That's all folks

Wow! This has been an absolutely amazing class, but it is somewhat bittersweet because we should not need a class to debunk stereotypes, but I learned so much vital information from my listening post and classmates that I could never find in a textbook.

I have always enjoyed a good conversation and this class not only fulfill my need to converse but it expanded the topics of conversation. I can comfortably speak to Katie our local atheists about religion, or crack on the token gringos in the class, but more importantly I'm able to take a joke. I laugh at the watermelon-fried chicken jokes because to be angry would be to give them some sort of validity and power over me. I look at them for what they are, a grain of truth stretched to apply to an entire group of people, but by no means can it come close to encompassing the entire group.

And knowing how African-American stereotypes fall short of accurately categorizing blacks, lets me further know that stereotypes have no place in a rational and functional member of our society. So as I continue my journalism career I will learn about a community from the perspective of its members and not from the outside looking in as a casual observer. More than anything this class has helped me embrace our difference, to accept people for who they are, a mixture of perfectly imperfect people.

Full of Liberty, but no Hope!

"Perception is reality," my mother said as we spoke about an article published in the Miami Herald entitled "Liberty City street's story is one of struggle violence. Click here for article.

I first read Robert Samuels' perception of Liberty City in an email sent to me by my journalism professor and I immediately felt disturbed that not even a black man could go into a predominately African-American community and find 

something good to say. I understand a journalist's job is to report the news or story and not to make either one, but despair and negativity are abundantly obvious in any poor community and to write about it benefits none and fails to inform or surprise anyone. I found the overall tone of the article very negative and devoid of any hope for the subjects of the story and lacking any humanity on the part of the author. 

"a business thoroughfare where few businesses exist. Here there are no trees and the street's asphalt melts into the concrete of the sidewalk, worn-down like the residents who walk upon them. The road offers a glimpse of the Liberty City that revitalization has not fully touched. It stretches for nine blocks, from Martin Luther King Boulevard to Northwest 71st Street. Young girls meander there on weekday afternoons with babies hanging on their waists; young men hang out in their cars. A mural of Malcolm and Martin faces a mural of brooding, busty women in bikinis, and there's a spray-painted message saying the avenue is best for sexual activity. To find out the local gossip, you stop at Miracles conch fritter place or at Brewton's grocery store, where a single egg goes for 35 cents."

And under the subsection entitled "The positives" Samuels wrote about the good side of liberty city which I found rather unusual because there was no mention of people, but instead it lists construction projects and business openings.

There has been good news. Elaine Black, who heads the local revitalization trust, noted that 100 apartment units and 40 single-family homes have been built or revamped in the area. At any given time, as many as 25 Miami officers patrol the area -- including a heavier police presence at the corner of Northwest 71st Street and 15th Avenue. They clocked nine  homicides last year, a decrease from 14 in 2007.In the past year, a tax preparation service and two restaurants have taken a chance on Northwest 15th Avenue. Miami City Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones said plans are under way to improve street lighting and add landscaping to make that roadway nicer...

I am by no means an expert on life, but during my brief stint on this planet I have yet to 

encounter any person or object devoid of some redeeming quality. Convicted killers have a moral code that 

makes rapists and child molesters ethically corrupt and worthy of death. Manure, waste excreted from our bodies and the bodies of animals is used to grow bigger and better crops faster. But in a city full of people, the only positives are construction projects done by people who do not even live in Liberty City. 

The city has birthed more rappers and professional athletes than any other in its area, there are hardworking tax-paying citizens trying to effect change, violence and despair do live between 54th and 79th street but so do hope and success and to show only one side of a community is to perpetuate the stereotype of the city and its people. 

Life is tough on the streets of liberty city, but you don't need to live there to know that, despite the many obstacles, many people have endured the hardships and emerged triumphant. Write about the tough times but show that success is possible. We as reporters must not forsake our subjects but write for the sake of them and our readers. We after all are still human, although blessed with a calling for journalism, but little else separates us from those whom we write about, this week's reporter could easily be next week's report. 

S.W.G. Serving While Gay

Yesterday Tony and I spoke on the phone and as usual it led to another argument. Whenever we speak the the class assignment ends and a fervent debate about race, sports, or sexual orientation takes place. On this day the topic of choice was gay men in the military. 

Tony told me the Philippines and Argentina just ended a ban on gay men in the army and the United States would soon follow suit, not only did they decriminalize homosexuality in the military but the governments were actively rec

ruiting in the gay and lesbian communities. Needless to say our views on the matter were different. He believed that any step towards equality would be well worth the consequences and considers the first openly gay soldiers as pioneers of the gay community, comparable to the African-American heroes M.L.K., Malcolm X and all others who blazed a trail towards an equality unattainable by blacks, but gaining the recognition and tolerance of the majority is still a victory.

He made a compelling argument but I was not swayed and made a good case for my point of view. I am very inclined to share with you my opinion but I want Tony to be the focus of this entry and not more of the same rant and raves you have become accustomed to reading on my site.

If it is unclear to you by now Tony is gay, but don't ask him when he became gay, because he will  tell you "I became gay the same time you became straight." 

I joked around with my classmates and said he's converted me to the other side, but it's not a complete falsity, I have a new found respect and appreciation for not only him but for all those that endure the same struggles. I don't mean new found respect as though i never respected gay men, I just never gave them enough thought to have a particular feeling or opinion towards them personally or their issues.

Gay men were but a footnote in my book of life, something there, but easily overlooked. But now 

I know a gay guy that mirrors the strength that i see in myself and my friends. He already has 

two strikes just like use, but he also has to deal with all the stigmas associated with being gay. You would never know he was gay, but once you meet him you would never forget his hot temper, quick wit and flair for intelligent conversation. 

I know I have said it already but it bares repeating, you would never know Tony is gay by looking at him and now that i look back at the day we met I think he was not talking to me but reaching out to his former self. 

Although he is not in the military he sets a good example and fights the good fight here at home for indifferent people like myself to take notice, tolerate or even accept him and those like him not as gay men but just men.