Say What? Forum by Mark Wisniewski https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f HIS10 Blog en-us 2019-04-02 01:03:19 UTC 2019-04-29 02:02:05 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Lightdecrease.png mark_wisniewski1 https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/347589649 Forum: Social Class 1.0.     Post your initial questions and wonderings about social class in America.]]> 2019-04-02 12:44:48 UTC https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/347589649 mark_wisniewski1 https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/347593643 I wonder how despite the incredible inequitable distribution of wealth in America, how many people from the lower ranks of income support Donald Trump, who is a self-reported billionaire and has enacted tax cuts which do not help this base. How doe these people, who according to the US econ distribution pie chart in the Peardeck control less than 1% of the total wealth of America despite being more than 40% of population, vote against their own best interest? What is the ideology on social class in America where working-class people are afraid of socialized medicine (i.e Trump's efforts to bag Obamacare) and respond to taunts from the right to beware of "Socialist" Democrats? How does this ideology work? How is this ideology created and then manufactured and disseminated to these people? What is the role of big corps and private money in lobbying this ideology?]]> 2019-04-02 12:53:19 UTC https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/347593643 https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/347769990 I have one question about the video, specifically when they talk about Raegan. I am surprised that when Raegan proposed the tax cut for the rich that more middle and lower class people did not oppose it. Did they not realize that with the rich people's taxes being cut they would have to pick up the slack. For that matter, when it did happen, why were there not more or bigger protests. Thousands of people were loosing their jobs and money to people who had a lot more than them. I would have thought there there would be an uprising or protest to this egregious violation. If there were protests i've never heard of them which is also a little strange. It seems like Raegan ruined our economy according to the video. ]]> 2019-04-02 18:12:00 UTC https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/347769990 https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/347849209 Before watching the video, I had come up with one main question, that I still think is relevant. We often talk about the American Dream, which is the idea that in the US, people are free to rise up in society, and if they work hard for it, they can improve their economic status and become wealthy. This seemed odd, especially when we say the chart of wealth distribution in the US, and how rich people were prone to becoming richer, while poor people could easily become poorer. I wondered how the American Dream was present in modern capitalist society, and if the American Dream was ever a reality. And for who?]]> 2019-04-02 21:52:37 UTC https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/347849209 ichristman https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/347862122 At the end of the video, I was interested because it was about the lower class of America at the time. However, it cut out. I want to learn more about the lower class and how class division affected them. For example, what were they taxed? How did their privileges differ to those of the upper class? I am also interested in seeing an economic division pie chart for that time period. Did the upper class always hold the most wealth? I also would like to know when the wealth distribution changed or became unbalanced, and what the events leading up to that were (the industrial revolution?)]]> 2019-04-02 23:00:18 UTC https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/347862122 https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/347882472 I thought the video was interesting, but it was a lot of new information to take in. It was also a little difficult to comprehend and follow what was being said. In the video, it was interesting that Jimmy carter thought everyone in the US was self-indulgent.Im interested to overall learn more about wealth distribution ]]> 2019-04-03 01:01:45 UTC https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/347882472 https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/350871750 I read through some of the excerpts from Marx's Communist Manifesto, and there are a few things that I wanted to get off my chest. I thought it was interesting how Marx identified similar social structures throughout history. I thought it was interesting how he identified some flaws in the capitalist system. I wanted to discuss and clarify some of these, such as the fact that while in theory, capitalism incentivizes innovation, in the hope of being able to obtain more wealth, the reality is that the rich are the ones who truly gain the most, and innovators can only hope to gain enough money so they themselves can escape the grasp of the bourgeoisie.]]> 2019-04-11 16:57:31 UTC https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/350871750 I think it was really interesting how there are still people today who think like Marx did. For example people who think America shouldn't trade with other countries and become self sufficient. For example, Trump kind of thinks like that in the fact that he thinks America is the best and countries like China are trying to "ruin us". It is amazing how people say we should learn from history yet we tend to repeat it with our ideas and actions. https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/350939483 2019-04-11 19:07:08 UTC https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/350939483 ichristman https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/351021725 I was interested by the final Marx text about how the industry is falling apart. It makes me wonder whether this kind of upheaval would have happened without Marxism and the rise of production and consumption. Also, it brings up something we talked about in theatre: Is innovation necessary to keep something alive? I think this is relevant because the less "civilised" countries had to change and innovate on their current system in order to stay afloat in society. ]]> 2019-04-12 01:59:03 UTC https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/351021725 I was interested by the Marx text, and I found the facebook and drawing task interesting. It made me think of Marx's point of view on himself. Marx's point was that the bourgeoisie controls the power. What do more people prefer? A capitalist system or a democratic system? https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/351621028 2019-04-15 12:19:57 UTC https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/351621028 Colors of Posts ichristman https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/351621945 Isabella D - Blue
Emilio - Yellow
Sophia - Purple
Bella - Green
Admin - Red]]> 2019-04-15 12:23:16 UTC https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/351621945 https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/351630458 It is fascinating to compare the system and economy Marx described between the bourgeoisie and the proletariats and our society now. Marx commented on how big that gap was between the rich and poor and how the rich only get richer and the poor only more poor. We could say the same is still true today. The truth is the American Dream has become less and less easy to achieve as the years go by and it is not always possible for anyone to become a millionaire in America because of the system in place. Capitalism is a very selfish system where people tend to focus on themselves and their profit and not that of others. The society Marx described and the one we have today are in a way one and the same. ]]> 2019-04-15 12:53:36 UTC https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/351630458 https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/351632345 I found it very unsettling to know that although in theory, capitalism would allow innovators from the Proletariat class to rise in society by appealing to the masses, the reality was that there was no time or money among the working class to even begin to fathom any way to escape their current state. Even if all the Proletariat were to gain the money and power they needed to escape the working class, capitalist society's demands would always require a lower class to work the means of production. Because the proletariat is treated as a cheap labor force during the industrial revolution, their status as a replaceable commodity did not allow them to gain any advantages. The system was set up from the beginning so that only the rich, business-owning Bourgeoisie could benefit.]]> 2019-04-15 12:59:11 UTC https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/351632345 ichristman https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/351632609 The parallels between the system we have today and the system we had during Marx's time are significant. In that time, the country and capital was divided only by the upper class. It is still this way today, as often times if you want to buy property in a certain area you have to have a lot of money (because of inflation and surrounding area, etc.). This keeps the classes more divided. Additionally, the classes were very polarized at that time and at this time. It brings up the question of if the classes today are as polarized as they were, or have we made progress?]]> 2019-04-15 12:59:55 UTC https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/351632609 Marx's views on Capitalism is solely to boost the economy. This relates to today and Trump's views on the economy. In order for a successful capitalist society, there has to be a labor force. This defeats the theoretical incentive in Capitalism that people can climb up the economic "ladder", however, in reality, the bourgeoisie are in power and charge of the labored force, preventing them from rising. This makes me question why this system is still used because it isn't fair for all individuals. https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/352064420 2019-04-16 17:43:45 UTC https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/352064420 I had learned a good amount about the civil rights movement and the black power movement on our trip to Washington earlier in the year. Still, it was interesting to see that there was a large organized group that was for black rights but also for segregation. In a way it makes sense because they wanted to strengthen the black community and find their own culture and identity. Still, some black power movements would also resort to violence which is wrong no matter what side you are on. Overall the black power movement was very organized and had a clear goal as to what they wanted to achieve. https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/352074718 2019-04-16 18:07:47 UTC https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/352074718 ichristman https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/352075306 I really enjoyed this module because it taught me a lot of things that I hadn't previously known about the black power movement. First of all, I didn't really know that there was a separate black power movement that consisted of more organizations, I only really knew about the NAACP and MLK Jr. I also learned more about how the culture of the movement pushed it to be stronger and reach a wider audience. The additional information about the culture showed how strong a sense of community they had and how they empowered themselves in order to empower others.]]> 2019-04-16 18:09:13 UTC https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/352075306 https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/352113446 Before this module, I had a brief idea of the main concept behind the Black Power movement and had done some brief research about the Black Panther Party, but my knowledge of both was very limited. Now, I think I have a better idea of what they were meant to signify. I found that it was important that the Black Power movement began to advocate for power in the hands of black people and that African Americans could take control of their cultural significance, and celebrate their heritage without letting white culture define them (ideally). However, I wonder if in some of these cases the ends justify the means. I know the Black Panther Party in California for example, sometimes took to violence to fight suppression, and are the reason gun laws began to be proposed by the government.]]> 2019-04-16 19:35:25 UTC https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/352113446 Before this Pear-deck, I didn't have a lot of background knowledge on the Black power movement. In fact, I didn't know the difference between it and the Civil rights movement. I now know that the Black Power movement involved violence in its methods in achieving the same goals, and what the black panther signifies. I think the black power movement portrayed their actions to have stronger goals because of their strength and ability they had to control their cultural significance and more. I wonder whether the civil rights movement leaders were against the black power movement, even though they wanted to achieve the same goals. https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/352159772 2019-04-17 00:12:08 UTC https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/352159772 I read the article about the development and friendships in boys adolescence. I thought it was interesting how the boys in the study were very open about their relationships and feelings since such things are so stigmatized in our society. I don't understand why our society frowns upon men having feelings yet people claim it is so "refreshing" or "charming" when men show emotions such as love or happiness towards the opposite sex. However when it is to someone of their own sex it is seen as gay, even if the two men are just friends. It is very hypocritical and overall, as the article says, damages the mental health of young boys. https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/352605347 2019-04-18 16:27:29 UTC https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/352605347 ichristman https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/352879240 The article about adolescent development in girls was very very interesting to me. It was a well-conducted survey and provided very conclusive results, although some of them hit a little too close to home. I think the best part of the journal was when it explained how girls' personalities were suppressed during adolescence because they were afraid to show who they really were. I also enjoyed the part about how girls strive to have a "relationship" (the perfect, ideal relationship) rather than a normal relationship. This is mostly due to the outrageous standards that girls have to live up to and are indoctrinated with since their childhood. We have started to make advancements in removing this propaganda but not fast enough; many people don't see it as a real problem.]]> 2019-04-20 21:10:00 UTC https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/352879240 The video on gender and queer theory was interesting to me. Although I had already had background knowledge on the topic, the video explained the theory more in depth. I liked how it was in video format because I'm more of a visual learner. In addition, I didn't know https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/354847264 2019-04-29 00:53:10 UTC https://padlet.com/mark_wisniewski1/ula1l09w0t1f/wish/354847264