"Analyzing Reasoning behind Violence"

Topic: Violence

Source: Robbins, ANTHRO Chapter 8, Focusing mostly on how justifications for violence are created and similarities between different cultures' display of violence.

Relation: When I read about the people in the mountains of North Pakistan, I noticed it was a surprisingly similar situation in the area I grew up and continue to work in. The idea that "human beings have an innate instinct toward aggression and that the roots of war lie in the biological mechanisms that animals and humans have in common." (Robbins, 179) seems more apparent in the mountains of Southern Humboldt than anywhere else I've been. I considered how the community of Salmon Creek justifies their reasons for conflict, as well as how assumptions in both the Kohistani people and in my home town play an important role.

Description: About an hour South of Arcata is a small town called Miranda, it's beside the Eel River and surrounded by beautiful mountains. As you venture off of the Avenue of the Giants or the 101 into the forestry, it gets gnarlier the farther you go (probably stating the obvious). I work about an hour off of the 101 up salmon creek road; when you get that far out it turns into trophy truck and machine gun country. I live just 10 minutes up the road, so the illicit activity is minimal among my neighbors and everyone gets along fine; that is not the story 50 minutes up. The driveways become more spaced as the 40 acre parcels to into 200+ pieces, with "keep out" and many other warning signs hung on fences with barbed wire lining the road. A part of my job is helping my boss repair damaged sections of the road, over the years I've spotted at least a dozen security cameras above gates and driveways. My boss, Jack,  has lived up there for the past 40 years, and told me how back in the day there were armed guards at checkpoints to stop any non-locals from passing during the months of September and October (I'll leave it to you to figure out why). Nowadays those residing deep just armor their crewmax's and F350's, driving around with upgraded AR-15's to keep intruders out. I've met six of Jack's neighbors, 4 of which had a sidearm holstered during my introduction. There are multiple reasons for everyone being on high alert; the three main threats being: Armed Cartel(s), Raiders/Robbers, and Informants. By now most have figured that displaying maximum force as well as being fully prepared is the safest way to go, seeing as how over the last few years there have been more busts, steals, and disappearances than ever before.

Commentary/Analysis:

The community's collective aggression, violence, and hate towards these three groups is rationalized as "purposeful, noble, and inevitable" as stated in the text. Why wouldn't it be from their perspective? I mean, if you were going to the trouble to keep a large ranch up and running, especially with illegal activity involved, you definitely didn't want any of them around your land. The reason I saw such a connection was because the Thull people openly carry weapons; just like the people I'm around at work. Both communities also "…believe that if another person wrongs them, they must retaliate…" (Robbins, 182) I had to leave out the last part because in Southern Humboldt if you're caught as any of these 3, there’s no equal punishment for trespassing; so it's generally a much worse process for whoever caught. It's no religious belief for Jack's community to get vengeance; it's a display of strength, to not be messed with, to be the top dog, all in attempts to scare off any threats. The houses weren't designed for defense against gunfire like those of Kohistan, but with security measures that are taken there is little possibility their houses need protection; the threat would be stopped before they got there. Both communities have well-armed citizens, ready to take vengeance, their violent attitudes and measures taken create a never-ending chance of a firefight breaking out.

Sexual Orientation in the Early Years

Topic: Sex

Source: Robbins, ANTHRO (124,125)

Relation:

I was skeptical to blog about sex at first, but as I read about the Trobriand people, Ju/Wasi, and Chinese cultures, I found I was too interested in the topic to avoid it. I considered how demographics and social upbringing play a major part in orienting young adults to sex. It made me think about my upbringing, how I was introduced to the idea of sex and what I was led to think about it.

Description:  The first time I saw sexual content I wasn't more than 5 years old, thankfully it was on a TV, but my eyes were covered by mom before I could watch more than a few seconds of it. I had no idea what it was, but I knew that my mom didn't want me to see it. It became habit for me to turn away if breasts were shown in a movie; I'd even leave the room if a sex scene was shown for more than a few seconds. I can vividly remember the first time I actually looked; I was on the all-stars basketball team in seventh grade, and on our road trip back from a victory we decided to watch the hilarious movie "Old School" (The unrated version). So reacting to habit, when the KY-Jelly wrestling match took place in the movie, it wasn't odd to me that I looked away. Sure enough about half my team noticed, and they had been peer pressuring me all season to break away from my somewhat nerdy approaches to things. After being called a "fag" probably 50 times in a minute, we agreed that if I watched the scene we'd just continue the movie, so I watched, and if you've seen old school you'd know it was nothing terrific. I wasn't scared or excited; it felt as if nothing had changed, so why did my mom shield my eyes from the images when I was 5? My take is that she was helping me hold out longer than others, and be able to better control myself for the testosterone filled years ahead. The high school I went to was to put in the nicest way possible: very un-classy. Some kids were losing their virginity at 12, and if you got to be 16 with your "v-card" then you would be ridiculed. I doubt with early years like mine my mom wanted me growing up in a place like that.

Commentary/Analysis:  The importance of sex varies culture to culture, and I think the ease of restriction a society practices reflects the lack of importance sex is to that society. In Chinese society, a woman is to hold her virginity until marriage, and her life can change if she loses it. That requires quite a bit of devotion to the power of sex, more so than the Ju/Wasi, who believe it healthy to practice sexual activities when the cravings begin. A Ju/Wasi said "if a girl grows up not learning to enjoy sex, her mind doesn't develop normally." (Robbins 124) I figure based on other Ju/Wasi customs that men follow similar logic, and personally I've found my life is less problematic when I don't have any sexual relations. My experiences through high school taught me it's easy to get distracted, and that sexual relations lure focus away from more pressing matters.

In a way I envy Chinese women for their self-control, but even after marriage it seems like their sexual relationships never prosper, as husband and wives have specific function. The Trobriand Islanders are the opposite in the sense that they portray their sexuality before marriage, and then cease to afterwards so they can focus on their fertility and motherhood. I guess my approach regarding sexual orientation is to be as physically appealing as possible while seeking someone with particular traits and interests for a long-lasting, healthy, fulfilling relationship. It's not your typical male sexual outlook, but I am not a fan of systems involving multiple partners over short periods of time. So in a way, I use the Trobriand technique to be appealing before I find a long-term partner, but I also derive some from the Chinese method of celibacy until my long-term partner is found, just not to the extent of marriage. Like I said earlier, practicing restriction shows control, gives focus, and it also allows one to wait for the right partner.

Topic: Rituals

Source: CC readings on ritual: 31-33 , Chapter  4 ANTHRO reading

Relation: After reading what creates rituals and how they affect our lives, I witnessed my barber enact her ritual before she began to cut my hair. It helped me realize how very often we go about our rituals without even noticing it.

Description: A few days ago I visited my favorite barber, Mary Glavich, to get my regular haircut. The appointment started with me walking into a room of older women exchanging news and gossip, which is what I expected based off my previous visits. Mary greeted me, and then proceeded to enact the exact same process of preperation to cut my hair as she had done the last time. She began by asking "Jim off the office?" (the haircut I always ask for), and once I nodded she busily began her process. Her first step began by arranging all the needed implements for the cut on a tray with a towel, pulling most of them out of a cleaning solution and going over them with hot water. Next, she spun me around and dipped me back to wash my hair, following with a pre-cut shampooing. Once that wass complete she dried my hair and spun me so I'd face the main mirror again. She ran her fingers through my hair multiple times, to make sure it was straight, and to determine how it would change a cuts look once dried. After a quick run-through with a comb, along with the addition of a fantastic smelling hair product, she is ready to proceed. Here is where I initially realized Mary conducted a ritual before every cut: once my hair was fully prepared, Mary walked over and checked her cell phone, drank out of her canteen, and complimented her co-workers work on another customer (which reminded me of juicing in tattoo parlors).  The only reason these few minor actions caught my attention was because I had seen her do this the time before, and the time before that, each time a minute or two before my cut would begin. Once I had put it all together, I realized that Mary had been conducting her ritual from the time I had sat down to the beginning of her cut; the same ritual she performs over 20 times a day on her customers.

Commentary/Analysis: Rituals are very important, I go through many in a day and I find that if I miss any single one then my mindset will take a turn for the worst. Going about a ritual or routine can relax people, "giving their practitioners a sense of control, and with that, added confidence." (CC, 319) Mary's pre-cut routine is pretty simple, yet makes sense because it makes every one of her customers start at the same page, reguardless of the variety of hair she cuts. The drinking of her water and checking her cell phone are probably just habit, woven into the ritual over time. I'm a satisfied customer of Mary's, and i'd be worried if she was ever to deviate from the pre-cut ritual because it has proven successful so far. Like I said, I can lose it if I'm denied a ritual, and I've found that almost every action throughout my day is a scheduled set of rituals, with few changes day to day. Once we have a ritual down, we have trained ourselves to follow a process we believe leads to a more fulfilled life; and continue to do so until it is proved otherwise. Rituals are empowering, and they serve as a self-imposed training system for us to look to when we need comfort or control. Everyone needs their rituals; without them, we'd have little to revert back to, nothing to practice daily, and a lot less peace in situations when it would help.

Disassembling My Communication Platform

 

Topic: Communication Technology

Source: Chp. 8/9 Conformity and Conflict readings, also recalled on experiences with topic

Relation: While considering what led to my social transition after I graduated high school, I could attribute many of the effects to adjustments in my communication methods I made around the same time.

Description: Advances in technology are generally created for the effect of making our lives more fulfilling. In one area of technological progression, communication, we see a decreasing in association through face to face socialization. People now get to enjoy the anonymity of communicating through technology and tend to say things in text that they would never in a 'real-life' social environment. A known problem is people's growing reliance on cell phones; everyone who is up-to-date has a cell phone, yet we do not rely on them for being stranded - we rely on them as our main form of widespread communication. The majority of cell phone users (including me) feel lost without their phone, as if it were a vital element to their daily success. However those who integrate work into their cell phones actually have something to be worried about. So texting can be necessary, and no doubt I'm a fan, I just think that a lot of people need to put forward more effort to communicate in person. Those who use texting as their only form of articulation, like kids in class texting non-stop, are clicking and tapping away the life that is right in front of them. We don't see this in college as much, but in high school I can remember plenty of kids who would text their days away, unaware of what was going on around them. Conversations require many communication techniques to flow correctly; body language and facial expressions contribute much to meaning; as well as help the listener remember the point you made or story you've told. There are many complications that can arise from texts as well: the content of the message may be conceived differently than you intended, a message may fail to send, or simple misspellings can quickly lead to a problem with the receiver (having an iPhone with autocorrect has proven to be a regular problem in changing meaning). Having the freedom to text is valuable, no doubt more beneficial than if it had not existed; we just need to moderate our use correctly, otherwise text messaging will replace talking, hindering the ability to form a complex face-to-face relationship.

Commentary/Analysis: The first time I noticed my ability to communicate had lost confidence was already 2 months too late to regain my confidence in speaking. When I graduated High School, I made a promise to myself that I would erase contact with anyone besides my group of best friends (which seemed to be increasingly common for graduates). Like I said, I later found out after it was too late that I made a huge, life-altering mistake. It's a reasonably logical outlook; to cut off communication with those who would just add dead weight to your future, to only sustain the beneficial relationships acquired through high school. My decision was rash, and didn't really assess my high school experience compared to others with similar goals, more importantly I didn't account for my summer of work that would take place after my graduation. By severing communications with people I enjoyed talking to every day, and by limiting my communication to a small group of friends, I learned to only communicate effectively with the few I spoke with over the summer. My summers are all work, so I rarely got to see anyone besides my two co-workers on the construction jobs. By August I found myself having trouble responding with correct meaning, I avoided people I knew so I wouldn't have to talk, and I became increasingly aware I was uncomfortable with face to face interactions with anyone besides my co-workers and immediate family. I even made sure to deposit my paycheck into the bank so at gas stations I could just fill up with a card at the pump, instead of having to interact with whoever was working inside. When it came time for college to begin, my lack of confidence in communication made it difficult to collaborate with classmates, ask questions, go to the teacher for help, adding many what should be avoidable problems to my life. I thought my regular texting with friends would be enough for me through the summer, while I could work and save up for upcoming college expenses. I had no idea that my communication skills would regress. Replacing my daily face to face relations with text messages definitely caused a setback, one that I'm still in the process of getting passed. 

Topic: Progress

Source: Considering the readings in ANTHRO about progress, I began to realize how much trying to foresee areas of progress has influenced my view of our nation’s economy.

Relation: Our sheer lack of wealth as a country has taken millions of jobs, and ruined many lives. It's important that we focus on what decisions will lead the nation to a better future, as our leader’s ability to resolve problems have become much less apparent. My lifestyle has had to adapt because of the new economic hardships, and keeping up with the causes has kept me more aware of the solutions.

Description: Almost all outcomes lead to progress in some form or another. If a mistake is made, it is remembered not to be done again; but sadly that has not been the case for the United States' economy. We seem to have forgotten that every step of progress our nation makes affects the next step. As a nation we pushed too far forward, overlooking important errors that are monumental today, and now there are five threats to our economy that we can ignore no longer: 

The first is Pension underfunding. It has been caused by many companies that offered defined-benefit pension plans that have failed to fund those plans. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation already owes $23 billion, so chances are it will result in a Federal bailout, which in turn may only invite future defaults.

The second is Public Debt, the government’s mistake of turning society to a trend of consumption has led to an enormous debt burden of almost $8 trillion. We import much more than we export, and instead of building the items we intend to consume, we encourage U.S. manufacturers to produce in third world markets like Mexico and China. The worse the debt grows, the more likely the government is to turn to the central bank to produce more money. This would just lead to higher inflation taxes, to finance their irresponsible spending.

The third, being the over-building in fault zones, floodplains, and coastal areas leads a risk for major property damage due to storms and flooding. The coasts are highly sought after by the population because they want to live in warm, sunny locations. The larger these populations grow, prices on land and property will gain value, adding to the damage likely from upcoming (not to mention inevitable) natural disasters. The only promising solution at this point is easy enough to attain, where the federal government can offer less funding for construction and insurance for disaster-prone regions. When people have to pay more to live with these hazards, they are much more likely to have the preparation for the risks involved.

The fourth crisis is that Americans' social security is in financial trouble, and people are not saving enough for retirement on their own. The risk of reducing social security benefits in the future poses a potential threat to many under-saving citizens, and social security trustees forecast a current-dollar shortfall of $4 trillion by 2017. All citizens need some sort of a private retirement account, as it is the only solution to the pay-as-you-go retirement scheme. The overall objective needs to be to continue funding social security as promised, but also transition to a long-term sustainable system of old-age savings.

The fifth effort is on our increasing use of computers and electronic technology that has chosen luxury over efficiency. Our current yearly energy consumption costs at around $755 billion, and is expected to grow 1.6% a year for the next twenty. The increase seems small, but in reality it costs an additional $12 billion a year, that could be used for more beneficial approaches to new sustainable energy. The best approach would be to divert the Department of Energy's spending to these new sources, rather than following the same unsustainable methods.

These five major problems our economy faces are some serious contributors to our country's massive deficit. Considering how critical the situation has become, I'm surprised more extravagent measures haven't been taken to confront these issues. Everyone is content for the time being, but that will only last as long as we can sustain our methods of consumption: which isn't looking like it will be very long.

Commentary/Analysis:

I remember seeing families drop off the grid back in 2008, none of which I was close to, but the banners posting "FORCLOSURE" were hard to miss as I drove by. The beginning of the country's economic collapse was marked by the housing market collapsing, which in turn started a domino effect of economic downfall. The government no doubt is overwhelmed in dealing with all of these problems, not to mention ill-equipped. Budgets are being cut like it's nobody's business, as the government tries to compensate for financial losses by retracting funds to the public sector. I grew up in a pretty liberal area, one of the few that attempts to progress past the 20^th century system of disposable-everything. At the same time, everyone still needs to stay updated with technology, so I must admit we contribute to the consumerism leading to our public debt. The only minor financial loss my family sufficed from these problems had to do with our beach house in Shelter Cove, where the house insurance rates rose 4% over a 3 year period, due to multiple earthquakes causing small scale damage on the town. In terms of social security, staying updated on the situation helps me keep a realistic plan in mind for the future, because I’ve still got a few years before I need to worry about it. The energy crisis will be a difficult one to overcome, luckily around here (and my hometown), people are pretty eco-friendly, and alternative energies already are a focus for many. Like I said earlier, it’s surprising no greater actions have been taken against these predicaments, even worrisome. That’s why everyone needs to be aware of where progress is going, to carefully buffer it in the right direction.

Topic: Cultural Texts

Source: Observing my family's past dinner experiances and track record for eating together as a family unit, rather than eating meals seperately.

Relation: After reading about cultural texts, and how our society is completely structered by them, I began to consider what cultural texts in my life created my views of our society. My topic is a cultural text in the form of objective elements of culture, not physical manifestations.

Description: We know that, in any culture, food is an important contributor to our way of life. Something I failed to consider growing up was HOW we ate, not by measuring consumption speed or the capacity of a mouthful we can hold, but by thinking about how we eat in relation to others, more specifically our immediate family. Growing up I was blessed to have a family that provided me with the proper nutrition, and even more so to have a family that prioritized meals to be eaten together. Time magazine wrote an article titled, "The Magic of the Family Meal" in June of 2006 that focused on the importances of eating meals as a family. Within the article, I read some very interesting facts; one stated, "Studies show that the more often families eat together, the less likely kids are to smoke, drink, do drugs, get depressed, develop eating disorders and consider suicide, and the more likely they are to do well in school, delay having sex, eat their vegetables, learn big words and know which fork to use." Now doesn't that sounds like an unbelievably positive return for just choosing to nourish yourself at the same time of your family? Unfortunately in most families today that's not the case, data from a December 2003 Gallup Poll confirm that having dinner together in the evening is difficult for today's families. Slightly more than a quarter (28%) of adults with children under the age of 18 report that their families eat dinner together at home seven nights a week. Compared to the relatively similar nations of Canada and Great Britain, we still lag behind in numbers of families eating together. In a different area of the Gallup Poll mentioned earlier, Canada had a 40% rate for families eating dinner together 7 times a week, and Great Britain just short of Canada with 38%. However, in the U.S. at the same time, the data revealed only 28% of families ate together 7 times a week, the 10-12% lag changing the lifes of over 35 million people. To many this is no surprise, because the U.S. is known to have a hardcore work ethic, and according to a CNN report; in August 2011 we ranked #1 in average work hours per year, with a whopping 1,978 hours! It's not like people want to neglect their families or bail out on dinner when they can, people just need to work; and it's sad our society has pushed people to the point where they can't sit down and enjoy a meal with their families every evening. As I see it, the family dinner is key to shaping people, and good communication within a family will benefit from conversing over dinner. "If it were just about food, we would squirt it into their mouths with a tube," says Robin Fox, an anthropologist who teaches at Rutgers University. "A meal is about civilizing children. It's about teaching them to be a member of their culture."

Commentary/Analysis: I look back, and I cherish the fact that I was able to eat with my family every day, opposed to many people I know who were used to whipping up a quick meal to eat solo. Even today, I go to college over an hour away from where I grew up - where my parents live. Yet every night, I continue the tradition of dinner with at least one member of my family. I'm an Italian, one that holds onto the stereotype about motherly importance, so every evening I sit down and eat dinner with my mom. Preferrably I'd have my sister and dad there too, but my sister goes to college at UCSC and my dad has work back home to deal with. It's pretty surprising I've kept the tradition going, because in college you're expected to branch away from the normal routine, but some things just aren't worth giving up. Plus, after reading some other blogs it doesn't sound like the college nutrition standards aren't set very high. Having a mom that knows how to cook is definitly beneficial, with helping me try to keep my diet well-balanced, to teaching me some dishes in the process. I'm someone who believes in strong families ties, and I can say from experiance that family dinners every night growing up had a big part in shaping the individual I am today.

Works Cited: 
CNN - "Study: U.S. Employees Put in Most Hours"
Gallup - "Empty Seats: Fewer Families Eat Together"
Time Magazine - "The Magic of a Family Meal"
Personal Interview - Robin Fox