Criminal Justice System and the Social Problems Affecting Americans

130 each a maximum
Week 1: Defining Social Problems
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MW posted May 1, 2023 2:13 PM
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Part 1: The first major social problem I would address as a presidential candidate is criminal justice reform. The current state of our system is rife with racial issues, targeting the poor, and has no real rehabilitative properties. People have value, can learn, and should be treated as such.
I have read the syllabus, welcome message, and resource packet and understand the course policies, expectations, and due dates.
Part 2: In reading multiple accounts of "Humans of New York" I got a sense that most were healing from generational traumas. In essence, these Humans learned negative behaviors and the means to justify them from the individuals responsible for their upbringing. Humans also learned coping mechanisms if they were not capable of engaging in those same behaviors. For example, there was a Human using alcohol as a means to deal with the daily stress of life because they learned this behavior from their father.
Generational trauma easily falls under symbolic interactions as these behaviors are learned from individuals Humans regularly interacted with until adulthood. I did find that upon reaching adulthood, Humans continued to interact with individuals outside of their household and learned new behaviors or adjusted their behavior accordingly. For example, one Human noted that all her family interactions involved some degree of yelling with heavy criticism. In adulthood, she moved in with a roommate that did not have this same learned behavior. Instead, the roommate interacted with a friendly tone and loving support. The Human learned that it is possible to communicate openly and gently when issues or negative circumstances arise.
Week 1-JH
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JH posted May 4, 2023 2:03 PM
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Hello Professor and class,
My name is JH and I am running for president. If there were one social issue I would focus on, it would be healthcare. The United States is one of the only developed countries that doesn't have a universal healthcare system but I think that having one is a realistic possibility. Being someone who works in healthcare, this issue is close to my heart. I hate seeing people avoid or put off care due to lack of insurance or financial instability. I have also read the syllabus, resource packet, and welcome message.
Of the issues I was able to read about on "Humans of New York" I chose to write about a post from November 2022. In the post I read, a man described being gay in a small town and choosing not to come out. He watched another gay person in the town get assaulted, ridiculed, and harassed due to his orientation. When he got older, he was able to move to New York where he found people who loved and accepted him. I think the acceptance of LGBTQ+ individuals falls into the social conflict theory. LGBTQ+ is a departure from what was considered the norm for years. While more and more people becoming accepting of the lifestyle every day, there are still people, rules, and laws that oppose it. I think LGBTQ+ requires some sweeping changes, some of which have already happened, to fully resolve the social issue. The social issue does also have some functionalism in that, the public opinion regarding LGBTQ+ has slowly changed over the years. The issue will only be truly resolved when the advancements made are safe from being undone with a pen stroke.
-J