8:50 a.m. | 2004-03-16
"I'm A Fool For Distraction, Can't Keep Cool Through My Action"
So a week or so ago in sociology they passed out crayons. Lots of crayons, two crayons, a few crayons. Then they passes out pieces of a coloring book. Ok, I got to color, I loved that, but again, my sociology teacher thought my reaction to this issue was worthy to read to the class. And because, shit, I think after I get out of the shower at 7 am and bust out a paper in 3 minutes...it can be good stuff.
So, without further ado, I give you your intellectual thought for the day:
When it comes to the Crayon Theory I think I offer something, well, different. I was brought up in a family that was founded on something a very small percentage of the population has.
In general, most people accept what crayons they�re handed. They get a bag of 3? They keep a bag of three. Neither my father nor my mother were this type of person. My father especially. He would not only challenge his bag of three, he would fight for as much as he could.
It�s plausible to say that crayons were what made him happy, not the simpler joys in life, but that is not at issue today. My father was one of the few that came from a poor family (spam and all) in a rural town in Indiana and who worked his own way to the top, with his own education and his own perseverance and his own talent. He today holds the Vice President position of the top environmental testing center in the west (primarily used by the Department of Defense for things like Los Alamos).
He was handed a bag of three, two even, and he didn�t happily color along with them, he fought as much as he could until he could get his hands on more crayons, enough crayons to make him happy so that now his 80 hour work weeks have turned to your average 40 (never being paid overtime as he worked those 80�s).
There�s a more psychological problem with the Crayon Theory versus true social stratification. We were dealing with a small group, once comprised of many middle class to rich white family�s children. They saw the crayons be passed out, in life crayons aren�t �passed out� but rather designated and picked for you by your parents before your birth.
That is not to say, though, that there are no inequalities. It�s true that there are some situations my father was automatically passed out of. He was white. He had a general intelligence that allowed him to get through the education system with a PhD. I don�t think it strains the Crayon Theory that much, though, simply adds one more small variable that needs to be accounted for. Drive.
Go daddy go. I wanna be like my daddy when I grow up, only nicer to my kids and those I love.
Signing off--Lauren
