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Evicted: Chapter 23-Epilogue

I was happy to read that Scott was finally getting his life back together and to read that the Hinkstons are on a better path. Both parties were living through really hard times that they were striving for. Scott had once been suicidal but now he has made a plan to better his life. He started going to AA and at first, it seemed to help but then soon after he felt as if it was useless. Later Scott got his sh*t together and was not using anymore. When Scott was in the trailer park he felt as if he would never get out of the horrible situation he was in so he did not care about taking care of himself. When he moved into his apartment he had a change of heart and believed that he could accomplish what he wanted. It goes to say that the environment that you are in plays a vital role in your effort to get your life together. 

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Evicted: Chapter 15-18

In chapter 15, it shows how tenants can be evicted from their homes by calling the police more than three times in one month. The property was marked as a nuisance property, which causes the landlords to get fined for their tenants actions. To counter having to pay the fine landlords would result in kicking out the tenants.  Crystal and Arleen are still living together after their argument. Arleen is currently searching for a place for her family. One night the tenant above Crystals got into a fight with her boyfriend, so Crystal called Sherrena but she did not answer. So crystal called 911, to help diffuse the situation and the police showed up and took him to jail. 

I believe that evicting the tenants who are a victim to domestic violence and other serious situations that are not solely the tenant's fault is unreasonable. The police and landlords are not solving the problems, they are just passing the problems to another area. Some tenants who get evicted because of domestic violence end up being murdered by their partner. The method of taking the suspect to jail and then releasing them a few days later does not work and they need to revise their methods for the sake of the victims. 

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Evicted: Chapter 19-22

In chapter 19, Pam and Ned are looking for a place to stay after being evicted from the trailer park. While searching for a place to live Ned was fired for missing two days of work he missed when he was helping his family move. This situation shows us how evictions can lead to people to lose their jobs and al how job loss could lead to evictions. Searching for places to live when someone has been evicted is overwhelming, especially if they have a job they are supposed to be at. In their search for a home, they faced a lot of issues with potential landlords by having three kids. This shows how landlords discriminate against potential tenants because they have children. This discrimination keeps families with children in the constant cycle of searching for homes.

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Cultural Connection #2

This song is about how money runs society and how people are willing to do just about anything to get rich or make a living.

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Evicted: Chapter 7-8

This chapter focuses on the tenants in the trailer park that Tobin owns. Scott and Teddy let Pam and Ned stay with them the day they were evicted. Tobin found out and then proceeded to evict Scott and Teddy also. Scott was a nurse for a while until he got addicted to opioids, and started buying them from his patients and then stealing fentanyl from patients. Scott met Teddy later in life at a Shelter. Scott saw that Teddy was really sick and wanted to help him, so they became roommates in the trailer park. After they get their eviction notice Teddy calls his sister from Tennesee to pick him up and leave the trailer park and Scott behind. 

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Evicted: Chapters 5-6

in chapter 5 we get to know Arleen's background. Arleen had multiple children and lived with Larry. Larry asked Arleen to marry him, but Arleen wasn't sure and that lead to Larry cheating on her. So he left her and the kids, to fend for themselves. Arleen moved into a unit of Sherrena and starts to make it feel like a home by painting the walls and decorating around the place. The unit above her was empty and she used that unit to have some time to herself every now and then. Soon the upstairs unit was occupied by a woman named Trisha who was helped by Belinda Hall. Belinda had a business which helped people who were on SSI find stable homes.

In chapter 6 we get more information about the situation that the Hinkstons are in, which is a nasty one. There were too many people living in one unit, and the conditions of the unit are not fit for so many people to live in. At first, they all did not live together, Patrice lived in the unit about her mother until she was unable to pay her rent, so Sherrena had to evict her. Afterward, she and her kids just moved in downstairs with her mother. Their living conditions were just horrible, the kitchen sink was clogged, which led them to wash dishes in the bathtub, which in turn was a bad idea because the tub got clogged soon after. They couldn't take baths anymore so they had to boil hot water on the stove and wash up. They wanted Sherrena to fix the plumbing but she never got around to doing it, which made the Hinkstons furious. The Hinkstons wanted to call a building inspector to help try and fix the situation but they realized it would do more harm than good.

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Evicted: Chapter 1-2

Sharrena is faced with the issue of evicting her tenants from her property due to their inability to pay rent. She feels bad for the tenants and the situations they are in and tries to work with them. Sherrena is a kind-hearted person and does not like being taken advantage of. She says that she really cares about her tenants but “love does not pay the bills”. In the end, she ends up handing out eviction notices to two of her clients to let them know that she is about her business. 

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I buy a new car for the bitch (for real) I tear down the mall with the bitch (for real) You can't even talk to the bitch (no) She fucking with bosses and shit (oh God) I pull up in 'Rari's and shit, with choppers and Harley's and shit (for real) I be Gucci'd down, you wearing Lacoste and shit (bitch) Yeah, Moncler, yeah, fur came off of that, yeah (yeah) Triple homicide, put me in a chair, yeah (in jail) Triple cross the plug, we do not play fair, yeah (oh God) Got 'em tennis chains on and they real blingy (blingy) Draco make you do the chicken head like Chingy (Chingy) Walk in Neiman Marcus and I spend a light fifty (fifty) Please proceed with caution, shooters, they be right with me (21) Bad bitch, cute face and some nice titties Seventy-five hunnid on a Saint Laurent jacket (yeah) Bitch, be careful where you dumpin' your ashes (bitch) I ain't no sucker, I ain't cut for no action (nah) The skreets raised me, I'm a ho bastard (wild, wild, wild, wild) I bought a 'Rari just so I can go faster (skrrt) Niggas tryna copy me, they playin' catch up (21) I might pull up in a Ghost, no Casper (21) I been smoking gas and I got no asthma

Lyrics are from 21 Savage’s  -“Bank Account” 

I believe this song is relevant to what we are discussing. In the lyrics, he speaks about conspicuous consumption. He spends a lot of money on things that are going to show people how much money he has. He refers to spending a hefty amount of money on various things. He spends $7,500 on a Saint Laurent jacket, he dropped 50k in Neiman Marcus and buys a Ferrari. 

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The Story of OJ is trying to educate us to stop wasting our money on things that do not bring us wealth. Don't spend your money on clothing and cars. Rather invest your money in real estate and buy things that grow in value with time. He’s saying that African Americans do not make the best of their opportunities to benefit their family and their community, while the Jewish community is investing the money they make back into theirs. While Mos Def’s Got is about how people flaunt the expensive things they buy just to impress the other people around them and make themselves feel better about their lives.  They do not realize that the people around are envious of them. Some of those people are their close friends and family, who will do anything to better their own situation. If that means setting them up to get robbed or kill them.

I agree with Jay-z’s idea more than Mos Defs because Jay’s idea is about helping the community you live in. If we all were to pitch in and help build the communities we live in, we would most likely have better outcomes. Jay-z uses all three of the rhetoric appeals. He uses pathos by using the slang in the song and certain words that evoke some emotions. He uses logos by telling us about the painting that he bought for 1 million dollars that accumulated more wealth over a few years later was worth eight million. He was giving an example of how investing can help you financially.  They both clearly have personal experience with conspicuous consumption.

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Billionaire

Billionaire by Travis McCoy depicts a lifestyle most aspire to have. In society today, there is the significant value held in fortune and money. Essentially, possessing wealth can alleviate problems and establish a social status that makes one look desirable. In McCoy’s song, it is clear the lifestyle that money brings will make one happy. In the song, he wishes to share his fortune by adopting less fortunate children and helping the victims of hurricane Katrina, which in turn would help him become famous enough to meet Oprah, the president, and the queen. The Calvin and Hobbes comic strip “Walking Billboard” sheds light on the world of designer labels. In society today there is a great value to have labels. People spend thousands of dollars to look a certain way when they are really just walking advertisements. The strip makes it seem like it’s a waste of money for someone to pay a company just to advertise the merchandise for them. The “Money, Power or Fame” comic strip relates closely to Billionaire because having money gives you access to power which in turns gives you access to fame.

The communication methods used in the song and comic strips are more likely to be understood by everyone. Upbeat songs easily influence and reach millennials, unlike comic strips which are usually read in newspapers by older audiences. The topics are based off real-life problems that we have in society, that get looked over. By putting a melody or using animation, these severe problems can be understood easier.

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Gospel of Bling

The author is arguing that pastors are not taking care of their church communities and are slowly distorting the meaning of church. They are taking care of themselves and their families from the money that members of the church are donating. He says they should be trying to nurture and uplift the poor people in the communities that need assistance in the area. The pastors are giving out false hope to their congregations by telling them if they donate to the church, they will receive blessings from God. The author sees the influence of money as negative as greed for money and can cause people to forget the real reason for being part of the clergy. The author believes that the churches and leaders who are giving back to the communities should be recognized and rewarded for meeting the expectations of the community. The author also believes that the churches that are not giving back to the communities should not be identified, but should be ignored.

The rhetorical appeal ethos is used on the very first page at the top of the page, pathos and logos are also found in this piece. His experiences and credentials are listed on page one. The background information gives the author credibility on the subject and helps to back up his opinions and ideas. He’s a scholar in ethics, religions, and politics. The author uses pathos to connect to the less fortunate people in the communities that are affected by poverty. A lot of African American people can relate to being poor. Lastly, the author used logos throughout the whole article; he told us a story about how he visited the church of Rev. Creflo Dollar.

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Buy Yourself Less Stuff

Dunleavy is arguing the old saying “Money can’t buy happiness.” She refers to a sixty-year-old man named Steve, who really wanted to own a Jaguar XKE. Steve was convinced that if he had “the most beautiful car ever made” his life would be complete. So, he searched for the perfect pre-owned XKE that he could. He finally attained his dream, only to realize, later on, the vehicle did not bring joy. He soon realized that his dream car needed a consistent amount of work done to it, which started to become a burden financially. His love for the car was overshadowed by the constant maintenance cost. In the end, Steve realized that the substantial financial investment wasn’t worth it. He ended up selling the Jaguar and realized that it wasn’t worth the stress. Dunleavy’s point is to give people insight that the things we buy to make us happy, will not turn out how we think. Dunleavy recommends that if you want to upgrade your quality of life, you need to take control of your expenses. The reason she says this is so that you will be able to track exactly where most of your costs are going toward.  Keeping a journal full of the receipts, you get daily or using a money tracking tool is one of the ways that can help you. Then hopefully minimize your cost of living and save more money so you can use it for something that is more important to your financial wellbeing.

I understand the points the author makes in this article. She gives real-life situations that happened so that we could fully understand what she is trying to convey. I can relate to the author's claims about how people spend money to make them seem happy with their life. I have made quite a few purchases that I thought would improve my happiness, but in the end, they did not suffice. I thought by having the latest items, they would somehow make my life better, but they made my life more stressful. I bought things that were supposed to help me with a task but ended up being more of a nuisance than I had planned. In today’s world, everyone is on social media; they use social media to flaunt the expensive purchases that seem to make them happy. We see these posts; we think that if we were to have the same item, it would, in turn, make us as comfortable as they are. When in reality it’s not, we believe it will. I am glad to have read this article, and it reminds me that I need to keep my priorities straights. It’s a great idea to keep track of where your finances are going so you can pinpoint where things went wrong.  

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Money Intro Response

I believe that Kenneth Gillam’s idea about money being a “grand social contract” is right. You’re essentially born into a contract with money, and if you do not have a way to obtain it. You genuinely will not have a decent life.  Everyone in life needs money to survive. You have to continue making money for the rest of your life until you pass away.  A lot of people in the world only work certain jobs to bring in a high income of money to be able to afford the lifestyle they want.  What I took away from the passage is that money honestly does run our country.  “Governments spend money on the things they are obliged or expected to provide for their citizenry —things like education, infrastructure, and law enforcement — and they raise the money to pay for these things not just by taxation but by borrowing, both from their own citizens and from other countries.”  Money has also led our country into some pretty harsh times and unforeseen circumstances.  “The financial crisis that erupted in September 2008 has shown us that there are risks to locating the global economy quite so ethereally. By late 2008, as many have described, Wall Street was operating like a casino. When interest rates were low, people had gotten loans, but the banks who had provided them began to gamble on these promises.”

"None of us is entirely immune, and the consequences are significant, in large and small ways, for all of us." I agree with this entirely because no matter how far you make it financially you are always subject to experience a downfall whether that is going bankrupt or losing your finances to unforeseen circumstances. I  do agree with him when he says "I would not argue that money is evil." I believe that money is not an evil or good thing. I think that in the proper hand's money can aide us with a lot of things if done correctly and  In the wrong hands, it could bring great misfortune. I understand where the author is coming from when he says " We live in a world where a staggering unequal distribution of wealth among individuals may be seen as appropriate, as long as the wealth is earner within the ethics of capitalism. But such inequality is often replicated on the entire social structure so that poorer people get lower-functioning schools, more dangerous neighborhoods, and substandard healthcare. Questions of fairness and ethics quickly become much more complicated." It is not fair that because of someones financial status,  it gives them a better opportunity than others who are less fortunate. Everyone should be able to receive the same amount of healthcare, education, and somewhat decent housing. What is important is that in the end, we are all human beings, and we should all be able to access the same opportunities no matter what.