Life on the Reservation

                 Life is certainly less prosperous on the reservation. It isn't exactly horrible but it isn't great either. Much of the Reservation is in poverty.  By reading off of Montana 1948 it states "On the western edge of the county and extending into two other counties was the Fort Warren Indian Reservation, the rockiest, sandiest, least arable parcel of land in the region". The county itself isn't that great but they still got the worst part of it. The people of the reservation are still allowed to interact with the rest of society however are seen as lesser beings to many. They are also denied opportunities due to their heritage. Much like Young Bear in Montana 1948. He was very athletic and would make a great member to any sport team but however he is Indian so he is never offered a position of scholarship.
                Despite the fact that their culture is shunned and scorned by others many of them still stick with their traditional ways of life. Many of them take true pride in their heritage. Yet their culture is one reason why they don't assimilate so easily into modern society.
              The Indian people do not deserve this form of treatment. It was their land to begin with so we have no right in telling them that their ways of life are savage or wrong. Yet time should heal all wounds and life on the reservation has gotten better. The movie we are watching in class "Smoke Signals" shows that life on the reservation isn't that bad. Its seems quiet and calm and many seem to enjoy themselves with what they have. So life on the Reservation has its ups and downs.

Propaganda, Hidden Amongst us in Disguise?

            Does propaganda still exist you may ask? Yes it does but it hides in plain sight and remains invisible but to only the untrained eye. Now first off let us discover what propaganda is.


Propaganda:
• information that is spread for the purpose of promoting some cause.
Now where does this exist you may ask? Its actually all around us but it subliminal. Lets take McDonald's as an example. They take famous athletes or celebrities to star in their commercials to promote their food to the younger generation when we all know that the food is bad for you. 
             Now how about another example. Lets say terrorism? After 9/11 the word "Terrorism" has been tossed around quite often when we talk about the war in the middle east. At first many people would of not supported the invasion of Iraq but after 9/11 that changed drastically. Many people wanted to feel safe after 9/11 so when politics talk about "fighting terrorism" people don't really seem to understand the situation but would continue to support it to have this sense of security. Fear can be a essential tool to propaganda.
             A silly but not so different example of this would be episode 17, season 5 of Family Guy where Lois runs for mayor. In order to win the election she resorted to propaganda on terrorism. She started saying these idiotic things about terrorist plans and such so the people of the town said: "How much money do you need until we can feel safe again?" After that they blindly started throwing money in. So basically she was spreading information (that is not necessarily true) for the purpose of some cause. 
            Now there are countless more examples of propaganda but thats all for now. 

Free Response On Black Boy

                         Compared to todays society it seems hard to believe the stories in this book are true. Richard has experienced so much in his childhood that not of us could compare. Nowadays I hardly believe any of us have been beaten to near death circumstances by our parents (at least I hope not). I don't understand why family would do that to one and another. I get the idea of punishment but this seems like they just want to hurt him. I couldn't stand the idea of me hurting any of my family members to such a circumstance. Yet Richard lived in a violent time where strict rules would seem just. I don't however agree with it.
                        The thing that I find really annoying though that at any time Richard gets in trouble he hardly understands why. More like beat now and answer questions later. We must remember that Richard was really young during these events. He hardly understands why he does the actions he does. Sadly whenever he gets into trouble its always one sided. He can never get any support and he would always be branded as the wrong one. So I was glad to see when he stood up for himself against his aunt for wrongly accusing him of making a mess. He now understands that he has to be strong and aggressive to survive in this world of his.
                        So far the book has been great. Can't wait to see what happens next.

Hungry for Attention (Is young Richard alone in his cravings? )

                 Richard seems to be always looking for attention. . He didn't like the feeling of being ignored. Yet isn't it just natural that children crave the attention of adults? Don't you ever have that one child that walks up to you and wants to show you how well they can count for over an hour? Richard is not alone for he is not much different from many other children.
                  Despite the fact that Richard set his house on fire and killed a kitten for attention he isn't much different then any other child. In our reading you can see that Richard loves playing 20 questions. He constantly asks his mom what does this or what does that mean to the point where he becomes a nuisance. I myself have had a little brother that loved to play that game. The fun was one sided. Richard just wants a little attention. With his father gone and his mom constantly at work he just needs someone to show him a sense of purpose. Sense his mother is always at work she most likely ignores him while shes busy. He wants his presence to be seen and not go unnoticed. Even I as a child would just walk up to my mom and constantly call out her name until she finally responded. This was very annoying to her but it does end up getting her attention.
                So Richard isn't alone. He's just like every other child seeking the attention of their parents. Children are kind of like sponges. They'll keep with them anything you say and they are always anxious to hear more.

Response to "On being a Mexican American"

               I have a lot in common with the author. Not only am I Mexican American but my last name is Mendoza like his :). Well besides the obvious I had similar experiences growing up. I, like the author, was born in the U.S but born a Mexican. 
             My childhood experience was very similar to the authors. As a child I didn't see the differences of me and other people. I was always around my family and I always thought everyone else must be like us. The way I spoke is the way I thought most people spoke. At that point I thought being Mexican was no different from being American. It was not until school when I began to realize we are not all so alike. 
            According to the article and my own experiences, school is one of the first places you begin to notice being different. You see that not all the kids around you look like you, some children begin to tease you for being different, the things around you begin to unfold. In many cases you begin to become the thing your not.
           My father is very proud of his heritage and he strongly believes in maintaining it. My little brother and father would sometimes get into little quarrels where my brother says "I'm not Mexican dad I'm American" and my dad would just lecture him on how wrong he is and how he should be proud of being Mexican. So my little brother was being "Anglocized" as the author would put it.
       Knowing how much my dad does to maintain our heritage comes the question from the author "DO WE Mexicans ever totally integrate?". In my opinion I will never truly be "Anglocized". Despite how much I have changed to better fit this new society I will never forget my culture. I am proud to be Mexican but also an American. That is why I am Mexican-American.

King Still King?

         Martin Luther King Jr. was a great man then but what about now? As we all know he was a man who fought for his people. No, for all people, to live amongst each other in peace and harmony. Not to be distinguished by the color of their skin but by the actions they have committed. MLK fought with the belief in his mind : All men are created equal.
         From the very day he began fighting for civil rights to the day of his death, his actions will forever echo in eternity. His actions will be passed down from years to come serving as a great example of human accomplishment. To this day his words live on to inspire future generations to fight for what they think is right. Such as Cesar Chavez, a civil rights inspired by MLK's words, to fight for his rights. So MLK's voice has not faltered over the years. Do we not study the past to improve the future?
         Not only has he inspired the future but improved it as well. To this day we can see examples of his success by simple going to school. Our school is so ethnically diverse and we could thank MLK for that. He allowed us to all be under one roof where no one is inferior then the other. Instead we can see each others as equals.
        So King is still King. He shall remain a role hero to many and a role model to all. His words and actions will never go unnoticed and will forever be a part of our lives.

"The Sacred Soil" by Chief Seattle Response

             After reading this I feel a sense of respect for the author. He doesn't try to refuse that fact that his people will be gone soon. He accepts it. Yet he doesn't say it as a bad thing. More of an eventuality. He explains how all people in time will fade away in time so instead of blaming the white men of his peoples leavings he sees it as nature taking its course. The author stated "Tribe follow tribe, and nation follows nation, like the waves of the sea. It is the order of nature, and regret is useless."
             Yet he does feel some remorse over their land becoming desecrated. However his people will truly never be gone after they have left the land. Much like the author has said "There is no death, only change of worlds." So there "spirits" remain to roam the land they once inhabited. So despite the fact that the white men have cleared the land of their people, the white men will never be "alone."
            It is really sad though how the author and his people never really had a choice to go to the reservations or not. His people are few but the white men are many. So the author states "The white Chief says that Big Chief at Washington sends up greetings of friendship and goodwill. That is kind of him for we know he has little need of our friendship in return." So it was not much of an option.
            I wonder if "the white men" ever thought of the possibility of not taking the land that didn't belong to them. The author's people have been theres for hundreds of years so whats gives these foreign people the right to commandeer it? So none the less this story was a good read.