31. March 2009 by student.

A few days ago i was confronted with several birthday parties. Now what does this have to do with anything? Well as i was at these parties, i thought to myself “What does friendship mean to people and why was I invited to this person’s birthday party?” The reality is that some people invite you to a party just to be nice, and others are genuine friends that truly do care about you and the friendship that is existent.  But why do people do this and act like this?I think that it is because of how we are raised to be respectful of one another from our family values and beliefs. But how does this explain the quasi friends that invite people to things, or are just nice because they don’t want to hurt you, but the problem may not be with you, it may be with in the person who is trying to befriend you. This person may have personal issues from their past that forces them to act the way that they do.Some, if not most, have a personal past that is full of hatred and fear of friendships, because they them self have been effected by fake friendships. They hated the feeling that it made them and swore against making anyone else feel the way that they did. As an effect, the person acts friendly toward you and invite you to places so you don’t feel excluded for a friendship. So the next time that you are out with a friend, ask yourself if it is true, ask yourself if your friendships with others are true, but most of all be yourself around people. Don’t be afraid to be yourself and DONT ever fell that you MUST fit the normal mold of society!

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30. March 2009 by student.

Should we take action on climate change? ……. My teacher made a great scientific argument that I though I would share….I think he got this idea online.. It’s an activity. O.K. Let’s just assume that we don’t know if climate change is the real deal or not. If we don’t know if climate change is real or not then we have four possible futures. These futures are based on whether climate change happened or not and whether or not we took action. It would be best to view this with a table (not a kitchen table…a rows and columns table). It’s really easy…Make a table with two rows and two columns. (it should look like a big square split into four equal sized squares)…. Label row one ”climate change real” and row two ”climate change not real”.  now label column one “took action” and column two “didn’t take action”. Where the rows and columns meet there will be a consequence. Fill in the consequences for yourself. After you complete your chart picture yourself gambling on which would be a better outcome for the human race. Taking action or not.  Remember we can’t choose our future but we can choose what action we take.

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29. March 2009 by student.

Abortion, something that has been talked about for years now. It was even brought up in the presidential election. People have been going back and for on this matter and the churches have been coming in as well. From what I have seen, there is pro-choice and pro-life, two topics that make you choose what to do. Most churches are pro-life, they see a life that they could get into thier church and get money from. Other churches like pro-choice, a person can use if they want the child or not.

I was reading an article in the New York Times talking about how in Brazil, a nine year old girl was raped by her step-father and aborted twins. The nation is in a up-roar about it, but the doctors say that there has been a lot more of these cases happening over the years.

I’m not against churches.  believe that everyone has there choice on what they want oto belief and in the bible it says God gave of free will to choose. So, isn’t abortion something we should choose on.

Reading this article, I came across what the a Brazilian archbishop said about this, I was in shock. “The law of God is above any human law,” said José Cardoso Sobrinho, the archbishop, who argued that while rape was bad, abortion was even worse.”

So, does that mean that rape is okay as long as the female does get an abortion even if she is under 12? What has society come to? There was a time when abortion was against the law and girl/woman still got them, even at the risk of their own lives. In the movie, “Dirty Dancing”, one of the dancers got pregent and had to get rid of the child or she wouldn’t be able to work. She almost died, because the person who did the abortion didn’t know what he was doing and just wanted the money.

So, will we become a society where is it okay to get raped as long as you don’t get an abortion, where young girl have to face life with a child they don’t want, who will not understand why its mother hates him/her or will be a society where it is wrong to rape anyone and it isn’t looked on to get an abortion, weather it was a rape case or the mother knows that she can’t raise the child the way things are. I choose the second choice. What about you? 

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29. March 2009 by student.

As I sat and listened to presentations regarding the adult entertainment business in the local community, some presentations more serious than others, the obvious controversy regarding this topic was apparent in the retroaction of various students. Some could barely speak on the subject, some who did speak felt the need to choose their words wisely and carefully, while others were very open and blunt; and some chose to leave the discussion altogether, finding it in poor taste and an assault on their moral values.

The puritan philosophies on which this country was founded on nearly four hundred years ago still influences the open discussion (or lack thereof) regarding sex in this country. To this day, sex is spoken of in whispers and under-tones, and usually only with those of the same sex who are closest to us, and then it is spoken in some sort of code as if we were trying to prevent some national secret from being exploited. Many decry an open discussion of sex among people claiming that it is a topic that should be spoken of privately, yet, for many it is even a taboo subject with their own partner in the privacy and sanctity of their own bedroom for fear of being seen as, or perceived as, being perverted and looked upon with disdain. And still month after month, year after year, decade after decade, women’s magazines (and more recently men’s magazines), marriage and family counselors, even the clergy, have openly counseled men and women to speak with one another – in detail – regarding each others sexual wants, needs, and appetites in order to have a more harmonious relationship. But, for the most part, we don’t.

What do we have to fear by discussing sex with one another? Monikers. A man speaks openly of his sexual predilections and he is castigated as a pig, a dog, a man-whore. Women’s monikers are worse ranging from whore and slut, to bitch or prude. We as a society have been conditioned from birth to say and do those things that meet with the approval of those around us, from our family and closest friends, to society at large (hence the cornerstone of the “PC” movement). The mere mention of a subject that could be perceived as controversial – and not just this discussion – is tip-toed around so delicately so as to not step on anyone’s toes, or ruffle anyone’s feathers. It’s ridiculous. Lord forbid that an individual think independently and have his or her own opinions, regardless of how contrary they may be to society’s norms, all from fear of being labeled as some sort of outcast.

What is the solution? Only by embracing a mindset that directly repudiates the teachings in this country over the past four hundred years will we truly see this country embrace and accept a fully open dialogue of not only human sexuality, but all subjects that may seem offensive or contemptible that lingers on the fringe of human perception. Man is not logical and his intellectual history is a record of mental reserves and compromises. He hangs on to what he can in his old beliefs even when he is compelled to surrender their logical basis. (John Dewey).

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28. March 2009 by student.

I served tables for four years while making my way through high school and the beginning of my college career. I established regular clientele, two of which were a married couple that had moved to
South Florida to begin a peaceful retirement. Only, from my point of view, their retirement didn’t look so peaceful. Every time they came into the restaurant, they were greeted with stares and dropped jaws. The husband looked like your typical aging Baby Boomer, with graying hair and bifocal lenses. However, his wife was another story. She had a shaved head, and was covered almost head-to-toe in thick tattooed markings that resembled some form of tribal art. To see a woman styled in such a masculine way was shocking. As I got to know the couple, they shared with me that they had moved from
New York City. They were not degenerates, social outcasts, or dead-beats of any kind, as the other patrons in the restaurant assumed. The wife was actually the recently retired CEO of a successful company, and had worn a wig and a business suit to work every day for decades. None of her colleagues had ever witnessed her choice in appearance reserved for her personal time, and had the utmost respect for their conservative peer. Little did they know…

I think that it says a lot about today’s society when a person finds it necessary to cover up all tattoos to such a great extent, but I don’t blame her for choosing that deception. I have many friends that have decided to express themselves through body art to a great extent, and I never fail to notice and become slightly uncomfortable when the stares described above are aimed in my direction. I think this should change. Hair color, cut, clothing style, the adornment of jewelry: all of these are socially-acceptable ways to express one’s individuality. Why should tattoos be any different? Ink markings don’t affect a person’s ability to think or act as a rational, moral being. In our society, we are continuously told and conditioned from childhood to not judge “books” by their “covers”. Visual perception is not an accurate representation of a person’s worth, and that includes not only factors like race and gender. This open attitude should also apply to choices of clothing or the presence and design of tattoos. I would like to believe we are truly interested in a person’s abilities and personality over appearance, but I fear that is not the case. What kind of a hypocritical society are we living in?

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28. March 2009 by student.

The GIVE ACT H.R 1388, has just passed the Senate and the House; All that remains is the signature of Obama himself.

Under these circumstances ALL college students, men and women, will be forced to join one of Americorps slots. This will mean that they will have to do 100+ hours of service AND they will have to do 3-4 months of military training.

In my previous post about how Obama can be linked to Hitler, I have recieved logical questions and idiotic responses such as:

“how is Hilter like Obama?”

A: He is making a civilian task force which will be… “just as well funded, just as strong, and just as powerful…” as our military. It will cost about 6 Billion Dollars to Start, and it will increase 250,000 slots per year in Americorp. Hitler did the same exact thing, but instead of making them full-military, he recruited Hitler’s Youth as a Cub Scout like program. Then he took ANY Hitler’s youth that wished to join the war, which at the time was their only option, they would be paid more. THIS IS THE SPEC’S.

Anyone who claims that this is NOT what Hitler did, does not know about Hitler’s Youth obviously. There has been numerous amounts of people who had been in the Hitler’s youth, that have came out and said things like “they made me join,” or “…it was our only option at the time.”  RESEARCH IS KEY IN ANY DEBATE.

“You’re an idiot, he wants to end the war not start a new one”

A: He does want to end wars. This is not about WAR, this is about making us all MILITARY FRIENDLY, so that we can “approach the 21st century with our heads up”~ Obama.  Also, when the call of War arises, he can pull our files, see which of us had MILITARY TRAINING and be FAST TRACKED into our destination.

But all of them chose to question it, no one believed it. So that’s fine, here I’m going to ASK not tell you about it.

Name: GIVE ACT (H.R 1388)

Description: Mandatory Civilian Task Force

All I’m asking is that you read it, if not for yourself,but to enlighten others on it.

America is built on a belief. The belief of freedom, governed by the First Amendment and the Constitution.  If our freedoms are stripped from us, and we are FORCED by the Government to do something, does that still mean this is America? Or by that logic does it mean that we have driven far from the original beliefs of America.

I want to know your opinion on this Civilian Task Force. Please share.

Do not post about how idiotic you may find me to be. That’s fine and all, but take the time out of your day (1O MINUTES) to view the SPEECHES of Obama himself. Then the LINKS I will post, which are CREDIBLE, because they’re links to the BILL itself.

After watching these videos and reading the site, think about these quotes:

“We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we’ve set.  We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded.” ~ Obama in his Colorado Springs Speech 2008.

“If one of us goes to war, we all go.”  ~Obama in his Colorado Springs Speech 2008

‘civilian national security force would ‘deploy alongside the military, if needed.” ~Obama WEBSITE

“I will not put these civilians into HARMS WAY unless…during acts of war” ~Obama, Colorado Springs 2008

All of these quotes are FROM Obama himself. 3 of which are in the first video I placed. ENJOY

LINKS:

http://www.rightpundits.com/?p=3581

Describes the Bill with an OPEN MIND.

—————————————–

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Df2p6867_pw

Obama himself TELLING the people of Colorado Springs, what he believes should be a reality.

—————————————-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfGNgacysHg&eurl=http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0109/Organizing_for_America.html

Organizing for America By Barack Obama.  Describes HOW we can all become organized by joining his ELITE TASK FORCE.

—————————————-

Posted in Social Problems, Introduction to Sociology, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

27. March 2009 by student.

I’ve been reading Newsweek and the very last page of the magizane,  they talk about No Child Left Behind and Arne Duncan, the new Secretary of Education. He has spent seven years leading Chicago’s public schools and he has some good ideas, but Duncan thinks that time and talent make schools effective. That maybe true, but what the children that have to take a thirty minute or more bus ride to even go to school, that takes time away for the student.

Many poeple ask, “Why can’t the student go to a closer school?” Well, the problem with that is School Choice. School picks your school by random by district. I could have gone to Leehigh High School, but they said I had to go to RiverDale. What I didn’t get was why my friend who lives next door to RiverDale had to go to Dunbar.

Duncan wants to take out the “bad teachers”, who are the ones that are retairing and old and put in new teachers. About 10,000 “bad teachers” will be replaced by new teachers. Not all the bad teachers are old, they can bring in some of the things they have seen in the world that may not be seen today. Most of us may not see a big war like World War II, and when WWII is being taught that exprience can be told to the students.

Now telent, what does he think telent is? He is talking about sport telent, writing/reading or math telent? These are big things and they play a lot in a students’ live. How do you judge telent? Is the Fcat and other simailar tests going to test that?

But what if the child doesn’t pass and can’t get the help he/she needs, does that child get pushed aside for other? This is a big question. A child could fail all of the Fcats and still can do good in class. That’s when society says that they are bad test takers, and leave at that or say that he/she is mildly retarded. This is not true, one can do badly on the Fcats and still be a good test taker.

How about we change the rulers a little? What if we make schools closer to student’s homes, where time and gas could be saved. Have classes and programs to help the child(ren) if they having trouble with these tests? Then that child can show he’she has telent and show how wrong the schooling was.

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 1 Comment »

27. March 2009 by student.

I was raised Roman Catholic and I have attended Catholic schools for my entire life.  Every year at school I have had the idea that abortion is taking the life of another human being engraved into my head over and over again.  This year is actually the first year I have attended a public school and because I have been secluded in my little Catholic world my whole life it has been shocking hearing about many girls here getting abortions.  Because of this I have paid much more attention to the subject and have tried to look at the pro life vs. pro choice arguments from both sides.  I have tried to see each angle of the subject but I just can’t seem to get any sense out of most pro choice arguements.  Now this is probly because my faith and the way that I was brought up made me a strong believer in pro life.  I, myself, believe that abortion is murder and it is crazy to me that something so terrible can take place legally in the country we live in.  I strongly believe that the fact that abortions are taking place in this country is a huge social problem that we have. 

When trying to make sense of how abortion is legal I came across many lists of arguements that pro choice supporters have made.  Now I have seen many reasons (none, I might add, that are excuesable for taking an human life) why people think that abortion should be legal, but it would take a 100 page paper to go through them all.  There was one that caught my eye though just because of how much trouble I had trying to make sense of it.  I found it on a summary of pro choice arguements written by Jay Johanson.  One of the arguements Jay described states, “No one can be sure when human life really begins. As long as there is doubt, as long as we cannot be sure that abortion is killing a human being, it is a morally acceptable option.”  I read this and i couldn’t believe that people could think this way.  If there is any chance that you are taking a human life when getting an abortion it should not be allowed to happen.  Human life is too sacred.  That arguement is like saying that if you are out hunting and you see a rustling in a bush then it is morally acceptable to shoot even though you are not sure if it is a deer or another hunter.  Some of the arguements that I have seen are just crazy to me.

The reason that I am writing this blog is because I saw it as a good opportunity to receive more insight on the subject from people who were brought up differently than myself.  It is hard to understand reasoning from reading online articles and I would much rather hear the views of the people I am surrounded by each day.  I would like someone to respond to this blog so that I can learn more and further try to understand the other side of this arguement.  I apologize if this blog has offended anybody but these are my beliefs and I do not look down upon others for theirs.

Posted in Social Problems | 2 Comments »

26. March 2009 by student.

I hope this title don’t offense too much people. This is actually the first time I ask this question without being sarcastic.

I always thought that because of the globalization, one has to know as much as possible about the world. I am from Niger, Africa, a developing country, and despite of that I know more about the “world” than a big majority of the American. In fact even though the level of alphabetisation is way higher in US, anyone who got an education in my country knows more than a normal American student. The fact that Niger has been colonized by the French therefore every Nigerien who ever he/she is will be influenced by the french culture if that person has access to any media.

 When you go in France, for example, people are everyday influenced by African culture. However when I came to USA the first question most people ask me is: “do you have wild animals running around?” or “do you have electricity in Africa?” If I were to answer this questions without thinking my response would be: “For real?!! What kind of cretin are you to ask me that?” I used to get mad and ask myself what kind of idiotic people live in this country? Don’t they know anything about anything else than their country? How can you see me use a cellphone, a computer and all that technology and ask me if I have that where I come from?! All I could think about is how this was a big problem for this country; someone need to do something about that. Make them realize that there is something else outside of US, a whole world!

For me it was a BIG problem, no one should be allowed to be so ignorant about the rest of the world. But then Mr Andoscia made a remarque that made me think. He said, playing the devil’s advocate, like he often does to prove a point*: “We are America, we have everything, we are the best in the world, why should we care about the rest of the world?!” This is where all my conviction and my judging hit a wall! Why should American care about the rest of the world when they have everything at home?

Personally I think that everything that goes up will come back down. One day US will no more be the first, China will be, or Europe, or even maybe an African country (miracles are not impossible :P!)?

But what do you Americans think about that? Is it really a problem for you not to know the rest of the world while the rest of the world knows about you?

*it might not have been his EXACT words but it sounded a lot like that!

Posted in Social Problems | 2 Comments »

26. March 2009 by student.

Before all this
life was simple.
I was shy,
quiet.
Silence was
safest.
I had no friends
spoke: when spoken to
and hid..

vanishing
before your eyes.

I couldn’t
understand the
hurt.
Couldn’t define
the pain.
So I repressed it
over months,
years,
and then it hit.
I was out of control
seeing how long I could
starve

how deep I could cut.
Weather it was dressing
the most obscene
Rebelling everything and
nothing
and at the same time
rebelling against
the past I didn’t
understand.
I’m a slave to
a monster
his name i do
not know
but when we meet
I recognize his
twisted smile
a heart of ice
but a rush
that burns
through.

veins start
to melt
body starts
to fall
you start to fall.
Somewhere in between
euphoria
and
peace.
It’s here…
I’m most alive
here the demons
are gone
the soul is free
the mind lost
in innocent
thought.
I laugh
a smile so
genuine
“this is how
it would be you whisper”
had I ran the other way
It’s been years now.
I remember running
toward him,
jumping into his
arms
telling me to take me
far away.
The Monster
never tells you how
long the ride is,
or if you’ll get off.
He forgets to remind you
that you will,
eventually,
loose everything.
you are a salve
to the monster

motivated by his ways
captivated by the

illusion
week by week
you feel it
the loss
the lies
the irreplaceable
and you sit
and you cry
because you never meant
for it to end like this
either.
And pain resurfaces
and you pull out
a razor
carving in expression
pouring out quilt
nothing cures
the unwilling
so line after line,
shot after shot
you pray for some peace,
but soon you realize
it’s not a game anymore
that you are not having fun
and it’s killing you
reality hits
you are a junkie
filling it’s role
slaved.
Memory is all that
will save you.
When your high
your realize
the girl you’d
be if you let go…
forgave yourself,
your past
the mistakes…

but instead of fix
the problems
you chase danger
like a bullet to the head.
You speed toward destruction
with one exit in mind,
its not till late at night
when the high slowly fades
alone with your thoughts
wondering
you pray for the answer
It’s right there
in front of you
it’s the moment you
flush the dope
drop the syringe
and leave the pipe.
They say it’s hard
at first
but if you don’t
it’s going to be hard

forever.

I was walking through an empty building one night, when i came across a sheet of paper. written on the paper was what looked like a poem; I read it, It was so different I read it again. I know it’s not exactly a sociological topic, and more abstract but I felt my thoughts on the topic would consider to be. First off I decided to leave the page there, not only because it wasn’t mine but because i wanted someone else to read it, and hear the story. Maybe it wasn’t familiar just to me, maybe a lot of people share the same story, maybe people that aren’t brave enough to wear it on their sleeve. Maybe that’s why the author left it there, maybe she saw it as to vulnerable, maybe she, like the rest of us couldn’t handle the truth. But i’d rather think after writing it she understood from letting it out, that the next right thing was clear, and from then on out it was obvious how to live on the straight and narrow. However although there was no author nor no way of knowing who she was, it made the whole thing more intriguing. Knowing she could be anybody walking campus, that was the best part, the biggest lesson I got that night. I realized you don’t have to know someone specifically, to know that others out their struggle, and the ones you believe have it together, are the very ones that are falling apart. It tells you not to judge, and encourages you to care, because although you might not be struggling with putting a needle in your arm, but the girl next to you in class might. The world comes with problems, but you have to deal, and whatever you decide is your decision couldn’t can’t change anyone if you’d like, and I think that’s the hardest part.

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 1 Comment »