Shipler Ch. 6

Shipler, can I really look at five women and expect one of them will be raped? That is such a gruesome thought, YUCK! According to US statistics its true. What a great country where one out of five women have the chance to get sexually assaulted, great, right? Sike! Not saying we don't live in an amazing country, and I gaurantee that 1/5 is much bigger in other world countries, but come on seriously people were supposed to be setting an example and wanting other countries to follow in our footsteps. But yet we have recessions, bankruptcy, poverty, unemployment, high victimization rates and crime rates, among a lot of other things. No wonder so many countries and ethnicities hate the U.S. and Americans. Anyways this chapter is based primarily on sexual abuse and molestation and is proven many times within the chapter that it has a much bigger impression and much larger destruction on people then poverty and stuff from the prior chapters. This is proven through and through and even the little header intro to the chapter from "peaches," a homeless working woman, about not being able to let anyone to close to save herself of being robbed, hurt, or taken advantage of! (Shipler pg. 142) Apparently sexual abuse is so avid in America that in some places it is talked about in schools and kids think it happens to everyone. (pg. 142) This chapter really can't be compared to the others so far because sexual abuse is nothing like any other topic Shipler has touched on. Poverty for example can be dealt with, overcome, a person can relieve themselves of the struggle with pride and hard work, not always but its possible. However, abuse can haunt a person for an entire lifetime like a ghost hanging onto something in their soul. Even a person that is young and survives and thinks they have surpassed it can have recurrences and nightmarish problems through life. A child may not mature right because of it. A mature person may end their life for it. As hard as it is to read these awful stories throughout the book I understand Shipler is just opening our eyes to reality. Life isn't perfect, no one is perfect, America isn't perfect. He has realized that we all need to realize it. Wendy Waxler is a prime example of reality. Physically, emotionally, verbally, financially abused her entire life. A suicide risk? Would you be if you were in her shoes? She even had to endure watching others go through what she went through and could do nothing about it. She also had failed relationships and failed births one after another! Incredible to say the least that she went through it and still lived life. Unless you have been through what she went through no one can imagine how it affected, hurt, and deconstructed her. If I were her suicide and retribution would most likely be strong thoughts trying to take over evry day so I am sure every minute was a battle. I would have to say this chapter wasn't nearly as "boring" and repetitive as the others and was incredibly interesting I guess in a bad way because it is not like anything about it was good. I hope everyone that ever reads this book applies it to their lives, opens their eyes, and succumbs to reality. The fact that these stories are everyday in America should be enough for people to stand up and want something better. We should never settle for what we have America can get so much better. The entire world can!!!

Shipler Chapter 4

What is this world coming to? People in other countries look up to Americans for our free country, free will, will to be free. That is, until they come here to follow a dream and are shit on by "Americans" that promise these people shelter, food, money, and to help them catch their dream. All these people want is to come over to this country, make a few more bucks then what they make at "home" and raise a healthy happy family. I do not agree with the fact they come here and take jobs illegally and what not but some of them just can't help it. I won't go into that again as it would be redundant to my other blogs but I wish we could create a policy for them to come over and gain citizenship and be here legally, maybe a military contract where they serve two years minimum while making the same wage as every other legal soldier. But of course they have to pledge allegiance to our flag and respect this country to reap the benefits. Until this happens or we figure out some better foreign policy on immigration, all we can do is hope that there will be more people like Jimmy, who bring them here give them reliable shelter and transportation by helping them get these things, and supplying them in some way with a responsible, realistically paid job. In fact Jimmy says “They are not up here to make me rich,” “They’re here to make a living for themselves.” “They got their own dreams.” (Pg. 105) I respect this man as he is dubbed with a good heart and is also realistic and humanistic. We also have to look at the fact with these people, that they are doing us all a favor doing the dirty jobs no one wants to do. They need done so "coyote's" scam Aliens into doing them for next to nothing, and supply them with basically no basic survival utilities after telling them the exact opposite. The least we can do for them and ourselves is to come up with a policy to make everyone happy, healthy, and give America a better name. Is this possible? I think so, do you?

Working Poor: Ch 3

I don't really know what to think of this chapter. At first I kind of feel like Shipler wants me to boycott designer clothing and what not because of the conditions the people putting it together have to work in. I understand fully the process a immigrant goes through when they do not get their green card and are forced to work at less then minimum wage and less then fathomable environments and conditions. Then again my view on that situation is that those people put themselves in a predicament when they come to America looking for the high life and bypass laws, legal citizenship, and such, giving them no rights, and no freedoms. Shipler even insists on telling us of certain cases where immigrants set aside the fact they weren't legal citizens, and got the courage to stand up for themselves as human beings, then after lawsuits or other means got themselves a better chunk of change over their less then minimum wage. Bottom line for me is that when it comes to immigrants and working conditions, they get what they apply for! Most of them don't even complain because they are making a wage that is supporting them to an extent, and sending some to their families for help.
Then there are the people that are legal citizens both born here and not. These people also work in the garment industry for unpleasurable wages and conditions. Why? some say it is their only hope of surviving, some say it is all they amount to. I say they, for the most part, put themselves in an unruly predicament. Any job for any wage could almost be their motto. Considering if we look at stories from last chapter we realize when people are in need they will do anything and usually will look for the easiest "in" for that aid. I can't really say whether these said people bring it all on themselves, which I don't think is the case, or if they fall prey to so many hardships that the conditions and wages the garment industry provides seem to be the only means of hope. I say a mixture of both because in America we are always given some form of a choice.
What I cannot really understand is how people and companies can be such capital mongers that they have to far more then "short-change" employees to put as much money in their pockets, and satisfy themselves. What makes it hard to understand is the fact that good hearted, industry loving people in the end of the chapter pay employees an excellent wage when they do excellent work. And because the employees do such excellent work and are happy with their wages, the company succeeds. Some still say they would purchase more if for a lower rate, but excellent craftsmanship and hard work are expensive characteristics and well worth it.
So when I said I felt like Shipler wants me to rip off my "Aeropostale" or my "American Eagle" clothing, and boycott the industry, I feel violated. Simply because I work hard for my minimum wage and purchase things that appeal to my nature. It is not as if the immigrants and what not are doing what they do for what they get, and then I go take those things for free. I do the country a service and in return use my hard earned capital to be rewarded with goods crafted in some way, shape, or form, by another hard working human being. I suppose because of the fact that no one is holding a gun to their head and saying do this for practically nothing, makes me feel like they don't have to be in such a predicament. So that makes me feel like I shouldn't boycott anything, and shouldn't put to much stock in Shipler's written theories within chapter three. Agree? Disagree? Like what I say or not, it's your freedom as an American, just don't judge me by my opinions. Same goes for the fact we shouldn't judge those in such positions as stated in this book so far as we live in a completely biased, choice based country.