Giving back: Making a Difference

     Giving back to your community is so essential in certain societies, the sad thing is, I don't do my part. I recycle, pick up trash when I see it, etc, but I haven't really participated in an event that helps out the community. I'm sitting here tring to think of what I could do to help out my community, when there were events being offered to me countless of times. I participate in a youth group called Impact, its not one of those typical youth groups where you worship everyday, its a great place to hang with friends every sunday night. Video games, billiards, ping pong, beverages, you get the idea its like a lounge, oh and theres intense dodge ball after a 20-30 min speech by the pastor in charge.

     Anyways, (got carried away), Impact sponsors events that helps and gives back to the community. We raised over $5,000 for homeless families who wouldn't be able to have a christams dinner, over 700 families. An event I missed last year was to build shelters for the homeless, and it might sound like cheap homes, but it was the real deal supposedly, general contractors etc. If only I could of participated at the time. We package food for the salvation army, plant trees, writing this blog is makng me realize how much this youth group does for the community, I should inform myself more often about these events.

     If any wanted to see the website for Impact here is the link, if you wanna have some fun sunday nights don't be afraid to show up. http://www.rioimpact.com/

The Pursuit of Happyness: From rags to Riches

     There are many stories to be told of individuals rising through the classes to the top, often known as "from rags to riches". This story in particular has been made into an award winning movie in many categories, with actors Will & Jaden Smith.

     This story is based on a true story of Chris Gardner and his son Christopher Jr. Gardner, Chris invests his family savings into portable bone-density scanners for doctors. This was unsuccessful and deeply affected the family financially, resulting in the mother to leave them. Chris tries to redeem himself in New York by persisting to try and sell his device. He is then recognized by a manger of Dean Witter, an American stock brokerage, by solving a Rubik's cube during a short cab ride. Chris runs away  from the cab ride since he is not able to afford the ride and loses the device in the process.

     Chris then develops a relationship with this manager which can earn him the shot at becoming an intern stockbroker. Even after arriving late and not dressed for the occasion his is given the internship. At this point the IRS has run him dry because of unpaid taxes, he is evicted and officially homeless. Chris even had to sleep in a bathroom at a gas station with his son, while the owner tries to kick them out. From this Chris decides to go to the Glide Memorial United Methodist Church, a homeless shelter, but to get a room he has to run from work everyday to try and get a room.

     After a period of time Chris finds his lost bone scanner which a homeless man thought of it as a time machine. His work hours are limited and he must compete to get the one job he wants and resolves the issue by finding alternative ways to make phone sales calls more efficiently. While dealing with 19 other competitors for the job, Chris manages to keep his lowly circumstances on the down low. One day he is called to a meeting and is announced that he has acquired the job, Chris runs to his son nearly in tears.

     Chris Gardner went on to form his own multi-million dollar brokerage firm, Gardner Rich & Co.

-The real Chris Gardner

Social and School Pressures

     Social pressures is the true amount of weight put on an adolescent's shoulders, this stress will get in the way of school work putting "school pressures" on the adolescent. Many would rather hang with their friends than work on an assignment. Then the student's grades will start to slowly plumet. I'm not saying that hanging out with your friends once is going to do this, but the iresponsibility of time management comes into play.  There is a never ending chain of cause and effect between social and school pressures.

     Social pressures go beyond affecting academic success, the adolescent's life can change drastically based on how they react to society. Everyone has heard the saying that friends have an immense amount of influence on their lives it is true, but based on how wise that individual is. Now that I look back, my friends have done the same and I probably at one point done the same to them without ever knowing. Social pressures can be interpreted as influence or peer pressure. This can count for drugs, alcohol, and violence, adolescents tend to be prone to go under the influence since our adult level of maturity has not developed yet. The best obvious choice is to stay above the influence since a minor mistake can ruin the lives of the ignorant.

    

Does Marijuana affect academic success?

     Many drug users will deny the fact that drugs have a negative impact on the human body, because they are already indulged in the addiction of it. Marijuana of course is one of those drugs that users will say that it is not addictive and that is easy to quit. Some drugs make people hallucinate while others cause the user to have "mood swings". Marijuana is now very popular among adolescents and many come to school stoned.
     Now from my perspective marijuana does effect academic success and it is proven that concentration is nearly impossible and is shown in the students' grades. To get an accurate study for this research I must formulate a survey/questionnaire, which has been made, and pass out to students that smoke marijuana, this will be no problem since there are many potheads around high schools. Included in the survey/questionnaire will be an option where the students can anonymously include their GPA.
     Since primary data has not been collected I cannot come to a conclusion at the moment, but if future blogs allow us to blog of our results I will be glad to do so.

Subcultures- Skaters & Surfers

     Welcome to yet another session with Stereotypical Canadian where we discuss sociological issues, topics, etc, assigned to us every week. This week, subcultures is the topic and more specifically in America. A subculture is a culture within a more wider culture, with norms and values that are different than those of the "mainstream" or the majority in a society. Even though there will be differences between subcultures and the main culture, there will still be some similarities.

     This week we have discussed in class the Gothic subculture, which many people portray an aggressive culture based on the clothing that they wear and the music that is listened to, this screams stereotypes. (Since this blog is called Stereotypical Canadian, I must point out stereotypes in every post I make, my own little challenge). This Gothic culture has been feared by the "mainstream" in greater mass since the Columbine shootings, since the two shooters involved were of the Gothic subculture.

    

     Skaters are a subculture that is immensely into the sport of skateboarding, this subculture is becoming more and more popular as a "mainstream" culture, primarily because celebrity skaters have promoted skateboarding all across the United States. The Skateboarding subculture used to be seen as a wreckless group of kids looking to cause havoc in Urban cities, which is still the case in heavily populated cities. Skateboarders are also taken as those crazy individuals that will to extremes and nearly kill themselves to achieve a goal. This man below, Danny Way, jumps over the Great Wall of China twice finally landing the stunt with a broken ankle from the first attempt. To get this event to work, caused great international caos but ended with a pat on the back.

     The Surfer subculture is that group of people that dress up in boardshorts and wear sandals everywhere and love to surf who would literally marry the sea (<= look at picture). The absolute only thing they talk about is surfing, this is an opinion and also from personal experience of being surrounded by surfing addicts. Some of the stereotypes that are affiliated with surfers is their sense of literacy, since their dialect can be incomprehensible at times, and sounds as if they plugged their noses and stick out their chins as they are talking. Such as "Dude I caught this gnarly lookin wave the other day and I barreled it in right into a wedge and came out clean, it was soooo sick!". They are also known for their over-emphasizing on words, example: DUUUUheUUUUUDE! That was AWWheSOMME! (come see me in class if you want to hear it), with the chin sticking out.

    

     Now enough with the jokes, these are subcultures that are becoming more and more "mainstream" as our nation advances (or gets dumber! ... no more jokes). Both of these can "go with the flow in the 'mainstream' ", (I'm hilarious, just can't get over it), because people are interested in sports and love to go to the beach these subcultures just fit right in with the crowd. There are now competitions around the world that assemble large masses of different cultures just to watch some individuals of amazing talent pull off the craziest stunts imaginable.

     The most rebellious of the two would be the skaters, but why? Sociologists such as Eisenstadt states that, "If conflict exists, it is essentially emotional, and results from young people's sense of marginalisation and powerlessness while developing the values and relationships that allow them to stand on their own two feet. The main point is that youth cultures are funtional to society and in fact help maintain social order" (1956). Does this mean that these rebellious acts are causeed by the need for socialisation of those individuals into a position in society. If so, then this is only a function to society, after all all teenagers go through a rebellious stage in their lives.



Stereotypes on Canadians!

     Is it ironic or just a coincidence that I would choose this topic? I mean there is absolutely nothing that is hinting at the fact that I am Canadian on this page or even the title of the page itself, why would I choose this topic? Well I have to admit one thing... I AM CANADIAN...I hope I didn't give anyone a heart attack there.
     All joking aside, stereotypes are a huge problem in society today, and has been taken to such a point that it is a norm to stereotype other countries. For example, if we meet a person of German decent the first thing that pops into our mind is Nazi, it is true. The person will continue to introduce themselves but all you want to shout out is Nazi !!
     It is part now out of the norm if one does not make fun of the other, we feed off of the ridicule now. Comedy shows nowadays are based around the idea to ridicule the other. Most of the time it is based on nationality. The Hispanics are called "spiks", the French are considered "dirty", the Irish are always drunk, Asians are good at math, Haitians eat cats, these are the primary stereotypes that are generated for different countries and ethnicities.
     Some of the many stereotypes that I hear often abooot Canadians are: we live in igloos, eat pancakes, love maple syrup, ride polar bears, are extremely polite and say sorry to everything, everyone plays hockey, we club seals, wear thick sweaters, etc. Calling people different stereotypes is a norm that will exist for an eternity, they might innovate in the number of stereotypes but they will never go away. It gives a sense superiority to the person that gives the remark.

     Continuation by request of Leigh Sàde...

     These stereotypes do not go on unheard, the victims of the stereotyping usually hold on to the anger that is within them.

 “Even after a person leaves a situation where they faced negative stereotypes, the effects of coping with that situation remain,” says Inzlicht from the University of Toronto, “People are more likely to be aggressive after they’ve faced prejudice in a given situation. They are more likely to exhibit a lack of self control. They have trouble making good, rational decisions. And they are more likely to over-indulge on unhealthy foods.” (Inzlicht, University of Toronto, 2011)

     The effects of stereotyping can be severe, as it is stated one can make horrible decisions by eating unhealthy or worse, committing suicide (topic reference!!). Suicide is one of the many "sideffects" that stereotyping has to offer, and seems to be the "only way out" for those victims as they percieve it. The thing is it is not the only way out, there is family, psychiatrists, and other institutions that can help rehabilitate the ones that are deeply affected.
     I am not saying that calling a hispanic a spik is going to cause them to go suicide, but it will have some lasting effects.

-p.s. They probably want to chop your ignorant, selfish, capitalistic head off instead. (just kidding)

   

Globalization

     Is the world actually becoming one? Are cultures disappearing? And are countries losing their own identity and taking the traditions of others?

     This is the idea of Globalization and the world is either freaking out about it or they can care less. What is the problem? Personally I think people should be aware of globalization it is a problem that society is just accepting. Why are we accepting this? Countries are losing their cultural identities without even being aware of it. For examples countries in Africa think they are keeping up with the modern world by importing products from other countries. They are, but the problem is they are taking away their traditional garments that they used to wear, losing their sense of cultural identity. 30 years ago you could find an African boy wearing a long garment that looks like a bed sheet while holding a bow and arrow trying to kill a wild boar. Today you can find a boy of the same age and culture wearing a Lil Wayne shirt in jeans holding an AK-47 in their hands killing an innocent family. I'm not saying that the import  is the cause of the actions that were caused, but I'm trying to point out that there is no more sense of culture. If I go on vacation to China to see the Great Wall I will certainly see a Burger King just down the street.

     Now certain people believe in pro-globalization, which means they support it but they are supporting it because they are the average capitalist who only cares about their individual profit. they would be the ones to say "Globalization? nah, its not happening I still wear what I used to wear 20 years ago. So whats the problem?" (I have to make it clear that globalization is not based on what you wear it is just an example). The problem is that other cultures and countries around the world have been adopting this "American" lifestyle ever since the United States were considered a super power in the world, (not so much anymore).

     Globalization is an issue that will continuously repeat itself over the years, its just a way for the world to become one. The question is, "Is it important enough to take action"?