Archive for date: September 18th, 2015

September 18th, 2015

To my understanding, the The Civil Rights Act in 1964 was basically having equality around the nation no matter race, religion, or sex. I had the opportunity to look through some letters during that time period to Congressmen Harold “Bizz” Johnson. Most of the letters I saw were against military’s and the army spending money to fight against African Americans who were protesting in the streets. Some protests turned into riots and it got to a point where people were killing other people. But some of the letters I came across were high school students interested in the Civil Rights Act. They just wanted to know some information about whats happening in the U.S.

This photo is a simple high school student wanting to know Johnson’s views and knowledge of the Civil Rights Act. This student is “deeply interested” in the civil rights issue which he think is so important.

This photo contains a woman wanting to know why money is spent towards the fight against African Americans. She would like to know some information on why this is happening.

These two photos are intriguing because in my opinion it shows that some Americans had no idea what was happening in there country. And I give credit to this Congressmen because in his letters of reply, he is explaining what is happening and why this act is in play. Maybe some responses are a little general but most are pretty specific.

Struggling with Stereotypes:

This article broke down the different layers that make up a stereotype nicely!

First of all I want to share this music video by Katy Perry, I find the lyrics and the video a stereotype; however, I enjoy it!

In this song, Katy Perry and Snoop Dogg are singing about “California Girls” and how they wear daisy dukes with bikinis!  And how they are toned,  tanned, fit and ready!”

As mush as I like this song, Its a complete stereotype about “California girls.” I was born and raised in California and I don’t believe any girl who I know or am friends with wants to be described by how she wears daisy dukes and how toned and tanned she is. I enjoy the song because like the article mentions, we learn to accept  and sometimes use stereotypes!

“We need to stop categorizing and generalizing about people.”  “Wrong” (p.146).

We all create generalizations about people or things because growing up we learn about people by describing their characteristics. Growing up and going to school with people of many ethnic backgrounds, we find it easy to generalize them because we don’t know enough about them or their culture. I don’t believe it’s a must to go around and try to learn every culture to learn how to describe someone within the culture. However,  I do think its important to know what a bad stereotype is and how to avoid it.

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Harold T. Bizz Johnson wrote a response  to Rev. Bayliss on April 28, 1971. It was a response to the letter he received from Rev. Bayliss involving the My Lai massacre. This event happened in Vietnam in March 1968 but the public didn’t find out until Nov 1969. It was covered up until a reporter got a hit and published the story. The public’s support for the Vietnam War was strong but it soon eroded as military action escalated. Lt. L. Calley and his team were given instruction to invade a town that had vicious fighters. They shot and killed about 400 civilians including women and children. These men were part of the 11th brigade. When the incident got out the public was shocked. Many sided with the conviction of Lt. L. Calley while others had sympathy for him. Rev. Byliss wrote to Bizz asking him to excuse Calley for what he had done and that it wasn’t his fault. The men that were over in Vietnam were exposed to harsh conditions and were mentally and physically exhausted. Many used that to back up that those that did the killings were told to do so and when given commands they are expected to follow through. Bizz responds by saying that it there is still so many things that they don’t know yet it’s hard to come to an immediate conclusion. The president being the Commander –in –Chief of the armed forces has the role of final review in situations like this one. Rev Bayliss along with many other Americans expressed their concern that if Lt. L. Calley was prosecuted that he wouldn’t stand alone. Those that killed unarmed civilians should receive equal treatment under the military law. The Geneva Convention establishes standards of international law for humanitarian treatment of war. It required the Army to investigate all allegations to the massacre. During the Vietnam war the treatment of prisoners of war became a issue. They were being mistreated and ethical issues arose. The Geneva conventions stats that those who come into contact with the enemy must treat them humanely if they surrender. Lt. L. Calley and his brigade violated this, which caused the issue of injustice to arise. The public in such confusion what was happening over seas and had little trust in what the government was doing. This event caused more distortion to the publics view of war crimes. If there is more information you would like to know these sources will help you better understand the ambiguities that are in this primary source. These sources are reliable secondary sources because they are either form a database with scholarly sources or from creditable organizations.

Works Cited 

“Calley Charged for My Lai Massacre.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 14 Sept. 2015

Commander in Chief Powers.” Commander in Chief Powers. Cornell University Law School, n.d. Web. 13 Sept. 2015

“Geneva Conventions.” Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, n.d. Web. 13 Sept. 2015.

“Content The My Lai Massacre.” PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 14 Sept. 2015.

“Selected Men Involved with My Lai.” PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 13 Sept. 2015.

“The Geneva Convention and the Treatment of Prisoners of War in Vietnam.” Jstor.org. The Harvard Law Review Association, n.d. Web.