Desegregation. As remembered by a 72 year old in 2019

What do I remember
about desegregation? I recall Macon being very peaceful before the civil rights movements and during the desegregation years of the 50's and 60's.  When that era was ending the news showed the rest of the country rioting but not in Macon, Georgia. I caught an old beat up red bus to ride to and from work. It was me and one or two other white people that would ride the bus; the rest of the passengers were black.  No one moved nor was anyone assigned to the back seats.  I did not feel I was in any danger and I got no sense the black passengers feared or hated me. During and before that era it seemed black people, or negros as they were called back then, were always very quiet, respectful and presented a humble attitude towards other people as were most white people.  It was a time that a white persons first impulse was to trust and confide in a black person. I have a lot of pleasant memories of talking with the  woman who was the janitor at furniture store I worked at. I never realized she could hate me because of years of black oppression. Maybe black and white people, in day to day life, had to be taught those facts by someone else. I think a lot of whites got their feelings hurt when they found out of the perceived reality of  white and black relationships. Or could it be that the "reality" was manufactured by the sponsors of the civil rights movement? It was and still is in some cases individuals from far away places coming into communities and stirring up things, protesting and starting riots. People with agendas that favor neither blacks or whites.
.A group of blacks came into the furniture store in which I worked and harassed an old salesman till he said "make up your damn minds". They went to the court house and swore out a warrant because he said damn. The salesman got arrested. Our boss fired him. I think too many negative things were done to whites during that time. Injustices in the name of past injustice does not work out too well. Especially if it is based on propaganda.I got sick of the situation where I worked with a black individual, I would complain they were not doing their job and their response would be that they believed I was picking on them because they were black. Now days, in my opinion, kids are getting killed because on that basis.  They challenge cops and actually have the misconception they are entitled to threaten and there will not be consequences.

Then there is the time when, during prom week, a group of Afro American high students came to a restaurant I worked in and filled it every seat. They made no reservation; I was the only waitress and I worked as hard as I could to give them good service. I remember they were very quiet and respectful. But when I went back to pick up my tips each plate had a penny beside it. 

During that time if a black party entered a restaurant the white customers would get up and walk out. But could that kind of thing been caused by the publicity about the civil rights movement? I wonder. I know when I got on the bus the black people kept their seats. White customers did not leave the furniture store if a black person came in to shop.

The injustices and inequality that effected American Southerners did exist I am not denying that. Our country was very gradually dealing with it. I suspect they may have died a natural death.   A lot of Jim Crow  law was a response to post civil war events. The reconstruction was poorly handled by the union after the civil war.  Power to govern, people's property, were taken from white southerners and given to blacks and Yankees. After many years pasted  whites regained control of their possessions and regained control of ruling the governments in portions of the south. 

To understand all the issues you have to go back and study the time before and after the civil war. You also need to know what the real issues were. Was it money, power, human rights?  

In closing I will say as an eye witness; to the events of that time that if I can think of anything else I can remember about desegregation and my point of view on the matter, I will write it down. These entries can be my personal contribution to the history of the south as I saw it and understand it.

Review. What is a paragraph?

A paragraph is made up of several sentences and is set off from the preceding paragraph by its first line. It serves as a physical division on a page and contains a unit of the writers thoughts. It is a method to show which sentences are closely related.

A good paragraph develops only one topic. It helps your readers follow your train of thought.  

The main idea is stated in its first sentence. The following sentences clarify and support the main idea and lead into the topic you hope to explore in the following paragraph.

The first paragraph of the essay has a thesis statement which tells what the whole paper is about.  The final paragraph of an essay restates the thesis and sums up the body of the essay, and leaves the reader with a final impression.

Immigration

The resourse I have is a student handbook edited by the Southwestern Company. This handbook only has information on the subject of immigration through 2003.
Immigration is the act of coming into a foreign country to live. Emigration is the act of leaving ones country to settle in another country.
Today because safe, cheap, fast transportation is available immigration is easier. Asia is the major immigrant sending area. The United States is the chief receiving nation.
During George W. Bushes administration the Immigration and Natruralization Service (INS)
moved out of the Department of Justice and integrated into the Department of Homeland security. This step was taken because it was learned that two 9-11 highjackers who carried out the terrorist attack on the United States had been issued student visas.
As part of that process duties handled by the INS were divided between two bureau's within the the Homeland Security division.  One department handles the oversight of visa petitions; naturalisation petitions; and asylum and refuge petitions. Enforcement of border patrol functions were transferred to the Homeland Security Department of Border and Transportation Security. (BTS) The BTS assumed responsibility for security of U.S. borders and transportation. This includes 3500 official ports of entry and more than 7500 miles of border between the United States and Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The BTS is responsible for enforcing U.S. immigration laws.
In April, 2003 the Supreme Court ruled the federal government can imprison immigrants without giving them the chance to demonstrate that they do not pose a risk to the communities nor are they are likely to flee. With this decision it upheld a 1996 immigration law requiring the government to detain immigrants who have been convicted of drug crimes prior to deportation. Tens of thousands of immigrants have been imprisoned by the law before being deportated. A number of appeals had ruled the law unconstitutional.
A security system called U.S. Visitor has been implemented. It uses photographs, fingerprints and iris ID to monitor business men, students and tourist who travel back and forth between the United States and other countries. Most healthcarecare workers who work in the country on a temporary basis must get certification that proves they have had training that meet U.S. professional standards.

PTSD

I woke up this morning from a nightmare.  The nightmare was about my mother's death which occurred 20 years ago.  The results of the dream were anxiety and a generally bad feeling.  I felt guilty.  These feelings stayed with me throughout the morning.  Could this be an example of a symptom of posttraumatic stress disorder?  What is PTSD?
Posttraumatic stress disorder is an anxiety syndrome resulting from the occurrence of severe external stress beyond what is usual or  tolerable for most people.  It is a complex disorder arising from cognitive, biological and psychosocial factors. 
Stressors are rape, military combat, natural disasters, physical accidents involving loss of life  or a loss of a body part of part or its functions.  Victims of criminal assault may suffer from this disorder.
What's it like? A person re-experiences the trauma by having recurrent intrusive recollections of the event or recurrent dreams of the event; even feelings associated with the event.  An individual may suddenly act out or have the feeling the traumatic event is reoccurring.  This may happen when an environmental factors or thoughts "triggers" or creates a stimulus of the trauma. In the case of a soldier a car may backfire reminding him of the sound of a gun shot.  The autonomic system reacts and in some cases heart rate increases and blood pressure goes up.
Overall the individual may suffer from a lack of feeling or a numbing of responsiveness to their surroundings.  They withdraw from the world.  There is pronounced apathy in one or more of their significant activities. 
There may be related factors including physical injury. Depression and anxiety are common. Avoidance of social situations may be present.  There is a risk of self-medication through the use of alcohol, opiates or other mind numbing drugs. 
So no, I do think I suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder.  The key is when I review my reaction to the anxiety provoking dream I look at how  it effects me. I ask myself the questions how do I cope with the distressful memories.  Am I able to put the memories behind me and to on to enjoy other activities of the day.  Do these distressful dreams happen often.  Will I fall into  a deep depression because of my memories. Based on my answers to the questions I asked myself I can conclude I do not have PTSD.

Locus of Control

Locus of Control

The “Little Engine That Could” is a childrens book that most of us have read ourselves or we read it to a child.  The premise is I that I think I can do it so I can do it.  

Locus of control is a term coined by Julian Rotter. He was a prominent social learning theorist.  Locus of control means there is a general expectation of the degree to which individuals control their outcomes. Individuals with and external locus think that luck, fate or chance are responsible for what happens to them. The one with external locus of control think they have no control.  Those individuals with an internal locus feel their success or failure is due to internal or personal factors. Of course most people fall in the middle and under some circumsances believe in themselves in other situations the individual think someone or something else is responsible for their problems.

This concept is very important in analyzing the personalilty. This one simple idea is applied to everything from the grade a student will make on an exam to the personality disorder that may haunt them throughout their lives.

One author of a sociology book named Maghaddam used two quotations attributed to Shakespeare as an example of internal or external locus of control.  In Julius Ceasar act I scene two, it is written “The fault dear Brutus is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.”  Which would be an example of internal locus control. Maghaddam cites Romeo and Juliet as an example of an external locus of control.  He summizes that Shakespeare portrays two “star” crossed lovers that decide to take their own lives as being determined by external factors which are beyond their control.

Interestingly the locus of control may even determine who will vote and who will not cast a vote.  Will the person who thinks they can personally make a difference vote or will it be the person who believes that the government is corrupt and voter fraud rampant and believes they can not make a difference in the outcome of the elections?

Think about health.  Who has the better chance of adding two years to their life span? Is it the individual that believes exercise and good nutrition is a health factor within their control and practice it?  Or is it the individual who believes health is determined by genetic factors and nothing they personally do that will determine the outcome of thier life expectancty or have an impact on the length of their lives.

True a positive attitude or a negative attitude does go a long way in determining the outcome of an endeavor, but it may be an oversimplification and in reality success or failure may be determined by much more complex mechanisms. It would be wonderful if the problems individuals could be changed with an attitude adjustment. If it were as simple for us to succeed as it was for the “little Engine That Could”.

Martin Luther Quotation

A contrast essay

“I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess."  In this quotation the protestant preacher, Martin Luther stated he has lost his material possessions but what he has turned over to God he still owns. What do his words mean to him?

What do we hold in our hands? Our material possessions like homes, cars, computers, televisions even our loved ones. These are things most of us work hard for. We think “Things” define us and it is not uncommon for us to want to keep up with the Jones. We think things are what will make us happy and our loved ones happy to the extent that we might even think we are loved because of our possessions. The bible nor Martin Luther have to remind us that we can not take our money with us when we died. Everything is not temporal including our bodies we are also spiritual beings. Much that guide us through life are spritual blessings.

What are these spiritual blessings Luther is refering to?  God is love. I know we all learned that lesson in Sunday school or from many of the other religious groups ways of teaching their young people. Love is a very important blessing from God. If we Love God with all our hearts and minds we will love and may even be loved in return. Love mean you take care of the young and the elderly, the sick, the hungry, the poor. Love your neighbor as yourself do not wish for a bigger car or a prettier wife. In John 5:18 it states that “We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born or God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them.” We are blessed with the peace of God, which transcends all understanding and will guard your heards and your minds and this cannot be taken away or destroyed.

Martin Luther is explaining that our material possessions will pass away but we will still have the blessings from God. Blessings which cannot be taken away. Common sense and holy records confirm this concept. Peoples actions also go a long way towards proving that individuals who are blessed by God and love their neighbors are not going to steal from them or kill them.

The protestant reformer, Martin Luther stated he held may things in his hands and he lost them all. He also believed that what he placed in Gods hands he will possess forever.

However

There is always a “however.”  Each situation has its benefits and its drawbacks.  In the field of market finance we find a compelling example that supports this thesis.

The roaring twenties was a decade which the American economy saw a rapid boom.  In fact America’s bull markets, such as the New York Stock Exchange had  become so financially inviting by 1927 that even America’s middle class poured its money into the financial forums. Unfortunately on October 4, 1929 the booming twenties came to an abrupt halt when the The York Stock Exchange crashed.

The crash had many negative consequences.  Most notably, the stock market crash of 1929 launched America into the Great Depression, a time of starvation and unemployment for millions of American citizens.The widespread optimism of the 1920’s quickly turned into an almost suicidal pessimism. Indeed the Great Depression represents the crippling consequences of the stock market crash of 1929. 

However, Franklin Delano Roosevelt established institutions and regulations to prevent future economic catastrophes.  Cognizant of the crashes causes, such as pool corruption, overpriced stock values and margin buying, Roosevelt implemented the Social Security Act, the FDIC and stricter rules monitoring credit.  His aggressive policies not only ameliorated the uncomfortable climate of the Great Depression but also laid the groundwork for a safer, more successful economy.

The American public also realized the many positive results of the stock market  of 1929.  In particular, American citizens now have an entirely different fiscal outlook from the one they had before the crash.  Speculators have proven to be more prudent and insightful, as they often research market trends before investing. Perhaps most importantly American investors are not as easily swayed by popular optimism and eager advertisement.

While the stock market crash of 1929 was the embryo of the Great Depression, the crash also set the foundation for a sounder economy. If we recognize the good and the bad of the crash we are destined to make fewer economic mistakes.