes. The real problem is the government officials that just don't care about the country they sworn in to serve. Production level in all industry has been decreasing rapidly. I foresee big riots and violent crimes taking place in the near future. We are already seeing higher crime rates just by the increasing oil prices. Driving a car is still a privilege but when people can't afford to buy food that's when the real problems will engulf this nation. The scariest part is this nation has right to bear arms. Living in the USA can be dangerous.
The solution to the problems I see coming can be accomplished in steps. First step would be to stop importing goods. I know it sounds crazy because everything we own in our household is mainly produced over seas. The United States has enough technology to produce everything we import. The agreements made by the government officials are the reason for the trade deficit. Once again the law makers and people in charge of this country do not care for the people.
The amount of consumption of goods we do in this country were produced here the country would thrive. Americans are in massive credit card debt because they just don't know how to budget their money and have this craze on shopping. The economy would be much better if all the goods consume were made here. The real problem are these greedy corporations that want to extend their profits by outsourcing the labor to third world countries to have better profits. Companies are closing left and right in the USA because they can't compete in the markets. Production cost is much more in the USA because you are forced to pay in US dollars along with health and other forms of benefit. For the capitalist view makes sense to take business else where but they don't realize it will eventually fall on their own face as well. The debt monster can only go on so long. Lack of production and prosperity in the country drags the currency value down in the global markets. What will they do when consumption comes to a halt because they over exploited themselves? If people don't have jobs they will not be able to consume as much which is common sense. Changes definitely need to make fast and soon or its going to be a very hard fix.
Watching the video on Castro and the reading of this article made me think if it was possible for this to happen in the US in this age and time. I mentioned earlier in this paper that the right to bear arms US is a right. If the people got together without any type of break up caused by snitches or any type of leak on a movement it can be accomplished. The problem I see right now is that it will not happen because the circumstances are not yet there. I do feel however in time something of this kind will happen. The outsourcing of jobs and lack of jobs here in the United States will cause some type of event. It just has not happened yet because majority of the factory and low wage jobs are held by illegal immigrants. They play one key role in the economy that people just don't understand. The immigrants come here for better job opportunities because they lack them where they come from. For most they have no say in the current situation because, first they are illegal and second they feel something is better than nothing.
The easiest way to throw the American Government over is to get into the minds of the army. If we can just somehow communicate with them and make them understand they work for group of elite to oppress the world. Now this is no easy task because money and power have very important roles. You give a man that can be the weakest a gun and he will think he is superman. With the thought of being superman comes the human ego. This ego and mentality is something very hard to over come.
The Anarchism article is very good. It gives a good description of America! I really liked the part where it talks about people becoming "robots". The article backs up the statements I made earlier that the capitalist are eventually going to fall on their own face.
The article talks about what is real wealth among people and describes what it is not. I ask the same question to myself and never could decide on what I wanted to do. At a young age I did want material gains and wanted nice things. Then after gaining some of that material wants I was not happy. At the moment of this feeling, I asked myself why am I not happy? I have the answer to the same question now. My daily life was not rewarding in a sense because it did not serve a purpose. I had the material gains but my life did not serve a purpose.
I think back as I write this paper to all the people that I knew that boasted about what they did for the past 20 -30 years working for some company. What did they do? They were slaves to some owner and seemed they were happy about it.
We live in the most powerful and wealthiest country, then why is it the most depressed? People of other nations have reasons to be depressed because of situations but why in the USA? My answer to that question is what this article talks about. No social life and everything is clock-work. The people just don't have personal time. The country is embedded with the capitalist view and material gains means of life that is eating them alive. Laws that tell you what is right and wrong and laws that tell you what to do. WE don't need a government that tells you what to do.
The government is suppose to be for the people , but it has turned to be against the people and is more of a dictatorship just hidden with a different name. I had a great idea which most likely can not come true because every livable land is occupied by the rich mother fuckers. If there was a way to start a new society I would like to do that. Somehow purchase a pretty big chunk of land, maybe like an island which has fertile land and start my own country which is not going to be run like the rest of the world. That would be very cool! The people run the country without any policing or any type of unit that oppress people. I would call the county "LIVE",
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Read and respond week 4
Joanna Lazarz
Over the years, America has evolved into the most dominant power in our planet, now much touted as the only super (or more appropriately, hyper) power. Her powerful navy roams around all the seas unhindered and unchallenged. To dominate the oceans and seas of the world, America has more than a dozen naval task forces built around aircraft carriers. She has military bases in all the continents of the world. According to the Defense Department's annual "Base Structure Report" (2003), which itemized foreign and domestic U.S. military real estate, the Pentagon owned or rented 702 overseas bases in about 130 countries and had another 6,000 bases in the United States and its territories.
American leaders are passionate to sustain this lucky status for all times to come. For years before the collapse of the Soviet Union, they spent billions of dollars on weapons program, including the missile defense system, imagining that the threat to national security might come from hostile powerful states like Russia or China. In recent decades, prior to 9/11, national security concern was heavily focused on the possibility that unfriendly states like Iran or North Korea might launch or threaten to launch a missile attack on the USA. Missile defense was thus an idea that gained popularity.
But 9/11 changed all such notions of false security. There is no doubt that 9/11 is a seminal event in American history. It has changed forever the history of power politics. The American public could never imagine that 19 individuals, armed only with box-cutters and a firm determination, could attack America. With all the weapons in their disposal, they had imagined invulnerability unto America.
Terrorism was widespread in Tsarist Russia from the mid-19th century to the beginning of the WWI, many of those crimes perpetrated by Ashkenazi Jews who overwhelmed various nihilist and communist organizations. It involved thousands of violent attacks, including high level assassinations and dynamiting of buildings. Almost 7000 officials and politicians were its victims in Russia, including the Tsar Alexander II (in 1881). Almost all "terrorist" activities originate from a political conflict and have been seeded as well as sustained by it.
Terrorism has been a political tool used for millennia by organizations against victims. Pre-9/11 terrorism had mostly been confined to planting bombs here and there or taking hostages and using fear to gain leverage (particularly monetary). I would argue that Hammurabi could be the first to have used fear to keep ancient Mesopotamia in order: If you don't want your hands removed, don't steal. If you don't want your family murdered, don't murder someone else's family. Hammurabi's laws inspired fear and respect. This instilled fear had a purpose: to make people behave, to make people equals.
Terrorism is another form of politics. As harsh as it sounds, in a utilitarian sense, it serves a goal. Al Qaeda may have been anti-America and upheld a hardlined fanatical interpretation of Islam, but it was also pro-independence from America. Its goals were meant to tell America that there was a force out there that wouldn't stand for the exploitation of the Middle East and the mistreatment of its inhabitants by Western aligned powers. A western-designed map of the Middle East following World War II, Israel's declared formation in the 1940s by a western-inspired organization and its subsequent support for the greater part of a century with no strings attached, the support of the unpopular Shah's west-backed coup, an uneasy alliance with Saudi Arabia in which the United States received oil if it kept the unpopular house of Saud in power. These were all reasons for a pro-Islam, fanatical, militant organization to attack the United States.
Osama bin Laden had a goal when he approved of the attacks of September eleventh. Was it legal? Outside of the parameters of a government within a state being the accepted international norm for the approval of such actions, no. Was it justified? Within the scope of terror being used for political purposes to reach a goal and to send a message, yes.
Was it right? Well, yes and no. It depends on who you ask. There is a reason why state governments fight rebels within their borders. There is a reason why Russia fights the Chechen rebels. There is a reason why the government of Columbia fights the FARC-EP. There is a reason why the Turks fight the Kurds. Governments don't like to recognize independence movements within their own states. They'll uphold the right to self-determination as long as it doesn't disrupt their status quo. Governments are associations for the people. When a government is rejected by even a small group, they perceive it as a threat to their authority (after all, nobody rebels against a perfect government).
But Al Qaeda isn't a government. It's not a revolutionary group aimed at running its own country, nor do they want to run another country. Was 9/11 justified? Yes, because it aimed at the destruction of symbols of oppression, and aimed at the liberation of an entire religion, region, and ethnic group of people who were fighting amongst themselves due to America's involvement in the region. Was it justified? No. The sanctity of human life and the right to self-determination of innocent people was ignored. In western standards and by western international laws that had been in place for hundreds of years, this blatant defiance of a set of international code developed by Europeans who have always fought classical Napoleonic style wars, these attacks were barbaric and disregarded every international code to date.
Awareness in America is outlawed because vigilantes operate outside the construct of the people-state social contract. The state has the power because the people have determined that it does. Thus, only an organization bound to the people by social contract has the right to implement these types of actions. When an individual takes the law into their own hands, it breaks the social contract, debasing the government's competence in the eyes of the people, and making assumptions that this is what the government would have wanted.
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JUSTICE 202 JUSTICE AND INEQUALITY
READING WEEK 1
WILFREDO CRUZ PAGE 1-2
MOVING ONWARD:THE READING ON MOVING ONWARD FROM RACIAL DIVISION TO CLASS UNITY MADE ME ANGRY. ONE OF THE REASONS IS THAT I HAVE FACED RACISM GROWING UP FROM A DIVIDER BASED ON A RACE BELIEF THAT WE SHOULD NOT INTERMINGLE WITH ANOTHER RACE BASED ON SKIN COLOR OR THE COLOR OF THEIR EYES. I GREW UP IN A PRETTY RUFF NEIGHBORHOOD PREDOMINANTLY HISPANIC AND GANG INFESTED. I REMEMBER HAVING TO GO TO A SCHOOL LIKE 20 BLOCKS AWAY THAT I MUST OF WALKED THROUGH AT LEAST EIGHT DIFFERENT GANG TERRITORIES. ALL WHICH CLAIMED DIFFERENT GANG COLORS. THE LATIN KINGS HAD BLACK AND GOLD, THE MANIAC LATIN DISCIPLES HAD BLACK AND BLUE, THE COBRAS CLAIMED BLACK AND GREEN. IT CAME TO THE POINT WHERE I LITERALLY HAD TO CHANGE JACKETS BEFORE REACHING A CERTAIN BLOCK OR TURN IT INSIDE OUT TO AVOID BECOMING A TARGET OF OLDER GANG MEMBERS TRYING TO BEAT ME UP BECAUSE I WORE THE WRONG COLORS. I THOUGHT IT WAS ABSOLUTELY STUPID.
I MYSELF WAS LABELED A GANG MEMBER NOT BECAUSE I ASSOCIATED WITH GANG MEMBERS BUT BECAUSE I LIVED IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD. MY MOTHER WAS A SINGLE PARENT RAISING ME AND MY TWO OLDER SISTERS. WE ENDORED VERY DIFICULT TIMES FINANCIALLY. MOVING WASN’T AND OPTION BECAUSE THE FINANCIAL MEANS WASN’T THERE. I REMEMBER TIMES WHEN WE DIDN’T EVEN HAVE FOOD IN OUR REFRIGERATOR TO EAT. I SOMETIMES THINK THAT WE AS SOCIETY ARE UNFAIR TO EACH OTHER BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE HAVE BEEN CHEATED OUT OF AN EDUCATION. THEIR MIND ARE NOT DEVELOPED ACADEMICALLY BUT ASK THAT PERSON ANYTHING THAT IS STREET RELATED AND THEY KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT THE STREET.
I BELIEVE AS A SOCIETY WE DEPEND TOO MUCH ON ELECTRONICS AND PRETTY MUCH ARE HELPLESS WITHOUT IT. I REMEMBER I WENT TO PUERTO RICO 2 YEARS AGO WHEN A HURRICANE HIT AND IN THE TOWN WHERE MY GRANDMOTHER LIVES IS VERY POOR. OUR ELECTRICITY AND WATER WAS TAKEN AWAY FOR 9 DAYS. TALK ABOUT RUFF TIMES, I FELT LIKE I WAS BACK IN THE MARINES OUT IN THE FIELD FOR A WEEK. I COMPLAINED A LOT DURING THAT WEEK BUT MY GRANDMOTHER SEEEMED ACUSTOMED TO IT BECAUSE IT HAPPENS FREQUENTLY IN THAT AREA DURING HURRICANE SEASON. ARE WE AS AMERICAN SPOILED? HELL YEAH!!! NO DOUBT ABOUT IT. I REMEMBER MY GRANDMOTHER LOOKING AT ME AND SAYING “AT LEAST WE HAVE EACH OTHER TO KEEP EACH OTHER COMPANY”. I STOPPED COMPLAINING BECAUSE I CAN’T EVEN IMAGINE HOW SHE ENDORES IT ON HER OWN WHEN I WASN’T THERE.
THIS NATION WAS FOUNDED ON ONE RACE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF ANOTHER RACE. THE GOVERNMENT, MAKING PROFITS FROM A RACE BY MEANS OF HIGHER INTEREST RATES. AMERICA HAS ALWAYS BEEN A PLACE WHERE THE RICH GET RICHER AND POOR GET POORER. HOW ARE WE GOING TO CHANGE THAT? SOMETIMES I WISH THAT I COULD CHANGE ALL THE INJUSTICES OF THE WORLD. BUT WHERE DO WE START?
A QUICK STUDY FOR STUDENTSTHE READING FOR A QUICK STUDY FOR STUDENTS REALLY MADE ME FEEL SAD BUT ALSO ANGRY AT THE SAME TIME. HOW THE EUROPEANS CAME AND SLAUGHTER THE NATIVE AMERICANS WHO ALREADY INHABITED THESE LANDS. SO HOW CAN THEY BE FOUNDERS OF A NEW WORLD? ESPECIALLY WHEN IT WAS ALREADY INHABITED IS BEYOND ME. IT IS GENOCIDE. I ALWAYS THOUGHT OF VISITING EUROPE BUT AFTER READING YOUR ARTICLE I WILL NOT BE MAKING THE TRIP.
I DATED A GIRL THAT HER NATIONALITY WAS NATIVE AMERICAN SHE LIVES IN MINNEAPOLIS MINESOTA AND IS STILL A PLACE WHERE THEY HAVE A LARGE GROUP OF NATIVE AMERICANS. I WEN’T TO THE RESERVATION AND MET HER FAMILY. TO ME IT SEEMED NO DIFFERENT THAN MOST NEIGHBORHOODS THAT ARE POORLY MANAGED. I NOTICED A LOT OF LIQUOR STORES WITHIN A 4 BLOCK RADIUS AND A LOT OF HOMELESS PEOPLE. I KNOW THAT THE U.S. HAS A LOT OF HOMELESS PEOPLE EVEN IN CHICAGO. I WAS KIND OF NAÏVE THINKING THAT ONLY CHICAGO HAD A LARGE GROUP OF HOMELESS.
I KNOW A LARGE QUANTITY OF PEOPLE WHO ARE UNHAPPY WITH WHAT THEY DO FOR A LIVING BUT EVERY DAY THEY WAKE UP TO DO THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER AGAIN. I KNOW IT IS BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE BECOME ACUSTOMED TO SOMETHING AND ONCE YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH SOMETHING CHANGE AND FEAR OF NOT HAVING CONTROL OVER SOMETHING CAN BE SCARY. I REMEMBER WHEN I WAS GOING TO JOIN THE MARINES. ALL MY FRIENDS SAID THAT I SHOULDN’T GO BECAUSE I WAS GONNA TURN CRAZY AND THAT THE GOVERNMENT IS CONSIDERED SATAN. IT FEEDS OF THE BLOOD OF THE POOR, MINORITIES, AND SEGREGATES EVERYTHING BY RACE. I REALLY COULDN’T BELIEVE THAT NOT EVEN ONE OF MY FRIENDS WAS FOR ME TRYING TO IMPROVE MY LIFE.
I ALWAYS HAD A THEORY THAT THE GOVERNMENT MADE UP THESE DISEASES TO KILL OF THE POOR SOCIETY INCLUDING AIDS AND ANTHRAX. I REMEMBER WHEN THE WHOLE ANTHRAX SCARE WAS GOING ON I WAS STILL IN THE MILITARY. THEY WERE INJECTING THE THROOPS WITH A SHOT THAT WASN’T EXPLAINED TO US THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO HELP YOU AGAINST ANTHRAX. I REFUSED TO TAKE THE SHOT BECAUSE I WAS BEEN RELIEVED OF MY FOUR YEAR SERVICE. WHEN I REFUSED I WAS TOLD THAT I WOULD BE COURT MARTIALED IF I DID NOT TAKE THE SHOT. IT WAS A GREAT DISGRACE THAT I HAD TO BE INJECTED WITH SOMETHING THAT NOT ONLY MADE ME SICK FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. WE WEREN’T EVEN TOLD ABOUT THE PONTETIAL SIDE EFFECTS OR THE CONTENTS IN THE SHOT. ISN’T THAT CRAZY?
THIS ARTICLE FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE END KEPT MY INTEREST OF THE VERY OWN GOVERNMENT THAT I VOLUNTEERED TO PROTECT WHEN I JOINED THE MILITARY. I STRONGLY FEEL SORROW FOR THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE LOST THEIR LIFES FOR THE SEARCH OF OIL. THE MANY YOUNG LIFES THAT MADE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE SO THAT WE COULD TRY AND LIVE A LIFE WITH FREEDOM, PROPERTY AND JUSTICE. THIS ARTICLE MAKES YOU HAVE MIXED FEELING ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT AND HOW THEY CAN TOO BE DECEIVING. THE SAME GOVERNMENT THAT TAKES TAXES OUT OF OUR CHECKS EVERY PAYCHECK. WE ARE FUNDING WARS, ESPIONAGE AND MURDER. ARE WE ALSO AS A SOCIETY MURDERES BECAUSE WE DON’T GO AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT? THIS READING HAS OPENED UP A LOT OF NEW THINKING IN MY MIND. I CAN’T WAIT TO READ SOME OF THE OTHER READINGS.
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Joshua Cruz
Justice & Inequality
This week’s subject is very personal to me. I served in the Marines for four years and I did so proudly. To hear people describe us as “thugs” is pathetic. Many people that call us names and talk negatively about us have never been in our shoes, isn’t that ironic. People will never understand why it is that we do what we do. It’s about passion, it’s about sacrifice. Watching those towers go down in 2001 change me for the rest of my life. I joined for reasons that I cannot explain in words and if people can’t understand that then I don’t need to talk to them. Regardless of what this war is all about, we still served under the oath that we took. We fight for the same reasons that we had when we took that oath; not for oil, not to kill people and not for the money. I’ll admit that there are some bad apples that give us a bad name, but it’s like that in every sub-culture or culture in society.
I was not brainwashed in the Corps; if I was brainwashed, it happened a long time before I joined. Like elementary school, where I learned how great our “Fore Fathers” were; come to realize, they weren’t that great and they weren’t my fathers because I am Puerto Rican. Or how the cowboys were the good guys and the Native Americans were the bad guys; now a days, I root for the natives!
The Marine Corp helped make me the man that I am today. I learned good values, like honor, and good judgment among others. Also, not to litter, to help and defend those that cannot help or defend themselves, to help the elderly. For example, every time I can, I help and elderly person cross the street or assist an elderly person who’s struggling with their wheel chair; I can go on, my eyes see the right thing to do and I do it. Not because I’m trying to get points with people, but because that same passion that drove me to enlist still lives inside of me.
I am not perfect, but I try to be. I try to live my life as a Marine, I might come off as conceited but it’s only because I love myself, just as everyone should. I wish our youth of today would serve in an organization such as my beloved Corps. Maybe then we wouldn’t have so many overweight kids, maybe we wouldn’t have so many suicides, maybe people wouldn’t complain about the pettiest things, maybe we wouldn’t go to war so much. Real warriors know when to fight, unfortunately for us; we do not call the shots. I honestly wish that our generals had a bit more “balls” than they do. I wish our leaders in office had actually served on the frontlines. Being in war is a very humbling experience; I wish President Bush could have felt that. I wish Cheney would have gotten shot in the face while hunting; I’m sure he would have called off the war as soon as he regained consciousness. It’s an ugly thing, war is. It’s not pretty by any means but it’s something that happens and something that I personally am good at. Since the existence of human kind there have been wars. From the looks of it, their will be wars for years to come. No matter if people bash the military, I will still fight for them. I don’t care what any of these intellectual types say, I come from a school, the “School of Infantry Iraq
I am not a left-winger, right-winger, democrat, republican, libertarian, etc. I am a Marine and I’m here to protect you all, no matter what happens. If Blackwater gets deployed on the streets of the U.S. Iraq
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David Diaz 11/02/07
Justice and Inequality 202 Before reading the articles for this week, my response to the issue of the military was going to be more positive than negative because of the fact that my father served in Vietnam, and I have an example that hits so close to home. But after reading these articles that talk about how embedded corruption is in the military, it’s no wonder other countries hate us so much. I want to be careful and avoid saying that everyone in the military comes out corrupt, but two things are certain: (1) the government our military serves is corrupt, (2) and the United States never involves itself in foreign affairs that doesn’t somehow benefit them. There is a good reason why I say “them” in the previous statement and not us, because “them” equals these giant multinational corporations, and it’s these same corporations that influence the government into sticking its nose where it doesn’t belong.
In George Santayana’s words, “Those who cannot remember the past, are doomed to repeat it” (The Life of Reason, 1906), and unfortunately, that is the case with our government. The “doomed past” that I’m referring to is our government’s and military’s invasion of other countries. To think that the invasion of Iraq isn’t the first time that this country has intervened in other countries’ affairs for their own benefit proves just how greedy this empire called the United States is. The evidence provided to us in one of the readings include examples such as “American-engineered coup against Allende in Chile, the war against the people of El Salvador, invasion of Grenada, the war against the people of Nicaragua” (Rodriguez, 2004) and the list goes on and on. Yet, there are no better examples of how this is true than the two examples of both father and son, the Persian Gulf War and Operation Iraqi Freedom, both carrying pretexts of liberation, but ultimately being about a bigger agenda.
Though that’s not the issue at hand, it does a play a huge importance in the discussion about the military because the American public is so misinformed about its purpose in Iraq, and misinformed about its military in general. If we really think about it, how many people who serve in our Armed Forces join because of a true feeling of patriotism? If that were the case, than our military would be one of diversity. Although experts would argue that the armed forces is diverse, it isn’t necessarily a good thing as some of my classmates and others found that it is the people of color and those that are poor that make up the majority of the lower ranks in the armed forces (Kane, 2005). That is an interesting fact to note because one can dare to observe that by sending the poor and the minorities of this country to do the dirty work for them, the country is actually “killing two birds with one stone”, by getting rid of an undesirable population at home (1st stone), and by furthering the profits of the elites (2nd stone), as there are many people who profit from wars such as the one we’re fighting now.
These articles also share a common theme which relates to the question raised in class, “What is the responsibility of a military or resistance group in terms of morality and ethics?” Ultimately, I think it boils down to the individual. Although, troops have their orders and feel as though they have to follow them, I believe one always has a choice. Sure, I’ve never been in the military (nor have plans on joining) so it’s easy for me to express my opinion, but if a person feels wrong about doing something and fails to change it, than where does action and where does change begin?
To think that our military promotes actions that include killing unarmed civilians (Dreyfuss, 2007), yet classified German troops’ actions of “just following orders” as immoral in the Nuremberg Trials raises the issue of the double-standard (Tusa & Tusa, 1985). Because America supposedly plays the role of the good guy, it’s okay for us to interfere, intervene, and invade other countries, but it isn’t okay for other countries to do the same to us.
This leads me to my final point, which is how can we challenge our government’s use of the military into a positive direction? My suggestion is the same as the one proposed by Rodriguez, “we shift our focus of our antiwar organizing from one that solely seeks an end to troop deployment to one of support for those fighting against occupation” (Warriors and Wusses, 2004).
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2007 Papers
Wayne Nguyen
Skills for Inquiry
Final Paper
Do We Practice What We Preach?
The overall premise of my paper is to find out why we as justice study students choose to major in criminal justice? What reasons or beliefs led them to choose this type of major? I myself pondered the same question for years. Was the reason for it because of money, benefits, pension, helping others, or simply power that comes with when someone is given a position in law enforcement? I will be developing questionnaires and surveys to better assist me in gathering all information. With the responses obtained from the questionnaire and survey I will then revise the answers, and come up with a conclusion. Although, my survey will be for the purpose of proving whether or not justice study students practice what they preach in class. Are they using their knowledge about justice to better benefit the community, family, and friends? Or are they out partying at bars and clubs? The most important aspect of this research was to reevaluated my position, and see where I stand on these issues.
Before I begin to answer the question of what led me to choose this type of major and why? I’d like to start with a little bit of my background information. I feel that throughout everyone’s life, through all their past histories and experiences, the affects of our past have had a vast influence on our future, career, and lifestyle. I was born in Vietnam. After my parents died, which was when I was about four-years-old, my aunt adopted me, my sister, and brother into her family. Two years later, we were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to come to America. My aunt, a lady by the name of Ha Thi Sui, had been recently divorced before she took us in. She lived with only her nineteen-year-old son. When we first arrived to America, we found ourselves in San Diego, California. But before that, we were all stationed in the Philippines for over six months awaiting paper work (or at least, that’s what they told us). You see, this was normal procedure for any immigrant coming from Vietnam. Let me just say, the days there were long and harsh. The village that we lived in was sort of like a camp ground for all immigrants. Everyone had a small hut-like-house. Although I was young, but I will never forget the poverty conditions that we faced while living there. Thank God, the day finally came when our paper work was completed. In my mind, I kept on thinking how great America was going to be like.
My siblings and I lived with my aunt and her son for about four years in San Diego. We then decided that we didn’t want to be any more of a burden for my aunt. Chicago was our next destination, because we decided to live with our grandmother and some of my aunts and uncles from my mothers’ side. Every since then, I’ve been living here in Chicago for about 10 years now.
With that being said, let’s begin with the analysis. I think growing up without my parents forced me to become stronger emotionally and physically. I’m the middle child, my sister Konnie is the eldest, and my brother Jayson is of course the youngest. Vietnamese traditions (or most Asian traditions) emphasize that the eldest male of the household is required to be the financial support, as well as the protector of the family. So I guess you could say that the burden rested on me. I don’t mean to sound sexiest, or to discriminate women in any way. I know my sister is the oldest, and she has done a lot for me and my brother growing up. I also have to give full credit to my grandmother and my Aunt Ha from California for always being there to support us in every way. I think I’ve been raised and taught mostly from these courageous women during my life. They have bestowed this tradition or belief that the eldest male of the household has to take full responsibility and obligation to take care of his family. In my mind, I completely agree with this notion, and I feel that it’s the right thing to do. I would say that it’s not a male dominance situation, but just a way of upholding tradition.
Now that I’m an adult, all my relatives including my sister expect me to become the man that my dad was. Because I know if he was still alive today, he’d be the caretaker of this household. Nowadays, I find myself caught in the middle of everything. For example, problems that ranges from helping my brother picking classes for his first semester of college, to trying to find a job so I can help my sister with some of the financial needs.
I was about six or seven-years-old when we first arrived to San Diego, California. I still remember how hard it was for all of us to adjust. School for the three of us was probably the most fretful and at the same time confusing. For the first three years of school, first through third grade, I didn’t speak a lick of English. All I did was sat there and tried my hardest to comprehend what the teachers and my peers were communicating. Most of the time I felt very segregated from society. Some times I would feel invisible, as if no one knew if I even existed. At this moment my mindset was, I thought that these kids could care less if I was there or not. Through hard work and dedication, I managed to understand and perform this once complicated language, which took three years. Now as I looked back on those days, I was and still remain as one of the many people that society labels as a minority or subordinate.
Although some of us might not know, but we do treat minorities as outsiders. For me, this was the exact situation. I felt like an outcast most of my life. Especially living in San Diego, no one made an effort to talk to me. In their eyes, I was just another foreign kid taking up space. As I got older, I seemed to make the same type of friends with people whom were in my situation, Vietnamese immigrants like myself. Society creates these labels and we convincingly play right into them. Therefore, I believe this country is of course segregated not only by race, religion, sexism, sexual preference, economic status, but also the two groups that fall under dominant and subordinate or minority and majority of society.
Growing up in San Diego has really shaped my way of thinking. Times were harsh there; the five of us lived in a two bedroom apartment. We didn’t have enough money for basic luxury needs; we only had enough for the necessary things in life. Luckily, my aunt had some sewing skills. I remember every six months or the start of a new school year; my brother and I would get 3 outfits that my aunt had made out of cheap fabric that she bought from her work factory. These clothes were just a jogging pants and the sweat type of sweaters; they were clothes that you would exercise in. I was always jealous of the other children have new stylish clothes. We were definitely the lower economic class of society. However, we are doing a little bit better now financially, but because of those days; I am very grateful for the position that I’m at right now. I live and count my blessings everyday. I have lived and will remain to live a humble life.
My grandmother is and has always been proud of her Catholic background. She often strives to push us towards religion more. As far as, religion having an effect on my life; I don’t think it had a major impact, but it is a part of my life and part of our culture. Growing up in a very Vietnamese oriented family, our traditions and cultures were always being enforced and reminded, especially during the holidays. Now, a little bit wiser, I come to understand why these traditions were always being imposed. We are now not in our own native land, and although we have accepted and adopted some of the American lifestyles or cultures; we must not forget where we come from. A huge aspect of not disregarding where I was from was to celebrate our traditions, cultures, and various holidays. By doing this, we are not only respecting our history and people, but also honoring them. Therefore, throughout my life, because of my family I was very much rooted to my traditions and culture.
Every decision or choice you make in life correlates to your history, experiences, culture, traditions, holidays, religion, economic status, nationality, ethnicity, and so much more. Because of my parent’s death, I had to become stronger mentally and physically for not only myself, but for my brother and sister. I grew up having almost little to nothing. As a result, I’m thankful for what I have and live life to the fullest.
The fact still remains that I will always be categorized or labeled as part of the minority group, but because of this type of stereotype and discrimination; this motivates me to accomplish my goals of completing all my education and obtaining a well paying career. For us as a minority group, I believe we should just accept the fact that it’s true, and focus more on solutions instead of complaining about the inequalities that we face everyday. Being raised in such a well-rounded traditional type of family; I’ve grown to honor and respect my culture and its traditions. However, at the same time, I have been assimilated culturally. I’ve recognized and supported some of the cultures and traditions of America. After all, in order to survive we must first learn to adapt to our surroundings.
Throughout all my hardships and struggles, I realized that I want to give something back, or at least try to help those that are in the same position right now as I was in the past. Therefore, I decided to go to Northeastern University and major in Criminal Justice. My future goal is to become a Chicago Police Officer, and hopefully move up in rank. I have heard countless stories of the corruption within the structure, but I believe if I stay true to my morals and values, I will be the officer that truly “protects and serves” the community.
Now, with that being said, let’s move on to the research part of this paper. Before reading and analyzing the results of the questionnaire, I kind of knew what to expect, because I’m in the same position as my peers. We are all majoring in criminal justice, so our mentalities and way of thinking about justice are similar.
These are the five questions that I create: what are your three values and/or beliefs in life? Describe three main reasons to why you chose to major in justice studies. What career are you hoping to achieve from this justice degree? Do you believe that your three values and/or beliefs have an affect or influenced your choice to study justice? Lastly, is there a significant event or individual(s) in your life that led you to choose this major, or choose to be involved in a career of law enforcement?
First, I’d like to evaluate myself. My three values and beliefs are: always put your family first, stand up for what you believe in, and be kind and compassionate towards those that treat you with the same attitude. There are many reasons why I chose to major in this degree, but only three stands out. They are, I’ve grew up with the mentality of always doing what I can to help out. So if I were to become a officer, then from all of my professors and peers about the mistreatment and corruption of our present law enforcement; I will always keep that in the back of my mind, and treat every situation with fair and equality. Secondly, networking is very important to me. In this type of occupation it’s who you know that will aid your success in life, and this field provides plenty of business relationships. Finally, it’s the protection of my family that I care about the most. I feel that with all the training I receive in the academy; I will be able to use it within my career, but also to protect my family. Let’s face it, our society is getting more violent and barbaric day by day, and I want to be able to do what I can to defend myself and the ones that I love.
With this degree in criminal justice, I hope to become a Chicago Police Officer, and then move up in rank. Yes, I have to say that my three values do have an affect on the choices I make. My values are directly connected to the reasons to why I chose to major in justice. I want to help out those that are at a disadvantage or in danger, and this is the kind and compassionate mentality that I will hopefully bring to the job. I’ve said that I will always put my family first, and this relates to the reasons I gave to join the force. I feel that I can protect them better with the training I receive from the academy and experience on the job. In life you always have to stand up for what you believe in, especially in the justice system. Well, we all know that there are good cops and bad ones as well, and the system is corrupted. This is where your judgment, values, and morals will be challenged. I plan on staying true to myself and my values/beliefs.
Throughout my life, my sister and brother have always been the backbone to my emotional support. All their love and sacrifices have been the sole reason to why I have chose to major in justice. Our parents died when I was young, I do not remember much about them. It has always been us three through thick and thin, that’s why the mean the world to me. Growing up, my older sister always stressed the fact that we should not be selfish as a human being, and we must have a helping mindset. They have always encouraged and supported me throughout my whole life. Therefore, I chose this career of law enforcement, it’s my way of trying to balance out the equality that people face everyday.
Now, let’s concentrate on the results of the class. I gave out thirty questionnaires and received about twenty six of them back. For all these questions I recorded the overall responses. The first question was based on values and beliefs, and most people answered: ethics, honesty, family is first priority, treat others with equality, kindness, loyalty, health, respect, stand up for yourself, and religion. When asked, three reasons for choosing this major, people answered: about 90 percent of all answers pertained to helping people. The rest answered they wanted to change the inequalities within our justice system, for family, career in law enforcement, monetary purposes (pension), and job opportunities.
The overall response for the third question was: law school (lawyer eventually), federal agency, government officials, Chicago police officer or any district officer, FBI, and immigration agent. The fourth question, everyone had the same answer. They all agreed that their three values/beliefs have an affect on the major and career that they choose. I kind of expect this answer, because your values define who you are. It structures the way you behave towards yourself and other people around you. So of course the decisions you make about your major and future career will be influenced by your values and beliefs. Although, the question still remains, will you still practice these values/beliefs within your future careers? Lastly, the overall answer for the fifth question; a significant event or individual(s) that impacted your decision to join law enforcement or major in criminal justice, people answered: family (fathers, brothers, mothers, and sisters), teachers (justice professors), and some already have family in the field. Others were influenced by events such as: being falsely stopped and ticketed, and living in high crime rate neighborhoods.
With this questionnaire, I knew that race, gender, age would not affect my results. The reason is because; my questions were strictly based on why NEIU students majored in justice studies, and what influenced their decisions to choose this path? Therefore, I felt their answers were much more important then knowing what race, age, or gender. It was more essential for me to know that if someone or a student were to major in this field, what were their reasons? For all my life and I’m sure for many other students who are struggling in school, we are all asking ourselves the same question. Where will we be in ten years? What career suits me? Will I be stuck in a boring job from nine-five everyday? Will the career that I choose be involved with helping others?
There was one negative aspect about the questionnaire; people were very impatient with their answers. Most of the answers I received were one to two sentences the most. You can definitely tell that people were not honest, and they did not really care much about answering these questions to the fullest. This is where I believe that although I gathered all the data, it just seems like there could have been so much more. The answers could have been more descriptive, and I could have been able to understand my overall central focus more. I understand that people will not want to sit down and write more than they have to, that is the reason why I narrowed it down to only five questions.
Next, here are the results from the survey aspect. My second method of data gathering was a survey type. The central topic that I wanted to research in was; do students of NEIU whom major in justice practice what they preach? For this survey, I listed a series of time (from 8am to 1am the next morning). My main focus was to see what these justice study majors are doing within their spare time. I decided that the best time to prove this theory was on the week, when college students are known to either be partying, clubbing, or at some bar getting intoxicated. Are justice study students out partying on the weekend, or are they doing something that positively benefits the community, family, and those whom are unfortunate (i.e. poor and homeless i