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Who Are Today’s Migrants

For my fieldwork, I chose an immigrant from El Salvador. He is an international migrant, a refugee, and the father of one of my close friends. Due to my connection with their daughter he was more than willing to share his story with me. He was born and raised in El Salvador during the civil war. He was not drafted, nor did he partake in the war, however some of his siblings did. The second youngest out of four, he saw his mother worry over his siblings safety, and his. El Salvador’s civil war officially ended January 16,1992, but the end of the war did not end the violence citizens faced. The civil war left a militarized society unable to earn enough money for a fair life. As a result, many people chose illegal methods of making money through gangs. As gang violence worsened and unable to make liveable wages many citizens began to migrate, including his family. He was forced to watch as his siblings left yet again, this time for the US. He explained that his loved ones including his mother, friends, and girlfriend pulled him to stay. Wanting to keep them safe in a hostile country, but he also wanted to help and be with his siblings. Eventually he too was sent to the US. The plan was to send money back home, and eventually bring the rest of his loved ones over, continuing their family’s chain migration. His acclimation to the US went smoother than his siblings because so many of them were already there. Being one of the last relatives to be sent over, it felt like a new home almost immediately. Eventually, meeting his wife here in the US, another migrant from EL Salvador. Currently he and family are now in the US. Actively participating in family functions several times a year as they are all together again. They all live 20 to 30 minutes away from each other and love to cook, sing, and dance together. He says migrating was one of the best things that could have happened to his family. He is so grateful that his daughter does not have to grow up in the same gang filled environment as him. With that being said he and his family make sure to keep family and cultural traditions alive teaching all of their children Spanish, having quinceaneras, and teaching them how to cook traditional El Salvadorian cuisine.

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Critical Thinking Application Activity

Me and my peers decided to spend the one million dollars that the city decided to invest into the Manor Park Neighborhood Development on youth development. We came to this agreement because we feel like if we spent the million dollars it would mean we are funding the police system and we don't think that it's a great idea. We all think that funding a youth development will give children and young adults opportunities that they don't usually get. Funding something like education isn't that ideal, because the money is really going to the school not the actual kids, so it isn't benefitting them. A youth development can get kids into sports, gaming, and just activities that their parents may not do with them on a day-to-day basis. We feel like this should go to a long-term solution so children in bad situations can feel loved if they don't feel it at home. We would need to know how many kids are interested and who need support because of things going on in their home. The investment should go to multiple different investments within youth development because all children aren't interested in the same activities. I would propose change all around the community if I had a 100 million dollars of a total investment. (Sam)

 I think the money should be used towards youth development. Young people are the face of the future, so we need to move in a way that helps them. If we help use the money towards youth development, we help fund the future. The mayor should consider investing the money in young people. The mayor ‘s commitment not only contributes to future fundraising but also keeps young people out of trouble and off the streets. This is seen as a long-term goal as it helps young people improve their lives by keeping them involved in activities that give them something to do. (Camiya)

Youth are the next generation and opportunities should be created for them to thrive. Youth development includes recreational centers which in turn builds positive attitudes and good behavior in youth. As a result, this will decrease future crime as the children and young adults of the community will have a place to go off the streets, and the possibility of a job as many recreational centers offer them to teens. Youth development also I turn includes education to an extent with after school programs such as tutoring. Overall, youth development makes the most sense to create a better community long term. (Iyssis)

The state help: $5,000,000.00 Foundation(s): $1,000,000.00

Money distribution: Youth development was chosen within my group because we all came to the realization funding needs to be properly invested. Youth development allows groups of young adults to participate in programs to give them better opportunities and help. Though crime and education are equally important due to systematic discrimination we can’t fully be sure it will go to all schools and not just the white ones, and in terms of funding crime they are funding the police department that creates the very crime we are looking to stop. Affordable housing and business help the city more so than the citizens it attracts buyers and repeats itself with the same product. Senior care is not as important as our youth. This creates a long-term solution for youth to then create something entirely new, maybe fix everything for their future children. Every piece of information was relevant. The money should go to multiple interventions. If the proposal was a $100,000,000 total investment, I would also choose business investment for better job opportunities. (Ndella)

The money should be invested towards youth development because it is imperative in ensuring that the youth have opportunities to be successful and pursue paths that don’t tempt them to commit crime. Programs should be developed to teach the youth hard and soft skills that they will need in order to develop into educated individuals. The children in neighborhoods such as Manor should not be overlooked because they are actually found to be valuable assets when exposed to positive change. Investing money towards the youth and engaging everyone in the community could ensure a stable future for not only the youth but the neighborhood. Early intervention can prevent delinquent behavior and will instead reinforce and instill a sense of purpose within the youth. Therefore, this money should be invested towards youth development in order to see long term change. (Gabrielle)

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Chapter 10- Fieldwork

Karl Marx: Capitalists increased their wealth by exploiting their workers

Article- This article relates to Karl Marx’ theory of social class as it does showcase workers being exploited for the company they work for. During the COVID-19 outbreak, many companies including grocery and clothing stores were still open with staff titled as “essential workers”. That means during an epidemic, people were still having to go to work everyday, having contact with multiple people a day. Corporations were not compensating their workers for their efforts, meaning they were getting the same pay as they were before their lives were at risk from working. This supports Marx’ idea that the people in power do not care for those under them as long as it makes the powerful people more money. These workers were not being compensated correctly, and were therefore being exploited.https://theaggie.org/2020/05/14/corporations-continue-to-exploit-workers-during-pandemic/

Max Weber: Having any one of power,property, or prestige makes it easier to obtain the others

Article- This article talks about a study about people which supports the claim that having power or prestige, gives you privilege. It says that power and prestige can change how others view a person. Therefore give them privilege and as a result may change a person’s class.https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-39223-0

Pierre Bourdieu: Different groups with similar sets of factors determine their life chances

Article- The article linked relates to Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of social class as it shows that opportunity does play a role in the classism of society. During the COVID-19 epidemic, students’ education was restricted to remote access only. This meant no students were allowed to take their classes in person. This however also meant that students who were in low income households struggled educationally. Many low income students did not have laptops, or the internet. This unfortunately stalled their education, unlike students coming from upper class households. This just shows that access, and wealth are real life factors for people, not just what tax bracket their parents are in. This also shows that education is indeed impacted because of a person’s class. Pierre Bourdieu believed that a child’s class affected their education, intentionally or not, this shows that to be true.https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2021/07/how-covid-taught-america-about-inequity-in-education/

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Fieldwork 9- Kinship Chart

Families can come in all different shapes and sizes. They can be as traditional as the model in the book, or more complicated with separated couples, and many children. No matter, all family trees are beautiful and should not be judged. They are all made up of humans that grow and change and reflect their environment. The image below is mine. :)

Opinion

My family tree spotlights my parents marriage. They are the only married couple of their siblings and I think that has to do with the way they were all raised. Not settling for past toxic relationships is a common trait in my mothers side. Though each sibling has children none of them have long time partners to whom they are married to besides my aunt . My family tree can look a little complicated but I think it just shows that my family is full of people that want more for themselves and are looking for stability.

How does Environment Part?

With that being said I think that it reflects where my family is located. Both of my parents grew up in the DMV area. Culturally it has become acceptable to have children out of wedlock. Since the 1970s, the rate for weddings have decreased. That along with an increase of federal aid to single-parent households, being an unmarried parent has become more and more normal. My family reflects that. There has been no push to marry the fathers or mothers of their children, and I don’t think there needs to be. My uncles and aunt chose their partners in a specific time in their lives, they simply outgrew them.

https://www.brookings.edu/research/an-analysis-of-out-of-wedlock-births-in-the-united-states/?amp

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What is the Relationship of Ethnicity to the Nation?

My family truly accepts the name of being black. With little of my family tree actually known outside of the last two generations i and my relatives are not sure where we are from. The closest I got for an answer was “Cherokee Indian on my mother’s side”. With that being said, most black families say that and I’m hesitant to believe it.

With the only family traditions we do on holidays being the same holidays everyone does including Christmas, thanksgiving, and Easter it is hard to say. With that being said I definitely would say my family has embraced American Nationalism. We have nothing else to identify with. My last name is Johnson, a very commonly known black name. It’s a very good chance my family was lost due to slavery, as it erased the history of the enslaved persons. I will say my family has been here for as long as we can all think back. I remember as a child attending a funeral and there being a graveyard with all the stones having my last name on them. If nothing else I will say my family has settled in Maryland. The results of this study make me appreciate ethnicity and nationalism. I feel without either I’d be completely stripped of a cultural identity. At least now I have a group of people that can relate to my family and I. Overall I identify with my blackness the most. We are the Johnson’s if nothing else.

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Being A Morganite

As a morganite there are many expenses, especially moving to a new place. After compiling my list I realized that the majority of my things are needs, whether that be for class, or basic hygiene. It is important to know how I come about desiring different things as it will help me save money in the long run. As a college student, it can be difficult to balance schoolwork and a job, which means saving money becomes a big priority. Housing and everything that goes into moving and living on campus does add up. It is important to try to stay away from consumer culture. I do still think the majority of my list is full of need however, I do think some of the things I put as a necessity can be argued.

My iPhone for example could definitely be classified as a want. It has games, it has social media, all distractions from daily life. However, I also use my phone as an alarm in the morning, and the canvas app to turn in assignments, or even the wallet for apple pay. I feel almost all items can be disputed in a similar fashion of being both a want and desire.

Looking at my list I do find a trend in my wanted items. They all seem to involve beauty in some way. It could be hair products, makeup, or even the clothes I wear. People tend to underestimate how much they spend on clothes but, the fast fashion industry does make it difficult to keep up with, and I happen to fall into its trap occasionally. The new mom jeans, or a criss-cross top. I do think that the media has a big influence on consumer culture. Influencers like instagram models, or even tiktokers contribute by brand deals, encouraging their followers to buy from certain businesses.

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Making Red Bull Unfamiliar

Red Bull is a popular energy drink often known for its slogan, “Redbull gives you wiiings”. It sold over 9.8 billion cans of Red Bull in 2021. Red Bull was inspired by an earlier Thai drink called Krating Daeng. As it grew to be a global brand an Austrian version was released. It was less sweet than the original Thai version and that is the widely known Red Bull taste of today. The official product formula was created in 1987, however the brand was started in 1984. Red Bull is proud to share they started a brand new product category, inspiring other companies to come up with their own energy drinks. Now you can find several other brands in stores such as reign, rockstar, and monster energy drinks. https://www.redbull.com/us-en/energydrink

https://www.historyofbranding.com/redbull/

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/022315/energy-drinks-industry.asp

Red Bull does not have its own production facilities and so it has the company Rauch Fruchtsäfte producing it. Red Bull is shipped around the world from their facilities in Nüziders, Austria, and Wildnau Switzerland. The company is proud of how sustainable they are, advertising the fact they chose an aluminum can for their product. Despite this there is still a littering problem that affects the world. Red Bull personally impacts my life as my family and I use it for a variety of situations. We often drank them to stay up for a long road trip, to help us wake up during a late work shift, or even to study for an exam late at night. Red Bull’s energizing qualities have been very useful to my family and I do think it’s definitely a regular monthly purchase.

https://www.inside.beer/news/detail/usa-red-bull-plans-first-production-plant-outside-europe/

The people directly involved in the production of Red Bull are people that work in the production facilities. Life for them is stressful with long hours and little pay. Majority of the company’s bad reviews say it’s slow moving up in their chain of commandment, is a stressful work environment, and has low commission. Some of the reviews include titles such as “Avoid this place if you value your time”, “Great pay; Terrible otherwise”, and “ Not recommend”. Overall the company seems to be nice to It’s workers pay wise and the conditions seems to be fair besides the long work weeks.

https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Red-Bull/reviews?ftopic=mgmt

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Key Dynamics of Globalization Activity

This Trump gif relates to flexible accumulation as he talks about having a specific group of people working for him. Many companies have this tactic of producing their products in lower economic countries in order to increase their own profits. This is because they are able to pay lower wages to the workers without any consequences.

This gif relates to uneven development as it represents the uneven distribution of resources. This is shown in the image as the boy has an empty bowl, holding it out as if asking for a share of the man’s resources, clearly depicting the gap between the rich and the poor.

The image above relates to time space compression as shows the world growing smaller as time progresses. This is because as technology advances things like communication and travel over large distances become easier and more accessible. Traveling across the world went from months to hours.

The gif above relates to increasing migration as it shows the migration of people from South America to North America, with the dots in the image being people. Migration is often caused by differences in economic opportunities, the migration to North America depicted in the gif could be a similar reason. Many people go to countries for a better income in order to send home money to their extended families.