'tis the season...

So, yesterday I went to Deer Park to wrap gifts for part of my community service. My shift was from 10-12, and I was actually excited to be able to wrap a ton of presents and help people out, while at the same time helping Habitat out by raising money for them. Guess how many people stopped by our table to get their things wrapped? ONE. In the two hours that my friend and I were sitting at the table, ONE nice lady came up and asked us to wrap some of her items. It was also in the last 5 minutes of our shift. I was honestly shocked. First of all, the table wasn't even stationed in a place where people would be able to see us. Then, when my friend tried to stand at the door and let people know that we were back there, she got yelled at for "solicitingo"! I mean, I kind of get how that would look bad for the store, but it wasn't like we were asking people to donate money to a fund to help us buy a new car or something; it was to help people without a house! I just thought it was really interesting to think about how people can be so selfish sometimes. There were so many people that would walk by our table, glance at our sign, and then just keep on walking to get a cup of coffee. Would it be so hard to just put in a couple bucks to help someone else out for the holidays? It was kind of funny, because this girl walked up to our table maybe 15 minutes before our shift was over and we got so excited! Like we were finally going to get to wrap something. But the girl walked up and said, "Can I borrow a pen and something to write on?" We were actually kind of shocked. I haven't done gift wrapping like that in a long time and I forgot how rewarding it was to actually wrap presents for other people. I also didn't realize how people can be so selfish. Supposedly the holidays is a time for giving and happiness, but I didn't see a lot of that going on yesterday. Maybe it was because they didn't really know what cause we were working for. Maybe if they would have had a better idea of what Habitat for Humanity was, then they would have been more generous. It was just a very eye-opening experience overall.

deviance, drugs, jail and all that stuff...

  So, our lesson on deviance carried on into this week. We learned about the different types of drugs and how they are seen as more deviant in some societies and less deviant in others. It was crazy to think about how there are such different laws for the same drugs, depending on where you live. This just helps to show how deviance is relative to where/how you grow up.
   We also talked a lot about the Cook County Jail and the type of treatment that the "prisoners" received. The deputies were always trying to prove their superiority by swearing and threatening the prisoners, because if they didn't then they would run the risk of the prisoners becoming violent and out of control. I don't understand how even prison guards could treat prisoners like that. I mean, it's true that they may have committed some crimes, but I don't think all the verbal abuse is necessary. Especially because a lot of the crimes the prisoners were being charged of were drug related; they weren't murderers! Even though I wasn't in class one of the days we watched the movie 30 Days, I thought it was pretty cool. I thought it was really interesting to see the the jail where the inmates were able to develop a support system and try and recover. I don't understand why more jails aren't like that! It's obvious that people aren't going to change when all they're given is disrespect. The freedom that the other inmates had was very crucial to their "self-discovery" and overall recovery from whatever problem they may have had. If I were to ever end up in jail (which I hope never happens, of course) I would definitely want to be able to go to a place where I would be able to relate to other people that are in the same place. It would help to be able to converse with other people there and know that I'm not alone.

Deviance

Last week in class we read the article about the Saints and the Roughnecks. The saints were very deviant in the way they acted, but because of how they were able to make excuses and get themselves out of sticky situations, they weren't necessarily seen as deviant. They were also in the middle to upper class, so they had nice clothes and they were smarter than the Roughnecks. The Roughnecks were also deviant, but since they were not very dedicated in their studies like the Saints, their crimes were actually recognized and they were often punished. Throughout the article, the social status of the two groups was often looked at as a huge factor in level of deviance that was perceived. While I do believe that money does play a role in that type of stuff, I also just think some of it is just social skills. For instance, at SHS there are plenty of people that could be placed in the Saints and the Roughnecks categories. The Saints are the ones that are able to weasle their way out of sticky situations, where the Roughnecks aren't so fortunate. I see it happen all the time. Maybe a boy comes in late to class but since he is able to "tell the teacher what he/she wants to hear", the boy is suddenly off the hook. He would be considered the Saint. But then if another boy comes in late to class and he just disregards the teacher, then the boy will get into trouble. I think if people know the right way to talk to people, then they'll be able to get themselves out of sticky situations. A lot of it is how well people are able to charm others. If you're good at that kind of stuff then well, you're in luck.

Independence

This week in sociology we talked about what it means to be an "adult". It's true that we're legally adults when we turn 18, but that doesn't mean we're adults mentally or socially. From the time people are born until they go off to college, I think that they are treated like kids. Most parents do things for their kids that parents in other countries would not even dream of doing. I think that parents in America have huge double-standards. Most kids in America don't experience their first time using a washing machine until they're in college, and most kids don't even know how to cook food for themselves that consists of ingredients other than cereal and milk. Parents willingly do a lot more than they should for their kids but then once they reach "adulthood", parents expect their kids to know how to survive in the real world. I feel like back in the old days kids were able to be a lot more independent than they are now, just because of the different standards they had. I think that I'm a very independent person though. I learned to do my own laundry when I was in 8th grade and I help my mom cook all the time. I'm not necessarily saying that kids should be able to do everything for themselves without the help of parents, but I think that they should at least be prepared for what they're gonna have to deal with when they're out in the real world.