Moreno Valley's Gentrification Plans

Moreno Valley, CA, a city located in the county of Riverside in the Inland Empire, is considered a fastly growing suburban area with its spike in population by 25 percent from 142,000 to 178,000.  These statistics are based on the time span on 2000-2004 (Dreier and Stekler).  One major reason for this expansion: "the combination of cheaper land and fiscally trapped small cities welcoming new single-family subdivisions, encourages developers to build on the suburban fringe rather than near the urban center."  Developers and gentrifiers are attracted to areas like Moreno Valley because the land is large, cheap and welcoming, great for the housing market. 

The average home in Los Angeles sells for $500,000 whereas in Moreno Valley, a much large home is valued at half that price, $255,000.  With the influx of the population of Los Angeles, builders could not keep up with the housing construction demands.  Thus, the population looked elsewhere to places nearby that offered affordable housing such as Moreno Valley. 

The building of housing and movement of people to the housing was productive in its beginning stages becasue the inital housing mortgage payments demanded of residents were low.  However, these demands increased over time, making it difficult for residents to keep their homes.  As a result, many of the residents had to give their homes up to the bank because of inability to pay the demanded mortgage payments.  This trend occured over the city, making Moreno Valley one of the largest Southern California areas of  housing foreclosure.

Vote or Die!! Choose now!

If a crazed activist approached you with these options, which one would you choose.  Obviously, if you value your life, without hesitation you would select the option to vote.  With the return of the midterm election, I thought it was only right to expose the logical fallacy of a voting campaign headed by super producer/rapper/actor/entreprenuer Sean "Puffy/ P. Diddy/ Diddy/ Puff Daddy" Combs. 

This campaign slogan is an example of False Dichotomy, which, by definition, is a fallacy in which only two options are provided, one being the favorable over the other obviously unwanted option.  Here the options "Vote" or "Die" are used to emphasize the importance of voting.  the advertisers are trying to stress that there is no better choice or option than to spend your time voting.  This campaign was targeted to young voters being that they are the lowest percentage of voters at election time.  To advocte voting, this campaign aired commercials and held parties featuring various popular musical artists, models, and actors such as Paris Hilton and Kanye West. 

Is the fallacy effective?  Whether or not the fallacy  is effective is a question, however, the publicity made by celebrities definitely is effective.  This campaign made voting less of a civic duty but more of a trendy thing to do.

Sean [P. Diddy] Combs: Vote or Die! <--- Click here to view the article by The Black Collegian online

Hasty Generalization

"Anything is possible when you man smells like Old Spice and not a lady."

According to Old Spice advertisers, men can recreate the charm, body and looks of their Old Spice model, not by working out, not by showering their women with gifts, but by using Old Spice body wash.  This argument is the logical fallacy Hasty Generalization.  According to definition, Hasty Generalization makes a broad claim on the basis of narrow evidence and usually one or two examples.  Here the broad claim is that men can do anything just as long as they smell like the sent produced by using Old Spice.  Their reasoning, evidence and examples are inexistent. Here Old Spice guareentees women, good looks, charm and a good physique to its users.

Oversimplifying the Problem

Since elections are a day away, I wanted to expose the fallacious nature of one of Meg Whitman's campaign slogans.  On her campaign website Meg Whitman for Government claims "If we let California fail, we all fail."  This definitely is oversimplifying the problem and its title is Oversimplification. 

Oversimplification, by definition, is an argument in which complex casual relationships are reduced or ignored in favor of a simple claim that fails to address significant dimensions of the issue.  According to Meg Whitman's argument, the failing of California automatically assumes our (Californians') fail.  This measurement of failing is inaccurate and the standards are not specific enough in her argument.  She implies that if she is elected she will lead the state by her doctrines.  As a result, California will not fail economically, politically, academically, etc. 

Here is a short video detailing her background and major components of her campaign.
Meet Meg Whitman:

Master Plan or Failed Plan?

                       "Want to go to 21 Choices?,"  I ask as my friend. 
                       "Yeah, we better stock up that before it's torn down!"  This response from my friend blows me away.
                       "What do you mean?!"
                       "You didn't hear?  They may be tearing down the University Village."

The news my friend informs of me is shocking for me to hear but...true.  To meet the ideals expressed in its Role and Mission Statement, the University of Southern California seeks to contribute to the community it is apart of and its residents.  According to the website on which the University Plan is detailed, the University of Southern California, through the combined efforts of faculty, staff and alumni, have contributed $4 billion to the Los Angeles county economy already.  Through the gentrification plans, they plan to add on to this $4 billion. 

University Plan Blueprint



Sonia Nazario's Journey

On the day of the SI Debate in Bovard, I was not too excited about the meeting.  Part of the reason was because I had no clue what I would be sitting and listening to and the other part of the reason was because I was gloomy from the rain.  However, my spirits were lifted when I learned we were to be discussing Enrique's Journey.  In high school I had always heard of my classmates reading the novel and heard their rave reviews of it.  Despite this, I never was inspired to crack open the book myself. 

Unexpectantly, one day on vacation in Palm Springs with my family, me and my mother were scrolling through the hotel's channel selection and stumbled upon a documentary.  Watching HBO shows is a thing me and my mother like doing together and we had nothing planned for the rest of that night so we sat down and tuned in.  This documentary happened to be everything Nazario discussed in the presentation last week.  Watching the documentary was so depressing.  I couldn't fathom risking my life 28 times to see my mother.  The determination and courage many immigrants have is unmeasurable!  Today, me and so many other teenage Americans are so lazy that we hesitate to respond to our mothers after she has cooked a meal for us.  Traveling through four countries with no food, water, shower, safe transportation and healthy conditions to see a family member is unheard of in this country. 

The presentation left me with the following questions:

• If we were to improve relations with other countrys' immigrants, what would the government do to ensure this happens?
• How much money is spent on patroling the border?
• Why is this not taught more widely in elementary, middle and high schools?
• How was Sonia Nazario able to make all those trips without being hurt, robbed, attacked, etc.?

New Discoveries Withing My Research

For this assignment I wanted to choose a topic which I was pretty familiar with.  Although I know much about the Black Panther Party, there is still much that I do not know.  I pretty much knew about the missions, ideologies and story of the party, however, I was unfamiliar with the specifiic events that made the group what it was. 

For example, I knew the group was built on a set of doctrines called the 10 Point Plan by which they drove the group on.  This plan was what the group sought to achieve for Blacks and all minorities.  In summation, they wanted equality in education, housing, employment, and civil rights.

 

1. WE WANT FREEDOM. WE WANT POWER TO DETERMINE THE DESTINY OF OUR BLACK AND OPPRESSED COMMUNITIES.
2. WE WANT FULL EMPLOYMENT FOR OUR PEOPLE.
3. WE WANT AN END TO THE ROBBERY BY THE CAPITALISTS OF OUR BLACK AND OPPRESSED COMMUNITIES.
4. WE WANT DECENT HOUSING, FIT FOR THE SHELTER OF HUMAN BEINGS.
5. WE WANT DECENT EDUCATION FOR OUR PEOPLE THAT EXPOSES THE TRUE NATURE OF THIS DECADENT AMERICAN SOCIETY. WE WANT EDUCATION THAT TEACHES US OUR TRUE HISTORY AND OUR ROLE IN THE PRESENT-DAY SOCIETY.
6. WE WANT COMPLETELY FREE HEALTH CARE FOR All BLACK AND OPPRESSED PEOPLE.
7. WE WANT AN IMMEDIATE END TO POLICE BRUTALITY AND MURDER OF BLACK PEOPLE, OTHER PEOPLE OF COLOR, All OPPRESSED PEOPLE INSIDE THE UNITED STATES.
8. WE WANT AN IMMEDIATE END TO ALL WARS OF AGGRESSION.
9. WE WANT FREEDOM FOR ALL BLACK AND OPPRESSED PEOPLE NOW HELD IN U. S. FEDERAL, STATE, COUNTY, CITY AND MILITARY PRISONS AND JAILS. WE WANT TRIALS BY A JURY OF PEERS FOR All PERSONS CHARGED WITH SO-CALLED CRIMES UNDER THE LAWS OF THIS COUNTRY.
10. WE WANT LAND, BREAD, HOUSING, EDUCATION, CLOTHING, JUSTICE, PEACE AND PEOPLE'S COMMUNITY CONTROL OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY.

I also did not know that they were based on Maoism, the philosophy created by Mao Zedong and his associates in the Chinese Communist Party.  Closely related to Marxism, Maoism is the philosophy which believes that the proletarian class of society naturally has a well developed skill for violent activity and thus maintains the potential to create a revolution in which the oppressing government bureaucrats will be overthrown.  This is what the Black Panther Party sought to achieve.  They wanted the poor minorities to start a revolution against the government and bring about change that will benefit them.

Mao Zedong, creator of Maoism

The past isn't over; it isn't even past.  --William Faulkner
What's past is prologue.  --William Shakespear


I interpreted these following quotes as history repeats itself.  The past will have influence on the present.  We can never forget the past.  Our past sets our future.  How we interpret the past will affect how we conduct our present and thus our future.  And finally, the ever cliche, without the past, there is NO future.

"You are becoming more and more like your father everyday!"  My mother sporadically proclaimed this in one of our conversations one afternoon as she noticed that me and my father are so very similar.  Not only is he my twin with a beard, my father has a big influence over the things I do, the ideas I have and the decisions I make.  Many of the things he enjoys I follow suit and end up liking them.  We do many of the same activities and are interested in some of the same topics.  One thing my father is interested in is the movements for freedom and equality Blacks have made and are making.  He idolizes leaders and speakers such as Malcolm X (Nation of Islam), Martin Luther King Jr. (Nonviolent protests of the 1950s and 1960s), Bob Marley (Rastafari Movement), and Huey P. Newton (Black Panther Party).  Since I have grown up around him and have learned so much from him, I have been able to expand my knowledge on those people and those groups.

Huey P. Newton

Malcolm X

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Bob Marley

The group I have chose to focus on for this paper is the Black Panther Party.  This organization, active from the mid 1960s-1970s, advocated self-defense.  Blacks, after Martin Luther King Jr.'s anti-racists and anti-segregationists movements, were still heavily discriminated upon.  One group that delivered much of this unequal treatment where the police.  The police harassed and attacked Blacks and killed many innocent people.   To combat this the Black Panther Party advocated protection.  Many times, this protection would be with firearms.  They believed in the philosophy an eye for and eye, a tooth for a tooth.  

The Black Panther Party is associated with negativity.  They are viewed as a militant group and are commonly seen wielding large guns and wearing and mean, hostile expressions.  However, one major thing about the party is overlooked.  They believed in protection, not spontaneous violence.  They were associated with negativity because of this despite the fact that this is one of the rights all American's are entitled to, a right to bear arms and protect oneself.

Aside from this the group also believed in lifting up the Black race and educating their Black communities.  They fed the hungry and were against drug abuse.

Black Panther Party Free Breakfast Club

2006 Black Panther Party Reunion

Social Movement Improvements

One of the main cons about donating to or supporting a social movement is that tracking one's contribution is difficult if not totally impossible.  Many times, after money is donated, its destination is unclear to the doner.  The doner would not like for their contribution to go unacknowledged.  One of the main reasons why people do not donate or contribute their time or effort to social movements is because they are unsure of how their contribution will help.  One way social movements can better establish their movements is by following through with their contributors.  This can be in the form of a thank you tletter detailing where their money is going, a tax write off to ensure that the money went where it was designated to go, or other form of gift.  For example, a common trend social movements set were plastic armbands.  After donating or contributing to a movement, that group would give that person a rubber armband.  It was most likely in neon colors so it was noticeable.   That band screamed to everyone, "Yes, I donated my money for a good cause," and it was looked at a stylish and selfless.  If a cause was popular enough to demand the attention of celebrities, it would become fashionable to wear the band.  One example is the Livestrong yellow plastic wrist band.  Lance Armstrong's movement to spread the word about prostate cancer was effective as he redeemed each $10 donation with a stylish wristband.  Many people began donating to the cause more for the wristband than for the actual cancer research fund. 



Celebrities in support of Lance Armstrong's prostate cancer foundation, Livestrong.  Featured actors, actresses, professional baskeball players, newcasters, and singers like Hilary Duff, Lisa Leslie and Lance Armstrong.

People respond positively to incentives and thus it is a good idea for movments to reward their contributors.  Just for a doner's security, movements could also allow people to track their donations like how FedEx, the United States Postal Servive or other delivery mediums allow customers to track their packages.  After making a contribution doners could receive a receipt with a number that can be tracked online as it went from the foundation to its destination.

"Social Network Activism"

Social networks such as Facebook, Myspace, and Blogger are places in which people (friends, family and strangers) can connect with one another and discuss any and everything.  People use these networks to meet new friends, reunite with old ones, build personal relationships, share music, pictures, videos and other things that reflect our interests and backgrounds, and, recently, advertise.  What is now heavily advertised are social movements.  Social movements are activism for change to benefit a group of underrepresented people.  To benefit them, groups of people inspired to create change come together to discuss the problem and plan possible solutions to these problems.  These solutions are in the form of collective actions.  Today these groups have taken advantage of the new technology and have been able to spread their message via the World Wide Web. 

I have seen "social network activism" online on the activist's webpages, on Facebook and on ads in the columns of websites that I have visited.

Save Darfur Facebook page

I have also seen social network activism on television and via text messaging.  During the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake, foundations like the American Red Cross, Habitats for Humanity, Doctor's without borders and tons others spread awareness through commericals in which they aired a phone number that, if texted, would donate money to the fund.  In the video below, the United State's First Lady Michelle Obama, commanded the help of Americans to benefit the Haitian victims by texting the number 90999 (HAITI) to donate $10 in relief.



I have followed through with many of these forms of activism.  It is a clever way to make a difference in the world without taking too much time out of your scheduele.  Activist on Facebook clevery spread their missions onto large groups of people because it is so easy to share information with a click of a button.