Case study of a southern prison
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Citation: CCI: Case study of a southern prison [Video file]. (1993). In Films On Demand. Retrieved May 11, 2015, from https://digital.films.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=7967&xtid=7031
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:
[MUSIC PLAYING]
The symbolic name change from Penitentiary to Central Correctional Institution enacted by MacDougall accompanied far-reaching reform in the final quarter century of CCI’s history. The problems which remain are the result of a complex combination of things. To this day, the courts remain highly class conscious. CCI can’t help but live up to it’s reputation as the bottom of the barrel of South Carolina’s criminal justice system.
While the Prison Reform legislation of the ’70s poured millions into developing rehabilitation at CCI, these same laws protect inmates from being forced to work, to receive education, to take advantage of any programs whatever. And while the public rallies behind politicians who promise to get tough on crime, the resulting policies at CCI often spell problems, problems which eventually return to the street.
If a man ain’t got nothing to do, he lay around in his cell all day. There’s nowhere to go around here, or nothing. If he ain’t got a job, then he’s bored. So therefore, that’s gonna get him in trouble. He think about taking a little pill, drink a little wine or something. A man mop the floor for five minutes in the morning, stuff like that there. Wash the shower down, take him 15 minutes. He got the rest of the day for himself.
We want to work. We’d like be out on the side of the road doing something to occupy our time. Then I said, ain’t no way I can work as hard as I did when I come here. They put me out there doing a job. I did roofing work. Ain’t no way I can make eight hours right now. Because I done got back and got fat, lazy. So automatically, I’m going to go back out there, and I’m looking for something easy to do.
Their basic needs provided for, some inmates choose not to work. The inmates at CCI who want to work charge that the institution doesn’t provide enough jobs. Without the opportunity to learn work credits, the incentive to work toward early release is lost. And CCI moves one critical step further from its original concept as a public manufactory, a place to socialize criminals through work.
Hey, y’all got any witchcraft, man?
Do we what?
You got any witchcraft?
Perhaps the most vexing problem facing CCI– facing any prison– is deal with the psychological and sociological variables of its inmate population. Stepping inside, an outsider becomes instantly aware of how difficult it must be to correct human behavior individually, and on a large scale. The complexities of prisoners, of prison life, are perhaps best understood by coming face to face with some of the inmates themselves, and with the people charged with their custody. Meet Joe McCown.
When I walked in here 17 years ago, everybody probably heard the noise of my asshole tightening up. They just didn’t know what the sound was. And for the next six weeks, six months, I walked around with my back literally to the wall. When I walked down the tunnel, I’d be walking sideways.
Well, one of the first things I experienced was down in the mess hall. And I seen a stabbing. An inmate actually got stabbed to death over a piece of chicken, which seems very irrelevant and minute to somebody out on the street. But in here, the rules is totally different.
I really think, for the most part, you have to go look for trouble.
It’s not the trouble comes to look for you. If there’s a riot, here everybody’s in trouble. But if you don’t do drugs, if you’re not out there robbing, stealing, gambling, doing all those things, you’re not going to necessarily have problem back here. I thought convicts were these big bad monsters that made King Kong look like a wimp. And then I realized that you wouldn’t know that a man’s a convict if you saw him on the streets, unless he had a sign stenciled across his back. And the basic difference is that the people in here, for whatever reason, have overcome a barrier between what’s acceptable and what’s not acceptable, regardless of whether that’s a pickpocket or a murder. You’ve got to cross the barrier that you obey the law or you break the law.
The racial ratio, whether at CCI or in corrections in this part of the country, a good deal of it has to do with economics. Blacks are disproportionately poorer than whites. Poor people are more likely to commit crime. They’re less likely to have a lawyer that’s going to get them out. They are less likely to have a judge or a jury that’s going to be sympathetic to them.
And really, you could extend that even further to education. They’re less likely to have a good education. That would even go to the jobs that they would be able to get, to hold. An armed robber, or a thief, or that, they have economic reasons. They may not be valid, but there are economic reasons involved.
Paul Ulmer’s job at CCI is running the school house.
I feel like that we not only teach materials or knowledge from books, but we also teach survival skills to individuals, how to interact, interpersonal relationships. In some cases, the individuals have not been able to cope with the stress. Control, self-control, is necessary for them to survive on the street.
Once they get that straightened, Kent, then you and I probably need to talk more about–
Whenever you realize that these people that are at CCI are from 22 to 65 or 70, that some of them been incarcerated from the time that there were six, seven, or eight years old, it’s difficult for these individuals to know just how to deal with freedom. They’ve been accustomed to a structured type of life. To where they are told when to get up, when to go to bed, when to go to work, when to go to school, when to participate in some group, when to go to eat. And we take these freedoms for granted. The fellows that are incarcerated at CCI can deal with truthfulness.
And that’s when I met you fat buddy.
See that?
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
Basically, Mr. Ulmer, he’s the type of guy that if you come to him with a problem, he will not hesitate in any circumstance to help you. We respect him because he respects us. And that’s a big thing within a prison setting.
Prison life changes not only inmates, but also the people who work there. This is Ulmer’s 15th year at CCI.
It’s taught me that we all make mistakes. It’s only by the good grace of God that I’m not incarcerated at CCI. I’ve made mistakes. I made some mistakes that have been probably– well, I wouldn’t say that they are mistakes as serious as some of the mistakes the individuals have made that are incarcerated here. But I’ve seen some very petty things also that I felt like could have been corrected some other way other than through incarceration.
This is the other thing that I had to do.
OK.
Donald Hollabaugh, shown here working with Ulmer, performed most responsibly as head clerk. Less than a week after this videotaping, everything changed.
About seven pages.
[CHUCKLES]
Well, there’s only 20 to go.
South Carolina prison officials are still looking for two men who broke out of Columbia Central Correctional Institution last night. Officials are looking for the escapees, 59-year-old Donald Hallock who was serving a sentence for assault and battery with intent to kill, and 36-year-old Donald Lee Hollabaugh who was serving a life term for kidnapping.
Hit by the news of Hollabaugh’s escape, Ulmer responds that he would think twice about hiring him again if Hollabaugh returned to CCI.
Is that to do with your not wanting to help him because he doesn’t deserve help, or because you felt he can’t be trusted? Some different theories in there.
I think that my role as a school administrator in prisons is to help everyone that really wants and needs help. I don’t think it’s my place to evaluate whether they deserve help or not.
While it is clear that inmates often need help, that is not to say that help is always wanted. While some motivate themselves to work within the system, others rage against it.
CCI to me, I feel like it’s a plantation.
CCI’s a hate factory.
To me, it’s one big concentration camp.
CCI stands for Central Corruptional Institution.
CCI’s a place to house black folks, keep us back here.
They need to retire this raggedy [BLEEP] right now They need to do something. We doing time, but they need to treat us– like they’re treating us like a dog. We’re human beings like everybody else.
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
Perhaps no other part of CCI houses more rage than Cell Block 2. This is a prison within prison.
Because CB 2 to me is one of the hardest places there is to work.
Sergeant Brooks.
Because you have a whole different kind of population in here. We get all kinds of people in here. We get standard security risk inmates. We get inmates that come here that don’t want to cooperate with you at all. All they want to do is just sit back and think about things that they can raise hell with– flooding cells, tearing the sink off the wall, setting fires in the cell, bamming on the cell door every minute of the day.
Real little things, like if we don’t have enough Kool-Aid to go around, they start raising hell about the Kool-Aid. We don’t have enough Kool-Aid. You know, it’s real simple to get Kool-Aid. All we do is go back down to the mess hall and get it and come back. But if we tell them that we’re going to get some more, then they raise hell about that until we can get the Kool-Aid back in the unit.
That guy right there, that’s who y’all need to talk to. They took a tray about a month ago and hit him in the eye. They took a food tray and hit him upside the head and knocked him down the steps. That old man right there had stitches all in his eye.
And it’s abuse every day.
See, don’t nobody hear about that right there. They don’t tell them about that.
I have 40 some stitches in my hand right here.
You got officers getting mad at inmates in here. And they throw their mail in the trash can that comes from the street. You know what I’m saying?
It’s what you call the bull pit right here, if you act up.
This is where they come and beat us at.
No, they don’t really do that. Don’t be putting that out there.
You know, the public sees us wanting to be beating on them. And we don’t have to do that. I can get any inmate to do anything I want him to do because I know how to approach him, and I know how to talk to him. And that’s the way we try to train these officers in here.
We could put you in the security cell. And you know, if you was on C tier in front of the TV, we would just put you back on B tier. That’s where all the security cells are. And when you go in there, you might not be about to see the TV that good. That’s one punishment. Then you say to yourself, man, I sure miss my cell. I’m going to straighten up so I can go back to my regular cell. But I want to stay in there.
Now, don’t flood this cell after I come in.
I ain’t gonna do that.
Don’t tear my cell up now.
No, I’m not going to do that, man. I’ve gotten myself straight. I don’t want to go back in there. That’s y’all moving me. But it ain’t no fun up in here. And there ain’t no fun over here.
You’ve got to stay someplace in the building.
See, right now the public, back in the old days, they saw real big officers walk around with shotguns, and sitting down on the side of the row looking at them. And they were calling us guards. But see now, we’ve correction officers. Because an officer has to go through the academy. He had to learn how to do reports, how to fire a weapon. And he has to run a certain time for a mile and a half.
We do everything the police offers do. The only thing that we don’t do is ride around in cars, wear pistols, and arrest people.
Sergeant Brooks, he’s fairly new at CB 2. I haven’t had any problems with him. But like I say, he’s one of the few that I perceive as being an eight hour worker. He comes in and goes out. I have nothing against him.
Cory Funches, along with some 50 other inmates in Cell Block 2, is here for more than eight hours a day. He’s locked up for 23 hours and is allowed only one hour out for showers and recreation. The relationship between correctional officer and inmate is placed under terrific stress. While Funches respects Sergeant Brooks, this is the exception.
I may act different. Like I told you, I don’t like pigs. I don’t associate with them. You can’t be my friend and my oppressor, too. You know what I’m saying? They are the custodians here. How can I be friends with a man that turns the key on the door on me every day? If I was working here, I’d be fired and incarcerated in one day because I’d let everybody go.
See, I hope I get a letter from old Mike today, man.
Yeah.
I’m here at CCI for the same reason that I’m here in CB 2, for disciplinary reasons. I was charged for assault and battery on a deputy warden at Broad River Correctional Institution. And for that disciplinary action, they sent me to what they call a maximum security prison and placed me on M-custody. And here I am at CB 2 in CCI. See I’ve never been fortunate enough to go out in population here. I’ve been locked up for a year now.
Hey man, about three rats caged up got my burial last night, right? One of the rats jumped up on my bed. I kicked him, he fell on the wall opposite of the bed.
You say they’re dangerous, maximum security, a threat. Would you consider George Bush a violent man because he orders 200,000 civilians in Iraq to be killed? Violence is violence. I mean, so what? You’ve got people in here who killed maybe one or two people. I didn’t kill anybody. I assaulted someone. But that doesn’t make me any more violent than the mass murderers that our government is.
White criminals, they commit crimes that people like us only dream about committing. I’ll say this to the high class white criminals. And I’m talking to the governors, the senators, and all these type of people like that, the lawmakers. First of all, to understand a people, you have to understand where they’re coming from. We were brought over here some 400 years ago. We were stripped of our culture. We were stripped of our language. We were stripped of our religion. And we had to come over here.
Our first generation was denied education. They were treated like animals. And therefore, you can’t expect us to be as good at this thing as white people are. I mean, white people, this is y’all culture, y’all language. This is y’all education, y’all understands. These laws are for y’all.
That inmates like Funches feel contempt for the establishment may help explain the lawlessness of some. But this man’s rebellion exploded close to home.
I could talk to you about it to an extent. OK, what it was involved in, it was a deputy warden. She was an African American, and it was a woman. But at our institution, she wasn’t considered the type of African American that was for the black people. Like I said before, every brother is not a brother just because of his color. He might as well be undercover. And a lot of black people get caught up in that thing as if, well, I work with the white man. I’m better than them because I’ve got power.
Same thing back when Chicken George and Kunta Kinte. You got some slaves that snitch and beat, and some slaves that work. So I feel like she was the type of slave that was working for the white man. And she wasn’t for me at all.
So what I was involved in was an incident where a cup of urine and feces was thrown into her face. Now, I have never admitted to doing such a thing. And I won’t admit to it now. But that’s what I was charged for.
He’s retaliating because he’s locked up. He went through the system. He broke the crime, he went to court, he came to jail. When you put this badge on, they looking at the badge. He’s looking at the badge. He’s not looking at the person behind the badge.
He sees a lot of black officers working back here. Then all of a sudden, just because he’s black, we’re supposed to take his side. It doesn’t work like that. We have a job to do.
Well, OK. Yeah, of course I took part in it. But I didn’t do the actual throwing.
Did you agree with any part of it?
Do I agree with it? Well, I’ll put it to you this way. You can’t keep slinging crap in people’s face all your life and now expect for crap to be flung back in yours. It’s kind of like fighting back.
Much of crime is committed by young men. It is commonly believed that when the rage of hormones settle, most people self-correct. When an inmate demonstrates the wisdom of years down inside see CCI, his status is elevated. He earns the respected title of convict. With the wisdom of 12 years to his name, Arthur Casada is still unsure what all this will mean for him in 1996, the year of his earliest possible parole.
You know, the prison system is funny. It could help you, and it could kill you. And I’m saying the way it could kill you, if you buck up against it and try to fight against it, you’ll never seen light again. But if you use the system for your benefit by, what, education, by college, by a training program, by doing what you’re supposed to do, and just keep on doing until they finally say, well, this man, he’s rehabilitating himself. Because that’s the only way a person really changes by himself.
Well then, how much time does someone got to do to learn their lesson? How much time does society got to give a person to learn their lesson? Maybe for a little burglary, give them 10 years. Don’t they know what they’re doing to the people in here? They’re programming them to be prisoners. They’re programming them not to make it out in the streets no more.
“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but only that which is good to edifying that it may minister grace unto the hearers.”
I’m originally from California. And that’s where I was raised. My environment there is a poor environment around where we used to live at. And we did what we could to survive.
“Be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another.”
And then I started in the age of 11, 12. And I started running around little gang members and joined little gang members in going around stealing Coke bottles or whatever I could to bring some money home and for myself to spend like that. Then sometimes, I would have to make a sacrifice or my brothers would have to make a sacrifice to provide for my sister.
Well, really it was like adrenaline, see if I could get away with it. And it was exciting at times when we were at people’s houses. And even sometimes the people would be even in the house. And I would just see if I could get away with it. And sometimes they would wake up, and I’d have to run out the door.
And there was times when I did it for– like when I hit the age of 18, 19, I started using hard narcotics, Class A narcotics– morphine. I started using heroin. And I had to provide my habit on that.
Right.
Yeah, that’s a good workout.
I don’t blame my parents for not giving me love. Because they gave me plenty of it. But I was just too stubborn to hear it. I wanted to be one of those vatos locos, those crazy guys that walk down the street, and this and that. That was my decision I made.
Well, when I got here, I was passing through South Carolina really just to check out the place. I wasn’t planning to stay or nothing. But what I got involved in was I got involved in a murder. And when I say a murder, I committed the murder. You know, I killed a person. And I regret it. You know, that hurts inside. But I can’t stand and dwell on that. I’ve got to keep on going.
You know, as for the time that they give me here, which is a life sentence, that has affected me not only physically but also spiritually and mentally. But as for my vision, the Holy Word says, it says, without a vision, people perish. But I still got a vision. Well, see, that have vision, it’s sort of like sometimes it tries to fade out and fade out. If I see myself instead of going out in the street, you’re in another prison. You’re being transferred to another prison.
Three weeks ago, they took me to court, all right? And they took me to court, and I hadn’t been out there for a while. And just to look at buildings, just to get off and walk around on the sidewalk, or to walk into the court, or walk by a bench in the park and sit down. It was the most exciting time in my whole life because even though I was chained up and had shackles on my feet, I felt that I was free. I was free. And it was just so beautiful, so peaceful.
But what hurt me most is we were going back to CCI. I come in here and I have to get used to this stinky system again. What I’m saying is just the environment in here. It left me in a daze I would say for about two days.
CCI is not a correct, it’s not rehabilitation, it’s not punishment. It’s just a warehouse. It’s a place to dump us for a certain amount of time so that we can’t hurt the people that we hurt on the street.
Well, my crime is not the run-of-the-mill crime. Any type of sexual crime, you throw economics and all that– education, background– out the window. Picked up a 30 year sentence for rape. That’s the first time I was ever in trouble with the law. I built 8 and 1/2 years and made parole first go around, went home. Less than a year later, I picked up 30 years down in Georgia for essentially attempting the same thing. Well, it’s helped society. I hadn’t been out there repeating the crime.
When McCown finally leaves CCI, which could be as early as next year, the question will not be whether society benefited during his imprisonment, but what good it did him.
It hadn’t helped or hindered. I think because I haven’t let it help or hinder me. I spent most of the 18 years trying to ignore the fact that I’m doing time. That’s the simplest way to do time. It’s the easiest and the fastest way, if you can switch your mind off, whether it’s with books, TV, work. The main thing about being in prison is being bored.
Cory Funches was recently turned down for parole. But he’s not terribly concerned. He will go home anyhow in a few months when his maximum sentence is served.
I want to get back in to my occupation of trade, which is electrician. I was an electrician before I came in here. And I want to settle down. I don’t want to be too involved with materialistic things, like getting a brand new car right off the bat. No, I want to get a nice place to stay, hold down a 9 to 5. And just do things until things kick off. If nothing kicks off on the street, like a revolution, hey, then I’m not worrying about it. I’m going to be an upstanding, law abiding citizen, you know?
Soon everyone will leave CCI. Its inmates, correctional officers, and staff are being transferred. The entire complex is to be demolished sometime next year. Many people are anxious to put it all behind them. An entire era in South Carolina’s present history is coming to a close. What will the next era bring. A new Central Correctional Institution is going up in nearby Lee County. The expansion of modern prison facilities around the state sees no apparent end.
It’s almost midnight on New Year’s Eve, a time to reevaluate the past and think about the future. All of CCI’s inmates have been locked down for the evening. But that never stops a little celebration.
Three, two, one–
New year!
[SHOUTING]
One more year, I got one more year! It’s my last year right now!
One more year, a faceless inmate shouts at the world. And then what will happen, he may wonder. And he is not alone.
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Cultural Literacy Papers
Learn from these passage, then write your own paper.
The passages below have been taken from a variety of interesting Cultural Literacy essays by students. They show the wide range of topics that students came up with for papers after reading Amy Werbel’s Lessons from China. They also demonstrate a range of approaches to discussing those topics. As you can see below, some students:
• took an argumentative approach
• brought in personal experiences in explaining their opinion or explaining their interest in a topic
• used a historical perspective as a means of investigation
• called attention to cause-effect relations
• compared and contrasted viewpoints of people from different generations or from different countries.
• Take a very close look at specific examples that support their claims
• Use primary research (interviews or surveys that they conducted themselves), in addition to the required use of secondary sources
You will find that most begin with a concrete starting point, such as:
• a culturally influential person
• a cultural practice
• a cultural event.
• a cultural object
All of them explore different perspectives, as required in the assignment guidelines. They call attention to social factors that influence different perspectives. All of them use secondary sources.
Keep in mind that in each case, you are seeing just part of an essay, not the whole essay. I have selected passages that give a good idea of what the paper addresses, and have also included passages that show how writers talked about specific examples.
As you read through these examples, take notice of how the writers narrowed and shaped their topics, and how they employed different rhetorical moves.
1. From “A Protest That Kills”:
In 1970 there were protests all over the United States demanding that the US government end the war in Vietnam. Some protesters would engage in damaging and questionable demonstrations to get their point across. In Kent, Ohio, students at Kent State University had protests and demonstrations about the war on campus. The Ohio National Guard open fired on the students killing four students and wounding nine more (Rosenberg, J). The general public’s opinion is that the Ohio National Guard was entirely at fault for the shootings, and that they should have let the students protest (Gilgenbach). However this may not have been the case. The students and the Ohio National Guard are equally at fault for the shootings at Kent State University.
A Protest that Kills: Argument. Focus on a cultural event mentioned in Werbel. Shows other cultural perspective, not commonly held in society, representing perspective of National Guards who shot the students.
2. From “Self-Expression Through Psychedelic Drugs”:
Hippies in the 1960’s were notorious for their experimental drug use. Whether it was marijuana, acid, mushrooms, DMT, or some kind of pill, they were always trying to get “high” on something. Why were people experimenting with drugs? What was the reasoning behind it? In the 1950’s, pharmaceutical companies generated a lot of advertising and a sense of “brainwashing” that anything could be cured with a simple drug. “They produced drugs to prevent disease, to cure disease, to alleviate pain, to relieve upset stomachs, to keep you alert, to help you to sleep, to lessen worry, to reduce hyperactivity in children, to remove symptoms of psychological disorders.” (Stone 3). American families began filling their medicine cabinets with all sorts of pills and drugs used for curing all kinds of sickness. It was through this heavy advertising and influence that the children began to see drugs as a good thing—as something to make them feel better. These kids would later grow up to become what is known as the hippies.
In 1966 the Rolling Stones released a song entitled “Mother’s Little Helper” in which Mick Jagger sings about a housewife abusing the drug, valium: “Mother needs something today to calm her down. And though she’s not really ill, there’s a little yellow pill. She goes running for the shelter of her Mother’s Little Helper.” Jagger goes on to sing about how the housewife needs to take this pill to remain calm from doing all of the work around the house; cooking, cleaning, caring for the children, and taking care of her husband. This song by the Rolling Stones is an example of how certain drugs were abused within the home even by the mother of the family. Perhaps the children of the time caught on to what their mothers were up to and it would only be a matter of time before they began doing the same thing. This is the behavior that would evolve into self-expression by the youth.
Moving over to the other side of the world, we take a look at China and their medicine practices. The medicine practices in China are very different than the United States, because they use a lot of traditional Chinese practices. They do have their pharmaceutical companies that make pills and what we Americans see as a form of medicine, however that is not their primary form of medicine. Historically speaking, in the 1960’s when medicine was gaining popularity, China was relying on traditional forms of medicine. I conducted an interview with Shawn Z—, an exchange student from China, and he told me that Chinese medicine practices are primarily through acupuncture, ancient herbs, and massage. Acupuncture is the use of hundreds needles poked into the skin and it is used to cure sickness of the head, meaning any psychological disorders or mental illness. Chinese massage is used for pains and aches, such as a sore back, sprained ankle or physical sores. The Chinese use blends of ancient herbs as a cure for things such as fevers and colds. So already, it is seen that there is no sign of drug use and nothing to lead the youth into this direction, as was the case in America.
The other big issue that explains the difference in drug use in China is the Opium Wars. . . .
“Self-Expression Through Psychedelic Drugs”: Historical analysis. Looks at cultural factors promoting drug use in the US previous to the 1960s/70s counterculture. Zeros in on a song as expression of cultural practices at the time. Contrasts to historical factors influencing Chinese attitudes towards drug use.
3. From “What do Chinese’ Comments on Gun Control Reflect?”
At 8:45 pm, Jan 31st 2014, a gun shooting case occurred in 200 block of Cedar Street in East Lansing, which made me feel very fearful and think it was really dangerous for ordinary civilians to have guns. I had heard a lot about gun shootings and how dangerous it is that the US government has loose control on guns in civilians’ hands, but I always thought those dangers were far away from me. Although I have been in the US for four years, Jan 31’s gun shooting was the only one that happened so near to me. But that was not the first time I thought gun violence really threatens residents’ safety.
And most Chinese people have same opinions with me. Nearly all of Chinese comments are about control guns since innocent residents will die of gun shootings. There always are hundreds of comments posted under the gun shooting news on Internet, such as micro blogs and online news. All those comments are criticizing guns, like “it’s dangerous to live in America” “come back to China, stay away form gun shooting” “lucky that China has strict gun control” and so on. Almost no Chinese people think about positive reasons to allow civilians keep guns. On the contrast, Americans have different voices on gun problems. I knew there was a petition about gun control reform published on the White House petition website after the Sandy Hook School’s tragedy; and even some government officials discussed about gun control. I used to think most people would support that petition. Out of my surprise, there were several petitions about keep guns in the relative petitions part, including “Keep guns in America! No weapons ban!” “No more gun control!” “Stop Demonizing guns”, etc (A Message from President Obama).
I was very curious why still more than half of Americans support keeping guns after so many gun shootings. I found there are several debates about keeping guns. From these opinions, I found Americans are able to understand gun problems from several perspectives, and some consider gun control as a way of limiting freedom. I feel they are more sensitive to their rights and politics. I am not saying whether the law should ban guns by talking about those comments on gun control, but just wonder why Chinese people only think about the safety aspect of this problem, but are not able to connect it with rights and see it from a political level?
Amy Werbel’s book provides me some clues to answer this problem. . . .
“What do Chinese’ Comments on Gun Control Reflect?”: Takes some ideas from Werbel, first regarding how Chinese students were puzzled by debates in US society on abortion, since it involved issues foreign to their cultural discourse (esp. concerning religion.) 2nd, took idea regarding US cultural attitudes towards “rights.” Applies this to gun control debate in the US to understand what the argument is about, and try to make more sense of the argument from a Chinese perspective. Not arguing pro or con gun ownership..
4. From “The Art of Protest”:
Protests have always been part of an American way to go against something that is not wanted. The creation of United States basically came about as a protest against the British Monarchy, expressed in the Declaration of Independence. Demonstrations, given by the freedom of speech and the right to assemble, have been used constantly by special interest groups to amend certain laws or show disagreement between them and the government. But protests need leaders to organize them and to give the protests meaning or else they may be too dysfunctional to be successful. One of these types of leaders can include artistic leaders that would either sing or create art sending a message corresponding to a protest. Amy Werbel, author of Lessons From China, specifically lists Bob Dylan and Ai Weiwei and what they have done to try to rally people up and go against their governments’ decisions. When protests against a certain cause occur, it is very important for people to not only be united, but to have a strong artistic influence that can lead the way, sending an important message through music or art. Having artistic leaders makes large difference in how successful a movement can be.
“The Art of Protest”: Uses “Protest” as a cultural artifact. Narrows down to examining the role of artists in making protests more successful. Looks at 2 specific artists, one from US & one from China
5. From “A New Shade of Red: Mao’s Revolution”
The civilizations of the East have been for decades the source of wonder and curiosity for the Western world. American children often stare at the “Made in China” stamp on the bottom of their action figure’s boot. It is all too often that a westerner simply ponders what is “made in China” and not what made China. The China the 21st century is familiar with is the product of decades of class struggle. China’s Cultural Revolution has had an impact not only on successive generations but also on the nation as a whole.
Under Mao Zedong’s rule, China underwent a conflict between rural proletariats and the urban bourgeois and brought about a “Cultural Revolution.” Mao Zedong is considered the founding father of the Communist Party of China. One of the most published books in the world, The Quotations of Mao Zedong, otherwise known as “The Little Red Book” (Lei Han), is a collection of quotations from this political vanguard, and is organized into thirty-three parts describing various aspects of this school of thought. The worldwide production of this text is second only to the bible. This book had a profound effect on Chinese citizens who lived within the age of China’s Cultural Revolution.
“A New Shade of Red: Mao’s Revolution”: Historical examination of how Mao Zedong brought about China’s Cultural Revolution. Specifically targets Mao’s Little Red Book as a cultural artifact, looking at its influence on the people living at the time. Looks at how we still see the influence of the Cultural Revolution in today’s China.
6. From “Foot Binding and the Road to Freedom”
When you hear the phrase “beauty is pain”, is voluntarily breaking your own toes and destruction of your foot the first thing that comes to mind? Probably not, unless you are a Chinese woman who was born sometime between the 10th century and 1911. Foot binding was a very important practice in the Chinese culture during these years. Women endured this form of torture in order to be seen as wealthy, successful, and beautiful by society. The abolition of foot binding also had a huge effect on the beginning of the Women’s Rights Movement in China. But the big question is, “what effect did abolishing foot binding have on the role of women in China today?”
“Foot Binding and the Road to Freedom”: Discusses the cultural practice of foot-binding & its role in keeping women socially powerless. Looks at how abolishing this practice helped open the door to women’s rights in China.
7. From “Those Beautiful Feet in those Ugly Small Shoes”
Although what Chinese women made their young daughters go through was cruel and senseless from our modern view, we need to look at our own cultural practices with objectivity. Indeed, the 21st century is not as extreme as the 10th century, but the same messages are given from generation to generation. The male had the power and control in the society in the 10th century, and still has the power in the 21st century – in terms of women making body modifications to please the male. Rather than portraying thin models whom some may have eating disorders as “beautiful and sexy”, media needs to portray natural beauty of the women. Women have died because of their attempts to make themselves beautiful by becoming anorexic. Lives could be saved if media portrayed real-life women with the appropriate height and weight, including all races and ethnicities.
“Those Beautiful Feet in those Ugly Small Shoes”: Discusses the cultural practice of foot binding in China. Uses this as a lens through which to look at practices in current, modern society that have similar social principles behind them.
8. From “An Era of New Consciousness”
The middle class of American society was the first to become interested in new drugs and was intrigued to experience the mental side effects they had to offer. The emergence of this particular class to experiment with various types of drugs, mainly LSD and psilocybin mushrooms, can be traced back to the 1960s counterculture movement. This movement, also known as the “hippie era”, was a period when the youth began to reject long-held social values and norms of behavior. During this decade, a Harvard psychology professor named Timothy Leary “rose to national prominence…due to his experience and support of psychedelic drug use, defending his use of drugs before the Supreme Court, popularizing the phrase ‘turn on, tune in, drop out,’ and even collaborating with the Beatles” (Kansra and Shih 2012). His involvement with researching and experimenting hallucinogenic drugs dramatically altered society’s outlook on whether or not these substances were helpful or harmful to those who were using these drugs. Was Leary’s engagement with drugs during this time period a contribution toward the hippie movement, an effect of this movement, or maybe both?
“An Era of New Consciousness”: Looks at Timothy Leary as a “cultural icon”, in relation to the age of the US 60’s counterculture. Examines whether he was a cause or effect of the counterculture, or perhaps both an effect & a cause.
9. From “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World”
As the years go on, women continue to gain greater access in the public sphere. Women have come a long way since the time that they had no rights at all in the nineteenth century. In the very beginning, there were separate spheres for men and women: women were in control of the private, domestic sphere, and men were in charge of the public, working sphere. These two roles never crossed. With each wave of feminism, women have increasingly been present in the public sphere and have gained more rights. Despite these major advancements for women, there are still many obstacles that women must overcome in the public sphere that men do not face. The United States is still a man’s world. . . .
Along with insufficient representation in government, the women who do participate in America’s government are heavily criticized. Hillary Clinton was very successful in the 2008 election year, coming farther than any other woman in history in the race for presidency. Unfortunately, Hillary Clinton is constantly under scrutiny for physical characteristics. A couple of years ago, an image was released of Clinton with hardly any makeup on (see next page). Reporters judged her habits of not wearing make-up, wearing glasses, and wearing her hair up (Moore). Clinton responded, “If I want to wear my glasses, I’m wearing my glasses. If I want to wear my hair back I’m pulling my hair back. You know at some point it’s just not something that deserves a lot of time and attention” (Moore). Clinton’s appearance is not what should be represented in the media because her appearance is irrelevant to her duties as Secretary of State. This reflects just how much pressure there is on women to look attractive. Clinton has also repeatedly been portrayed in the media and political cartoons as unfeminine and bossy. This is the consequence a strong, assertive woman in the government must face. Men do not face these same criticisms. No one ever hears in the media about how George W. Bush had very heavy bags under his eyes at an event or about Joe Biden’s receding hairline. These male political figures can also be authoritative without fearing criticism of being too controlling. These criticisms are subject to only women in government, and the only criticism that men face are relevant to their political positions and duties.
Men who do gain attention on their physical characteristics are not for attractiveness levels, but rather their health. Chris Christie, Governor of New Jersey, is a potential nominee for the 2016 presidential election. He is an obese male, and his size has been the subject of much attention (see right).
“It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World”: Argues that examination of current social practices & discourse reveals the continued existence of a double standard for men & women in relation to how they are seen in public life in the US. Points to treatment of specific political figures as examples.
10. From “Setting the Standard”:
To most of the world the Beijing Olympics was just another summer Olympic Games with a stunningly beautiful Opening Ceremony, and an equally astounding Closing Ceremony at the end of the Games. For China it was a way for them to show, like the United States had in 1876 with the Centennial Exposition, how far they had come as a nation. Everyone can agree, however, that the Opening Ceremonies for the 2008 Olympic Games really set the standard for all future Olympic Games. While everyone else in preceding Games had done something somewhat small, especially in comparison, to say “hey, look at us! Look at this neat little trick we can do,” China completely stepped it up, and may have even turned the Ceremonies themselves into a competition. . . .
In her book, Lessons from China, Amy Werbel said one of her students compared the Beijing Olympics to America’s Centennial Exposition of 1876. For the United States, fresh out of the Civil War, it was a way to show the world that we had come a long way from being just a collection of colonies on the East Coast a hundred years before. For a country celebrating it’s one-hundredth birthday, it was something of a coming out party, where, even though they gave a nod to the rest of the countries in the world, America was the star of the show. The 2008 Olympic Games was for China what the Centennial Exposition was for the United States, a coming out party (Werbel). In my opinion, it was also a way for China to step up and accept the challenge of making this the Chinese Century.
Once upon a time, the Opening Ceremonies were all about the athletes. They consisted of the athletes being marched out, as they still are today, to the sound of applause. In recent decades, however, it’s turned into a display of “look what we can do!” Unsurprisingly, in my opinion, it was the United States who started this in the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. Of course, that year’s Opening Ceremony was nowhere near the display that China created for their Games. After Los Angeles, the host countries each tried to do something special, in an attempt to one-up one another. It was said that “those ceremonies [including and following the 1984 Games in Los Angeles] were all a prelude to the show-stopping, show-starter in Beijing. When the Olympics came to China for the first time, the world’s most populous nation was acutely ready for its long anticipated showcase.” The China Daily reportedly declared it as “China’s proudest night” (Forde). It would be impossible to think it wasn’t China’s proudest night, or at least one of its proudest nights.
As a spectator, watching the Opening Ceremonies nearly six years ago was outstanding, even though it was only on a television screen. . . .
“Setting the Standard”: Looks at the Opening ceremonies to the Beijing Olympics as a cultural event. Argues for the significance of these opening ceremonies in terms of “setting a new standard.” Does this by comparing Olympic opening ceremonies before & after. Also talks about the impact of seeing the opening ceremonies on her (even though it was just on tv).
11. From “Mr. Mom”
As the economy gets worse and prices inflate, it is absolutely essential for both the man and woman in the household to bring in an income. A family of four, for example, cannot survive on just one income now. Although everything sounds great, there is a major problem still. Men are only part time parents, and aren’t expected to come home and clean and cook. Women are still expected to do these things, and as stated before, it puts an enormous amount of stress on the woman. Divorce rates are really high in today’s society because either there isn’t enough money coming in to pay all the bills, or there is so much stress in the household from things not being done around the house that someone gets fed up. In fact, “50 percent of marriages in America end in divorce”(Beary). This number is way too high and is a direct result of men being part time parents. As a male child from a divorced family, I think it is important to honor these issues and legitimately come up with a solution to them for the future.
Men should see the impact of the women’s rights movement and take some action of their own. Before, women said “why couldn’t we be doctors and get degrees?” Well, men should ask the question “why can’t we make an impact in our child’s lives and be homemakers?” See, instead of a woman being both a full time worker and full time homemaker, and the man being a full time worker and part time homemaker, both the man and woman should be full time workers and homemakers. It enriched women to expand their knowledge and abilities and get out of the house. Similarly, it could enrich men to expand their roles to become homemakers. Every parent is proud when his or her child grows up and becomes successful. There is a sense of self worth that you had a positive impact on your child’s life. Men should realize that women don’t have to be the only ones that can achieve self worth from being an involved parent. My father left my family when I was about 6 years old, and therefore was never an involved parent in my life. I had a conversation with my father this past month, and he was very apologetic and upset with himself. See, he missed out on my whole childhood; he never got a chance to positively impact my life. Men should take this example as what not to do.
“Mr. Mom”: Analysis of social role of the “father” in today’s US society, and argument that it needs to be changed to set equal expectations for both fathers & mothers. Argues from personal experience. A sort of call for men’s “equal rights” in the home.
12. From “Is College a Choice?”:
In an article in the New York Times Dale J. Stephens talks about how going to college is pounded into the minds of young high school students, by their parents, teachers, and counselors. He even states, “It has been made clear that if you do not get good grades and attend a four year college, the rest of your life will be a dismal failure” (Stephens). This quote portrays what a majority of other people believe and preach to kids in high school, but where did this belief come from, and has it always been this way?
Well I intended to find out! I decided it would be beneficial to conduct a survey. I found this to be my best option because I only looked at this issue from the point of view of one college aged student. I could bet that my view differed from other college aged students, as well as other people from different generations that went to schools years ago. To conduct my survey, which was called “College Pressure”, I only asked two very simple questions: Did you feel pressured or persuaded by your parents, teachers, or counselors to go to college? Would your parents be disappointed and upset with you if you did not attend college? The group that I surveyed consisted of 20 college aged students, from multiple colleges (age 18 – 22) and 10 older generation adults, some who had gone to college and some who did not (age >50). Out of the 20 college-aged students that I surveyed, 16 said that they felt pressured or persuaded by their parents, teachers, or counselors to go to college, and 18 stated that their parents would be disappointed and upset if they did not attend college. Out of the 10 older generation adults that I surveyed, 2 said that they felt pressured or persuaded by parents, teachers, or counselors to go to college, and 3 stated that their parents would have been disappointed and upset had that not attended a college.
Why are the answers from these two generations so different? Well the societies in which they grew up were very different. A couple of generations ago college was not nearly as common as it is now. Fifty years ago or more, there were a lot fewer students who followed their high school education with college. According to Lumina magazine, “Prior to the 1950s, fewer than two of every 10 high school graduates went on to college” (Kinzie, et al). The small percent of population that did go to college were usually from the wealthy class. Back then, college was not at all necessary for finding a good job. One could simply take over a family business, or the family farm right after high school. Also, they could find a factory or business that would want to employ them for their lifetime. People with these jobs would make a good amount of money and have a stable and secure job for the rest of their lives, no college needed. That most likely is the reason for why the older generation adults answered the survey question the way they did; most did not feel pressure to attend college, and their parents
would not be upset if they had not.
Why were the survey answers from college-aged students now so different from those of older generations? Today it is much more difficult, sometimes even impossible to find a stable and secure job, especially right out of high school. No longer can one expect to leave right from high school and find a job that will pay them a good amount and plan to keep them on staff for a long time. More and more jobs now require students to have a degree before they will even look at them for a job interview. This current knowledge is alarming to parents. . . .
[Conclusion]
Like I said earlier, times have changed. In the present day, technology and the internet plays a huge role in our lives. It is easier now more than ever to find training courses and tutorials online. Perhaps one wants to open up their own business, they can simply go online a find many different resources that will teach them, whether it be for free or for a very small fee. Likewise, maybe there is someone who wishes to become a photographer, along with being able to find a lot of information online, they can talk with a current photographer to learn skills. The possibilities are endless, all of which never require someone to step foot on a college campus. I do realize that parents and teachers just want what is best for the kids, but in doing so, they are being too overbearing. They are taking away a young adult’s individualism and creativity by insisting that college is the only “right way” to find a career, and get a job. Parents, teachers, and counselors, I leave you with this… going to college is a choice, one that should not be made by you!
“Is College a Choice?”: Examines the cultural assumption that college is necessary for success in today’s world. Where did it come from, when did it start, and is it a correct assumption?

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