No Cap

The culture of the Naciremas continue to pique the interest of anthropologists around the world. Their unique social structures are unlike any other observed culture yet. In their market based economy the Nacimeras hold signs of wealth in a high regard. They have an entire subculture dedicated around their material wealth, with their vehicles representing their social standings. They view it as a competition, to see how lavish or high tech they can go. There’s also a large emphasis on their garments which reach exorbitant prices, depending on what name is written on the garment. In fact while I was studying them, I realized that they would be willing to pay a much higher price simply because of the highly respected shaman who makes them.

Reading “I want a wife” raised an interesting question to me. What if I wrote the same essay for my parents. It made me think, I want a parent. I want a parent who cleans my room and does my laundry. I want a parent that lets my go where I want and stay out past curfew but not question me about who I’m with. I want a parent who doesn't expect me to do the dishes, or not stay up too late. I want a perfect parent. But on the flip side, I’m sure my parents want a son. They want a son who tells them exactly where he goes. A son who stays home for dinner and comes home before curfew. They want a son who does what they ask exactly when they ask; like the dishes or laundry. They want a perfect son. One of the biggest takeaways I got from reading the essay was how much of a double standard that people hold for the people around them. We feel that others owe us a service that most of the time we don’t even want to offer to them.

In ‘Disability’ by Nancy Mairs, the author talks about the different ways she can relate to people in society, and how she isn’t different from other people who tend to look down on her. Using words such as “crippled”, “multiple sclerosis”, “illness-of-the-week”, and “disabled” invoke strong emotion on the reader since those are words that they would only think of, not actually say to a disabled person. She also says “ours is the only minority you can join involuntarily, without warning, at any time” (Mairs 3). By doing this, she builds pathos with the reader, since Mairs was obviously unprepared to be diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Mairs also heavily criticizes the media for helping this stereotype take shape since their portrayal of a disabled woman escaping her problems was stopped by a “young, fit doctor” and into his “manly, protective embrace” (Mairs 2). By doing this, Mairs is showing how people can easily stop the dreams of others and can take control of them as they ple...