Cuban Visitation

Since the Cuban revolution the United States has had an embargo on Cuba severely restricting visitation and trade between the two countries. Since there are many Cuban-Americans who wish to be able to visit their home country to visit family that still remains in Cuba this embargo has been problematic. Usually the visitation rights for Cuban-Americans changes under each presidency making it either easier or harder for these people to visit family or friends from their country of origin. Under President Obama there has been a somewhat drastic change in policy for travel to Cuba. Travel restrictions that have been in place for decades are being slowly lifted and now Cuban-Americans are allowed to travel to Cuba as frequently as they wish in order to support family and friends, it has also become much easier for Cuban-Americans to give money to people in Cuba.

Red Ball Express

In keeping with my military history bent, I thought it was only right to bring up the Red Ball Express. This was the name given to the military supply chain run in Europe, starting shortly after the Normandy breakout. The drivers, loaders and mechanics were almost entirely (about 3/4, according to the DoD) Americans of African descent. The term "Red Ball" is a military expression given to any transportation method which is hauling indispensable, or immediately needed goods. This dates back to covered wagon transportation and early trains where a large red ball was painted on all sides to allow the military police to direct these good to the fastest routes. The one in France in World War II only ran for 85 days till the port of Antwerp was opened for shipping to reach the front lines faster. On a given day, about 900 2 1/2 ton trucks would be on the road, 24 hours a day, covering 350 (Patton's 3rd army) or 400 miles (Bradley's 1st army). Without the supplies provided by this unsung group, the advance of the U.S. Army across France would have ground to a halt long before they reached the German boarder. The program ended in November of 1944, having delivered 412,193 tons of supplies to the front. In all, some 210, 209 African-Americans were in the Army, with about 93,292 serving in the Quartermaster Corps, the Army's transportation and supply division.

Again, if people are interested in learning more, I can post some information on this. The response to the Navajo Code talkers was great.

Navajo Code Talkers

Just got done reading the comments on my post about the code talkers. They were also known as the Windtalkers, but this was mainly by the Marines that they were supporting. It was not a moniker that they or the military used to denote them. So here are a few of the videos the we looked at in Dr. Hagerdorn's Native American History class:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZuOiqo1glk
This is a song written by Jack Gladstone, and has an emotional tone, especially if you listen closely to the words.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq2Cp1DUOWc
This is from the AP. First person accounts of the Navajo Code Talkers, and the struggle to be acknowledged for the contributions they made.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qsx14OPuq84
This one is a picture essay, with some key facts set to music.

It is my real hope that the actions of the Navajo never again go unnoticed. This should be a portion of every American history class that is out there.

Chinese Language Programs

I happened to come across this article from last year that seemed pretty relevant to our class discussion on languages in the schools and in the United States in general. I thought it was interesting because I had never heard that schools were doing this. It also is pretty cool that the Chinese government is helping to pay for these programs in the United States. With language being such an important factor in everyday life, it just seems crazy that we are cutting language programs because of budget cuts.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/education/21chinese.html

-Ryan Fleming blog#10

Jennifer Graham Post #10

I wanted to respond to blog about Beverly Tatum's book

I haven't read the whole thing but we did discuss it at length in my Multicultural Ed class last semester. I think that the idea that whites not being able to see outside of their racial group is a little naive. Almost like turning a blind eye to society. Unless you live in a bubble, its hard not to see all the differences in your community. Just look around our classroom and you can see that we're all different and come from different walks of life, kids aren't stupid and they'll figure this out as well and start to ask questions. Its societies responsibility and for a lot of us our responsibility as teachers to guide them and direct them in the right direction so that they can form their own opinions.

White Identity

“Because they represent the societal norm, Whites can easily reach adulthood without thinking much about their racial group.” –Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria.

As I was reading this book I thought a lot about this quote and what it means to be “white”. As a white female I do not think I have ever given much thought to what it means to be a part of this race. As we have studied Native Americans, Hispanics, and African Americans in Marger’s text I have learned of the different challenges minority groups face. While I have always been aware of these challenges, they have never been my reality. Furthermore, I have never experiences a “sense of community” with white people like Marger points out that many minorities experience. I just wonder that it means to be white. I never thought of white as the “norm” like Dr. Tatum writes, but then again, I have never thought of white at all. Dr. Tatum also explains that whites feel a social pressure to not notice racism. Do people agree with Dr. Tatum or disagree? I am hoping this sparks some thought because I have thought about it over the last few days.

Jennifer Graham Post #9

I enjoyed the discussion about Hispanic Americans and what we got into at the ending about a National Language. We are United States of America I think if you live here you should speak what is predominately spoken, English. Also as someone mentioned in almost every country in the world, English is taught because its Universal. So why don't most people speak it? I was doing an internship in Dunkirk School 3 a few semesters ago and working with an English Language Learner Student and she had to translate for her mother who didn't speak a word of English. How is that fair to the child who is trying to learn a new language. We as parents are supposed to set a good example for our kids.

Theories

I think the M&M theory is a clever theory. I do not completely agree with the salad bowl or melting pot theory, simply because I see a lot of problems still with them. But I have difficulty thinking of something else, just because our society is so diverse, and part of me feels putting a label on it, is teaching kids how to approach certain groups. With the melting pot, people might see this as that assimilation is the right way for groups to fit in. With the salad bowl, they might see this as groups being different and separate from themselves. I believe that groups should keep some of their own cultures, but still seen the same way as any other American. I think the M&M theory is clever because it could be taught that yea groups may be different, but inside they are all the same. But there could be issues with this theory too, and I agree with another post that this could turn into a color issue. Where students see the M&M theory as teaching kids to tell the difference between groups is by their color, which could be seen as a step back. I think though that choosing one theory to teach students may not be the right approach. Just simply because theories can be interpreted in many different ways and taken in many different ways. Teachers should find a way to teach students about groups differences but at the same time, talk about how everyone is the same.



Cassandra Paternosh #10

National Language

I remember being surprised the first time I heard that there was no national language. This was in high school, and I remember just assuming it was English. Then when I found out, I thought why didn’t we have a national language. If we did it would cause many people to have to learn it, which could solve a lot of issues. I still believe that everyone should know and be taught English. But now for the simple fact it would make communicating a lot easier with certain groups. English is a dominant language spoken throughout the world. But I can also see why government officials are hesitant to name a national language. It has the potential to make discrimination more institutionalized. By naming a national language, it has the possibility to cause greater discrimination to non-English speakers. Where government could punish certain groups or immigrants for not knowing English. Also it could effect bilingual pushes. If people are being forced to speak English, there would be no drive to teach people Spanish. Which I do believe is a problem in today’s school systems. I think that teaching students another language at a younger level is an intelligent and important thing to do.

Cassandra Paternosh #9

Not Working Video

Okay so that America's Next Top Model Video isn't working anymore, but here is a link showing a slideshow of the pictures

http://www.buddytv.com/slideshows/sundau-antm13/americas-next-top-model-cycle-13-best-and-worst-photos-of-episode-9-27693.aspx

America's Next Top Model Bi-Racial Photo Shoot

The pictures of the model with black makeup on reminded me of this photo shoot on America's Next Top Model. It caused a lot of controversy. Here's an interesting article about it and a video.

http://racerelations.about.com/b/2009/11/02/top-model-biracial-shoot-creates-uproar.htm

http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2009/10/video_tyra_banks_puts_aspiring.html

Beauty is Beauty

I would like to talk a little about the picture shown to us this week of the model who painted herself. While I understand the negative implications of the first picture, I would like to talk about the second. This was a very mysterious yet beautiful picture. You see a woman with dark skin and bright blue eyes. I am not sure of what the photographer was trying to prove or say in taking this picture and I am very interested in what everyone thinks about it. What I took from it is the face that you see this beautiful creature with dark skin and striking blue eyes - two physical traits that obviously do not go together. But for some reason, we can't seem to stop looking at it. Why? Is it because it is so foreign to us that it is almost hypnotizing? What is the significance of this mix-match? My personal experience while viewing this picture, was to subconsciously throw away all preconceived notions of race and embrace something different and indescribably beautiful. It made me appreciate the blurring of race. I don't know if this was the photographer's intention, but this was my interpretation.

Meredith Cotter, Post #10

Language in America

There is no "official language" of the United States. Although English is the De facto language of our country, it has never been officially declared. So it is surprising how many people believe that everyone should speak English in America because it is our official language. I have heard many family members express this sentiment, only to be shocked when I tell them that it is untrue. I would be curious to discover how many others believe this as well. I personally think that it is symbolic that the United States does not have an official language. We are made up of so many different cultures and with that comes diversity in language. This should be used as encouragement for children and their parents to learn new languages. Instead, you see a push toward alienating those who speak Spanish, or other languages. This will lead to discrimination toward those who cannot yet speak English. What does everyone think? Should the US remain without an official language, or should one be declared?

Staci Becker, Post #10

2 Languages

In response to learning different languages at a younger age, I feel that it's beneficial for children as well. In my multicultural education class last semester, we watched a movie about a school that teaches Spanish and English to students equally. This is a private school where there's actually a waiting list for students to get in because so many parents want their children in the school learning two languages. This school has students who are fluent in English, but also students whose main language is Spanish, and want to learn English. I thought this was a very interesting idea because the school doesn't have one main language, and it gives kids the opportunity to learn two languages at a young age. They're encouraged by their parents and family to learn a new language and therefore keep it for the rest of their lives. I think learning another language at a young age is a great idea to help students become more culturally sensitive and also is a great skill that they can have all throughout life.

Laura Kalinowski Post 10

Scholarships for Everyone

This morning I was watching CNN and there was a debate over education. Something that came up was the cost of college, then something interesting happened. They spoke about an organization for scholarships for white males only. The representative for this organization spoke about how just because someone is white doesn't mean they have $50,000 to dole out for a year of school. It sheds light on the fact that most white people do not know the concept of old money and are struggling just as much as other people to get by. He makes the argument that it is not right to offer scholarships to only certain groups of people. Someone on the show then brought up the point on scholarships based on class structure and not race. He stated that to put emphasis on race would not only result in the maintenance of poor race relations but would actually make them worse. Could this possibly mean the beginning of the end for race distinction? If so will it be replaced with economic status? I posted a link that explains the aforementioned organization. Take a look!

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2011/02/28/nr.white.male.scholarships.cnn?iref=allsearch

Meredith Cotter, Post #9

Languages Around Us

I was thinking about the discussion we had in class on Tuesday about learning different languages. When I go to appointments at the dental clinic on Central Avenue in Dunkirk, I notice there are many Hispanic or Latino people that primarily speak Spanish, not English. The clinic also has signs or notices in both the English and Spanish language, and there is at least one person working at the front desk that speaks Spanish fluently. I think it is beneficial to learn a language besides English, and it would behoove of people who speak Spanish or any other foreign language to learn ours as well. I took four and a half years of Spanish (half of a year in Junior High and the rest in High School) and enjoyed learning it, but I think it would have been great had I been exposed to it at an earlier age.

- Josh Steffen

Re: Tops "Friendly" Markets

In response to Ashley's post, what happened to her was awful, but people are unfortunately ignorant even nowadays. I am not really surprised that an "elderly" White man would say those things about an African American man - he is from an older generation, and might have perceived the African American man as "low status," and figured he did something underhanded or shady to get "that kind of money." I would hope that people from later generations are more accepting, but if you think about the American ethnic system its "White" between "Non-white" with a few exceptions.

I remember my Grandpa telling me once that my best friend was "taking advantage of me," and I'm pretty sure he thought that because of the color of her skin. She never did anything like that, but I have to remember his perceptions are different than mine because we come from different generations.

- Josh Steffen

Tops "Friendly" Markets

I recently became a cashier at Tops and I've been having a very good experience.  However, today I ran into a situation that still leaves me feeling quite shaken up.  I was cashing a man out today when he asked me if I could give him five twenty's if he gave me one hundred dollars in a variety of bills.  While he was asking me this I realized that a man two people back was watching intently.  The man I was taking care of made me recount the money he gave me numerous times so I was sure I had the right amount, he was safeguarding my job for me, which I thanked him for.  Meanwhile the man who was intently watching this transaction started to get rather irked.  He yelled to me that the man at the register was scamming me and was speaking "devil's talk."  I ignored his comments and continued to count out the twenty dollar bills for the very polite man and then yelling started to happen.  The man who I was taking care of hear what the other was saying and was very offended.  This is where our class comes in.  The man I was taking care of was African American and the other man who was telling me about the "scam" was an elderly white man.  The men started to scream and the one I was taking care of said in disgust "I know what this is about. It's because of the color of my skin!"  The other man just laughed and an older lady and myself were stuck in the middle of this interaction. I became very uncomfortable, but just then the one man, the one who I was taking care of, decided to walk away, after thanking me, rather than to deal with the discrimination he was being put through. I then had to deal with the aftermath of the man who decided to say all of this stuff in the first place.  He went on and on and I had to be polite and cash him  out with a smile, but what I really wanted to do was tell him he was in the wrong. This was the first real, in my face case of discrimination I ever remember witnessing and it left me with a terrible feeling.  I wanted to run after the man who was so nice to me and apologize for the actions of someone else.  No one should have to deal with anything that happened today.

Oldest Woman or Not?

A few weeks ago on Yahoo I stumbled upon a story regarding a Cuban woman.  She claims to be 126 years old and has a civil registry to prove it.  On her birthday members of the community stopped to wish her well and a school for girls even made a special fieldtrip to pay their respects to her.  Though her claim isn’t recognized internationally by Guinness World Records or any other organization, there is no bother to her.  Cuba’s Communist Party gave her a cake in recognition of her being the oldest woman. An American woman right now who is only 114 holds the claim of the oldest living woman.  I don’t understand why there is a grudge against the Cuban woman, she has valid documentation.  Is this an act of discrimination or an act of ignorance? At first I thought that maybe Guinness World Records was an American organization and since there are hostilities between the U.S. and Cuba that might have been the reason for the inability to recognize this woman but then I did my research.  Guinness World Records is an organization run out of London, so right there my theory went out the window.  I’m curious as to what others thinks of this situaitonl.  

Park The Car In Harvard Yard Blog #10

I just had some food for thought for the class to consider being the nerdy English education kid that I am. So, when people say or imply to an ethnic group something like you’re in America, speak English, this is completely inferring ignorance on that person part. It is ignorance because there is no such thing as a Standard English language at all. There are things like English dialects, but there is no right way to speak English. There is a thing as Standard Written English, but speech is a completely different thing. For instance, someone from Boston would say “car” completely different than someone from say Alabama; who is right? Neither person is right or wrong in saying “car” the way they do, in this case the two individuals are imploring two of the various dialects within America. Another thing to consider is the fact of accents. If someone from Britain speaks, we who live in America, who think we speak “Standard English,” can still understand someone who speaks with the accent; therefore this is another instance that proves there is no such thing as speaking proper English. Another thing to consider is how we perceive the dialects. It’s a fact generally speaking that just like someone from Alabama feels a Hispanic is stupid for speaking Spanish or English with an accent, people from the Northern part of America feel there is a lack of intelligent connected with a southern Alabama accent. It really is a vicious cycle to say that people need to speak “English.” We are a country based on multiple dialects and languages. Unless we are of Indian decent, we all are products of immigrants and like I said in my previous blog, the country didn’t declare English as “The Official Language” until after it was establish as the united states.

I Love youtube Parody: Blog Post #9

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe-W4K6JVAw

So, I watched the video Sam posted and found it just ridiculous. That was not even subtle racism that was occurring; that was straight racism in my opinion. After watching the video this parody video came up which I watched and I thought was hilarious. Though the video is so dramatic it serves a point. The governor is trying to force assimilation on Hispanics and in turn emphasizes the stereotype that (though irrational) implies that people from Alabama are ignorant. He is in so many ways trying to Americanize people who aren’t American. He says in the video that people need to speak English, which is crazy because English was established as a national language way after the country was actually established. The parody video satirically criticizes the actual videos mentality and does a good job of highlighting how ridiculous the views shown in the original are. I love that we pretend as a society that we embrace pluralism so much. What do you guys think?

Will there ever be a perfect analogy?

I agree with the theory of the United States being like a bowl of M&Ms, and I think that theory works to teach small children, because it is simple, and it gets across the point that we all have differences, but at the same time we are all humans. I like the idea of the salad bowl as well because it does emphasis the unique differences of the people that make up America, but for young children, I think it would be easy to misinterpret, which would be bad because kids are all so impressionable.
The only problem I would worry about with the M&M theory is that kids would attach certain stereotypical colors to the different races and ethnicity's within our society. I would worry that they would make the brown M&M be African Americans, and the red M&M's be Native Americans, and so on. This theory of the bowl of M&Ms I do believe is the best, however I would just worry that kids would see an emphasis on the different colors (of peoples skin) and classify our differences that way, seeing race as biological. I don't think there will ever be a perfect theory to describe America in the right way, or a theory that cant be negatively twisted or interpreted. I think not matter what, when teaching students about American diversity, it is most important that, no matter what analogy is used, the right message is coming across.

Brigit May, Post 10

Life Is Like A Bowl of M&M's

While writing my essay on the Salad Bowl yesterday, I took considerable time deciding if there was anything better than the Salad Bowl to personify American Society. While I still believe the Salad Bowl is the best thing we have to offer, A Bowl of M&M's is a quality substitution to this. A Bowl of M&M's is full of color, as is America. The beauty of this analogy is the fact that even though there are these stark differences in color, which are easily identifiable and is what we use to define these M&M's, on the inside, exists the same chocolate center. This promotes the idea that even though on the outside we may seem different, on the inside, we are all the same, human.

My only problem with this theory, which I detailed in my essay, is that it over-simplifies our society. One of the key points of American culture is that it is an amalgamation of several different cultures, and the salad bowl reinforces these differences. Every different ingrediant brings a certain flavor to the concoction. The M&M theory doesn't account for these differences, this is why it falls short.

Why Not the Clevland Africans?

This is continuing with the question on the test today about using a Native American image as a sports team's logo. I found this picture and it made me think about what would happen if people used other minority figures as their team logo.
I think if it were to be another minority instead of Indians, it would cause lot more problems and probably wouldn't be allowed (and I dont know why this is underlined I can't figure out how to get it off haha). I understand that sports teams chose to use Indians because they think it is an intimidating view of a babarian or an anamalistic warrior. It is all based on a false stereotype, and does nothing but hurt the image of Native Americans. So why then is this allowed? Another mascot I thought about that coinsides with a negative stereotype is Notre Dame and the Fighting Irish. It doesn't make sense to me that this was ever approved and accepted by a college to use as their mascot, without seeing the negative stereotype attached to it. This is a completely random one, but imagine if a group of Mathletes named themselves "the Asians" because Asians are stereotyped to be good at math. That is something that would never be allowed in schools, so then why do so many schools, colleges, and professional sports teams allow an image that negatively portrays a minority group to be used as their mascot? It makes absolutely no sense.

Brigit May, Post 9

White Identity

“Because they represent the societal norm, Whites can easily reach adulthood without thinking much about their racial group.” –Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria.

As I was reading this book I thought a lot about this quote and what it means to be “white”. As a white female I do not think I have ever given much thought to what it means to be a part of this race. As we have studied Native Americans, Hispanics, and African Americans in Marger’s text I have learned of the different challenges minority groups face. While I have always been aware of these challenges, they have never been my reality. Furthermore, I have never experiences a “sense of community” with white people like Marger points out that many minorities experience. I just wonder that it means to be white. I never thought of white as the “norm” like Dr. Tatum writes, but then again, I have never thought of white at all. Dr. Tatum also explains that whites feel a social pressure to not notice racism. Do people agree with Dr. Tatum or disagree? I am hoping this sparks some thought because I have thought about it over the last few days.

Having a Voice

Staci said in her post that artwork and murals are a way for "minorities to have a voice" and I believe this to be true! From the murals shown in class (the one with the dodger's stadium), and the artwork that Staci posted, it seems like this kind of artwork is a good way (and peaceful) to get your message across. Along with the Peltier case, it seems that that case wasn't as well known because it was with a Native American minority group, who didn't have as big a voice as some other groups. However with these giant murals on highways and buildings, this kind of artwork is a way for average people to get their feelings and messages across to other people who may otherwise not have any way of doing so.

It was also mentioned that artwork defies language barriers. I also thought this was an interesting point because anyone can look at these murals and try to understand the message being shown without having to read anything!

Laura Kalinowski Post 9

Bilingual Future

Our discussion about becoming a more fluent country overall really grabbed my attention. Like I said in class, me being more fluent in another language would be such an awesome thing. Being able to understand more than one language on a critical and deep level shows quite an achievement. Especially in our country in which we are becoming more and more diverse in our population, by the day, it would be in our best interest to start having our citizens become more fluent in more than just English. Starting the development and of such a program would certainly make sense to start this with our younger generations. At a young age, the students would be able to absorb and pick up another language at a much quicker rate. Unfortunately I think this is something that will take a long time to do. As of lately it seems that the education programs in which we have now, are under attack for their lack of achievement in certain subjects. Standardized testing is also something that has been integrated into our educational programs as top priorities. With all of these topics in the educational realm being put on the top of the priority list, I find it hard for there to be drastic changes such as teaching foreign languages at a younger age.
I am hopeful that as the years go on, this idea of starting the teaching at a younger age will become something that is important to all. With the country evolving the way that it is and having minority cultures and languages becoming more apart of every day life, it makes sense to have a change in the educational world.
-Mary

Islam

Making Islam Illegal?

A Tennessee bill wants to make people that follow Shariah law illegal, resulting in jail time of up to 15 years.

I don't know anything about Shariah law, I plan to do some more research later, but this just seems wrong. From the article: "It [the bill] exempts peaceful practice of Islam but claims Shariah adherents want to replace the Constitution with their religious law. A dozen other states are considering anti-Shariah bills, and there's a federal lawsuit in Oklahoma over one."

I thought we were supposed to be able to practice religious freedom? Interesting...

Victoria Rader - Post 8

Language in the workplace

If anyone is interested in reading more about the Sephora lawsuit mentioned in class, http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=89889&page=2 there's an article.

I can understand both sides of the story. If I spoke something other than English as my first language, I would be prone to using it with others that spoke that language as well. But I've also been on the other side of the table. If anyone has ever gotten their nails done in Buffalo (I don't know if this is true for elsewhere as well), most of the salons are run by Vietnamese families (I think they're Vietnamese, correct me if I'm wrong). The employees frequently speak in Vietnamese and look at the different customers and laugh, all the while nobody knows what is being said. This is obviously going to make customers uncomfortable. Of course if native English speakers are running a business, then they're going to have issues as well. As the article I linked to says,

"With the growing number of non-English speakers in the work force, experts say many employers worry about workers using another language to insult or harass others. They want to know what's being said in the workplace.

"From the employer's perspective, the employer is saying, 'I'm under pressure to make sure I don't discriminate … but I'm going to have problems with productivity and collegiality if these groups go off and speak their own language,' " says Merrick Rossein, a law professor who specializes in workplace discrimination at the City University of New York's School of Law in Queens."

I don't necessarily agree that it's right that people shouldn't be allowed to speak their own language, but if it's going to make customers and employees uncomfortable, then we need to find some sort of solution to reconcile the two.

(Sorry if this is formatted weird, I'm having problems making blogger cooperate.)

Victoria Rader - Post 7

Chicano artists

I enjoyed today's presentations, and as I have enjoyed many classes in art history, this part of class was very interesting to me. After the presentation the question came up about other women in the Chicano movement. Only one woman came to mind, one of my favorite modern artists, Ester Hernandez. She was born in California and painting murals and was a pivotal member of the Chicano civil rights movement. Below is one of her more famous works. She is an activist for women's rights, workers rights, and the environment.

I think artwork is very important for any kind of movement that occurs. Throughout history, artwork has been used to defy oppressive regimes or laws. It can also be used as a social context. If you look in any time period, there will be significant artwork that expresses the thoughts and opinions of that movement. After World War I Otto Dix used his images of wounded and dismembered veterans to show the brutality of war, in hopes of preventing future conflict. Artwork is a way for the minorities in society to have a voice.

Staci Becker Post #9

Bi-Linguality, if that's even a word. Sara Ceraso Post 9

Language barriers are one of the biggest discriminating factors in our society today, in my opinion at least. People get frustrated when people do not speak the language they understand, therefore it leads them to believe they are "stupid," leading to stereotypes, which mainly lead to discrimination and prejudice.

When I was working at Forever 21, like I said in class, I was one of the only non-Spanish speaking employees. Many of them spoke English as well, but others didn't. I am all for bi-liguality, if that's even a word, but when you work in a store that has a predominantly white shopper ratio, it just doesn't make sense. If I were to work at a place where a majority of the customers spoke Spanish, I would expect to need to know Spanish, or not work there.

I do however agree with teaching kids a second language at a younger age. Our country is getting more and more diverse as the days go by. The point brought up that learning a second language younger also increases your critical thinking level is another great point in support of this. And it's cool to know a language other than your primary one. I understand most Italian thanks to the five years of Italian classes I took in Junior high and high school, but I wish I had learned either from my family, or elementary school.

My grandfather was born in Italy and for the sake of "protecting my mom and her siblings" he didn't teach them how to speak his primary language. To this day my mom wishes he had. But back then he thought he was doing them a favor by keeping them away from being diverse. If my mother had learned from her childhood, then she would have went on to teach me from mine. Now a days it is almost considered a "special skill" to know a second, even third language outside of your native one.

Hispanic vs. Latino vs. Spanish

After our class dicussion today I decided to do a little research to find out the differences between the terms Hispanic and Latino. Hispanic refers to people from the territories colonized by Spain that speak Spainsh and practice Spanish culture. Latino on the other hand can identify someone from a culture with Latin roots. That could be Italians, Portuguese, French and so on. Latino identifies a person from Latin America the speaks a Romance language, not just Spanish. On an entirely different note I found it interesting in class that everyone was referring to Spaniards as Hispanic. From what I understood, Hispanic people were categorized as any Spanish speaking person that was not from Spain. I am Spanish and was always told that I am not Hispanic and that it is a common misconception when people call Spaniards Hispanic. When everyone was discussing Spaniards as being Hispanic though, I began to second guess what I had been told my whole life. So I decided to look up information on that as well. However I did not find a clear straight forward answer anywhere. It seems that the question of Spanish people as Hispanics is not very clear. Most Spaniards do not identify themselves as Hispanic and the United States government for the most part does not identify Spaniards as Hispanics either. However the government states that a Spaniard can choose how they self identify and can consider themselves to be Hispanic if they choose because it is a culture not a race. This is only the information I could find and have been told, I could be entirely wrong though. If anyone else can find any better clarifications, please let me know because all I am finding in my research is mixed answers.
-Ryan Fleming blog#9

This Is Alabama...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEPh_KlTyII

You all should watch this clip of one of our Nation's finest politicians in action. Tim James, prospective governor of Alabama, released this for his political campaign. In just about 30 seconds, the man's complete racial biast is uncovered. Even though he states that it's strictly business, it's quite apparant he's targeting specific groups, notably Hispanic Americans. How was this viewed in Alabama? I know they lag a bit, but seriously?

'Racist' Olympic Logo

I thought this was an interesting article, so I decided to share it:

Iran threatens London boycott over 'racist' Olympic logo

Josh Steffen

One major gift of the Native Americans to the rest of us Americans.

The question was asked “...however what are they giving back to the US?” And I have to point out in answering this, is that a higher percentage of the Native American population serve, or have served, in the US military than any other population demographic including whites. Native Americans when it came down to it were some of the most patriotic individuals, with the majority of them not having to be drafted for service but being volunteers instead. The Navajo code talkers are perfect example of this. That these men volunteered from the reservations and their homes, to develop a code system that the Japanese could not decipher. In leaving the reservations they entered into a nation who had pushed them aside, had tried to exterminate them and tried to destroy the very language that they were now using to assist the country. The depth of moral character it takes to be able to overlook all of these things that were done to them and still stand up and say “I will fight for this country” and to give that statement freely, is something that we (even I, as a Veteran) cannot even begin to fathom. I am not trying to downplay other persons contributions to the efforts of the United States military, but I am trying to say is they have given us back quite a lot, in spite of what they lost or had forced from them, but also for what we have gained having them as part of our imperfect great nation.

Disclaimer: Not an attack, but more of a push toward better understanding. I would be happy to share some of what I know of the Code Talkers if anyone has interest in this subject.