Roman Mueller 802
Reading and Writing for Social Justice
- “2 Men Walk Free After Nearly 40 Years Behind Bars”
Two Ohio men spend thirty-nine years in jail for something they never did. Ricky Jackson and Wiley Bridgeman, were accused of murder. There was much confusion on who was the murderer, but a twelve year old boy resolved the problem. He claimed that he had witnessed the crime and testified against Jackson and Bridgeman. After almost four decades in prison, Edward Vernon (the twelve year old boy witness), now 52, recants his testimony against the two Ohio men. He explains that the detective of the case had blackmailed him to testify against Jackson and Bridgeman otherwise he would arrest Vernon’s parents.
This is a perfect example of injustice in our world today. These men probably spent half of their lives behind bars and now they are finally free. And this is not only for these men, but all over the world this is happening. Amanda Knox was convicted of murder and there was no solid proof that she killed her roommate. Sometimes, the world today is incredibly unfair but no one realizes it. All these people did nothing wrong but are suffering severe consequences. These things scare me and make me think about my own life. Any of these things could technically happen to me or someone I am close to because all in all, the world is truly unjust.
- 1)Cashier in store pays kid less than he owes
2)3 months of detention for 3 spelling errors in French when I had to complete double the work of the other students
3)Restaurant and stores treat tourist poorly and with less respect
4)Police use Stop & Frisk method racistly towards Latinos and Blacks
There were many things that were unfair or unjust to me lately, but one of the worst ones to me was when in french class, I got three months of detention. My teacher, Madame ______, assigned my class a project where we had to write fifteen sentences about ourselves. Because I was tapping my pencil against the table, thinking, I had to write thirty sentences instead. Already, I think this is unfair, because there's more room for error so I could have an easier chance at a bad grade. Also, it takes up more of my time than everyone else so I should be getting extra credit. After I turned in my paper which was double the work, Madame ______ decided to humiliate me in front of the entire class and point out every error. In the end, I was missing one accent, had one spelling error, and wrote something incorrectly grammar-wise. With three mistakes in total, my teacher decided to give me three months of detention. When I found this out, I was outraged. This was completely unjust and unfair. I had written double the amount needed and when I got three minor things wrong, I received three whole months of detention and realized that the world is not fair.
- I interviewed Ms. Cunningham
What do you think is good/fair about our world?
I like to see empathy-especially from children. It warms my heart when people think outside of themselves and do something to make someones life better. I also love acceptance-when people can love each other even when they have different points of view.
What do you think is bad/unfair about our world?
-global warming has gone too far
-pharmacological companies seen to be out for profit & don't help those who need it(when they clearly could)
-mistreatment of our vets
-the teaching of hate
-racism, discrimination-the fact that we still marginalize and mistreat groups of people based on misinformation and general intolerance
There are many things that interest me in these two responses. For the first question, I think that this is something that is very rare. Many people are selfish and uncaring and not always sympathetic. However, when this does happen, people get along and there is a positive outcome. Also, there is not a lot of acceptance in our world today. There is much racism and discrimination. However, I think it is important to value these things when they do happen.
For the second question, I completely agree. There are too many things that are bad/unfair about this world and we need to fix it. Ms. Cunningham said two good things about our world and then FIVE bad things. I believe this list can keep going forever and that it is not something to be proud of.
- I watched a news story about Ray Rice winning his appeal and being allowed to go back to the NFL. Originally, he was banned because he knocked his girlfriend out in an elevator and was considered to be abusing or torturing her. However, his girlfriend stuck by his side and he was allowed to go back to the NFL. If I were Ray Rice, I would have many emotions at the time. First, I would be very disappointed and ashamed because of what I did. Also, I would be grateful my girlfriend understood it was a mistake and stayed by me. However, the hardest thing would probably giving up my football career but after finding out I could come back, I would be very happy. Except for the fact that because of what I did, not many football teams will want to sign me and it may be very hard to get a job after my harsh reputation. Overall, I think I would be pretty worried if I were Ray Rice.
- For my interview for someone who changes the world everyday, I chose my father, Matthew Mueller because he is an architect and I think he changes the world by building an environment for people and changing their experience in a small way, daily.
What is your occupation?
I am an architect in a 40-person architectural firm in New York City.
How do you change the world every day?
I don’t know if what I do for a profession changes the world on a daily basis, but I guess if you look at what I do, which is to change the built environment for a specific person or group of people, the result of my work can change their day-to-day experiences in small ways.
As an architect, I help people better understand how to use a property they may own to the betterment of their work or living. Often a client will come with their own ideas or problems they want to solve, but part of my job is to look beyond the surface and dig a little deeper into who they are and how they live or work. Then I have to take the knowledge I have in how to make a building here in the city, the budget that the client has available for the project, and combine that with those ideas or solutions to produce a design that is both a solution to the problem and affordable.
After that, I have to produce construction drawings and work with a contractor, who will construct the actual building. This process is very collaborative between the architect, the client and the contractor as unexpected problems or conflicts often arise during construction that must be solved. In this way, I guess I act as a mediator between the client and contractor, especially during those times when they do not agree on the solution.
Overall, my goal as an architect is to create something beautiful, efficient, and affordable while addressing the client’s specific needs or desires. Hopefully, both the client and contractor are happy with the process and the end result.
For a lyric that significantly expresses a social issue, I chose Redemption Song by Bob Marley. I chose this because to me, it shows one of the biggest issues of our world today, even if this song was written in the 1900’s. Redemption Song talks(or sings) about racism or discrimination as a whole. He says “Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery…” and confronts racism with his lyrics. There are so many people in the world, who mentally put themselves above others for the smallest differences, such as skin color. Right now, we are facing so many problems of racism and discrimination such as Ferguson. This song portrays these issues and shows the world what is going on through an indirect message. This is why I chose Bob Marley’s Redemption Song as a lyric that expresses a significant issue.
- For my TV show or movie, I watched a show that used to be very popular called The Suit
notice half the things I notice now. These teens are rich, spoiled and very well-treated kids. Just by
watching this I get angry at them for being so bratty and selfish. However,
Hollywood is making these characters seem cool, funny, and everything that a little kid wants to be.
Another thing I noticed when watching this show is that all of the perfect and wealthy people are
often white. The janitors, doorman, and others with less prominent jobs or imperfect people are
latino or black. This showed me that this show is a little stereotypical. I think that they portray these
teens terribly because almost all teens in real life are completely different. I know that this is most
likely why parents say these types of shows are bad for you. I feel that this is just judging teens
based on no evidence and giving them an image that is completely wrong.
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