1980

Waking up at 6 o'clock in the morning so I can have time to get my hair all feathered out and apply a mask of colorful make-up. I put on my acid wash jeans, my Ramones tee, and put on my studded leather jacket. I hop into my Dolorian and put The Clash up to 11, now I'm on my way to school. I walk into school passing by all the stereotypical cliques of the school: the jocks, the cheerleaders, the nerds, the band geeks, the artists, and my group the rebels/rockers. The bell rings and slowly saunter to class not giving a damn if I'm late and upon arrival, the teacher sends me to the Principal's office. When I do make it back to class I take my usual seat in the back and then proceed to either listen to music on my cassette player or fall asleep. The teacher drones on about how Regan's projects like Star Wars and Reaganomics will help America against the Soviets. Eventually the lunch bell rings and I take my rightful place at the outcasts table and eat the brown-bag lunch. The day goes by with little incident and after school I head to the record store. I look through all the vinyls and the 8-tracks until I find something I like, probably some Misfits or Iron Maiden. I go home to play pong, blasting music, and not doing any of my homework. I go downstairs to have a "nice" dinner with the parental units just nodding and grunting at everything they say and then go upstairs to talk to friends. At least five times I had to go yell at my younger brother for listening in on my phone call and then I go take a shower. I wash of the pound of make-up and completely ruin my perfectly quafted hair made by two cans of hairspray. I go to bed without having done any of my homework, falling asleep to Soft Cell's Tainted Love playing the background, thinking today was a productive day of doing nothing and that I can't wait to do it all again!

Hate Radio

In Hate Radio, author Patricia Williams talks about some of the underlying fears that racist talk shows prey on. An example she gives is "...grown people sitting around scaring themselves to death with fantasies of black feminist Mexican able-bodied gay soldiers earning $100,000 a year on welfare..." It is a ridiculous fear that sensible people don't typically have, but because of talk shows like Rush Limbaugh, they impregnate the minds of the ignorant with these types of images who readily soak it up and accept this as something that happens on a daily basis. A generalized contempt these shows express is that minorities are less intelligent than Caucasians and that many believe blacks are "lazy, violent, welfare-dependent, and unpatriotic." I agree with Williams and the point that she is trying to make. Right-wing talk shows, for the most part, spew hatred and contempt for anyone and anything that is different from the typical, white norm in society. These shows only hurt our country and our people by preaching hatred of others and fill people's heads with nonsense. There is no sort of positive impact on listeners from what I've heard listening from some of these shows. The hosts are only trying to move backwards in time to when segregation and hatred were commonly accpeted and practiced. In today's world Americans can't afford to be biggoted towards other people because America itself is very diversified.

Blog 5: Robin Hood

This is not the Walt Disney version of Robin Hood. Directed by Ridley Scott, director of Gladiator, the beloved children's classic is turned into a serious and edgy movie that is more appealing to older audiences. The movie has a genuine feel to it, it is not the typical glitzy Hollywood productions of Robin Hood we are use to. This movie is a darker version of Robin Hood that has never been done before. It has blood, epic battles, and romance, sort of like Gladiator. In the trailer we first see Robin as a young child whose beloved father is killed before his eyes. Later in life he comes across a tyrannical sheriff who over taxes the people of Nottingham. Robin gathers a band of men to stop the sheriff and bring wealth back to the people of Nottingham. For the movie Oscar winners Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett play Robin Longstride (Robin of the Hood) and Maid Marion. Russell Crowe is the perfect actor to portray this new version of Robin Hood because no one can play a historical bad ass better then him, see Gladiator. Cate Blanchett plays a sassy and independent Maid Marion who wins the affection of Robin Hood. While it is a story many have known since childhood, the newest version of Robin Hood is sure to give you a new perspective on a classic. From fabulous actors to epic battle scenes, what is not to like about this updated Robin Hood. This is a movie for an older audience who wants to see an action-packed blockbuster that keeps you enthralled and on the edge of your seat.

The link is on the bottom right, you should definitely watch it!

Blog 4: The Crow

The Crow is one of my all-time favorite movies and a really amazing comic book series by James O'Barr. The story revolves around the character Eric Draven and his unfortunate tragedy. Eric is assaulted and paralyzed by ruthless street thugs who then brutally rape and torture his fiancee, Shelly, and both end up dying. But fate has a different plan for Eric as he is brought back to life by a crow to avenge his and Shelly's murder. The crow is believed in Indian cultures to be the carriers of lost souls and have the ability to bring the dead back to life. He becomes a vigilante ridding the streets of the lowlifes that inhabit it. This is not a movie for people who are faint of heart because there is a good amount of violence and some drug use in it. In the movie Eric Draven is played by Brandon Lee, son of Bruce Lee. Tragically, near the end of filming Brandon was accidentally shot and killed on set. What I like about this movie is that it stays true to the original story O'Barr created. When you delve past the violence you find the story's true meaning, that justice and love can transcend the grave. It is a tragic story that has a happy ending in the sense that vindication has been achieved by Eric.

Protecting Dr. King's Legacy

One of the rights that was suspended in detention was that people believed to be connected to terrorists were detained for weeks, even months where no one knew where they were. Charges must be filed within 7 days for a suspected terrorist, or they must be released. Another problem is, if a family cannot find a family member who has been detained, how could they send a lawyer to defend them. They were pretty much told they had no right to counsel, even though it is illegal under the Miranda Rights to deny them that right. Majority of the people detained are Muslim or Arabic and are non-citizens. The Attorney General said that using these criterion is a primary reason for questioning people. 5,000 men between the ages 18-33 were questioned because they had come from countries known to have terrorist cells. This sounds just like racial profiling. To make matters worse, a law was passed to make detaining people easier. People lose their rights to come before a judge and their freedom rests solely with INS.

The rights of attorney-client privacy have been done away with. If you are suspected of terrorism, the government can listen into the conversation you are having with your attorney. That is if you can even get an attorney. An open trial can never be had with the violations of the attorney-clients privileges and suspects are denied the right to a trial by jury of their peers, which the Constitution clearly states every citizen has that right. Strossen does a terrific job of exposing the ugly truth of what are government is doing to people just because of their ethnicity. She gives statistics and information that I did not know about the people who were being detained. Strossen wrote an eloquent argument for the people who have been detained and all the injustices they have had to face, which most people couldn't argue against. I find very it difficult to try to counter argue the curtailments that were made against this powerful argument made by Strossen. There is no counterargument that can justify what our government did to thousands of innocent people just because of their race and beliefs.

Immokalee

In the Seminole language immokalee means "home." Though the Seminoles were the first to call Immokalee home, many people like cattle ranchers, farmers, pioneers, and migrant workers would eventually all call Immokalee home. Immokalee is a town that constantly changes, at first pioneers would trade with the native Seminoles and started a big cattle ranching town. Then Mayor Broward decided to drain the Everglades to make way for agriculture. The drainage caused Seminoles and other locals to find new ways of making a living. Not long after large reservoirs of oil were discovered which created numerous jobs for the people in Immokalee. Today Immokalee has a casino and an up and coming college that is putting it on the map. As time presses forward so will Immokalee and it will once again transform itself into something new.

I grew up in Boca Raton, FL and I definitely see a big difference between my home and Immokalee. Boca Raton means "mouth of rat" in Spanish, just a lovely name isn't it? Boca is known for its beaches which draws thousands of snowbirds every year during the winter season. Boca is also known for it's wealth and some of the big names that live there like Danny DeVito and Yanni. It's a place where on any given day I can see a Rolls Royce, a Lotus, someone being chauffeured in a limousine, and the Batmobile all in one place. Yes, we have the Batmobile, it's pretty freaking awesome! Most of the people in Boca are white, sometimes orange, and tend to be wealthy, old, or Jewish. Immokalee has more of a mix of different people who have assimilated in Immokalee through the years. One thing that both cities share in common is an interesting history. Boca Raton started out as three separate communities known as Pearl City, Ruby City, and Emerald City. Pearl City was the African American community, Ruby City was the Caucasian community, and Emerald City was the Japanese American Community. While both cities are different for the most part, they each bring something unique to the table.

I think Immokalee represents the ever-changing American Dream. As different races and cultures come to America, so do some interpretations of the American Dream. For Immokalee the first American Dream was raising cattle on the open ranges, then it became agriculture and the oil industry, and now it's become a place for tourism and higher education. As the times change so does Immokalee and it's American Dream. Over it's history people have come to live their American Dream in Immokalee because of all the different options it has had for people.

I see a few different industries that will drive Immokalee's future. The Seminole casino already brings in a good amount of tourism, but more tourism and money will be brought when the casino is expanded. People searching for higher education will come to Immokalee to attend the Ave Maria University. There is the airport in Immokalee that will grow and become a bigger stop for planes and the armed forces have a big chapter in Immokalee that will bring in more people to the area. Finally Immokalee still has a big agricultural business that continues to help the communtiy. Time will only make these industries bigger and better.

Immokalee never stays the same, the only things that seems to stay the same is change. Tens years from now Immokalee will be a large city people from all walks of life will visit and live there. There industries will be solid and have a big effect on the prosperity and growth Immokalee will come to see. Immokalee is like a diamond in the rough, it just needs to be polished and then it will become brilliant and vivacious. As time goes on Immokalee will only get better and truly make a name for itself.

Who and What is an American?

Lewis Lapham writes about how he just can't identify himself as just an American, but needs a pronoun infront to truly identify. That people have this need to label and group things that are different. It's realizing that the common ground that is important. Also, too many people aspire to become more alike, with fantasies of wealth and power. People are suppose to be diverse like the contestants on Let's Make a Deal, than look like The Stepford Wives. America is about the invention of self. That Americans are suppose to break the stereotypical molds, not conform to them. Americans are joined together "by complicity in a shared work of imagination." People love this country for the freedom it gives to its citizens, it's that simple. America is the only country where a cornucopia of people can, for the most part, come and live together in peace.

I find this article very interesting but also dated with some of the references he made. It was annoying having to ask my mother or look online to tell me some of the people Lapham referenced too. I agree with Lapham about how people aren't just American and must have a pronoun infront of American to have a "real" identity. I liked when he talked about the real Abraham Lincoln, finding out that he wasn't the perfect, stand-up guy our history teachers lead us to believe. My favorite part was when he compared the diversity of America to Let's Make a Deal, not the yachtsman at a dock in Kennebunkport. Americans are a diverse and colorful people that no other country has. I think the essay overall was well wriiten and executed, and I like a lot of the issues he brought up throughout.