I talked to 2 people that are yet to go to the prom, 1 person who was a little older who went to prom, and 1 older person that didn't go to their prom. I got a variety of answers.
The first person I talked to is going to prom on thursday. They didn't seem to think very highly of prom and I know that they were thinking of not even going. When I asked about it they said "I think it's over rated and I expect it to be whack", when I asked why they said "I just do, I don't think it's gonna be fun at all I have high expectations and I know they're not gonna be met". I agree with them, I think that it is hyped up too much, it's supposed to be this huge night so I understood why they thought it wasn't going to be good because it is already being hyped up so they're going to have high expectations for it.
The next person I talked to is in the 11th grade and they had different thoughts. They seemed a lot more positive about it, which I like, so I'll include the whole thing they said (positivity ^^^). "I want to participate in everything in prom because if you dont participate in everything in prom then there is no point of going. even the sex and drinking thing I guess. there is nothing that I want to regret, if people are having fun, i want to have fun too because it is going to be one of the last times I will be able to see all of the people I met in high school. I want to make the best of it. I think that prom is necessary because it is supposed to be a fun experience. I feel like people who wouldn't go to prom don't want to have fun or may have some religious reasons against it. I don't think its all about a date but I think its about going looking your best for one last time then just having fun. I think prom should be seen as more of a celebration like a party and less of a formal meeting or some sort of wedding. I think teenagers should get to act like teenagers at prom and not like they are getting married." I thought this was the best answer I got. I completely agree with them, I think prom is really (and should be) about having fun with the people you have spent the past years with in school.
The next person I talked to went to prom already. I asked them about the dominant social practices and their own experience. They said, "alcohol consumption, sex at the end of the night, and awkward dancing with teachers watching. Usually, people go overboard and someone gets sick or sucks too many penis's and ruins their reputation." I thought this was interesting because I have heard stuff like this but it's funny to think that all this stuff is incorporated with prom which is this school event. This is supposed to be this formal thing but yet all these things are happening and it is regularly associated with the prom.
The last person I talked to was my father who didn't go to prom. "I didn't dance and it just wasn't something I was into at the time". Although it's not the reason he didn't go, he was working on the night of the prom "out for the almighty buck". He said, "There was a part of the society that was rebelling against the dominant social practices. It was a time of a lot of change, with the civil rights, women's liberation, black panthers, resistance to the Vietnam war. So these typical social standards were being questioned and challenged and weren't being accepted. I was more drawn to that type of attitude." I thought this was very interesting because I can relate this very much. I myself feel this a lot, I question a lot of the things I'm told to do and a lot of the traditional ways and dominant social practices. Back then you weren't supposed question anything, and I think now it is becoming more acceptable to question things.
All of these gave me different views and opinions about the prom. I think I can agree and relate to points in all of them.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
HW 57
I haven't thought about prom much. To me it doesn't seem like such a big deal. I know that it is a big deal to a lot of other people. It's supposed to be the "perfect night". You have to dress up your best, get a date and get a limo to drive you.. All that type of stuff. Me personally, I would prefer to go in a t-shirt and basketball shorts and ride a bike over. I think that it is some type of thing that teenagers have to have responsibility and get ready for this big night. It seems like it is a night of living like the richest, even though you're probably not. I guess when you think about it, it is kind of some type of rights of passage in our society, it's like a wedding or some type of rich formal party, but when I think of it I think it's just a party to have fun with your friends before everyone graduates high school and goes off to college. I've seen both my brothers go to prom. It seemed more serious and traditional for my older brother, he was all dressed up in a suit (which is very rare that you see that), his girlfriend had her dress, my mom was taking pictures of them before they left for prom. It seemed less serious for my other brother, he was just hanging out with his friend in my house before he left, I don't really remember much about when he went because it didn't seem like as big of a deal. I know that both of them went to after parties which is like a less formal party without the teachers there after the prom. Overall I think that it is looked at too seriously and it should be laid back and less of a structure of how prom is "supposed" to be.
-Was prom always the same way or did it change over time?
-Is prom really a rights of passage to teenagers? Do adults look at them differently after?
-Is there a reason prom is set up the way it is?
-Why do you HAVE to dress up for prom?
-Was prom always the same way or did it change over time?
-Is prom really a rights of passage to teenagers? Do adults look at them differently after?
-Is there a reason prom is set up the way it is?
-Why do you HAVE to dress up for prom?
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Extra Credit Thing!
I went to two public cemeteries with Chris and Kevin unfortunately not at midnight. They were both around each other. The cemeteries were: St. Pauls Cemetery and Trinity Church Cemetery. To be honest I felt no difference whatsoever in these cemeteries then I would feel in a park with benches. I think part of this was because the cemeteries were so old. Both cemeteries had dead people from the 1800's. I guess this made it harder to feel anything because it is hard to feel some kind of connection when this time was so long ago.
The tombs were very old and not many were in good condition. There were all types of shapes for the tombstones and all types of different writing on the tombstones. Some just had the person's name and birth and death, some had quotes, and some had words about the person. There were many tourists around taking pictures and just walking around looking. No one was sad, I'm sure this is because no one knew any of the dead people there!
There were so many tombstones it made me think to myself is it worth it to use up all this land to have tombstones? I started thinking about this. I feel like cemeteries are just there to give people a physical thing that you can talk to when someone you know dies. It's like a substitute of a person in a body, this way you have to go visit the grave etc. But why can't you just talk to the person out loud or in your mind? It's not like speaking to a tombstone actually makes the dead person hear you. I don't know I guess I don't really understand why you need this physical thing to remind you of the person, their memories should already live in your mind.
I think this experience would have been very different if it were actually a cemetery where people that have died recently were buried, or someone I actually know was buried in the cemetery because these old cemeteries made it hard for me to feel any kind of feelings or connections.
Going to these cemeteries just made me think: what is the point of cemeteries? Is it just a waste of land?
Myspace pic flow LOL
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
HW 56
My comments on other blogs:
John:
I liked your post. I found this part of the first paragraph very interesting: “This thoughtless automated response is now tradition when we hear of someone’s death, it becomes more beneficial to the person who said the “sorry”(person A) than for the person who feels sorry for herself(person B). When person A tries to comfort person B, person A is in fact comforting themselves believing that they have comforted person B. However, person B has encountered plenty of person As and feels no less stricken with grief, yet if person A was to not give this response it would be perceived as rude and inconsiderate.” I never even thought about this and it makes me realize how society gives us a certain role to play and even though it may not help the person out you are considered rude if you don’t do it.
Casey:
I liked this post because you had very good research and you gave a detailed timeline of how the coffin/casket has changed over time and why it did. Then I also like how you talked about why making your own coffin/casket is good. By talking about your experience making your own (even though yours was a mini one) it showed kind of like what the experience of making your own casket would be like. Creative idea!
Sophia:
I liked your post I thought the idea was very interesting to look up: what would happen if you just left a body to rot? I was surprised that it takes almost 20 years to completely decompose! It makes sense that people are buried under ground. Then most importantly I like how you connected it back to people embalming bodies and getting "sealed" caskets in this fantasy that they're body will remain the same forever. Nice post.
Chris:
Chrissss nice post maaaan. I like how we both have narratives of our experience but they are different. I thought it was interesting to see how you thought about the funeral home and how people were acting etc etc. I also like how you included dialogue because even if I wasn't there, I feel like it makes it very descriptive and easy to picture. Even though the project didn't go as planned and we didn't have a video, you did a good job writing about it..
_______________________________________________________
Comments on my blog:
Chris:
I like what your mom said. She is really right about the preparation part but I like a lot of what you wrote. I feel like narratives should be exactly what you were thinking because it is your narrative. If this is how you felt about the topic then I think this is good. My favorite line was when you introduced everyone because these were the "characters" in the narrative and the way you set it up actually made me interested in wanting to read this even though I was there. I feel like your mom was right at the end too when she said write down certain questions and I feel like thats how this post could have been better. I seriously do like this post a lot though I'm just supposed to say something that is a criticism and thats the only thing I think that could have helped.
Mom:
Sounds like the experience was not very successful. Your writing seem a bit too "light" for the subject. I think you all must prepare more for this type of assignment and have a plan B to fall back on, if something fails. You have been to several funerals and could maybe have reflected on your past experiences and compared them with the other people in the group. Write down certain questions for the funeral director etc.
Kevin:
For a project that doesn't really prove anything, you did a good job writing about it. You wrote a decent amount, and in that amount you started to make some insights. What you didn't do was expand on the insights you started to make. You could have talked more about the serious feelings that you felt and the dress code that you noticed.
What your blog did do: It was entertaining. It was like Seinfeld, about nothing, but at the same time the way you wrote made it more interesting then most other projects with heavier content. It was definitely more interesting then my project.
What you should have done is reflected on the experience. You could have wrote about what you learned through your failure. There was a couple of things you could have talked about learning but you failed to do so.
Sophia:
I really liked this part:
"Even though this didn't work out as we wanted I still looked at it as a somewhat successful experience. It showed me how serious and sensitive death is to people. I saw how serious the dress code was because I felt horrible that I was the only one (besides Kevin) who wasn't dressed up in a black suit and I don't know if I should feel bad about that. I saw how the funeral home approaches death, because the vibe of serious and quiet was very strong as soon as you walk in the place."
This was my favorite part, because I always wondered why people dressed up for funerals. It doesn't really make sense - when people are unhappy, they generally don't want to put a lot of effort into the way they look. I suppose it is out of respect, but I still don't understand why people would be so strict about it.
Ruben:
Jasper, I liked how you and your group decided to go for a hands on experience. Even if you weren't ready for the wake, your group members still tried to get as much information as possible. What you learned from this experience should help you with other projects in the future.
John:
I liked your post. I found this part of the first paragraph very interesting: “This thoughtless automated response is now tradition when we hear of someone’s death, it becomes more beneficial to the person who said the “sorry”(person A) than for the person who feels sorry for herself(person B). When person A tries to comfort person B, person A is in fact comforting themselves believing that they have comforted person B. However, person B has encountered plenty of person As and feels no less stricken with grief, yet if person A was to not give this response it would be perceived as rude and inconsiderate.” I never even thought about this and it makes me realize how society gives us a certain role to play and even though it may not help the person out you are considered rude if you don’t do it.
Casey:
I liked this post because you had very good research and you gave a detailed timeline of how the coffin/casket has changed over time and why it did. Then I also like how you talked about why making your own coffin/casket is good. By talking about your experience making your own (even though yours was a mini one) it showed kind of like what the experience of making your own casket would be like. Creative idea!
Sophia:
I liked your post I thought the idea was very interesting to look up: what would happen if you just left a body to rot? I was surprised that it takes almost 20 years to completely decompose! It makes sense that people are buried under ground. Then most importantly I like how you connected it back to people embalming bodies and getting "sealed" caskets in this fantasy that they're body will remain the same forever. Nice post.
Chris:
Chrissss nice post maaaan. I like how we both have narratives of our experience but they are different. I thought it was interesting to see how you thought about the funeral home and how people were acting etc etc. I also like how you included dialogue because even if I wasn't there, I feel like it makes it very descriptive and easy to picture. Even though the project didn't go as planned and we didn't have a video, you did a good job writing about it..
_______________________________________________________
Comments on my blog:
Chris:
I like what your mom said. She is really right about the preparation part but I like a lot of what you wrote. I feel like narratives should be exactly what you were thinking because it is your narrative. If this is how you felt about the topic then I think this is good. My favorite line was when you introduced everyone because these were the "characters" in the narrative and the way you set it up actually made me interested in wanting to read this even though I was there. I feel like your mom was right at the end too when she said write down certain questions and I feel like thats how this post could have been better. I seriously do like this post a lot though I'm just supposed to say something that is a criticism and thats the only thing I think that could have helped.
Mom:
Sounds like the experience was not very successful. Your writing seem a bit too "light" for the subject. I think you all must prepare more for this type of assignment and have a plan B to fall back on, if something fails. You have been to several funerals and could maybe have reflected on your past experiences and compared them with the other people in the group. Write down certain questions for the funeral director etc.
Kevin:
For a project that doesn't really prove anything, you did a good job writing about it. You wrote a decent amount, and in that amount you started to make some insights. What you didn't do was expand on the insights you started to make. You could have talked more about the serious feelings that you felt and the dress code that you noticed.
What your blog did do: It was entertaining. It was like Seinfeld, about nothing, but at the same time the way you wrote made it more interesting then most other projects with heavier content. It was definitely more interesting then my project.
What you should have done is reflected on the experience. You could have wrote about what you learned through your failure. There was a couple of things you could have talked about learning but you failed to do so.
Sophia:
I really liked this part:
"Even though this didn't work out as we wanted I still looked at it as a somewhat successful experience. It showed me how serious and sensitive death is to people. I saw how serious the dress code was because I felt horrible that I was the only one (besides Kevin) who wasn't dressed up in a black suit and I don't know if I should feel bad about that. I saw how the funeral home approaches death, because the vibe of serious and quiet was very strong as soon as you walk in the place."
This was my favorite part, because I always wondered why people dressed up for funerals. It doesn't really make sense - when people are unhappy, they generally don't want to put a lot of effort into the way they look. I suppose it is out of respect, but I still don't understand why people would be so strict about it.
Ruben:
Jasper, I liked how you and your group decided to go for a hands on experience. Even if you weren't ready for the wake, your group members still tried to get as much information as possible. What you learned from this experience should help you with other projects in the future.
Monday, May 16, 2011
HW 55
The little video we took probably SUCKS (so check out this crazy narrative in the mind of Jasper HIMSELF).
SIGHHHHHHH. Where to start with this project? We have a super project group which usually consists of Chris, Kevin and I. But this project we got a new member! Lucas. Bright young fella that we thought could contribute a lot. We usually chose to do the hands on option for our projects which is usually recording video footage of us going out into the world and exploring the topic we're studying, so we all grouped up and figured out that this project we were going to go to a funeral home and see if we could go to a funeral or a wake, Chris told us he knew the president of a funeral home uptown so we got the number and called Thursday in class. Lucas (we decided was the best to talk on the phone) pretended to be Chris and the person he talked to told us that we could come observe a public wake at 3-4PM on saturday. I was thinking this is great! because we had this planned out and everything was running smooth opposed to the previous project which was a last minute mess. Plus my birthday was on Sunday so I didn't want to push this off until then. I was going to go away for the weekend but I decided I would stay home for this!
Come Saturday, I set my alarm clock for 12AM instead of 12PM (I think that's right). So I get a text message that woke me up and I took a look at the digital clock, oh 11:22, then I do a double take and oh sh**! It's actually 1:22! So I rushed and got ready. I ended pretty much on time. The train took forever to come of course. I ended up arriving at the funeral home a little after 3 and I called up Chris, and he came over in a minute. We went into the funeral home, it was quiet and dim lighting with dark walls and floors everyone in and around was dressed up in mostly black. I felt bad that I didn't dress in the same way (I had a blue polo shirt on and jeans and of course I was only with Chris at this point who had on a suit). It was VERY quiet and riiiight as we walked in Chris' phone started ringing and everyone looked at us, I answered his phone and went outside. It was Lucas he just got out the train station and I told him how to get to the funeral home. When I went back in Chris was talking to the receptionist and she didn't know who talked to us, she told us we usually would not be able to just sit in on a wake. When Lucas arrived he told her exactly what he was told when he was on the phone but she told us the same thing and told us you're always supposed to get a name of who you're talking to on the phone. She told us to sit and wait and the funeral director would come down and talk to us. Then Kevin showed up also. We were all waiting in the little waiting room and watching a bunch of people come and go. Everyone was super serious and really dressed up even the little kids that were like 2. Everyone looked depressed even the people working there. I felt that I had to whisper when we were talking in the waiting room. Eventually at 4 o'clock the funeral director showed up and told us that we couldn't observe because the next part of the service is starting which is a more personal thing for the family and we would have been able to observe if we came earlier (but we could have been observing while we were waiting for him the whole time, but I knew he was going to come down when the wake was ending I bet Chris while we were waiting). He was nice about it though and I thought there's not much we can do about that so I said alright thanks and we left. Even though this didn't work out as we wanted I still looked at it as a somewhat successful experience. It showed me how serious and sensitive death is to people. I saw how serious the dress code was because I felt horrible that I was the only one (besides Kevin) who wasn't dressed up in a black suit and I don't know if I should feel bad about that. I saw how the funeral home approaches death, because the vibe of serious and quiet was very strong as soon as you walk in the place. Just how people look around and in the funeral home says a lot everyone was so serious but as soon as we crossed the street leaving the vibe was gone, and we went to IHOP which I said is kind of like a funeral because usually everyone goes out together and gets food. In my mind this could've been looked at as a negative but I flipped it to a positive and had a hands on experience with the care of the death.
The bad short video we took if you wanna see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knI-nnK-Asg
SIGHHHHHHH. Where to start with this project? We have a super project group which usually consists of Chris, Kevin and I. But this project we got a new member! Lucas. Bright young fella that we thought could contribute a lot. We usually chose to do the hands on option for our projects which is usually recording video footage of us going out into the world and exploring the topic we're studying, so we all grouped up and figured out that this project we were going to go to a funeral home and see if we could go to a funeral or a wake, Chris told us he knew the president of a funeral home uptown so we got the number and called Thursday in class. Lucas (we decided was the best to talk on the phone) pretended to be Chris and the person he talked to told us that we could come observe a public wake at 3-4PM on saturday. I was thinking this is great! because we had this planned out and everything was running smooth opposed to the previous project which was a last minute mess. Plus my birthday was on Sunday so I didn't want to push this off until then. I was going to go away for the weekend but I decided I would stay home for this!
Come Saturday, I set my alarm clock for 12AM instead of 12PM (I think that's right). So I get a text message that woke me up and I took a look at the digital clock, oh 11:22, then I do a double take and oh sh**! It's actually 1:22! So I rushed and got ready. I ended pretty much on time. The train took forever to come of course. I ended up arriving at the funeral home a little after 3 and I called up Chris, and he came over in a minute. We went into the funeral home, it was quiet and dim lighting with dark walls and floors everyone in and around was dressed up in mostly black. I felt bad that I didn't dress in the same way (I had a blue polo shirt on and jeans and of course I was only with Chris at this point who had on a suit). It was VERY quiet and riiiight as we walked in Chris' phone started ringing and everyone looked at us, I answered his phone and went outside. It was Lucas he just got out the train station and I told him how to get to the funeral home. When I went back in Chris was talking to the receptionist and she didn't know who talked to us, she told us we usually would not be able to just sit in on a wake. When Lucas arrived he told her exactly what he was told when he was on the phone but she told us the same thing and told us you're always supposed to get a name of who you're talking to on the phone. She told us to sit and wait and the funeral director would come down and talk to us. Then Kevin showed up also. We were all waiting in the little waiting room and watching a bunch of people come and go. Everyone was super serious and really dressed up even the little kids that were like 2. Everyone looked depressed even the people working there. I felt that I had to whisper when we were talking in the waiting room. Eventually at 4 o'clock the funeral director showed up and told us that we couldn't observe because the next part of the service is starting which is a more personal thing for the family and we would have been able to observe if we came earlier (but we could have been observing while we were waiting for him the whole time, but I knew he was going to come down when the wake was ending I bet Chris while we were waiting). He was nice about it though and I thought there's not much we can do about that so I said alright thanks and we left. Even though this didn't work out as we wanted I still looked at it as a somewhat successful experience. It showed me how serious and sensitive death is to people. I saw how serious the dress code was because I felt horrible that I was the only one (besides Kevin) who wasn't dressed up in a black suit and I don't know if I should feel bad about that. I saw how the funeral home approaches death, because the vibe of serious and quiet was very strong as soon as you walk in the place. Just how people look around and in the funeral home says a lot everyone was so serious but as soon as we crossed the street leaving the vibe was gone, and we went to IHOP which I said is kind of like a funeral because usually everyone goes out together and gets food. In my mind this could've been looked at as a negative but I flipped it to a positive and had a hands on experience with the care of the death.
The bad short video we took if you wanna see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knI-nnK-Asg
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
HW 54
Even though I don't really practice religion very much I am Christian and grew up in that religion. I decided to compare two religions to see the different ways that they approach death. I chose to compare Christianity to Buddhism because Buddhism is a popular religion and I have learned a little about it in the past. I know they had a different view of life after death, so I wanted to do some research and look at how the two religions go about the topic.
Christians believe that you have one life on earth. Then based on your actions and beliefs in life it is decided if you go to heaven (Final Judgement). In heaven there is eternal life where God and other people you know are present. There is no suffering and sins in heaven. Some Christians also believe in hell which is where people who sin or are non believers of God go to and it is torture, they suffer (eternally for some religions).
Buddhists on the other hand have completely different beliefs of what happens after someone dies. The religion teaches that you are stuck in a cycle of life (samsara), after you die there is rebirth and you die and then you're born again. How good your life is each time depends on your Karma which depends on the persons sins and actions in the previous lives. Their goal is to get out of this repetitive cycle and reach Nirvana. Nirvana is a state in which there is no suffering, desire, or sense of self. The person is released from the effects of karma and samsara. They are free.
Obviously, their beliefs on after life are very different from each other. I found this interesting because although the beliefs are very different, both religions have a similar theme. They both have some kind of reason to keep people going and to make people do good. They both try to keep people from sinning and doing bad because the people think that they will be rewarded. They both have this peaceful place that is the goal: heaven and Nirvana (even though it's not a place). This connects to the book I was reading about care of the dead called Curtains because the author talks about how all religions have similar parts because he believes that if we thought we just disappear when we die we wouldn't get anything done. I find this idea very interesting. I think that the Buddhist way is a little negative though because it kind of seems like they make life seem like a bad thing filled with suffering from this unnecessary greed and desire. But overall they still have this peaceful thing that is the goal for everyone to reach.
Refrences:
http://www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/cycle.htm
http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/beliefs/afterlife.htm
http://www.religioustolerance.org/buddhism4.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_and_Christianity
Christians believe that you have one life on earth. Then based on your actions and beliefs in life it is decided if you go to heaven (Final Judgement). In heaven there is eternal life where God and other people you know are present. There is no suffering and sins in heaven. Some Christians also believe in hell which is where people who sin or are non believers of God go to and it is torture, they suffer (eternally for some religions).
Buddhists on the other hand have completely different beliefs of what happens after someone dies. The religion teaches that you are stuck in a cycle of life (samsara), after you die there is rebirth and you die and then you're born again. How good your life is each time depends on your Karma which depends on the persons sins and actions in the previous lives. Their goal is to get out of this repetitive cycle and reach Nirvana. Nirvana is a state in which there is no suffering, desire, or sense of self. The person is released from the effects of karma and samsara. They are free.
Obviously, their beliefs on after life are very different from each other. I found this interesting because although the beliefs are very different, both religions have a similar theme. They both have some kind of reason to keep people going and to make people do good. They both try to keep people from sinning and doing bad because the people think that they will be rewarded. They both have this peaceful place that is the goal: heaven and Nirvana (even though it's not a place). This connects to the book I was reading about care of the dead called Curtains because the author talks about how all religions have similar parts because he believes that if we thought we just disappear when we die we wouldn't get anything done. I find this idea very interesting. I think that the Buddhist way is a little negative though because it kind of seems like they make life seem like a bad thing filled with suffering from this unnecessary greed and desire. But overall they still have this peaceful thing that is the goal for everyone to reach.
Refrences:
http://www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/cycle.htm
http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/beliefs/afterlife.htm
http://www.religioustolerance.org/buddhism4.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_and_Christianity
Monday, May 9, 2011
HW 53
I decided to interview my grandfather because I just recently learned that he was a hearse driver for a funeral home after he retired. I never knew this so I thought it would be interesting to talk to him about it. I didn't want to bother him much I just asked him a few questions to see if I could get a basic understanding of what his experience was. I made up questions based up on my curiosity about what it is like to work with dead people and I was wondering if a job in the funeral business would have an affect on your own personal views.
I interviewed him over the phone so I didn't get his word for word answers so I just put the basic answers that he gave me to the questions.
The questions I asked were:
What were your responsibilities for the job?
He said that he started out just helping out a friend (who was a funeral director) at one funeral carrying the casket and things like that and at the end the guy gave him some money and then from there he started helping maybe once a week. Then it was like 2 or 3 funerals in one day that he was driving the dead bodies around or the families. He said basically his job was to transport the people and just make them as comfortable as possible.
How did it feel to be working with dead people every day? Did it feel weird to be driving around these dead bodies and being around people mourning?
He said this had no affect on him, he didn't feel strange with driving around dead people and being around people mourning, he had been around death during his life already.
Did this job change the view you have on death and funerals?
He said that this job, which he had for about 10-12 years, did not change his view on death and funerals at all.
These were the answers I could have probably expected from my grandfather, he's a nice man but he's not easily phased and bothered by things. He is very laid back and very practical and takes things for what they are without questioning or blowing things out of proportion. Birth, death, babies, old people, it's part of life and all very natural to him. Maybe it's from being at war, and having 6 children or just being 86 years old. He has seen friends and family pass away. I still got an understanding of what this job was like for him. From what I heard I believe, that a person with skin not as thick as his, would be more affected by the experience of working in the funeral business. I think that like my grandfather said, you get used to it and it doesn't really seem like a big deal, after a while. I connected this to the movie that we started watching today: A Family Undertaking, because it seems like when people really see and are around death a lot, really seeing death face to face they become more comfortable and accepting of what it really is, a natural progression of life.
I interviewed him over the phone so I didn't get his word for word answers so I just put the basic answers that he gave me to the questions.
The questions I asked were:
What were your responsibilities for the job?
He said that he started out just helping out a friend (who was a funeral director) at one funeral carrying the casket and things like that and at the end the guy gave him some money and then from there he started helping maybe once a week. Then it was like 2 or 3 funerals in one day that he was driving the dead bodies around or the families. He said basically his job was to transport the people and just make them as comfortable as possible.
How did it feel to be working with dead people every day? Did it feel weird to be driving around these dead bodies and being around people mourning?
He said this had no affect on him, he didn't feel strange with driving around dead people and being around people mourning, he had been around death during his life already.
Did this job change the view you have on death and funerals?
He said that this job, which he had for about 10-12 years, did not change his view on death and funerals at all.
These were the answers I could have probably expected from my grandfather, he's a nice man but he's not easily phased and bothered by things. He is very laid back and very practical and takes things for what they are without questioning or blowing things out of proportion. Birth, death, babies, old people, it's part of life and all very natural to him. Maybe it's from being at war, and having 6 children or just being 86 years old. He has seen friends and family pass away. I still got an understanding of what this job was like for him. From what I heard I believe, that a person with skin not as thick as his, would be more affected by the experience of working in the funeral business. I think that like my grandfather said, you get used to it and it doesn't really seem like a big deal, after a while. I connected this to the movie that we started watching today: A Family Undertaking, because it seems like when people really see and are around death a lot, really seeing death face to face they become more comfortable and accepting of what it really is, a natural progression of life.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
HW 52
Book: Curtains by Tom Jokinen
Precis:
Funerals are all about putting the people at peace and make them comfortable. So the funeral business has to work with different religions because religion is important to many people and they have different practices. It isn't that different though because they all are set up to protect the people from getting too emotionally hurt from death. Keep in mind the funeral business is a business though and they make money off all these practices that help people feel better.
Quotes:
"It all starts to sound like a fairy tale, Rena said. At least religious faith, when it comes to death, is a fairy tale that soothes. It doesn't deny there's a monster in the closet or a wolf in the woods, but it tames them."
"All religions, says Solomon, have one thing in common: some belief that is in violation of natural law. The Christian resurrection, the Hindu belief in reincarnation are "facts"for which the the empirical evidence is still pending."
"If we think that we just disappear - snap, lights out - we'd never get any work done, either at the office or in benefit of the gene pool."
Analysis:
I found this last section of the book very interesting but sad at the same time. The way it talks about how society and religion shapes our ways for dealing with death I found really interesting because it explained the reasons instead of just talking about the practices. I also found it sad because the way it made me feel was that we're kind of lying to ourselves and not embracing death for what we know it really is. Our way of living is set up so we can make more meaning to our lives and get work done. I would want to live in a way where you don't have to just think about getting work done but you can really embrace that your time here is limited and you should do what you want to and find what makes you happy. I don't know if I'm just rambling but it made me feel like we're machines and we are being programed to think about stuff a certain way so the world can get work out of us. I also so a lot of the business part of funerals which I also found sad, because it seems like everyone out there's a leech trying to suck the most money out of you.. And especially because death is such a difficult thing to deal with. I connected this to the Food unit from earlier in the year. I connected the two because I got the same feeling from both about the people in the business, they seem like they're just out to make money off of you. The food business knows that you're going to need to eat food and want the cheap and quick food, and the business for funerals know that you're going to have loved ones dying and you're going to follow traditions and want to pay respect to the dead person. They seem like things that are inevitable and there aren't very easy ways out of them.
Precis:
Funerals are all about putting the people at peace and make them comfortable. So the funeral business has to work with different religions because religion is important to many people and they have different practices. It isn't that different though because they all are set up to protect the people from getting too emotionally hurt from death. Keep in mind the funeral business is a business though and they make money off all these practices that help people feel better.
Quotes:
"It all starts to sound like a fairy tale, Rena said. At least religious faith, when it comes to death, is a fairy tale that soothes. It doesn't deny there's a monster in the closet or a wolf in the woods, but it tames them."
"All religions, says Solomon, have one thing in common: some belief that is in violation of natural law. The Christian resurrection, the Hindu belief in reincarnation are "facts"for which the the empirical evidence is still pending."
"If we think that we just disappear - snap, lights out - we'd never get any work done, either at the office or in benefit of the gene pool."
Analysis:
I found this last section of the book very interesting but sad at the same time. The way it talks about how society and religion shapes our ways for dealing with death I found really interesting because it explained the reasons instead of just talking about the practices. I also found it sad because the way it made me feel was that we're kind of lying to ourselves and not embracing death for what we know it really is. Our way of living is set up so we can make more meaning to our lives and get work done. I would want to live in a way where you don't have to just think about getting work done but you can really embrace that your time here is limited and you should do what you want to and find what makes you happy. I don't know if I'm just rambling but it made me feel like we're machines and we are being programed to think about stuff a certain way so the world can get work out of us. I also so a lot of the business part of funerals which I also found sad, because it seems like everyone out there's a leech trying to suck the most money out of you.. And especially because death is such a difficult thing to deal with. I connected this to the Food unit from earlier in the year. I connected the two because I got the same feeling from both about the people in the business, they seem like they're just out to make money off of you. The food business knows that you're going to need to eat food and want the cheap and quick food, and the business for funerals know that you're going to have loved ones dying and you're going to follow traditions and want to pay respect to the dead person. They seem like things that are inevitable and there aren't very easy ways out of them.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
HW 51
Book: Curtains by Tom Jokinen
Precis:
Everyone has a role to play in our society when it comes to death. They can't act too sad because grief is a sign of weakness in society. We also have an obsession with happiness and entertainment a sad person doesn't fit the norm and grief is not entertaining at all. So we feel bad about grieving and being depressed about death. We do anything we can to change the death process into something it's not to ease the grief.
Quotes:
"We treat mourning as a weakness, a self-indulgence, and that a modern widow would no more throw herself on the casket than she would take off her clothes or pee in public."
"In the end, a simple cremation, advertised at $695, wound up costing the family $2,100 with province of Manitoba's blessing."
"Without some system of defence we'd be paralyzed with overwhelming terror over the fact that we're 'breathing,defecating pieces of meat, no more important or durable than a lizard or a potato,' he says. So what we did, cleverly and quite unconsciously was to collaborate in the construction of culture to give us a sense that we live in a world that has meaning, a world with art and industry and borders and trade rules and quality daytime talk-television, all earthly distractions from the nasty fact parked in our heads we are doomed."
Analysis:
I found this part of the book even more interesting because it goes more into the society and reasons for the ways we go about when dealing with the dead. It explains how society shapes us to feel about death and also mentions religion and how we make ourselves believe that death is not really the end and that the dead person is going to a better place. I think it's interesting that we try to fantasize in our ways of dealing with death. We do things to block out the pain and find ways not to show our sadness. I also found a bunch of things sad like how the funeral services seem to be crooked and trying to just make as much money off the people who are suffering already from losing someone. Also things like people wanting to have light "pure" ashes, whatever that means... It shouldn't matter what color the persons ashes are! It just seems ridiculous and makes me feel like people are just trying to create this fantasy in their head. It makes me wonder how can we deal with death in a more genuine way? Interesting book...
Precis:
Everyone has a role to play in our society when it comes to death. They can't act too sad because grief is a sign of weakness in society. We also have an obsession with happiness and entertainment a sad person doesn't fit the norm and grief is not entertaining at all. So we feel bad about grieving and being depressed about death. We do anything we can to change the death process into something it's not to ease the grief.
Quotes:
"We treat mourning as a weakness, a self-indulgence, and that a modern widow would no more throw herself on the casket than she would take off her clothes or pee in public."
"In the end, a simple cremation, advertised at $695, wound up costing the family $2,100 with province of Manitoba's blessing."
"Without some system of defence we'd be paralyzed with overwhelming terror over the fact that we're 'breathing,defecating pieces of meat, no more important or durable than a lizard or a potato,' he says. So what we did, cleverly and quite unconsciously was to collaborate in the construction of culture to give us a sense that we live in a world that has meaning, a world with art and industry and borders and trade rules and quality daytime talk-television, all earthly distractions from the nasty fact parked in our heads we are doomed."
Analysis:
I found this part of the book even more interesting because it goes more into the society and reasons for the ways we go about when dealing with the dead. It explains how society shapes us to feel about death and also mentions religion and how we make ourselves believe that death is not really the end and that the dead person is going to a better place. I think it's interesting that we try to fantasize in our ways of dealing with death. We do things to block out the pain and find ways not to show our sadness. I also found a bunch of things sad like how the funeral services seem to be crooked and trying to just make as much money off the people who are suffering already from losing someone. Also things like people wanting to have light "pure" ashes, whatever that means... It shouldn't matter what color the persons ashes are! It just seems ridiculous and makes me feel like people are just trying to create this fantasy in their head. It makes me wonder how can we deal with death in a more genuine way? Interesting book...
Sunday, May 1, 2011
HW 50
Book: Curtains by Tom Jokinen
Precis:
Working in a funeral home is strange and uncomfortable, to be around all these bodies with no life. The bodies are all dressed up and painted to appear as if they are still alive. It's hard to get used to because it's not natural. In our society we are covering up how death really looks to help people deal with death.
Quotes:
"Why do we each spend up to $10,000- for most, the third-biggest cash outlay in our lives after a house and a car, according to Jessica Mitford, who wrote The American Way of Death- on funerals?"
"To stick to the skin, real makeup needs heat, which the dead no longer have. Mortician's makeup is more like paint. The green woman needs a heavy base."
"His eyes are open one more than the other, but they're dry and foggy. This is the unembalmed, undecorated, raw look of death."
Analysis:
This book is craaaaaazy. It's interesting because I (along with probably everyone else) don't really know about the process of what actually happens to a dead body before the funeral. It's strange to think about how people try to make a dead person look alive, it's not natural. We are trying to make up death to look like something that it's actually not. A dead body isn't supposed to look good. We are separated from death in our society and in order to help people deal with it we make the bodies look good and put them in a box to keep things out when they're buried. We change death from what it really is in order to help ourselves deal with the pain of losing someone.. The book is helping me understand why our dominant social practices around death are the way they are.
Precis:
Working in a funeral home is strange and uncomfortable, to be around all these bodies with no life. The bodies are all dressed up and painted to appear as if they are still alive. It's hard to get used to because it's not natural. In our society we are covering up how death really looks to help people deal with death.
Quotes:
"Why do we each spend up to $10,000- for most, the third-biggest cash outlay in our lives after a house and a car, according to Jessica Mitford, who wrote The American Way of Death- on funerals?"
"To stick to the skin, real makeup needs heat, which the dead no longer have. Mortician's makeup is more like paint. The green woman needs a heavy base."
"His eyes are open one more than the other, but they're dry and foggy. This is the unembalmed, undecorated, raw look of death."
Analysis:
This book is craaaaaazy. It's interesting because I (along with probably everyone else) don't really know about the process of what actually happens to a dead body before the funeral. It's strange to think about how people try to make a dead person look alive, it's not natural. We are trying to make up death to look like something that it's actually not. A dead body isn't supposed to look good. We are separated from death in our society and in order to help people deal with it we make the bodies look good and put them in a box to keep things out when they're buried. We change death from what it really is in order to help ourselves deal with the pain of losing someone.. The book is helping me understand why our dominant social practices around death are the way they are.
HW 49
My comments on other blogs:
Javon:
I liked your post because it brought up a lot of aspects about death that I haven't even thought about since starting the unit. Such as the part where you say that people get more respect and “a lot of people who act like they care”.. This made me think about why does death change how everyone thinks about you? I also never thought: is the care of the dead even significant? Does it even matter what you do with the person once they're dead? It made me think a lot.. Good post.
Amanda:
I really liked this blog post. The way it was written made me automatically think of the gold fish as if they were people and got me thinking about what's the right and wrong way to deal with a death.. I liked it because it was talking about gold fish so it made everything seem simple and not as big of a deal.. I enjoyed reading it!
Chris:
I liked your blog post because even though you didn't know much about the care of the dead you still found some topics to go into which I found to be very interesting.. I liked how you talked about how being around someone dead at a funeral brings up death which is often pushed off to the very back of everyones mind. This made me think: would it even be possible to live without having death pushed off to the back of your mind? I also like how you talk about the affect of death on other people because I think that's a very important thing when thinking about care of the dead. When you die you're gone, it's the people around you that are going to be affected and have to keep living.
______________________________________________________________________
Comments on my blog:
Amanda:
Hey Jasper,
Your post does a wonderful job of comparing and contrasting a few viewpoints on care of the dead, your writing is thoughtful and also succinct. The questions and answers you wrote about presented new points of view that I had not considered. I enjoy how through out your summary you compare the others points of view to your own beliefs.
Mom:
I like how you got different opinions and viewpoints of how people view funerals and care of the dead. It was interesting to hear to hear views of traditions and how they make sense to some and maybe not to others. It is quite evident that everyone is different and what is right for one, may not necessarily be right for another. Therefore, it make sense to talk about it and find out how people want to be cared for after their death.
Chris:
Hey Jasper,
I think that you have a good blog post. The different interviews do bring different points up, and it is clear that there are different ideas on the way "correct" care of the dead is to be done. I like that you talked about you're ideas though when analyzing this. I think something that some people could have miss understood (like myself) about this blog is only analyzing what people said. This is good but there needs to be what the blogger thinks about the topic incorporated as well. This is your blog of course. So I think that and the comparison between your view, the first person's view and the third persons view. The second person slacked.
Javon:
Jasper I enjoyed reading your post because the questions you decided to ask where questions I was curious about. The different interviews were significant to the post because you were able to get more then one opinion and point of view. The thing that stood out the most to me was how you compared your personal beliefs to the people being interviewed beliefs. Keep up the good work.
Javon:
I liked your post because it brought up a lot of aspects about death that I haven't even thought about since starting the unit. Such as the part where you say that people get more respect and “a lot of people who act like they care”.. This made me think about why does death change how everyone thinks about you? I also never thought: is the care of the dead even significant? Does it even matter what you do with the person once they're dead? It made me think a lot.. Good post.
Amanda:
I really liked this blog post. The way it was written made me automatically think of the gold fish as if they were people and got me thinking about what's the right and wrong way to deal with a death.. I liked it because it was talking about gold fish so it made everything seem simple and not as big of a deal.. I enjoyed reading it!
Chris:
I liked your blog post because even though you didn't know much about the care of the dead you still found some topics to go into which I found to be very interesting.. I liked how you talked about how being around someone dead at a funeral brings up death which is often pushed off to the very back of everyones mind. This made me think: would it even be possible to live without having death pushed off to the back of your mind? I also like how you talk about the affect of death on other people because I think that's a very important thing when thinking about care of the dead. When you die you're gone, it's the people around you that are going to be affected and have to keep living.
______________________________________________________________________
Comments on my blog:
Amanda:
Hey Jasper,
Your post does a wonderful job of comparing and contrasting a few viewpoints on care of the dead, your writing is thoughtful and also succinct. The questions and answers you wrote about presented new points of view that I had not considered. I enjoy how through out your summary you compare the others points of view to your own beliefs.
Mom:
I like how you got different opinions and viewpoints of how people view funerals and care of the dead. It was interesting to hear to hear views of traditions and how they make sense to some and maybe not to others. It is quite evident that everyone is different and what is right for one, may not necessarily be right for another. Therefore, it make sense to talk about it and find out how people want to be cared for after their death.
Chris:
Hey Jasper,
I think that you have a good blog post. The different interviews do bring different points up, and it is clear that there are different ideas on the way "correct" care of the dead is to be done. I like that you talked about you're ideas though when analyzing this. I think something that some people could have miss understood (like myself) about this blog is only analyzing what people said. This is good but there needs to be what the blogger thinks about the topic incorporated as well. This is your blog of course. So I think that and the comparison between your view, the first person's view and the third persons view. The second person slacked.
Javon:
Jasper I enjoyed reading your post because the questions you decided to ask where questions I was curious about. The different interviews were significant to the post because you were able to get more then one opinion and point of view. The thing that stood out the most to me was how you compared your personal beliefs to the people being interviewed beliefs. Keep up the good work.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
HW 48
I never really talked that much about the care of the dead with my parents. I knew that they want to be cremated but that's pretty much it.. I wanted to see if my parents had an old fashion view on the topic or if they really thought about it the same as the previous people I talked to. So I asked the same questions and made the comparisons. My parent's talked a lot and went into some personal memories, so I didn't write everything that they said but just some to give the basic vibe of their views.
Questions:
1. What are your thoughts about the dominant social practices of care of the dead in our society (funerals, dressed in all black, mourning, burying the dead body)?
Mom- I'm not used to viewings and I don't agree with putting make up on a dead body and to pay a funeral home to fix them up and dress them up. I believe in cremation I think that's better. I think that you don't have to wear black to mourn and I don't think it's necessary but if you want to I think it's fine. I like when people have a memorial and celebrate the life of the person that died because I think it's good to think about the good times you had with the person.
Dad- I've been raised with it and I understand it, I've been brought up where its a way of showing respect to the person and showing sympathy to the family of the person who's lost, but personally I think the whole process is a little weird. I think it's much better to get together and have a memorial service and talk about the person's life and your relationship with them and things that you remember with them... And I think everyone should wear pink (he laughed and said I'm only kidding don't write that). A lot of it I think is just tradition.
2. What do you think is the correct way to deal with a death?
Mom- Cremation and have a memorial service.
Dad- I think to have a memorial service and I don't care how they dispose of the body. Probably the best thing is to donate the persons body parts for medical purposes. And to have a dinner with reeeaaaally good food and drink afterwards.
3. What are your thoughts on funerals vs. celebrations of life?
At a funeral it's usually a preist talking about the person and they have a very limited contact and knowledge of the person.. Where when you have friends talking about them it's a much more personal experience.
4. What do you think about open caskets at funerals?
Mom- I don't like them. I think it's weird. I believe the person is the soul and the body is just the vehicle.
Dad- I think it's a little strange to view a dead body that's been made up and preserved. It's better to remember the person from when they were alive.
5. What do you want people to do with you once you die?
Mom- Spread my ashes in Sweden over the Baltic sea. And keep a picture of me in your home and think of me now and then.. You don't have to go to a special place to see me. And I do want someone at my funeral singing.
Dad- That was the wishes we put in our will but maybe that will change. (And have a memorial service).
These answers somewhat surprised me.. They seemed to have EXACTLY all the same thoughts that I did. My Mom thought everything about the dominant social practices is strange and she doesn't agree with it at all and she's not used to it. My Dad seemed to understand it more probably because he grew up in America but he also thought that the way we do things are very weird. This surprised me because I have seen them go to funerals and I have been with them to funerals but they never really expressed their thoughts about it.. The only thing they ever went into was telling me and my brothers what they want us to do when they die. I think it's interesting that I didn't see any difference between my generation and their thoughts.
Questions:
1. What are your thoughts about the dominant social practices of care of the dead in our society (funerals, dressed in all black, mourning, burying the dead body)?
Mom- I'm not used to viewings and I don't agree with putting make up on a dead body and to pay a funeral home to fix them up and dress them up. I believe in cremation I think that's better. I think that you don't have to wear black to mourn and I don't think it's necessary but if you want to I think it's fine. I like when people have a memorial and celebrate the life of the person that died because I think it's good to think about the good times you had with the person.
Dad- I've been raised with it and I understand it, I've been brought up where its a way of showing respect to the person and showing sympathy to the family of the person who's lost, but personally I think the whole process is a little weird. I think it's much better to get together and have a memorial service and talk about the person's life and your relationship with them and things that you remember with them... And I think everyone should wear pink (he laughed and said I'm only kidding don't write that). A lot of it I think is just tradition.
2. What do you think is the correct way to deal with a death?
Mom- Cremation and have a memorial service.
Dad- I think to have a memorial service and I don't care how they dispose of the body. Probably the best thing is to donate the persons body parts for medical purposes. And to have a dinner with reeeaaaally good food and drink afterwards.
3. What are your thoughts on funerals vs. celebrations of life?
At a funeral it's usually a preist talking about the person and they have a very limited contact and knowledge of the person.. Where when you have friends talking about them it's a much more personal experience.
4. What do you think about open caskets at funerals?
Mom- I don't like them. I think it's weird. I believe the person is the soul and the body is just the vehicle.
Dad- I think it's a little strange to view a dead body that's been made up and preserved. It's better to remember the person from when they were alive.
5. What do you want people to do with you once you die?
Mom- Spread my ashes in Sweden over the Baltic sea. And keep a picture of me in your home and think of me now and then.. You don't have to go to a special place to see me. And I do want someone at my funeral singing.
Dad- That was the wishes we put in our will but maybe that will change. (And have a memorial service).
These answers somewhat surprised me.. They seemed to have EXACTLY all the same thoughts that I did. My Mom thought everything about the dominant social practices is strange and she doesn't agree with it at all and she's not used to it. My Dad seemed to understand it more probably because he grew up in America but he also thought that the way we do things are very weird. This surprised me because I have seen them go to funerals and I have been with them to funerals but they never really expressed their thoughts about it.. The only thing they ever went into was telling me and my brothers what they want us to do when they die. I think it's interesting that I didn't see any difference between my generation and their thoughts.
Friday, April 22, 2011
HW 47
For my interviews I looked back at the previous homework assignment and thought about what I thought was strange about the dominant social practices of care of the dead, and I formed some questions about them to see if other people felt the same way as I did. I just asked a few random people my questions.
My questions were:
1. What are your thoughts about the dominant social practices of care of the dead in our society (funerals, dressed in all black, mourning, burying the dead body)?
2. What do you think is the correct way to deal with a death?
3. What are your thoughts on funerals vs. celebrations of life?
4. What do you think about open caskets at funerals?
5. What do you want people to do with you once you die?
Answers I got to the questions were:
Person 1:
1. I think we are all very closed minded when it comes to funerals. Everything we do have to be fitting according to the standards society has set. For examples dressing all black for funerals? Why not instead of mourning for someone death we all celebrate their life and accomplishments. Along with that we should wear colors that are vibrant to celebrate the persons life and not bring a sorrow feeling. It's fine to mourn at someone’s death but crying and feeling depressed is not going to bring the person back. Live in the now along with everyone to bring back fond memories of the person who has died.
2. The correct way to deal with death is inform those closely related to the person who has passed away. Family and close friends. Don't invite strangers who will feel left out unless you incorporate that person into the whole even/funeral. Don't just let him sit there without a clue of how the person who passed away was like while they were alive. Give the person background. It doesn't have to be at a funeral home it could be where the person used to live. It would be nice to have the person be at home around his family and friends one last time all together instead of at a funeral home paying a lot of money when it can all be a home under the right conditions. Don't let the funeral at home take place a month after the person has died make it the day after so it does not rot.
3. I think celebration of life is much more important than a funeral. At a funeral everyone is very solemn and it’s something people want to leave from and not be reminded about death. During a celebration of life you don't think of death in such a negative way. You look back on a person’s life and you think death is eminent but everyone goes out with a bang when everyone recalls the good times they had with that person.
4. I think that open caskets at a funeral are fine depending on the state of the body. I don't think people want to go up to a dead body that has been shot in the face a bunch of times. But at the same time some people are not comfortable looking at a dead person face to face. In my opinion it's good that way a person can see death up close and accept it. In other cultures like tribesman, they see death everyday when someone dies and don't oppose seeing the bodies because its part of life. People come to life when they are born and they die. Society just has us with these implemented ideas of not dealing with death unless people are at a funeral home that’s the only place death is acceptable to see.
5. To tell the truth I have been on the fence about either wanting to be buried or cremated. I would like to be buried but only because I know people will come visit my grave and that way I can feel at ease knowing that my legacy will be there because everyone wants to be remembered I don’t care what anyone says. On the other hand once your dead you are done why be buried instead be cremated that way no more cemeteries have to be expanded or built so other bodies can occupy it. What sucks is either way you have to pay a lot of money to be buried or cremated. I would rather be cremated and have my ashes spread out in Mexico and the U.S. and some ashes left over by some family but if that is too gross then just places where I use to live at or around.
Like a house I will soon own in Mexico.
And I would like a celebration of my life no funeral I don't want people to be sad I want people to remember me for the funny person I was and how I impacted their lives.
Everyone dies and once people realize that they mean nothing both in life and when they are gone we can all come to terms with death and not be put off by it and accept it as a regular part of life.
…PS Andy, Jeffery Rodriguez says what up!
Person 2:
1. They are draining
2. I don’t think there is a "correct" way it's however the family and friends (sometimes the dead) want it to be
3. I'd prefer to celebrate the life of the person who passed. They shouldn’t be sad that they’re gone, they should be happy they lived.
4. Never been to one so I don’t really care for them.
5. Bury me I guess.
Person 3:
1. I don't see anything wrong with the way the care of the dead is currently being done. I feel like the only thing that is slightly disturbing is cremation because I see that the person that you love is being thought of for one last time then they are burned to ash. I guess some people think that it is smarter because it cost less and it will be one less spot that is being used in a cemetery for probably the next hundred years. However the way I grew up was under this dominant social practice, funerals are to remember the body. Burials are to say goodbye to the body but the tombstone and burial site keeps it so that you can go visit the person. What is there to fix?
2. The idea of something being correct would be an opinion, so I don't think there is a correct way. But then again you ask what I think is correct, so what I think is a good way to handle the dead is however they want to be handled. In my interviews a lot of people said it would be up to their children and the person they are in a relationship with or married to but I don't think if someone wants to
me cremated you should bury them. Or vice versa. If they have any kind of crazy request I think these should also be respected because it is the way they want to go out and the way they want to be seen. They should be treated however they wanted to be treated.
3. I think the funeral is a celebration of life. It is like saying goodbye and people cry because it is hard to say goodbye to someone you have probably gotten close to in life. However I do think that funerals are celebrations of the person’s life. People tend to be sad because there is a lot to cope with in realizing that this person is gone, but seeing the body one last time and being able to say goodbye, and talk about what the person meant to you seems to be a celebration in my eyes.
4. Open casket funerals make more sense to me then closed casket funerals. I don't see why you would go to a funeral and not be able to see the body. Then again it all connects back to what the person who died wanted to happen to their body when they died. If a person wanted a closed casket funeral why not? However I think open casket funerals make more sense.
5. Bury me, next to my family. Play music. Remember me for who I was.
I thought it was interesting to see what these other people thought. The first two people seemed to agree with me about the dominant social practices of care of the dead and funerals, because they both thought that the way it is done is depressing and draining. The third person gave me a different viewpoint; he said that he felt that there was nothing wrong with the way care of the dead is in our society. He felt that everything made sense and it wasn’t necessarily depressing because of the way it is done but it is only depressing because someone you loved died, this idea makes sense to me but I disagree because I feel like everyone wearing black is pointless and makes things more depressing and also the vibe of funerals seem negative because they don’t seem to focus on celebrating the persons life. The first person also touched on the idea that I was thinking about which was spending a lot of money on a funeral and being buried. He talked about how it’s a shame that both being cremated and buried cost so much money. He thought that there is no point of spending so much money if you can get together with friends and family at a more comfortable place like where the person lived. I got a bunch of different answers about having an open casket funeral; no one really had the same thoughts as me about it. In my mind it makes sense to have the casket open to see the body, but at the same time it doesn’t seem right. I think this because in my mind it’s not really like seeing the person for the last time because it’s just the body of the person it doesn’t have “the soul”. They saw it as making sense because you’re seeing the person for a last time and saying goodbye. Also a new viewpoint I heard was that looking at the dead body at an open casket funeral is like seeing death first hand and helping people accept death. This kind of changed my thoughts about open casket funerals because when I thought about it that really made sense. Because I feel like death is kind of separated from us, so maybe it’s good to see that dead person face to face. Lastly, everyone I talked to seem to want to be remembered after they die and not have people sad but celebrate their lives for who they were and what they accomplished.
My questions were:
1. What are your thoughts about the dominant social practices of care of the dead in our society (funerals, dressed in all black, mourning, burying the dead body)?
2. What do you think is the correct way to deal with a death?
3. What are your thoughts on funerals vs. celebrations of life?
4. What do you think about open caskets at funerals?
5. What do you want people to do with you once you die?
Answers I got to the questions were:
Person 1:
1. I think we are all very closed minded when it comes to funerals. Everything we do have to be fitting according to the standards society has set. For examples dressing all black for funerals? Why not instead of mourning for someone death we all celebrate their life and accomplishments. Along with that we should wear colors that are vibrant to celebrate the persons life and not bring a sorrow feeling. It's fine to mourn at someone’s death but crying and feeling depressed is not going to bring the person back. Live in the now along with everyone to bring back fond memories of the person who has died.
2. The correct way to deal with death is inform those closely related to the person who has passed away. Family and close friends. Don't invite strangers who will feel left out unless you incorporate that person into the whole even/funeral. Don't just let him sit there without a clue of how the person who passed away was like while they were alive. Give the person background. It doesn't have to be at a funeral home it could be where the person used to live. It would be nice to have the person be at home around his family and friends one last time all together instead of at a funeral home paying a lot of money when it can all be a home under the right conditions. Don't let the funeral at home take place a month after the person has died make it the day after so it does not rot.
3. I think celebration of life is much more important than a funeral. At a funeral everyone is very solemn and it’s something people want to leave from and not be reminded about death. During a celebration of life you don't think of death in such a negative way. You look back on a person’s life and you think death is eminent but everyone goes out with a bang when everyone recalls the good times they had with that person.
4. I think that open caskets at a funeral are fine depending on the state of the body. I don't think people want to go up to a dead body that has been shot in the face a bunch of times. But at the same time some people are not comfortable looking at a dead person face to face. In my opinion it's good that way a person can see death up close and accept it. In other cultures like tribesman, they see death everyday when someone dies and don't oppose seeing the bodies because its part of life. People come to life when they are born and they die. Society just has us with these implemented ideas of not dealing with death unless people are at a funeral home that’s the only place death is acceptable to see.
5. To tell the truth I have been on the fence about either wanting to be buried or cremated. I would like to be buried but only because I know people will come visit my grave and that way I can feel at ease knowing that my legacy will be there because everyone wants to be remembered I don’t care what anyone says. On the other hand once your dead you are done why be buried instead be cremated that way no more cemeteries have to be expanded or built so other bodies can occupy it. What sucks is either way you have to pay a lot of money to be buried or cremated. I would rather be cremated and have my ashes spread out in Mexico and the U.S. and some ashes left over by some family but if that is too gross then just places where I use to live at or around.
Like a house I will soon own in Mexico.
And I would like a celebration of my life no funeral I don't want people to be sad I want people to remember me for the funny person I was and how I impacted their lives.
Everyone dies and once people realize that they mean nothing both in life and when they are gone we can all come to terms with death and not be put off by it and accept it as a regular part of life.
…PS Andy, Jeffery Rodriguez says what up!
Person 2:
1. They are draining
2. I don’t think there is a "correct" way it's however the family and friends (sometimes the dead) want it to be
3. I'd prefer to celebrate the life of the person who passed. They shouldn’t be sad that they’re gone, they should be happy they lived.
4. Never been to one so I don’t really care for them.
5. Bury me I guess.
Person 3:
1. I don't see anything wrong with the way the care of the dead is currently being done. I feel like the only thing that is slightly disturbing is cremation because I see that the person that you love is being thought of for one last time then they are burned to ash. I guess some people think that it is smarter because it cost less and it will be one less spot that is being used in a cemetery for probably the next hundred years. However the way I grew up was under this dominant social practice, funerals are to remember the body. Burials are to say goodbye to the body but the tombstone and burial site keeps it so that you can go visit the person. What is there to fix?
2. The idea of something being correct would be an opinion, so I don't think there is a correct way. But then again you ask what I think is correct, so what I think is a good way to handle the dead is however they want to be handled. In my interviews a lot of people said it would be up to their children and the person they are in a relationship with or married to but I don't think if someone wants to
me cremated you should bury them. Or vice versa. If they have any kind of crazy request I think these should also be respected because it is the way they want to go out and the way they want to be seen. They should be treated however they wanted to be treated.
3. I think the funeral is a celebration of life. It is like saying goodbye and people cry because it is hard to say goodbye to someone you have probably gotten close to in life. However I do think that funerals are celebrations of the person’s life. People tend to be sad because there is a lot to cope with in realizing that this person is gone, but seeing the body one last time and being able to say goodbye, and talk about what the person meant to you seems to be a celebration in my eyes.
4. Open casket funerals make more sense to me then closed casket funerals. I don't see why you would go to a funeral and not be able to see the body. Then again it all connects back to what the person who died wanted to happen to their body when they died. If a person wanted a closed casket funeral why not? However I think open casket funerals make more sense.
5. Bury me, next to my family. Play music. Remember me for who I was.
I thought it was interesting to see what these other people thought. The first two people seemed to agree with me about the dominant social practices of care of the dead and funerals, because they both thought that the way it is done is depressing and draining. The third person gave me a different viewpoint; he said that he felt that there was nothing wrong with the way care of the dead is in our society. He felt that everything made sense and it wasn’t necessarily depressing because of the way it is done but it is only depressing because someone you loved died, this idea makes sense to me but I disagree because I feel like everyone wearing black is pointless and makes things more depressing and also the vibe of funerals seem negative because they don’t seem to focus on celebrating the persons life. The first person also touched on the idea that I was thinking about which was spending a lot of money on a funeral and being buried. He talked about how it’s a shame that both being cremated and buried cost so much money. He thought that there is no point of spending so much money if you can get together with friends and family at a more comfortable place like where the person lived. I got a bunch of different answers about having an open casket funeral; no one really had the same thoughts as me about it. In my mind it makes sense to have the casket open to see the body, but at the same time it doesn’t seem right. I think this because in my mind it’s not really like seeing the person for the last time because it’s just the body of the person it doesn’t have “the soul”. They saw it as making sense because you’re seeing the person for a last time and saying goodbye. Also a new viewpoint I heard was that looking at the dead body at an open casket funeral is like seeing death first hand and helping people accept death. This kind of changed my thoughts about open casket funerals because when I thought about it that really made sense. Because I feel like death is kind of separated from us, so maybe it’s good to see that dead person face to face. Lastly, everyone I talked to seem to want to be remembered after they die and not have people sad but celebrate their lives for who they were and what they accomplished.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
HW 46
I have a couple experiences with care of the dead because I've been to a few funerals. The ones I've been to have been open caskets. And everyone walked up to the casket and said their last goodbyes to the person. I mean this kind of makes sense to have the person there so everyone can say goodbye before the casket is closed and taken away. But I also thought it was kind of weird because the dead person has make up on and they're dressed up with their hands crossed, it seems like they're fake. It's like they're a person at the wax museum. Another thing was that I carried the casket with a few other guys at the last funeral I went to and it seemed expensive which made me think: why would you spend a ton of money on this box that you're just going to bury in the ground? These were the only things I can think of about my experiences. I guess the only way I've been taught to think and act towards dead people is to be respectful. I think the social norms around the treatment of dead people in our culture is to show respect and to remember the good things about them. I don't think either of these are weird because they both make sense because no one wants to be remembered for the bad things. These are pretty much all my thoughts about care of the dead. I'm not really sure of what's not normal about our treatment of dead people..
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
HW 45
Response to Chris's comment:
Thanks for the comment! I completely agree with what you said. I think I should have explained my thoughts on the ideas I explored in my project and also done some research. I just didn't want to explain everything that happened so much because then there would be no point of watching the videos. I also think we should work together on another project but figure out something that is actually possible to do with the time we have because I think our projects are more creative than everyone just doing their own thing individually.
Response to my Mom's comment:
Thanks for the comment! I agree with everything you said also. I saw a big difference from when I was interviewing you compared to a lot of other women. Like you said a lot of women seem very unsure and have little knowledge on birth. And I think it is very important to have more knowledge and to be mentally and physically prepared. I should have told you about this project so you could have helped me out with getting to a hospital/or your midwife that you told me you could have got me to meet. I'll let you know about my next projects.
Thanks for the comment! I completely agree with what you said. I think I should have explained my thoughts on the ideas I explored in my project and also done some research. I just didn't want to explain everything that happened so much because then there would be no point of watching the videos. I also think we should work together on another project but figure out something that is actually possible to do with the time we have because I think our projects are more creative than everyone just doing their own thing individually.
Response to my Mom's comment:
Thanks for the comment! I agree with everything you said also. I saw a big difference from when I was interviewing you compared to a lot of other women. Like you said a lot of women seem very unsure and have little knowledge on birth. And I think it is very important to have more knowledge and to be mentally and physically prepared. I should have told you about this project so you could have helped me out with getting to a hospital/or your midwife that you told me you could have got me to meet. I'll let you know about my next projects.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
HW 44
My comments !! :
Casey: Damnnnnnnnnnn.... You're experience with Dr. Moritz was very interesting. I liked how you were EXTREMELY detailed in the post and explained your thoughts throughout the whole experience also. This matters to me because you were so detailed it feels like I was actually there and it made me feel like I've had first hand experiences with birth. Great job buuuuuuuuddy!
John: Johnnnnn you talked about the “love hormone” and bonding between the mother and baby and how it can be disturbed by interventions. I like how you brought in the breastfeeding part because we didn’t talk about breastfeeding and the importance of it during the unit and I was actually unaware of the importance of it. Your project matters to me because it taught me about the bonding process between a mother and a child and you talked about the negative affects if there is no bonding.
Sophia: Sophia you're project went into reasons why people in the U.S. decide to have and not have children. I like how you explore so many reasons to have or not have children and you use statistics and surveys for evidence. This is important to me because I was also very curious about the reasons for having children because it seems like something almost everyone wants at some point in their life.
Chris: Christ great post sounds like you're group project was the best in the whole class... You're project was supposed to be about procedures conducted in hospitals during births. But after you and this Jasper guy were rejected you found people outside to interview about their views on birth and you also interviewed a very knowledgable pediatrician. I like how you still went into what you originally wanted to do the project on and gave some statistics. I also like how you talked to regular people outside but then got knowledgeable source also that you could ask some questions to. This project matters to me because it's the same thing I did and I think it's important to know what the society thinks not just the people you know! P.S. you make us seem very stupid in your post. And me more than you..
Casey: Damnnnnnnnnnn.... You're experience with Dr. Moritz was very interesting. I liked how you were EXTREMELY detailed in the post and explained your thoughts throughout the whole experience also. This matters to me because you were so detailed it feels like I was actually there and it made me feel like I've had first hand experiences with birth. Great job buuuuuuuuddy!
John: Johnnnnn you talked about the “love hormone” and bonding between the mother and baby and how it can be disturbed by interventions. I like how you brought in the breastfeeding part because we didn’t talk about breastfeeding and the importance of it during the unit and I was actually unaware of the importance of it. Your project matters to me because it taught me about the bonding process between a mother and a child and you talked about the negative affects if there is no bonding.
Sophia: Sophia you're project went into reasons why people in the U.S. decide to have and not have children. I like how you explore so many reasons to have or not have children and you use statistics and surveys for evidence. This is important to me because I was also very curious about the reasons for having children because it seems like something almost everyone wants at some point in their life.
Chris: Christ great post sounds like you're group project was the best in the whole class... You're project was supposed to be about procedures conducted in hospitals during births. But after you and this Jasper guy were rejected you found people outside to interview about their views on birth and you also interviewed a very knowledgable pediatrician. I like how you still went into what you originally wanted to do the project on and gave some statistics. I also like how you talked to regular people outside but then got knowledgeable source also that you could ask some questions to. This project matters to me because it's the same thing I did and I think it's important to know what the society thinks not just the people you know! P.S. you make us seem very stupid in your post. And me more than you..
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
HW 42
For the project Chris, Kevin and I wanted to go to a hospital and record what it's like in the hospital where they have births. I thought that this was a good idea because during the unit we watched the movie that showed us almost all home births and everything was biast leaning towards the more "natural" way and making the hospital seem horrible. We tried to get into 3 hospitals to do this project but we were rejected from 2 and didn't have enough time to get a letter from our school for the third one. So here we were on tuesday afternoon with nothing. Our plan didn't work out. So instead we put together a list of questions to ask a pediatrician that Chris and I know. She obviously isn't directly related to birth but we figured she has more knowledge then your average person and we can get a pro hospital point of view. Then we hit the streets with a video camera and tried to interview as many people as we could. We had heard the views of our classmates and our parents but I wanted to see what the rest of the society thinks. We went through a lot trying to get people to talk to us. We got chased out of Babies 'R us, and turned down by a bunch of people. Some people just didn't bother responding when we tried to get their attention and some said that they didn't feel comfortable talking about it, and some people just straight up sucked at answering questions. The fact that it was hard for us to interview people made me think about how birth is separated from our society. This one woman seemed sooooo uncomfortable when we asked her about it and I was thinking why? One person we interviewed just didn't want to go deep into their answers at all just like 2 word answers. I also noticed that the women we talked to didn't seem to even know as much as us. They didn't have birth plans, they wanted to take drugs so they didn't feel the pain. Butttt I don't want to just explain the videos because there will be no point of the videos.. So overall I would say everyone seems so into birth and they want to have kids but it seems like they're not sure about anything they just want to have a baby. The whole area between being pregnant and having a baby in your arms seems like a fog...
Some of the interviews:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGqNiRWj_4k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKeEqRq9KX8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMJndw620lk
Q and A with pediatrician:
Some of the interviews:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGqNiRWj_4k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKeEqRq9KX8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMJndw620lk
Q and A with pediatrician:
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
HW 40
Jasper: Hey Tina Cassidy thanks for writing the book Birth! Your main idea about how pregnancy and birth has changed and came to what it is today moved me and made me rethink pregnancy and birth.
Tina: Oh Really, which parts were most effective or important for you?
Jasper: Well, since I just finished the book I'll talk about the last third of the book. You focused on the position of the father during pregnancy and birth and after the baby is born, which added another angle to how birth has changed over time because you went into things like what the fathers role has been in birth over time and what it is now, so this further developed ideas in the first 2/3rds of the book. But let me be more specific. For example on page 207 you wrote: "At the end of the 1960s, only 15 percent of men were attending the births of their children. By the late 1970s, a majority of men were participating right up until the cord cutting. They had to. It was now their duty." This quote presents how you show the change over time. On page 209 you wrote: "A 1992 study asked fathers in the San Francisco area who were present for birth: Were they coaches, teammates, or witnesses? Most men said they ended up being witnesses. Being anything more, at a time of so much turmoil, was too much to ask". This quote shows what this aspect of birth is like today and brings up problems we have with birth now. Something new that I was exposed to towards the end of the book was the things that people do with placentas. I had no idea that placentas were eaten. "They considered the placenta to be sacred, and, of course, because the organ gave life and nothing was killed to put it on the table, it was considered an honor to consume it", (page 218). Before I thought that the placenta was just thrown away after birth, but I learned that the placenta could be used for many reasons, and not just eating, it is used for medicinal purposes in other places too. Overall I got many insights about pregnancy and birth and learned a lot of new things that I had no idea about before reading the book.
Tina: But what could I have done to make this a better book - that would more effectively fulfill its mission?
Jasper: Well, let's be clear, your text sought to provide narratives, historical analysis, journalistic analysis, policy analysis from the perspective of a woman for the book-reading-public to better understand pregnancy & birth in our culture. Given that aim, and your book, the best advice I would give for a 2nd edition of the text would be, to figure out the typical reasons women decide to give birth in a hospital and then confront those ideas and prove them wrong that way women won't fear giving birth at home, or in a birthing center. But I don't want you to feel like I'm criticizing. I appreciate the immense amount of labor you dedicated to this important issue and particularly for making me think about all the different aspects of pregnancy and birth and how they got to be the way they are. In fact, I'm likely to tell other's about the things I learned about in your book so maybe I can one day help someone out that is going through the pregnancy and birth process!
Tina: Thanks! Talking to you gives me hope about our future as a society!
Tina: Oh Really, which parts were most effective or important for you?
Jasper: Well, since I just finished the book I'll talk about the last third of the book. You focused on the position of the father during pregnancy and birth and after the baby is born, which added another angle to how birth has changed over time because you went into things like what the fathers role has been in birth over time and what it is now, so this further developed ideas in the first 2/3rds of the book. But let me be more specific. For example on page 207 you wrote: "At the end of the 1960s, only 15 percent of men were attending the births of their children. By the late 1970s, a majority of men were participating right up until the cord cutting. They had to. It was now their duty." This quote presents how you show the change over time. On page 209 you wrote: "A 1992 study asked fathers in the San Francisco area who were present for birth: Were they coaches, teammates, or witnesses? Most men said they ended up being witnesses. Being anything more, at a time of so much turmoil, was too much to ask". This quote shows what this aspect of birth is like today and brings up problems we have with birth now. Something new that I was exposed to towards the end of the book was the things that people do with placentas. I had no idea that placentas were eaten. "They considered the placenta to be sacred, and, of course, because the organ gave life and nothing was killed to put it on the table, it was considered an honor to consume it", (page 218). Before I thought that the placenta was just thrown away after birth, but I learned that the placenta could be used for many reasons, and not just eating, it is used for medicinal purposes in other places too. Overall I got many insights about pregnancy and birth and learned a lot of new things that I had no idea about before reading the book.
Tina: But what could I have done to make this a better book - that would more effectively fulfill its mission?
Jasper: Well, let's be clear, your text sought to provide narratives, historical analysis, journalistic analysis, policy analysis from the perspective of a woman for the book-reading-public to better understand pregnancy & birth in our culture. Given that aim, and your book, the best advice I would give for a 2nd edition of the text would be, to figure out the typical reasons women decide to give birth in a hospital and then confront those ideas and prove them wrong that way women won't fear giving birth at home, or in a birthing center. But I don't want you to feel like I'm criticizing. I appreciate the immense amount of labor you dedicated to this important issue and particularly for making me think about all the different aspects of pregnancy and birth and how they got to be the way they are. In fact, I'm likely to tell other's about the things I learned about in your book so maybe I can one day help someone out that is going through the pregnancy and birth process!
Tina: Thanks! Talking to you gives me hope about our future as a society!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
HW 39
Cassidy, Tina. Birth: The Surprising History of How We Are Born. New York: Grove Press, 2006.
Topics the book has taught me about are: cesarean sections, the role of doctors in birth over time, and tools and procedures of getting babies out.
A major insight the book tries to communicate in the second 100 pages I think is how over time birth has became more of a medical procedure, it is like a surgery now opposed to how it used to be more natural. I definitely agree with this, I understand why it has become this medical procedure because of complications it is good to have help from doctors if needed. I think that people should be allowed to have more control over how they want to have their birth when they're in hospitals. The hospital should not push drugs on the woman giving birth or force them into anything they don't want. I think people should be allowed to do their own birth their own way in the hospital so that way they don't feel pressured and they know there is help from doctors only if they need it.
Some interesting aspects of pregnancy and birth discussed in the second hundred pages that I agree deserve wider attention are the roles of doctors in birth, and what the mother wants to do. I feel like the doctors have taken over the process of birth they are deciding what the woman should do and pressuring women into doing things they don't want to. I think the mother should be able to decide how she wants to give birth and do it that way and then if there are any problems the doctor can come in and help opposed to going to the hospital and the doctors try to give you drugs and trying to make you do an epidural. Also the procedures in hospitals should be looked further into for example shaving a woman right before birth is supposed to be more "clean" but in the book it says the statistics really show that there is a higher chance of an infection.
"Doctors are likely to induce mother who are past their forty week 'due date' out of concern that the baby might get too big for an uncomplicated delivery. But statistics show that half of all healthy first-time mothers have pregnancies that last longer than forty-one weeks, and their births are fine", (Page 178). This was a quote that also applies to what I said earlier about how statistics contradict some of the things that the doctors do. I looked this up and could not find that exact statistic but I found: "the average length of a pregnancy was about 40 weeks + 8 days for first time mothers," (http://www.birth.com.au/Induction-for-being-overdue/When-is-my-baby-due) this shows that average pregnancy length of is already longer than 41 weeks yet doctors want to induce women who pass 40 weeks.
Topics the book has taught me about are: cesarean sections, the role of doctors in birth over time, and tools and procedures of getting babies out.
A major insight the book tries to communicate in the second 100 pages I think is how over time birth has became more of a medical procedure, it is like a surgery now opposed to how it used to be more natural. I definitely agree with this, I understand why it has become this medical procedure because of complications it is good to have help from doctors if needed. I think that people should be allowed to have more control over how they want to have their birth when they're in hospitals. The hospital should not push drugs on the woman giving birth or force them into anything they don't want. I think people should be allowed to do their own birth their own way in the hospital so that way they don't feel pressured and they know there is help from doctors only if they need it.
Some interesting aspects of pregnancy and birth discussed in the second hundred pages that I agree deserve wider attention are the roles of doctors in birth, and what the mother wants to do. I feel like the doctors have taken over the process of birth they are deciding what the woman should do and pressuring women into doing things they don't want to. I think the mother should be able to decide how she wants to give birth and do it that way and then if there are any problems the doctor can come in and help opposed to going to the hospital and the doctors try to give you drugs and trying to make you do an epidural. Also the procedures in hospitals should be looked further into for example shaving a woman right before birth is supposed to be more "clean" but in the book it says the statistics really show that there is a higher chance of an infection.
"Doctors are likely to induce mother who are past their forty week 'due date' out of concern that the baby might get too big for an uncomplicated delivery. But statistics show that half of all healthy first-time mothers have pregnancies that last longer than forty-one weeks, and their births are fine", (Page 178). This was a quote that also applies to what I said earlier about how statistics contradict some of the things that the doctors do. I looked this up and could not find that exact statistic but I found: "the average length of a pregnancy was about 40 weeks + 8 days for first time mothers," (http://www.birth.com.au/Induction-for-being-overdue/When-is-my-baby-due) this shows that average pregnancy length of is already longer than 41 weeks yet doctors want to induce women who pass 40 weeks.
Monday, March 14, 2011
HW 38
Book: Birth by Tina Cassidy
The book is organized with a mixture of Tina Cassidy's own experience with birth and the history of birth so far. She talks about how birth used to be and what it is like in other cultures. She also goes into the physical things about birth like how humans evolved to have wider pelvises. The major question that the book tries to answer is how birth was in the past and how has it changed over time and why? Also: How can we find a way for women to have birth in a safe and joyful way? I think these are really good questions to explore but I wouldn't really know anything about the answer. I think for starters women shouldn't be rushed in a hospital while having birth and they shouldn't be pushed to take drugs and get epidurals etc etc.. I think it should be more of a natural thing and not like a surgery. The major insight the book tries to communicate in the first 100 pages is how midwives' roles has changed through time and it is different in different places. The author talks about how births go better when there is even a midwife just there to comfort the mother. I think that this makes sense and is interesting. But a question that keeps coming up in my head is if there are all the facts and ways that seem to work better than our system how come we don't change? I feel like our country is stubborn sometimes and we don't want to change anything. Some interesting aspects of pregnancy and birth that the author and I agree deserve public attention are: the hospitals should take into consideration how the mother wants to have the birth instead of trying to make them take drugs and do all this stuff that they didn't originally do. Women shouldn't be forced into these multiple interventions. Epidurals have replaced natural things that can help like massaging and breathing exercises. I think overall women should be shown more alternatives for how to have a more joyful birth and a natural birth that is less painful because there are many ways out there. I think the author uses evidence very well. I am convinced by everything the author is writing. Although the book is definitely bias, it only shows one side. The author uses many facts from surveys and some ancient stories. But I think the numbers convince me the most. I can open up to a random page and it'll usually have some type of statistic for example page 14: "Babies born late at night have as much as 16 percent greater change of dying than babies born between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., a 2005 study found." I think it's good because there is all kind of evidence from surveys, studies, her own/friends experiences, old stories, doctors so you get all these different evidences. Overall, I think the book is very convincing.
The book is organized with a mixture of Tina Cassidy's own experience with birth and the history of birth so far. She talks about how birth used to be and what it is like in other cultures. She also goes into the physical things about birth like how humans evolved to have wider pelvises. The major question that the book tries to answer is how birth was in the past and how has it changed over time and why? Also: How can we find a way for women to have birth in a safe and joyful way? I think these are really good questions to explore but I wouldn't really know anything about the answer. I think for starters women shouldn't be rushed in a hospital while having birth and they shouldn't be pushed to take drugs and get epidurals etc etc.. I think it should be more of a natural thing and not like a surgery. The major insight the book tries to communicate in the first 100 pages is how midwives' roles has changed through time and it is different in different places. The author talks about how births go better when there is even a midwife just there to comfort the mother. I think that this makes sense and is interesting. But a question that keeps coming up in my head is if there are all the facts and ways that seem to work better than our system how come we don't change? I feel like our country is stubborn sometimes and we don't want to change anything. Some interesting aspects of pregnancy and birth that the author and I agree deserve public attention are: the hospitals should take into consideration how the mother wants to have the birth instead of trying to make them take drugs and do all this stuff that they didn't originally do. Women shouldn't be forced into these multiple interventions. Epidurals have replaced natural things that can help like massaging and breathing exercises. I think overall women should be shown more alternatives for how to have a more joyful birth and a natural birth that is less painful because there are many ways out there. I think the author uses evidence very well. I am convinced by everything the author is writing. Although the book is definitely bias, it only shows one side. The author uses many facts from surveys and some ancient stories. But I think the numbers convince me the most. I can open up to a random page and it'll usually have some type of statistic for example page 14: "Babies born late at night have as much as 16 percent greater change of dying than babies born between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., a 2005 study found." I think it's good because there is all kind of evidence from surveys, studies, her own/friends experiences, old stories, doctors so you get all these different evidences. Overall, I think the book is very convincing.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
HW 37
Comments I made:
Chris,
I like how you had a specific topic about birth that you wanted to look into opposed to just asking about their experiences. My favorite part was: "While the father is usually expected to be there for morale support and to make sure the baby will have a place to live and be happy, in her case the father was more hands on then she wanted and as a result to that it is kind of like he was also taking care of the baby for nine months. ". I thought this was interesting I had never heard of someone getting too much attention from a male during birth. I wonder why this was a problem for her.. Overall I thought it was a good post and I thought you did well explaining your thoughts about the male role during pregnancy and birth and you were able to get good examples that were different from each other.
Amanda:
I like how you chose people with all different views and explored what the woman's knowledge of the pregnancy and birth giving process mattered. This is kind of off topic but my favorite part was: "but it did scare her because she had never felt another life insider her before." This idea of having another life inside of you made me think about how that must affect the way a female feels about being pregnant. I thought you did well on showing your own opinions for each of the views right after you talked about what they people being interviewed thought.
Javon:
I thought this was really good I like how you listed out the key ideas in each interview and then went deeper into them after. My favorite part was: "In this interview the mother was concerned about the father's point of view about the pregnancy. I will like to do further research on how significant the mother believes the father's opinion is on the pregnancy. Also how important the father believes his opinion is on the pregnancy." This was interesting to me because it made me think about how both the mother and the fathers opinions on the pregnancy are important. The mother could want to keep the baby and the father doesn't want to (vise versa) but how will it affect the child and how will they feel about it? So it is interesting to think about who's decision is more important.
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Comments on my post:
Chris:
I think you did a good job in this post with showing a lot of the actual birth stories. The first paragraph is actually really engaging and i think this is because you didn't over analyze things at the beginning you just left it how the actual story was and that made me want to read more. I think you could have gone into more depth about that though to make your post stronger. I think you have some good analysis too but the best part of your post as the actual stories because they are your view of what your mom told you and its interesting to here about what you think. Your best line was "She feels like the way birth is viewed in America is very bad, she feels like it is viewed as scary and everyone wants to be drugged up so they don't feel the pain. She was not yelling while giving birth she was very calm and said it was not that bad" you talk a lot about what she thinks though and not enough about what you think! Thats how I think you can improve.
Mom's comment: I like that you described that a person may think of childbirth in different ways. "different people take pregnancy and giving birth more seriously than others. For example I saw how my mom read a lot of books and tried to understand the process as much as she could, she changed her diet, and she didn't drink alcohol at all while she was pregnant, just in general she seemed to really care a lot and want to do as much as she could to have a healthy birth." I think this is a great idea that you can further expanded upon. Today there is so much more knowledge about how to train your body/mind to prepare for an extreme physical challenge and about how to treat a newborn baby the first hours after birth etc. I also liked that you picked up on how different it is for female vs. male during the pregnancy.
"there was one more thing that she told me about. She said that it is hard for the male (my dad) to get interested until the baby is actually there and they are far into their pregnancy, so it has to be concrete, the baby actually has to be there and they have to feel the baby for them to be interested. But in the females case it is very different." I believe this is a topic that really needs some studying. How can a male get more engaged and feel part of the whole experience? I think you can develop more interesting aspects of child birth by expanding both these topics.
(The others didn't comment on my post yet.)
Chris,
I like how you had a specific topic about birth that you wanted to look into opposed to just asking about their experiences. My favorite part was: "While the father is usually expected to be there for morale support and to make sure the baby will have a place to live and be happy, in her case the father was more hands on then she wanted and as a result to that it is kind of like he was also taking care of the baby for nine months. ". I thought this was interesting I had never heard of someone getting too much attention from a male during birth. I wonder why this was a problem for her.. Overall I thought it was a good post and I thought you did well explaining your thoughts about the male role during pregnancy and birth and you were able to get good examples that were different from each other.
Amanda:
I like how you chose people with all different views and explored what the woman's knowledge of the pregnancy and birth giving process mattered. This is kind of off topic but my favorite part was: "but it did scare her because she had never felt another life insider her before." This idea of having another life inside of you made me think about how that must affect the way a female feels about being pregnant. I thought you did well on showing your own opinions for each of the views right after you talked about what they people being interviewed thought.
Javon:
I thought this was really good I like how you listed out the key ideas in each interview and then went deeper into them after. My favorite part was: "In this interview the mother was concerned about the father's point of view about the pregnancy. I will like to do further research on how significant the mother believes the father's opinion is on the pregnancy. Also how important the father believes his opinion is on the pregnancy." This was interesting to me because it made me think about how both the mother and the fathers opinions on the pregnancy are important. The mother could want to keep the baby and the father doesn't want to (vise versa) but how will it affect the child and how will they feel about it? So it is interesting to think about who's decision is more important.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Comments on my post:
Chris:
I think you did a good job in this post with showing a lot of the actual birth stories. The first paragraph is actually really engaging and i think this is because you didn't over analyze things at the beginning you just left it how the actual story was and that made me want to read more. I think you could have gone into more depth about that though to make your post stronger. I think you have some good analysis too but the best part of your post as the actual stories because they are your view of what your mom told you and its interesting to here about what you think. Your best line was "She feels like the way birth is viewed in America is very bad, she feels like it is viewed as scary and everyone wants to be drugged up so they don't feel the pain. She was not yelling while giving birth she was very calm and said it was not that bad" you talk a lot about what she thinks though and not enough about what you think! Thats how I think you can improve.
Mom's comment: I like that you described that a person may think of childbirth in different ways. "different people take pregnancy and giving birth more seriously than others. For example I saw how my mom read a lot of books and tried to understand the process as much as she could, she changed her diet, and she didn't drink alcohol at all while she was pregnant, just in general she seemed to really care a lot and want to do as much as she could to have a healthy birth." I think this is a great idea that you can further expanded upon. Today there is so much more knowledge about how to train your body/mind to prepare for an extreme physical challenge and about how to treat a newborn baby the first hours after birth etc. I also liked that you picked up on how different it is for female vs. male during the pregnancy.
"there was one more thing that she told me about. She said that it is hard for the male (my dad) to get interested until the baby is actually there and they are far into their pregnancy, so it has to be concrete, the baby actually has to be there and they have to feel the baby for them to be interested. But in the females case it is very different." I believe this is a topic that really needs some studying. How can a male get more engaged and feel part of the whole experience? I think you can develop more interesting aspects of child birth by expanding both these topics.
(The others didn't comment on my post yet.)
Sunday, February 27, 2011
HW 36
I talked to my mother about her experiences with birth. She gave birth to three children including me. Each one of the three births were very different. My oldest brother was the only one that had some complications with his birth. My mom was having pains when she was pregnant and her midwife was getting upset with her and told her that she was doing too much physically and not treating her body like she was pregnant because she was walking around a lot and straining her body. She gave birth to my oldest brother two and a half weeks early. She read a lot of books about birth so she knew what to expect and when to go to the hospital. She started to panic a little when she had to go to the hospital because she thought she wasn't going to make it in time. After she gave birth to him the placenta didn't come out so she had to give the baby to my father and the doctor had to get the placenta out which she said hurt like hell. But she didn't mind it at all because her baby came out with 10 fingers 10 toes and everything was fine with the baby. That was my oldest brother's birth. My other brother was born 10 days late and he was the biggest baby in the nursery. She said giving birth to him was very painful but it was quick. She also said that it can be very painful but after you're done you kind of forget about the pain and want to have more children. When my mother gave birth to me she had pneumonia, from this she was very exhausted and dehydrated but I was born fine with no complications and my mother was out of the hospital quickly.
During the interview I picked up a lot of insights. One was how different people take pregnancy and giving birth more seriously than others. For example I saw how my mom read a lot of books and tried to understand the process as much as she could, she changed her diet, and she didn't drink alcohol at all while she was pregnant, just in general she seemed to really care a lot and want to do as much as she could to have a healthy birth. Another was reasons for giving birth. My mother said at first she wanted to have six children, she said some reasons were that she felt like she was very close with her parents. She saw how much her mother appreciated having children. Also she said that her sister had children and she didn't agree with how her sister was raising her children, so my mom wanted to have her own children so she could see if she could do it. She said she realized it wasn't easy because she had all these plans for how she wanted to raise us but then she realized very early that it wasn't just about what she wanted and her children had personalities and wouldn't just do whatever she wanted. My mother said she loved being pregnant and when she thinks back to giving birth she only has happy memories and remembers the joy of having children. She feels like the way birth is viewed in America is very bad, she feels like it is viewed as scary and everyone wants to be drugged up so they don't feel the pain. She was not yelling while giving birth she was very calm and said it was not that bad. She feels that it is important to feel the pain and then be able to relax between contractions instead of being on drugs not feeling anything. She said it's important to learn how to relax yourself and be able to endure what is happening. She believes that a lot of it has to do with the power of the mind. Lastly there was one more thing that she told me about. She said that it is hard for the male (my dad) to get interested until the baby is actually there and they are far into their pregnancy, so it has to be concrete, the baby actually has to be there and they have to feel the baby for them to be interested. But in the females case it is very different. She woke up and the first thing she's thinking is she's pregnant, she's in a meeting at work and she's thinking wow nobody knows I'm pregnant I can't concentrate on this meeting I'm thinking about this baby. This was very interesting to me and made me realize how the experience is completely different depending on the sex of the person and why.
During the interview I picked up a lot of insights. One was how different people take pregnancy and giving birth more seriously than others. For example I saw how my mom read a lot of books and tried to understand the process as much as she could, she changed her diet, and she didn't drink alcohol at all while she was pregnant, just in general she seemed to really care a lot and want to do as much as she could to have a healthy birth. Another was reasons for giving birth. My mother said at first she wanted to have six children, she said some reasons were that she felt like she was very close with her parents. She saw how much her mother appreciated having children. Also she said that her sister had children and she didn't agree with how her sister was raising her children, so my mom wanted to have her own children so she could see if she could do it. She said she realized it wasn't easy because she had all these plans for how she wanted to raise us but then she realized very early that it wasn't just about what she wanted and her children had personalities and wouldn't just do whatever she wanted. My mother said she loved being pregnant and when she thinks back to giving birth she only has happy memories and remembers the joy of having children. She feels like the way birth is viewed in America is very bad, she feels like it is viewed as scary and everyone wants to be drugged up so they don't feel the pain. She was not yelling while giving birth she was very calm and said it was not that bad. She feels that it is important to feel the pain and then be able to relax between contractions instead of being on drugs not feeling anything. She said it's important to learn how to relax yourself and be able to endure what is happening. She believes that a lot of it has to do with the power of the mind. Lastly there was one more thing that she told me about. She said that it is hard for the male (my dad) to get interested until the baby is actually there and they are far into their pregnancy, so it has to be concrete, the baby actually has to be there and they have to feel the baby for them to be interested. But in the females case it is very different. She woke up and the first thing she's thinking is she's pregnant, she's in a meeting at work and she's thinking wow nobody knows I'm pregnant I can't concentrate on this meeting I'm thinking about this baby. This was very interesting to me and made me realize how the experience is completely different depending on the sex of the person and why.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
HW 35
I didn't really have one specific focus during my interviews. I just tried to get everyones overall views of birth and some of the stigma's surrounding birth. First I asked about how they felt about birth and if they'd had any experiences with it. Then I asked a couple other questions like: how many births is it considered normal for a woman to have in our society and why do you think so? And: Do you feel that the physically healthiest age to have a baby and life goals conflict?
Most of the answers were somewhat similar. Everyone I talked to felt that birth is an amazing exciting thing. I think this was because it is the beginning of something new which can be very exciting. Everyone I talked to wanted to at one point have children/give birth at some point in life. I think this is because it can give someones life more purpose and joy to have make something with someone they love and take care of and love a child. Although none of the people I have talked to was there during a birth, but one was there when he sister's water broke and she explained it as very exciting. So I was really noticing this mutual feeling about birth as beautiful and exciting there was no one that didn't feel that way about it. When I asked about what they thought was a socially accepted amount of children for a women to have I got different answers. One said zero to five children seems like it would be socially accepted and then after five it gets weird. I asked why and she said "I think some people think that people are creating more than their share of mouths to feed. Which is perhaps not a reasonable perspective...but it happens. On the other hand...the more children, the more legacy the parents have." This made me realize that not everything is really just a stigma but has some logic behind and makes sense why it wouldn't be normal. The other answers were about three children would seem normal and the other answer was as many as they want, they didn't think that anyone isn't accepted in our society for having a lot of children. When I asked if the physically healthiest age conflicts with goals I got an answer that I completely agree with. "I've heard that the best time of life for women sexually is like 30. but anyway...women want careers and independence and money and status and fulfillment of dreams above family and motherhood, pregnancy and parenting really interrupt life." I think women nowadays don't want to be stay home mothers but they do want to have children at some point in life. They want to have a career and be independent and successful, so the healthiest age to give birth conflicts with that because that is a fairly young age where work is very important, but at the same time I feel like it is possible to have a strong career and have children because you can always have a babysitter to take care of your kids during the day while you're working. So the two may conflict each other I think that's why things like birth control pills, abortions, and condoms were developed, that way there are less babies for people at young ages.
Most of the answers were somewhat similar. Everyone I talked to felt that birth is an amazing exciting thing. I think this was because it is the beginning of something new which can be very exciting. Everyone I talked to wanted to at one point have children/give birth at some point in life. I think this is because it can give someones life more purpose and joy to have make something with someone they love and take care of and love a child. Although none of the people I have talked to was there during a birth, but one was there when he sister's water broke and she explained it as very exciting. So I was really noticing this mutual feeling about birth as beautiful and exciting there was no one that didn't feel that way about it. When I asked about what they thought was a socially accepted amount of children for a women to have I got different answers. One said zero to five children seems like it would be socially accepted and then after five it gets weird. I asked why and she said "I think some people think that people are creating more than their share of mouths to feed. Which is perhaps not a reasonable perspective...but it happens. On the other hand...the more children, the more legacy the parents have." This made me realize that not everything is really just a stigma but has some logic behind and makes sense why it wouldn't be normal. The other answers were about three children would seem normal and the other answer was as many as they want, they didn't think that anyone isn't accepted in our society for having a lot of children. When I asked if the physically healthiest age conflicts with goals I got an answer that I completely agree with. "I've heard that the best time of life for women sexually is like 30. but anyway...women want careers and independence and money and status and fulfillment of dreams above family and motherhood, pregnancy and parenting really interrupt life." I think women nowadays don't want to be stay home mothers but they do want to have children at some point in life. They want to have a career and be independent and successful, so the healthiest age to give birth conflicts with that because that is a fairly young age where work is very important, but at the same time I feel like it is possible to have a strong career and have children because you can always have a babysitter to take care of your kids during the day while you're working. So the two may conflict each other I think that's why things like birth control pills, abortions, and condoms were developed, that way there are less babies for people at young ages.
Monday, February 14, 2011
HW 34
When I think about birth not that much really comes to mind. I think birth is a way for two people to make something together. I think it gives people another thing to live for. Something that they can be responsible and raise how they want and love. It's like why people have pets but on a much more serious level. I have heard that it is painful. Based on how my Mother talks about it is birth is not that bad because it's such a "beautiful" moment. I can imagine how it would be fun to have a little person you can make and teach them whatever you want. I would be the best dad and my child would be the coolest kid alive. I'm a loser for saying that. But I don't know that's pretty much all I the thoughts that come to mind when I think of birth.
Some questions:
Why is birth important enough for a unit?
What are some dominant social practices around birth?
What percentages of babies come out completely healthy?
What percent of babies die during birth?
How do drugs affect the baby?
Some questions:
Why is birth important enough for a unit?
What are some dominant social practices around birth?
What percentages of babies come out completely healthy?
What percent of babies die during birth?
How do drugs affect the baby?
Friday, January 21, 2011
HW 32
I would say the most nightmarish aspect of our culture's practices around illness and dying would be to be denied care when you're dying. Another would be to die hooked up to a machine in this isolated place alone. Alternative practices would be to have a home death and hospice care. Another alternative for the government is to have incentive for the people to stay healthy. If people have more of a motive to eat better and stay more healthy they might actually do it and feel like they're getting something out of it. Many deadly diseases are caused from people's lifestyles. Something I could do personally is change the way I live so I can lower the odds of getting any kinds of lifestyle caused diseases and I can share what I know with the people around me so they can change the way they live to help themselves. There is a direct correlation between the illness and dying unit to the food unit. The way we eat is very unhealthy and this can lead obesity and also lead to diseases such as heart disease and diabetes which are the cause for many deaths. If we can eat better and live better we can have less health problems.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
HW 31
My comments on other's blogs:
Chris:
Chrissssssssss,
I thought your post was very good. I like how you asked a lot of relevant questions to our unit but related it to your mother's situation. I also like how you put links in parts of the post that way the reader can look further into the topics being mentioned. I think you should've put some of you're own thoughts in the post though. Overall niiiice post!
Elizabeth:
I like your post because it was an original idea to go back to the first meanings of the words. I thought it was interesting how the word illness meant evil. I think you should have gone into why you think they had these definitions and how it connects a little more.
Sophia:
This was one of my favorites. I thought this topic was related to our unit and brought up a lot in Tuesday's with Morrie. I found the answers very interesting. My favorite part was : "After reading Tuesdays With Morrie, I formed the opinion that people are motivated by possessions more then anything. However, after doing the survey and reading the dozens of answers that talked about family and friends, I realized that this isn't necessarily true." I completely agree with this, I also noticed this in the book. I think maybe on a day to day basis all people may value is material things but if you ask people to look at their life as a whole they can see things that actually matter more.. Niiiiice post
John:
I thought your project was really interesting. I knew that this false view of death was shown in movies like how you mention the cheesy scene where the grandparent says their last words and peacefully dies, but I thought paintings and things like that have more real feelings and views. My favorite part was when you said: "his view is not only distorted but keeps us ignorant, for the few things we can know with certainty about life is that it will come to an end, so rather if we should embrace that these articles of nature will die." I completely agree with this, instead of being shown as something it's not, I think death should be shown as it actually is so it can be embraced and not just pushed away from our society.
Evan:
Evan,
Niiiice post. I like the idea of living to be 100 I think it gives people a reason to do what they can to keep going and stay healthy. My favorite part is when you said: " Maybe the greatest lesson here is that at one point in life (usually the one we are all in right now as teenagers) we all see ourselves standing on the summit of time that is 100 years of life, but for the enjoyment and sake of ourselves. However, one day (usually around Jane's age) we see our bodies begin to succumb to the toll of time, and rather than live for our own sakes, we go on for our brothers, sisters, children and grandchildren, pursuing a different kind of richness- having an effect on our continuing loved ones." I thought this was a very insightful idea and I agree with it. I wonder though wouldn't it be hard to keep going if you can't do all the stuff you used to be able to do and you're living for other people?
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Comments on my blog post:
Sophia:
I really liked your post. Your research was very thorough, and you explained your reactions to it clearly. I also liked how you explained how your research led you to doing the interview (your account of the interview was good too). All in all, it was really good.
Elizabeth:
I think you chose a very thought provoking subject, and had an extremely good "experimental" example with the old man, but I also felt that part of your post came out of nowhere.
While it was relevant to the topic, you go from "went bankrupt paying for their own medical care," to "I was with Kevin"... I understood what you were going to talk about because of your elevator speech from earlier, but if I had no idea what you had said in class, I would have been like "cool...he was with Kevin".
You have the ideas and the arguments, I think that maybe a little bit of organization is in need, overall, good job!
Chris:
I think that you choose a good topic because it was something that you and Kevin both seem to have some type of passion about. There aren't many voices or leaders for people who are disabled. The way that you used the interview to connect back to Sicko was also a very good idea because you connected something that you did on your own to something that we have been working together to do in class and figure out some of the atrocities and some of the dominant social practices. I think your best line was "This brought up the question in my head is it even possible to be sure that this wouldn't happen to you?" Because it seemed like a good way to wrap up the idea that you were aiming toward throughout your writing.
Kevin:
Knowing that we were doing the same project, I thought I'd read yours. I think that we took different angles and focused on different aspects of it, but overall it was a good post. You did solid research and recapped well. Good work Burt.
Mom:
This is really interesting. I'm impressed by the fact that most bankruptcies are caused by medical problems I didn't know this before. I'm also surprised that someone with health insurance can be denied care after an accident, I think that is very scary. You guys got great information from interviewing a real person with a real problem. I'm wondering will Obama's healthcare plan cover things like this where people are denied care even with health insurance? Because this is so unfair..
Chris:
Chrissssssssss,
I thought your post was very good. I like how you asked a lot of relevant questions to our unit but related it to your mother's situation. I also like how you put links in parts of the post that way the reader can look further into the topics being mentioned. I think you should've put some of you're own thoughts in the post though. Overall niiiice post!
Elizabeth:
I like your post because it was an original idea to go back to the first meanings of the words. I thought it was interesting how the word illness meant evil. I think you should have gone into why you think they had these definitions and how it connects a little more.
Sophia:
This was one of my favorites. I thought this topic was related to our unit and brought up a lot in Tuesday's with Morrie. I found the answers very interesting. My favorite part was : "After reading Tuesdays With Morrie, I formed the opinion that people are motivated by possessions more then anything. However, after doing the survey and reading the dozens of answers that talked about family and friends, I realized that this isn't necessarily true." I completely agree with this, I also noticed this in the book. I think maybe on a day to day basis all people may value is material things but if you ask people to look at their life as a whole they can see things that actually matter more.. Niiiiice post
John:
I thought your project was really interesting. I knew that this false view of death was shown in movies like how you mention the cheesy scene where the grandparent says their last words and peacefully dies, but I thought paintings and things like that have more real feelings and views. My favorite part was when you said: "his view is not only distorted but keeps us ignorant, for the few things we can know with certainty about life is that it will come to an end, so rather if we should embrace that these articles of nature will die." I completely agree with this, instead of being shown as something it's not, I think death should be shown as it actually is so it can be embraced and not just pushed away from our society.
Evan:
Evan,
Niiiice post. I like the idea of living to be 100 I think it gives people a reason to do what they can to keep going and stay healthy. My favorite part is when you said: " Maybe the greatest lesson here is that at one point in life (usually the one we are all in right now as teenagers) we all see ourselves standing on the summit of time that is 100 years of life, but for the enjoyment and sake of ourselves. However, one day (usually around Jane's age) we see our bodies begin to succumb to the toll of time, and rather than live for our own sakes, we go on for our brothers, sisters, children and grandchildren, pursuing a different kind of richness- having an effect on our continuing loved ones." I thought this was a very insightful idea and I agree with it. I wonder though wouldn't it be hard to keep going if you can't do all the stuff you used to be able to do and you're living for other people?
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Comments on my blog post:
Sophia:
I really liked your post. Your research was very thorough, and you explained your reactions to it clearly. I also liked how you explained how your research led you to doing the interview (your account of the interview was good too). All in all, it was really good.
Elizabeth:
I think you chose a very thought provoking subject, and had an extremely good "experimental" example with the old man, but I also felt that part of your post came out of nowhere.
While it was relevant to the topic, you go from "went bankrupt paying for their own medical care," to "I was with Kevin"... I understood what you were going to talk about because of your elevator speech from earlier, but if I had no idea what you had said in class, I would have been like "cool...he was with Kevin".
You have the ideas and the arguments, I think that maybe a little bit of organization is in need, overall, good job!
Chris:
I think that you choose a good topic because it was something that you and Kevin both seem to have some type of passion about. There aren't many voices or leaders for people who are disabled. The way that you used the interview to connect back to Sicko was also a very good idea because you connected something that you did on your own to something that we have been working together to do in class and figure out some of the atrocities and some of the dominant social practices. I think your best line was "This brought up the question in my head is it even possible to be sure that this wouldn't happen to you?" Because it seemed like a good way to wrap up the idea that you were aiming toward throughout your writing.
Kevin:
Knowing that we were doing the same project, I thought I'd read yours. I think that we took different angles and focused on different aspects of it, but overall it was a good post. You did solid research and recapped well. Good work Burt.
Mom:
This is really interesting. I'm impressed by the fact that most bankruptcies are caused by medical problems I didn't know this before. I'm also surprised that someone with health insurance can be denied care after an accident, I think that is very scary. You guys got great information from interviewing a real person with a real problem. I'm wondering will Obama's healthcare plan cover things like this where people are denied care even with health insurance? Because this is so unfair..
Sunday, January 16, 2011
HW 30
I wasn't sure what I wanted to look into for the project. I ended up exploring this aspect of illness and dying that was focused on in the movie Sicko. How people that HAVE health insurance can be denied care, or deny to pay for some treatments.
This can even be deadly. For example in the movie Sicko Michael Moore talks to a woman who's daughter got a very high fever. The woman thought the fever was too high so she had to rush her daughter to the nearest emergency room. When she arrived at the emergency room the hospital told her that the insurance company had denied treatment for her daughter at this hospital. The mother begged for approval but was still denied. So they tried to transport her daughter to another hospital but it was too late her daughter died on the way. This caught my attention because I couldn't believe that they would deny someone care if they were about to die. The reason for this is that the main reason HMO's were created not to help people in need of care but to maximize profit. Therefore the healthcare companies will do whatever they can to find a reason to deny care for someone because they don't lose money if they don't pay to get someone care.
Another part that stood out to me in the movie Sicko was the parents that both had to move in with their children because they went bankrupt paying medical bills. This rung a bell in my head and reminded me that I had heard in school that the number one cause for bankruptcy in the U.S. was medical care bills. So I decided to look into this. I found that medical care expenses are the number one reason for bankruptcy in the U.S. "In 2007, medical problems contributed to 62.1 percent of all bankruptcies. Between 2001 and 2007, the proportion of all bankruptcies attributable to medical problems rose by about 50 percent", (Medical Bills Cause Most Bankruptcies, http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/04/medical-bills-cause-most-bankruptcies/). 62% of bankruptcies are caused by medical problems. This data was astonishing to me I didn't think it would be the reason for more than half of ALL bankruptcies. The study that gathered this information also stated that most of those people were well educated middle class people and 3/4 of them had health insurance. All of this information almost related exactly to Sicko and I found it sad that these people had jobs with health insurance and an education but yet they went bankrupt paying for their own medical care.
I was with Kevin when he found a homeless man and we interviewed him. It was a man who didn't seem like an average homeless person. Instantly the first thing we saw was that he had no legs. So we figured maybe we could ask him about it. Approaching a stranger about a personal topic like that was weird but we didn't want to pass on the chance. Surprisingly didn't mind telling his story. He got into a car accident the front of the car was pushed up and it crushed both of his legs. At the hospital had to have both of his legs amputated, which costed $80,000 per leg because he did have health insurance but his health insurance did not cover the surgeries. He had to do months of rehab. During this time he lost his job. When he recovered he didn't have a job and he was bankrupt.
This showed me that anyone could have medical problems and not have enough money to pay for it. This was no way this guys fault. It was an accident and he had a job that provided health insurance. So you would have thought that he was safe but everything went wrong and he is now bankrupt. This brought up the question in my head is it even possible to be sure that this wouldn't happen to you? I think that we should have universal healthcare in the U.S. so things like this can't happen to a good person that doesn't deserve this.
This can even be deadly. For example in the movie Sicko Michael Moore talks to a woman who's daughter got a very high fever. The woman thought the fever was too high so she had to rush her daughter to the nearest emergency room. When she arrived at the emergency room the hospital told her that the insurance company had denied treatment for her daughter at this hospital. The mother begged for approval but was still denied. So they tried to transport her daughter to another hospital but it was too late her daughter died on the way. This caught my attention because I couldn't believe that they would deny someone care if they were about to die. The reason for this is that the main reason HMO's were created not to help people in need of care but to maximize profit. Therefore the healthcare companies will do whatever they can to find a reason to deny care for someone because they don't lose money if they don't pay to get someone care.
Another part that stood out to me in the movie Sicko was the parents that both had to move in with their children because they went bankrupt paying medical bills. This rung a bell in my head and reminded me that I had heard in school that the number one cause for bankruptcy in the U.S. was medical care bills. So I decided to look into this. I found that medical care expenses are the number one reason for bankruptcy in the U.S. "In 2007, medical problems contributed to 62.1 percent of all bankruptcies. Between 2001 and 2007, the proportion of all bankruptcies attributable to medical problems rose by about 50 percent", (Medical Bills Cause Most Bankruptcies, http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/04/medical-bills-cause-most-bankruptcies/). 62% of bankruptcies are caused by medical problems. This data was astonishing to me I didn't think it would be the reason for more than half of ALL bankruptcies. The study that gathered this information also stated that most of those people were well educated middle class people and 3/4 of them had health insurance. All of this information almost related exactly to Sicko and I found it sad that these people had jobs with health insurance and an education but yet they went bankrupt paying for their own medical care.
I was with Kevin when he found a homeless man and we interviewed him. It was a man who didn't seem like an average homeless person. Instantly the first thing we saw was that he had no legs. So we figured maybe we could ask him about it. Approaching a stranger about a personal topic like that was weird but we didn't want to pass on the chance. Surprisingly didn't mind telling his story. He got into a car accident the front of the car was pushed up and it crushed both of his legs. At the hospital had to have both of his legs amputated, which costed $80,000 per leg because he did have health insurance but his health insurance did not cover the surgeries. He had to do months of rehab. During this time he lost his job. When he recovered he didn't have a job and he was bankrupt.
This showed me that anyone could have medical problems and not have enough money to pay for it. This was no way this guys fault. It was an accident and he had a job that provided health insurance. So you would have thought that he was safe but everything went wrong and he is now bankrupt. This brought up the question in my head is it even possible to be sure that this wouldn't happen to you? I think that we should have universal healthcare in the U.S. so things like this can't happen to a good person that doesn't deserve this.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
HW 29
Facing Terminal Illness
Facing terminal illness is tough and can drastically change a person's life because they know they are going to die soon. This was discussed by our guest speaker Beth who's husband died from cancer. It was also discussed in Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. With Beth's experience her husband didn't let the terminal illness change how he lived. He stayed strong and tried to be positive and stay alive for long as possible. In Tuesdays with Morrie, Morrie embraced his terminal illness and understood what it meant. He made himself try to enjoy letting other's take care of him. "I'm an independent person, so my inclination was to fight all of this-being helped from the car, having someone else dress me. I felt a little ashamed, because our culture tells us we should be ashamed if we can't wipe our own behind",(page 116). He knew he was going to die but still tried to enjoy life even as he got worse and worse. He learned to enjoy his dependency on others as he got worse because it seemed familiar to him and reminded him of being a baby. So everyone is going to die eventually you just have to learn to enjoy the time you have left.
The process of dying
The process of dying can be very different depending on how and where the person is dying. It can become very complicated if the person is dying in a hospital which was shown in the documentary Near-Death. The doctors have to decide if they should try to keep the patient alive and whether or not it's worth it to keep them alive. On top of that they have to keep into consideration what the family of the patient wants, and what the patient said they want. So it can be very complicated and hard to decide when they want to let the patient die. In our guest speaker's experience she brought her husband home he died at home with his wife and son taking care of him. This process seemed much more peaceful then at an isolated hospital with doctors all around you while you're dying.
Paying for medical care
Paying for medical care is the number one cause for debt in America. It is very expensive and makes it very hard for people to get care and it is nearly impossible to afford medical care if you don't have health insurance. This is shown in the movie Sicko by Michael Moore. It is like putting a price on being healthy. In fact in Sicko it shows this man who got into an accident and cut off two of his fingers so he went to the hospital and they told him that he could reattach his middle finger for $60,000 or reattach his ring finger for $12,000. So he could only afford to reattach his ring finger because it was too expensive to pay for both. The U.S. refuses to switch to universal healthcare which has proved to be successful in countries such as France and England. The U.S. healthcare system is ranked 37th (http://www.who.int/inf-pr-2000/en/pr2000-44.html).
Facing terminal illness is tough and can drastically change a person's life because they know they are going to die soon. This was discussed by our guest speaker Beth who's husband died from cancer. It was also discussed in Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. With Beth's experience her husband didn't let the terminal illness change how he lived. He stayed strong and tried to be positive and stay alive for long as possible. In Tuesdays with Morrie, Morrie embraced his terminal illness and understood what it meant. He made himself try to enjoy letting other's take care of him. "I'm an independent person, so my inclination was to fight all of this-being helped from the car, having someone else dress me. I felt a little ashamed, because our culture tells us we should be ashamed if we can't wipe our own behind",(page 116). He knew he was going to die but still tried to enjoy life even as he got worse and worse. He learned to enjoy his dependency on others as he got worse because it seemed familiar to him and reminded him of being a baby. So everyone is going to die eventually you just have to learn to enjoy the time you have left.
The process of dying
The process of dying can be very different depending on how and where the person is dying. It can become very complicated if the person is dying in a hospital which was shown in the documentary Near-Death. The doctors have to decide if they should try to keep the patient alive and whether or not it's worth it to keep them alive. On top of that they have to keep into consideration what the family of the patient wants, and what the patient said they want. So it can be very complicated and hard to decide when they want to let the patient die. In our guest speaker's experience she brought her husband home he died at home with his wife and son taking care of him. This process seemed much more peaceful then at an isolated hospital with doctors all around you while you're dying.
Paying for medical care
Paying for medical care is the number one cause for debt in America. It is very expensive and makes it very hard for people to get care and it is nearly impossible to afford medical care if you don't have health insurance. This is shown in the movie Sicko by Michael Moore. It is like putting a price on being healthy. In fact in Sicko it shows this man who got into an accident and cut off two of his fingers so he went to the hospital and they told him that he could reattach his middle finger for $60,000 or reattach his ring finger for $12,000. So he could only afford to reattach his ring finger because it was too expensive to pay for both. The U.S. refuses to switch to universal healthcare which has proved to be successful in countries such as France and England. The U.S. healthcare system is ranked 37th (http://www.who.int/inf-pr-2000/en/pr2000-44.html).
Monday, January 3, 2011
HW 28
For Elizabeth,
The part I liked best from your post was: "I could have been sledding, building a snowman, or going for a walk in the snow. I thought about what she could have been doing at that moment. She could have been reading her newspaper...oh wait but that wasn't delivered due to the snow. Well she could have been watching the news...oh wait, she did that already today. Well she could go through old items in the storage room; oh wait, that's downstairs." By comparing the endless possibilities of things you could do, to the options that she had really was very powerful to me. It was powerful because it shows the drastic difference and made me think that people probably get very sad with a lack of activities as they get older and it gets harder to move around.
For Chris,
I thought the best part of your post was: "It could probably be the worse place that anyone would want to visit and have to see someone they love. A nursing home reminds me of a hospital but a couple times worse because when people go to the hospital the idea is people in the hospital get better. When people go to nursing homes the idea is that they have some kind of sickness where they can’t take care of themselves and usually they are elderly so they are close to death anyway." I think this was the best part because it brought up the point of hope and you have hope that people will get out of the hospital and go home, but at a nursing home this is where they're going to stay. Even though people die in hospitals you see a hospital as a place where people are treated and can leave. Opposed to a nursing home which is the place they are at waiting to die at. There's no getting better and leaving this place.
Sophia did not post HW 27
The part I liked best from your post was: "I could have been sledding, building a snowman, or going for a walk in the snow. I thought about what she could have been doing at that moment. She could have been reading her newspaper...oh wait but that wasn't delivered due to the snow. Well she could have been watching the news...oh wait, she did that already today. Well she could go through old items in the storage room; oh wait, that's downstairs." By comparing the endless possibilities of things you could do, to the options that she had really was very powerful to me. It was powerful because it shows the drastic difference and made me think that people probably get very sad with a lack of activities as they get older and it gets harder to move around.
For Chris,
I thought the best part of your post was: "It could probably be the worse place that anyone would want to visit and have to see someone they love. A nursing home reminds me of a hospital but a couple times worse because when people go to the hospital the idea is people in the hospital get better. When people go to nursing homes the idea is that they have some kind of sickness where they can’t take care of themselves and usually they are elderly so they are close to death anyway." I think this was the best part because it brought up the point of hope and you have hope that people will get out of the hospital and go home, but at a nursing home this is where they're going to stay. Even though people die in hospitals you see a hospital as a place where people are treated and can leave. Opposed to a nursing home which is the place they are at waiting to die at. There's no getting better and leaving this place.
Sophia did not post HW 27
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