Identity

In class, the book we are reading, Fires in the Mirror, is about racial and religious confrontations with two groups of people: Blacks and Jews. Identity has a large role in this book. In Crown Heights, where the events take place, Jews and Blacks live amongst each other and are "identified" by their race and/or religion. Is that O.K? To be judged by what you believe in or what the color of your skin is? In the book, a young black child is hit by a car and killed. The driver was a Jewish man. A few days later, another Jewish man was killed. So, the driver did a terrible thing, but an innocent man was killed because he was Jewish as well. Just because somebody does a bad thing doesn't mean that everybody who shares the same belief/race should be punished.

Politics in Class?

In class over the pass few weeks, we have discussed whether or not politics should be discussed in class. At first I thought, 'Why not?'. But during the day, my friend asked me what Palin's first name was. I was taken back, shocked. I asked the person if that was a serious question. Their answer was 'Yeah...'. Then I realized, if politics were a large percent of the discussions taking place in A.S., and some students didn't know much about politics, they have nothing to say. They sit and listen, and don't get a chance to participate because they maybe just aren't 'into' politics. So, sure, I don't mind if people voice their opinions in school or loudly support a candidate. But I don't think it's fair when the topic for the majority of class is something that you would have to be tuned into to know about, like a debate or a speech. I like talking about it, personally, but for a student who doesn't follow politics, I see how confusing it must be to sit in class and not have an idea what is going on. Should politics be discussed in class?

Vice Presidential Debate

In class on Friday, the discussion we had about the debate really interested me. The topic was about the Biden vs. Palin debate. Watching the debate the night before, Palin looked very friendly and happy. On the other had, Joe Biden looked tough and serious. Was there a reason behind that? Was it planned? In class, we talked about how, since Palin is a woman, she has to look approachable and should be smiling alot. Unlike Palin, Biden has to look serious and looking like a man who will get the job done as V.P. Not that Palin wouldn't get the job done, but since she is female, she has to look, as I said earlier, more approachable and relatable to Americans.

Blackout

I wore all black today, but it wasn't because I was mourning. I was at the Chicago White Sox game vs. the Tampa Bay Rays. All fans wore black to the game. It was the third game out of a possible 5 between the two teams. Tampa Bay had already won 2 games, so if the Sox lost today, they would be done. It was a nerve-racking game. The hotdog inbetween the 2nd and 3rd inning calmed me down for a while. Danks pitched about 7 innings (106 pitches), while Dotel pitched in the 8th and Jenks closed the game. The score was 1:1, then 2:1 Tampa, and then finally, around the 5th and 6th inning, the Sox came through and the score was 3:5 with the Sox in the lead. The 40,142 people in the ball park were mostly wearing all black and were given white towels with the Sox logo to wave in the air. The last few pitches by Jenks were the most stressful. My mom, dad, and twin were at the game with me. We were sitting front row, third base line and throughout the game we were either eating, looking and Ronny Woo-Woo wearing a Cubs uniform, or intensley watching the game. A few times we would try to get third base coach Jeff Cox to do his famous hand signals. At the top of the 9th, with 2 outs, Jenks through the final pitch. Everybody in the stadium went silent, and then were immediately relieved when the umpire called a strike. The White Sox won!! Can they keep up their good luck tomorrow? We'll just have to wait and see...