Break is about over. Sanders/Trump won New Hampshire. Justice Scalia died. These next few months are sure to provide blog material.

I was just sent a link to a story featuring “nuns” who are running an illegal marijuana business. Now, there are so many factors at play here. I watched with a dropped mouth as a local NBC affiliate carried this story. I was reminded of the show on A&E network, Moonshiners, where illegal bootleggers’ business practices are aired on national television. I think the show is in it’s fourth season. I also think of the movie, We are the Millers, where Jason Bateman (an illegal marijuana dealer) and Jennifer Aniston (a stripper) are traveling as a fact family to participate in a large shipment of drugs, that is illegal.

Those were just a few examples. Those examples are all similar in that it perpetuates this coded form of racism. In each of those cases, they make selling marijuana look so honorable. It looks chic. You can even see the humanity of these criminals. Oh but not once are they labelled as such. The nuns, who I discovered are fake, are not even Catholic. They are in the process of expanding their illegal business. NBC gave us the luxury of showing the new plot of land. Before I forget, they rake in $400,000 a year now, before the planned expansion. Wow, I thought.

Then I thought about the “spit & saliva” question my professor proposed. What’s the difference? The difference is that of culture. When is it spit and when is it saliva? In this case, WHO are the spit? WHO are the saliva?

Well, I couldn’t help but wonder, what would become of those “nuns” if they were my grandmother? Would my uncle be allowed to so freely break the law? Would they get a television show? Thus creating wealth and fame. They get to keep ALL of the cash from illegal proceeds, and now a national network (whom I am sure does business with federally regulated banks) has lucrative contracts that pay these bootleggers. I s kind of difficult to quantify fame. Would the humanity of myself and a stripper be preserved in our attempts to transport large quantities of drugs?

So I ask, who is the saliva and who is the spit?

This is a ten question survey to rate happiness. Happiness is defined as the amount of leisure time you get to spend away from work and school. This is a rating system of 1-5: 1 = highly unlikely, 2 = likely, 3 = occasionally, 4 = highly likely, 5 = all the time

For my observation I tagged along with a local pastor doing a nursing home visit. We stopped by a care facility on Pershing to visit one of his church deacons. It has been so long since I have stepped foot in one of these facilities. So I did not know what to expect. I informed the pastor of my intentions, and he was perfectly fine with it. I think he was kind of interested in what I would have to say. He is always game for a good “brain-picking.”

This facility was kind of small and dark to be honest. I felt bad for the people who had to live there. The place is not inviting at all, but I guess there are worst alternatives, considering who you ask. I sat in the back of the common area where they watch television. I noticed a group activity going on across the hall as well. I just can not get pass how uninviting this place is. There were about fifteen people watching television, nine males, six females. The males were: five Black, two White, and 2 Hispanic. The women were: two Black and four White.

A couple of them noticed me, but never said one word to me. I thought that was strange. I got tons of smiles, which was reassuring. They acted as if I was a quality control person. Even two staff members thought I was from the state doing a surprised visit. The residents just gave off this “let him do his job” type of vibe. I noticed how one staff member, a mid-twenties looking Black woman was extremely touchy with the residents. She also had an awesome, I almost was able to count her teeth. I figure that was her way of providing them with a home-like feel. I could sense her giving them a sense of security and comfort. Most of these people were extremely frail looking. There was not much upbeat goin on. The people in a weird sense matched the décor. Strange. I could sense the touching as being a goal of providing that security and comfort. The staff who monitored the residents put a huge emphasis on touch and smile. I would need to interview the residents to get a better feel of which explanations would be more accurate.

The advantages of this type of research is that it is relatively easy to collect. It is also inexpensive. I also got to observe people in their natural environments. I bypassed any lying as well. The drawbacks to this kind of observation are: the possibility of misinterpreting an action, assumptions are extremely possible, and I did not speak directly to them.

In closing this would not be my preferred method. Even though it was fairly easy and inexpensive, I did not get much depth because I did not get to speak to the residents nor staff. I know Father Time is undefeated, so I pray that when my time comes I do not have to be at that facility on Pershing. Peace!!!

Hopefully sooner than later…

I just talked to my homeboy from high school, Air Force Veteran, Terrell. Terrell has been all around the world. That is significant, considering we are two dudes from inner city Memphis, Tennessee. We are basically mainstream America’s nightmare or profit mule depending on which side of the fence you’re on, because we are those “statistics.” With all of that said, I suck ass at this culture stuff. Follow me here…

I love to ask a people questions about their lives’ and travels’. Most of it stems from me growing up an only-child, which there is a correlation. I remember asking Terrell about his Middle East tours of duty. After listening to him two years ago, and him still crying laughing at my follow-up questions and facial expression from back then, I was reminded that I need some work in the culture department, One story in particular made my mouth drop.

“How is the Middle East,” I asked Terrell. His reply, “It is real nice, but it is a total different culture you must learn VERY fast. Many things we do here, in America, without thinking could get you jailed or even executed.” Me being me I needed an example. Him being him, he readily obliged. Damn. Lol! Now, Terrell is a very stoic, non-emotional guy, but he is extremely warm-hearted, caring and genuine. He gave his example which was concerning their observation of Ramadan. He said that during the observation, which last almost a month, you can not drink water in public. That count for foreigners as well. I was blown away. You’re talking about a culture shock!!! Now added to that fact is most of those countries have extremely high temperatures. You can go to jail for drinking a bottle of water in the backseat of a cab. Think about that:

Going to jail for having a sip of water during late Spring, early Summer is totally beyond me.

I guess it would be extremely difficult for me to study over there in any shape, form, or fashion. I hate to sound ignorant, because I really have a love for people. I definitely would try to understand. Plus, I am almost certain that I could learn something from them as it relate to spiritual practices. Their norms are different from here in America. It is not normal for us in America to yield our own desires for a religion that we may or may not even belong to. Terrell was raised a Christian in the Southeast part of this country. So, he was both imbedded and programmed to have a natural disdain for people of Islamic faith. Then as an adult, he is put into a situation where he has to: honor this religion and submit his personal wants to the rules of said religion. No one goes to jail for not praying to Jesus in California. There are really no restrictions that are comparable, but I can go to jail just for having a drink of water. I observed that in order to be successful in Sociology, one must put aside their own cultural lenses and observe with that “Sociological eye…” Peace.

I was stuck after class today. I mean kind of mentally stuck. During my Sociology 1B class we talked about wealth inequalities. Along with the discussion we talked about “Averages.” You know the averages we all see. For example, the average American household income is X. Well, how was the “X” calculated was the topic of discussion.

Now, all these years I have been reading, I never really thought or even considered that there were different averages. There is a modal average, median, and mean (the one I am most familiar with) averages. In many cases there could be significant differences between those averages, and if you do not know that, it is very easy to be swayed to support certain policies or stances. That is very dangerous. I sat and thought of how many times I have read the words average of this or that, only to be swayed by those averages. How many times has my opinion shifted because of averages? I never questioned whether they were modal, mean, or median averages. How many people have I thought to deport because of averages? How many people have I thought of lesser intelligence because of averages? How many candidates or policies have I supported through sheer ignorance?

So, I think I have been tricked!!! Peace.

Congrats to the Denver Broncos on their Super Bowl win. I really did not care who won. Even though I would have loved to see a Black quarterback win, Peyton Manning went to my home-state university so I am not disappointed at all.

First, don’t allow the title to worry you. This is not a post steeped with tons of academic jargon. Second, I promise to not be long winded…

A few days ago I was listening to National Public Radio (NPR) while driving and I caught a few minutes of an interesting interview. It made me pull over to save the information into my phone so that I could come back to it. It only took five days, my life. The reason it caught my attention was because it made me think of Sociology in a broader sense. Even though I appreciate my intended area of Sociological focus, I found my brain challenged. (Thanks to my lady for telling me to “sophisticate” myself-hence my new found NPR love).  Dee Wilson, author of First Bite: How We Learn To Eat was being interviewed. She spoke so pointedly about the influences of culture on how we eat. Wilson talked of how disturbed she was at seeing how people are so obsessed with this thought of “clean eating.” The thought that there is a perfect diet for you. The thought that you could eat something that has ALL perfect manifestations in your body and lifestyle. Dee Wilson challenged that culture and trend. Her thoughts were that food is simply food, and that there is no perfect diet. She stated that everything could be harmful is taken to the extreme. Wilson ended the interview by saying that everything should be done in moderation. Wilson relayed that we rely too much on the trends of society to dictate our eating habits. She noted how physically damaging that could be as well as the adverse psychological affects on individuals. That simple conversation and interview came at a perfect time for me.

The timing was just crazy. It was right on time for me, because it made me open my mind to many other issues that plague our society other than race and money. The thought of eating disorders is something I never really paid attention. Hey, I am from Tennessee and you were encouraged to just eat whatever the hell you wanted to. Now that I just typed that, I just thought that maybe that is something that Wilson was talking about. A culture that dictates your eating patterns. This interview opened up these “sociological eyes” so may talk about. To hear how eating had affected her life in so many was mind boggling. There is a subculture or culture of people who have eating disorders simply because of the society in which they live. Think about that for a second. You have a disorder (something out of order; state of confusion) caused and influenced in part by the society you live in. It is pretty hard to escape cultures and societies many times. So just imagine how hard it is when that same society or culture is causing a state of confusion. Wow… Peace!

By “they,” I mean the three theories of Sociology. This will be quick. I just had a thought before class. The three main approaches in Sociology are different, but they all serve their purpose in making this world more clear. I personally favor the conflict theory that was championed by Karl Marx. I actually like Marx. I never really studied him at all. I have heard references to Marx my whole life. I mostly heard unsavory words about. So, I basically stayed away from him. Boy was I wrong. I now have the urge to study his writings in more depth. Now, that is not to say that I do not like the other approaches. Like I stated earlier, they all have their place, but I just favor one. With that said, I found a part of the Stuctural Functional very interesting. I will briefly show you what I mean.

Even though I favor the sociological approach of Marx, I found my interested piqued in an aspect of the functionalism approach. When my readings talked of the functions of the structural approach, I became more able to understand and articulate what happens in our society in certain situations. Reading about the functions of the structures set up in society, I learned of the manifest and latent functions spelled out by Merton. Manifest functions are intended and generally recognized by society. For example, going to college to and graduating is a manifest function since you go to college with the intention of graduating. Now, a latent function is unintended. The example I like was of someone going to college and meeting their soulmate, or meeting people in general. Their main intentions are to go to college and get education, but in the process meets people. That is kind of an unintended consequence. This seems so simple, but you really have to train your mind to think in those terms.

In closing, I want to explore more latent functions as well. Those unintended consequences. Even though ideas and implementations may be good, it is always good to explore the latent functions of decisions. I believe the more we explore latent functions, the better able we can become at making decisions for our lives’ and for the society in which we live. Peace!

This is just a quick post to highlight my apparent ignorance. I think I learned one of those common sense lessons about life on Monday. It’s one of those fun fact sort of facts.

Horsepower. Yep, we mentioned horsepower. It was in relation to talking about how life changed during the Industrial Revolution, hence the mention of cars. Dr. Mersmann (my Sociology professor) used the example of a car. He stated that a car that has 350 horsepowers meant that it replaced the work of 350 horses. I know that seems so simple, but I NEVER knew it meant actual horses. As if horses are the measurement unit used. I guess it is a measurement like inches, I guess. I just cant get over the fact that in 2016, we build engines or measure them by the number of horses they replace. UNREAL!!! I started to raise my hand. I actually did, but he didn’t see me.

I am still confused about this horsepower thing. Headed to school in about an hour so hopefully I will have some more thought provoking thoughts…

Well, that is not an absolute. I am more than likely going back to church, but a discussion today in class gave some of my thoughts on religion a framework in which I can understand. My thoughts on religion have totally evolved from how I was raised. Lately I have been seeing religion as a form of bondage, especially as I became more conscious of my history. So, the Karl Mark quote was a bit thought provoking. (But it’s larger than just race – hopefully I remember to blog my quick thoughts on that). It made me think of the distractions that are used to keep people from the real issues. The tactics employed to perpetuate disunity. Check this out,

“Religion is the opiate of the masses.”

Just allow me to break it down (Well, I can not overlook the input of my professor, Dr. Mersmann, so I use the phrase “…me break it down” very loosely). Now that quote contains five words that are powerful. Five simple words speak to the very essence of how society works in many aspects today. That is especially true considering the inequalities of modern American society. Look at these words and the brief thoughts that accompany them. Then just sit back and think. I did and I feel more informed and empowered, because I can articulate my shared sentiments more effectively. So, here we go:

“The masses”- the worker, proletariat, the people.

“The opiate”- opioid, to numb, take away pain, a downer, puts you to sleep, heroin -described as being “the warmest, fuzziest blanket for about six hours.”

“Religion”- Protestant = The basis of this religion suffering on this side. “Last shall be first…” (Matthew 20:16). “The meek shall inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5) “It is easier for a donkey to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (Mark 10:25). Even the Savior, Jesus, was poor and in a sense despised most if the rich.

So I wonder sometimes the reason for religion. I have no problem with believing in a higher power, but it is the religion I have a problem with. I am spiritual now. I am taking off that religion. One must ask, Is religion set up to control the populace? Or better yet, Are the Neo-Marxist correct when the ask, Is television and the internet the new opiate?