Analysis Blog #2

"Race by the Numbers"

In "Race by the Numbers, Orlando Patterson discusses the census results from 2000. He claims that the people have been misinformed (causing ciaos) about the percentage change in the white population. Due to the definition of "white" many people were placed into the wrong category, causing this false perception that the white population was dramatically decreasing. While reading his essay I felt that he made a very valid argument and gave plenty of facts to back up his ideas. Patterson uses many persuasive strategies to win over his readers and prove his point. In my opinion, he used statistics, history, and political analysis all equally throughout his essay. However, I would say that his use of statistics when talking about the race percentages made his argument much easier for the readers to believe and understand. For instance, here Patterson talks about the true percentage of whites while using statistics to help validate what he is saying, “whites remain a robust 69.1 percent of the total population of the nation. If we include Hispanic whites, as we should, whites constitute 75.14 percent of the total population, down by only 5 percent from the 1990 census.” Numbers always help make an argument stronger if used properly like Orlando did here. 

"Family a Symbol of Love and Life, but not Politics"

In Eric Zorn’s "Family a Symbol of Love and Life, but not Politics” the issue of "taking family back" is brought up. I think this could mean a few things, but one thing he makes very clear is the fact that the word "family" needs to be taken back from all these conservative/ anti-gay marriage and abortion organizations such as Family PAC, and American Family Association, all who use it wrongly. He states that they have "Monopolized it for too long, turned it into shorthand for a social and political outlook that excludes rather than includes..." I totally agree with him. His argument is more than valid. He, along with many other Americans, believes in the freedom to live and love whomever you want. Family is a word that should bring people together, not separate and exclude. I love this quote and I think it works perfectly here, "Ohana means family. And family means no one gets left behind...or forgotten". It doesn’t matter what "type" of family you have, it's still a group of people who love each other for who they are. And no government organization has the right to tell us whom we can and cannot love. 

Pre-Reading Blog #2

"Race by the Numbers"

I first searched Orlando Patterson on Wikipedia. There wasn't a ton of information about him however,  I found out that Orlando was born in 1940 in beautiful, sunny Jamaica. He graduated from Harvard with a sociologist degree. Most of his work revolved around racial problems in America. His biography written by Harvard stated that, "His academic interests include the culture and practice of freedom; the comparative study of slavery and ethno-racial relations; the sociology of underdevelopment with special reference to the Caribbean; and the problems of gender and familial relations in the black societies of the Americas. He is especially interested in the ways that cultural processes relate to poverty and other social outcomes". Later on in his career, Orlando became very much involved in the development of his home country. He spent a lot of time dealing with Jamaica's economical and political issues, and figuring out ways to solve them. 
Orlando was a columnist for many newspapers such as NY Times. 
The title "Race by the Numbers"suggests that the article is probably going to be about racial issues or equality. Also, I think that due to the time period in which it was written, whatever Patterson might have seen our experienced would have greatly affect his writing. 

"Family a Symbol of Love and Life, but not Politics"

Eric Zorn was born in 1958. In 1980, Zorn graduated from the University of Michigan. He is a columnist and a blogger for the Chicago Tribune. Zorn seems to be on the more conservative side in all his writings. His columns dont seem to have any main focus or theme, he just writes about everything. He is married and has three kids. And it just so happens that both of his parents are teachers at the University of Michigan. He was also a co-author of the book " Murder of Innocence". 
 In his essay "Family a Symbol of Love and Life, but not Politics", I think the issues politics brings into a family could be discussed, or maybe just that fact that family is just about love and living life, and not caring or talking about each others political opinions?

"A Reassuring Scorecard for Affirmative Action"

I searched for Michael Weinstein on Wikipedia first but the person that came up didnt seem to match quite right. So I then search for "A Reassuring Scorecard for Affirmative Action" and found him. Michael is a columnist for the New York Times. He is a very opinionated individual. He believes that there is unequal treatment when it comes to women and minorities. And he thinks that 'affirmative action' is being misunderstood. "A Reassuring Scorecard for Affirmative Action" was written in 2000, so it is pretty recent. Based on the title and what I found out about Michael, I think the article will be about inequality and what he believes should be done to change it.  

"Kids in the Mall: Growing up Controlled"

Not having much luck with Kowinski, I decided to search the title of the reading instead. I ended up finding whole bunch of blogs people had posted in response to his writing. I found out the "Growing up Controlled" is an article in his book "The Malling of America". Kowinski's main discussion in this book is teenagers experiences in malls; and how that shapes/effects them while growing up. He also believes that teens spend way too much time in malls rather than being outside playing sports. I think that "Kids in the Mall: Growing up Controlled" will most likely talk about all the issues teens whole spend too much time in malls get into. He will probably also discuss the bad side effects on teens for doing so. 

"Crash"

Roger Ebert was born in 1942. He is a American film critic and screenwriter. He is best known for his film review column in the Chicago Sun-Times. Ebert was a man who had no problem speaking his mind, often insulting other peoples work. He would say things like, "I hated this movie. Hated hated hated hated hated this movie. Hated it. Hated every simpering stupid vacant audience-insulting moment of it. Hated the sensibility that thought anyone would like it. Hated the implied insult to the audience by its belief that anyone would be entertained by it"(Wikipedia). So, knowing what I do about him now, Im assuming that "Crash" will be a film review.