This week’s reading covered assessment of geographic communities. I found it somewhat odd that the recent readings were dealing with communities and the roles in which we play in them at a time when our country is facing as series of protest and sit in’s designed to address these very things. At the beginning of the chapter it discussed the significance of power in communities and who has it and why. It was explained that some people obtain power within their community by having information, wealth, reputation, and connections. It discussed the importance of citizen participation and social networks in an effort to address issues and concerns within the community. Once again as I was reading this I could not help but think about the recent “Occupy” movements all across the United States.
I took a break from reading and went and got a coffee from a local gas station and while there I saw the local newspaper that showed protesters in New York being drug away by police. I returned home and cut the TV on only to hear about an Iraqi war veteran who had been injured by the police as he stood quietly protesting. I cut the TV off and went back to my reading but the thought of these actions played over and over in my head. How could it be that our government has intervened in countries such as Libya, Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen, but here in our own nation our government is doing the same things it has condemned other nations for doing. Now I know the situation in Libya was far different than what we are seeing here and that many people will respond that Gaddafi was a crazy murderous leader that needed to be removed from power but is it not true that when the citizens protested there they actually took up arms and confronted the government? The answer is yes!! Suppose any one of our protesters picked up a weapon and marched on Washington what do you believe would happen? I’m pretty sure we would see the same measures taken in Libya by their government.
The chapter this week encouraged members to stand up and address their concerns in numbers due to having a more powerful voice however one must tread lightly when doing this. I think these occupy movements are actually starting to form helping networks for people in the community that need a voice but are often left unheard due to the lack of power and money that they have at their disposal.
This week’s reading covered communities in the Macro Social Environment. The chapter started out explaining the concept of a community which it described as “a number of people who had something in common with one another that connects them in some way and that distinguishes them from others” (Homan, 2008, p. 8). As I read this I started thinking about our own community and wondered what we have in common besides our geographic destination, in that we all live in this area. The chapter also discussed how social-psychological theories stress how community members feel about their interactions with others in the community and their overall sense of well-being. I then went on to read about how the conflict theories emphasize how various community groups are in constant conflict in a power struggle over resources.
As I sat and read over this material I was drawn back to a meeting in which I attended last week for a school project. Working within our cohort groups here at Southern my group has agreed we would be focusing on helping the Hispanic population with financial resources and education. While conducting research on this topic we were informed that a leader within that community would be speaking at an event located in downtown Chattanooga. I decided to go and see if I could obtain any much need information about the population we had chosen.
Upon arriving at the meeting I found out it was sponsored by Occupy Chattanooga which is a local organization following in the footsteps of the much bigger brother “Occupy Wall Street”. I am in no way fond of these types of movements as I always felt it was individuals with nothing better to do then complain about current events. However by the end of the meeting I had a totally different outlook on our own community and how it was being run. Things such as our own community were discussed and conflicts that were being addressed by the group. I found myself sitting there thinking about the many things within our community that were broken and I had never stopped to realize them. I left the meeting with a new perspective on how our local government is handling our concerns and running our city.
During the reading I went from wondering what I had in common with the individuals from my community to looking back on this meeting and realizing that maybe I have more in common with the individuals around me than I first thought. I have since been actively watching the movement hoping that it grows in momentum, but I like many others with the same beliefs are unable or unwilling to help in the movement due to outside opportunities that could be hindered by taking an active stand.
Uncategorized | Mickel Hoback November 11, 2011 | 
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