Social Justice Project

Social Justice: Looking at the World Through a Lense of Justice and Fairness

            I read an article called “Where Do We Go After Ferguson?” This deals with a very serious issue, which the Ferguson case has recently brought light to-racial divide and discrimination in the United States. When people think of racism, they might easily think of what was “ending” less than 100 years ago. But clearly, this issue has yet to be resolved or ended, as it has found it’s way into many modern day situations, like this one. Police Officer Darren Wilson saw Michael Brown as a “demonic force”, as the article states-and solely based on the color of his skin, therefore taking it upon himself to shoot and kill the unarmed black teenager. I find it completely unjust that Brown was shot, as he didn’t do any harm or pose a threat and was just minding his own business. Additionally, the fear Darren Wilson possibly had of him that influenced his death was judged based on the fact that he was black. Had it been a white teenager that Wilson came across, most likely he wouldn’t have shot. That’s not to say that police brutality is only directed towards black people, but that obviously much police brutality from white officers in the United States can be traced back to a frankly very flawed and racist perspective that many of them have. Something this article said that proved this perspective did and still does exists is “…Then you didn’t really see what any Negro looked like, because ‘the Negro was never an individual’ but ‘a threat, or an animal, or a curse.” This line was very important, because while whites might not be as extreme as to consider black people were animals or curses, they obviously consider them a threat. Lastly, I believe that Darren Wilson should have been indicted, as he was wrong in thinking this way, but more importantly wrong in shooting this teenager. It is an injustice that he wasn’t and that even now, years after moments in history that should have brought closure to the issue of racism, unfortunately many black people in this country still have to deal with people who never let go of these feelings.


           Some things I observed in my neighborhood that I think are unfair to human rights are

the dress code at M.S. 51 and homelessness.

 Although I find both of these issues very important, I want to elaborate on homelessness. Homelessness is a big problem. Thousands of underprivileged people live right under our noses in this huge city. Some are right on the street. And it might be hard for each person to try and help, but even just the smallest thing like giving someone a little money is a kind act. For example, the other day on the subway, I gave a homeless man some money. It wasn’t a lot at all, but it wasn’t more than he asked for, and it felt good. It felt good to give for once.

Interview with Addie Lovell

What is good about the world?

Puppies, kittens, food, drama, summer, holidays, pools, hot chocolate, fall, the beach, movies, One Direction, Larry, Starbucks, Netflix, Tumblr.

What is unfair about the world?

Women don’t earn the same pay as men for doing the same jobs, women get blamed for rape, there is such thing as rape culture, gay marriage isn’t allowed in some states, it’s unfair that a white police officer can shoot an unarmed black teen and gets paid $500 thousand and is not indicted, a white male teenager can rape a female student and not face any consequences, Obama is dismissing the Michael Brown case, people believe there should be laws enforcing what they can and cannot do with their bodies, animal abuse, people choose not to believe sexualities including bisexual, a sexual and demisexual exist and genders like transgender, agender and gender fluid really exist, although they do, there aren’t enough gun laws to stop people from buying guns and killing people, animal abuse, when a white teenager comes into a school and shoots children, people pity him and think he had a “mental disorder”, Nash Grier and Justin Bieber.

Just by looking at the second question, it is so much longer. Things that are good about the world are simple pleasures that she enjoys, while things that are unfair about the world are complicated and troublesome-rape, not believing in sexualities, gun control, and the Michael Brown case. One of her answers that really made me think was when she said people choose not to believe sexualities including bisexual, a sexual and demisexual exist. I think that people need to understand that others should be allowed to be themselves without being judged or dismissed by anyone else. Everyone should be celebrated for who they are, nothing less. I think it’s unfair that people take it upon themselves to judge others wrongly. 

            Something I saw in the news was a story about a football player named Costa Karageorge. The news said that he had recently ran away, after a series of concussions he had from football. Apparently, he was confused by the concussions. This makes me think about how dangerous sports can be. People can get injured and ruined so easily. If you really think about it, you hear a lot about stories lately about serious repercussions of playing football. Also, this case is really sad because he was recently found dead near his school, apparently with a self-inflicted gun wound. I can imagine Karageorge feeling very confused and depressed. He might regret choosing to play football because it caused him so much pain in the end. I know I would. If I were the family of Karageorge I would feel devastated about the terrible situation.

            Someone who changes the world every day is my grandmother. My grandmother is an animal activist. She is a vegan and doesn’t believe in animal abuse. She tries to help animals find homes. Every day she gets emails about unwanted animals and tries as hard as she can to help them find homes, by telling everybody she can in hopes of finding an owner. I find it inspiring that she has dedicated herself to animal rights and never stopped trying. She is also a therapist, so she helps people who need support every day, which is very inspiring.

          When I think about stereotypes in shows, I think of Glee. Glee is a show about a number of teenagers in high school who join together in a musical group called Glee. They’re all different, however many of the characters perpetuate certain stereotypes. For example, the show portrays social stereotypes, including that the football players date the popular, cheerleader girls. Also, the Asian boys parents push him to get amazing grades. The only Asians date each other and there are very few black kids not only in the club, but also in the whole school. Also, the girls are sometimes portrayed as very needy and attention seeking (such as Rachel and Quinn). I think it’s very important that people watching shows like this understand all people are different and that one group of people aren't and shouldn't be all one way, so as not to let these stupid stereotypes get to them. However, I think that aside from the perhaps excessive stereotypes perpetuated in the show, Glee promotes a very positive message, which is that people can come together and do something amazing despite their differences. At many different points in the show, one member would quit because they were changing and thought that being in Glee made them a loser or a social outcast, but they would always come around and rejoin. They realized that Glee was something very special and something they all wanted to be a part of. This club made a lot the characters break out of their shell and change. For many of them, high school was a very draining and tough experience and so in many parts, despite everything they had gone through themselves and with each other, they came to love Glee as a second family, or an outlet. So despite the stereotypes used in this show I think one of Glees more positive aspects is that it promotes a strong message about coming together. Although, it is pretty hard to overlook these stereotypes. Teenagers and adults are different and unique in so many ways and can't be categorized by these standards.

Eleanor and Park Essay

Eleanor and Park

 There are many ways that other people can affect and change our personality and our overall outlook on life-things they make us feel, or think. For Eleanor, in Eleanor and Park, there are a few circumstances that very negatively impact her outlook in the beginning of the book. Her strange sense of style and her crazy red hair make her feel far too different from all the “perfect” girls at her school, and from most girls she meets for that matter. This causes her huge lack of confidence about herself and her cautious, guarded personality around her peers, for fear of what they might think. Eleanor also faces feelings of bitterness and anger due to her terrible, broken family life and her abusive, unforgiving father, Richie. However, although these issues can’t completely disappear and probably never will, through her relationship with a boy whom she meets and soon falls in love with, Park, they seemingly lessen slightly as he helps her change and open up more as a person. The major lesson I took away from this book was that love change us greatly and can positively affect the way we see the world and the way we see ourselves.

            In the beginning, Eleanor lacks confidence and sees herself as unworthy in general-and even of Parks love. For instance, when she’s on the phone with him on page 109, it says, “She looked down at the turntable, at her own reflection in the tinted acrylic lid. She looked like a fat-faced ghost. She closed her eyes. ‘Why do you even like me?” This demonstrates Eleanor’s lack of confidence through the way she described how ugly she thought she looked, as well as her doubt about Park’s feelings for her. She doesn’t believe that Park could ever love her as much as she loves him, which isn’t true. Park loves and cares about Eleanor so much more than she knows. Another example of this shown when she meets Park’s mother. When she goes to Park’s house for the first time and meets her, she leaves just a few minutes after. She felt too uncomfortable around his “pretty perfect mom”. In fact she feels “She would never belong in Park’s living room. She never felt like she belonged anywhere, except for when she was lying on her bed, pretending to be somewhere else." This shows that at first even with Park, she doesn’t have the self-confidence and continues to feel that she doesn’t belong. Also, to make matters worse, over the past years Eleanor's life, it doesn’t seem like anybody has really been there for her or attempted to contradict her problem with low self-esteem, or any of the other issues she faces in her life, for that matter, which could only encourage them to remain or grow. She doesn’t have someone who she can trust and isn’t used to the kind of support and appreciation she receives from Park, which is probably why she’s at first so scared to accept it or believe that it’s really there.
              However, despite any doubts Eleanor has about their relationship at first, her strong feelings for Park are evident throughout the novel, as well as his for her. When they are on the bus and Park holds her hand for the first time, Park says "As soon as he touched her, he wondered how he'd gone long he'd gone this long without doing it." And for her-"Even in a million pieces, Eleanor could still feel Park holding her hand. Could still feel his thumb exploring her palm." This shows that they both felt such a strong connection in that moment, as if their touch was charged with energy and feeling. However, Park still thinks Eleanor feels weird or uncomfortable after this moment because she won't look at him all day. But on the bus ride back, she holds his hand, which proves that even though she was nervous while he was touching her at first, she still liked it and felt like it meant something. She even felt comfortable even to do it back. She has never felt this way for anybody else and was even calling Park a "stupid Asian kid" just weeks before, which shows how love is gradually changing Eleanor into a different person.
                 In conclusion, despite how hard it is on both Eleanor and Park as Eleanor often struggles to let go of the insecure personality she once held and gain confidence-even when they become closer and Park makes it clear that he truly loves her for who she is, in the end their trouble was worth it because they had such an amazing, irreplaceable connection and relationship. Eleanor falling for Park is something that makes her see herself and the world so differently than she had before-her feelings for him almost softened her a little. Eleanor thinks Park is beautiful and she can never stop thinking about him. She misses him all the time and looks forward to seeing him on days she doesn’t, when before Eleanor had nothing to look forward to but the horrors of a nasty father, a broken family and her own insecurity. Many people, even teenagers, hope to find that one person, someone who we feel is perfect for us-who will change us, who will love and care about us more than we thought anyone could, and this makes us a little different from Eleanor and Park, as they were never hoping to find that person. But those of us who are lucky enough to stumble upon that person along the way, as Eleanor and Park, might truly understand how amazing it is that they did.

Backwater Essay

Backwater

It’s not easy for everyone to understand the people around them. Backwater by Joan Bauer follows Ivy, a girl who struggles to find her place as a history lover and as a person in general, among a family bustling with lawyers. Her father can’t help but to continuously persist the importance and greatness of law upon Ivy as she grows up, which sadly pushes Ivy into a lonely corner, where these ideas are not a key part of life. It’s an isolation interrupted only by the presence of her loving and supporting Great Aunt Tib and her best friend, Octavia. But apparently, she’s not the only misfit in the family, she learns as she seeks her lost, hermit aunt Josephine, on a crazy and terrifying journey. The lesson that can be extracted from Ivy and Josephine’s experiences is that the way people act towards us constantly effects us throughout our lives.

 Ivy isn’t able to feel comfortable around her own family. For example, while they were playing “law” scrabble, a game where they draw a letter and define a law term that starts with that letter off, Ivy sits in the corner and reads. This, in itself seems strange, considering her whole family is participating. But finally, after she gets annoyed, she stands up and says quietly “P, for peace.” Everybody looks at her strangely afterward, silently (and verbally) disagreeing. This little scene suggests that it’s hard for her to feel a part of her family--and in any given situation, big or not. Furthermore, it’s not only a sense of detachment from her family that seems to hold Ivy down a lot, but also a feeling of insecurity about herself, which her dad clearly creates for her. Ivy loves history. Learning about history and specifically her family’s history is all she ever wants. It’s knowledge. It’s adventures, not her own, but of the people who she tirelessly studies and pursues. It’s what she wants out of life, to be a historian. But Ivy’s dad is not very supportive of her, being a lawyer and a person who can’t stand seeing anybody around him not one. It’s never been up to him to try to understand why anyone might not desire this in life, never mind a daughter who has her heart and soul set on a completely different career. So, as Ivy grows up, this strong attitude he holds has a big influence on her. For example, he says, “You are totally enslaved by this obsession!” “I could be on drugs. I could be smoking 5 packs of cigarettes a day. I could be—“Getting ready to study the law!” I could almost mouth the words myself. This shows that her dad doesn’t influence her in a way that makes her want to change herself to comply to her dad and her whole entire family, generations and generations of lawyers, but rather prove herself to him. She isn’t able to just be herself.

Also, the way her dad and family treats her with the little, if no respect they have for her passion influences Ivy’s feelings outside of her home, in parts of her life that have recently surfaced. Ivy is willing to hunt down a long gone hermit aunt, Josephine, who lives in the mountains--just for the chance to connect with someone who might be similar to she is, who wasn’t able to fit in within the family. And it’s all the pressure and confusion and insecurity that her dad has caused for her that have built up inside and induced the motivation, the drive that keep her going on a crazy adventure that effects her in many ways. When she finally meets her Aunt she is able to gain a whole new level of insight about her father and about life. Her aunt has this completely unusual life. She lives with birds. It would be easy for Ivy to think she’s crazy and not listen to what she has to say, but she isn’t. She’s simply different. And through her, Ivy is able to gain a lot of valuable ideas. For example, Josephine mentions that her father used to fish, as well as suggests that he has a “gentler side”. Ivy doesn’t believe this-she’s never seen her father in this light. She has only known her dad as somebody who was hard or aggressive, not gentle. Furthermore, this quote evidently helps the reader see more of not only Ivy’s father, but of Josephine. She did leave her home and her family to escape the pressures of people. However, the way she was able to say that her brother had “a gentler side” even despite all the trouble she faced with him during their childhood shows that she has a capacity to reach deeper and see more.

In conclusion, her father’s lack of understanding and appreciation of Ivy, time and time again, influences Ivy into doing something she might never thought she would do, as his misunderstanding of Josephine did to her years ago. Although for Josephine, it was something that, along with a strong tendency and need for being alone, she knew she had to go to greater measures for. Many teenagers can relate to this novel. While some aspects of Ivy might be hard for us to relate to, others can be viewed throughout ourselves more easily. Many desire the privilege of being understood--and being misunderstood by people close to us can cause a deep hurt. But above all, misunderstandings, and many other emotions for that matter, make us want to find those people who may know what just we’re going through, no matter how hard it is to reach them.

Ashes Essay

Ashes
Many teenagers find themselves torn between two parents when they get divorced. In Susan Beth Pfeffers short story “Ashes” the main character Ashleigh-or “Ashes” is faced with this complication in her life. Her mother and her father are two completely different people, and on so many levels, which is clearly the main reason for their divorce. Her dad is best described as a "dreamer". Her father is the person who leads Ashes into a moral dilemma, which puts her in a very compromising position, forcing Ashes to question herself and the people around her. “Ashes” shows us it’s important to be aware of the choices that we make in our lives and how the people around us impact them.

Ashes’ father is a man who seems to be kind and hopeful, yet he not nearly as reliable as he needs to be- to be a good father.  He’s the person who can promise her the “stars for a necklace” and give his daughter a special nickname-Ashes- but not the one who can provide money or material things she needs, like her mother can. Her father also tries to emotionally manipulate her to do something she knows deep down is morally wrong, Ashes learns throughout the story. He’ll constantly tell Ashes that she’s one in a million or give her tons compliments said to make her feel special. “You look radiant. You get more and more beautiful.” “You’re the special one. You’re the one-in-a-million girl.” However, she senses that his compliments are not genuine. She says, “I knew I wasn’t a one-in-a-million girl no matter how often Dad told me I was.” What he really wants is for her to feel special so that she’ll be influenced into doing what he’s asked, which is to “borrow” the couple hundred dollars her mom keeps stored at her house. Until now Ashes has been so blinded by an eagerness to for his love and affection, that she seemingly avoided these major flaws in his character. But now, in the midst of this tough decision, she won’t just immediately take his side, as her father’s inconsistency and the ways in which he is manipulating her are slowly becoming clear to her. These are the things that impact her uncertainty about following through. “Dad, I don’t know. That’s a lot of money. What if she finds out?” she says to him when he first asks her.  Another example of Ashes’ uncertainty is shown when she asks, “Why don’t you sell your car?’ ‘If he did that, I’d keep my hands clean, and Mom would never know. You could get the money you need that way,” Ashes says, as they get closer to getting to her mothers house. This quote suggests that Ashes is unsure about, and perhaps stressed out about, submitting to her father’s request. The words “keep my hands clean” lead us to conclude that deep down inside, Ashes doesn’t really want to get involved with her dads plan to get the money from her mom.

Ashes’ mother is more of a constant person, a reliable person, which is what leads to her loyalty to her mom when making final decision. She’s practical. She’s prepared. She’s the one who has a flashlight with extra batteries in a case of blackout, the one who keeps tons tampons and tissues in her bag in case anyone needs one. She’s very pragmatic-it’s her nature to be ready for any situation. Whether or not she gives Ashes dreams or promises, she has never manipulated Ashes or done any harm towards her. “Mom’s all right,” is what she says about her, but I think that through and through, Ashes knows that her mom is the constant in her life and, as she suggests in the beginning of the short story, her father certainly isn’t. “He’s unexpectedly there, like a warm day in January,” is how she describes it. She also mentions how he forgets to pick her up and give her money for a trip. This shows that her father really can’t offer or provide enough for his daughter to be a constant in her life, or even just a decent parent for that matter, like her mother can. So when her father asks her this huge favor, her loyalty to her mom because of all these things seems to be another influence on her decision--possibly holding her back slightly. On the last page, she says, “I stood over the teapot and stared at the money. Mom’s emergency money. Her earthquake money. Her Martian money.”

These lines are meaningful, because they show Ashes’ devotion to her mother, by hinting at the fact that she knows how important the money is to her mother and that she is uncertain about taking it because of this. She loves her mom, whether or not she seems to be as much "fun" as her father acts.

In conclusion, a lot goes into Ashes’ decision about what to do in the end, although we don’t know exactly what that is. Her father’s manipulation of her is the partial reason for any doubt she has about borrowing the money from her mother. Another reason is her loyalty to her mother, who is a reliable and stable person overall. The story makes me think about how in my life and other teenagers my age, it is rare that you can make a decision that is not influenced by the people around us. Yes, some of us are impulsive and do things without thinking, but generally speaking, with the many outside pressures and emotions that other people create for us in our lives, it’s safe to say that they play a major role in decisions we make.