Whiteness

At first I couldn't come up with anything for a time where I really noticed my gender/race and then Mr. Kunkle told his story about being in a McDonald's and he was the only white guy. This reminded me of when I went to Africa.

When I went on my trip even though it was mainly just me and my two aunts that were white in my aunts village I never really felt out of place, but now that I look back on it there are somethings that I now remember that stick out about me being white.

The main thing that I remember is that whenever we went to some market place to buy/bargain with people they all set the prices really high. A lot of them thought that just because we were white that we had a ton of money. They assumed this with out even thinking about it. It was just something that they see and automatically relate it to. White people equal money in their world and that's that.

When I Was Young

Being censored. Everyone can probably come up with at least one time that they have been censored. Censoring is a very common thing, but I just haven't really noticed it until we were told to think about it.

It actually kind of amazes me how much we are censored. Just from our friends, family, and teachers alone. Like not being able to say what we think in some classes because the teacher doesn't want to get into some kind of debate or you and a friend have a different view on something and she feels strongly one way and you feel strongly the other.

Even the news censors a ton of things. Now some things I understand that you have to censor it otherwise their could be huge disagreements and they want to some what keep the peace, if you will, of the people.

So, that night when I went home censorship was very much at the front of my mind and I started noticing things just within my family. Like my mom, dad, and I would all just tell my younger sisters to be quiet because they don't know what their talking about. Even if they do a little, we just think they don't need to be talking about those kinds of things.

My youngest sister Jenna loves to watch moves way out of her age range, for example Hancock, which is rated pg-13 and she is only 6 years old. So my parents have to say no.

Also my mom and I would be talking about some one close to us and my mom doesn't want my sisters to be a part of the conversation. First off so they don't accidentally say something to that person and secondly she doesn't think they will understand or it is "adult talk" as parents always say.

When I was young I can recall the same things happening to me. For example having to get a sheet signed by your parents to be able to watch a movie because it is rated pg, but it has a swore word in it.

My last example is of the day that 9/11 happened. I remember that the teachers weren't allowed to turn on the t.v. and it was all hush, hush. They said that the reason they had to do that was because they wanted your parents to share the news just in case you knew someone that worked in the twin towers.

So, ultimitly what I'm trying to say is that I haven't relized that it was such a part of our lives until I actually thought about it a little.

Relating Two Texts

In class last we one of our assignments was to find a poem about war. After we had done that we were to get in a group of two or three and share them. One of the people in my group had a great poem that we could easily connect to one of the poems in the packet.

This poem is "In Flanders Field" by Dr. John McCrae.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

I connected this poem to "The Man He Killed," one of the poems in the packet that Mr. Kunkle gave us. Other than them both being related because they are about war, they are related in a couple of other ways also. The one that popped out at me the most was the concept of that they all are normal people and if they weren't fighting each other they wouldn't be enemies and they probably would have gotten along just dandy.

So, in the poem written by McCrae it talks about how "We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow." In those two lines it is explaining how they are dead, but it doesn't matter who is dead, just that people from both sides are dead. And the day before they were alive, and both sides felt dawn and saw sunset glow.

In the "The Man He Killed," it explains how if it were under different conditions the man that he met he probably would have sat down and had a beer with him but because he as an "enemy" he shot him instead.

Another relation that just occurred to me that I wanted to mention real quick was that I found it interesting that instead of using the word enemy they both used the term "foe." And I was kind of curious as to why that would be.