Blog #3

The sentence that stood out to me the most for this month was actually more of a definition. “Autoethnography is also known for its commitment to diverse representational forms, vulnerable and evocative description, and articulating the particularities and complexities that comprise lived experience”. I’ve obviously heard of people telling their own stories in their words, but I never knew that there was a name for it or a deeper reasoning for using it. I think it’s important to be aware of when an author takes this route and to think critically about what message they are trying to convey to their readers.

            People may use autoethnography for a variety of different reasons, but I think prominently it’s to expose the truth behind messy and uncomfortable situations that you have to experience to actually understand. When authors are able to be vulnerable and express situations that happened to them in their life, they can create a deep connection with their reader. This can also give other people who haven’t experienced these problems personally, a better insight to what other people go through on a daily basis.

            While I was reading the article about family bullying, I was really intrigued because this is something I have never experienced and wasn’t really aware that it’s something a lot of people go through. I was able to see how much it really affected these people personally because they were willing to share their personal stories, which allowed me to visualize myself in their situations. This got deeper in our class discussion when other students began to share how this is something they have also experienced and can deeply relate too. Being able to hear these stories and now have a word to describe what it is that I’m hearing and reading allows me to expand my thoughts and views on life. This is now something I will watch out for and take more time and consideration while reading it because I know that it’s most likely a hard experience for the author to share.

I personally have never wrote something like this, but I imagine I could have some good insights on particular topics. I could write critically about moving away from all of my friends and family and I could write about losing a loved one. These are two events that I’m sure a large majority of people could relate too, but for those who can’t they could see what it’s like from my point of view. Hearing these stories from someone who has actually experienced them, could make them a lot more real for someone who hasn’t. I also imagine that if I were to write these articles, people who have experienced it would have some written form to relate to.  

In an article I found they continue to discuss the importance and sensitive nature of autoethnography writing. They mention that it’s able to express certain culture and life changing epiphanies that people have. It also emphasizes the thick description and detail that they contain. After learning more about the actual definition I also found some stories written by people that I think illustrate the fundamentals behind this kind of writing.

Links:

http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/1589/3095

http://eprints.maynoothuniversity.ie/5730/1/AR_changing.pdf

Blog 3: Jaymee-Lee Bulda

The sentence I chose is from the Keeping it Real: Race, Difference, and Corporate Ethics at Cocca- Cola by Patricia S. Parker.

"Yet charges of racial harassment in the workplace rose nearly 100% between 1990 and 2000"
-Winter (pg. 171)

The reason why I chose this quote was because how shocking those statistics are from 1990 to 2000 for it to increase completely is a huge eye opener. The biggest struggle over racial justice has shifted from the corporate hiring practices to the corporate cultures. It makes people focus on the issues of differences that are related to race, ethnicity, migration, and immigration. Racial justice is a huge issue that is happening all over the world right now. Judging someones color or race and not there work ethic or the overall picture of hiring them is flat out unfair. To judge someone solely based off of there race or color is setting them up before hand because the moment you see what they physically look like, the answer is set right there if racial issues are the reason for someone not being hired. I think having ethnicity is a great thing and it expands businesses and can make people and firms more comfortable for other people.

For example, when I was a freshman on the volleyball team here at BSU I was the only girl of color amongst 14 caucasian girls. It was definitely a culture shock for me, coming from a huge Hawaiian family oriented background. It took a lot of time for me to get used to but I did notice that they loved learning new things about my culture and lifestyle. As the year went by more girls of color were recruited and the team did start to get more balanced and it was nice to have that so you don't feel so alone sometimes.

Overall, the world can be a better place if racial issues were not as common as they are today. Due to the increased intercultural interaction in the past years, the cultural differences and perceptions of justice has made an increase and gained a lot of practical importance. Judging someone off of there color or race is not okay at all and it should be changed to make better changes in the world.


http://sk.sagepub.com/reference/management/n22.xml

March's Most Important Sentence

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FkMWEm_NFjlVGKLt5bPHaV6LwDngvzzLnNAlN-Agywg/edit

Blog # 3

            For this month’s blog post I am choosing to write about a sentence from the advocacy reading “Word Wielding Womb: Using the Body to Fight the War on Women” by Amy Arellano. The very first line written in this poetry begins “Battle lines have been drawn in our living room” I am choosing this sentence because I feel like this statement really makes a point that this subject applies to every household. The war on women is a constant topic whether it be abortion, rape, or oppression, it is an ongoing struggle for the women of our world.

            This poetry speaks up as a type of advocacy in response to how women are treated. What I found intriguing about this writing was it didn’t beat around the bush, it got straight to the point of rape and the repercussions it causes. She also discusses her personal feelings and experiences on the matter and I find that extremely brave.

            This reading got me thinking a lot about advocacy and it is something that I find very interesting because everyone has the power to speak up however not everyone does or knows how to get what they are saying heard. Webster defines advocacy in a multitude of ways. My personal favorite way of explaining the word is “the act or process of supporting a cause or proposal”. I personally connect with this definition because I think people get wrapped up in the idea of having to speak out or do something about a certain cause when there can be many other ways of helping, like by just supporting the cause. You can help out by simply signing a petition, joining a movement, or even marching for a change. You don’t need to be the one who makes a monumental change but you can be part of the group that does.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/advocacy

March, Blog 3

Chapter 12: Discipline

Blog 3

“It may help to think carefully about the term discipline. This word has at least two connotations for us as members of a discipline or field of study… understanding discipline as a process of instruction and developing expertise is a given area of study...”

Merriam-Webster defines discipline in a few varieties, and I feel that some of them together make up the best definition of discipline; training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character, a field of study, and a rule or system of rules governing conduct or activity.

For example, I am an athlete. I have run for years to become knowledgeable, and skilled in what I do. As a hurdler, I have done research on different training techniques, and workouts that I can do to make myself better. I practiced daily to perfect my ability to hurdle and hurdle well. I am very disciplined for I have put in many hours outside on the track practicing, even on days when I was tired or wanted to stay inside from the snow. I knew that it was important to me to do something better than I could ever imagine.

This has not only taught me hard work, but also patience and the ability to learn more about something even when I already know a great deal about it. The book talks about discipline as being malleable and evolving not static. The ability to understand that there is always more to learn about something.

            Brian Tracy International states that if you are not disciplined you are unable to control yourself, and one of the best ways to overcoming this is to create a goal. The determination and other valuable skills you may learn are all about the quality of oneself. It is important to understand where you are and where you want to go, without a goal you have the possibility of wasting a good deal of time and effort into something you could have done in an easier way. Plan how you are going to get to your goal.

            Now, if I were to set a goal about becoming a ballerina right now, I would set out to create a plan to work towards this. I would probably take a beginner course in ballet, go see a ballet, and do research on different techniques and styles out there. Perhaps if I was ambitious enough I would select a ballet that I would eventually work towards joining. Then I would settle in and work hard, stretching, practicing, and putting in many countless hours. Eventually I would become disciplined, I would become a wonderful ballerina, and I could say that I reached my goal. Now, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t have the discipline to become a ballerina.

https://www.briantracy.com/blog/time-management/successful-people-are-self-discipline-high-value-personal-management/

March Blog Post

One sentence that stood out to me over the past few weeks is actually a recent one that I wasn’t able to discuss in class with everyone, so I’m choosing to discuss it now. It’s taken from the article “Family Bullies” by Keith Berry & Tony E. Adams. I didn’t get too far into the article before stumbling across a sentence that made me stop and think for a minute. So, without further ado…

“Indeed, assumptions and expectations concerning family communication pervade our culture, and conceptualize family life and persons’ orientations to the family in certain ways, effectively leaving little room for variation.”  

The reason this stands out to me has to do with what we talked about a few weeks ago about roles within society and culture within relationships. One example that comes to mind is taken from the conversation about the Disney video with gender roles and race — specifically the conversation about Belle and domestic violence and the image that puts in children’s heads as they deal with domestic abuse within their own families. It was one of those things that didn’t quite stand out at first, but when analyzed and discussed throws you for a loop and has you going “ohhhh shoot.” I feel like that’s similar to family bullying. At least the kind of family bullying that takes place within my family. You wouldn’t consider the situation that occurs within my family as bullying at first, but after reading the article I pulled that sentence from, it opens you up to the idea. 

This article stood out to me because it was something that connected with me. As I started to thoroughly analyze my family’s dynamic, I realized that my family didn’t fit in with the “assumptions and expectations concerning family communication” within our culture. Growing up, I experienced the typical family dynamic. It wasn’t until I started watching Full House every Saturday morning that I realized families were different. My family now is actually exactly the opposite of how it was growing up. It is nowhere near conventional, but I still have so much love for it and I wouldn’t change a thing. 

Without turning this into too weird of a post, I’ll briefly explain my family’s background as well as the type of bullying that goes on within it. When I say unconventional, I mean my mom’s side of the family consists entirely of Jehovah’s Witnesses. I’m sure that religion is a completely different topic that would be interesting in itself to study in regards to relationship culture, but within this religion specifically, they are very opposed to participating with anyone who doesn’t share the same beliefs. In other words, if you turn away after already being exposed to “the truth,” you’re shunned until you find your way back? Maybe as a form of punishment? I’m not quite sure. But growing up in the religion, you don’t really question what you know because you don’t know any different. The family on my mom’s side was the only family we really had. My dad was an only child and both of his parents had passed when I was a kid. I grew up very close to my aunt, uncle, and cousins on my mom's side spending a lot of time with them while my parents were going through their divorce.  My mom had questioned the teachings of the religion for quite some time but knew the consequences of leaving and surely didn’t want to change the relationship culture within my family. Her and my aunt were raised Jehovah’s Witnesses. When she decided to stop attending the church meetings and disassociate with the religion, she encouraged my brother and me to essentially do what we felt was right while keeping an open mind and thinking for ourselves. That was around ten years ago. My “family” and I haven’t spoken more than two or three times over that span of time and the speaking only took place because my Grandpa had been in the hospital. It was the strangest thing though, my aunt acted like nothing had changed. It was by far the most bizarre interaction I have had with anyone. But they sure brought up that they were waiting for us to return to the religion. And to me, that’s its own form of bullying. I’m not even sure they’re aware of it, but they’re emotionally manipulating us into reconsidering our decision promising family bonding only upon returning to the religion. It’s easy for me to look at this from an outside point of view because now they’re more like familiar strangers to me, people I once knew. They must be aware that they’ve closed themselves off to us, but what perplexes me is whether or not they think it was the right thing to do or if they were just doing what they were told. I know they don’t see it as bullying, but it feels like it is. And do they feel like us disassociating from the religion was a form of us disassociating ourselves from them? 

It’d be interesting to answer these questions from a scholarly point of view, looking deeper into what kind of barriers are crossed and how communication and relationship culture is altered when considering the role religion plays in it all. 

Keith Berry & Tony E. Adams (2016) Family Bullies, Journal of Family Communication, 16:1, 51-63, DOI: 10.1080/15267431.2015.1111217 

March Blog Post

I found inspiration from last weeks discussion on families and culture. We talked about loosing touch with extended kinship and the importance of the "nuclear family." I do see this to be true even within my own life. I do not keep touch within anyone outside of my immediate family. This isn't because they lack relevancy or importance it's more so a testimony to how I was raised to act towards extended family. It seems like as society evolves and becomes more individualistic the need for family relationships lessens. Just as it may be common to loose touch with a distant relative it is also becoming more common to loose touch with aging parents. It is an unfortunate reality that many grandparents in retirement homes are only visited by their children and grandchildren a few times a year if even that.

On the other hand, the idea of the nuclear family has been something on my mind quite a bit lately. I see my roommate who has a grand vision of her future in health sciences be overshadowed by educational disabilities. I have noticed this same theme in several of my personal relationships with friends who come from broken homes. I would not go as far to say that this is a pattern within all people who comes from non-traditional families but it does definitely impact a childs life and furthermore their education. 

As we discussed in class, the idea of the "nuclear family" is only true to some parts of North America. Other cultures have different values yet they have successful families. It seems as if the narrow-minded and fast paced lifestyles of US citizens has stopped us from seeing the true benefits and downfalls to each type of family relationship. 

March Blog Post

March Blog Post

For this month's blog post, I was easily able to choose what reading to reflect on. The "Family Bullies" article stood out to me because even though we all have different constructs of a family, we all know what it's like to be a part of one. The family is at the core of many people's entire lives, which makes this article so intriguing and such a conversation started. 

One quote that particularly stood out to me was "Understanding, dialogue, and forgiveness in family situations of bullying like these are complicated issues. Being able to better understand someone’s actions does not mean dialogue or forgiveness will or should happen." This stood out to me because I can relate to how complicated this can be. Growing up, my brother has always shown the signs of bullying to me, my sister and my mom. I see this through the things he did and the way he manipulated me to take what he said to heart because if I told on him to my mom, he would tell everyone what a "snitch" I was. At a young age I would let him be mean to me simply because this was such an insult to me. This also coupled with the fact that if I did tell on him he was the best at telling lies and could turn it into somehow being provoked by me. Now I understand the quote because even if I could understand why he did it, or what he was feeling, or the fact that I do believe he loves me, I still wasn't able to create a dialogue where I could get him to really understand how his actions and words hurt me. 

I found an article that sums up my feelings very well, the article is titled "Bullying Within the Family: How it Effects and How it can be Prevented". The quote that jumped out to me said, "Bullying within the family may be disappointing for the victim because they’re generally getting bullied by someone whom they love and trust the most. It can be heart-rendering for them when they find their own parents and siblings bullying them at home." I feel this sums up my feelings really well because it more made me hurt and sad than angry because I have been close to my brother for so many years and he is someone I love a lot, so when he said or did things that were bullying to me I couldn't help but be hurt. 

Keith Berry & Tony E. Adams (2016) Family Bullies, Journal of Family Communication, 16:1, 51-63, DOI: 10.1080/15267431.2015.1111217

https://www.secureteen.com/bullying-prevention/bullying-within-the-family-how-it-effects-and-how-it-can-be-prevented/

MARCH BLOG POST

I want to actually talk about interpersonal communication. I've heard people mention interpersonal communication before but I never really got the idea of it or what it was until  this semester going over it. Interpersonal communication is pretty much an exchange of information between two or more people. "Interpersonal communication mostly occurs when people have some sort of commitment to or stake in each other"pg192. There's not just one type of interpersonal communication. There's verbal communication, using words, and there's also non verbal communication, using just body language. The day we talked about interpersonal communication, I had to leave class kind of early but I remember us watching wife swaps. I forgot what the families names were but I do remember seeing how the families communicated differently then the other family. I never watched wife swap before and I thought that was very interesting how that worked, I also got a better understanding of different communications.

Family Dynamics Blog #3

Taking a deeper look into the dynamics of family communication, there are many things I did not realize about how it effects our culture. "Some interviewees indicated that had a friend inflicted upon them a similar kind of hurt as a family member inflicted, they would "dissolve the relationship," is from Carr and Wang's (2012) study on forgiveness. This quote shows the impact of how experiences from family interaction and communication can effect outside relationships and the dialogue within them. 

Comparing family relationships to friend relationships, one can consider family relationships to be non voluntary. When it comes to family relationships there is a different dynamic of communication because of the level of comfort-ability and a sense of familiarity. The way one interacts with family is going to be different then how they would with a friend. But in some cases, the way a person has been treated, or in this situation communicated with, can reflect in future interactions, and outside of family scenarios. The way one can learns to interact with their own family becomes their personal norm of communication.

Family life can effect more than just the communication, but also the dynamics in which you create for your personal friend group or outside relationships. In Carr and Wang's (2012) study they even point that our with using an example of scenarios where family members choose to estrange themselves from other family members. In cases where this is common within family's it can also be seen in friendships. Emma Wells (2016)  says that family relationships predict the outcomes of friendships.

March Blog Post

For this month’s blog, I have chosen a sentence from the “Family Bullies” article. “Dialogue is a process where people try to come together to talk, often spontaneously, honestly, and without judgment, to clarify particular, often conflicting beliefs, values, and practices.” This quote stands out to me because of the background that I have in the field of communication. Many of the classes I have taken here at BSU really stress the importance and vitality of true dialogue. I have read articles that speak of conversations between people being similar to having two televisions turned on and facing each. Essentially, this example shows that many people are not concerned about what the other person is saying in a conversation, especially if the topic is something controversial or meaningful.

So often people are concerned only with what they are going to say next that they pay little to no attention to what the other person is trying to say to them. It is impossible to have thoughtful and productive discourse if there is not an actual dialogue. I feel like this is an issue that we see in our culture every day. If one were to turn on the news, they would see shouting matches between the host and their guests. One news channel in particular is notorious for this, but I will omit the name to keep from getting political. I can only wonder what educational and informative debates and conversations would take place if there was actual dialogue in these types of programs. Unfortunately, the outlook is not so good. This type of behavior is so engrained in our culture that a shift that dramatic would take quite some time if it were to happen at all.

Though it is seemingly insignificant, this sentence held great importance to me for the reasons that I have explained above. Productive dialogue seems to be hard to come by these days, but hopefully this is something that will start to change.

March Blog Post

       From the day we are born, we are immediately forming a relationship with someone (your mother). That is why I have chosen to write about them here in this blog post. After all, relationships make life worth living. Relationships allow people to grow closer to one another. They allow people to become friends or even lovers. Thus, making the topic of relationships a very important concept to comprehend.

       The sentence that stood out to me, from the readings, was from chapter ten of the book. It states, “Perhaps one of the greatest injustices that film and television commit, for us as people trying to make relationships work, is the way these storytellers imply that relationships are easy” (Warren & Fassett 2015). This sentence basically means that it is a shame that “Hollywood” portrays relationships as being easily obtained and managed. In reality, this is not the case. It takes a lot of hard work to start a relationship, and even harder work to maintain that relationship. This is expressed in the HUFFPOST article “Good Relationships Take Hard Work” (https://www.huffingtonpost.com/deborah-l-cabaniss-md/good-relationships-take-hard-work_b_9358456.html). This article pertains to this blog post by giving us a real life example of what maintaining a relationship is like. The article also goes into detail on ways to build/maintain a relationship. With relationships being such important parts of our lives, it is obvious how important this article is.

       Understanding what it takes to make and maintain a relationship is important because this has to do with interpersonal relationships. Interpersonal relationships effect many parts of our lives, including our culture. Understanding that relationships are hard, also effects our communication as a whole. It effects our communication because it sets standards of how we should look at a relationship. Thus, telling us how we should act when talking with someone new, or with someone we have known.

       I have just moved here from Oklahoma, and it has been hard to make relationships. The culture up here in Boise is a little different than I am use to experiencing. However, after educating myself about relationships, I hope I can apply what I have learned, and continue to build relationships based on love and trust. After all, that is what we all want. We want a friend or even a significant other to love and trust us. Like it is mentioned in the first  paragraph, this is what adds meaning to our lives.

Warren, John T., and Deanna L. Fassett. Communication: a critical/Cultural introduction. 2nd ed., Sage, 2015.

March Blog Post

            I come from a colorful family. We have different political, religious, and sexuality backgrounds. Some of us have chosen fur babies instead of human ones and others have enough children to fill a minivan. Things we have in common: we are all pretty loud and we all share... probably more than any person should share with another human being: facts, health problems, poorly-executed dates. For a long time, I thought many families probably acted similarly to ours. However, it has been (obviously) brought to my attention that this is not the case. We dove into this a little more during this course and I found many aspects of our Family & Culture section to be fascinating. However, out of all of it, I would say our discussion of family structures was probably the most eye-opening.

            My immediate family is a very “cookie-cutter,” “traditional” nuclear family. Mom, dad, older (protective) brother, little sister. I knew other styles of families existed, since my maternal first cousin is an only child. However, our class discussion that couples who chose not to have children may not be recognized as a “family” was mind boggling to me. I have always considered “family” to be anyone who was in “I would file off my pinky finger for you” territory. Gory, I know, but necessary for the explanation.

In a blog I found discussing the author’s discovery of her own meaning behind “family,” she quoted another writer who said, “I consider a few friends more family over blood relatives” (Cortes par. 5). This concept of “voluntary kin” is very prevalent in my family, as well so it resonated with me. Not to mention, we have plenty of four-legged fur babies in our family that are just as much family as our other blood relatives.

It troubles me that the idea of the “nuclear” family is the recipe some people feel is what is needed to be recognized as a family. There are so many different styles of relationships and I personally believe that the closeness you feel with the person next to you and their understanding of your most inner thoughts and feelings is what constitutes family over anything else.

Cortes, Denise. “Are You Still a 'Family' If You Don't Have Kids?” BabyCenter Blog, BabyCenter Blog, 3 Apr. 2015, blogs.babycenter.com/mom_stories/3312015-are-you-still-a-family-if-you-dont-have-kids/.

March Blog Post

“You meet a new colleague at work and exchange greetings…you see a man at the bar and find him attractive…you come to class on the first day, unaware of what to expect from the new professor” (Warren).  Personally, I believe human interaction is one of the most important aspects of our way of life.  One other idea that can relate to this is the thought of unique culture, and how ways of interaction vary based on location.  I am specifically interested in communication about human characteristics, and how people from different cultures communicate.  I believe this was one of the most important concepts from the semester that should be discussed.

            One subject that can be closely related to communications is sociology.  Through taking classes in both subjects at the same time, I have been able to recognize similarities about relationships within a species.  More specifically, I have had the pleasure of exploring different cultures, including territories or regions, religions, and just different lifestyles.  One important takeaway is that I have realized some regions take more pride in their communication than we do in America.  This surprised me, but also did not, because while it is obvious we have pride, it is sometimes not represented in a professional way.

            Language or communication barriers are going to exist everywhere you go.  They can simply be present in one household, and when an individual who does not live at the residence visits, there is definitely some room for potential confusion.  One example of this could be meeting the in-laws for the first time.  First of all, other than a quick explanation from your significant other, you as an individual are not going to be aware of what occur.  Overall, meeting new people could be both exciting and stressful, but it is always interesting to see how the conversation will play out.

Warren, J. T., & Fassett, D. L. (2015). Communication: A Critical/Cultural Introduction (Vol. 2). Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.

Blog #3

Blog #3

            The term that we’ve recently covered, and that I found to be the most interesting, is simulacra. When we covered this idea in class I found it to be both interesting and relevant. We can observe the inadequate representation of people and things daily, it’s practically commonplace. Simulacra is used as a tool, and it’s very successful in selling both things and ideas. At times, and in certain circumstances this can be innocent and harmless.

            An example of harmless simulacra would be hot chocolate. This product is often successful in selling not just the product itself but the feelings and ideas that are attached to it. In this instance, Christmas, cold weather, and being together are some of the ideas and feelings attached to hot chocolate. By appealing to these correlating ideas, companies can compel you to buy their product though they aren’t actually selling you Christmas or cold weather, or anything associated with hot chocolate. In this sense, marketers are doing their job, and when used ethically, simulacra can be used as a harmless marketing tool. On the flip side, what about the not so harmless side of simulacra?

            When applied to people, I think simulacra has the potential to have a negative effect. I will apply this term to my personal life as an example. I am, ethnically, a Colombian woman. I have dark hair, eyes, and a medium skin tone. Now, in a place like Idaho where the mass population is homogeneously Caucasian, there are some ideas pertaining to people of other ethnicities that are taken as fact. Disclaimer, I am very conscious that not everyone in Idaho shares these ideas about other ethnicities that I am about to discuss. I can appreciate that Idaho has some very well rounded folks.

            Some ideas that I have encountered growing up, came as a shock to me. I was adopted at an early age and the most Colombian thing about me is my looks. Since nine months old I have lived in Boise, Idaho and have been raised in an upper middle class home, by white parents. This is the only reality that I have ever known. As I grew up I learned that people had already generated some ideas about me based solely on my looks.

Some people assumed that I didn’t speak any English, and were visibly shocked when they learned that I could, and do it well. Along with shock was also the relief that comes with sharing the same language. Others would also assume that I was poor and likely lived in Caldwell or Nampa, because “that’s where all of the Mexicans live." Being Mexican is the most common thing that people assume that I am. The list goes on and on but the point remains the same.

These inaccurate ideas of my history and who I am as a person are all inadequate representations of me. I think most people here would find that we share more in common if they hadn’t already surrendered to the fallacies that simulacra can sometimes produce. It’s a real shame sometimes but in light of this ignorance I have found that I have met some of the most amazing, open minded, and sweet people because of simulacra. You see those that have already written me off due to simulacra don’t care to get to know me because before even meeting me they have deemed me as an unworthy person. But, for those that have a more open mind, they know that looks don’t define who someone is, and we learn from each other. These people are gifts, they are my friends and my family; they look over the fence rather than stay within it.

            So, simulacra is a very interesting idea. In my opinion it takes someone that works outside of the lines to not fall victim to some of the lies that simulacra can produce. People need to do their research and not take everything with a grain of salt. If you’re unsure or curious, ask questions and get answers rather than make assumptions about things, and especially people. Our ability to use our brains is a treasure; it’s what sets us apart. Use your brain and discover an amazing world full of interesting things and people, even if they are different from you. It’s our differences that make the world such an intriguing and amazing place anyways!

            Below I have attached a link to a video that I think portrays simulacra when applied to people. I found it to be funny, relevant, and who knows, maybe someone can relate to it as well. Assumptions really can hurt but I can see where they come from. Still, it’s important to base your opinions on your own research and experiences, rather than subscribing to someone else’s. I think the world would be a much more colorful place that way. Open minded, curious, and questioning, that’s how you discover truth and learn new things.

           

Things Non-Spanish-Speaking Latinos Are Sick of Hearing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKJe4BTC1Vg

March Blog Post

March Blog Post

By Corey Youngblood

In chapter 10 of our textbook we are introduced to the idea that quote, “We cannot ever fully know the world of the other, that person who belongs to (and creates) different cultures and stands in tensive relation to us”. I think this statement is incredibly important in its relation to cross cultural communication because it is incredibly easy to adapt an ethnocentric world view, and judge people from other cultures based on our own culture, beliefs and values, which is inherently unfair and discriminatory.

I believe it is important to understand the idea that you will never fully “know the world of the other” because that means you cannot make rash judgements based on your own observations and biases, rather the best course of action would be to use communication as tool to learn about them and their culture and in the process expanding your perspective and world view. This is reinforced by the idea that it is a fact that when people, or groups of people discriminate, it is against a group they are not familiar with, or never really come in contact with. It is also known that when someone gets to know someone from a group that they had previously had bigoted views towards, these feelings are resolved when they actually get to know someone from that group.

Blog #3

   The Most Important Sentence

 “Commercial media play a pivotal role in creating cultural definitions about what it
means to be a citizen -indeed, our sense of ourselves as national citizens emerges from (not
in spite of) our engagement with the popular media.”  In the chapter, “We the people of
Nickelodeon: Theorizing power and consumer citizenship, Sarah Banet-Weiser discusses the
impact of the media on kids and how it targets kids as consumers.  Kids are young, 
influential, and their ideas are constantly being formed.  The media has recognized this
opportunity and capitalized on it.  From SpongeBob SquarePants to Nick at Nite, Nickelodeon
entertains and influences kids of all ages while subtly shaping their perceptions of the world
and who they are in the world.  Kid’s ideas and preferences about culture are continually
developing by what they hear and see in their world which is influenced by the media. 
When kids watch Nickelodeon, there is no thought or realization about the subtle influence on
self and cultures that are being presented. They are being entertained and it’s the same for
adults.  They use the internet and social media with a feeling they are connecting to the world
when in fact the world is connecting and influencing them.  The US Department of Education
published an article “Dealing with Media Pressure – Helping Your Child Become a Responsible
Citizen”, that discusses the media’s use of powerful techniques to get whatever message they
want across and the influence this has on a kid’s values and developing character.  Interactive 
networks and service providers have the largest role of influence on our lives and that is where
the media has taken the role to create definitions of culture that create citizens.
                                                                                                                      
 We are all influenced in some way by the media, from politics to purchasing brands, the media
influences us.  Tariq Modood in an article on Open Democracy, says that commonality
is a factor of citizenship.  He says multicultural citizenship leads to national identity, which is
something the media recognized a long time ago so they have been constantly working on their
programming to influence and shape young kid’s perception of what it is to be a good citizen in
the world. The Center for Media Literacy adds the combinations of media and technology is
changing the way kids learn through a complex “language” that has many layered concepts
about the world.  We need to understand that the media is more than entertainment, it is shaping
who we are as citizens.

      Links
 https://www2.ed.gov/parents/academic/help/citizen/partx.html
https://www.opendemocracy.net/faith-europe_islam/multiculturalism_4627.jsp
http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/media-literacy-national-priority-changing-world
3

Blog post 3 Bullying

Reading the article, Sister Bullying from Berry and Adams it was very interesting to see that the middle child of four sisters was the bully out of all of them. Growing up and witnessing families that had a middle child, it would usually be the middle child getting bullied but for Victoria and Lily that was not the case. Lily was the middle child and grew up and over time became more and more aggressive with the way she would talk and have a relationship with her family. Victoria over time, because of the abuse from her sister, became more and more angry and tried to hold most things inside. This shows up in the article where they are doing a family camping trip and Lily is all mad because she does not want to be there and victoria is sitting in her tent overhearing the conversation and Lily goes on to tell her mom "I don't even want to be here. I don't care about any of you!" Now if I was this mom or even Victoria I would be super pissed off because family members are supposed to love one another, they are supposed to care. But in some cases it is not like that. Bullying is a very serious situation, and especially if it deals with family because you can't get away from the situation you live with the person bullying you. And its really sad because a lot of the time bullying victims contemplate or actually commit suicide. I have lost friend due to suicide and I don't know what was going on in their lives nor what they were thinking but I do know this, we need to be nice to every single person we meet or talk to because if you treat more people with respect and kindness then there will be less problems and questions being asked like why do they hate me or not like me, what did I do wrong, am I at fault? These are all questions that hit real hard when you sit down and really contemplate them. So Today be a friend not a bully. Stand up for what is right and don't let a bully take control.

Blog 3 Post

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1m07Q80oe_jAxiNpB39xTajcCf05t2tkm68cL3dc0ggw/edit?usp=sharing

Family fights

                Coming out was hell for Michael. His religious parents in angry denial forced him into conversion therapy. After he was unable to pray the gay away and refused to change his “ways” the family disowned and abandoned him. This is not a uncommon story and many from religious communities know about similar incidents happening. The sad fact of it is often the worst rejections and discrimination a LGBTQ will face is from family. Family is the core of society and by nature what most think of when they think of home. However just like any parts of society family can be full of discrimination, hate, and even violence. Abuse in the home has been a constant problem since the dawn of time but it is not addressed on the level that it should be. I use the example of Michael because it paints an all to common story. I come from a very religious town, one who treats non members and the gay community with absolute disrespect. The worst of this treatments from what I witnessed was from family. This is the conversation that no one in the community wants to have. But its one that we need desperately. In this post I would like to discuss bulling in families, different types of abuses, and finally discrimination to LGBTQ.

                Bulling in family is an issue even if it is not widely talked about or studied. This is addressed in one of our readings Family Bullies which was published by Journal of Family Communication and written by Berry and Tony Adam. In this article they look at a few case studies of specific bulling in the family. They look at a girl who is hurt by her sister as well as Tony being bullied by his cousin for his sexuality. They look at what might have caused this and the long term effects. Tony for example if after the bulling ended and the cousin attempted to grow up because of the damaging effects of there earlier relationship they could never quite build back the trust. Family bulling is complicated because there is a society norm that some bulling should be allowed. That siblings fighting is normal and helps the children develop. And while this is true in some cases other cases proves that it goes way to far. This bring us to our next subject the difference between abuse and bulling. This is a hard question to answer and there is a very fine line. Bulling can be a form of abuse. But Abuse is often very damaging and has long term effects on the victim.

                There are many types of abuse but generally they can be narrowed to three category physical, verbal, and phycological. Physical is the easiest to see this is when one person does physical harm to another. Hurting of any kind whether it be a pin prick or a punch can fall into this category. An example of this from our reading is when Tony’s cousin tackled him and pinned him. This is very common with men and is often used to toughen them up if they are breaking the rules of society in this case as many other being to feminism. The next we have verbal which is insults. This can also be seen in the text when Tony is called a fag. Though no physical harm fall on the victim in this one it is still very damaging. This is very often seen with girls. This is commonly seen in shamming. The last one is phycological which is abuse which is to change ones thoughts. An example from the reading is the dad taking the son to strip clubs. Or as in my introduction example conversion therapy.

                Now the last point I would like to look at today is family bulling directed towards LGBTQ. In the article The Psychological Impact of LGBT Discrimination they explain that LGBTQ individuals are ten times more likely to be discriminated against then heterosexual individuals. And though there are statistics of discrimination in everyday life there is a lack in studies of home life. Often where you seen the largest conflict between gays and families is in religious communities. I come from a very religious community and I saw this in a lot of ways. Too very obvious one of individuals being hit by there parents and being kicked out of the house. To much smaller but still hurtful form of bulling like a friend whose parents told him they “would still love him despite this”. This is a from of microaggression and would fall into the category of verbal abuse. This problem is very wide spread and not appropriately addressed. Smith writes for the Huffington post on this subject in his article “Why This Mormon Mom Opened An LGBTQ House A Block Away From A Church Temple.” In which he talks to a Mormon mother who has started a relief program for those abused by the church family. Abuse to LGBTQ is an issue that needs to be addressed.

                So in conclusion, family bulling is a common thing that is not talked about as much as it should. As I have learned in this class and seen in my own life this issue is real and needs to stop. For those of gay attraction the likely hood of bulling and abuse increase. This is something that more effort needs to be put towards fixing.

Berry, K., & Adams, T. E. (2016). Family Bullies. Journal of Family Communication, 16(1), 51-63.          doi:10.1080/15267431.2015.1111217

Smith, C. (2017, October 18). Why This Mormon Mom Opened An LGBTQ House A Block Away           From A Church Temple. Retrieved March 22, 2018, from                https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/encircle-provo-mormon-lgbtq_us_59e6c64ae4b08f9f9edb7bd0

The Psychological Impact of LGBT Discrimination. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2018, from           https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brick-brick/201402/the-psychological-impact-lgbt-discrimination

Blog #3 - Vanessa Ventresco

"I wish I could cook like Bobby Flay, let's go out to eat instead."

The sentence I have chosen to write about for the March Blog is from the article, How food television is changing America, written by Thomas Rogers (2010).

The popularity of food TV is a marker that food is leaving the home.

Food television is increasingly getting popular. I know in my family, that is all we watch. It is either Food Network or HGTV. But luckily, I come from a family that loves to cook. Growing up, my dad was always in the kitchen whether he is cooking the usual or getting creative because of something he saw Bobby Flay do. After reading the article by Thomas Rogers, It helped me realize just what the food channels are doing to our society.

A lot of people have turned to food channels or really any channel that does not involve news to avoid anything political. The media blows so much of the politics out of proportion that no one knows what to believe anymore. So people actively choose to watch other channels such as Food Network or HGTV. I noticed that happening with my parents. When 5 o’clock hits, the news was on, but the last few years, I have noticed my parents not caring if the news is on. Over Christmas break, as soon as 5 o’clock hit, I changed the channel from Food Network to our local news station. My mom looked at me and asked I why I did that. I was kind of shocked and she said that she could care less about the news. So I put Food Network back on.

The food channels are really influencing our societies and causing people to want to eat out more rather than cook in. Just the other day, my roommate and I were watching Food Network and halfway through our binge-watching, she started talking about how hungry she was. I told her to cook some dinner but instead, she decided to order takeout. I asked her why when we have so much we can cook with and get creative and her response was “but nothing will turn out as good as what Bobby Flay makes.” Statistics show that in 2015, the food and drink sales in the restaurant industry reached $745.61 billion (statista.com). In 2008, it was reported that 39.81 million people visited fast food restaurants in the “last 30 days.” By 2017, the number of people increased by 10.64 million (statista.com).

As someone who constantly watches Food Network because I have a dream to actually cook myself a decent meal, I have noticed a change in the type of TV shows that have created. Food Network is becoming a more competitive entertainment style rather than a teaching style. There are fewer shows of cooks teaching the viewers how to make a dish and more competitive shows, entertaining the viewers. They are such entertaining shows that people are more likely to sit, watch for hours, and order out to eat rather than watch one teaching show and cook for themselves.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/231084/people-who-visited-a-fast-food-restaurant-10-or-more-times-within-the-last-30-days-usa/


https://www.statista.com/topics/1957/eating-out-behavior-in-the-us/

Blog Post #3: Comm 160-001 - John Maloney

In our text book, Communication: A critcal/Cultural Introduction, it states about Advocacy Through Dialogue, " A simple and underestimated way of building understanding that we often think we are doing, when we are really just recentering ourselves. For dialogue to be possible, we must see the other person as a subject - as a person who has knowledge, who is just as important and unique as we are. To engage in dialogue means listening to the the other person as someone with something important to say and to the best or our ability, encountering him/her with humility and generosity."

In our current state of affairs, our politicians, though they say they advocate on our behalf, they are far from being true advocates. There is little listening. Many politicians only listen so long as we agree with their core values and so long as they feel listening is in their best interest, like increasing odds of reelection. Very few politicians listen with intent. If more politicians were open to true dialogue and put more effort into understanding their constituents, I believe more change could be possible. If our elected officials, who are suppose to list to us, have better things to do than to listen to us, then true change is just pie in the sky.

Attitudes toward open dialogue and communication must start with individuals and more effort needs to be placed in listening to the needs of the voters who put them into office. Take the recent debate on Gun Control for example. Many people want meaningful gun legislation, but many politicians don't want to have an honest dialogue in fear of upsetting the NRA, a powerful gun-lobyying organization. Change cannot be affected in in this country until our elected officials become our true advocates and willingly listen to our concerns and our hopes and fears.

If the elected officials, people we vote for and who are suppose to listen to us, can't be open to truthful dialogue, how are we to make progress toward meaningful change in our country. Without open dialogue we will remain stagnant as we are today.

Warren, J.T., and Fassett, D.L. (2015), Communication: A Critical/Cultural Introduction 2nd Edition, Sage Publications, 246-247.

Tyson Maeva - March Post

“But this is the most intimate way I can interact with him; the accumulation of past experience motivates me to stay away from him in particular, as well as away from general family events” (Keith Berry and Tony E. Adams)

            The quote I chose for this blog comes from a personal story of a man who was bullied by their older cousin because he was a “faggot”. While I am sure that everyone can recall one story during their life time where they were bullied, this one in particular is one that I can really relate to. Being raised in a huge family, I had many older cousins that had always picked on me for multiple reasons. However, being fat was the only one that really stuck with me. Fat boy and fat ass were the typical ones that I heard every time I came around these cousins. While I was definitely over-weight for my age growing up, I became very self-conscious about the way I looked. I hated going anywhere that I had to take my shirt off, and being raised in Sunny San Diego where the beach is right down the street, I missed out on a lot of fun family and friend events because I hated the way my body looked. For the family events that I did attend, it seemed like it was a cultural norm for my cousins to call me fat while my parents and elders just watch us “playing” with each other. Now that I have gotten older, these insults do not get under my skin as much anymore, however it is something that comes to my head whenever I see one of my little cousins being messed with. When I see this now, I do my best to talk to my little cousins about why people do the things they do and hope that they do not have to go through the same things I did. With this, I have added a link about a man talking about his troubles through his childhood due to bullying.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sa1iS1MqUy4