Journal #15

After reading "Border Patrol State", my biggest qualm with it is first of all that the Border Patrol is setting up checkpoints so far from the border.  95 miles away is ludicrous. The likelihood they actually catch someone that far from the border is slim.  It is also unbelievable that they stop people based on their color.  In Arizona, Latinos and Native Americans make up about 35% of the population.  If they detain and/or search every "brown" person, they would be doing so to about every third car.  And then there was the incident of Michael Elmer who shot a man in the back and hid his body yet was acquitted of murder on a self-defense claim.  Hearing about these kind of things happening in my own back yard, as I'm sure there are instances of such things in Texas as well, almost makes me ashamed of our government.  Its true that these are illegal immigrants, but they are still people and deserve to be treated as people.  If an officer shot an American citizen in the back, hid his body and then admitted to it in court he would be in jail for a long, long time.  By letting this man walk we are dehumanizing our Latino neighbors.  

I really like when Silko calls the situation of borde crossing as "the great human migration".  Describing  it as a force of nature that cannot and should not be stopped.  The anecdote at the end about the Indians riding in and on the train provided very good imagery to that idea of a force of nature.  

Journal #14

If I were a member of Cross's unit I would of course carry the standard array of can openers, dog tags, rations etc. that every member of the unit carries.  I would also carry some sort of small ball or frisbee that could be used to entertain myself and the other soldiers if there was time.  I might also carry a rubiks cube, cards or books to take my mind off of the situation.  I feel it would be important to have some sort of outlet to get away from it all mentally for a little bit every now and then.  I would carry Forrest Gump so that when the time came he could carry me.   I would definitely carry extra socks, because I have been hiking for extended periods and socks are critical to healthy and happy feet.  I would carry a machete for chopping things.  I would carry pictures of my loved ones so I would not forget them.  I think I would carry a sense of loyalty towards the other members of my unit as well as my country.  I would carry an obligation to protect both of them as they would for me.  I would carry a longing to be back in the states, to be with friends and family, to have a bed at night, to have real food to eat.  I would carry glasses cleaner, cause I imagine my glasses would get pretty dirty. I would carry an inhaler for my asthma. I would carry toilet paper for obvious reasons.  I would carry my own compass, maps and whistle in case I got lost or separated from the group.  I would carry some sort of candy for my own enjoyment.  And lastly, based on the era and the fact that I'm from Austin, I would probably be carrying some marijuana like Lavender did before he got shot.

Journal #13

Zitkala-Sa's story is a personal story of a successful American Dream.  Zitkala-Sa came from an oppressed people, though they were technically oppressed by the United States, obtained an education higher than many white women at the time.  Though her education experiences as a child were unenjoyable for her, she was still inspired to continue her education for the purpose of promoting Indian rights in America after seeing what had become of her people.  "Many schemes of running away from my surroundings hovered in my mind.  A few more moons of such a turmoil drove me away to the Eastern school."  At this point a white education is no longer something forced upon her, but something she is openly embracing for the betterment of herself and her people.  Her education is now important to her and she is proud when she achieves her diploma.  Not only has she become a well educated  Indian woman, but she has proved herself to be among the top scholars of her age by winning multiple oratory contests.

Journal #11

After reading "As the Lord Live, He Is One of Our Mothers Children", I was struck by the difference between the townspeople at the beginning of the story, during the mob and the townspeople at the end of the story.  At the beginning the warning whistles bring all the people together, away from their jobs in the mines and from every corner of the town to join a mob that is actually being helped by the police.  I cant imagine that they all understood what was going on before the man from Dover City began speaking, so it is here that we can see the beginning of the mob mentality.  The mob rushed "down the the serpentine boulevard for nearly two miles... swelling like an angry torrent".  It was just an angry mob until the man spoke: "I have come here today to assist you in teaching the blacks a lesson.  I have killed a nigger before and in revenge of the wrong wrought upon you and yours I am willing to kill again."  This gave the angry mob a purpose and mission, which creates a very dangerous situation for everybody.  Hopkins mentions two incidents of innocent people being killed in the mayhem and others being severely beaten.  The town is under a single, mob mentality where no one is thinking for themselves.

Towards the end of the story when the poster for the "Gentleman Jim" is seen, the people seem very reasonable.  "Jones and him was two of the smartest and peaceablest niggers I ever seed."  This man, who was almost certainly a member of the mob that lynched Jones has just stated that they were two of the nicest Blacks he has ever seen and goes on to say that Jerry Mason, the man they are charged with murdering, harassed them for no reason.  The transformation from the mob mentality that would violently hang a man to the this individuals conscious is astounding.

Journal #9

In the post Civil War era, the newspaper and periodical industry exploded. Just fourteen years after the war, the number of magazines in America more than tripled, from the 700 published during the war to 2,400 and then jumped again to 3,500 by 1900.  Newspapers also went from 400 daily papers during the war to 850 by 1880 and 1,400 by 1900.  Magazines and newspapers devoted much of their space to poetry and prose fiction which was a key factor in their rapid growth. And with the development of new printing technologies, magazines and papers could have colorful, lavish covers and illustrations at relatively low costs which meant that the average person could still read them.  This resulted in an estimated readership of 65 million people by the turn of the century.

This growth of the periodical industry is the opposite of what is happening today.  In the the modern era, newspapers and periodicals are rapidly losing business, at least in the paper version.  Among the many benefits of the internet is the easy access to news.  Everything that one would find in a newspaper or magazine can now be found online much faster.  Online news can also be updated constantly, which allows us to know about events moments after they happen.  Why would people buy or subscribe to periodicals if they can get the same information of for free at the touch of a button?  People can even get this information on their mobile phone, wherever they are.  The newspaper has had its time but it is quickly coming to an end.

Journal #8

After reading Jefferson Davis's Inaugural Address, I got the impression that the South felt that they were superior the the North.  Jefferson clearly states that he believes the North is completely to blame for this conflict and that the South is innocent.  "We are doubly justified by the absence of wrong on our part, and by wanton aggression on the part of others".  The South see's the efforts by Northerners to fight for the basic human rights as a blatant attack on them.  It is also preposterous that Davis believes the "courage and patriotism of the people of the Confederate States" is justified, when they have just succeeded in breaking a nation in half.  That is the complete opposite of courage and patriotism, to solve an issue by running away from it.  

In Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address he points out the difference between the South and the North: "one side would rather make war than let the nation survive; and the other would accept war rather than let it perish".  This clearly shows the foul intentions and lack of patriotism that South had.  They would split apart the nation their grandfathers and fathers had worked so hard to win and build over slavery.  I can not imagine how these people could hold slaves in the first place and keep a clear conscious, but then to destroy something so precious and valuable so they could continue and expand such an institution.

Journal #7

            In "The Farewell of a Virginia Slave Mother to Her Daughters Sold into Southern Bondage", Whittier gives slaves some of their humanity back by speaking as a slave woman being separated from her family.  White owners worked hard to dehumanize slaves, giving themselves the idea that slavery was the natural state for Africans and that they enjoyed it.  Yet in this poem we can see just how human the slaves really were.

            The speaker describes the South as a place “where the slave whip ceaseless swings, where the noisome insect stings, where the fever demon strews poison with the falling dews, where the sickly sunbeams glare through the hot misty air”.  Just as no white person who has to work outside all day would want to live in a hot, humid, insect ridden place where there is the constant threat of disease and beating, neither would a black person.  It is not human nature to want to live in such a place. 

            The speaker also speaks of the maternal comforts that her children will not be able to receive from their mother.  In the second stanza, Whittier describes how she will never be able to watch over or listen to or comfort her children; which is essential to the development of children.  Especially for children that will be going through such hardships as slave children go through, to not have a mothers arms to go to at the end of the day is devastating.  By showing that this mother recognizes the importance of love and comfort towards her children should alert any reader that slaves are indeed human.  Hopefully this poem would have touched the hearts of slave owners, helping them to understand just what they are doing when they tore apart these human families.

Journal #6

            It can easily be seen how being black is an extreme burden, even when one has been freed.  Linda's lover was a free man of upstanding character who truly loved Linda and "believed her to be a virtuous woman". He saw how beautiful she was and wished to marry her.  He wished to have a family as any free man should be able to do.  But still he feels the turmoil of his race, because the majority of African-Americans at this time are enslaved and very few masters would allow a slave, especially a woman to marry a free man.  So while in theory this man is free, he is still a slave to race and the limits it puts on the way he can live his life.  

            Slave owners at this time found it appalling for a slave to love another, especially a freed black.

            "'Do you love this nigger?' said he, abruptly.

            'Yes sir'

            'How dare you tell me so!' he exclaimed, in great wrath."

            Here the slaves are not necessarily caught between cultures, but between human and animals.  They are denied the right to love another of the same species, a basic human emotion.  Slavery is dehumanizing not only in that the slaves are forced to work like animals, but also that they are expected to act and feel as animals, with no human emotion.  And this causes great conflict between the slaves and their owners.  It is criminal to take away the Africans peoples culture as slave owners sought to do, but it is even more horrendous to rob them of the simple emotions that separate them from actual beasts of burden.

Journal #3

In "The Wife", Irving's portrayal of women puts them in the backseat of society.  He states that women are "mere dependents and ornaments of man" and are there only to share in the prosperity of the man.  "And how, in the midst of applause, her eye would still turn to him, as if there alone she sought favour and acceptance". Wives are always seeking the approval of their husbands, no matter who else is giving it to them.  The relationship in times of prosperity involves the woman serving the man by basically looking good in the delicacies he provides.  But in times of misfortunes for the man, the women's role changes.  She is still supposed to serve him but now it is by being a crutch he can lean on.  A wife should become almost motherlike, becoming the "stay and solace" to support the "drooping head" and mend the "broken heart" the man will endure when he faces hardship.  And this is actually a very important role, according to Irving.  He says that men with a wife to console them are more likely to bounce back from hardships, namely economic ones.  He argues that womanly support stimulates the man to exertion by keeping their self respect alive and soothing their spirits. This brings to light  the saying that behind every great man there's a great woman.  Historically it is the men that come to prominence but in many cases it is women that are the foundation on which they do their work.

Journal #2

A little over halfway through last semester, I was made the captain of the Ultimate Frisbee team here at TCU. I became captain just in time to be in charge for the biggest tournament of the year.  And even working to bring together a team which had worked together all year was not easy.  And now as we are trying to incorporate and teach freshman into the team, the task has become even more complicated.  I am only trying to bring 30 or so people together from one community, I cannot imagine what it was like to bring together 13 separate colonies each with thousands of people to believe and concentrate on one cause. And just as I use non verbal communications in the form of emails and text messages to effectively communicate to my team, revolutionists used their most effective forms of written word, newspapers and pamphlets that could be produced in mass and spread throughout the colonies to let everyone know what was happening.  This allowed everyone to be involved in the movement as my emails allow everyone to know when practices and tournaments are.

Journal #1

            Our class discussion did not change my opinion of what it means to be an American.  Americans are a very nationalistic and proud people, as was demonstrated by the images displayed in the videos we watched.  We are brought together by powerful symbols that demonstrate our core values.  For instance the Statue of Liberty is well known as a sign of liberty and freedom as well as giving hope to people entering our country in an effort to make a better life for themselves.  Like Emma Lazarus said in “The New Colossus”, exiles to come to us for refuge and safety and new beginnings. And that is something that we hold very dear to our hearts, the fact that as a nation we represent hope and opportunity for people all over the world.  Though I do feel that in some ways this slightly skews our view of the world.  It can give the impression that everyone else idolizes us and wants to be like us when in fact that is not always true.  Places such as the Washington and Lincoln Monuments show both the struggle and perseverance that we faced in our beginnings as well as how far we have come in a relatively short time, which is something else to be very proud of.  We did not discuss this in class, but I do believe that in some ways we are hypocrites.  We are proud of the fact that we are the land of opportunity and hope for oppressed peoples while we have a history of oppressing people, even to this day.  Namely the Native Americans who we have forced off their lands, a fact that often goes overlooked. But overall Americans are very proud of their country, while sometimes slightly arrogant and ignorant of the world around them.