Immigration and Organizations

Last Monday, we watched a movie about immigrants in west Asia. They were trying to find a better place to live. They wanted to get out from the oppression they were facing in their homeland. The video was able to show  immigration does not only happen here in America, but it happens any and everywhere across the world. After watching the video, I thought about how some of  the immigrants in the video are dealing with a harsher environment than the immigrants in America deal with.

http://www.vbmap.org/pictures/world/world-map1.gif


A big debate in our country is controlling immigration. A lot of the debate boils down to human rights. Why should we deprive someone of trying to make a better for life for their families and themselves? I believe in controlling immigration, but at the same time I do not know all the rules and regulations one has to face in order to become a citizen of America. We saw in the video some of the people were waiting for six months just to even be considered for citizenship. They had to lay-low for months. If they were caught, they were beaten, then sent to another country where they may face more punishment through violence. It is a scary deal.

The video discussed different organizations that help immigrants migrate to new places. They have their own communities within the different organizations. Here are a few websites I was able to find:

http://www.iom.int/jahia/jsp/index.jsp
http://www.irco.org/
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/ell/organizations.htm

The links above deal with migration from all over. They are not designated to one particular group or affiliation.



http://usaimmigrationgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Border-Patrol2.jpg

I have found videos that deal with immigration. One of them deals with an economic aspect of immigration. Crossings not only occur across fences like we saw in the video last Monday, but crossing can occur by sea as well. Some of the videos may be graphic, so view with caution:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDA8KJlX1pw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIwdiB6Eh4M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlmczFqvAtk&feature=fvst

The video of the women with her baby being drug across the ground just made me sit back and say 'They are human beings too'. Human rights, they have the same treatment we do. I may be for controlling immigration in this country, but I do not want to see a woman who is pregnant, or a baby being drug across the ground. It really made me furious. I hope the people were able to gain a better life. They left Africa for a reason. The people who died on the boat were trying to make a better life for themselves. They had no chance to make it. There are many though who have a chance. I hope they make it. We could all take a page from migration or immigration, and that is to gain more. Make yourself better and your family.

Politics Are No Fun

Chapter 3&8 in our Barbara Miller book talks about Economics and Politics. Chapter 3 rings really true among our society when it comes to the consumption of products. For me, I consume movies on DVD and/or Blu-Ray. Some people like to shop for clothes. One thing we all shop for though is groceries. We all need food and water for survival.Our society is full of consumers. We want everything.

                                        http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/14/Blu-ray_Disc.svg
We have industries, or places that are able to produce many products, but then again a lot of our products come from overseas. A lot of companies have left the United States to head for other countries where the cost of production is cheaper. The division of labor in this country is how the book describes it. Certain jobs require certain people in order to achieve a task. That is universal across the world. The old way of thinking in this country, and you see this in old commercials where women were viewed to be the stay-at-home moms, while the dads' went and worked. It didn't matter the job title, men were to bring the paychecks home in the family. They were the provider of the family. Obviously, these roles have changed over the years. Now, women in a lot of cases are more successful than their husbands, or significant others.


Agriculture,horticulture, farming, harvesting crops are still a big part of American value. The Midwest is full of farms. Wheat is a big crop. Florida grows the oranges. Georgia grows peaches. Many states across the country grow different crops for economic survival. Recently, we've had a cantaloupe crisis. Jensen Farms in Holly, Colorado is where the listeria outbreak (tainted cantaloupe) has been traced back to. Something like a recall, and in this case an outbreak of a deadly virus can financially hurt a business, or a family farm.


http://stillisstillmoving.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/farm.jpg

An outbreak can cause the cantaloupe farmers, or any produce sales to go down because of fear. We have many dairy farms in this country where our milk, eggs, chicken, cheese, etc. come from. The people that work in these professions should get paid more than what they have. They are the real laborers of this country.

                                                         http://taikajuoma.ath.cx/bat/milk.jpg


Our political system in America is a democracy. Their are three branches to our government, legislative, executive, and judicial. We have two big political parties, democrats and republicans. The political system and economic system go hand-in-hand in our country, which is the case in a lot of countries. Our lack of guidance in politics has led to our economic crisis that began in the latter part of 2008. It continues today. Over three years of an economic crisis affects everyone. Jobs are harder to find. Go back to what I talked about earlier, certain people do certain things, there may not be a job out there for that certain someone to work.

                                http://www.blackballot.com/Report/political_system_031807.jpg
Then, move down the chain of command, each state has their own political system. Though, lower on the totem-pole, they are still a part of government. Many people in state or local offices can one day become a federal official, maybe President.

Other places around the world have monarchs, which is kings, queens, princes. Some places have dictators. Tribes have chiefs. Political systems just vary so much. Some places have claimed to have free-elections, but then the people go to a voting booth, and they may be forced to vote for a certain person, or something bad could happen to them. Laws are different from country-to-country. Countries, states, tribes all have norms in common. That is what can help them to have a political system, and a sustaining political system. Some people don't realize that America maybe one of the youngest countries, but we have the most sustaining political system throughout the world. Our constitution is one of the world's most sustaining constitutions in the world. The laws in the original Bill of Rights are still used in this country.


http://www.elcivics.com/constitution_quill_pen.jpg

Language, Religion, & Art

We all communicate through language. Whether it is verbally speaking, sending a message on facebook/through email/text, or hand gestures/facial expression. In school, we can take classes to learn other languages, so when we go to another country we can understand at the very least the basic phrases/words. I've taken some spanish courses, but it was high school five years ago. I remember some words and phrases, but not a lot. English is my first language, but I still had to learn it. Whether it was my parents teaching me words/phrases, or I observed other people talking.

Some languages are just noises to us, but to those who speak it, they hear and understand complete words and sentences.

Just think, the click language is probably one of the oldest languages known to man. Some languages had been around for thousands of years, but no one even knew it. The civilization hadn't been discovered for a very long time.

The earliest known written language comes from Mesopotamia, Egypt, and China. According to Miller, all the early writing systems used logographs. These were signs that indicate a word, sound, or syllable. Scholars believe that writing had to do with a civilizations development.



http://ildisordine.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/nimisitelen.png




Religion is a big aspect of a culture. Miller defines religion as beliefs and behavior related to supernatural beings and forces. Religion helps me view the world. If you believe in something, it will give you a view of the world. Ritual is a big part of religion too. A ritual for me is prayer. I'm a Christian, and I believe in Jesus Christ. One of the important components for me is prayer. I've been to Baptist churches, a Methodist church, and Non-denominational churches. Beliefs vary through the different denominations, but I am a member of a Baptist church.


http://www.nashvillescene.com/binary/bccf/1314071557-easter-cross.jpg


My mom was raised Catholic. My grandmother is Catholic. We've had talks about the different beliefs, and they can get heated, but we all respect what the other's denomination believes. The big difference between our beliefs come to prayer. Praying to the Virgin Mary is a big part of Catholic tradition. Going to confessional is a big part of Catholic tradition. In my belief, you can pray to God and be forgiven.


http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/06/11/article-1025811-0191C73600000578-43_468x349.jpg





Magic isn't a religion. Magic is a person's attempt to compel supernatural forces and beings to act in certain ways (Miller book). I can remember when I was younger, my stepfather ran a card shop. It was full of baseball, football, basketball cards. Also, in this card shop were magic playing cards. They were big back in the 90s. When the shop closed, he brought home some of the cards. I believe still in the garage are some of the magic cards. I don't know if they were just playing cards, or if people thought they could do something to someone for their own purpose.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/aa/Magic_the_gathering-card_back.jpg

Other religions around the world include Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, and Ras Tafari. Every religion has a myth, or a story that goes along with their religion. Islam has the story of the prophet Muhammad. Judaism has the teachings that God is one, unique, and all powerful. Hinduism has the story of the deities. These things all revolve around religion.


Art is part of our culture. This goes all the way to cave paintings. Art can be an artist who paints, or an artist can be someone who sings (Ex: Steven Tyler). Some people can create a painting with their lyrics. Some artists are in the world of theater. Some art is in the architecture of buildings. Art is for expression, mainly a mood. Lyrics will tell you how an artist is feeling. A painting will express what the artist wants you to feel. If its a dark picture, then they may want you to feel sad.


http://www.absoluteradio.co.uk/images/galleries2/20080121/1171979632_steven_tyler_singing_again.jpg


http://cameronlatta.com/images/Empire_State_Building.jpg


http://artsytime.com/img/artwork/leonid-afremov-oil-paintings/leonid-afremov-oil-paintings10.jpg

Travel and sports are a big part of American culture. People are constantly on the go. I enjoy to travel. I've never been outside the United States, but I hope one day to be able to. I've been as far west as California and as far North as New York. A lot of people enjoy going to the mountains for a weekend trip, or taking a week to go to the beach.

Americans love their sports. NFL football is the main sport. The fact that the past two Super Bowls have set all-time television ratings in incredible. Sports, both pro and college, pull in a lot of money, and fans travel from all over the country, and in some cases the world to view them in person. I am a fan of the NFL, MLB, NBA, WWE, PGA Tour, Tennis, and sometimes watch MMA. Back in Roman days, their sport was in the Roman Coliseum with humans fighting for their lives. The times have changed, and now sports are made for game purposes, not life.


http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/photo/2010-01/51615140.jpg


http://blog.svconline.com/briefingroom/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/wm_03302008ca_244.jpg

Family History

For my family history, I've found most of my dad's side of the family. My grandmother and I sat down, from there she pulled papers out that went back to her great grandfather. This is my great great great grandfather. On the piece paper were his kids. He and his wife had four children. The first was born in 1839. The youngest was born 1849. Everyone was born in eastern North Carolina. Not sure exactly was city at the time. On my dads' side of the family, we are part Irish, Welsh, and English. Not sure where ties in at, but that is in our heritage. We only have back until the 1840s.

http://flagspot.net/images/i/ie.gif

My great great grandfather and his wife had seven children. One of which was my great grandfather, the father of my grandmother. My grandmother's father was born on May 18, 1886. He was from Eastern North Carolina. My grandmother had six brothers and sisters. Two of them died as infants. My grandmother was born in Moyock, North Carolina. She (grandmother) was born on September 19, 1929.

http://eche.co.uk/images/british-flag.jpg

My grandfather, who died in February 1998 was born in Windsor, North Carolina. He (grandfather) was in the Navy. Before retiring from the Navy, my grandparents had four children, three girls (my aunts) and one boy (my father). All three of my aunts were born in Portsmouth, Virginia. My father was born in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. My father is the youngest of all the children. After all the kids were born, my grandfather retired from the Navy and took a job in Gainesville, Georgia.

http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/flags/countrys/europe/wales.gif

Gainesville is where most of my family now resides. I was born in Gainesville, along with three of my cousins. My sister was born in California. Two of our cousins were born overseas. One is adopted from China. The other was born in Okanawa, a Japanese territory, but at the time it was a territory of the United States. I had a cousin who died at 22-months old. He would've been the third oldest out of all the cousins. Now in 2011, my grandmother has seven great grandchildren. Three of my cousins have children, and my sister has a little girl.




On my mothers' side of the family, I have two more nationalities from this side. They are German and French. My grandmother (My moms' mother) helped me with this side of the family. Her dad was of German descent (My great-great-great grandfather) and the French descent comes in somewhere around her great great grandmother. My grandmother is originally from Kansas. She was born on September 5, 1940, but in 1955 she moved to California and has been there ever since. My mom is from California, along with my sister. My moms' dad (my grandfather) was born in Gainesville on March 3, 1935. He died in February of 1999. I do not have any information about just his side of the family. Most of the information pertains to my grandmothers' side of the family.


http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-zone/europe/european-union/germany/images/germany-flag.jpg



http://ambafrance-us.org/local/cache-vignettes/L453xH300/french_flag-1fd9b.jpg


My grandmother was able to trace her family history all the way back to my great-great-great-great grandparents. They were born in 1837 and 1838. My relatives come from different states. Kentucky, Texas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, and California.

My two great aunts (my grandmother's sisters') live in California. My aunt and my two cousins also live in California. When I flew out there this summer, I was able to see all my relatives who live there. It is the first time that I can remember seeing everyone on one visit while I've been out there. My grandmother sent me pictures to post, and with them are descriptions. They are of old relatives of the family, along with a link to a Sears catalog posting, which my grandmothers' family bought and built a house from this catalog.

http://txtroyer.weebly.com/   (Sears Ad for Home)

Great Great Great Grandparents

 

Lewis Lunz                Germany --  1885  Came to US 1910

Unknown

 

Great Great Grandparents

 

John Husler               France

Mary Lunz                  Illinois  Mother of Clara

 

                                    Emil                           1902

                                    Clara Julia                   1904  Mother of Patricia

                                    Florence Ida                 1906

                                    Lewis                           1908                                     

 

Great Grandparents

 

Clara  Julia Husler          Born Kansas                    July 27, 1904  Mother of Patricia

Frank Ernest Blanton     Born  Kansas                   May 30 1896

            

                                    Frank  Ernest                 September 18, 1933    Texas

                                    Mary Ellen                     January 23, 1936        Texas

                                    Florence Ilene                February 1, 1938         Kansas

                                    Patricia Ann                   September 5, 1940      Kansas

                                    Phillip Lawrence             June 13, 1943              Colorado

                                    Clare Suzanne                August 12, 1949          Missouri

 

Grandparents

 

Patricia Blanton         Coffeyville Kansas     September 5, 1940    Mother of Jamie

Jimmy Wallace          Gainesville, Georgia    March 3, 1935

 

                                Jamie Leann                July 26, 1957   California  Mother of Charles

                                Julie Lynn                    September 28, 1958

 

Parents

 

Jamie Leann Wallace

Warren Phelps

 

                                Krystal Leann           

                                Charles Edward

 

My Dad's family

 

Great Great Great Grandparents

 

Lewis E Blanton                            Kentucky    Born 1837  died 1916

Barbara  ???                                  Kentucky   Born 1838  Died 1918

 

 

Great Great Grandparents

 

Anderson Clinton Blanton                Kentucky    Born

Mary S. Bell                                    ??            1864  Died 1910

 

                                                        Clyde Anderson Blanton

                                                        Frank Ernest Blanton            1896

                                                        Florence Blanton                   1898

 

Pictures Below:

 Appelonia Lunz, Mary (Lunz) Husler's Mom.jpg Clara Huslter (Blanton), Probably Belpre KS.jpg Husler Siblings L-R Louis, Florence, Emil, Clara, On Farm, Belpre,KS.jpg Joyce (DeShazer) Blanton, April, 1957 Indpendence, MO.jpg Lewis and Barbara Blanton Grave Stone.jpg L-R Back Row, Clara Blanton, Frank III, Marty Koeth, Joyce Blanton, Lisa Blanton, Collen Koeth, Frank Jr., Front L-R Florence Husler, Unknown, Clara Husler.jpg L-R Frank Blanton Jr., Wife Joyce, Sister Florence Koeth, Mom Clara Blanton, Independence Mo, Early 60's.jpg L-R Frank III, Frank Jr. Blanton, July 2007 Pat (Blanton) Scully's House, Mira Loma CA.jpg L-R Frank III, Frank Jr., Joyce Blanton, July 2007, Pat (Blanton) Scully's House, Mira Loma CA.jpg L-R Joyce Blanton, Frank Jr., Pat Blanton, Florence (Blanton) Koeth, Early 60's, CA.jpg L-R Mary Blanton, Florence Blanton, Clara (Husler) Blanton,.jpg L-R Mr. Robinson, John Husler, Belpre, KS.jpg Mary Lunz - John Husler's Wife.jpg Post Card, Clara (Husler) Blanton To Sister In Law Gladys, After Move To Norwalk CA.jpg

Kin Folk and social structure

                                                                  Kin Folk

Chapter six was about kinship and family. In class, we did a group exercise of making our own kinship tree. It was interesting to hear the different family and friends we claim within our inner circle. Some of us included every family member from parents to cousins, and some of us didn’t. All of us claimed very close friends within our inner circle. That didn’t surprise me at all. Your closest friends are like brothers and sisters. You depend on them for advice and support, as well as a good time. I didn’t realize until this chapter how big your inner circle will be once you get married (if you get married or have a significant other).

It’s going to be interesting to see what we (students) find out about our family. I don’t know much about where my descendants came from. I know some of my family history goes back to Wales, so I have some Welsh running through my veins. I’ve never been to Europe, but one day I would like to. I would like to trace my roots back to Wales and see where our family came from, and how the dynamics of life are different than here in the United States of America. Now, some of the people I included in my inner circle live in places other than Georgia. They are California, North Carolina and South Carolina.  I know for my project I’m going to look through both my moms side of the family, as well as my dads side of the family. So to use a term from the chapter, I’m going to trace using bilineal descent.  

Here’s a question I have, when the chapter talks about ritually established kinship, is this strictly religion? For me, I think a ritual such as getting together with some friends to watch an NFL game is establishing kinship. If you are getting together on a regular basis, then isn’t that a ritual? Can this not be counted? You are expanding or deepening your already inner circle.

The other intriguing part of the chapter was about marriage. I want to get married one day. I want it to be a special person that I marry. I want to have kids. I probably would just want two. I’m not picky as to whether it would be a girl and boy, or both are girls and/or boys. I want to establish a household.  I don’t want to have more than one wife. I don’t condone or believe in polygamy. How do people balance having more than one spouse? The thought of it is crazy. It seems like it would be hard enough to help with one spouse, let alone five. On top of that, a polygamists have a lot of kids. Have you watched the documentaries about these things? They creep me out. I’ve attached a link to my blog about polygamy. It explores the fundamentalist who believe in polygamy, and it looks at child abuse cases. Give it a look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITzchbdSvzA

I can't begin to tell you about how I can't believe in incest. Some cultures, this is normal. Here in America, incest exist. Their are laws prohibiting this type of relationship, but people still do it. In the earlier video about polygamy, their is talk of child abuse. In some situations the child abuse can turn into fathers raping their children, mainly the girls. It is a very sick thing to even think of, but the sad truth is this exist in our society. People suffer tremendously from this (incest and polygamy). Most documentaries I've seen about polygamy or incest always involve the woman who isn't into it, but somehow she is forced into it. In some cases, their are men who are forced into it, but it is a rarity. I hope one day, the people who want out of the bad situation are able to get the help they need so they can get out. I like seeing people happy, and it seems like most people aren't happy in these situations.

                                                                    Structure

Chapter seven talks about social groups and structure. Earlier in the blog, I talked about kinship tying into rituals like watching football. Well, I definitely know that I belong to a social group of football fans. I belong to the NFL, Minnesota Vikings and Tennessee Volunteers social group. We share a lot of common interests, and the main one is football.We (the social group) have that in common. I like wrestling, so I can associate with the social group of wrestling fans. All of these for me would be a secondary group of social groups. Most of us have been through a graduation ceremony, so we belong to the social group of graduates. There are so many different kinds of social groups, and they are all around us.  

We also learn about friendship from this chapter. Friends are very important to me. With my very close friends, we share a lot of common interests. The main tie between us all is our faith in God. From there it is sports, music, movies, etc. I’ve been a best man in a wedding, shared numerous birthdays with friends and been there to see their biggest moments. I would not trade a single moment. To me, a good friend has the same values and morals that you have. They are brutally honest with you. They hold you to a high standard and tell you when you’re right or wrong. They give you support, just like you should give them support. You open up your home, just like they would open theirs up to you. I don’t know where I would be without my friends. I look up to them and respect the hell out of them. 

Chapter 1&2

Chapter one starts off by describing how Hollywood has ‘glamorized’ what an anthropologists is like. I agree, but at the same time I disagree. In Jurassic Park, people die. Death is not glamorous. They also have a plot for the third movie where paleontology is falling by the wayside. People will have to find a new hobby. There is nothing great about that situation. However-with this being said, archaeology, paleontology and any research about prehistoric human things (culture, origins, diversity, etc.) falls under anthropology. There are four types of anthropological study. Some argue there is actually five types. The two most interesting fields out of the ‘five’ are applied anthropology and cultural anthropology. It is cool to go back into history and find how and why things change. Why does a society just disappear off a map? How was this society able to outlast another?

Evolution is also part of anthropological studies. So many arguments, so many theories. When it comes to evolution, when you have heard one argument, you have heard them all. The only time evolution sounded remotely interesting is in Jurassic Park, Jeff Goldblum makes the famous quote of “Life finds a way”.  Sometimes it is crazy to think of how things evolve, and how some things sustain through dramatic changes.

Linguistic anthropology becomes very interesting, especially in the technology era we live in today. There are languages that are extinct now. They do not exist. The only people that may know how to speak certain languages are experts, or descendents of a tribe of the language that is deemed to be extinct. I compare this to our technology age, because we as a technological society has developed a new language. We have ‘lol’, ‘haha’, lmao’, etc. Obviously this is for either texts, instant messages and email. Does this show as a society that we do not like to have one on one interaction anymore? And, for some people, this language or ‘lingo’ is very foreign. No different then going to another country where you have no clue what is being spoken.

When it comes to cultural anthropology and culture in general, we all belong to one (culture). Whether it is a big group of people you are joined with, or a small group. The United State of America has so many cultures within itself. We all abide by the same laws (Constitution) and the same freedoms. However, we are all free to express ourselves in ways we feel is comfortable. People from others countries are shocked when they come here and see the expressions overflowing. Just like we would be shocked if we went to a place and wondered why people were acting the way they did. Here we have freedom of religion, and that is a big part of culture. The belief systems are all over every state in the country. What foods we eat can define what culture we belong too. In America we have vegetarians and vegans. We also have people who eat anything they want. In some countries it can be disrespectful to your belief system to eat meat, or certain kinds of meat. So right there food and religion intertwine. If you fast for a period of time due to your beliefs then you belong to a culture. Sports, or fans of sports teams/players belong to a culture. I belong to the football, golf, tennis, nascar and wrestling culture. I’m a fan of those sports. I’m like a lot of people in America when it comes to technological advances, I was against some of the change, but now I embrace it, and I put stock in some of the materials that come along with it. Televisions, blu-ray movies, cell phones, and computers are a part of the materials.

Culture is learned. Our values and morals are taught us by someone or observation. With your beliefs it is though two things plus reading texts (if your belief has a text). It is no different than learning how to swing a golf club or ride a bike. You practice your skills until you reach a point of where you know what you are doing. You will not need someone there to show you your flaws. You will know what they are. Also, Americans are taught that we are the best country in the world, and we can do anything we set our minds to. I believe this. We are an ethnocentric society, but we do not suppress people who want to succeed like other countries. Some countries do not have the freedoms that we share as a country.

Chapter two is about the research of culture. I had an anthropology teacher who would go to the Middle East for research work, and the stories he told were incredible. To see the pictures of excavation sites of things from thousands of years ago were incredible. It is amazing how preserved some things are after thousands of years. He also leads excavations in Montana and the Midwest of the United States. They look for dinosaur remains. He is how Alan Grant was in Jurassic Park, real researchers look in the ground for bones. If there was an island that harbored dinosaurs back to life, I could see him going for the spectacle, but he knows real research is done in the field of excavation.

The professor also taught our class that you want to respect the things in the field, as well as the country you are in. If you are in a foreign place, you do not want to overstay your welcome. When he talked to us about the Middle East, he told us he would not go back until peace was brought back to the area where he had been doing research. He knew that as an American in the place he was in, he could be in danger. That was something I never thought abut from a research standpoint. Some places may not want you there. You have to respect it, whether you agree with it or not.