See What Students Say
Writings by Students
2008
Katrina Berry
JUST 241 SKILLS FOR INQUIRY
Riley Vaughn
Human Rights
Week 1 Response
The first document I read this week was The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It broke down a number of rules and regulations the United Nations put together so al people would have equal rights. What I thought was interesting was that the document when into affect in the year 1948. It states in Article 2 that,
“Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status…”
This does not make sense to me. If this document was adopted in 1948 why did we go through the civil rights movement in the 60’s? This article in the Declaration of Human Rights makes it obvious that everyman and woman should be treated equal no matter there race, color, sex, etc. If they passed this declaration why did it take them so long to put it into practice? In Article 24 is states that,
“Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.”
I was watching a special on television once about a community of African Americans in the deep south who were cut off from the city they depended on during the civil rights movement. They lived across the river from a major city that had the food, hospital, firehouse. Because of the protesting during that time, the government of that town shut down the ferry that went across the river, which allowed these people access to the city and it’s services. Houses burned down, people died of treatable illnesses and they starved. It took over 40 years to reopen the ferry route. Why weren’t these people protected by this document? That ferry should have had to stay open because those people supposedly had the right to public services in their country.
Also in part 2 of Article 24 it states,
“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”
Yet the people of America had different washrooms and drinking fountains for the people who were less dignified then they were. They had assigned seats on the bus, but the spirit of brotherhood rang true through out the whole country.
This document sounds like a great idea. And I believe what it states to be true in which a person should live their lives with other people. It all goes back to the Golden Rule, treat others how you want to be treated. If you did not mind not being able to use the ferry to get to the hospital or to the grocery store, shut it off or maybe you feel ok being ridiculed and pushed to the back of the bus, and forced to drink from the other water fountain, be my guest.
The real question I had for this document was, was it ever really in practice? I have a hard time believing through what I have read that this document ever helped the people it set out to help. Yes, I think times are changing and I think people can change, but hate and racism is built into the system, and until the system changes or falls apart I don’t think this document with all its Articles can really be put into practice.
In the presentation, Roots of Oppression I find the author uplifting and from the beginning of the introduction find him interesting and I wanted to keep reading. He started the introduction with a little background about hitch hiking across America. He traveled 118, 000 miles and had quite the ride. What made me like this author and what I thought was great was this quote he says got him though the experience,
“You must have faith in the best in people and distrust the worst.
If not, the worst will prevail.”
This I find to be a great statement of hope for any person. If you look for the best in someone and but your faith and trust in that part of them the good will prevail and the bad qualities that person has will fade and hide behind the good ones they have to offer.
What was also very interesting was reading about the man who was 134 years old. Charles Smith who had experienced the entire slavery process. He was taken from his mother and lured into the belly of a ship, taken across to ocean to work as a slave. Grew up as a slave and saw slavery abolished. It was sad to read what he said,
“I asked my mama, could I go down to the boat and see that man. She said yeah, and I ain't seen my mama since. And I wasn't but 12 years old.”
It would be so interesting to talk with man about his experiences and his life. I am sure he has incredible stories to tell.
Reading about Jacob Holdt’s experience living with cotton pickers was terrible. The white landlord paid these black cotton pickers 4 cents for every pound of cotton they picked. Then turned around and sold the same cotton for 72 cents a pound making a 68 cent profit on the work of his “employees.” It’s not fair. Jacob made a comment about the living conditions for the people working in the fields compared to the landlord, it was absolutely appalling to hear that these people live in shacks not much better than the slaves had while Big Bad Landowner had a white mansion. If you forgot this is in a free state now. Slavery has been abolished. I can’t really see the difference can you.
Reading these articles is getting me fired up again. The stuff I don’t know surprises me so much. I have a lot to learn about America don’t I?
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Just-334
Andie LucasThe Chicago
They protesters wanted the world to know what was going on, Davis told the group that he "wanted the world to know that there are thousands of young people in this country who do not want to see a rigged convention rubber-stamp another four years of Lyndon Johnson's war." I do not feel that their intention was to going into the park and cause a riot. I certainly don’t believe that Mr. Rubin was standing in the open talking about what they where planning. "We want to see what these pigs are going to do about it,” Why would he do that? In order for the statement to be true, the officer would have to be standing in earshot. If any of this is true, why not go to the police, and tell them what you over heard. Who remembers word for word what they heard months ago.
If he was undercover, why not take pictures or record the conversation, there are so many unanswered questions. “I don't recall what else he said, but he ended it with saying, "And don't forget our gigantic love-in on the beaches tomorrow." If any of this is true why not make some changes, if they where expecting problems. Unfortunately, the trail was over before it was started. The judge was against the defendants for the start, I don’t plan the defendants for not stating up when the judge came in.
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Tracy Bielecki
JUST 329
1/25/08
Reponse: Wk 1 & 2
What was interesting in reading these documents in a group was to see not only how laws have evolved over the millennia, but also how certain ideas have always been present and how the underlying purpose of the law and its implementation has stayed the same.
Hammurabi's Code of Laws was created to protect the weak from the strong. The King declared himself called upon by the Gods to enact this code of laws; he opened and closed them with prayers forbidding anyone to disobey threatening those who do with the Gods' wrath. As I read through the laws, I have to take into account the culture and time in which they were written. In the Code, he tried to address every foreseeable situation from the various perspectives. Although in today's standards some of the punishments are cruel and unjust, I think he wanted to be thought of as a just ruler.
What really stuck in my mind about the Codes was the flexibility in allowing situations and circumstances to impact the sentencing. Debts were on a person and could not be collected by taking property. If it was a drought year with bad crops or if an act of nature occurred, time was allowed without interest. Reasons excused actions which might have otherwise been punished. A woman who moved in with another man after being abandoned is not condemned. This flexibility exemplified Hammurabi's ability to see situations from different angles and his empathy with the citizens' various situations.
Even though contracts and witnesses were key, people's word counted. Suspicion was not enough, most times you would have to be caught in the act, but when it was something that couldn't be proved, people were thrown into the river. If they survived, they were proven innocent. This practice seems to have been copied throughout the centuries; it reminded me of the Salem Witch trials thousands of years later. But at least in Hammurabi's day, your survival proved your innocence and your accuser would then have to answer for their accusations.
Class divisions were infused in his code, almost everything depended on class. The amount a physician would receive for his services was dependant on the status of the patient. There were multiple laws for the same crime, each pertaining to the different classes of the involved parties. At least there was no pretending that the severity of the punishment didn't depend on the status of the perpetrator and the victim, as we do now. The laws were straightforward in their pronouncements with no ambiguity about consequences.
Charles F. Horne's commentary states this is where the "eye for an eye" laws were first documented. These laws are unequivocal and unforgiving and are still around to this day. So much for evolving.
Machiavelli's The Prince focused on the hand of the ruler, and the best way for that ruler to stay in power. Unlike Hammurabi who instilled fear in the Gods so people would obey and so he would be loved, Machiavelli believed a ruler is better off being feared. It is safer and the people are more likely to obey. War was the art which belongs to "him who rules," through war a man could rise in rank and become a prince. He felt there was a line there and princes who grew too comfortable could lose their rank.
He knew that no matter what happened in the society, the ruler was responsible. The Prince needed to "know how to do wrong." I think he means that those in power have to make decisions with their interests at heart to ensure their positions. The interests of the people are not primary.
To this end, he did warn against being hated. Just as there is that line between being loved and feared, there is a line between being feared and hated. While people will live with a feared leader, once that leader starts to take their property or women; hatred brews. Hatred breeds contempt and rebellion, and rebellion is bad for business.
The English Bill of Rights concerned itself with the aftermath of the "rebellion" of the English Monarchy. It restrained the power of the Monarchy, reinforced the power of the Parliament, and established the new King and Queen.
What was most interesting is how the laws now include what the government may or may not do to a Protestant citizen. Catholics were not included in some of the laws, and the new line of rulers were specifically barred from having anything to do with Catholics or papish people. The Protestant citizenry and the Parliament were now guaranteed rights that the Monarchy could not infringe upon.
John Locke's thoughts in his Second Treatise on Government are compatible with the English Bill of Rights which is not surprising because he was alive at the time it was written. Locke believed that every man has a power over himself in nature and when people join together in a society, they hand that power over to the rulers of that society. The political power must be used to preserve the people "lives, liberties, and passions."
His idea is reminiscent of Hammurabi's idea to protect the weak from the strong and creating laws for the good of the people. But, Locke believed there should be one rule for all classes and that the power and rules can not be arbitrary. An Individual's class and circumstances have no bearing on the charges or the punishment.
He also believes there should be laws which restrain those in power and calls the people to act against the government to take back power when abuse occurs. He goes as far as equating the government's abuse of power as a declaration of war on its citizens. If the government acts against its citizens, the people have the right to take back the power. This would hold leaders liable for their governing which would ensure the people's interests are not neglected.
He theorized that people wouldn't rebel at the drop of the hat, but warned that long-term abuse of power would awake the people and energize them into rebelling. This is very true; it takes a lot to motivate the masses. Most people just want to live their lives in peace without interference from the government. His theory was similar to Machiavelli's warnings about being hated. But while Machiavelli was concerned with the rulers staying in power, Locke focused on the keeping the ruler's power in check.
Cesare Beccaria states in his Essay on Crimes and Punishments, that laws have been created out of necessity and not for the "greatest happiness for the greatest number." He is right, especially today. Presently, most new laws seem to be created to restrain the population and encroach on civil liberties. Common sense is out the window as more and more aspects of our lives are restrained.
Beccaria warns that it should be the laws that are feared, not the ones who make the laws. Barbaric repercussions only increase the barbarity of the society. He states that the certainty of punishment is a bigger preventive measure than the severity of the punishment. I can see his point, when severe punishments are carried out for minor infractions, citizens are alienated from the society and the government is seen as cruel and heavy-handed, especially when other crimes which impact more people are dealt with in a less severe manner, it at all. What comes to mind is the harshness of penalties for mere traffic violations or drug violations while white-collar criminals can rarely expect adequate punishment. The fact that two people of different races who commit the same crime can be charged and sentenced differently makes the system unreliable and biased.
His argument against cruel punishment and the death penalty are valid and well-thought out. Society needs to transcend the need for revenge, which is very difficult when you have been a victim of a crime, especially a violent one. But when laws are not made with the thought of crime prevention instead of punishment and they are carried out unevenly, the system fuels the contempt of the people.
Since we still have the death penalty and the "eye for an eye" mentality, we have not evolved very far from the people of Hammurabi's time. The system is so self-sustaining, and is not interested in changing. The only way to create change may be through Locke's theory of revolution.
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Kathryn Zatz Law & Procedure
First Week Reading Responses:
Principles of Democracy: The Rule of Law:
Right away this article had me laughing out loud, because the definitions of rule of law, or what rule of law should be, are so different from what really is the rule of law here in the U.S. for example:
Rule of law means that no individual, president or private citizen, stands above law. Democratic governments exercise authority by way of law and are themselves subject to law's constraints.1
We know this is not true, because the wealthy get away with murder all the time! Case in point: OJ Simpson, among many others, or if rich people do get convicted they literally get a slap on the wrist or some community service, compared to poor people or even middle class citizens who commit the same crimes. Laws should express the will of the people, not the whims of kings, dictators, military officials, religious leaders, or self-appointed political parties.
In my experience, laws reflect just that, the will of the elite. It can be seen when corporations get sued, they all stick up for each other, and they will have a team of lawyers, whereas us common wage folk are provided a public defender who will not even learn our name or remember our face after our trial! The other comment that bothered me was the one about the judges:
For this reason, judges should be well trained, professional, independent, and impartial. To serve their necessary role in the legal and political system, judges must be committed to the principles of democracy.
After my project I did in theories class, on how the highest court in the land, The U.S. Supreme Court threw the election, by giving it to Bush, how can I believe that these judges, or furthermore our entire legal system is a trustworthy one. They say "you are innocent until proven guilty," but for most of us it is "you are guilty until proven innocent!"
My favorite line is the one about a fair and speedy trial, which is bullshit as well. Citizens charged with crimes are entitled to a speedy and public trial, along with the opportunity to confront and question their accusers. If convicted, they may not be subjected to cruel or unusual punishment. Most prisoners, after being convicted are subjected to cruel and unusual punishment, not only from fellow inmates, but by guards themselves, who participate or look the other way! I have watched numerous shows about life in lockup and it is a game of survival of the fittest, Darwin's theory applies perfectly here to prison life.
The last statement I wish to confront is the one about no forced testimonies. Citizens cannot be forced to testify against themselves. This principle protects citizens from coercion, abuse, or torture and greatly reduces the temptation of police to employ such measures.1
Once again cops are known to beat confessions out of people, or subject them to grueling hours without food and water of questioning. I saw a program on A&E how a 16 year old came home to find his mother dead, and called the cops. Well the cops spent three days convincing the young man he did it, even though he passed a lie detector test the first time, and the cops did not inform his father that he was being held for questioning. The kid signed the confession, just so he could go home on bail, and it wasn't until later when his father talked to a lawyer that they fought the case and won.
Power is an amazing thing, and a powerful tool, especially in the wrong hands. It is the abuse of power that crushes people and nations. The U.S. didn't get it's reputation for being a superpower by being a wimp, no it got it's reputation for killing people and taking names later! I used to want to be a cop, but now I wouldn't even be a cop to fall back on! I'm all about standing up for what I believe in, but I know all too well what happens when you take on a brotherhood such as the police force, lets just say people have a habit of disappearing! 2.) The Social Location Of Justice In America- T.R. Young I liked this article because it opened my eyes to the various forms or systems of justice, operating within the United States. I agree with T.R. Young when he talks about juries giving ever-increasing awards to persons injured by major corporations, and how there arises great efforts among servants of big capital to limit civil suits and to limit damage awards to 'reasonable' amounts. At the same time, there is little interest in the Congress or in Corporate life to reasonable levels pollution of toxic wastes; to limit profits to reasonable levels; to limit work place dangers to reasonable dimensions or to limit financing of candidates to reasonable amounts. Reason become captive to both law and justice; finding what little room to range within the margins of civil damage suits.2
It makes sense to me because corporations don't want to risk a bad reputation or huge losses of profit, so many will settle suits outside of court or buy jurors and verdicts. I work for Sam's Club, also Wal-Mart is owned by them, and I have always said they are so lucky that they aren't union, because they would be shut down, from all the law-suits they would have. It is even documented on a poster we have in the break room that women get $.80 cents of every dollar a man makes!
The parts about the state welfare system in the essay ring true. Our welfare system is a joke, nothing is free, there are no free handouts, they make you jump through hoops to even prove that you qualify for welfare. Do you believe that, there are conditions to being poor! I think the Welfare system is just one more way to monitor people and put chains on them, making them prisoners of the government! My best friend was on welfare, and she had to quit school to get a full-time job, because she wasn't getting enough for her and her two kids. So she sacrificed her education to make a living.
I also know about the competetitive sector of business. I once temped at an advertising agency for a summer, and they did so many cut throat things; they even asked me if I would be willing to go undercover to spy against their competition. Needless to say I found myself coming down with a two week flu, that led to a leave of absence. It was like working for a small time mob, or crook! Imagine this is a way of life for some people.
I agree with this part of the essay: "Generally, the better the position in the class structure, the better the opportunity for high-yield crime, low risk crime and for distributive forms of the unlikely event one is found out. The same is true for race. Indeed, as we will learn, race and class combine to program people in or out of the various social control agencies. Gender has a curious and complex effect on crime and justice which we will try to sort out for the reader in sensible ways.2
Race and Gender and Class play a vital role in everything from booking, to trial, to sentencing. Females are given more lenient sentences, and middle-class or wealthy women are more able to plead out insanity, or post-partum depression, and given sentences served out in institutions, rather than behind bars. Did I mention that white women are the privileged ones, certainly not Black women. It is a shame that racism still exists today, I believe it will always exist, not because people are not capable of judging someone by the color of their skin, but rather because there will always be that group of people who live in ignorance and want to blame their problems on someone else, mainly as history shows us anyone who is of African Descent or an outsider, because they are associated with negative qualities.
I think T.R. Young is right when he says most street crime is located among the poor. Cabrini Green for example, before they began to renovate it and push all those people out so yuppies could move in, used to be a very dangerous area. If one were to drive by or through it is not surprising why. The building were dilapidated, the living conditions not even livable. Many people living there did drugs, or sold drugs. If you put a group of poor, desperate people, into a hole, and give them nothing, then you will get nothing. How can they better themselves? Sometimes I struggle with the fact that people lose their homes to make way for condominiums, and malls. My mom and her husband live in Gurnee, and her husband has lived there for 12 years. They live in an apartment behind some businesses, and now the whole building was sold, and they were given one month to move out to make way for a new restaurant. It makes me so angry that people are treated this way.
I agree that it is not poverty alone that produces crime, but rater when you combine that with inequality, and unemployment. A person who steals food to feed his family is considered a criminal and punished, but the corporations who kill millions by polluting the earth and having unsafe working conditions are made to be idols. People want the good life, young Black kids living in the ghetto are sold the dream of becoming rappers, when most will not even go to school, and many will end up in jail, just for the color of their skin. Desperation, starvation of the soul and body, would make anyone do something irrational. The will to survive is so strong amongst many, that is why homeless people will degrade themselves by begging for food just to live. It makes me mad when people give homeless people a bad rep, I have spent time at many shelters and these people are just like you or me.
They are not out to deceive anybody they are just trying to stay alive. Many of these people are the most humble people you will ever meet, and many are still too proud to talk about their experiences until you have built up some trust with them. They are willing to beg to live, there is no crime in that, they are no different then the person who steals to survive. In some states they have placed vagrancy laws, to clean the streets of the homeless. Yeah home of the free, my ass!
All this new technology used to monitor people is really scary. There are other countries that have cameras at every street corner, could you imagine going to the store, and your every move being watched by some eye in the sky, god forbid you should get and itch, now you are on Americas' funniest world videos. Everything we do is scrutinized, it is like living under a telescope. What freedom do we have, if we are always being checked in on? None there is no freedom, at least not within our wonderful country we call the U.S. I am careful of what websites I go on because I don't need men in black suits pounding on my door, for some research I did for school.
The Medical Justice System is a joke, when it comes to court trials. I remember watching the biography of Andrea Yates, the suburban mother who killed her four sons, by drowning each one. She escaped the death penalty by pleading insanity, and saying she suffered from post partum depression. Had it been a Black woman I can't say she would get the same treatment. I remember this story, many women were enraged, because infanticide is seen as pure evil. Imagine a mother, a figure who is supposed to be nurturing, and then imagine her holding a poor, defenseless, kid under the water, watching your kid struggle for life, and then showing no remorse; that is about as cold blooded as you can get! She said that she did it to protect her sons from Satan, that they would do to heaven now. Somehow I don't think all the drugs in this world could help that lady!
The more I educate myself about the legal system and watch Court TV, I must say, the more scared I get every day. Our legal system is far from being just, in fact justice is blind because the courts turn a blind eye on the guilty. We are all guilty before the eyes of the courts until proven otherwise. There are so many people sitting in prison and on death row who are innocent. How many have been killed? Those that are set free are in no way reimbursed. How do you give someone back years on their life? You can't! We live in a scary world, a world in which we are being monitored, censored, and abused. It is not that far off from living in a giant fishbowl, or rather we are similar to mice living in a cage, and at the top of the food chain you have your bigger animals who prey on us, picking us off one by one. There are hardly any more modern day martyrs because people's souls have been crushed, people are not willing to throw their life away for nobody to notice. In my book all the people who stand up against injustices are martyrs, but to others they are criminals or terrorists! Well then I guess any kind of change that has come about through history was done so at the hands of terrorists! 3.) What Is Rule Of Law? -Bo Li I had never really given much thought to the difference between rule of law and rule by law. I thought this article was very informative and interesting. Bo Li says:
"Under the rule "by" law, law is an instrument of the government, and the government is above the law. In contrast, under the rule "of" law, no one is above the law, not even the government."3
It would seem that we have rule by law, because certainly the government sets forth our laws, and they are above the law. I have always felt that we do not live in a democracy, or at least not by the people but definitely for the people, as put forth by the elite. I found the rule of person interesting, the rule of few persons vs. the rule of many persons. I have never studied the different forms of government and law because to tell you the truth government and politics have never interested me.
After taking these classes I can say my eyes have been opened to the underworld infrastructure of politics and government. It's funny that for years the government hunted the mob, when they appear much worse than the mob. I found the part in the article about Formal Justice vs. Procedural Justice very interesting.
The notion that fair procedures are the best guarantee for fair outcomes is a popular one but it is unfair to use a procedure that does not have the highest probability of achieving distributive or retributive justice. Those carrying out the procedures must be impartial and neutral. Unbiased decision- makers must carry out the procedures to reach a fair and accurate conclusion. Those involved should believe that the intentions of third-party authorities are benevolent, that they want to treat people fairly and take the viewpoint and needs of interested parties into account; this is not always so in our court system. They say we will be judged by a jury of our peers, but our peers our selected for us, so how unbiased is that process?
I found an article that helped me to further understand the concept of formal justice, it stated:
It is conventional to distinguish ‘formal justice' (the law) and material justice (morality and politics), although some theorists of justice treat the two concepts as parallel or overlapping, and argue that since legal or criminal justice concerns the distribution of penalties to the guilty, it has much in common with social justice, which deals with the allocation of scarce goods (and ‘bads') to a population: both are premised on the ideas of due process, impartiality, and distribution according to appropriate criteria. In older literature, a distinction is usually drawn between social (or as it is frequently termed ‘distributive') justice, and retributive justice. The latter holds that the guilty should be punished simply because wrongdoing as such ought to be punished, regardless of the consequences of doing so in terms of deterring further misdemeanors, or making any other contribution to social utility.4
I agree that sometimes the two do overlap, formal justice and social justice. There is no social justice in our system in the U.S. because it is all about the haves and have nots, and taking away from the haves to give more to the have nots. Beyond a reasonable doubt is a joke, because sometimes confessions are gotten by a criminal who admits that they committed the crime and they give up information that only the killer would know, then this evidence is later thrown out on a technicality. Or the people who get locked up three or four times for a similar crime, and then get released only to kill again. It seems we focus more on convicting people of small time offenses such as possession of drugs. Instead of really going after the criminals.
I like the last sentence of the article about how human factors play a role in shaping traditions, customs, and institutional cultures that are integral parts of the liberal democratic machinery. To be a true democracy, every person's voice must be heard, and laws should be written by the majority of the people, not the majority of those in power.
I don't think rule of the people will ever exist in the U.S. because people like the president enjoy having all the power, sure he has his system of checks and balances but who is really looking? More like they are looking the other way! sources: 1 http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/principles/law.htm 2 http://uwacadweb.uwyo.edu/RED_FEATHER/crime/004location.html 3 http://www.oycf.org/Perspectives/5_043000/what_is_rule_of_law.htm 4 http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O88-justicesocial.html
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Joshua Cruz
Justice & Inequality
This week’s subject is very personal to me. I served in the Marines for four years and I did so proudly. To hear people describe us as “thugs” is pathetic. Many people that call us names and talk negatively about us have never been in our shoes, isn’t that ironic. People will never understand why it is that we do what we do. It’s about passion, it’s about sacrifice. Watching those towers go down in 2001 change me for the rest of my life. I joined for reasons that I cannot explain in words and if people can’t understand that then I don’t need to talk to them. Regardless of what this war is all about, we still served under the oath that we took. We fight for the same reasons that we had when we took that oath; not for oil, not to kill people and not for the money. I’ll admit that there are some bad apples that give us a bad name, but it’s like that in every sub-culture or culture in society.
I was not brainwashed in the Corps; if I was brainwashed, it happened a long time before I joined. Like elementary school, where I learned how great our “Fore Fathers” were; come to realize, they weren’t that great and they weren’t my fathers because I am Puerto Rican. Or how the cowboys were the good guys and the Native Americans were the bad guys; now a days, I root for the natives!
The Marine Corp helped make me the man that I am today. I learned good values, like honor, and good judgment among others. Also, not to litter, to help and defend those that cannot help or defend themselves, to help the elderly. For example, every time I can, I help and elderly person cross the street or assist an elderly person who’s struggling with their wheel chair; I can go on, my eyes see the right thing to do and I do it. Not because I’m trying to get points with people, but because that same passion that drove me to enlist still lives inside of me.
I am not perfect, but I try to be. I try to live my life as a Marine, I might come off as conceited but it’s only because I love myself, just as everyone should. I wish our youth of today would serve in an organization such as my beloved Corps. Maybe then we wouldn’t have so many overweight kids, maybe we wouldn’t have so many suicides, maybe people wouldn’t complain about the pettiest things, maybe we wouldn’t go to war so much. Real warriors know when to fight, unfortunately for us; we do not call the shots. I honestly wish that our generals had a bit more “balls” than they do. I wish our leaders in office had actually served on the frontlines. Being in war is a very humbling experience; I wish President Bush could have felt that. I wish Cheney would have gotten shot in the face while hunting; I’m sure he would have called off the war as soon as he regained consciousness. It’s an ugly thing, war is. It’s not pretty by any means but it’s something that happens and something that I personally am good at. Since the existence of human kind there have been wars. From the looks of it, their will be wars for years to come. No matter if people bash the military, I will still fight for them. I don’t care what any of these intellectual types say, I come from a school, the “School of Infantry Iraq
I am not a left-winger, right-winger, democrat, republican, libertarian, etc. I am a Marine and I’m here to protect you all, no matter what happens. If Blackwater gets deployed on the streets of the U.S. Iraq
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David Diaz 11/02/07
Justice and Inequality 202 Before reading the articles for this week, my response to the issue of the military was going to be more positive than negative because of the fact that my father served in Vietnam, and I have an example that hits so close to home. But after reading these articles that talk about how embedded corruption is in the military, it’s no wonder other countries hate us so much. I want to be careful and avoid saying that everyone in the military comes out corrupt, but two things are certain: (1) the government our military serves is corrupt, (2) and the United States never involves itself in foreign affairs that doesn’t somehow benefit them. There is a good reason why I say “them” in the previous statement and not us, because “them” equals these giant multinational corporations, and it’s these same corporations that influence the government into sticking its nose where it doesn’t belong.
In George Santayana’s words, “Those who cannot remember the past, are doomed to repeat it” (The Life of Reason, 1906), and unfortunately, that is the case with our government. The “doomed past” that I’m referring to is our government’s and military’s invasion of other countries. To think that the invasion of Iraq isn’t the first time that this country has intervened in other countries’ affairs for their own benefit proves just how greedy this empire called the United States is. The evidence provided to us in one of the readings include examples such as “American-engineered coup against Allende in Chile, the war against the people of El Salvador, invasion of Grenada, the war against the people of Nicaragua” (Rodriguez, 2004) and the list goes on and on. Yet, there are no better examples of how this is true than the two examples of both father and son, the Persian Gulf War and Operation Iraqi Freedom, both carrying pretexts of liberation, but ultimately being about a bigger agenda.
Though that’s not the issue at hand, it does a play a huge importance in the discussion about the military because the American public is so misinformed about its purpose in Iraq, and misinformed about its military in general. If we really think about it, how many people who serve in our Armed Forces join because of a true feeling of patriotism? If that were the case, than our military would be one of diversity. Although experts would argue that the armed forces is diverse, it isn’t necessarily a good thing as some of my classmates and others found that it is the people of color and those that are poor that make up the majority of the lower ranks in the armed forces (Kane, 2005). That is an interesting fact to note because one can dare to observe that by sending the poor and the minorities of this country to do the dirty work for them, the country is actually “killing two birds with one stone”, by getting rid of an undesirable population at home (1st stone), and by furthering the profits of the elites (2nd stone), as there are many people who profit from wars such as the one we’re fighting now.
These articles also share a common theme which relates to the question raised in class, “What is the responsibility of a military or resistance group in terms of morality and ethics?” Ultimately, I think it boils down to the individual. Although, troops have their orders and feel as though they have to follow them, I believe one always has a choice. Sure, I’ve never been in the military (nor have plans on joining) so it’s easy for me to express my opinion, but if a person feels wrong about doing something and fails to change it, than where does action and where does change begin?
To think that our military promotes actions that include killing unarmed civilians (Dreyfuss, 2007), yet classified German troops’ actions of “just following orders” as immoral in the Nuremberg Trials raises the issue of the double-standard (Tusa & Tusa, 1985). Because America supposedly plays the role of the good guy, it’s okay for us to interfere, intervene, and invade other countries, but it isn’t okay for other countries to do the same to us.
This leads me to my final point, which is how can we challenge our government’s use of the military into a positive direction? My suggestion is the same as the one proposed by Rodriguez, “we shift our focus of our antiwar organizing from one that solely seeks an end to troop deployment to one of support for those fighting against occupation” (Warriors and Wusses, 2004).
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2007 Papers
Wayne Nguyen
Skills for Inquiry
Final Paper
Do We Practice What We Preach?
The overall premise of my paper is to find out why we as justice study students choose to major in criminal justice? What reasons or beliefs led them to choose this type of major? I myself pondered the same question for years. Was the reason for it because of money, benefits, pension, helping others, or simply power that comes with when someone is given a position in law enforcement? I will be developing questionnaires and surveys to better assist me in gathering all information. With the responses obtained from the questionnaire and survey I will then revise the answers, and come up with a conclusion. Although, my survey will be for the purpose of proving whether or not justice study students practice what they preach in class. Are they using their knowledge about justice to better benefit the community, family, and friends? Or are they out partying at bars and clubs? The most important aspect of this research was to reevaluated my position, and see where I stand on these issues.
Before I begin to answer the question of what led me to choose this type of major and why? I’d like to start with a little bit of my background information. I feel that throughout everyone’s life, through all their past histories and experiences, the affects of our past have had a vast influence on our future, career, and lifestyle. I was born in Vietnam. After my parents died, which was when I was about four-years-old, my aunt adopted me, my sister, and brother into her family. Two years later, we were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to come to America. My aunt, a lady by the name of Ha Thi Sui, had been recently divorced before she took us in. She lived with only her nineteen-year-old son. When we first arrived to America, we found ourselves in San Diego, California. But before that, we were all stationed in the Philippines for over six months awaiting paper work (or at least, that’s what they told us). You see, this was normal procedure for any immigrant coming from Vietnam. Let me just say, the days there were long and harsh. The village that we lived in was sort of like a camp ground for all immigrants. Everyone had a small hut-like-house. Although I was young, but I will never forget the poverty conditions that we faced while living there. Thank God, the day finally came when our paper work was completed. In my mind, I kept on thinking how great America was going to be like.
My siblings and I lived with my aunt and her son for about four years in San Diego. We then decided that we didn’t want to be any more of a burden for my aunt. Chicago was our next destination, because we decided to live with our grandmother and some of my aunts and uncles from my mothers’ side. Every since then, I’ve been living here in Chicago for about 10 years now.
With that being said, let’s begin with the analysis. I think growing up without my parents forced me to become stronger emotionally and physically. I’m the middle child, my sister Konnie is the eldest, and my brother Jayson is of course the youngest. Vietnamese traditions (or most Asian traditions) emphasize that the eldest male of the household is required to be the financial support, as well as the protector of the family. So I guess you could say that the burden rested on me. I don’t mean to sound sexiest, or to discriminate women in any way. I know my sister is the oldest, and she has done a lot for me and my brother growing up. I also have to give full credit to my grandmother and my Aunt Ha from California for always being there to support us in every way. I think I’ve been raised and taught mostly from these courageous women during my life. They have bestowed this tradition or belief that the eldest male of the household has to take full responsibility and obligation to take care of his family. In my mind, I completely agree with this notion, and I feel that it’s the right thing to do. I would say that it’s not a male dominance situation, but just a way of upholding tradition.
Now that I’m an adult, all my relatives including my sister expect me to become the man that my dad was. Because I know if he was still alive today, he’d be the caretaker of this household. Nowadays, I find myself caught in the middle of everything. For example, problems that ranges from helping my brother picking classes for his first semester of college, to trying to find a job so I can help my sister with some of the financial needs.
I was about six or seven-years-old when we first arrived to San Diego, California. I still remember how hard it was for all of us to adjust. School for the three of us was probably the most fretful and at the same time confusing. For the first three years of school, first through third grade, I didn’t speak a lick of English. All I did was sat there and tried my hardest to comprehend what the teachers and my peers were communicating. Most of the time I felt very segregated from society. Some times I would feel invisible, as if no one knew if I even existed. At this moment my mindset was, I thought that these kids could care less if I was there or not. Through hard work and dedication, I managed to understand and perform this once complicated language, which took three years. Now as I looked back on those days, I was and still remain as one of the many people that society labels as a minority or subordinate.
Although some of us might not know, but we do treat minorities as outsiders. For me, this was the exact situation. I felt like an outcast most of my life. Especially living in San Diego, no one made an effort to talk to me. In their eyes, I was just another foreign kid taking up space. As I got older, I seemed to make the same type of friends with people whom were in my situation, Vietnamese immigrants like myself. Society creates these labels and we convincingly play right into them. Therefore, I believe this country is of course segregated not only by race, religion, sexism, sexual preference, economic status, but also the two groups that fall under dominant and subordinate or minority and majority of society.
Growing up in San Diego has really shaped my way of thinking. Times were harsh there; the five of us lived in a two bedroom apartment. We didn’t have enough money for basic luxury needs; we only had enough for the necessary things in life. Luckily, my aunt had some sewing skills. I remember every six months or the start of a new school year; my brother and I would get 3 outfits that my aunt had made out of cheap fabric that she bought from her work factory. These clothes were just a jogging pants and the sweat type of sweaters; they were clothes that you would exercise in. I was always jealous of the other children have new stylish clothes. We were definitely the lower economic class of society. However, we are doing a little bit better now financially, but because of those days; I am very grateful for the position that I’m at right now. I live and count my blessings everyday. I have lived and will remain to live a humble life.
My grandmother is and has always been proud of her Catholic background. She often strives to push us towards religion more. As far as, religion having an effect on my life; I don’t think it had a major impact, but it is a part of my life and part of our culture. Growing up in a very Vietnamese oriented family, our traditions and cultures were always being enforced and reminded, especially during the holidays. Now, a little bit wiser, I come to understand why these traditions were always being imposed. We are now not in our own native land, and although we have accepted and adopted some of the American lifestyles or cultures; we must not forget where we come from. A huge aspect of not disregarding where I was from was to celebrate our traditions, cultures, and various holidays. By doing this, we are not only respecting our history and people, but also honoring them. Therefore, throughout my life, because of my family I was very much rooted to my traditions and culture.
Every decision or choice you make in life correlates to your history, experiences, culture, traditions, holidays, religion, economic status, nationality, ethnicity, and so much more. Because of my parent’s death, I had to become stronger mentally and physically for not only myself, but for my brother and sister. I grew up having almost little to nothing. As a result, I’m thankful for what I have and live life to the fullest.
The fact still remains that I will always be categorized or labeled as part of the minority group, but because of this type of stereotype and discrimination; this motivates me to accomplish my goals of completing all my education and obtaining a well paying career. For us as a minority group, I believe we should just accept the fact that it’s true, and focus more on solutions instead of complaining about the inequalities that we face everyday. Being raised in such a well-rounded traditional type of family; I’ve grown to honor and respect my culture and its traditions. However, at the same time, I have been assimilated culturally. I’ve recognized and supported some of the cultures and traditions of America. After all, in order to survive we must first learn to adapt to our surroundings.
Throughout all my hardships and struggles, I realized that I want to give something back, or at least try to help those that are in the same position right now as I was in the past. Therefore, I decided to go to Northeastern University and major in Criminal Justice. My future goal is to become a Chicago Police Officer, and hopefully move up in rank. I have heard countless stories of the corruption within the structure, but I believe if I stay true to my morals and values, I will be the officer that truly “protects and serves” the community.
Now, with that being said, let’s move on to the research part of this paper. Before reading and analyzing the results of the questionnaire, I kind of knew what to expect, because I’m in the same position as my peers. We are all majoring in criminal justice, so our mentalities and way of thinking about justice are similar.
These are the five questions that I create: what are your three values and/or beliefs in life? Describe three main reasons to why you chose to major in justice studies. What career are you hoping to achieve from this justice degree? Do you believe that your three values and/or beliefs have an affect or influenced your choice to study justice? Lastly, is there a significant event or individual(s) in your life that led you to choose this major, or choose to be involved in a career of law enforcement?
First, I’d like to evaluate myself. My three values and beliefs are: always put your family first, stand up for what you believe in, and be kind and compassionate towards those that treat you with the same attitude. There are many reasons why I chose to major in this degree, but only three stands out. They are, I’ve grew up with the mentality of always doing what I can to help out. So if I were to become a officer, then from all of my professors and peers about the mistreatment and corruption of our present law enforcement; I will always keep that in the back of my mind, and treat every situation with fair and equality. Secondly, networking is very important to me. In this type of occupation it’s who you know that will aid your success in life, and this field provides plenty of business relationships. Finally, it’s the protection of my family that I care about the most. I feel that with all the training I receive in the academy; I will be able to use it within my career, but also to protect my family. Let’s face it, our society is getting more violent and barbaric day by day, and I want to be able to do what I can to defend myself and the ones that I love.
With this degree in criminal justice, I hope to become a Chicago Police Officer, and then move up in rank. Yes, I have to say that my three values do have an affect on the choices I make. My values are directly connected to the reasons to why I chose to major in justice. I want to help out those that are at a disadvantage or in danger, and this is the kind and compassionate mentality that I will hopefully bring to the job. I’ve said that I will always put my family first, and this relates to the reasons I gave to join the force. I feel that I can protect them better with the training I receive from the academy and experience on the job. In life you always have to stand up for what you believe in, especially in the justice system. Well, we all know that there are good cops and bad ones as well, and the system is corrupted. This is where your judgment, values, and morals will be challenged. I plan on staying true to myself and my values/beliefs.
Throughout my life, my sister and brother have always been the backbone to my emotional support. All their love and sacrifices have been the sole reason to why I have chose to major in justice. Our parents died when I was young, I do not remember much about them. It has always been us three through thick and thin, that’s why the mean the world to me. Growing up, my older sister always stressed the fact that we should not be selfish as a human being, and we must have a helping mindset. They have always encouraged and supported me throughout my whole life. Therefore, I chose this career of law enforcement, it’s my way of trying to balance out the equality that people face everyday.
Now, let’s concentrate on the results of the class. I gave out thirty questionnaires and received about twenty six of them back. For all these questions I recorded the overall responses. The first question was based on values and beliefs, and most people answered: ethics, honesty, family is first priority, treat others with equality, kindness, loyalty, health, respect, stand up for yourself, and religion. When asked, three reasons for choosing this major, people answered: about 90 percent of all answers pertained to helping people. The rest answered they wanted to change the inequalities within our justice system, for family, career in law enforcement, monetary purposes (pension), and job opportunities.
The overall response for the third question was: law school (lawyer eventually), federal agency, government officials, Chicago police officer or any district officer, FBI, and immigration agent. The fourth question, everyone had the same answer. They all agreed that their three values/beliefs have an affect on the major and career that they choose. I kind of expect this answer, because your values define who you are. It structures the way you behave towards yourself and other people around you. So of course the decisions you make about your major and future career will be influenced by your values and beliefs. Although, the question still remains, will you still practice these values/beliefs within your future careers? Lastly, the overall answer for the fifth question; a significant event or individual(s) that impacted your decision to join law enforcement or major in criminal justice, people answered: family (fathers, brothers, mothers, and sisters), teachers (justice professors), and some already have family in the field. Others were influenced by events such as: being falsely stopped and ticketed, and living in high crime rate neighborhoods.
With this questionnaire, I knew that race, gender, age would not affect my results. The reason is because; my questions were strictly based on why NEIU students majored in justice studies, and what influenced their decisions to choose this path? Therefore, I felt their answers were much more important then knowing what race, age, or gender. It was more essential for me to know that if someone or a student were to major in this field, what were their reasons? For all my life and I’m sure for many other students who are struggling in school, we are all asking ourselves the same question. Where will we be in ten years? What career suits me? Will I be stuck in a boring job from nine-five everyday? Will the career that I choose be involved with helping others?
There was one negative aspect about the questionnaire; people were very impatient with their answers. Most of the answers I received were one to two sentences the most. You can definitely tell that people were not honest, and they did not really care much about answering these questions to the fullest. This is where I believe that although I gathered all the data, it just seems like there could have been so much more. The answers could have been more descriptive, and I could have been able to understand my overall central focus more. I understand that people will not want to sit down and write more than they have to, that is the reason why I narrowed it down to only five questions.
Next, here are the results from the survey aspect. My second method of data gathering was a survey type. The central topic that I wanted to research in was; do students of NEIU whom major in justice practice what they preach? For this survey, I listed a series of time (from 8am to 1am the next morning). My main focus was to see what these justice study majors are doing within their spare time. I decided that the best time to prove this theory was on the week, when college students are known to either be partying, clubbing, or at some bar getting intoxicated. Are justice study students out partying on the weekend, or are they doing something that positively benefits the community, family, and those whom are unfortunate (i.e. poor and homeless individuals)? Do their values and beliefs reflect their daily activities?
Well, I’ll first start with my self-evaluation. On both days of the weekend between 9 in the morning until 10 at night, I am at my aunts nail shop working as a receptionist. This is my only means of making some money on the side. When I do get home, from 11 at night till the next morning; I’m sleeping, online, watching television (i.e. news, MTV, VH1, Sports Center, and etc), listening to music, or hanging out with friends, and I always make it a priority to spending time with my brother and sister. It’s very sad and shameful, after taking this survey I realize that I do not practice what I preach, as far as my everyday activities. There is only one aspect that holds true about my values, and that is always putting my family first.
Again, I felt that race, age, and gender had nothing to do with my focus. So I just concentrated on the concrete responses that my peers answered. In between the hours of 8am to 10am on Saturday and Sunday, most students are waking up and starting on their personal hygiene maintenance (shower, brushing teeth, and etc.). Some are at work, while others are still sleeping. These answers are an accumulation of everyone’s response; I just chose the ones that represented the overall results of the survey. At 11am to 1pm, justice students were either listening to music, work, grocery, personal hygiene maintenance, or working out. From 2pm to 4pm, most students are at work, playing some sort of sport, working out, eating lunch, on the phone, and online. At 5pm to 7pm, justice students are helping/hanging out with family and friends, watching television, doing house chores, playing sports, dinner with family, doing school work, and at work.
From 8pm to 10pm, the overall answer was: watching television, out at bars and clubs, and at home doing school work. Finally, between 11pm to 1am, the average justice student is sleeping, watching late night television, or still out partying at some bar or club. There was one particular person that response with these, “probably intoxicated, lounging, or just out with boyfriend, having sex.” I found this very intriguing; this comment alone is enough to prove that we are all self-centered in one way or another. I did not know why this person here (whom did not state their name, race, age, or gender) felt that they needed to mention their sexual activities to me. Now, I understand and appreciate the honesty, but having sex has nothing to do with my survey. I did not ask for sexual responses. I felt that this particular student did not take my survey seriously. The main purpose of this survey was to see if we as justice study students are committed to helping others, or doing things outside of school that can be related to justice.
This survey has really opened my eyes to the type of person whom everyone claims to be. In the first week, we all spoke about our values and beliefs in life. On the contrary to what justice students may think about themselves, everyone does not practice what they preach. Our daily activities reflect our selfishness for our own pleasure, and we lack the helping mentality that every justice students claim they have. One of the most repetitive values/beliefs that everyone states is, they are always willing to help those in need, and they want to change our current justice system. We claim that our society is structured with countless situations of inequalities; the minorities will always be at a disadvantage, the rich and powerful are the ones in control. Despite all the facts, we still let it in one ear and out the other. We do not stand up for what we believe in. If that were the case, then there would not be numerous stories of mistreatment from our own government. Everything starts from all of us, if we can practice what we preach, only then can there be a positive change near our future.
In conclusion, although most people were not honest about their answers and most answers were not as descriptive as I’d like them to be; but my overall goal was achieved. All the data was gathered and analysis, now the answer to the two questions I proposed at the beginning of this paper. What reasons or beliefs led them to choose this type of major? Do they practice what they preach? (In other words, are they using their knowledge about justice to better benefit the community, family, and friends?) Everyone’s answers varied with the first question, the overall or average response was: helping others, money, career in law enforcement/law school, and better job opportunities. As for me, I realized that my reason to major in this field was because I wanted to balance out this inequality that corrupts the justice system, networking purposes, and I want to be able to protect my family with the training I receive from the academy and experience on the job. The results from the survey were shameful. We all claim to be justice students and our overall goal or value was to help others. Despite what NEIU students may claim, we do not practice what we preach, and the surveys of our daily activities will prove that theory. Having realized that I’m also apart of this shameful behavior, I will try to play a positive role within my community, family, and friends.
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