Things change everyday. As time past, people's minds change as well as the society. Nowadays, Americans are more sensitive to harm than the past and it can be explain by the "concept creep" in the field of psychology. In the online article "How Americans Became So Sensitive to Harm", Conor Friedersdorf discusses how concept creep expanded in psychology such as abuse, bullying, trauma, mental disorder and prejudice. In addition, he argues that concept creep can change society for better or worse and it is important that not to push more sensitivity to harm since oversensitivity can do harm. Friedersdorf message was effective by using different techniques.
The purpose of the article is to inform readers that American people have
He uses two stories to illustrate how concept creep change for good or ill. Story one was about people in the old days would let their children live in house with lead paint and hours in family room thick with cigarette smoke compare to now fewer kids suffer from such exposure because of the powerful stigma against it. Second story was in the past 3rd grader could walk to school or play alone in the park compare to now parent could be arrest or even losing custody for doing the same thing. Through the comparison, the reader is able to know how society's concept to harm can expanded for the better or ill.
Another techniques that Friedersdorf uses to the article is using sources from authority. He used a research paper by Nike Haslam who is a professor of psychology at University of Melbourne to explain how concept creep expanding concept of harm and pathology. He also uses the recent definition of trauma from U.S. Government's Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. This make his article more credible since he is using sources form
The opening paragraph of the story contains a metaphorical passage: "I stared at it in the swinging light of the subway car, and in the faces and bodies of the people, and in my own face, trapped in the darkness which roared outside"(349). This reference is significant because it is a contrast to the dismal society that the narrator and his brother Sonny live in. The darkness is the portrayal of the community of Harlem that is trapped, in their surroundings by physical, economic, and social barriers. The obvious nature of darkness has overcome the occupants of the Harlem community. The narrator, an algebra teacher, observes a depressing similarity between his students and his brother, Sonny. This is true because the narrator is fearful for his students falling into a life of crime and drugs, as did his brother. The narrator notes that the cruel realities of the streets have taken away the possible light from the lives of his brother and his students. The narrator makes an insightful connection between the darkness that Sonny faced and the darkness that the young boys are presently facing. This is illustrated in the following quote:
reflects upon the theme of the novel. As it highlights the fact that if people in the society
She explains the economy and even politics are greatly affected because we all read “How to Kill a Mocking Bird.” Not only is every aspect of our lives a lie, we put sanctions on our imagination, which causes a negative living cycle for everyone. She chooses to argue, through using 20 dollar words, that money is something that is affected by a couple of books that no one really cared that much about. She also chooses to argue that even writers live with a false hope that literature will survive, when it doesn’t
Erin Gruwell is horrified when she realized what going on and makes a lesson about its similarity to the propaganda of the Nazis. This scene experience the racism and violence due to racial profiling caused by the human society. This relates to the conflict theory because there are some tension and struggle between the students in the Gruwell’s class. The students struggle to get along because of their race, ethnic, etc. and after the incident on the racist image of Jamal, Ms. Gruwell sends a message to her classroom that their lives are not that bad as she does it harshly by related it to the lives of the Jews in the holocaust. In one of the class discussion we had this semester, we talk about the stereotypes, ethnicity, racial profiling etc. and how it label specific groups and how it used today. Back to the scene where the image of Jamal, all the different type of students except the students that associated with the ethnic or race thought it was funny. This scene is an example of stereotype as it shows Jamal as black guy with fat
A first example in the book is the process in which babies are “born.” The intricate fertilizing, decanting, and conditioning processes is directly used to produce and control a 5 caste system in society. Now, this is not a bad idea, other system is flawed. We see this in people like Bernard. An alpha is supposed to be at the top of society being well formed, tall, good looking and intelligent. Bernard however is somewhat shorter and less handsome than the rest of the men in his caste, and therefore is thought of as queer. This inconsistency in the hatching system shows proof that the system is not completely safe or stable, and will in time produce more and more “social rejects” that can only lead to destroy the system.
2. The second thing I found fairly interesting in chapter 12 was the Bystander Intervention Effect. This is when people fail to offer help to someone in need when they see that other people are present. I find it interesting that people don’t help because of the feeling of embarrassment in front of a group of people, social influence, diffusion of responsibility, and wanting to remain anonymous. Typically there isn’t much harm by helping other out. When another person was beating Kitty
During the chapter he talks about certain topics, such as the war on poverty and sex education, and broke each one down with the four stages. I had a particular interest on the topic of sex education. I agreed with Sowell about the “Crisis” with the sex education within schools. He mentioned hoe pregnancy and disease was done in the 60’s than it had been in the fifties. Usually when society makes a fuss, it could do the opposite affect than help the situation. It seems when sex education was permitted into schools, which more sex started to happen. Although that may have not been the intent, but unfortunately it did not help the problem, that was never a real problem.
He creates this tone to convey his purpose to the reader which is that prejudice is still an ongoing problem in American society, and that it will never be a thing of the past. Staples gives many personal anecdotes that are very somber; the readers are affected by this because they can emphasize and feel the prejudice that the victim, Brent Staples, faces. Although Staples is never delighted with the positions he is in, he never shows his resentment. In one part of the article, Staples said, “It is not altogether clear to me how I reached the ripe old age of twenty-two without being conscious of the lethality nighttime pedestrians attributed to me.” (Staples, 2). Staples attributes that he knows many people in American society automatically assume that he is a threat to “their” society because of
together not only in the time of need, but at all times and in every
It shows the need for people to conform to societal expectations to survive and thrive in society. It also shows the consequences of going against those expectations to purse matters of the heart, whether that is helping a condemned man or trying to keep your family from being taken away. Fighting these societal expectations puts a target on these people’s backs, which is why so many people decide to just succumb to these expectations, which is much easier on these
Janoff-Bulman, R. (1992). Shattered assumptions: Toward a new psychology of trauma. New York: Simon and Schuster. 201507091102431795616508Janoff-Bulman R 1992 Shattered assumptions: Toward a new psychology of trauma.
Throughout the story, the boy went through a variety of changes that will pose as different themes of the story including alienation, transformation, and the meaning of religion. The themes of this story are important to show the growth of the young boy into a man. Without alienation, he wouldn't have understand the complexity of his feelings and learned to accept faults. With transformation, he would have continued his boyish games and wouldn't be able to grow as a person and adolescence. And finally, without understanding the religious aspects of his life, he would go on pretending he is somebody that he's not. He wouldn't understand that there is inconsistency between the real and ideal life (Brooks et al.).
The book encloses the philosophy of “The Butterfly Effect.” This theory elaborates on the idea that one small event can lead to much greater consequences. Rory Remer illustrates this in his article when he claims “The butterfly effect...states that small differences in initial conditions may have severe consequences for patterns in the long run…” The cause being Marianne’s rape makes each character go through emotional turmoil.
Literary elements are demonstrated throughout the story and further improve our understanding of the central idea. The setting is important to the central idea because it shows the reader the type of society being described in the story. The language is also important to the central idea because it contains metaphors which further prove that the people are afraid of going against tradition because they are scared of being the target of violence. The conflict contributes to the central idea as well, because there are many examples of the society going against character, Mrs. Hutchinson, for not respecting the traditions put in place. The central idea is important to our understanding of the story because it sums up the main objective and furthers our
People are often blinded by the situation in which they are in, and by their personal motives which drive them to act. Humans, by nature, have faults and vices that are potentially harmful. It is the responsibility of society to anticipate harm, whether to oneself or to others. Once dangerous patterns and habits are recognized, it is imperative to anticipate and prevent injury from reoccurring. To allow any individual to be inflicted harm forces citizens to lose trust in the government, thus unraveling the fabric of society.... ...