Jake terHorst

Christina Ivey

COMM 160-001

28 September 2017

September Blog Post

             “Fear is what makes us great”. This is a quote from page 61 of Man Up, by Andres Gomez. Most people in the world would not agree with this quote. And most people live their life in the opposite fashion, where fear makes them worse. No matter what side you believe, you could be right. Both viewpoints are true, with just one factor making all the difference- courage. The courage to overcome that fear is what turns fear into a great motivator. Without it, that fear would keep you from whatever you had set out to accomplish. From that same page, Gomez says that ‘courage is never the absence of avoidance of fear; it is a deep inhalation of it- a frightened shallow breath turned into a powerful shout or belted song note”. Harnessing that fear and turning it into strength makes all the difference in the world. Fear is defined by Merriam-Webster as “an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by expectation or awareness of danger”. But, as Gomez states, fear can only occur when there is something to be gained or lost. Whether it is being afraid of a big public speech, or afraid to play in the championship game, or afraid of what your crush might say, fear can only happen when there is something on the line. Fear can also be that hindrance that keeps you from winning what’s on that line. That is why Gomez stresses in his book to channel that fear. When he made that decision to be so obsessively motivated to overcome his fears, that is what has pushed him to the successful stage that he is now at. After all of those childhood fears, which he found different ways to cope with, starting with the night-light, he excelled because he pushed past. I just hope that I can muster up that same courage to channel my fear, and use it in a way that benefits me.

Blog 2 Mitchel Collins

Mitchel Collins

Professor Ivey

Communication 160

27 September 2017

Robot’s Toys

For this blog, I wanted to discuss the reading we had about mythologies by Barthes, specifically about his chapter called french toys. This chapter really got me thinking about the change of toys just in my lifetime. I remember having legos and wood blocks when I was growing up that I had to use my imagination to create toys and objects that I wanted. However I remember having toys that were pre made like GI joes and little robots that came pre made. I got those toys because I begged and cried to my parents that they were what I wanted. We normally got these toys on special occasions such as christmas. However, these toys only help our love and attention till july, and then it was begging and planning on getting new toys for the next christmas.

Now that I’m older, I see how weird and scary it was that advertisements had such a hold over me making me believe that these toys were essential to my life. Whats even scarier is that these advertisements have gotten so good and widespread nowadays that kids believe that needing these toys are part of their culture.

Now that these kids believe that these pre made, no emotional attachment toys are the only toys in their culture, it becomes a myth.

Mitchel Collins

Professor Ivey

Communication 160

27 September 2017

Robot’s Toys

For this blog, I wanted to discuss the reading we had about mythologies by Barthes, specifically about his chapter called french toys. This chapter really got me thinking about the change of toys just in my lifetime. I remember having legos and wood blocks when I was growing up that I had to use my imagination to create toys and objects that I wanted. However I remember having toys that were pre made like GI joes and little robots that came pre made. I got those toys because I begged and cried to my parents that they were what I wanted. We normally got these toys on special occasions such as christmas. However, these toys only help our love and attention till july, and then it was begging and planning on getting new toys for the next christmas.

Now that I’m older, I see how weird and scary it was that advertisements had such a hold over me making me believe that these toys were essential to my life. Whats even scarier is that these advertisements have gotten so good and widespread nowadays that kids believe that needing these toys are part of their culture.

Now that these kids believe that these pre made, no emotional attachment toys are the only toys in their culture, it becomes a myth.

“It can be hard to stand up straight in a crooked room”

In the Harris- Perry document of Crooked Room, the black woman is discussed, and the trials and tribulations that have come with that title. Although I can not identify with that title, I did think that the quote from chapter one of the book was relatable and relevant to all. 

To stand up in a crooked room is to be your own person in a world that constantly tries to shape you into the person society wishes for you to be, whatever that may mean to you. For each individual, our perceptions of what others want for us and what we want for ourselves are vastly different, it is the difference between our ought self and our actual self. The crooked room, in this sense, is a metaphor for perhaps the “crooked” world that surrounds us. To stand up in the crooked room in the book is confusing, and everyone seems to think that they are correct the way they are standing, which also seems true to the world we live in. 

Melissa Harris-Perry discusses image in this passage. Specifically, she talks about the image of the black woman, however, I think the message can be applied to all. Stated on page 32 is, “sometimes black women can conquer negative myths, sometimes they are defeated, and sometimes they choose not to fight”. Referring back to the original quote, it can be difficult to stand up for yourself in the crookedness that is negative perceptions, stereotypes and myths that others place on you. 

In order to figure out which way is up in this world, it seems as though the only answer would clearly be not succumbing to the degrading and societal molds our communities and our histories try to force us into. Melissa Harris- Perry continues on to say “whatever the outcome, we can better understand sisters as citizens when we appreciate the crooked room in which they struggle to stand upright”.  

In a discussion on NBC television network, the concept of the crooked room is analyzed in a segment entitled “Sister Citizen’: The history, future, and paperback.” The woman speaking exemplified powerful black women in our society such as Michelle Obama, as well as notable public figures like Beyonce. She explained how “…because these women help us to understand how modern black women find their true north in a room still made crooked by shaming stereotypes”. It is important to understand that the culture of America is changing, and in order to continue to progress it is going to take the understanding of concepts such as the Crooked Room.

‘Sister Citizen’: The history, future, and paperback. (2013, April 28). Retrieved September 29, 2017, from http://www.nbcnews.com/video/mhp/51693367

Blog Post 2

The article "Man Up" gave me a deeper understanding of the social pressures that men deal with. Being a girl and being encouraged to be affectionate, emotional, and gentle is sometimes hard to recognize how men feel in regards to sometimes having to deny their emotions, act bold and masculine all the time. In the article Andres Gomez gives us an insight that for the most part men and women do process things the same, I could tell he was socially driven to not let his Father down and how he struggled to live up to being the best when circumstances didn't go his way. I was able to understand that self identity is constructed through social expectations and how we should do our gender. Now days as a girl I too feel pressured that I need to be more like the boys, to break the stereotype that girls can compete and keep up with the boys. The pressures are always changing but the pressure is always there. After reading this article it reminded me of my siblings. My older brother was in the military, he grew up doing sports and competing, and his friend group always did manly things. I noticed that he bonded better with Amy who was the less girly of the three sisters. My and my older sister were similar in terms of being more sensitive and girly. And throughout the years there was always a pressure from my brother that his sisters needed to be more like him and join the military to gain those skills of toughness. I love my brother, but reflecting back I question what his thought process is about going about doing the things he did in terms of living up to the standards of being man.

comm 160 001 sept blog post - kyle cady

Kyle Cady

Comm 160 001

Ivey

Sept. Blog Post

Sentence – pg. 98 ch. 6: Most of the time we use perception and identity in pretty simple ways.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/head-games/201612/how-do-people-view-men-tattoos

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/annie-singer/tattoos-in-the-workplace-_b_9321408.html

            I wanted to talk about this sentence because I found some inaccuracies. Identity and perception really aren’t simple topics, especially in today’s society. Perception is a big deal to me personally. I am someone who is young, financially stable, employed, I have my own house, and along side of all that, I have more than a few tattoos. When people see me, they don’t see any of the “positive’ things about me or any of the success I have achieved in my life. All that they see when they look at me or their perception of me, is that I have a lot of tattoos. Therefore, they tend to come to the conclusion that I am a bad person, a criminal or just a dirty and rugged individual. When I got my tattoos, I didn’t get them for anyone else. They are on MY body, and that is all I care about. Tattoos make me happy, despite my fear needles, I don’t mind getting drawn on with a tattoo needle. I enjoy it and see it as a type of therapy. The most disturbing thing someone had said to me one time regarding my tattoos happened just a few months ago at the beginning of summer at a local auto parts’ store around the corner from my house. I was sitting their on my custom Harley-Davidson talking to a buddy of mine that works at the parts store when an elderly woman pulled up, leaving her car running. She got out and explained that her battery was dead and she didn’t want the car to die. It was at that moment she looked at me with a straight face and said, “please don’t steal me car..” I did not know how to respond. I was in shock at first and looked at my buddy like “what the hell just happened?” That woman’s perception of me was that I am a thief, a criminal and up to no good. Little does she know, I made the dean’s list with honors at BSU the last two semesters, and I am actually pretty well of for someone my age. That didn’t matter to her though and that bothered me quite a bit. Perception is a big deal and often overlooked when people have preconceived notions about others. Instead of approaching and getting to know someone, people tend to judge from what they see right in front of them. This is something that personally, I am working on in my own life with others around me with the hope that they begin to do the same to others in their life.

            When it comes to identity, this is a touchy subject for most people due to the fear of alienating or offending someone that may have a different belief. I feel a certain way on  a lot fo issues, politically and socially. However, at the end of the day I absolutely do not look down on people just because they are different in some way than I am. There is no point to that. It creates unnecessary drama and social problems. If people were just a little more open minded when it comes to other peoples’ happiness or what gives them more self confidence, then this world would be a better place. This is where communication plays a big part. Most people when they talk about touchy subjects, don’t know how to appropriately convey a message in a manner that can be discussed openly. People that are passionate about certain issues tend to overlook other peoples’ feelings and as long as they get their point across, then who cares how others may react or feel. There is a right way and wrong way to do things. Just because something is right, or allowed, doesn’t mean that it is appropriate or necessary. I am a firm believer in the 1^st amendment and everyone’s right to express themselves and I will stand up to anyone regardless of personal beliefs, in order to defend that. My issues lie when arguments become personal attacks and the whole point of the display or presentation becomes meaningless. This is exactly why I became a communication major; I wanted to master communication so that in the future, I am prepared in any situation. Personally, I don’t care what people identify as or what they do in their bedroom or whatever the topic may be. It doesn’t affect me. Where I tend to run into issues is when I am trying to have an open conversation with someone who believes/feels differently than I do, and the discussion quickly turns into attacking my credibility. I would never tell someone they are WRONG for what they believe. All I can do is talk to them. Whether they change their mind or not is up to them. Now, if I don’t agree with someone else, I just walk away or change the subject. There is no point and nothing positive that can come from being verbally abusive with someone.

            Perception and Identity are important topics of discussion and I look forward to the day that neither myself nor another party is looked down upon for their beliefs and feelings. A perfect world would be where people of different backgrounds can talk openly with others despite their differences in opinions. That all starts with communication.