Is This Cartoon Offensive?

The controversial political cartoon that offended me came from the New York Post in February 2009. The cartoon featured two uniformed police officers shooting a chimp, shown lying on the ground, as one officer says to the other: "They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill." The depiction of the chimp is apparently a reference to the 200-pound chimpanzee that mauled a woman in Connecticut couple days before officers had to shoot the animal to death. "The cartoon is a clear parody of a current news event," explained Post editor-in-chief Col Allan, who denied that it was intended to refer specifically to Obama. "It broadly mocks Washington's efforts to revive the economy," he said. This is a racist cartoon aimed at the president of the United States. This cartoon incorporated two news stories into one. But that terrible incident was taken and put in a political cartoon. The Post should at least clarify what point they were trying to make in this cartoon, and reprimand their cartoonist for making inferences that are offensive and divisive at a time the nation struggles to come together to stabilize the economy if, in fact, this was yet another racially charged cartoon. At the same time this incident was taking place, a massive stimulus package was begin discussed in congress to help boost the economy. There was a lot of heated debate over the stimulus and whether it would be a good thing for the economy. There was massive destruction of the economy and Wall Street almost collapsed a few months prior. There was a need for government spending in order to offset the lack of consumer spending to give the economy a boost. What this cartoon shows in an opposition to the stimulus package and to cops shooting a monkey. The monkey is a representation of the president Barack Obama. The cops saying that someone else would have to write the stimulus bill says to me they are taking a shoot at the president.

This cartoon is offensive on many levels. There is the racial imagery of a monkey being equated to the president who is black. There is also imagery of gun violence and also the imagery of police brutality. I can understand those people who say that this cartoon represents an image of a stimulus package that is so ridicules it looks like a monkey wrote it and that it’s just humor that it’s shoot dead by cops to represent the opposition to the package. I would say that this is not the case. If that were true then the cartoon would have spoken for itself. I argue that something that is great does not need an explanation because it is so genius that it just speaks for itself. When some people see police officers shooting a monkey and then a caption saying someone else has to write the stimulus package they would connect that monkey to the president. In American history the image of the monkey has been used to represent African-Americas. Now that the country has an African-American president who was vocal about passing the stimulus package, it is obvious why this cartoon would be so offensive. There is also the image of police brutality by the cops shooting the monkey and saying what they said. The cartoon shows the police killing the monkey because they disagree with the stimulus and not because it was self-defense. Again with the history of police in America it brings up images of Rodney King. I understand this cartoon was meant to poke fun at the stimulus package but it was distasteful. There are other ways to show that the stimulus is ridiculous without implying that it was written by a monkey.

Expanding Your View

If someone of a known hate group was invited to my campus to speak would be fine by me. I would welcome the opportunity to hear a different perspective and also have a discussion with them about why they feel the way they do. We live in a country where our culture has the freedom of speech. There is no doubt it would cause controversies but we are not the moral authority? Who are we to judge others? What an individual believes is their right and I am in no moral authority to tell them if their beliefs are right or wrong. If there is a problem people also have the option to ignore or take it as a learning experience on a whole different perspective then they have ever confronted.

When this person does come to our campus I would defend their right to be there. What free speech means is the ability for individuals’ to exercise freely opinions and ideas which is the First Amendment in the Constitution of the United States. This would go against the first amendment. I value freedom of speech because of the history of tyranny in where those who lived under it did not have free speech and lived in fear. If the people under the king’s rule spoke out against him they could find themselves muzzled or worse dead. They made sure that the first amendment would be free speech because this was the most important. They wanted people to be free to speak their mind and be able to bring their ideas to the table. Thus if a leader of a hate group was to speak at a campus they would have every right to do so. Free speech is free speech. No matter how we feel about what they say, they have a right to say whatever it is they want to. Most of us would find what they would say as appalling but again it is their right to say that. Free speech is not a one-way street. When we talk to each other we can begin to understand one another. Hopefully when we talk new ideas would be exchanged and minds would begin to open and maybe, just maybe that person would change. Maybe it will not be a dramatic change, just a seed we may plant in their heads about the opposing side of an argument and they will begin to asses if what they truly believe is right. This is why the U.S. is a great country, and stands out from the globe; because we allow and accept other’s view as well as we can comment on their view for the purpose of improvement, not harming each other. If we do not let them speak because their tones are offensive to others, how can we analyze and help to understand one another. People should listen to both sides of the argument in order to make a proper decision. There are times, we need to listen, or step back, so we can speak and go forward to make the world a better place to live.

Self-Respect is the Key to HappYness

What is more important Happyness or Self-Respect? This is a difficult question to answer. These two things go side by side. In my opinion, to be happy is to have self-respect and to have self-respect is to be happy with yourself. Is one more important than the other? I believe that it is more important to have self-respect than to just have happiness. Self respect is one of the most valuable things you can have. It helps you feel worthy of happiness and the respect of others. It reminds you that you are a valuable person-simply by virtue of being alive. When you have self-respect you gain confidence that cannot be shaken and no matter what challenge comes your way you will be able to conquer it without hesitation. This confidence you get from having self-respect will bring you unlimited supplies of happiness and as a person you will know who and what you are. It also sets a standard for others to follow. People take most of their cues from how we treat ourselves, so if you want to be treated with kindness and respect, make sure that you are setting a good example.

If you believe that you deserve happiness and fulfillment, you are very likely to attract and create circumstances that promote these conditions. By feeling that your happiness is a priority, you will be on the lookout for opportunities to do things you enjoy, and that are in line with your goals and desires. Knowing that you deserve to be happy, you will probably not pass up chances to be happy. On the other hand, if you are stuck in a negative mindset, and you believe that everyone else’s happiness is more important than yours, you will possibly forego your chances for fulfillment with flimsy excuses such as time, money, or other ‘more pressing’ commitments. We consciously and subconsciously set out to create an external life that matches our internal beliefs. If you have a good level of self respect, clear ideas of what you want in life, and the belief that you can and should have what you want, it is very likely that you will seek and find opportunities to fulfill these desires. Knowing what you want is a very big factor in having what you want. If you only have a very vague notion of a better life, it is very hard to take concrete steps towards creating one.

On the other side, it is different for the people living in Iran as described in RLit. The women there have been dehumanized and the average people have been put down by the corrupt leaders who never allow them to better themselves. When someone is dehumanized or put down to a level so low they have no understanding of what self-respect is. When they lose their self-respect they have lost themselves. They may find temporary happiness but it would just be that temporary. Without self-respect they would not have goals to achieve or desire to better themselves. How would they truly be happy if they do not have self-respect? When people have freedom of thought they can find their self-respect and then find what makes them happy. Having self-respect is more important than happiness in my opinion. A healthy self respect is one of the foundations of happiness and emotional well-being. It can help you through tough times, and inspire you to follow your heart and your dreams.

How Women and Men Communicate?

Communication is a dynamic process with the interacting components of sending, receiving and feedback. Nonverbal cues may provide clarity or contradiction for a message being sent. If an ironic statement is made with a smile, the receiver knows to find it humorous instead of disconcerting. If we are sending a verbal message intending to deceive and avert our eyes the receiver knows we may be lying. Nonverbal cues also influence how we perceive and are perceived. Familiar faces may make us more likely to start a relationship and continue it. Nervous facial expression hinders other`s perception of our competence and persuasiveness. Nonverbal cues can provide information we may not want dispelled. Our decoding ability arises at a young age and increases as we get older, influencing our daily lives whether we are aware of it or not.

Women tend to communicate more effectively than men, focusing on how to create a solution that works for the group, talking through issues, and utilizes non-verbal cues such as tone, emotion, and empathy whereas men tend to be more task-oriented, less talkative, and more isolated. Men have a more difficult time understanding emotions that are not explicitly verbalized, while women tend to intuit emotions and emotional cues. Characteristically, women are encouraged to look modestly downward, to walk with small steps, be more restrained in facial expressions than men of their class, and to eat smaller portions of food. Gestures of female assertiveness, like standing with arms akimbo, or legs widely spaced, are regarded, particularly in societies with strong power differentials between the sexes, as unbecoming and aggressive, imitative of male behavior. These differences explain why men and women sometimes have difficulty communicating and why men-to-men friendships look different from friendships among women. Nonverbal communication, or body language, is a vital form of communication. When we interact with others, we continuously give and receive countless wordless signals. All of our nonverbal behaviors the gestures we make, the way we sit, how fast or how loud we talk, how close we stand, how much eye contact we make send strong messages. The way you listen, look, move, and react tell the other person whether or not you care and how well you’re listening. The nonverbal signals you send either produce a sense of interest, trust, and desire for connection or they generate disinterest, distrust, and confusion.

Nonverbal communication is a rapidly flowing back-and-forth process. Successful nonverbal communication depends on emotional self-awareness and an understanding of the cues you’re sending, along with the ability to accurately pick up on the cues others are sending you. This requires your full concentration and attention. If you are planning what you’re going to say next, daydreaming, or thinking about something else, you are almost certain to miss nonverbal cues and other subtleties in the conversation. You need to stay focused on the moment-to-moment experience in order to fully understand what’s going on.

"PC"

Political correctness is the variation of language said by proponents to redress real or alleged unjust discrimination or to avoid offense. The term most often appears in the predicate adjective form politically correct, often abbreviated (PC), and is usually used mockingly or disparagingly. One purpose behind politically correct language is to prevent the prohibition or the offending of people based upon differences or handicaps. The reasoning claimed by proponents for using politically correct terminology is to bring peoples' unconscious biases into awareness, allowing them to make a more informed choice about their language and making them aware of things different people might find offensive. Two common examples of this practice are to use the word “disabled” in preference to “crippled”, and “mentally ill” in preference to “crazy”. However, the new terms are often awkward, euphemistic substitutes for the original stark language concerning differences such as race, gender, sexual orientation and disability, religion and political views.

As the world has progressed it has become better and still today works on making itself better. As a result being politically correct has become necessary. If someone is not politically correct they are looked at as being rude and ignorant. This attitude has changed everyday conversation. Now when people have conversations they must be politically correct. For example, “Nigger” It is a word that white students struggle with and black students use pretty freely in daily’s conversations but view it as derogatory if used by people of other races. Young people are much more open to using it, especially young people who are black or who have been exposed to more diverse groups of people. I can’t imagine a political or a social multiracial situation where it would be appropriate. The word is so prevalent in the popular youth culture, grounded in hip-hop, that I wouldn’t like to predict where that debate is going to end up. But if the popular culture ends up agreeing that it is okay to use, then I think there are a lot of pretty scary implications. However, the choice of racial or ethnic nomenclature can depend on the individual, as well as location and time period. For example, in the United States of America also referred to as the United States U. America or the States is a federal republic in central North America, stretching from the Atlantic in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. It shares land borders with Canada in people of both Caucasian. Caucasian is originally a geographical term, meaning relative or pertaining to the Caucasus region of Eastern Europe. It has in time acquired other specific meanings: in linguistics, the Caucasian languages are a large number of languages spoken in the Ca and Africa. Being politically correct on this issue means that one is careful in not bringing up stereotypes to define certain people or decide the issues. It is a fine line to walk when talking about issues of race. If politically correct language is not used then people will find themselves in deep trouble. Political correctness may also be exhibited by the refusal to discuss particular traits of an ethnic or religious minority. For instance, it may not be politically correct to point out that a particular community has crime rates above those of the general population or to publicly suggest that cultural traits of that community may have led to such a situation. If we allow political incorrectness we are rewritten history.

Globalization of Language

Learning one language doesn’t cause you to forget another. More than half the world plays soccer, but other sports continue to thrive. Why should languages be any different? In fact, it seems widely agreed upon that a person who speaks more than one language is worthy of admiration. The fact that nearly two billion people are learning English means that there are more bilingual people than ever before. Though shared languages between countries are necessary for globalization to thrive, the popularity of English is incidental and could change. English is a tool, just like a piece of technology. Much of the world’s economy is tied up in English-speaking countries and for that reason, English is like a cell phone provider offering the best plan. But if the dollar continues to drop, the most viable option could shift. Mexico and Korea don’t need English to communicate if Korea begins to find it profitable to learn Spanish.

According to The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language on pg.61 of the EL text, Mandarin Chinese is number one in first-language speakers with an estimated 726 million people. While English comes in second with 427 million and Spanish and Hindi rounding out the top four each with 266 million and 182 million respectfully. Now based of these statistics how can it be possible that English has become the universal language of communication? The answer by many points to money. These statistics do show what language people first learn to speak and they rank the way they do due to there being a billion people in China and close to a billion in India and all of the countries that Spain has spread their language during their history. What these statistics fail to show is how most non-English speakers are now learning to speak English. Why are all these people learning to speak English? They are learning it because if you can speak English you will have a job. The global economy has interlocked every country in the world and the driving force behind the majority of this economy is the USA. The USA is an English speaking country and the world needs to learn English in order to keep up with the complex economy. Now as all these people throughout the world learn English they are impacting their own native language. By becoming bilingual they are integrating English not only into their language but into their culture. This integration of English has had both a positive and negative effect on the world. The positive is that the economy of the world affects every country and this economy is dominated by English speakers. As people of the world learn English they can understand this complex economy and better themselves and their country. The negative impact of English becoming a world language is that it is endangering many languages in the world and some have already become extinct. There are native peoples throughout the world whose languages are in danger in being lost in history due to the necessity to learn English. According to James Geary in his essay “Speaking in Tongues”, located on pg.57 of the EL text, he states that, “of the roughly 6,500 languages now spoken, up to half are already endangered or on the brink of extinction.” This is a grave concern to many and Geary goes on to say that, “The death of a language… marks the loss of an entire culture.” The globalization of English has become a hindrance for many smaller languages to survive.

Word to Creativity

When it comes to creativity, we all have the unique talent to show the world who we are and what we capable of. The uniqueness in everyone is what allows creativity to be diverse. This diversity is what allows new concepts to appear and knowledge to grow. Whatever we write is considered our own work. Writer’s personal stamp is what allows us the audience to gain an understanding about them. This personal stamp is always present in an authors work and audiences can expand an understanding about them from it. It is as if the audience knows the writer without ever having met them. This is what is so remarkable about writing. We all have different point of views about various topics and through writing we can express them in our own unique way. As we express them the audience can not only understand what is being said but where the author is coming from based off their personal stamp. The stamp makes the audience feel as if the author presents the speech in front of them.

As an amateur writer, I still have a lot to learn about the craft. When it comes to writing, I am careful in planning and choosing my words. The words I choose are not technical, but it need to be a strong words that will help me create effective message so that the audience can understand my writing. Whether subject or main idea it is important to pick the right words so that my message is expressed properly. I want to build a strong relationship with my audience by establishing my credibility and projecting my image. If they do not understand my message or misunderstood what I am trying to tell them, then it is my fault for choosing the wrong word. If my writings confuse the reader and they come away not understanding what I was trying to express then I have failed. It’s critical when choosing the right words because you need to know if it appropriate to use. Richard Lederer states in the EL text, “Big words can make the way dark for those who read what you write and hear what you say” (p. 122). In his essay, Lederer makes the case for short words because they are simple and quickly get your point across to the reader. I strongly agree with Lederer. As a student I want to be a good writer and want my work to show that, but I sometimes failed to be a good writer. It’s a shame that I used dictionary to look for technical words to make my writing sound smart like a professional writer. I realized it just ended up making my writing look and sound awkward and the ideas were not coming across to the readers. But I come to a realization that all I need to do was to just be myself and pick a simple words that not plain English and comfortable with but at the same time being careful that the words properly expressed my ideas. That is the key. I put my own personal stamp on my work by just being myself and making sure the audience understands my ideas exactly as I intended them to. Being clear and concise is the way to make sure the reader does not get lost and that your ideas are understood.