Keep Sharp Objects Hidden!

     So I am taking this class called Class, Status, and Power (sounds kind of redundant calling it a class doesn't it?).  I am enjoying the class; it is putting many things in perspective for me.  First of all, I found out what class I am in.  It is a depressing thought, but who am I to complain, it's just the way things are.  Now social class, as defined by Gilbert, is income based.  So accordingly, I am in the underclass.  And for those of you who don't know or can't guess, that's the lowest class you can be in.  Personally, I have no problem being there.  It's how I lived my entire life, but I would be lying if I said I want to stay there indefinitely.  But here I am getting way off topic.

     I took the GRE this past August and I brought up a question that was asked on the extra section I had to do.  Since this is from the ungraded portion, I doubt they care that I use it.  I was asked the question, "Should the government finance higher education for those who cannot afford it?".  Now, my response was "Hell, yeah!"  This is because of my lovely lack of funds that I say this.  I have one more semester after this one and I only have $800 to my name.  Unfortunately, I am also working on applying to graduate schools so my little supply of money is quickly going to dwindle down the drain.  Now, I bet you're wondering where I am going with this.  While discussing education and social class one class period a girl from my group, the illustrious and rich Miss S, said that she doesn't believe the government should pay for education.

     I can understand that viewpoint if you're going that's our tax dollars being used, but that was not her argument.  No.  Her argument is that the poor get poorer, the rich get richer, so what is the point of paying for poor people to go to college?  If I was a cartoon character you would have seen my jaw hit the table.  I honestly didn't think that she would say that.  The fact that she did with two people in our group in the lower classes, was totally idiotic.  Let's go live in India with their caste system, or better yet, let's go back to Feudal times when social climbing was damned near impossible. (I am not talking about the backstabbing, scheming to land a rich man/woman social climbing, but the work your ass off to better yourself and move up the ladder kind of social climbing.)

     One of the problems with lower classes of people is the fact that they have limited opportunities.  Well, going by S's method we shouldn't let them have any opportunities to further themselves because in the end they'll just end up poorer -- so why bother?  With that attitude, is there a reason for poorer people to exist?  If their life won't get better, but worse, then what have they to live for?  We talked about hope being a driving factor behind the poor.  Take away hope and you have a broken people who really have no point to their existence.  If all poor people thought this way, do you think suicide rates would be higher?

     Just to point out a fact, S is majoring in social work/human services.  She plans on working in social work, which generally entails working with and helping a lower class of people.  Gasp!  How can this capitalist (aka highest you can go on the social/income ladder) class girl with a bad attitude help the less fortunate at all?  It really makes you wonder.  At least it makes me wonder.  Even thinking about it now, four days later, I still shake with anger.  We deserve a chance -- don't take that away from us.

I Choose to Be

     In Class, Status and Power we were supposed to be talking about what we learned in chapter six via our groups that we were in.  At first my group was on task and the next thing I know S was going off on a tangent to R:  "I am sorry, but I cannot agree with your choice."  Um, and what choice would that be?  Dear little S does not like the fact that R "chooses" to be gay.  Let's just say I wanted to groan and put my head in my hands . . . well I did put my head in my hands, but that is partly due to the fact that I have a horrible sinus headache and the fact that my throat feels like I have claws digging into it.  But, I digress.  I think we were all a little shocked that S said that.  I have heard that argument before.  People can be so obstinate in their opinions that they refuse to look at certain facts.

     One fact that R confesses is that he wished he were "normal."  He would love to be attracted to women so he didn't get beat up by people (his dad beat the crap out of him when he came out of the closet) or ostracized, but he just isn't attracted to the opposite sex.  S says that he made the conscious decision and no matter what D or K said, she would not concede.  I find that quite stubborn, especially in the face of what I have stated previously.  R isn't the only homosexual who asks the question, "Do you think I want to be this way?"  I am not saying there is anything wrong with being homosexual, but even though our society has become more accepting it still carries the undertone that it is wrong and people are still getting beat up for their sexual preferences.  Although, if we call it preferences, isn't that terminology indicative of a choice?  Yes, it is.

     I guess, you could say that someone has a choice whether or not to follow through on their urges, but if a person is naturally inclined to be attracted to a person of the same sex, then what is wrong with that?  Why can't they act on those urges?  My favorite part of this discussion is K's rejoinder to S going "Did you make the decision to be straight."  The look on S's face was priceless.  She didn't know what to do with that question.  K also found out that S was 21 and she said that S will probably change her views, to which S said "no" this is how she believes and she will not let anyone say that she is not right.  This one girl from her high school told S first that she had a girlfriend.  S was polite but told her point blank that she didn't like her decision.  And S said like two years later the girls broke up and her friend is now dating guys.

     Sigh.  Experimentation, orientation.  Must we get into them?  Must we complain about people and how they live their lives?  It was ridiculous.  D and I tried to steer the conversation away from such dangerous ground but S wouldn't let it be.  So we tactfully ignored the conversation and finished our discussion on social succession and mobility between the two of us.  When time was up, S was still blabbering about her beliefs and I was like, "let's just say you agree to disagree."  Enough was enough!  Talking for half an hour on the subject and going nowhere was stupid, pointless, and infuriating.  But heaven forbid that people with strong opinions aren't allowed to try to convert you to their beliefs.  I don't care if you express your opinion, you have that right, but mulishly trying to get others to believe that you are right and they are wrong, is pure, unadulterated crap.

     Sorry, no matter how much you complain and give examples, I don't believe the choice.  Yes, there are choices involved, but in the end it is based on attraction and desire.  You shouldn't have to be with someone you don't really like just to please the phobics out there.

Why Is It?

     Riddle me this:  Why is it that classes that you have only once a week seem to pile on more homework than your average 2-3 times a week classes?  I mean honestly.  True, you only meet once a week and it's a 4 credit hour class, but is all that homework really necessary?  I think not.  I don't mind reading the 7 chapters for Nicholas Nickleby because I love the book so far, but it's all the creative writing homework that's dragging me down.  I have to read the first chapter of a book that my friend who is in the same class told me is very dry and boring.  Plus, I have to index it.  And the funny part about indexing is the fact that half the time with writing books they are just reiterating many things that have been drilled into me during my educational career, so I have to "pretend" to learn something new or think some idea is just so cool that I must remember it.  But oh well.  At least the poem reading should go faster than the book on how to write a poem, but there in lies another problem.  Besides reading 57 pages of a poetry book, god knows what length of a boring chapter, and indexing, I have to write two responses to two poems while also writing a poem myself.  All for Tuesday.  Is that insane or what?

     Not to mention there are my other classes as well.  About 20 pages and a journal for Class, Status and Power, 2 sections in Elements of Style plus a journal for Teaching writing, Reading two chapters for my art class, doing a power point homework thingy, doing the illustrator assignments, and now beginning to work on our first project.  Time.  What is that elusive thing?  Will it pause in order for me to get all of this stuff done?  The answer: Hell no.  But I will burn the midnight oil to do so.

     And this is why college students don't really have a life (those who do are either a. delusional, b. blowing off all their work, or c. lucky bastards with fewer classes and homework).  That is why I won't be enjoying my 3 day weekend.  I will be doing homework.  Yay me!  Off to read Nicholas Nickleby and then creative writing and then