Pilsen: Heart of Chicago :)

As I look through the many communities that Chicago is composed of, the one I chose to look more into is Pilsen. I have personally visited Pilsen once since I moved to Chicago. I am originally from Carpentersville a northwestern suburb. The main reason I decided to visit and explore Pilsen last year was because I can honestly say that I missed my mexican roots from back home. When I visited Pilsen, I felt more at home and it was nice to see how knit of a community Pilsen really is. For those who are not familiar with what Pilsen has to offer, it is a Mexican American community, filled with rich culture. Pilsen can  be reached through CTA's pink line and a variety of buses. Once in Pilsen, one can gain a sense of its culture through its many unique restaurants and cafe that give you a taste of great mexican food. One can also visit its well known Mexican museum thats exhibits a variety of themes, such as art. With the upcoming day of the dead November 1st, the musuem exhibits artifacts and alters in honor of the dead. Churches around Pilsen are also a unique place to visit, giving you a sense mexican traditions. While walking through Pilsens street one sees the carts selling anything from tamales, fruit and elotes. Pilsen also has a lot of beautiful murals that represent Mexican culture and famous artists and people who made history. Often one may go through Halsted and dismiss and overview the numerous art gallaries that make Pilsen even more unique. The one thing one cant miss when visiting Pilsen are the panaderias, that sell traditional mexican bread. All of these and more aspects make the community of Pilsen stand out. Its easy to look over all the details that make it stand out from the rest, but when I visit Pilsen its a great feeling and vibe that I get. Out of the many communities in Chicago, Pilsen the heart of Chicago is an extroardinary community worth visiting.

"Ilegal Who?": Since when is working ILLEGAL?

http://standwitharizona.com/blog/2011/08/18/obama-amnesty-begins-halts-deportations-for-300000-illegal-aliens-offers-work-permits/

The topic of immigration has been present throughout all my life. I grew up living with two quote en quote "illegal immigrants". Both of my parents came to this country illegally at a young age not just for a better future for their family but for themselves. Their motivation to come to a country that promised opportunity and success, was stronger than their fear to leave their family and home country behind. When I was nine years old my dad received a letter notifying him that he was going to be deported and that he had a court hearing with which he had to show up with a lawyer and defend his case, or ICE would just come to our house and take him away. Now that I look back at this situation I realize how cold hearted people have to be to take away a father from his children and not realize the harm they cause or feel empathy when they see the tears that roll down the children's eyes. When I read this article I was amazed and shocked by how threatened people feel by "illegal Immigrants" who like my parents only come to work and do their best to fit into the American society. The way this website is so harsh places "illegals" on the spotlight as criminals that are to be thrown out because they pose a threat to society and all Americans. The fact that this article is from a very right winged view and is framed in the Illegal framing just like Lakoff and Ferguson point out puts immigrants as criminals that are to be punished and if they are not punished it is immoral. I personally think that this way of framing undocumented immigration relates to what we discussed  in class, overlooks and by no means considers the thoughts and feelings of the immigrants themselves. Because there are so many ways of viewing and framing this issue its results impact not only Americans in specific but most importantly the children of these immigrants. The way I view immigration has a lot to do with my own personal experience and how I grew up in fear of losing both my parents without prior notice. I truly am proud of my parents who now are documented, but have gone through a lot to succeed in this country. I cant express enough how important it is for this issue to be resolved where all aspects contributing to immigration are addressed. Its not just about kicking them out or building a steel wall around this country, but about dissecting every detail to ensure a better nation. The word "illegal" in my own view should not even come close to immigrant, because like most of my family they only come to work. How can the desire to work and reach ones goals, be ILLEGAL?.....

Growing up in my household :))

Growing up in a Mexican household many may think that my father was the typical macho, who believed women belonged in the kitchen and were not meant to work. It is easy to see how one would think that my mom was the typical stay home mom, who made our lunch and cleaned the house. As I hear stories from my mom and dad, as they grew up, that was their lives. Their fathers or my grandfather’s grew up believing that their wives were to care for their children and cook, while they went out to work and brought home quote en quote the bacon. This type of family model was that of what is considered a very conservative family model. The Strict Family Model is what is most closely associated with the conservative right wing political party. The Strict Family Model is based on the belief that all evil is to be combatted and that father is viewed in a way as the hero figure of the household. Children are to be taught discipline in what is usually called tough love. They are to learn on their own and set strict guidelines where little to no affection is shown. In this model fathers don’t like people to interfere in the way they guide their family, just like conservatives believe that little to no government involvement is for the best of the nation. The Strict Father Model is a good guide to reasons conservatives have ideas for certain issues such as abortion and feminism. On the other hand, I believe to have grown in a home that follows The Nurturant Parent Model. This model focuses more on love and communication between parents and children. It’s not about punishment but rather teaching children evils and guiding them through the process of learning or becoming independent. It also encompasses the idea that overall children are to have fun and enjoy life. If parents grow close to their children then they are more likely to want to help others and their communities. The liberals tend to follow this type of family model to mold their own beliefs in crucial issues such as abortion and multiculturalism. Both of these family models give insight to the conservative and liberal political viewpoints. I am glad to have been raised in a Nurturant Parent Model, where I have been raised with love and where punishment is not always the answer, but rather learned through my mistakes for my own benefit. I definitely consider myself a liberal, and hope to continue this education to the generations to come. I don’t agree with the tough love motto of the Strict Family Model used by the conservative standpoint.

"Normal" Framing :/

Article: Right Wing News
Obama's White House is a 'hostile environment for females that treats women like meat'
By, David Gardner
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2038386/Obamas-White-House-hostile-environment-women-treated-like-meat.html

The issue at hand in this specific article from The Right Wing News deals with how females within the White House have expressed their concern with being left out of important decisions and the overall treatment inside the White House. They have reported feeling basically like a piece of meat, that is rarely taken into account. The way this article frames this issue is in my view in a negative connotation towards president Obama and his colleges such as Rahm Emmanuel and Larry Summers. In a way putting them out in the open that women are not being given the deserved treatment throughout the government offices, making them stand out as sexists.  Analyzing this article I realize that a lot can be said just by viewing who wrote this article. This article is written by The Right Wing News, the name does say it all. It is written by conservatives aka those in favor of Republicans. Taking this into account one can see that Obama being a democrat, this article would be framed to negatively affect his image. Just as the article states according to them, Obama is at his lowest rates of approval by the American people. By putting out news like these and framing them as if Obama really did not give women the right treatment, this would favor the Republican party and Republicans. because this would affect Obama image. This article makes sense and is "normal" for those who are right winged, because they will most likely a majority of the time be in favor of anything that makes the democratic party look bad. This narrative to those who are republicans, would make them happy to hear that Obama is doing something that could give them a potential lead in the upcoming presidential elections. The framing of this article is very interesting because it leads those who view this article as normal to have hope that the Republicans will regain office if the democratic party continues to take actions like these. While reading this I personally do not agree with how this article is framed but I can most definitely see how it is framed to satisfy those who are right winged. I realize how much of an affect the frame and most importantly who writes the articles can have on common beliefs and in political aspects.

A view from the other Side :)

These are the two blog post I commented on. I found it so interesting to read through my classmates blogs because they give you a different perspective on issues while learning more about them. http://unknownfear99.blogspot.com/2011/08/somewhere-in-middle.html?showComment=1316098370526#c4632097792689765690

http://mluna-liveyourdreams.blogspot.com/2011/09/way-that-i-see-work-is-not-same-in.html?showComment=1316098824328#c3780213787572064349

Framing :o !!!

During our class activity we had the opportunity to view and talk about various articles. The articles specifically allowed us to view how different news reports and location of publication frame different issues and situations differently. All of them starting from the title have power and influence geared towards a specific group of people and with a clear idea of the image and message they want to portray to others. The articles our group got were focused mainly on Obama and his speech and plan for creating more jobs for the country. They all spoke and centered on this issue of jobs and the way Obama planned to fix the high unemployment rates. The way these articles framed this issue was quite different. In one of our article from the Fox News, the article was completely bashing on Obama and how unrealistic his plan was. That in reality his plan would never go through, thus this article was completely framed in a way where Obama image could be viewed as negative to the public. On the other hand there was another article that framed Obama plan in a way that it showed that even though his plan was vague in certain ways, because the GOP had no way to stand against it, Obama plan would help generate a positive image for himself towards a larger audience. These frames make sense in a way where just by reading the title of a article you know the intention it was written with, its clear that the writer wants you to read his or her article and end having a certain idea about the issue at hand. These different forms of narratives reflect different powers in that, if the most famous newspaper in the US decided to publish a negative view towards Obama plan, this newspaper clearly has the power to make a large sum of people to think that way to. Those who hold the power to get written work out there largely contribute to common social beliefs. Its amazing how one article or one news report has the power to change and influence the thinking of many people. I personally think that those who write an article and decide to frame it, first look at the issue at hand, what is being discussed? who's involved? location? and then decide with the companies own values and beliefs how they want to make the news available to a larger audience. What reaction do they want to create to the people who will be reading this. Do they want people to be happy, sad, scared or alarmed? I think these are the main things that writers take into consideration and should take into consideration when writing. By knowing what reaction they want from their readers any writer can then frame his work in such a way.

Unmeasured Effects !!!

After reading the news story " 4 year old black boy Wants to have a Gun" by CBS 2 Chicago News, I realize how framing can really affect the way certain races are viewed within a society. At a first glance at the interview with the small boy, one immediately misinterprets the boys words. One begins to think that this boy at such a young age is already geared towards violence within his community and his home. The story is set/ framed in a way that it gains attention because it promotes fear within this community and those surrounding. They plant doubt to people about the security of the neighborhood and how much they can in reality trust the police. But most importantly what I saw is how they so negatively portray and reinforce stereotypes about African American people. Taking into consideration that this 4 year old boy is African American, people will pay more attention and become more alarmed than if a 4 year old white boy said he wanted a gun when he grew older. I think this really goes to show how Clark and Ivanic place so much emphasis on the power the press has to bring about common beliefs in society. And most importantly who has the power to write? its not just about writing but about having enough power and influence to get your writing out there, to be read by a larger audience. Something that is very commonly reinforced in our education system. Those who have power will continue to have it because their children are the ones receiving the better education and the opportunities that those minority communities will continue to receive a bad, mediocre education. Thus increasing the cultural capital of those few fortunate children and funneling others towards the blue collar jobs in the work force.  If I was writing my own version of this story I would most definitely stress the importance of trusting the police in any situation, instead of trying to take matters into your own hands. I would take the frame of making this 4 year old boy look like he truly wants to help out his community and make his race proud. The way stories like these are framed come to affect a community largely if the right message is not sent out. Those who have the power to write don't realize how their words and ideas can create and shape popular beliefs.