Amanda McCaslins Discussion Alcatraz

Hey everyone here I was having difficulties replying to a discussion on Amanda McClaslin's Post on Alcatraz.  So I've decided to post it here on my blog.  Please feel free to respond and add input  to our discussion!

Professor Leonard:
What do you think the history focuses on Alcatraz as a place of incarceration and not the larger history; why do you think tourists are more likely to flock to see a prison (what is that about) than a place that sparks historic memory as it relates to Native American resistance, Native struggle, and the larger history of the conquest?

Amanda:
I think tourist flock to see Alcatraz as a prison because there is more “build up” to see it. There is movies made about the escape from Alcatraz, the prison housed some of the most notorious criminals in America. I really don’t believe people know how much history is on the island for Native Americans. They don’t really know the importance and how the stance on Alcatraz really brought different Native American tribes together that form a more united force.

Professor Leonard:
How does imagining the U.S. as a nation of laws, crime and punishment, where bad people are locked up away from "good people" offer a more appealing narrative than Native American genocide?

Me:
I believe this statement can only be conceptualized by the insight of the reader. We say we are a nation of laws that are keeping “the bad” from “the good” but in all reality we could put it in the context of we are nation of laws that imprisons individuals who go against anything the government doesn’t believe in. This translates to the Native American Genocide in the sense that it hides that there are flaws within our system; Alcatraz being another one of them. Our nation had already taken away their land, now we have made it impossible for them to live among the land that we had so graciously “given” back due to the inadequate sanitation facilities. This brings in all of the elements of discrimination, racism, inequality and social injustice.

The Underground Railroad

“Chattel back to its rightful owner.”  Laws were passed forbidding slaves to learn to read, play the drums (a signal in many cases that there were people nearby to assist them in escape), become ministers and, of course, travel freely” (Solomon 2003, 2).  Could you imagine living in a time where the mere color of your skin determined your ability to learn basic knowledge?  Living a life that revolved around being someone else’s property, only dreaming but to one day escape and be freed of this every day torture.  What hope do these people even have when all odds stack up against them?  And the government is doing everything in their will to ensure that the law keeps them in this world.  The only glimpse of a better future was known as the Underground Railroad. 

The Underground Railroad was a movement during a time when finding freedom was suicidal.  As the runaways would escape to such places as Canada, and towards the eastern states “Fugitives were hidden by friendly folks everywhere imaginable:  stables, attics, storerooms, under feather beds in secret passages.  They were disguised in many different masks; they moved from station to station by boat, wagon and train; routes of travel were changed at a moment’s notice if danger anticipated” (Solomon 2003, 4).  Everything was by word of mouth and the slightest mistake would lead you to the nearest cemetery. One of the most famous “conductors” was a woman known as Moses- Harriet Tubman. 

Harriet Tubman was one of the most influential key figures in the Abolitionist Movement.  As a free slave Tubman made it a goal of hers to free all of her friends and family.  Going back down to the south she was able to go against all odds and freed hundreds of slaves.  Her will and drive for a better future earned her the name of “Moses,” a biblical reference referring to the story of Moses who freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, to freedom in Israel.   Her effort through the Underground Railroad was one of the largest threats towards the slavery plantation system at the time. 

 The amount of runaways do to the success of the Underground Railroad did not settle well with the federal government.  In 1850 they passed the Fugitive Slave Act that made federal assistance available to slave owners who reclaimed their slaves as well as the right to capture free Blacks and claim them as their own.  “Negros is so inferior that they have no rights which a white man (was) bound to respect” (Solomon 2003, 5). 

Before this course I knew very little on the Underground Railroad.  As a grade school student I learned about how the Underground Railroad wasn’t a real railroad and that Harriet Tubman freed tons of slaves, but I never knew much about the history of how this became a movement, how influential Harriet Tubman truly was in the Abolitionist Movement, and how the government reacted to the amount of runaways from the Underground Railroad. I was also led to believe that Lincoln was the reason Slavery had ended, instead I found that he was essentially a racist himself.   It is difficult to see how uneducated we all are on such an influential movement in our history.  I bet there are only a handful of people who could tell you what the Underground Railroad truly was.  We need to remember this time to give respects to those who chose to be the disturbance.  Individuals such as Harriet Tubman who weren’t afraid to stand up for what she believed in to better the lives of others.  We need to be that initial voice that stands out and makes a difference.  We need to be the change.

IT'S UP TO YOU.  

Fear of Rebellion

Within our younger generations there has been this embedded fear that has developed within the eyes of our youth.  It is something so unspoken that it possess a silence that truly defines it all.  Our nation has developed this picturesque model of what our youth has to strive to become.  A model that is so unattainable, our nation is accustomed to defining the stature of one’s accomplishments.  These notions begin to override a person’s sense of individualism and resistance.  We tend to only focus merely on our personal world views it becomes difficult to step out of this idea of a perfect being.  The ones, who decide to step out of this “communist” lifestyle we have unconsciously created, are the ones who aren’t afraid to be the disruption and begin a movement. 

                There are so many problems and/or dysfunctions within our society that are beginning to factor into our youth’s feature.  The true question is how and or will they be prepared for these sanctions.  Since we have created a generation full of hesitant children scared of rebellion and authority, how will they face the hard times that are apparent in their near future.   It begins with the initial brick thrown that creates that ripple effect among their peers.  As I have done research outside of the article by Bruce E. Levine entitled “8 Reasons Young Americans Don't Fight Back: How the US Crushed Youth Resistance” I have found that the underlying problem that defines our youth, and even our nation as a whole is the fear of resistance within our social classes. 

                As we have previously discussed, our youth is challenged with the task to be the change and begin a revolution.  I think it begins with the integration of social acceptance within the culture of classes. The youth of our upper classes has the ability to reach out to those of lower status, and develop an empathetic view of a privileged education.  And our lower classes have the responsibility to become students and make the choice to not be that individual on “the corner” selling drugs.  Not to scrutinize or stereotype those in the lower classes, but as we have witnessed, the narcotics industry is more evident in lower income areas more than ever.  This also ties in the nation’s irresponsible and irrational choice to limit the availability of employment within the lower classes.  But that is a whole issue within itself and can be interpreted in many different ways.  To target this issue, we ultimately need to focus on the ones who possess the strength to rebel.  And the ones that rebel more diligently, are the ones who are in these lower income housing.  Their approach to education and their rebellion towards authoritative figures within the education system, in a sense is an example that we need to abide by.  That may sound contradictory, but if we can capture this persistency and recycle it into a compressed drive which will translate into the commons, we can begin a revolution.

                I’ve experienced many instances within my life where I haven’t fought for “what is right” because I feared the outcome of my decision.  We do grow up in a society where there is such a strong sense of authority in everything we do.  It begins with our parents, to teachers, to law enforcement, to eventually our workforce.  We are always under the regulations of another.  This is not a bad thing what so ever, and it does create a sense of structure and hierarchy within our systems, but when does it go to far; especially when you know it’s wrong.  I leave you with the idea that rebellion comes from a clashing of class views.  It is common within society but differentiates within cultures.  We must generate this fight and become the authority.  The status quo should not be defiant of our future, but the basis of change for generation.  “The only battles worth fighting are the battles we know we will lose.”

NO LOGO

-          Nike

-          North Face

-          Starbucks

-          Adidas

-          Under Armor

-          Vans

-          Mcdonalds

-          Converse

-          Jansport

-          Busch Light

-          Washington state university

-          Panda Express

-          Jansport

-          Juicy Catoure

-          Apple

-          ESPN

Brands.  It’s something our world and society can’t seem to escape.  As we walk around down town, at home, in the work place and on campus we can’t help but be trapped within mega multi media commercial.  These images are truly what  makes up today's society.   In Naomi Klein’s documentary No Logo, she analyzes the corporations and their techniques to brand their products.  She has found that, if a company wants to be successful they must create an idea of this “alternative lifestyle.”  So overall it’s not the product that sells, but the thought of being a part of the lifestyle that product portrays which sells. For an example Disney has created, and is beginning to sell the thought of the “American Dream.”  And Nike fallows by selling the nature of sports in addition to the metaphor of the “American Dream.”  It is a family orientated way of living and us, as consumers are longing for that perfect lifestyle; a life that many aren’t capable of conceiving. 

            While gearing towards this lifestyle, we tend to avoid and forget about what is going on behind the scenes.  Who is assisting these multimillion dollar corporations with their mass distribution and mass transportation.  Is it locally distributed? Or has it stretched out so far, us consumers have no clue of where the product has originated from.  These transactions are what has known to begin the global auction.  By outsourcing; large companies such as Nike can put liabilities into the hands of other contractors, who go to smaller contractors which reach to the cheapest cost.  This levels all the way down to the migrant labor workers who earn about one dollar a day to produce these products.  This gives leeway to companies to be able to move locations if another is becoming to weary of their actions without any precautions.  This challenges the rights and social justice of these workers by being exposed to this kind of treatment.  Their wages and work environments are belittling them down to the point where their identity becomes non existent. This ties into the factors of globalization because companies are beginning to believe that when the government writes rules for trade, we should write towards the good of larger corporations, because it will benefit everyone in the future.  Klein argues this statement in her documentary by stating that “The World is not for sale.  We must reclaim the public and reclaim the commons.” 

From this documentary of No Logo, we were further encouraged to spend a day recording a list of logos and brands we see throughout a 24 hour span.  In doing so I have found that my blog will end up being about 500 words of pure logos.  Instead I have decided to sit in one of my lecture halls and within a span of about five minutes I had compiled about three quarters of the list I have posted above.  It is truly amazing how much we are surrounded by these products.  I am not going to lie there have been many instances where I have bought a product because of it’s brand name.  For an example, I buy North Face back packs and jackets for about a hundred dollars more then if I were to buy it at Walmart or a Good Will for three times the cost.  Nike is also a big consumer product that we all tend to purchase because of it’s name.  Some may even go as far as not buying other products because of their loyalty to that brand.  Such as one only purchasing coffee from Starbucks or electronics from Apple.  It all comes into play in essentially feeding the beast of the corporate world.