Article # 12

How White Supremacists Are Trying to Make an American Town a Model for Right-Wing Extremism

Media Matters for America / By David Holthouse

 I read the article "How White Supremacists Are Trying to Make an American Town a Model for Right-Wing Extremism" by David Holthouse on http://www.alternet.org on November twenty-second holthouse wrote about a town in Montana that is a group of people who believe in superiority of white Americans. In Montana on the Flathead Valley region near Glacier National Park. There is a little town that is full of white supremacist with a large group of them also belonging to the Nazi affiliation. These groups of people moved here for one reason to start an Aryan race in the town. This is not the only anti-government group that is growing. In recent years there has been more anti-government groups growing in numbers as the world tries to move past racism. There are just some people who don't want to change and allow everyone to become equals. Many leaders of these groups belong to both the PLE and the Patriot movement. These groups of people are becoming more of  a concerns to the officials as they are stocking up on weaponry [“in the region are urging followers to exploit Montana's weak firearms regulations by stocking up on guns, including .50 caliber sniper rifles and assault weapons]”, says Travis McAdam, executive director of the Montana Human Rights Network  and are going to protest all over the state. Although they are protesting it is not being done peacefully. As these groups come together there is more harm than will be caused in the upcoming future we all just need to watch out for it. 

When I stumbled upon this article I thought it was just going to be about a small group of people who are out of their minds’. But as I read the article I noticed it was not what I expected at all it is a lot bigger of a group. Its People from all over the U.S. are moving to this town and many other like it to avoid the different races and cultures. I think this is just crazy I thought the world was moving forward on racism and then when I read things like this it makes me judge this country and whether or not I want to be a part of it any longer. I can’t imagine what people from other country's' think of us when they read these thing about protesting against other races and thinking we are superior because the color of our skin it make me sick to think about. I just hope that people will all start moving past being so judgmental and get to know other cultures before judging them so cruelly.

article number 11

New Judge Assigned in Penn State Sex Abuse Case 

By: Scott Theisen

    In the article "New judge Assigned in Penn State Sex Abuse Case" by Scott Thesien  explains how the case is going at the moment. The newest information that has been provided is that there never was a file reported to the police. “At this point we have no record of any police report being filed in 2002" by McQueary in connection with the Sandusky case, university spokeswoman Annemarie Mountz said, adding police searched their records Wednesday." The problem they are finding is that he never made it clear which police department he filed the case under. On Wednesday there was a new judge put in charge after the last one had ties to close to the case. They thought she would have caused a problem .Ben andreozzi is the attorney of a client who is set to testify against Sandusky for the crime he is being accused of sexually assaulting eight boys in a period of 15 years .Andresozzi says the man testifying is going to testify “that he was severely sexually assaulted by Mr. Sandusky.” On Wednesday Sandusky went on TV saying that although he had showered with the boys he never molested them Sandusky's lawyer, Joe.Amednola  said pleading his case was the best idea because he thinks that the more people that hear him plead his innocence the better chance he will have in court. The main thing people in society are getting from this case is they are getting to know how they cover a case like this in the system.
    When I saw this on TV it made me furious that so many young boys are being hurt and it seems since this case went public more and more men are coming forward to tell their story .How many more did he hurt. And then he has the nerve to lie about it to everyone. I feel bad for these men having to relive the memories as they are going to have to tell their story in court in front of him. Although they are no longer children I think they are still going to be afraid to look him in the eye while telling their story. Looking at the man that took away their childhood. I think these cases are just sick. I am glad though that judge Leslie was taken off the case for being too close to the case. That will make the case more fair on both sides.in my eyes he is already guilty he showering with young boys just seems wrong.it appears he didn’t know where the line went from friendly to creepy. The one think that I wonder was if he was sexually assaulted as a child. Because of a lot of the time when someone does it to a child it comes up later that the person assaulting was also hurt as a child .Although that may be true that doesn’t make it okay.  all we can do is wait to see the decision of the case.

article number 10

A generation of bigots comes of age 

By Richard Cohen

In the article "A generation Of Bigots Come of Age" by Richard Cohen in the writers response book, He talks about the reasons why the generation of thirty years and younger are developing bigoted attitudes. In the article Richard Cohen explains why he thinks the generations are becoming more ignorant. A study conducted by ADL (Anti-defamation league) found that recently that the information regularly collected has changed. The research shows that the younger generation is becoming more and more intolerant of other races .In the study it showed that older and younger white Americans now have the same opinion of other races. Although no one knows for sure what is happening, He has a couple of ideas on why the younger generation is becoming ignorant.one of those reasons is that the younger generations are very ignorant of recent American history. This is because these generations did not see the events that happened through the 1950's and 60's.Even though the younger generation is ignorant of American history that is not the only factor that is making them intolerant. There is also affirmative. When the ADL was doing its study they asked a group of people "do you feel you have ever been a victim of reverse discrimination in hiring or promotion”, about 21% said yes. But they found the more schooling a person has that percentage increased up to 26% for college graduates and 23% for people with post graduate degrees. Richard says that “too many of the American Elite are racially aggrieved”. This data shows that society is going backwards on their racial intolerance. And the final argument is affirmative action programs although they are good at helping with some things they are also doing some bad things.

When I read this article I was a little confused I thought the world was moving past differences. But I think this article has a lot to with the area in which they look and how diverse in different cultures it was.to be completely honest I think I was intolerant of other races until i came to Inver hills and experienced all the different cultures .I don’t think we can expect people to be tolerant of other cultures unless they interact and see different races on a day to day basis .Because the people who are intolerant don’t know anything else .I think parents of white American children shelter their children too much and spoil them to make them think that they are better than anyone else. These kids need a new flash they are not any better we are equal and they don’t have any right to look down on someone just because of they have a different skin color i think that we are moving back ward and i think one of the reasons that was included in the article is when we turn on the T.V it’s not talking or showing all the problems that people are having and their emotions on difference like we used to with martin Luther king. Even though America has a "black president" we all still can’t see we are equals .What else is going to have to happen for the American society to see that?

article # 9 of

A Separate Peace?

By Kayla Webley / Milwaukee

I read the article A Separate Peace? by Kayla Webley in the week of October 25 issue of times magazine. This article talks about the idea of giving gsblt  (gay,straight,bi-sexual,lesbian,transgender) a safe learning environment where a large majority of people are different and they aren't afraid to show it .This article it talks about how there is a school in Milwaukee that a lot of bullied kids around the nation are transferring too from their home school because they are different but a large majority of these kids are gsblt .The author gives examples for both sides on whether or not these schools are a good idea. The parents of these bullied students of course don’t want to send them back to the place where they get hurt a daily basis.so the mother of a child who was being bullied founded the alliance school. But is this school a good idea? Sooner or later they are going to have to face the world and be judged for being different. That is one argument given by the parents and people who would have to pay since it is a charter school. There is a large ratio of kids being bullied in schools across the nation and is putting the kids in a different school the best idea or are they just running away and letting the bullies win.

          When i read this article i was trying to stay unbiased and look at the idea from everyone's perspective and not just of a student who was bullied most of their high school life. When i first started reading I thought why should this group get their own school what makes them so special. But then I remembered being bullied it was horrible I don't know if i would have stayed at my school if there had been an alternative. I think most people at some point in their high school career get bullied for one thing or another. I don't think the best idea is to lock away all the kids that get bullied. I think a better option would be to teach that earlier on in life that it is okay to be different. But until schools and the communities can achieve this goal of using the golden rule treat everyone the way you want to be treated .This school is a good idea because it gives these students a safe place to learn and grow as a person and be able to better handle to bullying when they leave high school. One thing I thought was interesting was how at the very end of the article we take a look a gay boy named Dylan’s life and how now although he is being home schooled he attends dances with his boyfriend where he say the parents rather than other students are the trash talkers "it seems like my generation is getting over it”. I agree with this I think as new generation are born and come to the age of schooling that they are more open to gslbt I think this is because the older generation’s ways are becoming old school as they age and retire. I just hope these ideas mature and further with incoming students.

article # 8

Why America must revive its middle class

    By Jeffery D. Sachs

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2095573,00.html

In the article “Why America Must Revive Its Middle Class” by Jeffery D Sachs in the Time’s magazine of the October 10 2011 issue .Sachs talks about an idea on how to fix the government and make America prosper. The economy is making the rich richer and is making the middle class dwindle away, because of this happening the politics of this country are also going to the rich giving the less advantage little to any say in to what is going to happen with our government. This same situation happened not long ago when Harding, Coolidge and hoover were in office. They lowered labor standards and the minimum wage. These ideas were railed against in the great depression by franklin D. Roosevelt .How did we get here is a question a lot of people are asking themselves. Well let’s look at what we have done.  Lots of companies have sent work abroad and didn’t think of the consequences that would have on the economy. In the 1970 the US dollar lost its value, gas and food prices increased very rapidly. Even though all of these bad things were happening Reagan decided it was the governments fault instead of all the competition the US was getting from foreign markets .So Reagan cut taxes and reduced government programs. Although America has enjoyed the workings of Chinese products we are going to suffer because of that now .With the middle class losing their jobs to foreign workers .When Obama took office he didn’t think of treating the long term affect rather a short a temporary shock he called for tax cuts and spending increases he hoped by 2010 the economy would bounce back to normal .Sine he took office thing have not gotten any better the economy has actually become worse .Recently at a press conference Obama called for another short push .The message that a lot of the economy got is that congress and the white house are going to continue with the bush’s idea of tax cuts to 2012.this is the same idea the government has had for about thirty years and this is just making the economy worse and worse .Sachs says that “the republicans fail to understand that businesses are investing abroad not because of taxes but because higher wages in the U.S are not sufficiently matched by higher skills as they are in say Germany or Sweden .We are to put it bluntly uncompetitive in many industrial sectors. “When you look at other countries we are the country with lowest paying taxes yet we have the worst economy .The way to fix this is to stop arguing about increase taxes for the rich but rather on a long term basis of where the US economy is heading.

When I read this article it really made me think that if our government has been using the same idea for around thirty years and things just keep getting worse, why don’t they try to come up with a better idea. You would think that would be common sense your first idea didn’t work so try another one. When Sachs talked about how a lot of the rich people in the us are behind gates and there money is in outsourced country making money and they are doing just fine because they are the people who own the top companies that are making money on foreign ground they don’t care what happens as long they keep making money to love their lavish life styles. I think that is just sick. They get to sit in their mansions while a large percent of Americans today are barely making is and are scared they won’t be able to feed their kids tomorrow. I think Americans have become so selfish just thinking of ourselves we need to get back to help thy neighbor when in need rather than ignoring your neighbors when they need help .I’m not just talking about your neighbors across the street but the people who live here in America we need to take care of our own people before we can give millions away to help other countries.

article #7

Why the Breakfast Most Americans Will Eat Today Is a Corporate Scam

 AlterNet / By Anneli Rufus

http://www.alternet.org/food/152260/why_the_breakfast_most_americans_will_eat_today_is_a_corporate_scam

     

In the article "Why the Breakfast Most Americans Will Eat Today Is a Corporate Scam" by  Anneli Rufus of alternative media.org anneli talks about how what we eat in the morning all got started by the media. The breakfast every one eats today was a production of the people who wanted a meatless anti-aphrodisiac breakfasts. The idea for the meat less breakfast came from a man named John Kellogg, he was Michigan's Seventh-Day Adventist surgeon and anti-masturbation activist. John’s brother developed the cold cereal Kellogg corn flakes by sweetening them which john hadn't thought of. He marketed the sweetened cereals to the kids instead of the health conscious parents any longer. Before the cereal breakfast food there was a 4000 calorie breakfast consisting of protein-rich eggs, sausages, ham and bacon with pancakes and bread. This was the ideal meal for the farmer who didn't get to eat again until he got back from the fields. The breakfast was the first thing to change. After the breakfast and what people ate change the type of jobs changed, people were no longer working hard in the fields all day long but rather in the factory's .A lot of the foods we eat today we think are healthy because the media says so and the way they market the food but in reality a lot of the foods are just junk food in disguise 

     This article really made me think about what I eat and why. Why do I eat cereal for breakfast because the media tells us it’s good for us and why would they lie to make money. Society needs to think about why they are doing certain thing and where they got the idea from. When I was reading this I was amazed at how much power the media has over us without us even realizing what is going on and how the thought of drinking orange juice and having a bowl of cereal is good for you’ve never questioned the idea of how come we don't have steak and potatoes for breakfast I’ve just always thought of those as dinner foods. I think it’s kind of funny that the man to come up with a non- meat breakfast is the same man who is still recognized today by the cereal brand. The media scams people so easily .I think people need to do more research before they decide they are just going to switch to something because the media says it’s better for you.

   

Article # 6

Getting to know You and Me
By Chana Schoenberger

 In the book writers response pg 95 -97

   I read the short story “Getting to Know You and Me” by Chana Schoenberger in the book writers response . In this story the author talks about an experience she had while in high school. Chana was approached by the diversity committee, which sponsors the assemblies to increase religious awareness, to help with the presentation about the Jewish holiday of Passover. When she was 16 she was one of the 20 students who spent 5 weeks with the National Science Foundation Young Scholars Program. The 20 students quickly became close friends. There were 8 different religious backgrounds that were represented within this group, including Jewish, Roman Catholic, Hindu, Methodist, Mormon, Jehovah’s Witness, Lutheran and Muslim. Although they were some of the smartest students in school, they were very unaware of other cultures around them. One girl asked another girl if she was Mormon because she had 9 brothers and sisters. The girl replied “no, I dress normal”. Her friends were curious about Judaism and asked her all sorts of questions about it. Her roommate asked her “how come if Jesus was a Jew, Jews aren’t Christian”. This is just one of the problems that came from growing up in a small town where most people were the same religion without much diversity. She was asked if they still practiced animal sacrifices by a girl from a small town in Minnesota. She laughed and said “no, this is the 20th century”. Although no one was being purposely rude she got the feeling she was representing the whole Jewish community. She realized that a lot of the people would go back thinking that all Jewish people were just like her. Although the students were very ignorant of the cultures, the worst was their biology professor who took them on a field trip to the EPA field site. As he was telling them about the project he was working on, he said he wouldn’t want them to get “jewed”. She couldn’t believe what she heard, the most educated man had made an anti-Semitic remark. She decided she was going to say something, but changed her mind and didn’t go through with it. What scared her the most was that she never met a vicious anti-Semite who was purposely trying to be prejudiced. A lot of people don’t understand what it means to be different and they approach it as if it is a bad thing. After she returned from her trip she planned on applying for the diversity committee to tell the whole school about her culture and her tradition. The experience has made her see how important it is to celebrate her heritage.
   When I read this story it made me think of myself and how I used to see different cultures. I feel I can relate to some of the other students who were ignorant of the other religions. One day I realized I was being prejudiced towards other cultures and wanted to change. So from then on I have taken many steps to change my views. The first step is I am in International Club with many different culture and ethnic backgrounds. I am also taking a class on multi-cultural awareness. Both of them have really pushed me out of my comfort zone and has made me more accepting of people’s differences.Recently I went to a presentation and realized I was not the only one that was ignorant of other cultures. I got a lot of my questions answered about culture.Although i don't have any special religion or culture like Chana in the story. I still want to continue to learn about different cultures around the world I liked the quote"If there weren't so much ignorance about each other people's backgrounds,would people still hate each other as badly as they do now"I belive this is an interesting thing to think about. A lot of wars are started because people are not tolerant and don't understand the differences of other cultures.I think that if you want to hate another culture its your choice but know all the facts before you decide to hate a whole group of people.