Blog Post #3

In Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", I found that Chapter 23 really dipped into the true emotions that Maya encountered throughout her lifetime. At the beginning of the chapter, Maya a graduating eighth grader, is anxious for the ceremony. Although she has some nervousness, she knows that many individuals in Stamps never finished grammar school. Lots of wonderful things come to Maya, such as gifts and the feeling of confidence in her perfectly fitting dress. All of these feelings soon come to an abrupt end when the ceremony itself begins. The superintendent (a white man) acts as though he is superior to each and every one of the colored individuals present. He acts as though he needs not to show any sense of respect due to the fact that these graduating students are African America. Following the speech of the superintendent, a student rises to give a speech of his own. This speech completely blew away that of the superintendent. Not due to the content, but the meaning of the content. It showed that although each individual there had faced hardships, troubled times and even more so racism, they still were brought back to their roots and were proud of their ethnicity. I believe that this chapter should be a lesson for all of us. Racism is a real life occurrence, even in the advanced society that we live in today. So next time, instead of judging someone based on their race or skin color, take a step in their shoes.

Blog Post #2

In “Virtual Popularity Isn’t Cool – It’s Pathetic,” Ian Daly conducts an analysis of our society’s infatuation with social media.  Daly begins his article by introducing the ever growing popularity of Facebook. From a college dormitory to a worldwide phenomenon these social media sites have people around the globe locked to their computers. The article targets adult males, showing how widespread the effect these sites have on daily life. Daly claims that this so called addiction or infatuation is pathetic; but in today’s technology based society can one truly avoid being sucked in to the cyber-world of social media?

After reading Ian Daly’s article “Virtual Popularity Isn’t Cool – It’s Pathetic”, I couldn’t help but laugh. I have never been one to be consumed by social media sites. When these sites began growing more and more popular, my mom always criticized those who shared their every move on the internet. First of all, it isn’t safe. With the ability to tag where you are, who you are with, and what you are doing a complete stranger could pinpoint exactly where you are and confront you. Secondly, why do people feel the need to share their lives online?  I personally deleted my Facebook specifically because my “friends” felt the need to complain about their perfectly normal lives. Lastly, I agree with Daly’s claim that this so called popularity is pathetic, but not in the sense of overuse. I believe that individuals feel as though they are superior to their peers, giving them the courage to bash fellow social media users. This courage to terrorize others online is humiliating to our society as a whole. So next time you log onto a social media account, take a second to think about who is really viewing what you post.