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Jenny Kingston
Professor Briggs
English 1050
August 5, 2015
Reflection Essay
Throughout this course I have learned a lot about the different races and
religions and the challenges they face. When I first signed up for this class I thought
it would be boring and I wont learn anything. I was very wrong. Now I pay more
attention to what I would usually assume about a person and try to understand
what they are going through.
I think our biggest problem is judging, or putting labels on people. From the
kind of art we make. Who we blame for our problems. Who we fill safe around. What
we think about past events. As well as how we see other countries. Everyone has
their own opinion on every situation, and this often leads to labeling or judging.
We tend to judge people on what kind of art they paint we make. Like in the
article, Signs from the heart. Murals used to be the most admired art, but over
time it was downgraded to pour peoples art. More often than not murals are

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considered to be graffiti or vandalism. Despite the fact that it is a way for people to
express them selfs, and tell history. Many people arent allowed to express their self
and use their talents without it being illegal. As we all know some people dont care
and want to use their talents to create something despite risk. (518-520)
I have also noticed that we always look for someone to blame. In the article
greenhouse it talks about employees struggling because they dont get paid enough.
As a result they blames the employers or judge them.. Despite the fact that the
employee probably has bad spending habits and arent a very good worker. I didnt
agree with this article because it seemed very one sided. I have the opportunity to
see the employees side as well as the employer. The employer will do what they can
to make their business a success, because they will be out of a job as well as all of
their employees if they dont. I have had coworkers that dont spend their money
wisely so they struggle with making enough money. While another coworker in the
same situation with good spending habits will progress. (404-415)
We also judge people and places by their appearance. In the article fortress
Los Angeles, it asks what makes a place or person safe. I know most of us determine
that by appearance, myself included. When I am in a neighborhood with trash and
graffiti everywhere I tend to get a little worried. If I see someone covered in tattoos

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and they look drunk I will keep my guard up. Even if they are a good person if there
looks scares me I will fill in danger. I know I must sound very judgmental, but if I
fill threatened I dont really care if someone thinks I am being judgmental. (287293)
Like with the horrible pictures about the American Indians. They were being
slaughtered by the whites. Christopher Philips described these pictures as a visual
sedition. Its because the pictures are only telling one side of the story. The
decadences of the surviving American Indians might get mad at the whites for what
happened to their ancestors, which could cause many problems. At the same time it
was a good thing that the pictures was sent out to the world so something could be
done about the problem. (514-518)
Another example of pictures being used in an argument is the cancer alley
article by Jason Berry. The beginning of his article talks about how beautiful the
landscapes used to be, then tells about the power companies moving in. In his piece
he has a few pictures which seemed to be taken in a way so it looked as disgusting
as possible, so people would start caring. The one of the swamp in Louisiana, in my
opinion was the worst. Looking at it honestly made me fill sick. All the trees are
pretty much dead and the water is disgusting. In each of the pictures there is not

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much light and everything looks lifeless. These pictures could also be considered
visual sedition because they focus on the damage that was done to the land scape.
They dont focus on the fact that the power companies are providing power for
thousands of people. This can lead people to start judging the power companies and
think that power companies are the 'bad guys'. While not realizing that the only
reason you can turn on a light or heat their house is because of the power companies
that do hurt the environment. (313-319)
A major problem is how we judge other countries. Whether its their religion,
traditions, looks, or conditions. With the article Slumdog tours it is sad to think that
people will pay money to see other people less fortunate than them. In my opinion
Slumdog tours are inhumane because people are being treated like animals at zoo.
Some fill ashamed for who they are and where they come from. Although other
people are fine with being a part of slum dog tours because it brings awareness to
therere situation so people will donate money. Even if everyone knew what the
situation was over there and some donated it would not fix the problem. If you give
a man a fish he has food for a day. If you teach a man to fish he has food for life.
(Vesta Davis). I liked her quote because it is so true. Handing the less fortunate

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money might help them for a while, but if you give them the resources they need
they will be able to take care of their self. (518-520)
One thing I have noticed about all of these stories was that is no right answer.
When I say that I mean there was facts or benefits from both sides of the argument.
With the slum dog tours the people was making money, but was treated like
animals as a zoo witch took away their pride. There was positive and negatives for
each side. I can say that about every signal article I have read in this book. It
makes me think about the situation more and consider each side of an argument.
I think we tend to judge people based on what someone of their race or
religion has done. For example, our neighbors stole eight thousand dollars
worth of equipment from us. There were Mexicans, so from then on we were
more cautious when we dealing with Mexicans. Obviously this is unfair to the
honest Mexicans, but we dont want to take a chance on getting robbed
again.
As I was taking this class I tried to be more open minded about the
situation of the people around me. I think we can only do our best to
understand other accept others for who they are, and try to live our lives the
way we believe is right.
Work cited

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George, Diana, John Trimbur. Reading Culture: Contexts for critical
reading and Writing. New York: Longman,2001.Print.
Davis, Vesta. Online discussion. 31 July 2015.