White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack [cont...]

I disagree with some of the other example found in the essay because I believe that they apply differently in different places of the United States, particularly in California where there is a more diverse society.

In the last few paragraphs of the essay McIntosh summarizes the huge advantages of being white. The author states that white people are more protected than from violence, distress, and hostility than people of color. Another advantages of being white is that, most of the time, it is considered a dominant race. McIntosh mentions that in addition to race advantage, there is also sex, age, religion, and nationality advantage. But the greater advantages people have come from social class, economic class, race, religion, sex and ethnic identity.

White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack

In the essay, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” author Peggy McIntosh describes and explains some of the advantages of being “white.” McIntosh states that just a males pretend to ignore or deny the advantages they obtain from being males, white people, too, are not aware or tend to deny the advantages the y obtain from being light skinned.
McIntosh presents 50 advantages that white people have. Some of the strongest examples are the following: for a white person it is easier to rent or purchase a home in the area that he or she wants to live; white people are widely represented on television, newspapers, magazines, etc; white people tend to be heard even if they are is only one person representing their race; racism does not affect white people because they are not people of color; white people can easily buy magazines, toys, dolls, and posters portraying people of their own race; and finally, white people have less trouble finding blemish cover or bandages matching their skin color.

The second part of the sociology chapter describes Angela’s two sons. Angela’s two sons turn out very differently because each of them lived an opposite family experiences. The oldest, Nicholas, grew up very quick. Nicholas was “a street-wise man who lived too much too soon” (218). Since he was the son of a single mother, he had to take the role of a father. At a young age, he had many man’s obligations and learned to take care of his younger siblings. In addition, he lived in a dangerous neighborhood where drugs were easy to obtain. He also dropped out of high school. At the young age of 22, he was a father of two children. Nicholas was also in jail for stealing. On the other hand, Angela’s youngest son, Christopher, had a different life experience. By this time, his she had a college degree, earned $83,000 annually, and was married. Her attitudes and expectations towards her children’s education were higher because she now belonged to the middle-class rather than the working-class. She was a more mature woman and taught her kids, including Christopher, values and discipline. She spent time with him and helped him with his science projects (something that she did not do with Nicholas).
The story of Angela’s two sons shows that, sometimes, SES determines how a person might end up in life, for example, as a professional or with out a degree. The higher SES a person has the more and better opportunities the person would receive. Sometimes it opens the door to better jobs, higher salaries, maturity, and success.

This section of the sociology chapter describes stories about people who worked in factories and hospitals earning about $100,000 without a college degree, but after 30 years or so they lost their jobs. This is an example of how people can lose their jobs so quickly and struggle to find a similar one since they lack a college education. This also shows how factory and industry jobs, where most non-graduates work, are not permanent because they close down or relocate later. As this topic explained, a college degree is more important today than just the skills and experience built during years… When this happens in a family, it sets an example for children living in that home to not make the same mistakes but go to college, earn a degree, and become a professional. People should not take a second guess because they will regret it sooner or later.
As one can see, technology is advancing everyday and it will keep moving forward over the next years. These changes have positive and negative effects. Positive effects are that many jobs requiring technology will be completed in less time, and negative effects are that technology will replace the workers.

The Uses of Poverty: The Poor Pay All (2nd part)

Gans also provides possible solutions to the problem. Some of his solutions are to pay higher wages to those who perform the dirty work in our society, to give other roles to those people who benefit from the poor, and to equalize the difference between the rich and the poor. But with these alternatives Gans comes to the conclusion that many of these solutions could be dysfunctional to our society. For example, aiding the poor requires a high cost. If this is done, then there would be a social dysfunction because of the amount of money required. If the poor were to be affluent, then they could take over the roles of others. All of these alternatives would make the poor resistant to the cost of growth and social change. Therefore, poverty has to exist because it is functional to some parts of our society.

Some of the information presented in this essay is common sense but other is very informative. First of all, I think that the introductory paragraph is very interesting because it explains why there are more studies and researches about the poor people than the rich people. In the introductory paragraph, I did not understand why Gans stated that we need the poor. The first thing that came to my mind was to disagree with his idea because the poor, people in our society, suffer from this condition and suffering cannot be functional, I thought. But after reading the whole passage, even though I did not agree with most of it, I understood why poverty keeps a balance and why it functions in our society. On the other hand, the first and eleventh function of poverty really caught my attention. It is sad to now that most of the dirtiest work that no one wants to do is performed at a low wage by the poor people. I thought that the eleventh function of poverty was inhumane. I believe that it is not fair to take someone’s home way just because were they live is a good location for the establishing of new buildings and projects. Even though it is disappointing to acknowledge that poverty does have functional aspects to our society, it is important to recognize that this is not just happening in the United States but also in other countries of the world.

The Uses of Poverty: The Poor Pay All

This is a summary from a sociology assignment based on the functions of poverty.

In the essay, “The Uses of Poverty: The Poor Pay All,” sociologist Herbert J. Gans uses the functionalist perspective to explain the functions and dysfunctions of poverty. He provides explanations to thirteen functions of poverty as well as possible solutions to the problem.

According to Gans, poverty and the poor satisfy many positive functions in the American society. He begins his essay by explaining that the poor perform most of the dirty work at low wages. Dirty work in the fields, hospitals, and restaurants, for example, depend on the poor for its existence. Poverty creates many jobs in our society. Jobs like social services, whose main purpose are to provide service for the poor, would not exist without poverty. Poverty provides income (money received, usually from a job, business or assets) for poorly trained professionals like doctors, teachers, and lawyers. Since the poor are more likely to be caught when committing a crime or deviant act, it serves a measure to identify these acts and as a way to enforce the law by punishing the transgressors. Poverty also serves as a measure of superiority. It makes the distinction between the elite social class (a large group of people who rank close to one anther in wealth, prestige, and power) and the working-class. Poverty is functional to the political system. Poor people are less likely to participate in politics than the middle-class. This enables the Republican system to stay in power. The poor, without power (the ability to carry out your will, even over the resistance of others) sometimes pay the cost of social growth. When projects such as establishing markets, universities, hospitals, and expressways need to be built, locations where the poor live tend to be the targets. As a consequence, the poor are pushed off of their property without recompense. These are only some of the functions Gans describes in his essay.

Outlaw Motorcyclists (2nd part)

Watson also describes their toughness, smartness, excitement, and fate. Trouble is a major theme in this subculture. This involves demonstrating distinctiveness and masculinity as well as engaging in illegal behavior. The may also stole bike part of fire-arms. All of these activities show toughness. Toughness is another important characteristic because it proves their masculinity. This is the reason why they tend to get in trouble without showing signs of weakness. Smartness is not emphasized in the bikers’ subculture. Watson states that most bikers think of themselves as being dump and ignorant. Most of them do not have a permanent job. Their various forms of looking for excitement are hanging out at chopper stores, clubhouses, bars, and riding their motorcycles. Most bikers like to live in the moment and do not think of their future. Therefore, if a biker becomes economically successful, then he is not longer a group member.
In addition, Watson describes how bikers threat women. These women are like objects to them. Generally, these women come from working-class or low-class families and display premature aging due to their lifestyle. They are usually single mother looking for excitement and opportunities with the motorcyclists. Even though bikers treat these women poorly, bikers depend on them for money. Group members do not fight over women; most of the time they exchange their women as tools.

Outlaw Motorcyclists

These following paragraphs make a summary I wrote for myself after reading an article from my sociology class called “Outlaw Motorcyclists.”

In the essay, “Outlaw Motorcyclists,” J. Mark Watson, a university professor, studied four groups of outlaw motorcyclists. To collect enough valuable information for his report, he did three years of participant observation in the subculture of outlaw bikers. Watson’s purpose on doing this research was to gain more information and understand the value system and characteristics of these adult outlaw bikers.
Watson studied and interviewed four groups. The Brothers and The Good Old Boys were two small local groups from the middle Tennessee. The Bar Hoppers were members of a regional group from North Carolina. Finally, the Convicts were the largest regional and national group of outlaw motorcyclists observed and studied.
While collecting his information, Watson found out that most of these bikers used certain objects symbolizing their lifestyle. Some of these symbols are tattooing, beard, dirty jeans, earrings, cut off jackets, knives, guns, chains, and their Harley-Davidson V-twin Motorcycle. Another of the bikers’ characteristics is that among them they are all considered brothers.