Simmel people...

Is it just me or is anyone else having trouble understanding "The Metropolis and Mental Health"? I read it over and over but I'm not sure I am grasping the concept. I'm confused....

Nice comments from you

this was once the "I'm sick" post - but that's now history. Saved because some comments merit saving. = ) Also: some of you haven't figured out how to edit a post, so this might remind one of you to ask in class so all can learn.

THE NBA FINALS ARE UPON US!!

LETS GO LAKERS!!

Last Re-Marx

After reading the Communist Manifesto and last nights lecture I agree with Marx about capitalism and how it creates alienation, class conflict, and is extremely detrimental as a social order. Capitalism has lead to exploitation and limits humans from reaching their “species–being”. Marx’s accurately points out how in our capitalist economic system, through labor, the ruling class exploits workers to stay in control and maximize their profit. However the communist revolution as Marx called for or communism as a realistic way of life was a bit radical. Communism fails not because of its thoughts and beliefs, but because of the nature of social relationships. Communism as an ideology as a way of thinking/being is wonderful and utopian in nature; however it is in practice that we, as humans, mess it up. It’s the nature of humans and free will that create the problems we have seen in countries like the Soviet Union, and Cuba. In order for communism to be successful their needs to be equality, a shared consciousness, and as Professor Tabor pointed out some one to distribute and determine what people “need”. However this centralization of power leads to greed in communist nations. Here is where I feel one of the major contradictions of the Communist Manifesto occurs. The paradox in Marx theory is that in order for communism to exist it requires equal social relations however all social relations are hierarchal, always creating a system of domination and subordination. Communism is doom to fail from the start under the laws of humankind, and human’s being.

Communist Manifesto

The Communist Manifesto is rant about the evils of capitalism while highlighting how great communism is. I personally think that both capitalism and communism has its up and down sides. Capitalism has created more personal wealth for individuals than any other system; however, it also creates a large economic division between the haves and the have nots. Capitalism can work if it is truly allowed to flourish with the good and bad. The current U.S. economic problems can not be fixed with government bail outs. If the U.S. truly believed in capitalism, they would not have bailed out AIG, Bank of America, etc. In the capitalist system you either thrive or you fail. If a company is too big to fail, then it should be too big to exist. These bailouts are a good example of socialism, which also has its up and down sides. Communism was the main system that helped Russia become a super power after WWII; however, in order for communism to be successful, much of the needed resources were taken from the people. It also seems that a large part of the arguments in the manifesto are very similar to the current arguments between the Democrats and the Republicans. One party believes in "big" government while the other party believes in "less" government. One party believes that government can successfully run programs while the other believes that the private sector is more efficient. I believe that both arguments need to be made, this will help all parties involved come up with the best solution. in the private sector.

Marx Maniifesto

I wasn't able to find the first 5 blogs so I'm starting a new one. I found this quote interesting. "The executive of the modern state is but a committee for managing the common affairs of the whole bourgeoisie."
I use to think since the President of the U.S. was elected by the people, that the President would represent the voice of the people as a whole. When the second president Bush was elected, it started to make me feel as if I was in a monarchy. How could it be the son a former president is the best choice to also become President in a country with such a large population? Learning about how lobbyist operate lead me to believe that political leaders are only concerned with the interests of a few.
The quote is similar to a realization I made myself after contemplating these observations. It seems as if the common man is given an opportunity to vote in order to make them feel as if they are a relevant part of how the government controls them, even though the common man is powerless.

Random Question

Hey guys! Does anyone know what font size we use for our thinker paper?

Hey guys

Did any of the Marx People write on the section Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844? Im not sure if im correct but what i got from the section is that society divides itself into two sections the property owners and the property less workers. Pretty much the property owners advance in life while the less fortunate feel very alienated in society. am i somewhat right or just wrong

documentary

what I love about this documentary is the raw emotion. There is no censorship, you almost feel what the person being interviewed is feeling. You can fell the anger, frustration, fear, and a sense of hopelesness. The sad reality is that this is their real life, their everyday struggle....

Material and Immaterial

Society consists of the material (ways and means) and the immaterial (beliefs and values). Marx focuses on the material world as the source of movement, energy--the principle of change. Hegel, his mentor, was an idealist in that he thought "Reason" was working its own independent, evolutionary way towards spiritual awareness for humanity. It is often said that Marx "turned Hegel on his head."
A gang has a material level and an immaterial level - the material being the ways and means of a gang and the immaterial being the beliefs and values of a gang. Marx writers: feel free to use data and ideas in the film for your papers. ALL: let's help out the Marx writers since they are first. What surprised you while reading "The Manifesto"?

Bloods and Crips

This film is very intense. I thought about it the whole way home. I thought about how most individuals were never brought up seeing this type of violence and corruption. On the other hand, individuals like myself grew up with this enviroment still don't know how to react to these situations and problems. When these gangs are stating quotes such as "killed or be killed," or even considering themselves as soliders is very distrubing considering most Amercians would think as a solider as a hero. These individuals main goal in life is to "be respected" which what they consider to be feared. Us individuals blind ourselves to the reality of corruption we are now living in first hand. Very scary.

test - We'll delete this together on Mon. U will learn how to "X" a post.

Welcome Spring Thinkers

You have been invited! In Farganis intro, p. 1-11, you'll read of the social conditions that gave rise to Sociology. When Karl Marx wrote the Communist Manifesto, he was excited that they'd translate and get his document out to several countries within a few months.

Thank You

I would just like to say that I am so lucky to have been in this class. I learned so many new things and meet so many new people. It was intriguing to be able to share deep thoughts, conversations and ideas with such intelligent people who respect and relate to me as an individual in society. Good luck every one in your life's endeavors.

Sociology and Family Structure

Check out this video by a Sociology professor that discusses how family structures that changed and evolved into what they are seen as today. It was intersting to see and to hear a person's point of view regarding this subject. It's a little long, but in my opinion worth watching. HOPE YOU LIKE IT :)

bigger image click that one - >
What does it all mean?
We are spirits.
Here we are.
Words describe us. Do they bring us together or separate us? What do we want? What are we doing to get what we want? Click to Song

CA Supreme Court decision discussion 9AM

on Prop 8 up in 1 hour 15 min from now. LATimes background watch live now - scroll down and you'll see the Vid http://www.queerty.com/live-from-the-california-supreme-court-hearing-with-handy-viewing-guide-20090305/ Also, there is a live blog under that - we can chat.

Taxes

I was looking for the information on the plan for taxes and I came across a couple of things.
-Eliminate capital gains taxes for small businesses, cut corporate taxes for firms that invest and create jobs in the United States, and provide tax credits to reduce the cost of healthcare and to reward investments in innovation.
-Middle class families will see their taxes cut -- and no family making less than $250,000 will see their taxes increase. The typical middle class family will receive well over $1,000 in tax relief under the Obama-Biden plan, and will pay tax rates that are 20 percent lower than they faced under President Reagan.
-Families making more than $250,000 will pay either the same or lower tax rates than they paid in the 1990s. Obama will ask the wealthiest two percent of families to give back a portion of the tax cuts they have received over the past eight years to ensure we are restoring fairness and returning to fiscal responsibility. But no family will pay higher tax rates than they would have paid in the 1990s.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/taxes/

want your chapter paper posted?

Here's Nikkole's chapter paper on Goffman. Send yours for (possible) posting to both dreamwalker936@gmail.com & mtabor@calstatela.edu bring hard copy to class.

I've been having a problem with the terminology of Bergers sacred Canopy or its just I don't understand it enough to find it interesting. So I have been looking for a dumb down explanation of it but have yet been able to find one. I was wondering if by chance anybody could give me tips on the theory. thank you

Let's have CHAPTER discussions pertinent to TODAY

• CREDIT CARTOON: the credit crisis in 10 min CLICK to Part I . . CLICK to Part II Is this data for "conflict theory" or for "consensus theory" - symbolic interactionism? "rational choice!?" or exchange theory?
• Here's the guy who went wild on TV at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange ... Now watch another guy trying to stay calm about "all that" and the yelling watch the White House response ... Bottom line: contract law should be sacred Is that exchange theory? Conflict or "interest" theory? SI? What would Erving Goffman say about that? Did Santelli puncture a "sacred canopy?" Did he do a Garfinkelian "breaching"?
• Me-I-We-Change box - does your thinker fit in? Remember AGIL - AIGL
• Did Pres Obama's speech support symbolic interactionism? Did he do some? Was it about exchange? Rational choice? Intersectionality?
• all jump in with insights, questions, observations, video, music, diagrams-even judgements and assessments - of the value, distraction, or essence of this style of thought. Those w chapter "responsibility" view YouTubes on S.I. , Exchange Theory, Rational Choice Theory - bring the BEST.

intersectionality

Good on DreamWalker to post on intersectionality, below. Watch this MLK video. On our intersectionality discussions: they must be constant, they will make some uncomfortable as did MLKs peaceful resistance events, but--to follow Dr. King--we can discuss with the great power of love. ... more video resources on sex, race, class.

More on Genderization of Race... and then some.

I wanted to further explain the genderization of race from what I've learned from my Sociology of Marriage and Relationships and Sociology of Asian Americans courses.

[I decided I needed to learn about my heritage since I knew absolutely nothing about Asians other than what my family had, nearly all my friends are Mexican, Black, White or some mix of these three; my "black" friend is actually half white and sternly states that she is white].

Let's start off with a few bases:
-There was were historical contexts that were brought up to make the point. For example slave owners would make African female slaves do all the hard manual labor but would never allow white females to do any hard labor in order to "show" that they were better. Since both men and women labored in the fields, there was not separation in gender like the white slave owners, thus in comparison culturally, there was a masculinization of the female gender in the context of Black Americans. There were other factors mentioned like the stereotype of single mothers and "strong, loud, women" in the Black community. This stereotype was probably formed from this historical context.
-Another historical account from the Asian perspective, other than the more widely known railroad working men, Asian women were being bought and transported from China with promises of a great life only to find that they've been sold into sexual slavery because they were in "high demand" due to the idea they were the "ultimate" in femininity. Again, there are echoes of this past in today's society with the stereotype that Asians are quiet and subservient. Here, instead of a masculinization of females there's a hyper-feminization of females.

With these historical contexts set, I bring up the case mentioned in class about the Asian woman shooting the Black girl. There is a huge play of gender roles here but hidden in color. If it were between a man and a woman, who would have the more severe punishment?

As for the issue of gay men in the context of race, the issues of feminization of race or masculinization I should rephrase the question, "Is it more ok to be gay if you're Asian, Black, Caucasian, or Latino?" through the eyes of stereotypes, of course. [Keep in mind you may not see it the same way because of your background in higher education]
Here, the feminization of Asians, males are faced with the stereotypes of nerds, being super smart, quiet, and unable to lead... All these "submissive" female qualities are linked to being gay, but at the same time there is "no such thing as a lesbian Asian" and thus this invisibility to a subgroup.
Whereas, it's the other way around when it comes to Blacks, my professor posed the question in a stereotypical context, "Have you ever heard of a gay black man?" another inivisble subgroup.

Along with this there is the stereotyping of penis size? The larger the penis the more masculine one is, right?

Anyone notice how all of these stereotypes of masculinity and femininity fall along the color lines as well?

She also mentioned white privilege as well and how she uses it not only to get away with speeding on the freeway, but to try and break stereotypes and advance other people of color, sexual orientations, etc.

My thoughts were a bit mixed up when I was asking, "Is it more ok to be White and Gay or Asian and Gay?" What I really wanted to point out there [having maybe 5 thoughts linked to that statement] was with White privilege, being gay in the White community is more "accepted" than it would be in any others. With white privilege, my professor was stating, comes the ideology that if you're White you can do or be anything you want without stereotypes that limit like, "I'm Asian so I'm a bad driver." This is what is termed internalized racism, where any particular race will incorporate the stereotypical characteristics of that race and use it to justify their own actions.

Anywho, with the issue of white privilege, the prevelance of this paradigm makes for another invisible group, the low-income and under priveleged white. Which also brings to mind also, low income Asians ["because Asians are rich too"] also an invisible group, both of these at least in the context of stereotypes. What didn't conclude in class tonight, or with the realization, that this is more of an issue of class rather than issues of race. We have the upper class, which is predominantly rich, white, heterosexual men controlling us all like puppets by making us fight amongst ourselves so that we would never turn our attention towards them. Again, if you walk the walk, talk the talk, look the look, and act rich then you must be rich. We can't say it's just race and white privilege, we have to look at things from a multidimensional perspective to see what else is going on.

One lens isn't good enough for me, give me all the glasses and lenses of the world for me to look through, including my own! I get bored with just one way of looking at things. :-p

For those with an interest in Spirituality

Seems like most of the class is interested in some aspects of spirituality. You may enjoy this..

Latent functions - the twist of social paradox

• The manifest function of the law is to prevent transgression; the latent function of the law is to create transgressors.
• The manifest function of marriage is to form lasting unions of mid-level* support among adults and children; the latent function of marriage is to break those unions. The break comes from the insistence upon fidelity and mutual support, two ideals which are not always honored.
• The manifest function of social stratification is to parcel people into jobs that need to be done to maintain a group; the latent function of social stratification is to maintain class differences in distribution of social capital and thereby weaken the supply of the right individuals for jobs. Opportunity structures are family-filtered and strangle supply routes for individuals to positions.
• The manifest function of religion is to stop and calm people and unite them in peace with the force that is bigger than all of us and keeps the cosmic ecology intact; the latent function of religion is to divide people in groups that "think" they are better or that the other is worse. To be a group - to unite with some - is to divide from others. Think gangs.
• The manifest function of a democracy is to concentrate the will of the people into a small number of vessels (legislators) so that they can publically exchange ideas and make decisions; the latent function of a democracy is to control the masses of people through control of the legislators by the few so that their will rather than that of the people is done. When representatives become targets, some will fall.
• The manifest function of a formal organization with a reporting structure is to pursue its goal (e.g., manufacture something, make profit); the latent function of an organization with a reporting structure, particularly a large organization with a heavily bureaucratized authority structure, is to create entropy and to permit or disguise waste and corruption.
• The latent function of rationality is irrationality. think Pi.
• The latent function of overpopulation (population density) is population reduction through chaos and breakdown. (natural disasters, mass layoffs, divorce)
• The latent function of "the news" is to create fiction.
• The manifest function of distinguishing between manifest and latent functions is to clarify; the latent function of the distinction is to blur and blend social institutions into the complex and magical fabric of social life.

*mid-level: the "family" unit exists between the individual and the collective.