Original Post

This post is one of four civic issue blogs designed by the guidelines provided by the course ENG 138T. I chose the overall civic issue of racial stereotypes. I began with analyzing Islamic stereotypes, but  while considering what stereotype to research next, I decided to  sail uncharted waters. I wrote about classic "white" stereotypes.

Besides a few generic grammatical errors, I don't have a lot of criticism for this post. I do wonder if I used the term "white people" too much, as it is racially insensitive. Using "Caucasian" may have been a better choice since I am trying to dissolve stereotypes through my blog posts, not enforce them. 

I chose a narrative introduction. This was an experimental form of writing for me, but I believe it was an effective way to introduce the hatred many minorities harbor toward Caucasians. 
"“Your white privilege is showing!” my sassy black coworker announced last week to a group of white girls shopping at our store. They had come in, blatantly ignored him, and started trashing the store while figuring out what to get with the money daddy put in their bank accounts. They either didn't hear him, or simply chose not to."

Combining my personal experience while referencing an unconventional source, urbandictionary.com, I listed common white stereotypes.
"Single handedly, the most violent race of human beings throughout the history of mankind. No other race of human beings has killed more people, raped more women, destroyed more cultures, or has stolen as much land as white people. White people are the most hated race of human beings.
Read any university level history book to learn the truth about “White people”."



I responded to this post whist utilizing pathos:

"The truth is that Whites are judged almost entirely off the actions of their ancestors and the way they are treated. White privilege is a statistical fact, but not one that applies to all. Not all whites are racist. Not all white girls are spoiled. Not all white people are murderers and rapists. I was shocked and appalled to learn that something this serious was joked about. Yes, we’ve all seen the spoiled white girls and the successful business men who literally do nothing but inherit daddy’s wealth, but NOT ALL STEREOTYPES ARE TRUE. The atrocious acts done by white ancestors, which span an extremely broad span of European countries, must be forgiven. If we can get past the Japanese for Pearl Harbor, the Germans for the Halocaust, and the Huns for conquering the Germanic tribes leading to the demis of the Roman Empire and the dawn of the Dark Ages, we can get over the acts done by people long buried. "

I also used a comic to emphasize how our society's acceptance of white privilege spurs these stereotypes. 

"We associate with people we are most like, and often without realizing it exclude others. Although whites are not the overall global majority, they hold the most power and influence in the world. Stereotypes are always an exaggeration of a small truth, and it’s easy to see where the hatred of whites comes from. When you’re constantly being asked if you’re the help, falsely accused of crime, or judged based on your skin color, you tend to hate its source. White people stereotypes stem from more then just hate, they extend from envy."

Now it is important to note that I wrote this blog post prior to the Boston bombings, while Libya was in turmoil.  I had recently become obsessed with reading the New York Times, and stumbled upon an article that shook me to my core.I briefly described the situation in simple terms as follows:

"Some guys in America posted a youtube video that hard core made fun of Muslims. You know how Muslims don’t even like to have pictures or Muhammad? Yeah well these guys made a movie about him having sex with a bunch of chicks and killing people just because he felt like it. Not cool."

This was my very first rhetoric and civic life blog post, which was supposed convey the uses of rhetoric in everyday situations. However, instead I chose to comment on how the absence of rhetoric in this situation heightened the hatred that spurred the revolt and resulted in the death of a US ambassador. 

"Hatred created that video, hatred created the riots, and this hatred ended up killing a man who was only trying to help the people of a country distraught by war. Rhetoric was not used, words were overshadowed by actions. Serious consequences rise from silence."


I like how I later commented on how the Libyans should have handled the video situation  First  I talk about how ten years ago this never would have happened because information sharing was not as prevalent at the birth of the internet. However, there is no coming back from this path now. I laugh a little at how I suggested that the Libyan public should have spoken out their opinions instead of killing an innocent man. I don't think the action is funny, only my naivete. 

I urged my readers to take a moment to honor the man who lost his life serving our country.

The best part of the post, was added in long after if was published. It reads:

"Update: I just read an article about how a woman in Afghanistan suicide bombed a town and killed several South Africans working for America in protest of this video. She was 18."

This ending really sums up the horrible effects of this viral video, as well as the lengths people are willing to go for their beliefs. This tragic conclusion packs the emotional punch needed to discuss such a heavy topic. 

What has the World Come 
to?

I Didn’t Want to Kiss You Goodbye, I
wanted to Kiss You Goodnight.

This post is a part of an assignment for the course: ENG 138T, know as a passion post. Each week, students were required to write a blog post surrounding a topic they loved. I chose the  lost generation, for reasons explained in my first blog post.
"They truly lived by the philosophy that if you left where you were from, you left yourself. What made them all flock to paris, I do not know, but I can’t help but admire their drive and determination to escape and begin anew. Where they courageously picked up anythign for a life of European adventure, I could only cowardly follow them in my mind through their stories and memoirs. One day I aspire to live life fully and gloriously as they did, but I am wary of where their paths follow.

Hemingway recounts his times in Paris as , “This is how Paris was in the early days when we were very poor and very happy” Somehow it’s heartbreakingly sad to read this because once he leaves Paris, he slowly begins to fall apart.

The lost generation has changed my view on life and have made me find hope through their hopelessness. They force you to enjoy the small things in life, because if you’re not having fun then what’s the point in living?"

 I am especially proud of this post, because I believe it combines my unique writing style as well as analysis skills in a blog post about one of my historic role models. 

"Love was always an unattainable object for dear Hemingway, as it is for so
many of us. Scorned by his father and bossed around by his mother, he grasped
tightly onto any form of love and self.
 Some say he searched for his masculinity by hunting, by drinking,or by
writing. But I believe differently. I believe that he searched for it in his
scores of women, failing each and every time to find himself in someone
else."
In this quote, I take the information about Hemingway's numerous love affairs and apply it to his life style.

"Hemingway delved into anything and anything that was remotely manly, leading to
his involvement in WWI.
There’s a war going on? I’m not even 18 and the United States isn’t
involved…. I KNOW! I’ll join the Italian army!


Sound crazy? Well that was what Hemingway was all about, finding trouble and
danger wherever he could. As bad ass as being an ambulance driver sounds, he
actually did get injured on the Italian front."


I may not have the best sense of humor, and going back and reading my attempts for laughs often makes me cringe. I was trying way to hard here, but I applaud my courage of reaching in and trying to pull out some witty writing. 
I did quite enjoy my crack  on Hemingway's obsession with cats. "Pissed beyond belief, he swore off women. Hence, Hemingway’s last and final love was his cat."

They lived happily together, and that’s where the term. “crazy old cat man” came from.

  “One cat just leads to another. . . . The place is so damned big it doesn't really seem as though there were many cats until you see them all moving like a mass migration at feeding time. . . .”

Ok, that’s a total lie. (Except the quote, the quote is totally real)."

All in all, I take a lot of pride in this post because it was both analytic and creative. I enjoyed speaking about a subject I love without a specific guide for how to write, or what to write about.

"In truth, he never found true companionship in his cats, his children, or his wives. To Hemingway, “The was no friend as loyal as a book”. Once he could no longer write them, he saw no reason left to live.

But he lives on. He lives on in his children, his books, and the memories he left behind that will forever leave an impact in our lives whether we wish it or not."