CENSORED

CENSORED

            In "Letting Words Fly", John McWhater points out that taboo language simply reflects our social mores. Social mores that I feel are declining with each decade. When asked do I feel that we should be able to use taboo language uncensored in the media, my feelings go both ways. I feel very strongly that taboo language should be censored, but that is just my personal opinion and I know that the whole world does not revolve around me. I just would rather not here such language especially as often as it is put out there in various forms of media. I believe there is a strong conservative population that feels the way I do. There are many organizations that focus on censoring language in the media and protecting our children. There are also many groups that fight to protect a persons right to free speech and not be censored. These groups would argue that people have the right to express themselves and people who might be offended by such language can choose not to listen and therefore not be offended. So I guess socially it should be allowed. I think that it should be done in a respectful manner. Those using taboo language should make sure it is in their rating and under parental guidance. I still think that it should be our utmost goal to protect the children and what they hear. I do think that what we do censor and what we do not censor is inconsistent. We should censor things in a consistently regulated manner. For example we can allow people to speak freely and say whatever they desire but make sure that the audience knows and is aware. They can then make the decision whether or not they are going to watch it or let their children watch it. You listen to our culture's music today and it has f-word, s-word, b-word, and h-word in almost every sentence. Yes they censor it out only enough so it is not the actual work but you can still tell what the word is supposed to be. Yes we have people that are against this language but we have more that accept it. It is in our culture. In the 1960's the morals were higher than what we have today. I do not know why language is being fussed over when you watch any television show and in at least one episode someone is practically naked and two people might as well be having sex. In most television shows the story lines revolve around sex. So I do not think that the language should be such a big deal but that we have bigger issues to work out. In Conclusion, I do not think that the true root of the problem is our media. They only do and will go as far as the public approves and allows. If such material did not sell it would not be a problem. If people did not make such an issue out of what was being said then things would not be censored. So technically the decision is on you. You call the shot what are you going to do about it?

WHAT IS THE DIFFERNCE?

            I personally have not been insulted due to my race or ethnicity. I have been insulted based on my sex though. I have been told that it is a man's world and that I will never be able to do what men can do. Though all three have not personally affected me, I have been exposed to them.

            The comment I hate is when some one from a different ethnic background says, " Oh it is because I'm (e.g. Black)". I am not racist. I do not want to be accused of it.

            I think that the media makes the insults and comments worse. They exaggerate things. They do not ever show the whole truth. The news is the worst at this. For example the incident with the cops. Where a white cop was beating a black person. When they showed the incident to the world everyone automatically assumed that it was because he was black and that the cop beat him for that reason. That may not have been the case but that is how the new perceived it and that is how they shared it with the community. Maybe it was because he was black or maybe the cop was just having a bad day. Or maybe the victim said something or did something that only him and the cop know. There are many explanations for what happened that day. People see this incident on the news and now some people are like see they are racist and that leads for other communities to hate white people because if one is racist we all are. Which is not true, I understand that yes people are racist but the media enlarges the problem and makes it worse. For example I see the news talk about maybe a bank robbery and just because the criminal is black lets say, I do not sit there and think that all black people are criminals. People are becoming so accustom to the racial thing that all you hear is insults on the news so then that becomes a part of your life. I also think that when things that are fiction such as TV, books, movies and music, add racial scenes it does not help the situation. For example if they have a little Mexican girl in the movie that is hated because she is not white. That just gives us the idea that it is normal and that it is life.

            In think that the problem with prejudice is becoming more irreversible everyday. If we want to be able to fix the problem we need to stop filling our minds with the garbage in the media. If we keep going at the rate we are going we are never going to be able to solve this problem.

            In conclusion I have been exposed to the prejudicial insults. I think that it is ridiculous. I think that people need to think about what they are going to say before they say it. If people would fix themselves before they tried to fix others the problem would be able to solve.

Why not have both?

            When asked which is more important, Happiness or self-respect, that is a tough decision. If asked which is going to be better at the moment it would be happiness, if in the long run self-respect would be the answer. Happiness is defined as the state of well being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy, a pleasurable or satisfying experience. Self-respect is defined as a proper respect for oneself as a human being, regard for one's own standing or position.

            For me personally I think that self-respect is more important than happiness. If you do not have respect for yourself how can you ever be happy? To me happy is a temporary feeling. Self-respect is a lifestyle. To gain true happiness I think you have to love and respect yourself. If you do not respect yourself then all you will find is false happiness.

            I see so many girls who want that happiness in a boyfriend and that lifestyle that they lose respect for themselves settle for whatever and are happy, for now. They are happy until they realize that the boy was just using them or only wanted one thing. They then are not happy and have lost all self-respect.

            Personally I have had to make this decision whether I want to be happy or keep respect for myself. As most girls, I want that someone who is going to make me special. That would make me happy. Like I think every girl should have, I have standards. I have respect for myself and feel like I should not settle for anything less. I am not going to go out there and lose respect for myself just to be happy. I am not going to settle for happiness when it is not guaranteed to last forever. I have seen so many people who lose respect for themselves for somebody else (specifically a boy) because they are happy. Then when they are left and heartbroken, they are not happy. This is because they gave away their self-respect to someone and no they are left with nothing. To where if you respect yourself when you do not have happiness at least you have the respect for yourself to lean on.

            So as I sit here with respect for myself, I may not be happy now. I keep in mind that I am not happy now but I have respect for myself and wait and I know that one day I will be able to be genuinely happy because I have respect for myself and I am not willing to lose that. I also feel like if you cannot respect yourself how can you respect anyone else. I keep my head high and remember that Happiness is only temporary. It comes and goes. One day you could be happy and another you could be sad. Self-respect lasts a lifetime.

In conclusion, I have come to find that you cannot truly experience happiness if you do not respect yourself. I have respect for myself and that makes me happy. So to answer the question I feel like respect for yourself is way more important than happiness but why not have both?

Actions speak louder than words

Nonverbal behavior depends on many different factors. I always rely on nonverbal cues when communicating with others. I think that they are more important than the actual words coming out of your mouth. The words are the message but the nonverbal cues define the meaning of the message. For example, someone could say, " You are so stupid." This could mean you are dumb, or funny. It could be hateful, mean, hurtful, or playful. The only way you can tell how it is meant is by the tone of his voice, his facial expressions, gestures and mannerisms. They make up the conversation. Without them the conversation would be just words and you would not know the meaning behind them. People depend on the nonverbal cues more than they do the actual words that are used in the conversation.

            I have this guy that I work with at one of my jobs he always has a major attitude. He would always make rude comments to me. They would be about doing my job and how I should be doing it and just other comments like that. The thing was that I was not doing anything wrong. It was not necessarily what he was saying but how he said it. His tone was rude. You could tell by the way that he was walking and holding himself. So I would get mad because it was hurtful the way that he would do it. Then one day he asked me why I took offense to everything he said. My response was that it was not necessarily what he said but how he said it. Apparently he did not mean for it to be hurtful but he walks around with a major attitude and I do not think that he knows how that affects communication with other people. Then there is this other guy at work who makes some of the same comments but I never become mad. He will say stuff like get to work or that is stupid stuff like that but he would have a smile on his face and laugh. His facial expressions, tone, gestures, and mannerisms all made me feel like he was just being playful so it was never a problem. We would then just joke around. Unlike the other guy he did not have a major attitude. From the same set of words but two totally different nonverbal behaviors you have two extremely different conversations. They both had different endings.

            I think that nonverbal behavior is the same across the board with both genders but I do think that in some situations it is influenced by your sex. I think that male's nonverbal behavior is more dependent on gestures and mannerisms. For females I think that it is more in the tone and facial expressions.

            In conclusion I think the words verbally spoken are important but not nearly as important as the words spoken by your nonverbal behavior. As you can tell by my story that nonverbal behavior changes the meaning of the message. This brings me back to the phrase, "Actions speak louder than words."

Cue Fanatic!!

I am a nonverbal cue fanatic. Whenever I am in a conversation I talk more with my body than I do with my words. I am known to give off vibes from my body language.

            Even when I am on the phone I use my hands to talk. My friend would always ask me why I talk with my hands so much. There was one time where I would move my entire body while talking. To me it added the importance of the subject I was talking about.

            I also wear my emotions all across my face. I would verbally say one thing and my face could say a whole different thing. When people would ask how I was doing I would say good, but they could always tell by my facial expressions whether or not I really was. I was never able to lie because people could always tell by my facial expressions and body language.

            One time I was playing taboo and I was trying to get my partner to guess the word. I did not know what word to use. I started to just use my body language, facial expressions, and hands. She finally guessed the word. The other team was shocked that we got it.

            I believe that mental attitude affects more than just communication.  If you have a bad attitude about something, you are going to send a bad vibe to other people. The attitude affects how you feel about things and how you portray things to people. People always can tell my attitude on things. I am constantly told to lose the attitude that I have.

            I think that dress style is something that communicates so much. You can always figure out what people are like by the way that they dress. You can tell whether they are wealthy or not. If a very important person was about to give an important speech and he walks in wearing sandals, shorts, and a t-shirt, would he be creditable. Would you listen to what he had to say? He could have given a very nice speech and communicated well through his speech but you are not going to listen to a word of it because his dress style sends off a whole different vibe.

            I think that a major issue in Teenage girls is dress style. The message they send to other people especially boys. They wear these mini skirts and low cut tops and then try to be taken seriously. You hear girls say why do boys think I am so "easy". They may not act like it but the way they dress portrays a whole different message. I went through a phase where I was like why are boys treating me like this then I realized I was portraying a message to boys by the way I dressed.

            In conclusion, you communicate with more than just words. Your body language can change your whole message. You also communicate through your facial expressions, dress style, and mental attitude.