comments!

To Isabel :

Hey Isabel! I can completely see where you are coming from with the whole "Christians are hypocrites" thing. However, I have to agree with Allison above me, saying how it is a huge generalization to say that Christians "spread love, but not if it's between two men. Equal rights for all, but there continue to be restrictions for some. Jesus loves everybody, unless they are not baptized, or gay, or have had an abortion, or curse, or have sex before marriage." I understand where you are coming from, because if you think about it, everything contradicts itself. You know that I am a Christian and that my family takes our religion pretty seriously, but I really think it is a little much. The church shouldn't go around preaching that Jesus does love everybody, if there are a strict set of rules to follow. What if there is a gay couple, who truly believe in God and worship him, but can't help that they are gay because God made them that way? I know this is a whole other issue that you will probably want to get into, haha, but it just leads further into the confusion and mysteries that compose the Christian faith.

To Ashley :
Ashley, great job on the blog on the tree of hope! The Apollo Theatre was also my favorite stop, and I thought that touching the Tree of Hope was so cool. I felt honored to be able to touch it because so many great performers have in the past, so I was kind of hoping a little bit of their talent would rub off on me too! No such luck, however, I loved what you said about Snowy. I had a luck charm, too. Mine was a jacket. Weird, I know, but each time I wore it, something great would happen! I guess luck finds us all in different ways!
PS. I loved how you wrote the poem at the end!

To Brenda :
Brenda,
This was such a great topic to research because I have always been confused about this, too. In church, the priest refers to the congregation as "brothers and sisters" a few times throughout the mass. I always thought that it was just a term of endearment, but this really helps me understand. I think it's really interesting how taking off their shoes symbolizes that they are all equal, no matter the social rank or income of the person.

To Gabby :
hey gabby!
i completely agree with this entire post. although we do not realize it, sometimes we do discriminate. even if it is not on purpose, sometimes it is inevitable to avoid. sarah also told me about seeing this team at the dance competition, and in no way whatsoever do i think that you were being racist. i, too, would have thought the same thing of you and your team mates. this is just another example of how the media has brainwashed everyone into thinking all african americans are amazing hip hop dancers. even though they might have been great dancers, it really is disgusting how we would all just assume this because of what we do see daily.
great job on this post!! :]

Stereotyping vs. Racism (5)

Yesterday in our small groups, we had a very interesting conversation about the difference between stereotyping and racism. Although some may not, I think that there is a justified difference between the two. Besides them both being negative and derogatory, I think that racism is directed to be more hurtful and crude. For example, a racist thought would be something like "I don't want to sit at that table over there because there is a black girl next to the empty chair." This is specifically calling someone out because of their color or how they look, not a generalization about the things that they do or wear. A stereotypical remark would be "That girl must be in all honors classes because she is Asian." When stereotyping someone, you would make an assumption about one's general race or looks.

Although I have not been a victim of racism that I know of, I have been stereotyped before. And when I mean before, I mean two minutes ago. Well, I kind of asked around what a stereotype about me would be. And Isabel, bless her soul, told me that if she didn't know me, she would think that I was a "white, rich girl from Upper Saddle River." Honestly, when she told me this, I was a little taken aback. I was expecting something that I would not think of, but for some reason, this surprised me. Even though it isn't necessarily a bad thing, it got me wondering, "Do I really look like that?" Of course Isabel meant it in the nicest way possible, but it still shocked me. This just proved to me that if a playful stereotype upset me this much, I can't even imagine how a real stereotype must affect someone.

For my link, I Googled stereotyping and racism, and found a paper about stereotyping and racism in small children movies. As I began reading, I realized how true the article was. Even in young Disney movies, there are stereotypes. This is an excerpt from the article: "There have been many instances of racism identified in Disney movies including The Jungle Book, which portray gorillas and orangutans that sound like black people and Oliver and Company, with a Chihuahua named Alonzo that is typecast as a Latino troublemaker(Brunette)." I never thought of it before, but now I will definitely be keeping my eyes open for other inappropriate stereotypes and racist remarks in all children movies.

Link here(:

Malcolm X (4)

 Over the weekend while I was reading chapter seventeen, something interesting caught my eye. On page 325, Malcolm talks about Dr Mahmoud Youssef Shawarbi, a professor, who is later introduced to him. As they talked, Dr. Shawarbi told Malcolm "No man has believed perfectly until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself (Haley 326)." At first, I thought, wow, that is a very true and remarkable statement. But, then as I began to think deeper about it, I realized it sounded very familiar to something that has been taught to me for the past 15 years. 

In the Bible, there is a quote that says "you shall love your neighbor as yourself." Although they are not written out the same, the two quotes basically mean the same thing. Both are saying that you should only do to people what you wish to be done to yourself. Don't do something mean to somebody else because you would not want it to happen to you.

I knew that Judiasm and Christianity share many similarities because the bible and Torah consist partly of the old testament. However, I had no idea that Islam and Christianity are similar. 

I decided to do some research on the similarities between Christianity and Islam, and found many cool things. 

Here is a list of similarities that I found : 

There is only One True God

We are not to worship any other gods

Many Old Testament prophets were from God

Jesus was from God

It appeared to all that Jesus died on the cross

God gave the Torah, the prophets, and Gospel

We are to obey God’s words

We should surrender/sacrifice ourselves to God

Jesus will return

God will resurrect all for judgment.

Believers who die will go to heaven and live forever

Disbelievers will go to hell to be punished forever

It is important to pray to God

We should help the poor (at least the Muslim poor)

Christians, Jews, and Muslims should not be killed for their faith.

I thought that all of these were very interesting. The one that stood out to me the most was Christians, Jews, and Muslims should not be killed for their faith because it brings all three religions together. It shows unity, and that just because not everybody prays to the same God, nobody wants to be penalized for their faith. 

Source for list here.

A more in-depth description of the similarities and differences here. 

trip to harlem! (post 3)

Yesterday was our class trip to Harlem, NY. I was excited, but I honestly didn't know what to expect. I have always found an interest in history, so going to museums and visiting his old hangouts is fun for me. 

I ended up enjoying the entire trip. I really liked the bus tour, besides the fact that I am lazy and liked being driven around instead of walking in the cold, and also because I enjoyed looking at the scenery of Harlem. Next, we went to this Obama exhibit in an research center. I thought it was so awesome. The entire downstairs room was just a gallery of pictures of him and his family throughout his entire campaign. Currently, I am taking a photography class as my elective so I liked pointing out all of the different methods of shooting the perfect shot that the photographers used. The picture that I remember most is one of President Obama and his wife, Michelle. She is looking to the side, and Obama is staring at her with such a loving face, and is in selective focus. I have always had a liking towards their family because I found their relationship to be so cute. 

After driving around some more, we stopped at Sylvia's to eat. It was absolutely amazing, except there was no mac + cheese (which I was looking forward to!!). When I got home last night, my mom told me that she knew Sylvia very well a long time ago when she worked for JP Morgan. Apparently she did financing for the restaurant, and was glad to know that Sylvia is still alive. 

We went to the Apollo Theatre, also. I thought it was pretty cool since it was my topic to research for an in class assignment when we first started the book. We even got to walk across the stage and rub the "lucky tree." Hopefully I will start to have better luck now!! 

Our final stop was Malcolm's mosque. When we went in, the girls and boys had to go through different doors and had to take our shoes off. I thought it was really strange at first, but listening to the brother talk was really interesting. It was so fascinating because although he seemed so laid back, their religion is very strict. Besides entering through different doors, he even said that in some mosques, men and women can't even pray in the same room! It was completely different from church, and I was glad to learn something new. We learned about Islam last year in history, so I remembered that they didn't believe in having pictures on the wall or any seats. It was really cool to see that in real life. 

Towards the end, the brother said something that will probably stick with me for a long time. He said, "There's no such thing as a dumb question because in the end, who is the dumb one that never asked, and will never know the answer?" I just thought it was kind of funny, and very true.  

The brother also said an interesting thing. He was talking about how Harlem was cleaning up a lot. He told us that just 40-50 years ago, the entire street that the mosque is located on was filled with drug dealers and prostitutes. This was Malcolm's time, and the street was even mentioned in the book. He said that now, there is not one sketchy person loitering on the street. The brother was very proud to say that, but even prouder when he mentioned that the mosque was the only building in Harlem not to put a gate down at night. I just thought that it really meant something special. As we know, Harlem hasn't always been the safest, but the thought of nobody breaking into a mosque is really, really interesting. It just shows the amount of respect that people have for Malcolm. The street is even named after Malcolm. Our tour guide also talked a lot about the crime rate in Harlem going down. I wasn't expecting that at all, but the fact that the guide still choses to live there shows the pride that Harlemite's truly have. 

Malcolm Shabazz Mosque 

^ information on Malcolm's old mosque 

The picture is the actual mosque that we visited yesterday. 

Malcolm and my Grandfather- part two. (post two)

I know I just posted, but this was too interesting not to share. I was just talking to my dad and I told him about the entry I just wrote about his father. He told me more about my grandpa's journey to this country, and the story he told me sounded like something that Malcolm talked about in previous chapters of the book.

"The say God takes care of fools and babies. I've so often thought that Allah was watching over me. Through all of this time of my life, I really was dead- mentally dead. I just didn't know that I was (Haley 128)."

I couldn't find the exact quote, but that one also relates to the story I am about to share. I was thinking about the part of the book where Malcolm says that he believes God has events all planned out for somebody the second they are born. No matter what someone does to change their life, every action has a reaction that happens for a reason. This ties in about what he said about Allah looking over him so he could move on to pursue bigger and better things in life. 

Anyway, my dad told me that when my grandpa and his family went to board the ship to take them to Ellis Island, one of my grandpa's brothers got extremely sick, and my family was not allowed to board. Heartbroken and disheveled, they searched for a tiny apartment to live in for a couple of months until another ship was back to take them to the states. 

The original boat that they were denied from getting on never made it here. In the middle of the sea, a German naval ship attacked them, and the Italian boat sunk to the bottom of the ocean, killing everyone. If my grandpa's brother had not gotten sick, they would have been on that boat, and I wouldn't be here today. 

I believe that God was watching over my family at that time because he knew that they had more things to achieve in life. My grandpa was a very successful man who helped and inspired many people in his life, including me. I just learned this story, so it's really weird to know that one boat ride could have changed my life- well, the one that wouldn't have existed. 

* The picture in the upper left hand corner is the S.S. Taormina, the boat that was sunk by the Germans on January 19, 1917. 

Malcolm and my Grandfather. (post one)

Today in class, Mattessich told us that we should try to make our blog posts personal, and I couldn't think of how I had been personally attacked by racism. She told us to think back about our heritage and the origin of our family, and then I remembered a story my dad told me recently about how my grandfather immigrated to America when he was four years old from Italy. He was the youngest of his six siblings, and the most determined to succeed. When he got to the US, he started school with all of his siblings, and was the only one in his family to finish high school and go to college. In order to do this, he had to face being made fun of every day and be called derogatory names, but he didn't let that stop him. If I put myself in his shoes, I honestly  think I might have dropped out of school like my great aunts and uncles did. It must have taken so much courage and strength to continue throughout all the hard times he faced and all the mocking he had to put up with, and I don't know if I could handle it.

 Malcolm was strong enough to put up with all of the harsh things people would say, too. Both him and my grandfather possessed an immense amount of courage to keep strong, and I admire them both, even if Malcolm did fall at one point. 

For my weblink, I found an article on Italian immigration in the early 1900's. It does not mainly focous on racism, however, it gives an in-depth description about poor living conditions and how hard Italians had to work in order to live here, like Malcolm's family. 

click here :] 

Malcolm x- the irony of conking

At the end of chapter 3, Malcolm talks about the first time that he conked his hair. Back then, African Americans conked their hair to make it straighter so they would appear to have "white" hair. It was a really painful process, and the men would literally burn their heads to straighten it. Malcolm considered it to be really cool when he was 16 and continued to do it for a few more years. At the end of the chapter, he talks about how stupid it was for him to do it. He even said he was degrading himself. 

The irony in the situation is that black people did this to appear more white, and now, white people do things to appear black. In any town, you can find a group of kids who try to be all "gangster," walking around with their pants around their ankles and flashy jewelry. In the early 1900's, black people were inferior, but presently pop culture is influencing all people to act like them. I think it would be really interesting to see Malcolm's reaction to this and hear his opinions.