Comments on: Inequality Class: Comment

By: S_Josaphat

S_Josaphat — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 04:59:44 +0000

Yes it is hard to get out of the hole, but also anything is possible. I believe and have witnessed first hand that through hard work and determinism anything is possible. Yeah the journey to getting to the top may be easier than others and one will have more obstacles than the other. Thats just how the world operates, life is not a box of chocolates. I am not saying that it is ok that its always the under privileges or minorities get faced with these problems because thats how life is, what I am saying is that the obstacles will be different for everyone but inly through natural unexpected interruptions.

By: S_Josaphat

S_Josaphat — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 04:49:20 +0000

The struggle still lives on. Although it was more of a struggle for black people then and now than white people, this is a prevalent issue is found among a variety of races and classes. Of course one person may struggle more than the other, but life is usually never easy for the average person when it comes to picking ones self back up after a hard fall. As a result major changes are mad in ones standard of living pertaining to finances, education, food supply, economical stipend, and etc. Its said to be good when day one just works according to plan. Applying that approach to the decisions they should come across . The real question is what is the hole and is there another opening in this hole, but people are just afraid or award of this imaginary secondary path.

By: psustarfire

psustarfire — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 01:57:20 +0000

I think that all of the racial groups have members of their “team” whom have dug huge holes for themselves. It is not the racial group itself that are in the hole, it’s the individual members. They do not represent your race as a whole. White “team” members have dug holes for themselves as well. My uncle spent many years in federal prison for drug trafficking. It seems to me that you and your family are climbing out of a hole of your own. (You said you have family members that have been in and out of jail.) You are digging yourselves out … you are here. You are here getting an education that will take you much farther in life and put yourself (and your family) in a better situation. So it is not impossible to dig out; it may be hard, but not impossible, because you are doing it!

By: ezf5009

ezf5009 — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:57:19 +0000

I think it is easy for people to say they do not believe that it is difficult to get stuck in the “hole.” But it’s probably because they don’t fully understand what it is like for people who live in poverty. This downward spiral isn’t widely occurring in wealthy people, and it is easy to get stuck when you don’t have other options. The problem isn’t realizing you made a mistake, but instead having alternatives. It is not easy for people without opportunity to always avoid crime, especially when they live in areas without jobs and crime is the norm.

By: Gwillakers

Gwillakers — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 23:52:52 +0000

I totally agree with what he said. Its a lot tougher for a former African American felon to get a job when he gets out than that of a white person. The statistic we saw in class really made me uncomfortable. It showed that companies rather hire a white person that has a felony on their record than hiring an African American with absolutely nothing on his. Now just imagine if he actually had a crime on his record. Its the horrible reality of this discrimination happening in the workforce that makes people angry. I hope that soon change will be implemented and regulations will be put into place to stop this.

By: ACL

ACL — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 22:58:48 +0000

I completely agree with what he is saying. Once you make a mistake I feel that people judge you. They may not even know what you did or how it happened, if you were really guilty but they hear that you were arrested or that you went to jail and they just assume that you are a bad egg. For example, at a penn state tailgatea couple of years ago my friend who was under the age of twenty-one at the time was completely sober. She asked to hold another friends beer while he did something real quick. At that exact moment an undercover police man came up and asked for her id and ended up giving her an underage. This past year she tried out for teach for america and was told that she was not accepted due to that underage. She did nothing wrong but was looked upon as an alcoholic and not fit to teach children, thus yes I agree that it is hard to get out of the hole once you fall into one.

By: JustLovingLife

JustLovingLife — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:35:50 +0000

Of all the things in the world that we place a color on, I never thought that crime would be one of them. I always thought that crime was something that had or bared no color. If someone commits a crime, then that person should pay their debt to society. However, I have realized that paying one’s debt to society goes the actual prison building itself. Race has now taken over just how long someone will serve his or her prison sentence.
It is amazing to me that for the most part while people are in jail it is almost as if race does not matter. Nobody cares what color you are or what crime you committed for that matter. In fact all that matters when a person is in jail is serving the amount of time that he or she has been given. But once a person steps out of prison, it becomes a completely different ball game. The regular life that they once had is no longer valid. No longer are you looked at as just a criminal, you now have a “pretty” little shadow to go along with it—your race.
Someone in my Soc 119 class stated that it is harder for Black people to come out of the hole once released from prison. I agree completely. This terrible treatment occurs for any person of color. Some people would disagree and say “This is not true at all!” “Once a criminal, always a criminal no matter what color you are.” Ha! What they really mean to say is “Once a person of color, always a person of color.” Society dictates that people of color are more likely to commit crimes than white people. They would like to look at people of color as if they are complete savages with no sense of compassion or love for others. When we as people of color go to prison, it seems that white people automatically assume that we are merely fulfilling the destiny that we had planned for us. We are basically doing our job. Wow! Now I see why people of color cannot get ahead, we have been in prison in our minds for too long. When a person of color is released from prison, they get a complete beating from society. It becomes extremely hard for them to find jobs, meet new people, and build a sense of security. On the other hand, people white people are released from prison, they receive jobs, have places where they can move into and will not be judged, still have people who will trust them with everything they have. That is a simple slap on the wrist.
OMG! I am so sick and tired of White people getting all of the praise for changing their lives around. What about the people of color who have changed their lives around for the better? What about the people of color who are not back in the system? What about those people of color who are just trying to take it day by day? Do they not deserve credit? Are they not the same as those white criminals? Hmmm…I used to think the glass was half full, now I am wondering if it is really half empty.

By: gjs5028

gjs5028 — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:26:08 +0000

I took a soc class last semester on deviance, and one of the things we discussed was the affect prison has people and their ability to get and hold jobs, and it really does have a negative affect. In fact, America is one of the only nations in the world to inflict such harsh restrictions after being released from prison. Rules like not allowing felons to vote, even after they have payed their debt to society, is really sending a mixed message. Furthermore, studies show that people who feel like adults are less likely to commit crimes, and when you take away aspects of adulthood like the ability to vote or hold down a job, then the people are less likely to feel like adults, and become more likely to commit further crime. So while people do make their own decisions, aspects of labeling, stigma, and even statutory law help to push people right back into crime.

By: Mullabhai

Mullabhai — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 07:19:20 +0000

I believe that people have the right and choice always to make their decisions, but when people are put in certain situations to survive there aren’t many options available to them. Just as we saw the stats for black people compared to white people getting jobs regardless of their criminal background white people always get the benefit and are the hands down favorite to get the job over the black person. If black people are not getting equal opportunities to get jobs and prove themselves then how can we expect them to live to certain standards when the standards are different for every race? Black people many times are not given jobs and are expected to survive, which leads them with no other alternative but, to at times sell illegal drugs and when they do this they are criticized in many ways. I am not sitting here telling you that selling drugs is something that is okay to do, but if a person is left with no option what else is he or she expected to do. And even after they are caught and come out of prison they still are not given opportunities that a white person for example would get. If they are not going to be treated at the same scale as the rest of the people, how can anyone expect them to be at same level as us, or even attempt to, because to attempt something there has to be a door to try which is in many cases closed for blacks.

By: JayBella

JayBella — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 07:08:05 +0000

I agree with Brandon that one: it is difficult to get out of the hole once you are in, and two: there certainly is a personal responsibility that must be taken into account for one’s actions. I understand completely what he is saying about getting back on your feet after making poor decisions. I want to make it clear that I don’t think he is saying this is any excuse, but it definitely is a hindrance towards virtually anything else that black people want to accomplish afterwards. Jobs, programs, friends, even a place to volunteer can become hard to come by (most of those go for all colors, not just black people, though we have all seen the statistics regarding what seems like a more complex system for blacks to navigate).

Another thing that I wanted to bring up was that generation after generation, black people see this happening—this “getting stuck in the hole” thing. In addition to that, they see other black people that have stayed as far away from the hole as possible (like the people Sam said have done everything they needed to do to succeed, i.e. go to school, get good grades, go to college, etc.) and they STILL fail to get ahead or even on the same “level” as a white person. When black, or other children of color, see this happening, most of them think “Well if that doesn’t even work then why the hell would I go through all of that to conform?” which I think is a logical argument on their part.
In order to continue this scenario I will need to make some generalizations that I understand are not always true. But for the sake of my point, bear with me: The problem with black people conforming to the “white society” is that they don’t see any benefits in the end. To conform to be separated from what your environment is calling you to be usually means that there will be criticism from the people in an individuals’ culture. So not only does life suck because you’re trying to fit in with people that seem to be unlike you and come from a very different background, it sucks because now you have no support. A lot of times black people (especially males) find pride in the resistance of conforming to what the white man wants them to be. What they fail to realize is by not conforming, they are STILL what the white man wanted them to be: ignorant to his or her potential.

And for spf5027, I really need you to open up your eyes, ears, and brain. For crying out loud, do you think Sam’s just making shit up as he goes along? That very well could be the case but it’s not. I’m just going to take a wild guess and say that you’re not black because if you were it would make a little….ok A LOT more sense to you. Sam isn’t saying that all judges are racists. I’m pretty sure he’s been trying to stress to us that he sometimes uses generalizations. However, how can you say that there’s not enough racism to make it a big deal? Sure every judge might not be racist, but what about the jury? Sure they’re sworn to oath too, but who really knows what their thinking? Anyway, I think you should let your guard down. You seem to take offense to everything Sam says when really he’s just making his point. He’s talking to the people like you who refuse to see the reality in the matter. I mean, believe what you want but don’t walk away from this class the same way you came into it.