For this week blog the main question being asked is can these social problems that the book has informed us of be fixed. I was able to find an interesting article on an initiative called the Global Maker Challenge, started by the Global Manufacturing and Industrialization Summit. The Global Maker Challenge is providing the opportunity for innovators and creators all over the world to connect and attempt to fix social problems that exist in different cultures. The initiative is trying to garner the power and ambition of entrepreneurs across the world to asses glaring issues. The article talks greatly about if this initiative will actually be able to solve issues on a big scale, or if it will result in just putting out small fires, but not actually solving problems at their root. One belief that the initiative hopes to prove true is the idea that mixing perspectives, ideas, and views from a diverse group will enable better brainstorming of solutions as intelligent entrepreneurs go back and forth on their experiences. Combining knowledge and experience could prove to be vital in addressing the issues many people feel are near impossible to solve. The results have yet to come, but as of now the article offers insight on a initiative on a mission to change the world.

            The chapter 18 reading was greatly discussing the big picture of social issues and the ways in which problems could possibly be solved, but also the many reasons why it will be extremely difficult. The article I have selected greatly related to the reading because the initiative being discussed is attempting to tell the world that social problems can and will be solved. One theme that I really picked up on the class textbook was the lack of unity and understanding that makes the world suffer. The initiative using entrepreneurs all around the world clearly is trying to achieve unity and understanding which I personally believe is one of the biggest root issues of social problems. Entrepreneurs of all backgrounds can share a platform to give each other knowledge and advice, then take those conversations and build something positive. I really like the Global Maker Challenge because I feel like its ideas our driven from the right motives. Attacking a problem with only one perspective can greatly limit the solutions people can come up with, and also neglect parts of problems that those people are unaware of. Overall, not only did I think this article related to the chapter 18 reading, but I think it can be applicable to all the chapters from the class textbook.

Total words:

432

https://www.ctpost.com/business/article/Can-Entrepreneurs-Disrupt-Worldwide-Social-and-13901256.php

Kendall, Diana. 2012. Social Problems in a Diverse Society. 6^th edition. Pearson.

ISBN: 9780205152902

An article I found online reviews one of the many issues the media has today. This article talks about beauty standards projected on to females that promote insecurities and unrealistic expectations for women. Women from a young age feel a pressure to match what they see on the media that tells them the standard of “beauty”. With the median portraying certain physical attributes to what is beautiful. This can cause women to feel as if they are not beautiful and often causes them to develop a plethora of insecurities and body image issues. The media has a deep understanding of what can leave impressions on women young and old, resulting in using that knowledge to manipulate fears and promote products that can “help” them. The media uses this as one of its many economic tools, as women naturally will associate these beauty standards with whatever product or service that is trying to be sold. While the media sees it as selling and promoting products and services, it is also pushing an agenda. An agenda that has lasted for far too long. These unfair standards have women looking for unrealistic bodies just to feel beautiful and anything different from the medias set standard cannot possibly be beautiful.

              After the reading of Chapter 14 in the sociology textbook, I felt that this article perfectly talks about one area of many in which the media creates issues. With media growing in usage and power, todays society is the most prone to influence as it has ever been. Media plants seeds in peoples brains that individuals do not even recognize are there. What people do recognize are insecurities, standards, and stereotypes that we have become accustomed to as a standard due to the media. The media has a particular agenda that it pushes, and it greatly impacts society with ease. There are individuals and groups that go strongly against what the media is trying to do, but that does not mean the majority of society avoids falling victim to the thoughts planted in our brain. Women’s beauty standard is one of many examples, but it is easily identifiable as creating these standards subliminally through advertising, marketing, and media in general can be seen with a simple glance. Another topic that is pushed is men’s standards as well. All of these agendas by the media are believed to be pushed mainly by economic motivation, and society can only hope that the media will change its ways one day.

WORDS: 413

http://mediasmarts.ca/body-image/body-image-girls

Kendall, Diana. 2012. Social Problems in a Diverse Society. 6^th edition. Pearson.

ISBN: 9780205152902

The article that grabbed my attention this week was one discussing famous rapper Meek Mill and the legal issues he has faced. Meek Mill was charged in 2008 for gun and drug offenses although he maintained innocence to the public. At the time Meek Mill was not well known and did not have the means to hire a team of law to defend his case. Mill would take a plea deal that involved 11.5 month to 23 month sentence in prison and 7 years probation. Meek would be released in 6 months, but faced issues with non violent parole violations that would extend his probation period. Then the storm hit its peak in 2017 when on Instagram Meek Mill popped a wheelie on a motor-cross bike and the judge sentenced him to 2-4 years in prison for the violation of parole. Meek, a well established celebrity by this time, received a response of support from the public including big name celebrities Jay Z, Michael Rubin, and Kevin Hart. A movement of “free Meek” started and Jay Z had the best lawyers working to get Meek out of prison. Lots of information was uncovered in the process, including the fact that Meek had been badly beaten by the police in his 2007 arrest, and that the cop who arrested him was part of a Philadelphia watch list of suspected dirty cops. Meek Mill would be freed in 2018 after serving 5 months in federal prison, but he remains on probation.

This article relates to our readings in the sense of how poorly the system is structured. If Meek Mill was not a celebrity he would be in prison for a crime he had to plead guilty to just so he would not receive an even worse sentence. There is a lot of people in the system that do not have the backing of billionaires Jay Z and Michael Rubin. The reading talks about inequalities and social biased/benefits throughout the whole book, not just the chapter and this is a prime example of a young black male being targeted unnecessarily. For Meek Mill’s luck, the system had to do something to free him as the public was enraged by wrongfully sentencing the rapper, and some world class lawyers were uncovering information to the public making the system look worse. The system only cared because it was being exposed. There have been and there will be plenty more individuals that did not get fair treatment by the justice system, and have suffered greatly from the power that the system holds. Meek Mill since his release, has gathered a group of rather wealthy individuals and is pushing for social justice reform. Those people include Jay Z and Michael Rubin. Mill has made it clear that he wants to protect people that cannot protect themselves.

PS: Meek Mill is my all time favorite rapper.

Word Count:470

https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/why-did-meek-mill-go-to-prison/

By: Alec Hawks

In all aspects of life in today’s society, age inequality is one of the most over looked issues. An article written by Bonnie Marcus of Forbes in 2018 sheds light on the issue of age discrimination in the work place, and also mentions how gender plays a role into that. She reminds the audience of how today’s society puts so much emphasis on physical appearance. Women face this issue often as pressure is unfairly put on them to maintain a certain physical appearance. As women get older and their physical appearance may not be what it used to be, it subjects them into higher chances of losing promotions or positions to the male dominant work place or younger applicants. The article also states the glaring truth that appearance resulting from aging hurts women’s opportunities more than men’s. The hardest thing about making change in the age discrimination that goes on in many corporate offices, is the claim businesses must cut their costs, and typically older employees who have been at the company for a while have higher salaries. This allows business’s to escape lawsuits and justify that they did the moves based off of money. In reality, many companies are trying to rid themselves of “aged” employees.

I thought this article connected everything we have been studying in class as our focus for the current chapter was age inequality, but we just finished up the chapter discussing gender inequality. It is unfortunate that we live in a world where all these inequalities exist, but it is even more unfortunate that they go hand in hand. This article connects current issues well and explains how change has been difficult due to certain barriers. As read in previous readings, since the dominant group has the power to control what goes and what does not in the work place, they find ways to follow their agenda while using excuses such as budget cuts to rid their companies of “aged” women. It is an uphill battle for people aging in the work place, but change is hopefully coming soon as more and more people are bringing attention to a large inequality issue that has slipped to the back burner of people’s minds in the past. A lot of the theories and reasoning in the class textbook do a solid job of explaining the connection between inequalities and I thought this article from Forbes was stronger because it attempts to do the same. Showing how issues breed each other into worse issues can be powerful when trying to explain why the issues exist in the first place.

Word Count: 432

Source :
https://www.forbes.com/sites/bonniemarcus/2018/05/12/age-discrimination-and-women-in-the-workplace-heres-how-to-avoid-getting-pushed-out/#21a99652c4a4

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton