Journal Week 7
Shaniyah Frazier
Ideas in Antiquity
Prof. Sandridge
Journal Week 7
The Normal Heart
I was very excited to read this chapter because it spoke on a topic that I am very vocal about and that is LGBTQ rights. I know this takes place during the AIDS epidemic in the 80’s where no one knew much about it, and there was also a stigma that it was a
‘Gay virus’. Ronald Raegan was also president during the time, and he was very conservative spreading conservative ideals across the country. It was also still very unsafe for gay men to come out as gay as it was still unacceptable in society. Even still today, it is not fully supported, but it has come a long way since the 80s. In today’s society it is still hard for many people to come out and there is a much larger open society than there was 30 or so years ago. I can only imagine what gay men were going through during this stage in society.
After watching the youtube video I did not like how the doctor said to tell Ned to stop having sex as a fix to the AID epidemic. I think that is a very insensitive comment to say and it also places the blame for AIDS on gay men and if they contract it, that it was their own faults for having sex. I believe that sex is a natural human right and a need for most to express their love and connection between one another. This is basically saying that Gay people should have to live without this sensual sensation instead of the government controlling a disease that is not only affecting homosexual people.
During the play it shows Felix and Ned while they are on a date and he exposes Ned’s insecure personality. I feel like Felix is Ned’s achilles heel, like he cracks the toxic out of Ned. I really like Felix, I can tell he is going to be good for Ned and critical in his character development. Currently Ned has self issues. He is dealing with his identity, his insecurities, and what it looks like is self love. Felix is what he needs. Side note, I love that Jim Parsons was in the play as Tommy. He really carries this energy wherever he goes. I love the Big Bang Theory and Sheldon was one of my favorite characters. Jim Parsons iks one of my favorite actors.
Notes Based on Tuesday
On Tuesday we had a very deep and intellectual class discussion today, and I loved it. I was very active in class today because I am big on how to deliver a message. I have learned from my own personal experience on the proper and improper ways to get your point across, but to also have a civilized conversation. Christian from class compared Ned to Philocetes because he is never listened to. I did like this comparison Chris made because I did not think of his comparison and it is in fact true. Ned often preached his ideals like philoctetes and neither listened to, but I feel like the difference between them is Philoctetes you felt bad for him. As a reader I can not feel bad for Ned. To me he does way too much whereas Philoctetes I was so sympathetic towards him.
We also touched on the question of is there a proper way to go about a problem in the community. I stressed the point that listening is a vital skill to have when addressing a controversial issue in the community and Dr. Sandrige appreciated my contribution and i was being genuine. In today’s climate I feel the worst thing that we do is we are too stubborn to listen to the opposing side. No one can get anywhere without listening to one another. I believe why this is why we are so divided as a country. In our politics, it is always blue vs. Red. We never listen though. I try my hardest to incorporate this skill in my everyday life and I believe this is helping me become a better leader. Ned does not have this quality. The man hardly listens. My other classmates talked about the proper way to deliver a message and that timing has everything to do with a proper delivery.
I love how Windsor spoke on performative activism and having a narcissistic motive. During the BLM movement there was a lot of performative activism on instagram. Everyone was posting black squares yet it was just to help their image look “woke” and not for the actual cause. This is very narcissistic. Ned in a way does have narcissistic activism in a way because he is using the movement for his own personal growth within himself and is not actually thinking of the others’ feelings. I find this intriguing.
The expectation of children in the United States has done a complete turn around if we look at the last 100–150 years. Children today we think of as being nurtured and sheltered, however it was not always like that. We also have to recognize that our expectation of children has changed due to the changing state of our economy and the changing morals of our country. We can trace the changing treatment of children from the 20th century to present day.
Up until the late 19th Century, children all across the world were thought of as miniature workers. There was barely any restrictions for children working in at times very harsh conditions. There was a major working class of child labourers. Child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially or morally harmful. The industrial revolution was a time period where children were being more than exploited, but often killed in their working conditions. This was happening especially in Great brittain as well as the United States. Children as young as four were employed in production factories and mines working long hours in dangerous, often fatal, working conditions. Frequently beginning their working lives before their tenth birthday, children worked in hazardous jobs at mines, mills, factories, sweatshops, and on farms, with little or no wages. Regardless of what children were going through, there was an expectation for them to help and support their families.
Today, we can see the development of the focus on education in our children, however not enough on their wellbeing mentally. As a society, we went from repairing harsh forced labor, to introducing mass education, but now I feel like we are in need of mental health care within out children, especially adolescents. Suicide rates have been higher than ever, and many of our youth do not know how to properly channel their emotions or their feelings. This is something that I would like to see in the next steps to be taken to improve the treatment of young people in America.
The fact that Ned took it upon himself to be the spokesperson of this organization was really bad for his character development. Ned has a warrior mentality that is often do or die, but I did not like how he presumed his warrior mentality onto others. One person may want to be loud and proud but presuming that onto others, is beyond unfair. I think this is where Ned went wrong in many ways. He was passionate, but too passionate. I truly believe that Professor Sandridge should look into the Star Wars world for his future classes. I do believe that a lot if not all of our lessons could be found in the StarWars Universe. My father recently made me a geek this summer, but Annakin is very much like Ned in a way where he is too passionate, and is leading in his own way rather than the way of the people around him. We also touched on the question of is there a proper way to go about a problem in the community. I stressed the point that listening is a vital skill to have when addressing a controversial issue in the community and Dr. Sandrige appreciated my contribution and i was being genuine. In today’s climate I feel the worst thing that we do is we are too stubborn to listen to the opposing side. No one can get anywhere without listening to one another. I believe why this is why we are so divided as a country. In our politics, it is always blue vs. Red. We never listen though. I try my hardest to incorporate this skill in my everyday life and I believe this is helping me become a better leader. Ned does not have this quality. The man hardly listens. My other classmates talked about the proper way to deliver a message and that timing has everything to do with a proper delivery.
On Tuesday we had a very deep and intellectual class discussion today, and I loved it. I was very active in class today because I am big on how to deliver a message. I have learned from my own personal experience on the proper and improper ways to get your point across, but to also have a civilized conversation. Christian from class compared Ned to Philocetes because he is never listened to. I did like this comparison Chris made because I did not think of his comparison and it is in fact true. Ned often preached his ideals like philoctetes and neither listened to, but I feel like the difference between them is Philoctetes you felt bad for him. As a reader I can not feel bad for Ned. To me he does way too much whereas Philoctetes I was so sympathetic towards him.
Conclusion
I love how this story ended. Ned needed to find himself, as do a lot of people struggling with their idenity. He needed acceptance and love. I do believe that Felix was a better mentor than Emma was. Felix showed support and love and also brought to light a lot of his problems, yet accepted them. I think during their wedding when Ned revealed his name, it was very symbolic. He was being who he was born to be and it’s very empowering. I loved our class discussion about names because they are very empowering. My name is who I am and thats me. I found Ollie’s experience to be empowering as well as she was rebirthing her self and her image by giving herself her own name. I think that is empowering and I loved that she shared that with the class. I believe my leadership skills is enhancing and I’m continuously adding on better ways to improve myself. I genuinely love this class.
