Last, the government ignored the people. Residents were complaining about water that smelled, looked, and tasted strange, but their complaints were ignored until the crisis began to be covered by major news outlets. Overall, Puchalski explains that the water crisis would not have happened if the United States government was honest with its people and held to a higher…
In the article “I’m a Flint resident. I’m done paying for water that is not safe” by Tunde Olaniran, Olaniran discusses the issues surrounding the water crisis in Flint Michigan. She speaks of her own history regarding the unsafe water and how she paid her bills until she was afraid to drink it or even let it touch her skin. The water crisis is due to high levels of lead and corroded pipes which combine together to make unsafe water for all purposes. Some experienced hair loss and scalp issues when washing their hair.…
Intent is to mirror demographics described in socioeconomic models of U.S. class structure where the wealthiest and most powerful 1% of the population controls a disproportionate amount of the resources. (Kendall, 2013, p. 226) Whether sociologists’ delineate society using Max Weber’s multidimensional approach where final rank is calculated as a combined figure of sliding scores assigned individually to wealth, power and prestige, or use Karl Marx’ simplified theory based on property ownership, method matters little beyond the scope of formal research. (Kendall, 2013, pp. 224-232)…
While the poor live in overcrowded shelters, the rich live in huge houses and drive luxury cars. They can make decisions about their communities even though they are not remotely affected by those…
Water, as we know is one of our most coveted resources. We use it to cook our food, wash our bodys, and even our cars. Water is undeniably a resource we use every single day. Many people throughout the world undervalue the importance of this resource.…
Justin Wing Final Paper Section 101 GSI: Elizabeth Gilbert 6/28/17 The Flint Water Crisis and Implicit Racism Imagine consuming and using water that is not clear, but yellow in color. This is a harsh reality that the people of Flint, Michigan experience every day. The Flint Water Crisis reflects the structural and environmental racism towards African Americans in the United States government due to the disproportionate exposure of lead and other toxic chemicals in the water and their lack of political power.…
Those who have more wealth can donate more to political campaigns and therefore have a louder voice in elections. Opportunity, such as access to education, is also affected by wealth. Those from low socioeconomic standing are quite likely to go to schools with low academic achievement. The paper gives…
The Flint water crisis is a drinking water contamination issue in Flint, Michigan that started in April, 2014. These past 3 years have been an extremely hard time for Flint residents since they have had no proper drinking or bathing water in 2 years, so residents have been taking a stand against the government by carrying around jugs full of dirty, unsafe drinking water coming from their faucets at home to protest against the inaction of the government. The residents have a lot of courage to be standing up to what they think is right and fighting for those rights, much like the “Freedom Riders” in the movie “The Butler”. In 2014, Flint, Michigan decided to switch their water source to the Flint River from Lake Huron because of them spiraling…
Neoliberalism and Indigenous Activism Lizbet Limeta Professor DeLugan ANTH 116: Indigenous Activism in the Americas Fall 2016 Introducing Neoliberalism and Its Impact on Indigenous Communities There are systems deeply embedded in modern society in which a small group of elites are able to influence policies. Neoliberalism in particular perpetuates this type of system in order to benefit corporate interest. Corporations have been able to maximize their profit at the expense of marginalized communities while simultaneously maximizing their profit trough the exploitation of natural resources.…
There is a saying, “ the rich get richer” when they are placed in any sort of higher position. I don't recall a time where people of higher authority have genuinely attempted to close the growing gap between the rich and middle/lower class. However there are advantages to having the wealthy in charge of power because they are “in the loop” of issues that the rest of the world does not know about. They are more wealthy, money in this case does indeed mean more power. On the other hand those who are not wealthy make up the majority of the nations population.…
In 1976 , the wealthiest one percent of Americans owned 19% of all the private material wealth in the US Today, they own over 40% of all wealth. Their share now exceeds the wealth owned by the bottom 92% of the US population combined. (Edward N. Wolff, Top Heavy: A Study of Increasing Inequality in America Twentieth Century Fund: 1995). From 1976 till the present , the power of the wealthy has increased greatly meaning their power has increased as well. When a certain group constantly gains power they will abuse it and this can be seen with the unfair wealth distribution in this country.…
It is ok to lie to someone, if the intention of the lie is to protect that person. I believe this statement can be true in most cases, unless the person who’s getting helped doesn’t want their helper to deal with a big punishment. Say a person makes a mistake at their job, and their friend lies to cover for them. The person would be okay if their if their friend managed to keep their job, but would feel guilty if their friend was fired. Thus, it is sometimes better for people not to lie in some cases, for both the one who wants to help and the person who would get help.…
As most of America is aware of by now, there is a grave injustice happening in Flint, Michigan. The city’s drinking water is heavily contaminated with lead and has been since 2014. The problem began when the city of Flint switched to using the Flint River as a source of drinking water. A month after the switch was made, residents began to “complain about the smell and color of the new water, which [was] 70 percent harder than its previous water source” (Kennedy, 2016). Despite the complaints, no action was taken.…
Their wealth allows them access to the government that the average person does not have. They use this access to pass legislation that benefits them, their wealth or income or political or social ideology. Our textbook shows that even the people that represent us often times part of this 1% with the Senate being called the Millionaires club. This wealth not only gives them influence on the government but also in controlling corporations. In recent news from the campaign we here Bernie Sanders say “Congress doesn’t regulate Wall Street, Wallstrete regulates Congress”.…
The Obstacles of Becoming Elite The elite within society are a small group of people who have access to many benefits that those ranked lower than them don’t have access to. This gives those at the top privilege, but this privilege is maintained by the institutions within society. Karen Ho introduces the idea of “smartness”, and how this label defines who is elite within society. She presents it as something that is created in order to maintain this eliteness.…