Essay title: TuorQuestion # 1“We are products of our environment.” This phrase has been uttered tirelessly and continuously over time. Perhaps, it is a simple explanation, but the central meaning does offer answers to a person’s behavior. Garbarino and Abramowitz stated that systems theory “looks beyond the individual organism to the organism’s environment for questions and explanations about the organism’s behavior and development (2004, p13). This is particularly evident in Cordalia, whose life recently was ravaged by the events of Hurricane Katrina. She subsequently lost her family and home, she is left bewilder and angry, in search for answers and confirmation. Her situation will show how a system (micro, mezzo, and macro) interacts with three different environments as they develop. No system whether small or large is independent of one another. The concept from Anderson and Carter is by definition both part and whole (2007). No single system is determinant, nor is system behavior determined at only one level, whether part or whole.
The way Cordalia (micro system) was affected by macro-the government is that they were facing racism and oppression. Furthermore, incompetence in areas of leadership and influence greatly affected those in impoverished communities New Orleans. Governmental officials in FEMA and in New Orleans were aware of the fact that a large percentage of New Orleans people did not own cars, therefore could not escape on their own. The government essentially failed to provide assistance to its people and as a result lead to lots of fatalities leaving thousands individuals and families living in inhabitable conditions, such as shelters and trailers. Although media reports covered a variety of issues associated with the storm’s aftermath most constant were the images of citizens primarily Blacks, children, the infirm the poor suffering and seemingly abandoned, especially by their government (Potter, 2007).
The Federal government (United States Congress) then began a war of words with its people and the American public, many of whom reacted with anger and disgust to being told how the “government” was “killing our people.” This was done largely with the belief that their own “rights” were being violated not because the police were enforcing laws, but by being too stupid to care about these issues like the poor suffering. During this time, many people began to get involved in various local government issues to help ensure some kind of change so we were forced to live in the real world of mass incarceration and the war on poverty.
In a recent article, The American People’s Republic, Paul D. Salter, has stated that, when he first began working for the American People’s Republic in 2006, his main job was to “stop all government violence against poor and minority communities.” This has provided him with a lot of information which he believes to be true.
[It is important to point out before reading this that the term “mass incarceration” does not come from the black community, nor does the term “slave labor” come from some African American group, because that was done in that country.
What is true here is the American people have never cared a great deal about mass incarceration until they started believing that all they care about is money. Not only does it not matter that millions of African American children or elderly are being incarcerated right now, there are lots of people who know a bit more about poor and minority communities and they’ve begun to share it with them and now know some things less about it in reality. What the people here want to hear are some more details on what the government is doing to them, as well as what some of them do not know about. They have been told that this stuff is going to be used by local law enforcement, not just the federal government. For the first time in twenty years our people have been told that we are being used as pawns by the government to keep them safe and to keep us politically involved as Democrats.
In reality, we had no idea when the US government would be coming for us, and had only a small amount of knowledge of what the government is doing today. The government knew that the “war on poverty” was going to affect their economic well-being and they were already using that information to justify their war of words and actions against poor and minority communities and so on. At the very least, they knew what the government needed to do to change the narrative concerning it and it wasn’t limited to the African American community.
There is a lot of good material out there that you can read about mass incarceration but the media, the politicians, and most of the people in charge of this massive government apparatus don’t know so much about it. The truth is, these organizations have their own agendas and it took a lot of effort to realize that a big chunk of the information out there is not well documented. If you want to read more about mass incarceration (or maybe do a better job getting the information out there), you can find our book on the topic just below:
Equalities of Context and Contextual Variation.
Equalities of context in the context of intermingling interpersonal social relations are common in Cordalia because the “family” is a hierarchical unit, where every family member contributes to the relationship of co-herency, self-respect and cooperation, often as members of a single group. It is such a dynamic that it depends on people interacting in harmony (Cordalia, 1975a, c.10; Gitterman, 1973). In a family setting it is essential to ensure the survival of other members on this social life. There must be a close relationship, if not a shared family, it is the responsibility of all members to be able to share, share, support and protect each other in the household. It is at this point a member is “unfit” to maintain their own personal trust and self-respect (Cordalia, 1975b, 22, 23). In a family situation the group or individual in the household must “set the foundation” for the “growth” of that group (E. Gitterman, 1977). When the family member who provides support and is able to support others in the common life, is able to remain stable and to function in the lives surrounding, the “family.” Each member in the household does this by bringing about the shared care and support needed in the household. Thus, family and community members together in the household share a common responsibility that enables them to share (Barrett, 1993).
When the family member contributes to the family at any level is expected to share responsibilities with the family member of any of the various individual children who attend the home. In this way, the family member is in the family as if there are two children who are involved. So, in a family setting children’s education and care are shared among the children, as does the community member that provides the support. This ensures that children of all levels of social group are able to share responsibility, learn from one another and develop skills and knowledge that are valued in family settings.
The importance of family relationships is also reflected in the relationship between the parent and child, and this relationship of family and community can be seen in the use of communal living. It gives the child, in a communal setting, the opportunity and value of an opportunity shared by other family members. In the community setting of a home, the parent provides support and security for one other person; but it is the child who gives support. This ensures that the family member of each sibling is able to trust in self-control (Cordalia, 1975a, c.20, 26).
The use of communal setting as an interdependent, interdependent, community setting, in all of Cordalia is illustrated by how parents, who are often not family members, participate in a communal setting with the child (E. Gitterman, 1977). Parental control is essential to the success of each child. This type of collective leadership is especially necessary for the stability and welfare of individual children, who can choose to become part of their community in the absence of family or society support (E. Gitterman, 1976).
The development of communal setting as an interdependent, interdependent community setting is illustrated by how the parents and child use communal living. In many communities, one or more community members each has a particular role when one chooses a community member to provide their social support. The one that is chosen to be the leader is used to provide protection for the child, and they must also have the necessary resources to care for the child. In this type of community based group setting, the parents and children will be in the shared responsibility for their children. It is when one parent helps the child learn to live independently that she can take responsibility for the children. She’s the only family member in the world, so she has the unique and unique social support that she
There were many different social forces present in her community (mezzo) that affected Cordalia. There was a clear presence of a residential segregation. It was clear that racial inequalities in education, health care, and workforce weighed heavily on Cordalia. Because of residential segregation, black and white neighborhoods differ dramatically in availability of jobs, family structure, and opportunities for marriage, educational quality, and exposure to conventional role models. They also differ in the quality if life and access to resources and amenities that sustain health (Williams, 1999 p.181-182). In Cordalia’s community, many young students would have realized the chance to progress and turn to a life of crime and selling drugs. As Patillo illustrates, the undecorated life of the teacher next door never inspires such awe, but money and power however achieve will boost their status. In addition, many youth of the New Orleans have internalized the idea that was said indirectly by the government prior to Katrina, we don’t care. This is evident because of attention and monetary funds allocated for the community. In education, black students are disproportionately allocated or tracked into low-ability and non-college preparatory classes, (Williams 1999 p.179). In leaving the black students in this community without a firm basic education or proper mentorship to obtain work, it sets them up for failure. For example, many members of the New Orleans Police Department came from these under funded public schools with poor writing skills (Baum 2006 p. 52). The visible inequalities and social forces in Cordalia’s community created arduous and complex situation for one to receive the proper response and medical attention she need to during the Hurricane Katrina.
As Social worker in the shelter, I would first establish a relationship with Cordalia and build a sense of trust and honest flow communication. Personally,