Responce to Dying for Dixie

I thought this peice of writing was very contriversal, and it raised a lot of racial issues that are still going on to this day. I believe Horowitz did a great job in the order that he put this story. He gave a little history about the town at the beginning, and then towards the middle he starts to get into what happened with Micheal's death. He talks about how the town had been divided in a war between blacks and whites over the confederate flag, and whether the flag should stay as the school mascot or not. As a result of thee arguing over this flag a lot of racial tension rose, and blacks were beginning to speek out and wear things advertising malcom X. The KKK memebers started to recruit people, and town hall meetings were being held, but the death of micheal caused the greatest uproar of all. Micheal was killed by freddie a black male, and freddie was charged with felony charges. Horowitz talks about the two young men, and discovers that they both were similar in charcteristics, and he saw this as not just a cause of racial tension, but a cause of two young teenage boys clashing egos. Horowitzs revals through his writing his sympothy for both young men at the end of the chapter when he talks to both of their families,and you get to see the good in both of the young men. This chapter I beleive shows the consequences of rascism whether its a black man being racsist towards a white man or the other way around. It shows that it is wrong period, and it only leads to death or jail.

My autobiography for Dying for Dixie

Like I have talked about in my previous blog, I have dealt with rascism at school as a child. I can relate to this story because of it. I must say that it was harder for me to deal with than the blacks in this story, because I was the only black at my school, so I was kind of alone on this, and I did not know how to deal with how I felt, because I had no one to relate to. Because of the rascism in my school, and not having anyone to talk about it too I became depressed,because I did not understand why I was not accepted among my peers. One day I just began to cry. In the story I kind of sympothize with freddie and in some ways I dont. I understand how it feels to watch people walk around with confederate flags everywhere and expect for you as a minority to feel like its okay for them to do that because they are exercising their civil rights, but I would never resolve the way I feel about that by killing another person. The only way you can end hate is through love not more hate, and I think the young black boy in this story did not understand that, and took j=his anger out the wrong way. That is one thing that I did when I was in school. Instead of retaliating to the rascism I showed love towards the person who did it. I did let him know that the things he said were wrong, but I dont hold a grugde against him, and I forgive him, and I have more love for him than any other person at the school, even though he was the one that caused me the most pain. So dont try to overcome hate with hate.

My autobiography

I am from the south. I was born and raised in the south, and I have the accent to go along with it. I love the south with all my heart. I love the hospitality, and the family values that are greatly pressed in the south, and I love the upholding of the impportance of religion. There are many thhings that I stand for as a person that I get from my southern upbringing, but it is also hard being a minority in the south. I can say this because I am not looking from the outside in, but from the inside out and what I am saying is true. Over the years as a child I have been used to being the minority, and usually the only minority. I went to a private school that was basically all white when I was in middle school. Since I was the only minority there I was treated differntly. Many of thhe girls had boyfriends, but I didnt because I wasnt white. They shared a lot of commonalities that I didnt necessarily share with them, but I was determined to fit in anyway. But there was a young man who was very strong in his southern beliefs, and believed in upholding and supporting the confederacy to the fullest. Of course he woould talk to me and tolerate me, but what he was taught and his beliefs were against me because of my race. He didnt believe that I shoould have the chance to be anything inlife because of my race. I had to sit and listen to him sing songs about the south that totally degraded the racial background from which I had came from. This was supposed to be some one that loved the south just as much as I did, but they hated me. Therefore its hard for me to support the south and everything it stands for at times, because I am constantly reminded of how the south wnated me to be a slave.

Response to confederates in the attic

I thought this was an interesting chapter of this book. I think it depicted both views of the confederacy, but mainly the white views. This book depicted an analysis of the confederate wars and the confederacy, and how it effects peoples lives in the present day. It seemed to be that the south was the only region holding on to this war. They mentioned in the book that this is true, because the south feels as if they lost so many people, and the deaths remained unknown, so they search and search for their dead ancestors as away to restore the whole in their hearts. Some of them feel as though they are still soldiers on the battlefield, and that Southern people are born fighters. The people in this book live their lives for the confederacy and their history. I believe that it is great to understand your history, for a man that does not know his history can not possibly predict his future, but I also believe in learning from your history to have a better future. not reveling in the past, and doing nothing towards your future. That causes you to become stagnant and I believe that that is where a lot of people in this book are right now. I love the south, but I dont think I want the people in this book representing who I am as a person, when in all actuallity they did not believe my ancestors were people in the first place.

Observation#3 Bus Riders

On my second bus ride I got on the bus and it wasnt very many people on this bus. So I decided to get a seat at the very back to make it easier to observe everyone. I sat for a while and not very much was going on people were just sitting and starring out the windows. I noticed that on this bus there were a lot of older people so I knew that this bus would probably be going to a neighborhood somewhere off campus. At the next stop which seemed to be the last stop on campus all of the younger people who seemed to be students boarded off the bus. I watched as this young man struggled to get off, because there were news papers on the floor of the bus and he almost tripped on them and dropped his stuff. No one really bothered to help him, but they all made sure they thanked the driver for the ride. I found that very ironic. I was left on the bus with three other adults The driver drove and the riders all got off at different stops. The driver noticed me at the back of the bus and she had come to the end of her route so she just assumed that I was lost and let me stay on the bus. We got to our next stop and the driver picked up an older lady. She seemed to know the driver because she ran up to the bus saying hey and very excited to see the driver for her daily ride on the bus. She got on and they quickly began to start a conversation about the weather. Then we came to the next stop and an older man got on. I guess he knew the woman and the driver because he quickly joined into the conversation. They all three continued to talk but conversation ceased when other people boarded the bus, and it started to fill up. I noticed that older bus riders are more apt to make friends and talk on the bus than younger bus riders.

Observation#2 Bus Riders

On my second bus ride I got on the bus and it wasnt very many people on this bus. So I decided to get a seat at the very back to make it easier to observe everyone. I sat for a while and not very much was going on people were just sitting and starring out the windows. I noticed that on this bus there were a lot of older people so I knew that this bus would probably be going to a neighborhood somewhere off campus. At the next stop which seemed to be the last stop on campus all of the younger people who seemed to be students boarded off the bus. I watched as this young man struggled to get off, because there were news papers on the floor of the bus and he almost tripped on them and dropped his stuff. No one really bothered to help him, but they all made sure they thanked the driver for the ride. I found that very ironic. I was left on the bus with three other adults The driver drove and the riders all got off at different stops. The driver noticed me at the back of the bus and she had come to the end of her route so she just assumed that I was lost and let me stay on the bus. We got to our next stop and the driver picked up an older lady. She seemed to know the driver because she ran up to the bus saying hey and very excited to see the driver for her daily ride on the bus. She got on and they quickly began to start a conversation about the weather. Then we came to the next stop and an older man got on. I guess he knew the woman and the driver because he quickly joined into the conversation. They all three continued to talk but conversation ceased when other people boarded the bus, and it started to fill up. I noticed that older bus riders are more apt to make friends and talk on the bus than younger bus riders.

Observation #1 Bus Riders

I sat at the bus stop waiting for a bus to get on. I didnt wait for very long because I didnt really have a preferred bus so I jumped on the first one that came. As I stepped on the bus it was very crowded so I started toward the very back where it seemed to be one open seat left. I sat and watched as people piled on the bus, and many of them had to stand up. As we were riding along I noticed people talking with friends. I must have picked a great time to observe people on the bus , because I then began to notice this girl and boy who seemed to be starring at one another profusely. The girl was sitting down and the boy was standing. They did not say a word to one another they just starred at each other like they were each other long lost love. I found this very interesting and had never seen anything like this before in my life, so it was kind of weird. As people began to get off the bus at the next stop there was a seat left for the boy that was right beside the girl. So the boy sat down and the girl smiled and they continued to stare at one another. Next thing I know they were kissing! This was definitely out of the norm for me, and not a part of the bus riding culture so of coarse this interaction caused quite a few stare, and looks of un comfort. Well many hours was coming to an end and I was not wanting it to. This observational bus ride was definitely the best one I encountered. This one was to me an example of a disturbance in this micro culture, but this disturbance did not cause that much of a commotion except for people laughing and talking about the couple when they got off the bus.

Another Revision feeder 2.2

I decided to observe the micro culture of bus riders. Bus riders really seem to have a culture of their own when they are on the bus. They have cultural norms of what they do before and after they board the bus. I watched as people walk up towards the bus stop standing in some sort of line that puts the late comers farther away from the stop. As people wait they stand there listening to iPods or staring in space, but no one makes eye contact with anyone. Even people who seem to be acquaintances with one another will only say hello and goodbye. Everyone seems to have some sort of hidden agenda that does not require interaction with others around them. As the bus approaches people walk in all directions trying to come to the exact spot where they think the bus will stop. It’s like a game, whoever can guess where the driver stops wins. As people start to board the bus they are told to wait because passengers have to get off first. When they get on the bus people automatically search for a seat that is far away from other passengers. The goals are to not have any contact with another human being while on the bus. As people approach their stops they push the requested stop button, and get off of the bus with a polite thank you to the driver, who seems to be the only person they will show courtesy to while on the bus.
I hypothesize that bus riders tend to be anti- social people, and they are very goal oriented people who will not let anything distract them from where they are going.
This topic piqued my interest because I am a walker I like to see the scenery outside and the people as they interact with one another. I often wondered why someone would trade that to sit on a bus full of people who show no interest in others except for themselves and where they are going.

Feeder 2.2 Revised

Walking through the main area of social activity on campus, the pit can be an enlightening experience. You will see many different activities taking place that involve interaction with people. One activity caught my eye, and it was the pit preacher. The pit preachers consist of men in button down collared shirts with suspenders, and a large jug of water to keep then hydrated during these long hours of preaching. They have their own style of preaching that really has no boundaries to it. They often yell and use derogatory language towards the students all in a matter of trying to persuade the students to follow their religion. As I observed this I realized that their method of preaching was not very affective, and often caused students to become hostile towards the preachers. I encountered one situation with one of the pit preachers, and the preacher was accusing a man of being homosexual. He also decided to accuse the young man of being sexually abused as a child. This created a lot of animosity, and caused the young man to lash out at the preacher. The preacher walked away with a black eye. This incident is what piqued my interest for this topic. I realized how these preachers are trying to teach about a God of love, but are using hate to do so.
I hypothesize that if the pit preachers would use a different tone and style of preaching that is loving and kind towards students it will help them win people over to their religion. People do not respond positively to someone criticizing them in a negative and derogatory way.
This would be a very important research topic, because Carolina has dealt with many problems involving the pit preachers. There have been many altercations between the preachers and students, and some have ended in violence. If my hypothesis proves to be true then altercation rates between the students and the preachers will decline, and the preachers can be more successful in what they are trying to accomplish.

Hypothesis for feeder 2.2

Almost every other day as I walk through the pit I hear man yelling at me. He shouts out thing about going to hell if you don’t live right, and derogatory comments about masturbation and homosexuality. These men are called Pit Preachers. Sometimes I stop and listen to these men yell and debate with students. I find it quite entertaining but disturbing at the same time. I have noticed that these men have their own style of dress. They always wear some type of khaki pants with suspenders and a button down collared shirt. They always carry a large jug of water also. I never see them with just a regular water bottle and I don’t know why that is.
There was one time when I had a direct encounter with one of these men and I happened to be with a good friend of mine. My friend, who happened to be a male, and were walking through the pit, and he had his arm placed around my shoulder as we were walking and talking. The pit preacher did not like this so he stopped us, and asked us “are you two young people planning on getting married?” We stood there in shock, and looked at one another and laughed. We replied back with a no. Then he replied “ Well this young man should not be touching you in that manner if he doesn’t plan on marrying you”, and then he stared me in the eye and asked me if I was a Christian, and I stared at him back and replied yes I am with great confidence. He asked me how did I know that, and with another amount of confidence I politely responded and told him. So He then left me alone, but he started to bother my friend. Next thing I know I hear comments like “you are going to hell”, and “do you masturbate?” My friend was so upset, because he also was a Christian, and he was being accused of not being one, and treated like he had been found guilty of murder. This encounter made me upset, but it also intrigued me to find out more about this Pit Preachers.
I hypothesize that this group of men are men who have made many bad decisions in their lives, and have done many of the things that they accuse others of doing. They use their religion as a threshold to put other people down in order to make themselves feel better about the mistakes they have made in life. They follow this militant way of religion that no human being could possibly live up to which gives them more reasons to put others down.
This would be an important research topic, because Carolina has dealt with many problems involving the Pit Preachers. There have been many altercations between the preachers and students, and some have ended in violence. If Carolina can create a better understanding of these men then maybe we can come up with a better way to deal with them and how they interact with the students here on campus.