Thursday, November 6, 2008

"Less is More" by Jan DeBlieu

I grew up with the luxuries of money. I guess you would say. I got a cell phone around the age of thirteen. I got a laptop at fourteen. I got a car when I turned sixteen. My family and I have been on cruises and other vacations around the globe. They pay for my tuition to Auburn and my flag line fees. Yet, we are still financially sound. I do believe.
Even though I grew up with all of these niceties, I never once took any of it for granted. While I never had the experience of scrounging for food, I always took what I had with a grain of salt. When my car windows were down, the air conditioning was off. When my friends got the new and improved versions of cell phones and laptops, I didn't complain.
I think about becoming greener every day. Right now I've started with recycling and not driving as much. I'm almost offended by what she says towards the end of her article. I find it a little hard to believe that her teenage son has never heard of the Great Depression. You learn about it every year since the fifth grade. It almost seems like she's exaggerated this a little too much. To me, she's almost stereotyped her son's generation, my generation, of young adults. ...Maybe it's just me...

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

"Black Men in Public Space" by Brent Staples

In "Black Men in Public Space," Brent Staples describes many situations where he has felt discriminated against based on the way he looked. Whether it be his race, his clothing, or his actions. He tells of how woman have run faster when seeing he is behind them. He describes how people lock their car doors when passing them on the street.
As I have never been a black man or man in general, I don't know what it feels like to have a woman walk faster in front of me. But as a woman, I know I have feel threatened by any type of man walking behind me at night wearing sketchy clothing whether he is black or white, Mexican or Indian, or whistling or not whistling. Maybe I just have a large personal bubble, but when it's dark and I'm walking from the library to my dorm even I find myself clutching my back closer to me and avoiding eye contact when I pass fellow pedestrians.
I do know that I lock my door every time I get in my car to avoid the awkward locking of my door when I pass a stranger. I, also, try to make eye contact and smile when I pass strangers in the daytime even if they make me feel somewhat uneasy. I'm trying to change my way of thinking in stereotypes and judging people. I don't know them, and I shouldn't think the worst of them based on the way they look.