What is Tara thinking…

I am living a double life. How you may be wondering? Well, let me put it like this to you. In English class, I’m reading a book Just Mercy about a lawyer who fights for people on death row. On the other hand sociology, I have to debate on the “for side” of death row. How do I feel about this you may be wondering? Well, let me put it like this. I feel like I’m in a pickle.  There is a lot of controversy regarding death row. Now, I don’t have a particular opinion on death row, but I sure do know a lot about the for or against sides. Since I am participating in a debate on why capital punishment is a good thing, I’d like to use this blog to discuss the issue of death row using the McMillian case from the novel. Bryan Stevenson has dedicated his life to fighting for innocent people on death row who are wrongfully convicted and attempts to get justice by getting them off death row. McMillian is an example of someone who should not be on death row since he was framed for a crime he did n...

  This week in, we got a seminar sheet for “Swimmer Race Seminar” and one of the topics was language. After reading the book and watching the movie, I understood the impact language can have on a person. This impact made me think about when the underlying meanings of my family switching between languages, since we switch regularly but only at particular times. My family uses Arabic as a barrier with English speakers when we are out in public. Sometimes, we want to say things only to each other and don’t feel it has to be heard by others. This could be something as simple as “I have to use the bathroom” or “Did you lock the car?.” It’s just a habit, neither bad or good. People think we are saying bad things about them, but it’s simply because we don’t feel the need everything has to hear what we want to share to each other in public. This isn’t always the case but when most English speakers hear a foriegn language, they are quick to think someone is speaking bad about them. The mos...