INEQUALITY IN OUR SOCIETY

According to the interactionist perspective, allowing all races to mix together in our society is healthy because it promotes peace among people.  Personally, i experienced racial discrimination a few years back. I had applied for a certain job and my application went through. The lady who interviewed me was white and she congratulated me for the opportunity. The job accepted applications from everyone irrespective of gender and race. We were then scheduled for a week of orientation and i was very happy. On the first day of orientation, the lady in charge seemed to focus on a particular group. At the end of the day she called a few names to be left behind as the others leave.  I was among the last people to leave when i heard her telling them that they were the outstanding group compared to the blacks who had gone and that she did not want to say that when the whole group was together. To me, this was very unfair. I was very shocked and disappointed because i felt like an outcast. I was devastated and that was the end of it. I never went back for the orientation because i would be uncomfortable in such an environment after hearing those words from the lady in charge. People often feel discriminated in our society because of such situations that are unfair.  
At the micro level, these inequalities can have various consequences like people may feel unwanted and lack the courage to interact with different groups and this will lead to low self esteem. The only solution available for this inequality is treating all people with equality .
We are all equal. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYT1xOQMbHw

POVERTY

How would sociological imagination be applied in understanding the condition of poverty on the Pine Ridge region?

Using the sociological imagination, poverty is an issue that affects the Pine Ridge society at large. Unemployment is recorded to be above 80% which is a very large number. Families experience so many problems and some children even end up killing themselves because of luck of love from their parents and alcohol abuse. Most of the people also depend on unemployment assistance due to lack of jobs and this has become their source of survival. According to sociological imagination, poverty has led to the division of people in Pine Ridge region to classes. These are the rich and poor. Alcohol is a restricted commodity but the owners of bars and liquor stores make great profits from the poor people who buy from them. This gap between the rich and the poor makes the poor to feel inferior to the rich who are superior to them. The United States is therefore reminded not to forget the Indian tribes and the promises made to them.

Is sociological imagination sufficient?

Sociological imagination is not sufficient. I think beyond imagination, there is a lot more about reality that is not yet being exploited. The facts need to be considered more from my point of view. For example the main causes of poverty and how the government can help to fight the poverty levels in a society

MEDIA CAN REALLY INFLUENCE OUR PERCEPTION

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pc2O0v3Z8A&feature=share

A few days ago i read about the above girl called Rose Nasimiyu in Kenya. She was diagnosed with cancer which was very heart breaking to her and her family. At a young age, she admits that she was to miss a lot of things that young people enjoy. Before i read the story i really did not have a lot in my mind apart from being sorry. Watching her video changed my thoughts and perception. This young princess took her sickness positively and used that chance to even encourage others who were also sick not to be discouraged and to have hope in life. At nine years old, i feel like she is a blessing in this world. She went further and composed a song not only to encourage people, but also to help her mother with the hospital bill for her chemo therapy. This little girl touched my heart because her impact was recognized and she was even referred to as "a small young girl with the heart of a warrior." I looked at this in the interactionist  per perspective. This girl had a positive impact to the social environment as she encouraged everyone that cancer is not the end of the world. Thanks to the media we are able to acknowledge such great people in this world. Social groups played a major role in how this media influenced me because this is just a nine year old girl who has made positive changes in the lives of a number of people including me. I think if it was an older person, the impact would not be as greater as such.

WEEK 1

As the conflict theory is demonstrated by Karl Marx, there is a continuous struggle between different groups in our society. Crimes often happen in Silver Spring Md over and over. Most of the time it is considered that blacks / African American are mostly involved in such situations. This makes them to be strictly monitored when they are seen shopping in different places because of the perception that people have about them.
In the positive way it may be right that they are known according to studies of crimes that they are the majority of the people who commit crime but in the negative way it is wrong because people take advantage of that idea and may even use it to exploit those who are innocent just because they are associated with a particular group of people.
I think the only available opportunity is to remember that we are all equal despite our racial or ethnic differences and that all the different groups have equal opportunities to commit crimes therefore they should be treated equally.
Something else that i discovered is that Maryland is number 10 in the most violent states in America according to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMqUvjbEjxw which is quite interesting.