blog 18

1. The differneces between the authors is that the first one did more of a summary of what his essay was about, he used the main ideas to explain himself. The second author used the the article to support his argument and the third author uses his essay to show a historical trend on modern communities.
2. Differences I expect to find in the research notes each writer took on the McGrath article would be that they would only note the information in the article that help support what they were writing about.

3. They use their paragraphs to make their point clear. They use the information in McGrath's article to help pinpoint and prove their specific thesis or issue.

blog 17

1. Can government help the "street children" in Mexico City?
2. Should parent's give Ritalin to their ADD children?
3. Are video games to violent?

blog 16

I do think that the videos can go too far. The best example of this is Borat’s “Throw the Jew down the Well” skit. What made the skit so controversial and funny was the audiences reaction to the lyrics of the song. I find it interesting the audience was pretty apathetic when Borat was talking about everyday things such as transport in Kazakhstan, yet when he began to sing “Throw the Jew down the Well” the reaction from the audience was clear. They began to clap, cheer and sing along to the song. Borat’s skit only reinforced my opinion that there is still an abundance of racist people in America. Not everyone in the world is comfortable with different cultures, there are many closed minded people that prefer to stay with what they know and react ignorantly when any other opinion is presented to them. It makes me come to the conclusion that since there are people out there who would laugh at a meta-bigots joke because they think its true, rather than laughing at the absurdity of it, makes meta-bigotry seem less and less desirable. Many would make the argument that it opens up dialogue and I cannot stress enough on how wrong and ludicrous that assumption is. Most people who saw Borat in theatres or watched Dave Chappelle’s shows did not understand the underlying message that they tried to convey.

blog 15

Sarah Silverman is the most commonly misunderstood comedian because like Sam Anderson wrote in Irony Maidenshe “doesn’t insulate herself with fictional characters.” Dave Chappelle and “Borat” are fictional in a more obvious kind of way. In Chappelle’s video about “Native Americans” the situation in which he describes himself is clearly fictional, and as opposed to Silverman he exposes the stereotype in a completely different light. In other words, instead of making a stereotypical joke about a certain group he completely changes what the audience thinks he is going to say into a different subject. Silverman on the other hand, is more blunt and crude in the way she expresses her jokes. Just like Chappelle and Silverman, “it’s very important to understand that Sacha Baron Cohen doesn’t feel the way that Borat feels, and that is why it is comedy.” They are just people that are “[holding] up a mirror to American society.” They are all fake characters who are playing a typical ignorant member of society and this is exactly how mega-bigotry works, it “makes you face the things you don’t want to face and the easiest way to face it is through humor.” The audience has to know that these subjects are actual social problems and the only thing that these comedians are trying to do is show how society reacts to them. They are acting and it is not for real although it can easily be mistaken.

blog 14

In highschool i took AP english my junior year, we had to write an extensive research paper comparing Albert Camus' "The Stranger" with Alexander Solzhenitsyn's "A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich." We spent months preparing this essay, it was a comparative essay though, not an exploratory although we did not have to come to an actual conclusion just like it is done in an exploratory essay. We had to do many drafts, and every two weeks we would have a classmate revise our work. Sometimes i even had to revise my paper because after asking a classmate to read it, was not as easily conveying my message as i intended it too. There other strategies though that I have not tried in making my essay more effective. One of these is talking to other writers and getting an idea on what they intend to do with their essays. Call it a lack of trust, but I’m not really eager to try the advice of others if their not teachers. Still I do acknowledge that it could be a very effective form of redrafting a paper and should try it sometime.

blog 13

Christopher Leigh's essay was very clear, concise and organized He brings our attention with an example of a well known act of violence, the Columbine shooting, and how it should not go by unnoticed. He supports his argument by stating how school should not be worrying about the punishment, but rather the actions needed to further prevent such events, such as counseling services. Christopher believes that profiling should only occur when violence has already occurred in the school in question. His research, whether or not to profile students, did not indicate a clear conclusion on whether or not schools should actively profile their students. The writer's essay was ordered because he answered the questions that the reader already has going through his or her mind when they are reading the essay. The essay is organized and flows from point to point in an orderly fashion resulting in an excellent exploratory essay. I like exploratory essays more than a rhetorical analysis because it does not answer a question directly, but rather furthers our thinking and encourages the reader to engage in the writing and come up with their own conclusion. Christopher did not reach a traditional conclusion and this intrigued me so much I actually thought about it more than I actually thought I would, rather than just ignore it in favor of doing something more enjoyable.

blog 12

I was born in Mexico City, my whole family is Mexican. I came to Miami when I was 12 and i was so happy to finally leave that crowded city. I go back maybe 3 times a year to visit my family and friends, and it isn't until now that i begin to realize the horrible situation that my fellow Mexicans are suffering. Poverty is a huge issue in that city, it is slowly growing and there are no opportunities for achieving a better life. Children have to leave their schools because they have to work in the streets in order for them to have enough money to eat that night. In almost every stop light you will see a group of children dressed as clowns trying to perform a worthy spectacle in those 2 minutes that the cars are stopped; they later hurry to collect what people are willing to give them. It is genuinely heart breaking to see the exasperated desperation of these poor children that should not have to be working. Mexico City is one of the biggest cities in the world; imagine how many red lights there are. Corruption is a major component to this devastating issue; not only by the government but by society itself. The parents of these hardworking children are known to take all their money away at the end of the day so they can indulge in their drugs or alcohol. This is why many of these kids decide to abandon their homes (if they can even be considered homes) and live underground. There are huge communities of children living under the sewers; this becomes the tomb of many of them due to the unsanitary conditions and the lack of nutrition. In desperate times, the leader of their communities have to steal paint thinner or even highly toxic glue for them to inhale so the hunger wont seem that penetrating. Mexico does not have the means to offer help to the children, it has been a growing problem and it seem that people have gotten used to it. I have not gotten used to see hunger in my country. When I was 13 and I went back for Christmas I remember that a nine year old girl was came knocking on our door, you could barely see her skin for most of it was covered in dirt. Her eyes were humid and she offered to clean our backyard in exchange of food. My mom took her in and we all ate at the table, she then went to my room to take a shower and I gave her some clean clothes. She seemed skeptical to the whole situation and remembered to keep her distance, but when my mom brought out my dolls we both forgot that this uncomfortable situation was happening and spent hours playing until nighttime came and she said she had to go back to her mom. I never saw her again and it breaks my heart to know that the next day maybe she did have to clean a backyard in exchange of food.