Prose Poem

Prose Poem; Hood N***a

Staking Your Claim

Quick Write

 Within groups I believe that the person having the strongest mindset as in being the most opinionated has the greatest influence on the rest of the members of the group. The reason I say that is because it s my own experience that people are more likely to listen to a person who is or seems more confident in their views than someone who is unsure.

Reflection

   I think my topic is important because people always seem to say "you don't have to conform to society" and yes that is true but I think a lot of people don't understand that there must be some sort of conformity in order to create a society.

Argument Essay Challenge

Quick Write

  Is conformity a building block of society? I do believe so because a society is defined as "an aggregate of people living together in a more or less ordered community" and a community is defined as "a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common".  So therefore people must have similarities in order to be apart of either.

Conformity In Music

Quick Write

1.  Hip-Hop is one of my favorite genres of music and I do understand why it would be seen as conformist. I believe that in order for people to conform to something it must impact them personally, with music its something almost about everyone listens to. Music is something that we not only listen to but its something we can relate to, especially Hip-Hop and Rap, those are genres that usually talk about things that aren't always appropriate. A lot of music holds subliminal messages just like a lot of other things, in a way most do preach on how to live and maintain a certain type of lifestyle. When it comes to non-conformity Hip-Hop is also seen as a big act and movement of disobedience. People have said that Hip-Hop and Rap incite violence and juvenile behavior amongst young adults, which in retrospective to some it helps us identify ourselves and allows us to find our independent voice. It all comes down to the person who's ears are listening and their mindset because we can all listen to the same thing or see the same things but yet we can all interpret it in different ways.
2.  I can not say that for me there is an absolute favorite type of music because I love a variety of genres. Everything from Pop to Rap, and Rock to House/Dubstep and in between. Genres don't matter to me, lyrics and beats are what's important. I listen to music depending on my mood, I'm not sure that I have a conformist side when it comes to music. Some people only like a certain type of music because they feel that's what is expected of them by others but that does not bother me. People always assume that just because I am a Black female or a Black person in general that I'm expected to like only Hip-Hop, RnB, and Rap. That is ignorance and would be conformist if I didn't listen to what I like but what others expected me too. Music speaks to me as an individual because like I said, we all interpret it In different ways.

     According to Pink Floyds "We Don't Need No Education (Part 2)" The function of schools is to produce obedient children, school is compared to a factory. The meaning of the students being deformed and their faces being indistinguishable is a sign that they all are the same and have no individuality. "Another Brick in the Wall" means they are all the same, Bricks are all made up of the same components and look just alike, there is no way to distinguish one brick from another. The over all message is that education is not needed because the school system is not designed to help children find their individual talents and teachers are not there to help nurture it but to help destroy any sense of individuality that we have. Which is not what is needed or wanted, hence the chorus "we don't need no education...Hey! Teacher! Leave them kids alone!".  It is Ironic that the kids were singing "your just another brick in the wall" and they all looked alike, bland facial expressions and all the same uniforms.

 

•  "Man I promise, I’m so self conscious, That’s why you always see me with at least one of my watches"  
• "Then I spent 400 bucks on this
  Just to be like ***** you ain’t up on this! and I can’t even go to the grocery store
  Without some ones that’s clean and a shirt with a team"
• "I went to Jacob with 25 thou
  Before I had a house and I’d do it again
  Cause I wanna be on 106 and Park pushing a Benz
  I wanna act ballerific like it’s all terrific
  I got a couple past due bills, I won’t get specific
  I got a problem with spending before I get it
  We all self conscious I’m just the first to admit it"

By telling us how important expensive apparel is to him and those watching him, Kanye points out his own conformist thoughts that those are things artist in the music industry are supposed to have and flaunt in order to get recognition. He identifies the White man as his source of insecurities and as all Black peoples source of insecurities which generates his love of materialistic positions. Rita Mae Brown wrote: "The reward for conformity is that everyone likes you but yourself", Kanye says "It seems we living the American dream But the people highest up got the lowest self esteem" "Things we buy to cover up what’s inside cause they make us hate ourself and love they wealth" which shows that he agrees that when you conform everyone else may like you but you wont like yourself.  Conspicuous consumption is similar to conformity because it is defined as the use of  wealth and material positions to publicly display economic power.



 

                

The Stanford Prison Experiment

Quick Write
  
   “Historically, the most terrible things--war, genocide, and slavery--have resulted not from disobedience, but from obedience."

                                                  -Howard Zinn

 Howard Zinn was basically stating that the majority of terrible things that have happened were because people where told to do so or people conformed to what was happening around them even when they knew it was wrong. I do agree with his statement because that is the world we live in, people idolize and follow things they never fully understand. A lot of people go to war or help commit sins such as genocide or slavery thinking they are fighting for a better cause and sometimes in war that is true but in reality nothing justifies taking a life or degrading a human to cruel and injustice punishment.

Reflection 

 The Stanford Prison Experiment was created in order to study conformity and test if the brutality of guards that is usually reported  towards inmates are due to sadistic personalities or have more to do with the environment. When students who were chosen after being psychologically evaluated were placed into their roles (Guard or Prisoner), shortly after they began to settle into their roles. Guards became more aggressive and prisoners became more submissive. Those who were evaluated without any psychological problems ( Prisoners) began to develop them and behavioral problems as well, almost developing deep depression they had to be released from the experiment. It was concluded that people will conform to the social roles that they are expected to play, especially if the roles are strongly stereotyped like those of major authority figures such as guards. Therefore, the roles people play can not only shape their attitudes but their behavior as well.

Introducing The Bystander Effect

At 1:00 a.m. outside a tavern several men are arguing. Two of the men are shouting loudly at a third man who appears to be backing away from them. The two men move toward the lone man and start waving their arms as he backs up against a wall. A group of people exiting the bar notice the situation.

In my opinion amongst the group of people exiting the bar that notice the situation, from a rating of 1-5 with 1 being very likely and 5 being very unlikely I would rate the chance of an onlooker intervening a 4. The Bystander Effect states that when a person is amongst a group of people, their less likely to not act in the face of an emergency if no one else acts.

5 Factors that would influence an onlooker to help.

• If the situation involves them or someone they care for.
• If there seems to be no sign of danger if they intervene.
• There personality, wether they're someone who willingly helps others or not.
• If they think they can make the situation better.
• The duration of the situation, sometimes if a situation is prolonged and an onlooker is there from the beginning they get tired of just watching and intervene with hopes of finally putting an end to the situation.

5 Factors that would influence an onlooker to NOT help.

• If the situation seems dangerous. A lot of people tend not to help because they believe that their safety would be endangered.
• The thought that someone else will intervene so they don't have to.
• If they are amongst a group of people and the group chooses not to acknowledge the situation.
• Fear of being publicly embarrassed while trying to help someone else.
• Not knowing what to do in order to produce a positive result in the situation.

Final Reflection
 The Bystander Effect, also known as the "Genovese Syndrome" is a psychological phenomenon in which individuals do not offer help in an emergency situation when others are present.

I-Search Project

I-Search Project: Dyslexia