MultiEthnic Reporting Class Review

Mr. Reisner's approach to the various topics in Multi-Ethnic is very different from any other professor at Florida International University. Reporting in a multiethnic community class requires that you have an open mind and that you don't get offended by anything that is said.   Professor Reisner dares to say and ask things that no one would say publicly and that in retrospect opens the door to a sea of discussions.

The class explores the many different stereotypes created by our own generations and society itself. I can't help emphasize on how much this makes a class interesting. Everyone openly discussing what they hear or think without anyone getting offended. What's most enjoyable is that you get to hear the different views from the different cultures. It helps us better understand the people around us. Everyone at some point has experienced the stereotypes we talk about making it easy for us to discuss. The class is also interesting because of the experience we have to go through. Putting ourselves in an unfamiliar environment that makes us uncomfortable and writing/talking about it. It's challenging because who wants to be somewhere that makes us uncomfortable hence giving us something to experience, write and talk about.

I think this is a good class for any reporter to take. It helps open your mind and explore the thoughts that go on in your head out loud.

If there was one thing I could change about the class would be to challenge us more. Reisner did some test's at the beginning of the semester to help us see what our stereotypes were and I thought that was interesting. To see everyone's result and discuss it  was interesting. Something I would have liked to have seen more of. .

Overall I think the class is great. Thank you for this experience.

JESUS was my savior

I found myself sitting at the bar again Thursday night at Cozmos sipping on glass of house pinot grigio. There were two girls in the bar dancing with the male entertainers as they giggled and placed money around the dancer's tighty whiteys.  Across the room where small groups of 3 or 4 male dancers who shamelessly showed off their ASSets while chatting away with customers .  The music was loud but not loud enough to draw in a crowd. I'd be able to find my pet gerbil if I ever lost it of how dead the place was. I was quite entertained as I got to see the effect of alcohol on people as the night progressed- my idea of reality t.v.

I noticed a tall man staring at me. I was drawn to him only because of how dark and mysterious he seemed. I turned to Kev the bartender and asked him for a refill. As I started to sip a voice whispers "Do you have JESUS in your life?" Startled at first I said "No. No I don't. I'm not really religious. I mean I believe that there is something greater, I just don't know what." He gave me a wicked smile and said "Well, I am Jesus and I am your savior." I laughed and looked at him oddly.  He took my hand, kissed it and  introduced himself as Jesus, my savior.

"What is such a pretty girl like yourself doing at a gay bar by herself? Are you  really going to sit here alone?" he asked. "Well... yea. Is there something wrong with sitting by yourself?" I responded. "No. But your just too damn pretty to be here alone. Come on sit with me. I'm here with my cousin and a girlfriend," he said with an inviting smile.

I was a little unsure of his sexual preference or if this invitation would end with embarrassing tagged pictures on Facebook, but I accepted regardless.This is how I met Jesus and how our friendship blossomed.

Jesus and I exchanged numbers and since then text at least twice a week. Since I met him at Cozmos we've gone out twice and I have visited his apartment once. 

Jesus is tall; probably between 6'2 or 6'3. He has the silhouette of a football player but looks cuddly like a teddy. His shaggy brunette hair hides most of his forehead. You can barely see his eyes when he smiles cause his cheeks are so big. He credits Martha Stewart for all of his cooking and Prada for giving him fashionable taste.

He is 28 years old and a nursing student at Miami-Dade College. He was a dancer for the Miami City Ballet and worked there for five years before he left to New York three years ago. "I left to New york cause it's something I always wanted. While over there, I found love. But it didn't find me. I'm use to it. Usually the men I like aren't gay," he said. It then dawned on me that there was a broken heart in the room.

Jesus admitted to liking only straight men. He says he can't stand the flamboyancy of gay men."I like men because they're masculine. How does it make any sense for me to like a gay man? I might as well be straight and love you!" he said.  I was baffled. I had never met anyone who was gay and liked straight people. But according to Jesus there are a lot more gay straight men out there than we'd like to believe. "I have been with numerous men and just because there's a beautiful woman in his arms doesn't mean he's not going to sleep with a man at night" he said.

He then asked me "Do you have Jesus in your life?" and winked. I laughed. "Yes, I have A Jesus in my life." He then leaned over to me and hugged me.

Cozmos

So I've been meaning to write an updated blog.. but it has somehow managed to slip my mind the last few weeks. I wanted to share with you my experience at Cozmos. At first when I drove by the shopping center it seemed dead.. but a crowd of loud flamboyant men assured me it the place was open. So I parked my car, (disregarding the parking meter) and put some makeup on and walked to Cozmos. I approached the door and a  young Asian looking guy asked for my I.D. He smiled and said "Thanks Beautiful. Have fun inside. Drinks are free, remember to tip your bartender." I was happy to hear that. I walked in and there was an empty room. At least it seemed empty. Ever heard of the saying "there was an elephant in the room"? Well, that's what it felt like. There were maybe 25 people or 30 I suppose. The young male dancers wore tightie whiteys and were seen across the club mingling with the guests or dancing on the stage. When I first saw the group of girls sitting on the couch in front of the dance floor I thought, "oh great. These lesbians are going to think I'm gay and are going to hit on me." I didn't make a glance at no one. I walked straight up to the bar and asked the only person I considered a friend at this point (the bartender) for a glass of pinot grigio. Secretly, I wanted a beer but I thought the beer would give me a butch look and that I'd get hit on, so I went with wine instead. As soon as I sat down and took a sip of wine a guy approached me. "Are you seriously going to sit at the bar by yourself?" he asked. "Yeah, what's wrong with that?" I said. "Well, nothing. Why are you here by yourself?" "I'm a freelance reporter and I want to learn about the gay community." I said. He introduced himself as Kev. He was one of the bartenders there. He invited me over to sit with his cousin and his cousin's gf. We hung out and talked for a bit. I must admit, my surroundings was very disturbing. It was hard not to notice the 65 year-old-guy making out with his hand down the crotch of a young teenage guy. I was truly shocked at the few men who were there and claimed to be 'straight'. The bartender himself told me he was straight and I saw the owner of Cosmos (who I also met and is also gay) Vito, with his hand on Kev's ass. I was honestly grossed out by everyone there. They all seemed to not care who they were talking to or who was touching them.

My 79st 2 min scare

I had to be at work today at 4 a.m. Where I work isn't necessarily the best neighborhood. I have to go through NW 79th st right off 95 and go east towards the beach a.k.a. North Bay Village. There are always these bums that hang out at the light right off the exit and beg for money. Considering the time I was headed to work (3 a.m.) I made sure my doors were locked. I always try  to avoid the bums that wait so patiently for a stopping car at the light. It just scares me to have someone (who looks like a crackhead) walk up to my car (Being I am the only person at the light) and beg. I usually take the red lights in bad neighborhoods because I don't feel safe stopped alone in the darkness. Anyways, today was different. I actually waited for the green light. The same bum who is always there was there. He looked over at me ( I could see him through the corner of my eye) and when he saw I made no eye contact, he turned around and continued his business. (looked like he was eating something.) I usually avoid making eye contact with bums to avoid them approaching me. So when I saw he turned around, I stared at him. I was thinking about random things that related to him (why he's there, how much it sucks..etc). I had questions that I have always wanted to ask a bum. He noticed me looking at him and seemed kind of hesitant to wheel his way over to me. We exchanged stares. I couldn't help but feel bad for the guy when I saw the he was actually eating something and perhaps just this one time this bum was really hungry and wanted money for food. (which made me feel really guilty about throwing away a publix sub prior to leaving my house this morning.)
So I started scrambling through my purse and he must've have seen what my intentions were because he came over to me. I pulled my window ALL the way down, smiled and gave him what ever change I had in my wallet. All of it. He smiled and said "Oh ma'm thank you so much. God bless you. Thank you for taking the time to help me. Thank you. I have aids and I'm dieing. Thank you for helping me. God is watching you and has seen the good you've done today." I replied with a smile "no problem, thank you." Then we sat there in awkward silence for about 12 seconds, then he said, "My name is Michael. What's yours?" and I replied with "Jackie. Nice to meet you Michael. My brother's name is Michael." The light then turned green and he saluted me and said thank you for the last time.
 I have to admit. It felt really nice. That was the first time I had ever given him money. It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. I wish I could have chatted with him longer but I had to work. Besides that, like I said, the area isn't a good neighborhood. I was happy to have helped him and somewhat confront my fear. Now I don't have to take the red lights anymore..

An Experiment I did..

I was in Orlando over the weekend and I was wearing a shaw (looks like a hijab) and I decided I would place it over my head to cover my hair the way muslims do. I wanted to see how people would look at me. To see if they would treat me any different. I went to cracker barrel with a group of 10 friends wearing my shaw. They sat me and my group in different tables.  I could feel everyones eyes on me. A few people pointed. Usually when you sit at a restaurant you get bread and drinks first. They didn't bring it till 20 mins later. When they brought bread, they didn't bring us plates. When we asked for it the waitress shrugged her shoulders and said "oh i'm sorry.  i don't know what to tell ya" and walked away. The party that came with us who sat in another table ate and got there check before we even got our food. Considering both tables set our orders at the same time. We got our food an hour and a half later. WE ended up complaining to the manager and got our food on the house. The place didn't seem busy so I don't believe it was because of that. I don't even know if it was because of what I was wearing. Point is, I felt uncomfortable and unwanted. 

I did this as an experiment just to see how others around me would react and treat me. 

An episode full of stereotypes

ok, so this is a show on HBO that I watch.. I find it to be a funny show.. I never realized how much stereotypes there are on shows today..


http://www.hbo.com/eastbound-and-down?cmpid=ABC294#/eastbound-and-down/episodes/2/10-chapter-10/video/recap-10.html/eNrjcmbOYM5nLtQsy0xJzXfMS8ypLMlMds7PK0mtKFHPz0mBCQUkpqf6JeamcjIyskknlpbkF+QkVtqWFJWmsjGyMQIAWCcXOA==

SCRIPPS DAY

I walked out of class today thinking "Wow Reisner really nailed Steve with that Orthodox Jew question" I felt self satisfaction because it was a question that I had never really thought about before and had Mr. Wasserman saying "uhhh, well" a lot. When thinking about diversity and the workforce, I forgot that religion is also diverse( as if it weren't obvious). I never thought about religion as being a factor in a work environment. Steve kept mentioning  how the news rooms have to be diversified. When he was saying that I wasn't thinking about religion being one of the factors UNTIL Reisner raised the question. How do work places work around religion? I really wanted to know the answer to Mr. Reisners question. IF both candidates are equally qualified for the position and the only difference between the two candidates is personal beliefs then how does he choose which candidate he will pick and why? Can there be diverse religion in the field of journalism? What I mean is, If Christmas is recognized by all as a holiday and most places close on these days, does the same apply to an Orthodox Jew who celebrates hanukkah? Would your employer recognize that as a Holiday and give you the day off? I'm intrigued to ask a Human Resource hiring manager. It just really makes you think of how christian religion dominates.

Don't Judge who?

I can't help but wonder if every single person in class actually believes and acts how they say is politically correct.  A few people mentioned (throughout classes) how we shouldn't judge people based on first impression.  How we should always take into consideration the possibilities of why people look or act a certain manner based on their own individual situations.

I judge people all the time and I don't see anything wrong with it. I behave and act a certain way in public. Obviously around friends and family I am my most comfortable. But when I walk out the door of my house, the way I dress, the way I talk to people, my demeanor, all  of this is a fraction of who I am. If someone is covered in tattoos and they happen to get pulled over more than usual it's for a reason.

Unfortunately most of stereotypes are true. A slut looks and acts like a slut. They're easy to find, especially here in Miami. If you like to wear your art then there's a price you will pay unfortunately. Blame it on all the other assholes who "look like you" for messing it up.  The point is, I wouldn't want to put an image of myself out for the world to see that isn't me. I wouldn't want them to think I'm a thug, or in a gang, If I am  not. And If I choose to be a thug then I need to expect all these negative connotations.  It comes with the territory.

My brother, who is no where near a thug, has his whole left arm tatted, has an eyebrow piercing and dresses a little baggy. If I could count the times this kid gets pulled over, I'd be a thousandaire. Cops mess with him all the time. He's currently looking for a job and having a hard time finding one. Again, I can't help but say that you get what  you deserve. People need to take a little more time to think about the future; financially that is. What do you want to be doing 10, 15 years from now. hopefully not working at a subway or as a receptionist somewhere. Not that there's anything wrong with these jobs because there isn't. I only say it because sub makers don't make 65,000 a year and probably can't afford to own a house, car, dog, health insurance, and at this rate toothpaste! I wish they could but the figures don't lie.
It's a low income paying job, not something I can deal with for the rest of my life.

When I meet someone I  apply the scientific method. I always wonder the kind of person they are. Based on my conversation (if I have any with them at all ) or by observing their body language I develop my hypothesis.  I  carefully observe my object for as long as it takes to find my conclusion.

Have you ever met someone you just don't like? Something in their aura, the energy they gave off? I come across people I just don't care to know.  Something about them doesn't fall into my "accept" radar.
Back to my opening topic. I don't always act on my thoughts. Sometimes I forget to put aside my little voice that tells me not to be judgemental.  And then I am.  I develop all these thoughts in my head based on what I know. I feel that to some degree people subconsciously do it despite how we may 'feel' about it.

Bazingah!

When does this start?

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wirestory?id=11845131&page=1
I came across an article that made me upset and wonder when does behavior like this even start.
I started thinking about my own experience growing up. I remember all of my ex-boyfriend's fathers were all male chauvinists. Men grow up with a different mentality than women. Women are taught to be loving and caring embracing all the wonderful features that are naturally within women. Men on the other hand are taught to not be afraid. To embrace their 'cavemen'  animal like behavior. (Even there I am stereotyping). Men must not cry or show weakness. This is the mentality most men I have known are raised with. Being that most of my Ex's fathers were Hispanic has made me believe that most men are brought up like this. In Miami there are so many gay bars and people or groups who openly embrace their sexualities. It's normal for me to walk down the street and see a gay couple or lesbian couple. In most states across the nation this 'freedom of expression' to which we are all entitled to isn't so free. This kind of behavior starts at home, primarily with the father. Men need to understand it's okay to be sensitive. It's okay to show feelings. Men are naturally strong. Just because you're gay doesn't make you any weaker than the man next to you. Don't judge him because of his sexuality. 

I did an experiment..

I was in Orlando over the weekend and I was wearing a shaw (looks like a hijab) and I decided I would place it over my head to cover my hair the way muslims do. I wanted to see how people would look at me. To see if they would treat me any different. I went to cracker barrel with a group of 10 friends wearing my shaw. They sat me and my group in different tables.  I could feel everyones eyes on me. A few people pointed. Usually when you sit at a restaurant you get bread and drinks first. They didn't bring it till 20 mins later. When they brought bread, they didn't bring us plates. When we asked for it the waitress shrugged her shoulders and said "oh i'm sorry.  i don't know what to tell ya" and walked away. The party that came with us who sat in another table ate and got there check before we even got our food. Considering both tables set our orders at the same time. We got our food an hour and a half later. WE ended up complaining to the manager and got our food on the house. The place didn't seem busy so I don't believe it was because of that. I don't even know if it was because of what I was wearing. Point is, I felt uncomfortable and unwanted. 

I did this as an experiment just to see how others around me would react and treat me. 

"'Those people' cant tell you apart, either" opinion

My first impression of the first article was "who can't tell me apart?" Before I read on I thought about it for a second. Then I started to think about the other day at the nail salon. I've been going to this nail salon for about a year. I'm not a loyal customer cause I visit other nail salons in the city. All these salons have one thing in common: it's owned my asians, chinese, vietnamese. I really can't tell them apart. They're language sound the same to me. Their eyes are slanted. They have dark hair and fare skin. These articles made me think about something I never really thought of before.  It made me realize, that they too can't tell me apart from the rest of my 'kind'. It's called cross-race-effect.
I felt a little offended. I really dislike people automatically assuming that I am Hispanic. I don't like racial profiling. A pet peeve of mine is people talking to me in spanish when I ask something in English. It may sound silly but it annoys me. I feel like I am a part of that hispanic stereotype. Hispanics maybe exotic, sexy and known for their curves but they don't have the best reputation. At least cubans don't. They're known for their ignorance, vulgar language, their loud tones and the list goes on. Needless to say that I know some of this is true. I've at least experienced one of these. I don't want to be assimilated to these 'kind' of people. As a matter of fact when in high school I spoke the least I had to in spanish. I didn't want to be a part of what we called 'reffy group'.  I was young and immature and in high school status mattered. It was about who you were friends with.
These articles are an eye opener. If you really think about it at some point you've said to yourself 'they all look the same to me'. I've done it numerous times about all the races that aren't of my own. I couldn't tell an Arab from a Pakistani or a guatemalan from a honduran. No offense. I don't expect someone to think I'm cuban or what ever you think I am. I don't really think this will ever change because it's what sets us apart from our neighbors. Cubans are proud to be cubans, americans are proud to be americans. We grow up with pride of our nationalities (most of us). Personally, I don't have an array of friends from suppose 10 nationalities. The people i'm usually around are friends and family. All from different nationalities. But they're hispanic and mulato. I've known them for years, I'm comfortable with them and I'm lazy when it comes to making new friends. It's hard for me to trust anyone. 

Class thus far..

In class we've discussed the stereotypes we carry inside. I think a lot of us grew up hearing and believing a lot of these stereotypes and whether we openly admit to it or not, we too are of that group who categorize and stereotype.
 I come from a Hispanic family. In my family there were plenty of  racial  comments said and stereotypes believed. The biggest of the issues was to never date anyone outside our culture or skin color. Cuban or cuban American was accepted. Did I ever listen? No. My grandmother couldn't practice what she preached (she had my aunt whose father is  mulato) Neither did my mother or her brother. Both dated mulatos and my cousin is actually half mulato cuban.I dated a mulato myself, he was Dominican.
 I remember when I was younger, whenever my mom drove by downtown or any rural area that seemed to be ghetto she made it a point to lock the doors. Granted, I grew up around the little havana area. More around Miami high to be exact. It wasn't the best of neighborhoods. The scariest incident I can remember happening to me and my mother in that neighborhood was getting robbed. One night when I was walking home with my grandmother and mother in hand, a black male who came from behind us, jumped my grandmother and stole her purse. My mom chased after him but never caught him. Our rent money was in that purse and now in his possession. It was a loss for us and a tough time. It was scary and did make me afraid of black people growing up. But it wasn't all blacks. Just the ones who look mean. Again, another stereotype.
I will admit and I am completely guilty of stereotyping. I judge people from the second I meet them. I really believe in first impressions. Our image is the first thing people see. The way we carry ourselves makes lasting impressions everywhere we go. What we put out is what we want others to immediately see. If you don't want it seen, then don't display it. But our first impressions can bite us in the ass. There have been plenty of times where I have judged someone and assumed they were a certain way and they turned out to be the complete opposite.
Here are some stereotypes I can think of that I have heard from my fam. thus far:
-Cuban men are possesive, jealous male chauvinist who think women have to do it all.
-Indians (from central America) are stupid. Puerto Ricans fall into this category too.
-Women should take care of their man. (cook, clean, feed, nurture them)
-Cubans are loud and ignorant
-Blacks like fried chicken, cool aid, and grape juice
-Jews own business
-Jews all have big noses(someone asked me where I was from? his answer : Jewish)
-Jews are cheap
-Asians have small penis, are smart and good with numbers. Usually turn out to be scientists or docs.
-"once you go black you never go back"
-All italians are mob related and guiddos
-French people don't shower or shave (heard that ladies, HAIR IS HOT)
-Haitian men are dominating
-Arabs drive taxi cabs
-Indians own  quicki marts and gas stations
-Russians are drunks
.........okay, so now that we've heard some of them, which ones do we believe are true?
When we did the staffing exercise, a lot of us put the Asian for the financial job. I do believe that Asians are smart. The reason for it?  Whenever I pickup a prescription from my Walgreen pharmacy the attendant is Asian. In school, a lot of the people I see wearing the white coats are Asian. I think that these stereotypes are true to some degree. At some point I believe we have encountered one of the above stereotypes.
I think this class will be very interesting and fun to hear everyone's different opinions!

moderate preference for white-europeans over blacks

So according to my results to a harvard poll I willingly took, I prefer white europeans over black African american. I strongly agree. That doesn't mean that I don't find black men attractive. I come from a hispanic family where they strongly believe I should be with a spanish american white guy.  That doesn't go to say that certain relatives haven't dated outside our race.  I grew up in a single family home and my mother never told me who I could or couldn't date. It was never an issue or a topic of discussion. Things were different when she married my stepfather. He'd joke around saying that he wouldn't want me to marry someone out of my race. Especially a black guy. I'd just laugh and think 'what would he do if I did?' And no I never have.  Though.. the curiosity remains. I think were all interracial. Somewhere in our family's, at least mine, were mixed. Heck, I don't even know what I am. ha. NO, I do. Word is I'm cuban, spaniard, Lebanese.  Yeah, I know. I feel like an ingredient. lol.

hey !!

WELCOME TO MY WORLD!!