Culture Shock

In class on Monday Sal had us do an experiment with a card game. We were divided into different groups and given the rules for our game. After about 10 min we had to play our game in silence then once we had a winner and loser each moved onto a different table as we got two new members in our group. Little did we know each group had a different set of rules and without being able to talk we could not play the game properly. This is what people who join a new culture experience. Many do not know the language or customs when they first arrive in a new setting. They are thrust into an experience and are just expected to know what they should be doing. I can't even begin to imagine how hard that must be on those who go through it. I overall thought this lesson did a great job of explaining culture shock.

Our Groups

It is known that the groups we associate ourselves with influence us no matter what group it is. I believe that due to this influence sometimes people are wrongfully associated with characteristics of the given group. While these characteristics may sometimes be true I believe it is wrong for people to judge based on your group and the members in it. A good example of this is in the movie A Bronx Tale where C is friends with a group of neighborhood kids who are racist towards black people. During one instance his friends beat up a group of black kids. C had nothing to do with it and in fact tried to help some of the boys. However, when C ran into one of the black boys he pointed the finger at C saying he beat him. I believe that this is because C was wrongfully accused just because of his group. While C could choose not to be involved with these kids I don't believe it is right for him to be characterized as a bad kid because of his friends. I think this lesson should carry over into our everyday life and we should stop judging people based on their groups.

Should We Generalize?

This week in Sal's class we read an interesting article titled Should We Generalize? It talked about how because we are humans we are hardwired to make generalizations whether good or bad. We do this because when walking into a totally new situation we prepare ourselves in what to expect due to our generalizations. However, after reading this I realized that sometimes we make some that could be considered stereotypical. This is done because we file people and experiences into categories so we just assume that for example every kid that goes to our high school is upper to middle class. It is these kinds of generalizations that we need to work on changing. I am making it a goal to limit my negative generalizations and look at everyone in a new light. This will hopefully open new opportunities to meet new people and live a better life.

What Would You Do?

In class we read the short story Survivors of F227 which is about a rugby team that was traveling to a game when their plane crashed into the Andes Mountains. After being stranded for months their food supply ran out and they were forced to make a decision. Given the fact that the deceased were still composed they made the decision to start eating the dead. This is something that we can't even comprehend. They had to overcome tough mental obstacles and to get over these the survivors created a mindset that redefined their social construction of reality. They convinced themselves it was ok to eat the bodies since they no longer had souls while others told themselves it was what God wanted them to do. They created a new society and that society required rules which consisted of no eating woman or children, no one was forced to eat, and everyone was given an equal amount of food. This new lifestyle that they chose to adapt to helped them survive until they were eventually rescued.

Sociological Imagination

After our lesson in class on sociological imagination I came to the relazaiton that many things affect me and I also affect many things. I noticed that the people I associate myself with impact me and who I am. Also I was affected by where my parents chose to move and because of that I attend one of the top high schools in the country. This lesson made me realize that I am extremely fortunate and that not many high schoolers are as fortunate as my classmates and I. We are blessed to have many things that others dont have including brand new computers, a brand new turf football field, and a brand new library. However, we are blessed with things we often take for granted one of those includes food. 20% of American childern don't know when there next meal is going to be. I am grateful for the lesson on sociological imagination and how it affects everyone around us.