A Sense of Doubt blog post #1799 - ESSAY ONE DESCRIPTION PARAGRAPH SAMPLE AND EXPLANATION

A Sense of Doubt blog post #1799 - ESSAY ONE DESCRIPTION PARAGRAPH SAMPLE AND EXPLANATION

Here's some course content for this week.

I modified a previous post that can be found here:

https://sensedoubt.blogspot.com/2019/09/a-sense-of-doubt-blog-post-1659.html


- ESSAY ONE DESCRIPTION PARAGRAPH SAMPLE AND EXPLANATION

I have chosen to write about Black Lives Matter, an activist movement meant to change the murder of often unarmed black men by police and civilian vigilantes.

Since I do not identify as African-American myself, I plan to examine this issue through the lens of white privilege, an issue I have been thinking about a lot since my high school teacher assigned us to read Peggy McIntosh’s “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” (see link to follow).

It appalls me that racism still exists in our culture such that the lives of people of color are so undervalued and dismissed that in the face of so many people being gunned down in their cars, in the street, all over that the public outcry has not been louder and has not shaken the nation to its foundation.

Despite identifying as Caucasian this issue really matters to me, mainly because of how it’s an issue that I do not face, which makes me care about it even more because of travesty of the obvious racism.

The racial divide over this issue became clear to me with a blog post I created entitled “I am not afraid of the police, but maybe you should be” (link to follow), in which I reprinted the opinion column science fiction novelist John Scalzi published on his blog (link to follow) called “Police and Me and Philando Castille.” This article opened my eyes because I have never been afraid that I would get shot when I am pulled over by the police for a broken tail light or even speeding. And yet, that’s just because I am white, and young, white men are not being killed in high numbers even when complying with police instructions.

I hope to open people’s eyes, mainly white people, that privilege which we take for granted protects us, and so maybe we should be part of the solution to aid those who this privilege based on skin color does not protect.

- The opinion article I found is a germinating core to the essay and will support one of my sub-topic arguments. The issue of African-American men being shot and/or killed in disproportionate numbers is something that our country and its criminal justice system needs to acknowledge because some form of racism may be an influencing factor in many if not all of the cases.

- I need to keep my focus as this essay could grow huge. But I want some data in terms of the numbers of African-Americans vs non-African-Americans who are shot and/or killed by year over the last five-ten years. Also, I want to do a response to rebuttal paragraph or two on BLUE LIVES MATTER as a reactionary position that attempts to devalue BLACK LIVES MATTER, despite the legitimacy of the risk that officers face on the street daily. How about ALL LIVES MATTER?


- As already shared, I want to examine all issues through the lens of white privilege because it protects me from the risk others face. I will explore the numbers and the situation and make the argument about a racist influence if it exists. I will acknowledge the risks police officers face while also refuting the BLUE LIVES MATTER as a reactionary counter to BLACK LIVES MATTER. Why isn’t BLUE LIVES MATTER, ALSO, which would have been more inclusive.

Opinion column:

John Scalzi, from WHATEVER BLOG, “Police and Me and Philando Castille.” 

Found via
Chris Tower, Sense of Doubt blog.
“Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #371 - I am not afraid of the police, but maybe you should be.”

also:
Peggy McIntosh’s “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” 

Philando Castille

ESSAY ONE SUBJECTS CHOSEN BY STUDENTS

-      Immigration or homelessness

-      Vaccinations

-      Sustainability and climate

-      US foreign policy

-      Immigration

-      China more powerful than US

-      Climate change

-      Pay gap – men and women

-      School shootings and fear

I am not thrilled with these choices as it's mostly the same standard subjects I wanted to avoid from last term with only a couple of exceptions.

Instead of disallowing these, I hope to re-direct efforts in the revisions process. If things go as I like, papers should and will transform dramatically.

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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2001.21 - 10:10

- Days ago = 1662 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.