How lucky am I really?

To live the "American Dream" is to get married, having a good job, nice cars, a house, and kids. This idea is what many american's strive for, its the goals set up for them to meet. When dealing with people who are in poverty to reach any such dream seems impossible. To have the money to go to school, get a job (a good one) and be able to support kids. How did this become the "dream?" To realize that material things matter to this society. To have the higher status, is to look down on others. At the moment I realize how lucky I am, to be going to PLU, having my grandparents pay my rent, to make it easier on me, so I didn't have to work as much.

Community service vs. Volunteering

Today I did another shift at the fish food bank. This time I noticed more than before that some of the older people volunteering were taking food aside for themselves to take home. I didn't really know if this was right or not because this is a food bank need to give to the less fortunate. Also, I notice that when krystal went into the walk-in cooler to get a water to drink she got yelled at. Said she couldn't be in there unless someone else let her. It made me have the idea that he thought she was someone doing "community service" rather than "volunteering". Did he think she was going to steal something? I'm really not sure. Later, we both were taking boxes of bread and putting them in the freezer, this was not a problem. I can see the stereotypes even at the food bank, although everyone is there to help, the people doing "community service" were seen differently.

It's not just a flag

After watching the "True Colors" film in class, it got me thinking. There is all of this justification how someone is not racist, in society. But where I'm from there are a lot of "hick's" having confederate flags as tattoo's, logo's on their trucks, etc. I was always offended that they would in a sense "wear it proudly". A girl I know just relates the flag with being a country girl. But that flag has so much more meaning. It just really bothers me the ignorance to tattoo something like that on your body. It's making a statement, to me, that their racist.

Half n' Half?

We have been talking about "white privilege" in class, and I wanted to ask a question. My boyfriend his dad is white, and his mom is Filipino. When people ask me what race he is I always reply Filipino. So although white is the agent in society why do people who have a white parent and a minority race parent do they consider themselves the minority?

I've been with my bf for 6 years, and when growing up my father had a big issue with this. He always said wasn't "WHITE", well he was, but only half. I was always given lectures on inter-racial relationships and how they don't work. How, he wanted to beat the shit out of him; just because he was with his daughter. Also, he looked down on me for dating him. But nonetheless I never cared. I saw him for him, didn't matter the race. I know society conforms these views of you should be with your own race, but I totally disagree.

Today at the food bank was interesting. The job I was assigned was to walk people through and tell them according to family size how much of what items they could have. I think it was kind of not "fair" that a single person, and a family with 2 get the same amount of food.

I also noticed in myself that I really felt cautious in touching these people. I would assume its because of the environment I was in. The people I was helping were "low-income". I myself put every person into different categories. It is society that by nature I myself want to do this. I feel bad for doing this, but society has taught me this. I just shows me how much effect society does have on me.

There were many people there, mostly seemed more Hispanic or older white people. Just by working with some of the people that were also volunteering, they seemed to had been there for a while; I noticed that the older white lady handing out certain food gave more to the older white people (who was like herself) then she did to the Hispanic. But if I was to give more I would get kind of yelled at. It seems, seniority there plays a role. I felt as if i was looked down upon, but why? I am there just to help, the same as everyone else volunteering.

After the discussion in today's class. I still ponder the feminist inequality. In the "The conundrum of difference" article it states , "Women as a group are economically disadvantaged in the U.S. Society today". Also, state that women make 65% of what men do. Is this because less women work in higher paid jobs? Or what? From my experience at community college there were more women then men. Then, coming to PLU its the same, more women then men. It seems to me that women are going to college more then men. But, thinking about this experience and looking at the stats doesn't add up to me.