I CAN READ

CONNECTING THE DOTS

My initial reaction to the research paper was to think smart when approaching it. That ring said, I managed my time so it wasn't a last minute, crappy assignment and so I was not stressing trying to finish it! So I thought "hmmm, well I'm gonna just do this." My passion in life is to study the body aka kinesiology. So, I figured out how to relate this with racism. We as humans are all "manufactured" the same. We function the same. The thing about our bodies that is different however is external appearances which is what you see right away. It's what you see before you see there "internals" and by this now I mean personality, demeanor, characteristics. An immediate judgement comes into mind right when you see someone based on their appearances. This judgement before even knowing someone caused a roadblock in a relationship immediately. These external appearances are one of the dividing lines in society.

RESEARCH PAPER

Tiana McMann

Dr. Preston

Expository Composition 

November 8, 2013

Research Term Paper

Everyday in the world, there is an act of racism that occurs. Some, we become aware of via news and some remain hidden within society. Then, there are national cases that headline our morning news, Sunday newspapers, and broadcast on our radio stations for a couple weeks. One of these cases you could ask any American about and they will know as soon as you utter the boy’s first name, Treyvon Martin. This major racism case occurring a little under two years ago on February 26, 2102, revealed to many Americans in denial, that racism is still a major issue in the United States. Huffington Post writer Jesse Washington, tells readers, “...Trayvon Martin reveals to us the racial landscape of 2013.” In the long hall, this occurrence caused a chain reaction of new laws, reviews of present laws, and deeper research into our country’s past and involvement in racism. 

In this case, a young boy aged 17, Trayvon Martin was walking home in his father’s neighborhood in Sanford, Flordia. He was unarmed and simply carrying a bag of skittles and a tea. George Zimmerman was on neighborhood watch when he called dispatchers about “a real suspicious guy.” Though police were on the way to analyze the situation, Zimmerman pursued and followed the young African American even after being warned by the dispatcher “Okay, we don’t need you to do that.” Dispatchers then received many calls from neighbors reporting that someone was yelling help and then there was a gunshot. The 911 calls are public from Zimmerman as well as the neighbors and in the calls, you can hear many screams of terror and then a gunshot. The background information to this case is vital to understand when considering if this is really an act of racism or not. 

7 TIMES

1. Erica's tone in her essay is remorseful. Though she did not shoot the young boy, she still feels a sense of emotional in hearing about this story. She also shows confusion which shows how bewildered she was by this incident. Her tone is what make the whole essay have the meaning that it does.

2. The facts that Erica provided us is that the young boy was carrying a fake gun. He was then shot seven times. These two pieced of evidence we know are solid facts. One thing that could be a fact or a piece of twisted media is that he walked away when he saw the police.

3. Erica's conclusion she draws is that there was NO need to shoot 7 times. What is unclear in her essay is whether she believes it was an act of racism or not. To determine this, we should look at similar cases in which a person points a gun at policemen and how they reacted to this. However, no matter how close the cases may be, none are ever the same.

4. One HUGE strategy Erica uses is the very end! I don't know what that would be called, but the breakdown of the shots and what they "mean". This was powerful in conveying her conclusion listed in question 3.

5. One difference in the clarity of the essays is the picture Javi provides of the toy gun. In Erica's essay I imagined a Nerf gun shooting foam suction cups. The picture alone clarifies and in a sense justifies the story some. Another difference is Javi gives the justification to the police. He doesn't think it was right what they did, but, they took the necessary actions to protect themselves and civilians. Erica's essay focuses on the fatality of the event.

RACIAL PROFILING LIVES ON

This article was hard to follow!!
-FOURTH AMENDMENT prohibits unreasonablesearches and seizures and requires anywarrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause.
-From the article I could defer that there can be many ways a police officer can justify his reasons for a search. 
-The Supreme Court is rather loose on it's definite meaning. A police officer doesn't have to tell somebody that they can resist a search by a police officer? Hmmm.... A person should be aware of these things by the people enforcing the law.
-This article emphasizes that a police officer can still enforce based on race pretty easily.
-Reasonable suspicion can be no more then a hunch and less then a probable cause.
-high crime areas play roles in reasons
-fourth amendment applies even when chased
-race is taken into account when enforcing immigration laws
-courts rely on police judgement
After reading through a second time, taking notes meanwhile, and reading paragraph by paragraph, the article became clear to e and easy to follow.

VOCABULARY#9

Ultimate -  Being last in a series, process, or progression
This was the ultimate season.
Interactive-  Acting or capable of acting on each other.
Cells are interactive.
Principle- a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain of reasoning.
The constitution provides principles for our country.

Guidance-  The act or process of guiding
Parents provide guidance.
Collaboration- achieve shared goals.
In this class collaboration helps students get together.
Formative-serving to form something, esp. having a profound and lasting influence on a person's development.
Vocabulary is formative in brain development.

Summative- additive.
This article was summative to the other one.
Racism- actions, practices, or beliefs that consider the human species to be divided into races and treated based on these. 
Racism exists today.
Intelligence- The capacity to acquire and apply knowledge.
An IQ test can test intelligence.

Hyperbolic- exaggerated
Her tone was hyperbolic.
Preceding - to come before
The book before was preceding to this one.
Unrestrained - uncontrollable
The sub felt the students were unrestrained at this point.
Provision - to supply 
The law is a provision to our safety.
Stop-and-frisk- search of a person's outer clothing wherein a person runs his or her hands along the outer garments to detect any concealed weapons or contraband
Stop and frisk is performed by police officers.
Discretion- the quality of behaving or speaking in such a way as to avoid causing offense or revealing private information.
Viewer discretion is advised. 
Bar- (in context) except for; apart from.
Those students were barred from the final because of their high grades.
Seized-(of the police or another authority) take possession of (something) by warrant or legal right; confiscate; impound.
The police seized my gun.
Doctrine-a belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a church, political party, or other group

The bible is a doctrine for Christians. 

Consent- permission for something to happen or agreement to do something

I give you consent to do that.

Hunch- a feeling or guess based on intuition rather than known facts.

I have a hunch it was him.

Predominant- present as the strongest or main element.

His features are predominant.

Warrant - Authorization or certification; sanction, as given by a superior.
The police issued a warrant.

Infraction- a violation or infringement of a law, agreement, or set of rules.

He made a traffic infraction.

WHAT I SEE IS ALL IN MY HEAD

From the video, I actually saw the gorilla over the white shirt people passing the ball. The gorilla made it hard to focus. For me, it wasn't selective attention, but a distraction! Different people may have not seen the gorilla. This may be caused by different mind attractions or different perspectives at which we view things. Hmmm..?