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 | 3 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 »

26. March 2009 by student.

South East MEP supports calls for new licensing of lapdance clubs

04 June 2008

Lapdance clubs should be reclassified as Sex Encounter Establishments to give local authorities more power to better protect the women that work in them, and to protect those who live or work nearby, said the South East’s Green MEP today.

Under current planning law, lapdance clubs are dealt with in the same category as coffee shops under what is called a Premises Licence. This means that the authorities must regard them as equal in nature to coffee shops, pubs or karaoke bars, and thus can do little to regulate them or provide worker protection which addresses the specific conditions of the workplace.

In a letter to the European Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, Dr Caroline Lucas highlighted the campaign by the Fawcett Society to reform the licensing laws and asked for its view on how the current law complies with EU directives on sex discrimination at work.

She said:

“With over 300 lapdance clubs already operating in the UK under little regulation, we must seek to protect those women who work in them, given the increased risks they face in such a sexualised workplace.

“It is absurd that an establishment which makes its income from the sexual objectification of women, in an adult entertainment industry which commercialises female sexuality - usually for male profit - can be established in any town or city in the same way as a coffee shop, with no additional provisions for worker safety.

“By renaming lapdance clubs as Sex Encounter Establishments and so regulating them under the Local Government Act 1982 alongside sex shops and sex cinemas, the UK government would effectively give more power to local authorities and communities to apply crucial conditions and make important decisions on, for example, how many lapdance clubs should be allowed in the area, the presence of ‘private booths’, and the required distance between performers and customers.

“Current practice also fails to protect those who pass through areas surrounding the clubs. People who live within 100-200m of a proposed lapdance club are permitted to raise objections, but as the Fawcett Society points out, this ignores the impact on women who work in or travel through the area. Research in the UK has found that areas around lapdance clubs can become ‘no-go’ areas for women, and the clubs themselves can become centres of criminal activity which could put the female workers at risk.

Dr Lucas continued: “The EU is founded on a number of key values which must be taken seriously by all Member states - one of which is gender equality in the workplace. I struggle to see how we have any chance of achieving equality between the sexes when such establishments are left unchecked.”

If you share widespread concerns about the proliferation of lapdance clubs in the UK and agree that they should be licensed as Sex Encounter Establishments, you can petition the Prime Minister before 17th July 2008.

To show your support for the campaign in the UK, write to your MP before 18th June asking them to support EDM 1375 and Roberta Blackman Woods’ 10 Minute Rule Bill calling for licensing reforms. You can download a draft letter from the Fawcett Society website.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »