Chunk # 2 (pg. 68- 127) The Culture of Fear by Barry Glassner

Barry Glassner asserts that most of are fear is based on the wrong things, meaning wrong topics, false statistics, and sometimes even false stories. Glassner believes we cut funding on education, medical, and the homeless, instead of taking responsibility we take it out on the youth by giving unbelievable sentences to are youth and harder time and locking them up with adults when they are still young children who come from unloving familes, and maybe even facing phsychiatric problems. We then talk about "crack babies" instead of cracking down on drug dealers and illegal drugs. The media then try to make us believe that american childrens have children themselves, instead telling whats real that most thirteen and fourteen year olds can't bear children yet. Instead the media wants us to believe are youth are monsters and are becoming monster moms. The media then trys to make Americans fear blackmen, based on rappers lyrics and staged actions for media attention. Americans fear black men because the media attention focus on the lyrics of rappers, drug dealing, instead of looking at the true personality of the individual instead of the gender and race as a whole. We as a people,public, and media fail to talk about the real problems of prescription drug abuse that happens almost daily, instead of campaigns to spread awareness about the abuse of prescription drugs.


Style :
How does Barry Glassner use of statistics effectively help the reader understand his argument and main purpose of this text?

Application:
Does the knowledge you learn about the media, and newspaper change the fears you live with or does it make you feel that america's media, newspaper, and tabloids are corrupt?

Chunk #1(pgs. 1-68) The Culture of Fear by Barry Glassner

In chunk one of "The Culture of Fear", Barry Glassner asserts his claim that the media,tabloids,newspapers, and magazines manipulate are perception of fear by exploiting the least important things. In chapter one, How Fears Are Sold, Glassner supports his claim about the exploitation of road rage and campuses. Glassner believes we focus media and tabloid attention on road rage with exaggerated statistics and stories on road rage instead of drunck driving that kills a trememndous amount of people each year unlike road rage. Then Glassner talkes about schools wanting to be assessed as "Politically correct" instead of facing the bigger issues like racism, sexist behavior, and homophobic behavior in today's schools. Glassner then goes into chapter two, Tall Tales and Overstated Statistics, he goes on saying that the media and the tabloids have forgot the extent and the true nature of the real issues that need to be exploited in the media and news. Glassner says that by exploiting these issues we slip away from the true issues like crime, drug addictions, and child abuse. Glassner believes that Americans have become so afraid of the non- important things that we live in fear of everyday things. Glassner concludes his assertion in chapter three Faculty Diagnoses and Callous cures that we focus on the little things instead of our youth at risk, children with diseases, missing children, and children facing tramatic events. He believes most organizations can't even get the media attention they need in order to spread awareness about these important events. Glassner intended audience are Americans who live in fear, anxiety, and the media, tabloids, newspapers and magazines who spend billions of dollars on these needless worries each year.

Application/Theme question:

Discuss how the media has affected are perception of fear? Is the perception of fear creating non- important / unwanted fear in our society?

Clarification question:

How does are media, newspapers, and tabloids exaggerated statistics affect others views of American society as a whole?

Precis: Time Magazine Article : Can a Fetus Feel Pain? by Nancy Gibbs

In her online article" Can a Fetus Feel pain?"(2006), Gibbs asserts that the war for abortion is increasing into a new battleground. Gibbs supports her claim about the increasing war for abortion, by stating Lawmakers/Activist who oppose abortion, believe that women should be informed about the risk, procedure, and alternatives of abortion. Activist believe a movement to make ultrasounds more available can prevent the abortion rate from increasing. Activist believe women are moved by images, heartbeats,become less likely to go through with an abortion. Gibbs then talks about a upcoming bill proposal that is in the process that makes abortion providers tell women that after 20 weeks a fetus can feel pain and that anesthesia for the fetus is available. Gibbs then concludes her claim by stating most anti-abortion lawmakers support the bill as long as abortions are legal because by providing anethesia can make the process merciful. Most pro-abortion lawmakers believe this will increase the abortion rate rather than decrease the rate, because women will feel by providing anethesia for the fetus they aren't harming their fetus. Gibbs purpose is to inform women about the upcoming studies and proposal inorder to make women think longer and harder before going through with an abortion. Gibbs intended audience are women considering abortion inorder to inform them about the new found studies and the increasing ongoing battle for abortion. http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1566772,00.html

Application Question:

Does the ongoing battle for and against abortion affect our opinions, morals, values, and feelings about abortion?

The Narrative of Frederick Douglass

My favorite excert from "The Narrative of Frederick Douglass" is ch. 10 (p.393.) In this excert Frederick gets into an altercation with his master Mr. Covey. This is my favorite excert of the book, because this is the first time Frederick uses action verbs to effectively show the significance of the altercation. This is also my favorite because Frederick's true personality and character begins to show, because the altercation allows him to gain confidence, courage, his manhood, and the determination to become free. Douglass's tone also begins to shift, he becomes more demanding and non-hesitant about being free. Frederick also nolonger fears slavery but he see's it as shaping and molding his character. Frederick feels he is a slave but he is not a slave in spirit. This excert shows Frederick's new motivation to become free and his new- found perspective about slavery.