It is difficult for some people to comprehend police brutality. For many, they accept the notion that a police officer is provoked and or is entitled to use brute force; moreover, if and when that force is used, it must have been justified. Therefore, it is almost impossible to understand someone wanting to take action (as in a lawsuit or criminal court case) against an officer who was simply “doing his/ her duty.” After all, if you were not doing anything wrong, why would you have to run or put up a fight? Therein lies a very large misunderstanding and thus enters in the multifarious nature of the social construction of race (Click here for another examination of the social construct of race).

continue reading

As a professor, I often try to impart life lessons, as well as subject-specific lessons, to my students. Many times, I think these are the most important parts of my job. It's not uncommon for me to have a "side bar" conversation that has nothing to do with marketing or management, but that I believe will make my students better employees in their future.

One topic of conversation has been an encouragement to monitor what students write (and let others write and post about them) on social networks. This is usually brought to mind when a student will send me a "friend request" and while I am happily their friend, I am  concerned with what they allow to be available to the world regarding who they are. I remind them that potential employers know how to "google" someone too, and that they want to make sure that their personal "brand" online is concurrent with what they hope to project. If they don't want potential employees to think of themselves as irresponsible partyers, its probably a good idea to remove those pictures that convey this. While it's commonly accepted that the Internet lowers people's inhibitions because there is the perception of anonymity, this facade is quickly shattered when people experience the very real damage that can come from a mismanaged online reputation.

continue reading

                Does consumerism have a cost?  We could talk about the environment. We could look at the UN’s recent study that showed, between 1954 and 2004, 80% of the world’s population became poorer, and 20% became wealthier. We could look at Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and how marketing always pushes consumers to the two lowest levels of need (safety and belonging), and then wonder about how that constant push messes with our minds, our faith, and our relationships. In Evangelical circles, “spiritual warfare” is often defined as God blessing us with stuff (“God blessed me with a new car!”) and the Devil busily taking stuff away (“I’m being attacked! I’m going to lose my house!”). We pursue oil in Iraq to fuel our SUV’s, as part of a moral crusade (“battling Evil”).

continue reading