CNN: Black in America

So for about 6 months I waited with extreme enthusiasm for the CNN Special led by Soledad O'Brien, "Black In America". The network began advertising the special at the beginning of 2008, leading up to the date, and the soundbite and clips looked very interesting, "Pain, Pride, Struggle, and Success: what it Means to be black in America." The first part, titled "The Black Woman & Family" aired lastnight, with the second part, "The Black Man" beginning in about 20 minutes.

Alas! I was SOOOOOOO very disappointed. Did I say I was disappointed? I was SO VERY disappointed. It was not at all what I expected. I expected Soledad to uncover the stereotypes, myths, and distortions that are made about black people in America. Instead, the report seemed to fan them! Believe me, I know the state of Black America is not where it seems it ought to be, but the depictions of poverty, underachieving school children is the exception not the norm. Julianne Malveaux, president of Bennett College said it best, most black people are NOT poor. One-third, or 33% of black people live in poverty--the rest of the 66% do not. And yet, the image that rises to the forefront of poverty to many is a black American. The fact is most of the poor in America are whites. They make up about 60% of the poverty-stricken. It happens that 13% of the U.S. are black people, so with poverty rates at 1/3 in this demographic, that's a pretty BIG proportion.

Anyway, I have to go set my VCR to tape the rest of the special that I had planned to show in my SOC classes. But now, I'm not so sure this piece will be useful to my students--who may already carry erroneous pre-conceived notions about blacks. I'm afraid this will add fuel to the fire.

Gun Deaths

There was an article in the Fayetteville Observer newspaper Sunday stating that a pawn shop here in Fayetteville had seen gun sales among women jump 50% the prior week. They attributed the spike to the recent deaths of two young female soldiers, Megan Touma and Holley Wimunc. Touma,23, who was 7-months pregnant, was found dead in a Fayetteville hotel, along with a note suggesting that she was murdered by a serial killer. The Fayetteville Police Department quickly put an end to that salacious falsehood citing the note had no credence whatsoever. Nevertheless, it's evident that panic ensued in Fayetteville households, probably among those headed by single mothers or army wives whose husbands are deployed.

I wonder if the newspaper will report on the spike of gun-shot wounds or deaths among children that occur in the next 2-5years? And here is the rest of it.

Symbolic Interaction

Symbolic Interaction is the third in a trilogy of Sociological Perspectives taught in an introductory Sociology course. The basics of which are founded upon the idea that in every human behavior there is a meaning attributed to the behavior. For instance, let's take cheating. I just read on a black gossip blog (nameless cause I'm a little ashamed that I even read the mess) that Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith have an open marriage--meaning they sleep with other people when they get ready, as long as they forewarn the other. The act of "adultery", or having an extramarital sexual relationship holds different consequences depending on the meaning of the marriage, functions of the marriage, and the meaning of sex in the relationship(s). Having an affair may end a marriage for some couples because the spouse understands having sex or an emotional relationship with someone else to mean they are being disrespected or un-loved. In the case of Smith and Pinkett-Smith it means they may be attracted to someone else and want to have sex with them--and it doesn't have to interfere with the marriage. It's that simple.

In our society, we learn and agree that sex outside of marriage is non-virtuous, i.e. something we shouldn't do. Thus, our actions dictate how we will/should behave in a relationship. If a mate cheats, we feel hurt, contempt, anger, sadness, and decide whether to dissolve the relationship or work it out--based on the meaning that the action of "cheating" holds.

Symbolic Interaction is a micro-level approach because it observes society from individual interactions rather than macro-level or large-scale view as does Structural Functionalism or Social-Conflict. I'm also a little ashamed to admit that Symbolic Interaction is perhaps my favorite theory. Ashamed because it's by far the easiest to use in terms of explicating human behavior, especially if you have good working knowledge of the historical context of everyday behaviors. Symbolic Interaction is also easier for Westerners to grasp because it's focus is the individual rather than the widespread influence of group dynamic.

When we interpret symbols to mean different things, then we have problems. Luckily for the Smiths, their understanding has led to a 13+ year marriage. In Hollywood, that's golden!!!

For more Sociology and social science spice, check out the Social Science Network group on Facebook.com!

Gas Prices

So gas here in Fayetteville, NC is now averaging $4.04 a gallon for regular unleaded. For me that's about $280 a month to commute 50 miles from home. Needless to say, it's a huge household expense, and I have found myself skipping a meal or two to adjust for the expense. It's ludicrous when I think just two years ago, the amount I pay in gas per month was my weekly net income. I'm not sure what other people are doing to put gas in their cars--one thing I'm not doing is staying in the house. I tried, but I just can't. I refuse to be a hostage to this insanity. At the same time, I wonder if I'm contributing to the problem.

Economists say the reason for the high gas prices is demand. I'm not sure if I buy any of the reasoning for the prices, but it doesn't help that middle class Americans like myself are probably invested in the oil companies through our mutual funds and 401Ks thereby fueling (pun intended) the very problem we lament. Although there doesn't seem to be an end in sight, I hold out hope. Whoever the next president of the United States will be I think he will be forced to explore alternative energys, which will spur the future of electric mobilization and dare I say it: aero-cars!!! Ya'll probably think I'm crazy, but to officially refute those who talk about the "end-of-days" theory to explain the craziness in the world, we're nowhere near the end of days because we haven't yet seen the engineering of flying cars. Anyway, I'm not sure if flying cars is the answer to lower gas prices, but I'm not sure staying home is the answer either. But I do know that divesting in oil companies, the Iraq war, and spending money to research alternative fuels is! And here is the rest of it.

Social Conflict

Ahhh, social conflict theory. Typically, the second sociological perspective discussed in an Introductory Sociology course. Functionalism, which sees society operating as a system of interrelated parts for the functioning of the whole--much like a human body--Social Conflict then is like its antithesis and represents the power struggle between groups in society. Karl Marx often takes the credit for this theory because of his pioneering writings on the inherent differences in class systems associated with capitalism. This approach has spawned many theories, the most popular perhaps--Feminist Theory and Racial-conflict theory. In class, it's hard for me to explain there are INHERENT differences between groups. I believe that most people and groups of people want the same. The methods and techniques they choose to achieve these things happen to vary, and the gray matter in between makes social conflict theory less concrete in times of social stability or perceived stability. But as there is a cause and effect for all phenonema, then maybe there can be inherent differeces between groups.

Let's look at the class system in the U.S.: As Americans, we live and die for the American dream (spouse, house, car, 2.5 kids, and a dog). More recently it includes upgrades like a 3,000sqft. house, and a Hummer--essentially equating to more living space to accomodate less family. We may work like hell, skipping family vacations and recitals in order to achieve this dream, yet rarely take the time to realize that our hard work most likely will not make us financially richer, rather we work for the profit-making of company owners. But if we can get the shared symbol of power and success (the spouse, house, car, kids, and dog), then working like hell is the sacrifice. If the working class felt exploited, maybe they would revolt as Marx suggested they should. This inherent difference between the working class and the company owners has become blurred since Marx's day, from opportunities to middle management advancement in corporate America to the representation of the middle class in the U.S.

In this time of social instability, the line between the haves and the have-nots is becoming clearer. Social conflict argues that change is beneficial for society and perceives of how conflict can even settle complex issues. Needless to say "change" has become a buzzword in the current political climate. It will be interesting to see how sociological theory will change upon the settling of differences between so-called inherently conflicting groups.