Work, Language and Identity

Hey everyone– for Monday, please bring in TWO PRINTED COPIES of your rough draft! This should beat least  the first 400 words of your essay on art. The assignment sheet is re-posted below.

remember, you can write on a piece of art of your own choosing, and you can write in a genre of your choosing. Some of the genres we’ve discussed are:

1. The  review (This tells readers your opinion on the artwork, and whether they should see it/ listen to it/ watch it OR –importantly– think about it in a new way!)
2. The personal essay (This tells readers about your own experience with the art or artist. It ALSO should be important to your readers in some way!)
3. The informative or analysis essay (This tells the reader more about the artwork, and looks more deeply at a certain aspect of it–examining the lyrics, or the background of a video, for example.)
4. The argument essay (This takes a stance, not just on the artwork, but on a greater societal issue in which the artwork plays a part, such as the article about “This is America” being the new face of protest music.)

PLEASE NOTE! There can definitely be overlap!!! You might talk about your personal experience and then suggest your readers listen to Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue or you might argue that music these days is completely apathetic about political issues and make that argument by analyzing lyrics of a few contemporary songs, but you will be MORE in one genre of essay than the others.

Do one goal at a time (3)

Hey everyone– if you missed weds class, please see the assignment sheet below! It describes the final paper. Please note, I have changed the final deadline– it’s due Dec 10th now!

For homework, I’d like you to fill out the SOAPSTone worksheet (below) about your piece of art. This means you need to choose your artwork!!

Who is the SPEAKER_ What do we know about this person_ How do we know it_

 

Hi everyone! I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. For Monday, please print out , read and annotate the following two articles. READ BOTH!! Please also write, in your journals, a response of at least 250 words (total.) This response can be whatever you like: a difficulty paper, a poem, just your thoughts. You can write about what you like or don’t like about Hanif’s writing style, what you’re inspired by, whatever.

Abdurraquib Article One (Kendrick)

Abdurraquib Article Two (Zayn Malik)

 

Remember for Weds, your homework is to read and annotate the article on “This is America” you chose in class on Monday. Be prepared to explain it to someone who has not read it!

Do one goal at a time

Sonia Aktar

November 19th, 2018

Dr. Carrie Hall

English 1101

Revision Paper

“Why Don’t You Get It?”

(The Guardian)

What is “sexual harassment”? What is rape? How about catcalling? Do you understand how it feels to go through any of these things? In today’s world we constantly hear about individuals that claim they were victims. Maybe you went through something like it, but you don’t tell people about it. It has become so common that we have responses coming from all around the world.. We often don’t understand how someone feels going through it. Instead, we tend to question and blame the victim. We should be supportive to anyone who has gone through something like sexual harassment, rape, or catcalling. We should not question them or  their experience. It’s necessary to understand something very well before questioning it.

Sexual harassment has existed since the beginning of time. From when there were slaves to still existing in present day. African American slaves used to get raped by their owners. There was no legal laws to protect them. It wasn’t brought to attention until recently in many countries while other countries have recognized it while back. However this did not assure that these kinds of acts have stopped or decreased. It has been a worldwide issue for a very long time and it just has been getting worse and worse. The news we see on sexual harassment and rape just getting more depressing and disgusting as time goes by.

Women have finally been speaking out and telling their stories. We only know about it because these allegations are against our government officials or public figures. Not paying attention to these people speaking out can only affects our government systems and having the wrong people in power. If we ignore it, then people think it’s right for something like this to happen. Recently, President Donald Trump has nominated  judge Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court. Before the nomination, a women contacted the Washington Post with allegations of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh back in high school. Two other women have also accused him of the same. He denied these allegations, but there were many evidence that proves what these women were saying. These women were given the chance to tell the story, but people questioned them,

“Why are you coming out to tell your story now?”

Maybe they did report the problem when it happened but no one paid attention to it because it wasn’t against a powerful person, but now it is.

Or

“Why didn’t you do anything about it when it happened?”

My response to that is,

“Do you really understand what it’s like to go through that?!”

Maybe not! It might be that you never went through it, but it’s not right to ask a question like that? People think these women come out to with “stories” just to get attention and fame.

“Why on Earth would anyone want fame for being raped or sexually harassed?”

It takes so much courage to talk about being sexually harassed or raped in public where the whole world will know about it. These women have explained why they chose to speak out now, people still don’t seem to understand. FBI did go on with an investigation, but there is no result on that. It wasn’t worth it for these women to speak out because they didn’t want to tell the world, and they did not succeed in what they wanted as a response.

What about catcalling? Isn’t that something almost all women go through once in life. Some men do as well nowadays, but it’s not so common with men. It happens all the time with women. When someone says, “Look at that beautiful ass.” How does that feel? It definitely isn’t worse than being touched, but it isn’t something anyone would like. If you know how bad it feels to be catcalled, imagine being sexually harassed or raped. We still forget that and question people who go through it. How can we not understand how it feels? Sometimes I just think to myself that if the person who is harassing you or catcalling you, would understand how you feel than they most likely wouldn’t do it. If people put themselves in the shoes of the victim, they would better understand. Only someone who went through the same or similar understands you. The rest just either don’t understand or don’t care.

“Hey gorgeous, want a ride home?”

“You’re looking so fine today!”

“Can I get your number?”

 

Unfortunately, I have experienced catcalling so many times in my life till now, I can understand what it’s like to go through something like that. Something like sexual harassment and rape is on another level. It’s out of what I can imagine. People become mentally unstable and unhealthy. Catcalling is so common and it’s not something people talk about. It’s just not considered something that is a big problem because it doesn’t harm anyone, but it can lead to different consequences. It’s always important to do something about it before it’s too late. Everytime someone gets catcalled, they just walk away and ignore it. As soon as it’s over that’s the end of the story.  Sometimes when I get catcalled I just want to stop and just talk to that person to understand what they are thinking when they do this. I am so curious to know why they do what they do. I wanna ask them,

“Do you know how it is to be catcalled?”

“What would you do if you were in my place?”

“What do you get from doing this?”

“Why do you do it?”

“Did you ever go through this?”

“Doesn’t it make you feel disrespectful and disgusting to do this?”

 

When do we question things? When we don’t understand it. When we want to deny it. Don’t question until you fully understand something because then you wouldn’t even need to ask any questions. Asking certain type of questions is like blaming the victim for what happened to them. Being supportive and standing by someone is very helpful and something everyone should do. We can ask questions to a certain extent to help the person not to demotivate them. It’s not easy to go through these things in life and if people question you then it’s even more difficult. Let’s try and understand and support what’s right and whose right!

 

Works Cited

Gill, Gurvinder. “Catcalling: Women Write in Chalk to Stop Street Harassment.” BBC News, BBC, 2 July 2018, www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-43718034.

Golshan, Tara, and Li Zhou. “Where Brett Kavanaugh’s Senate Confirmation Process Stands.” Vox, Vox, 24 Sept. 2018, www.vox.com/2018/9/17/17869368/brett-kavanaugh-confirmation-sexual-assault-what-we-know.

Nolo. “The History of Sexual Harassment Law.” Www.employmentlawfirms.com, Nolo, 16 Sept. 2014,

www.employmentlawfirms.com/resources/employment/workplace-safety-and-health/sexual-harassment-law.htm.

Hi! To post your papers for this class, you will do so by adding a post to the website. I’ve made a quick video explaining how to do this HERE. Below, there are also links that explain the same process if my video doesn’t make sense to you. MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE YOURSELF SOME TIME TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO POST YOUR PAPER PROPERLY!!!

YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING SURE THIS WORKED! LOOK ON THE WEBSITE TO MAKE SURE YOUR POST WAS ACTUALLY PUBLISHED!!

If you want to write a Word Document with images and publish that, you may do so, but you will need to save it as a Pdf and upload it the same way you add an image in “add media.”  It may not initially look like you’ve uploaded the pdf properly on the draft if you choose this option. Publish it and check the website before you panic that it’s not working! Gifs and videos will not actually move if you choose this option! 

• ALL PAPERS MUST:
• Be posted on this website BEFORE CLASS BEGINS ON MONDAY. After that, they will be considered late.
• Include at least two images (gifs or videos count)
• Have proper in-text citation (look up “in-text citation MLA” on the Purdue OWL.) AND have a works cited page, which you can easily make on easybib.com
• Have at least 30% new material.
• It must be clear (preferrably at the top) what publication you’re writing for.
• For all other guidelines, see the actual assignment sheet (posted below.)

Here are the Open Lab instructions for writing a post and attaching images.

https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/blog/help/writing-a-post/

https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/blog/help/adding-images-to-your-site/

HERE IS THE ASSIGNMENT SHEET AGAIN, IN CASE YOU MISPLACED YOURS:

RevisionArticleAssignment18

Lansey Cerisier

Dr. Carrie Hall

English 1101

11/19/18

 

Why are you bugging out ? “You good”

 

There are kids fighting in distance, so much screaming and hollering. “BEAT THAT ASS SIS” or “NOBODY BETTER JUMP IN”. The typical events that happen in high school. After the fight is over a friend will usually ask their friend “you good?”and their respond back will be “yea I’m good”. It’s a weird way of asking someone if they’re okay but that’s just our way of talking. Born raised in Brooklyn, slang is like our second language. Throughout the streets you hear “you good” from adults, teens and old people. Particularly Flatbush where I’m from, we say it mostly everyday. Depending on your tone and face expression the way you say the phrase changes the meaning. New Yorkers tend to create new meanings from words they already use for example, the word mad describes someone’s emotions but New Yorkers also use it to describe an amount like “yo he’s mad tight”.

Why do people say “you good?” Instead of “okay?” my friends and I always say “you good” because I guess it’s more emphasis or we grew a habit of saying it. In many situations we use the phrase as a final thought

    Girl: Did you break the news?

    Best Friend: “Yes”, I can’t believe he’s cheating on me

   Girl: “You good?

   Best Friend: Hopefully

    It has the meaning of “Are you doing okay?” and how are you handling the news received. When having a heart to heart conversation our way of checking up on someone is asking “you good?”.

We wouldn’t really use this slang with everyone. If my boss was bugging out I wouldn’t say “you good?” I’ll probably get fired or maybe terminated. When it’s comes to adults, professors or bosses it shows a sign of disrespect. Now I know every kid wishes to talk to any adult figure like this but I do  agree it comes off rude. Our generation today expands the language of slang. You could say it’s a secret code us kids and teens use to communicate with each other. Slang is highly creative and shows that the English language is constantly evolving overtime. There’s so much more words that have been used constantly. Overtime words as dying, shade, the tea and wildin  have been used in different ways without us realizing we’re creating multiple meanings. As a new generation is born it adds new and creative slang to the culture.

Although this is said in my borough I always wanted to know who starting to say it from the jump. Maybe the phrase had one meaning and overtime we developed more. First place I heard it was Brooklyn but now a days not only do you hear it in New York but lots of other states. Down South “you good?” Is used more aggressive then how us New Yorkers use it in a sympathetic way. You may think did this phrase actually come from New York, well it did. People all over the world have admired, copied, and evolved their own version of the language. New York being it’s birthplace we put our spin and style to the phrase. By hearing the way I talk you’ll know off the bat I’m from B-R-O-O-K-L-Y-N. We talk loud, aggressive, sometimes sarcastic usually saying “You good?” In those tones speaking the way we do it’s our tradition you could say. I grew up with this phrase and not using it or having it in my vocabulary loses the purpose of using it. Being raised in Brooklyn I grew to love my home. I lived here all my life and grew a custom to the language and style. It all started in middle school and high school, we begin to use slang more and use it as shortcuts to get right to the point. From there our way of talking changed.

You know you’re not a real New Yorker if you never heard or used “you good” like are you living under a rock? We started all these crazy slang words that we say everyday. If this phrase was said to a stranger they’ll probably scrunch their face and look at you with confusion. It’s kinda funny really if you picture the scene in your head.

   Tourist: Walking and taking pictures of the famous red steps in Time Square all of sudden he falls.

    New Yorker: Yo man! “You good?”

    Tourist: Excuse me…

I mean come on, I would laugh too in my head just picturing their face and them thinking well why did he have to say it like that? It makes you eager on that the person meant either good or bad. As I said before slang is out second language, well for me the most. I say “you good” mostly all the time I might not notice it but I do. It’s apart of me and connecting to where I live my whole life. I go hard for my borough wouldn’t you ?! When you have seen Brooklyn and explore it you’ll make sure it’s represented right. Brooklyn is the best borough in my opinion. We bring life to dance , slang , and style. There’s beautiful street art in Williamsburg , a bridge to walk , many parks to visit and so much culture. Traveling to another borough suck as the Bronx I’ll feel out of place that I don’t belong there. Stand out as a sore thumb and wouldn’t blend in but in Brooklyn I fit right in. By the way we talk, dress, drag things to the max we are Brooklyn. Saying the phrase represents Brooklyn and the part I’m from Flatbush.

In many situations the phrase is said constantly but we can’t help but to say it. We may be judged by the way we talk but the sets us apart from everyone else. From first hand walking in my hood I just observe my surroundings. You could hear the loud noises from the cars and the conversations people hold. The choice of words they use and how they use it is why we have all these words. The way we express our emotions and use slang helps us to understand each other. There’s a better connection and vibe you’ll receive from one another.

My personality is shown more with how I talk and use this phrase. I could be sarcastic, worried, scared and a lot of emotions towards an event. “You good?” is self explanatory though it can be tricky if hor the person uses it. Over time a new word is created or a word is used constantly creating multiple meanings but do we know the origin of where it came from or why we say it everyday?

 

Work Cited

• Marer, Jennifer. “Here’s a List of Modern Slang Words that 2018 Teens Say.’’ 5 July.2018, entitymah.com
• Signore, John- Del. “ 100 Reasons Why Brooklyn Lives up To The Hype” 28 June.2011, gothamist.com
• Ferriss, Lucy. “Are You Good’’ 17 July.2012, chronicle.com
• Lankford, Kevin. “ Learning The Lingo: In NYC, You Good” Has At Least 8 Different Meanings’’ mymajicdc.com

“You Good? | Definition of You Good in English by Urban Dictionary. Urbandictionary.com/    definition/ “you good?’’

Brad Griffith

11/16/18

Prof. Carrie Hall

English Paper: Revision

The Fight for Control

*Tom and Jerry are having tea at Starbucks and 2 black people walk in and sit next to them

Brad: Yo bro still can’t believe I did that yesterday?

Matthew: I know I was surprised too, you really started wildin
Brad: Facts I was shooting shit up, you know I was on fire

Tom: Jerry, do you hear that?

Jerry: “Shooting shit up”, they’re definitely in a gang

Tom: We should call the police before we’re next

*5 minutes later

Officer Smith: Put your hands where I can see them

Brad: For what, what did we do?

Officer Johnson: We got a call saying you two may have committed murder

Brad: Murder? We were talking about a basketball game…

 

Slang takes back the control and forces people to hear what they once didn’t have to. But due to this, a new type of slavery has been invented where folks are literally scared to speak the way they want to. Before the constitution was amended and black people were still ¾ a human being, white people didn’t have to listen to a word we said. We weren’t allowed to speak unless spoken too and only do what we’re told. After the constitution was amended, people got more rights. Freedom of expression being one of them. However, when it comes to control, they’ll always be one party that fighting dirty.

To begin, how would you feel if during your whole life people have been pressuring you to express yourself in a certain way. From experience I can tell you it’s extremely annoying until the point where you feel like there’s no way out. I specifically remember middle school, where I had a teacher that was mean and extremely blunt. Back then my I hated writing because I didn’t know how to express myself on paper. One day we had an assignment due which I wrote mostly in slang because that’s what I was comfortable with. However, the teacher didn’t like my usage of slang and in front of the whole class explained why. She made me feel dumb because I didn’t know how to say the things she wanted to hear, rather I said the things I was comfortable with. Till this day I remember that because it reminds of a time where I always felt pressured to speak a certain way. Even in elementary, I had mainly white teachers so that pressure stayed with me for a while. Although, now I chose to express myself freely which is such a relief and I truly see why white people hated it so much. Slang sounds carefree but full of emotions which reminds white people that we’re free from the chains. Free to be our own person and strive to be the best that person can be. Which contradicts their view of us that we’re savages and ¾ human. Since we can now speak in our own “language” whenever we want, we seized control of their will over us and now bend it against them. The change hit a nerve so big that they mock us for being ourselves so we can feel ashamed and slowly revert back to being scared and dependent. Going from controlling our every whim to not being able to tell us how to speak really hurt them, so of course they’ll get mad and call us dumb for saying what we what because now we actually can.

Before we found our voices, racist didn’t have to do much to keep control because we were too scared to take it. Since we’ve taken it back racist decided to introduce a new type of slavery. The one where they try to suppress our tongue by installing fear through police brutality. Statistics on mappingpoliceviolence.org stats that a black person is 3x more likely to get killed by a police officer than a white person. It also states that in 2015 30% of the killed black victims were unarmed compared to only 21% of white people. More data coming from mic.com says that “Another Washington Post investigation from August found that black men — who constitute 6% of the nation’s population — account for 40% of the 60 unarmed people who had been fatally shot by police by that time”. Like I said before, with slang we have flipped the switch from being controlled to having it however, by doing so it amplified racists fears of black people. Therefore, they’re trying to punish us by keeping us terrified for our lives. The statistics show that most victims killed were unarmed so what good reason would police have other than to send a message. A message saying that we aren’t equals and the fight to gain control is a losing battle. Even protestors who rally against these horrible acts are beaten. The control we took with slang is literally being suppressed my bullets and batons.

All in all, even though slang allowed us to get back some of the freedoms that were supposed to given, the fight for control proved harder to face when the opponents aren’t just playing with words. What first was a fight for freedom of speech became a war for power and control over one another. Sooner than later everything changed back to black people running for their lives from white people trying to kill them. This time the whites have guns and are supposed to be protecting us. Furthermore, this proves how crucial slang is because it’s our guns. Slang provides us with the strength to do what we couldn’t before-take control.

 

 

Work Cited

Police Have Killed 852 People in 2018.” Mapping Police Violence, mappingpoliceviolence.org/.

“Mic | Breaking News, Opinion, Reviews, Analysis.” Mic, Mic Network Inc., mic.com/.

 

 

Anima Anowar

Dr. Carrie Hall

English 1101

11/18/18

In the New York Times under society debate sections, one of the debates were on “Blue collar or White Jobs? What’s the way to go.” One of the replies were from someone named Lillian Nakayima. She had a very dishonoring view on blue collar jobs. You start by saying “Ever imagined why people toil hard to go to school?….Definitely it’s because you want to get that “white collar job.” Yes, a job that will earn you all the public respect and fascinate everyone on hearing what you do.” I highly disagree not everyone goes to school thinking they “want to get that white collar job.” Not everyone’s mindset is like that, school is not for everyone. People do not look at education the same, we have different views and we all process things differently. You go on by saying “blue collar jobs will always be a secondary option; I should not be misunderstood if I term them jobs for failures.” Blue collar jobs are not a secondary option, they’re there for a reason. That comfortable chair you’re sitting in right now, while doing your office work was probably handcrafted by one of them. Blue collar jobs are most definitely not for failures, just like you’re good at your job, they’re great at theirs. The same amount of effort and hard work is put into both jobs. My community thinks more highly of white collar than blue collar jobs. My community involves immigrants from all over the world, this includes; (South) Asia, The Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. But I think biases towards blue collar work came from, where one originated from and from their environment.

My parents came from Bangladesh to give me and my siblings a better life and education in America. My father’s home country Bangladesh, there was a OP-1 Visa Program where you got to get your visas by lottery. Luckily in 1991, my father got chosen from the lottery and got to fly out to America. Later my father found a job in New York, he dealt with ice cream machines at Tasti D-Lite. I spoke to my father, and he enjoyed his job very much. The smile it brought face when having ice cream, made him happy. But along with this job, he had to come in early to make sure the ice cream machines were up and running, also that he had enough stock of certain ingredients, make sure things that needed to be replaced were replaced. He showed people ice-cream is the best way to celebrate or commiserate. You also mention “And why should one even opt for a job that is not guaranteed? While a white collar job comes with a contract, a designed salary and allowances, blue collar workers work for a daily meal. Their earning depends on seasons since they earn daily.” You want to bring up guarantee right? My father has been working there since 1997, it’s 2018 and he’s still working there. He has all the guarantee he needs in this world. Don’t we all work for a daily meal?

My father left Bangladesh because he lived a very hard life there. Most of the jobs consisted of blue collared jobs, and it wasn’t enough to feed his family. My parents only got to finish their education up to high school. And the education system in Bangladesh wasn’t worth it at that time. The main reason my parents came to America was to get more opportunities and to pursue the American Dream. The American Dream is achieved through sacrifice, risk-taking and hard work, not by chance. After eventually having me and my siblings their hopes and dream still till this day is that we become successful people, and that we don’t have to work as hard as them. And go through the struggles they went through. My community knows the struggle of leaving their home country to try and provide for their family. My parents did not come all the way to America so that their kids can work in the blue collar field and struggle the same way they did.

I think that the biases towards blue collar work came from our country and the community my parents or where they lived in. The blood, sweat, and tears put into blue collared jobs in my country was horrible. And some even resulted in deaths. My parents raised us so that way we learned from their struggles, and that blue collar work isn’t the way to go. If you become something in the white collar field, you’ll be living peacefully and won’t have so much to stress growing up. You’ll be making better money, and being able to do something that you want to do.

As times changed, people from my community were soon working in banks, and hospitals and etc. This set a example for others and showed that with a good education in America you can do anything, and that is why people from our community value white collar jobs so much. In my community, we value both but lead towards white collar because, blue collar reminds us where we came from but white collar shows us our future. Not everyone has the ability to recognize themselves unless they are given the opportunity. My father came here, and works hard every day, but still manages to stress himself out. Sometimes, it’s just not enough. Blue collar work didn’t allow you to move forward, it didn’t spark any type of hope that things will get better. To the people of our community it was more like, “I’m doing this job to provide for my family, and this way my kids will grow up to know how hard we worked and not have to do what we’re doing so they can live a better future.” To our community blue collar work felt like a liability they had to maintain.

College is not just a ticket to a “open” future, it’s a educational institution that targets and prepares you for the real world. Yes indeed, we do learn about a particular application but only towards the field we want to work in. Manual trades aren’t given little honor, or little value. To us blue collar jobs reminds us where we came from and pushes us to go beyond our capabilities. We don’t neglect it or bring people’s spirit down saying it’s “temporary.”

My community stresses working hard so much because of the environment they grew up in. Their opportunities were very limited, and had no choice but work hard where they came from and in the United States as well. To them blue collar work has always been the only choice. My community has definitely seen the different privileges between blue and white collar work. And this is why we lean towards white collared jobs. Next time don’t drag down a certain type of work, because of what you think. Everyone’s situation, capabilities, and opportunities are different.

Tumwebaze, Peterson. “Society Debate; Blue Collar or White Collar Jobs? What’s the Way to Go.” The New Times | Rwanda, 14 Jan. 2010, www.newtimes.co.rw/section/read/93579.

Erik Yan

Dr. Carrie Hall

 

What are noobs? Who are noobs? Why are you a noob?

The word “noob” maybe familiar to some but not everyone has heard of it. Noob has many ways of being written. Some of these alternative words are n00b, newbie, nuub, and nub. The word is quite widely used in the gaming community. The word noob is defined as “a person who has recently started a particular activity” (Merriam-Webster).  On Oxford dictionary, it is pretty similar but it is defined as “A person who is inexperienced in a particular sphere or activity, especially computing or the use of the Internet.” (Oxford Dictionary). Both definitions are similar with the basic idea that the word noob means beginner or someone who is inexperienced. I believe that I’ve spent enough time playing games to give a brief idea on how the word came to be and how it is used today.

The word noob came from the word newbie. The word newbie derived from the word newie, which was first used around the 1830s. It was used in the United States and Australia for a word meaning something or someone new (Digital Trends). The word newbie was also used in the military. It was used by United States troops during the Vietnam war to refer to a new person joining the squad. The word newbie started appearing on the internet around the 1980s while the word noob started appearing in the 1990s.

Gamers have been using the word noob as an insult in the gaming community. The word also has other meanings which aren’t in the dictionary, such as someone using a specific weapon or method that is easy to use and super effective which has led to gamers using the word noob as an insult. It is also used on another player when that said player is not doing too well in a game or doing poor, they might get called noob by some other players in or on the other team who may have had more experience in playing that game. Some gamers have kind of used another word with the same basic meaning of noob such as garbage or trash. Even with all the words gamers would use on each other, they all came from the word noob which kind of helped pioneer its way for those other words that gamers have used to insult one another.

The word noob should be changed from gamers using it as an insult to players, to players knowing and assisting beginner players in understanding the game. At one point in time, we have all been new and inexperienced to a certain activity. I don’t think someone should be criticized for not knowing what to do, I think we should help that said person in trying to improve instead of just talking shit to them and edging them away from the game they are trying to play. Noob mostly has a negative connotation and has been used to trash talk others. I remember when I first began playing the game Rainbow Six Siege, I was terrible at it. I did not know the spots of where the objectives are, I did not know any game tactics, I was just…a noob. I would get killed by people on my team or I would get voted out of the game all because of my level. People who looked at my level and saw that it was low, assumed that I was not a good player, which they are probably right, but instead of just trying to help me improve in the game, I don’t get I had to be punished for not knowing much about the game. The only way I learned to become better at the game was by watching Youtube videos and just getting more interested in trying to get good at the game. Even watching videos to try to get good at the game, it still took me like 3 months before I was like genuinely decent at the game. I don’t think every new beginner needs to watch Youtube videos to get better at a game, but I feel like a community can grow more when gamers are helping new gamers get accustomed to how that game is. It also helps build some new friendships and bonds. Instead of using the word noob to talk down about another gamer for being a beginner, we should instead try to help them get out of that “noob” phase in that game so that they can one day do the same to another new gamer getting into that game. There has been a time when I was playing Rainbow Six Siege with my friend Alex. We were playing a casual match and Alex and I had died in the first round. The last person left was a random player that we did not know and he was not doing things that, more experienced players would do, which made us start questioning his or her abilities to win the round. Suddenly, that random player died and we lost the round, Alex got super mad and started yelling “ WHAT THE FUCK BRO, THIS KID IS TRASH, WHAT LEVEL IS HE”. Alex checks his level and he saw that he was level 20 and he yelled “YO THIS KIDS A NOOB BRO, LETS VOTE HIM OUT”.  I replied to Alex “He’s level 20, just let him be, he just trying to get used to the game”. Everyone else voted to kick that player out but I voted no because I thought that the match we were playing would be good experience that would further help the beginning player improve and not become a noob. Gamers should be more accepting of new players because it is one way to help grow the gaming community and also grow the community for that certain game they are trying to get into. If gamers are able to change the way noob is interpreted and used, then we can change the negative connotation that the word noob has when brought up in the gaming community.

I think gamers can call beginner players names is probably because they are behind a screen and a username. This kind of makes it like when we are playing games, we are almost also putting on a persona which is not our true selves. For example, “Even if kids are nice in “real life,” the anonymity that is provided on online gaming platforms emboldens them to be able to act disgustingly. These bullies don’t understand that oftentimes, the harassing messages sent through cyberspace can have the same kind of impact on them as hurtful comments given in real life.” (Aaron). This shows how people probably just forget that there are people behind those players they speak to in games. The gamers calling others noob probably forget that the player they are calling noobs are just humans who are trying to understand the game.

In the day to day life, the friends I talk to all have played video games and know the word noob and what its implications are. The word noob has kind of been used in my everyday diction by me jokingly calling my friends noobs for doing some stupid thing. We use the word noob towards each other to almost indirectly say that they are not experienced enough for whatever the situation that I used the word in. When I use the word noob with friends, it is never taken super seriously because I know them personally and talk to them in person, not online or through a screen. Since online, we don’t get to see who we are playing with, it kind of doesn’t seem like we are offending someone.

Therefore, the we should be easier on noobs whenever we encounter one in our games. Instead of kicking them out of team killing them, as I have once experienced, we should allow them them understand and explore the game while the veteran players should be like a mentor to the beginning players. We need to understand that everyone behind the screen is still a person and that every person was once a noob.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Work Cited

• Aaron, Jesse. “Cyber-Bullying and Video Games.” VentureBeat, VentureBeat, 27 Sept. 2014, venturebeat.com/community/2014/09/26/cyber-bullying-and-video-games/.
• Hill, Simon. “Don’t Be A Noob, Find Out What The Word Really Means.” Digital Trends, Digital Trends, 21 Mar. 2015, digitaltrends.com/gaming/noob-newbie-word-origins/.
• “Newbie.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/newbie.
• “Noob | Definition of Noob in English by Oxford Dictionaries.” Oxford Dictionaries | English, Oxford Dictionaries, en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/noob.