8. April 2009 by student.

                        Everyone knows suicide bombers as evil individuals who have nothing on their mine but causing havoc on other humans. They are considered evil tyrants in the United States ever since September eleventh. I agree that they should be stopped, but no one has really looked at their side of the situation. Most of these men are desperate and slaves of a society that look down on America. They are taught since they were little boys to hate the United States, and they are put through physically and mentally vigorous training camps for terrorism. Most of these individuals don’t have a choice on whether they want to go through with everything.   Most of us  would look upon suicide bombers as crazy insane lunatics. This is looking at these people only in one way though. If you think about it, and realize how cruel and strict their background is, you would realize that these people are brain washed into doing these unimaginable things. If a regular Iraqi boy were to live here in the United States, and grow up here he would be exactly like us. There is no distinct difference between the two people, just a difference in the environment they live in. 

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8. April 2009 by student.

As I was interested in reading an article from The New York Times, about Exercising and its’ benefits, there is more than you think. Exercise does not only help you lose weight but it boosts your mood, lowers your cholesterol/blood pressure. With just a simple 20-30 minute walk a day can reduce your risk for being diagnosed with diabetes. You could even manage it, for instance, walk 10 minutes then rest and walk 15 more minutes later on in the day. It was even stated in the article that it is shown proven that the hard workers actually end up losing less weight than the people who moderately work out. Heart disease, colon, and breast cancer are also minimized effects from exercising regularly. I think its’ kind of funny that one 20 minute walk could prevent such horrible defects to one life. After reading that article, it makes me open my eyes to new priorities.

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8. April 2009 by student.

I’ve already posted a comment and blog that had somewhat to do with our environment being taken for granted. We have something beautiful here on earth, and its about time we step up to the plate and do something to give back to it, and keep it healthy. Have you ever imagined the amount of plastic used and wasted everyday for groceries? What about the amount of paper used every year for school alone? Its tremendous!!! From the amount of plastic drinking bottles, to the amount of new clothes we buy. The materials and actions that go into making these things that we “need” are incredible. We need to learn to be a little more conscious of the things we “need” and a little more thoughtful and creative of how we go about getting these things. In this blog I’ve included some helpful ways of being a little more conscious and environmentally friendly when you are out and about!1)When you go shopping bring your own reusable bags or get paper bags. The paper bags are collected on recycling pick-up day.2) When you go out to dinner, remember to bring a to-go container in case you don’t finish your meal.3) When you wash your hands, don’t use a paper towel. Either carry a cloth one with you or use your pants.4) Try buying pasta, cereal, snacks, rice, and such in bulk. This saves alot of packaging. You can also reuse the plastic bags for more bulk goods the next time you go.5) When you get coffee, tea, or soda to go, always have your own cup. You can decorate it anyway you want it, that way you wont forget it! 6) Don’t forget about reducing and reusing, too. Reuse old spaghetti jars for drinking glasses and butter tubs for to-go containers. Watch what you buy. Try not to buy products with too much packaging, that just means more to recycle in the long run.7) Support locals, not corporate. Go to the farmers market for veggies and fruits. Try to find your local “dented can store” for some other food. They usually sell perfectly good out dated food for cheap. ( in ft.myers its called Liquidation outlet, located on 41 near the edison mall.)8) When you don’t want something anymore try a yardsale, and if that fails then just put it at the end of your driveway for someone else to come along and take it. You can also try consignment shops or possibly craigslist.9) Try to NEVER waste food. Don’t order more than you can eat. Don’t buy more than you can eat from a grocery store. Make sure nothing spoils. Hopefully this helps. Its all pretty easy, and there is a ton of other things you can do to help and do your part here on earth.  Here is an interesting fact to end on- Top 5 foods thrown away by U.S. consumers because of spoilage: 58% is fresh vegetables and bagged salad, 49% is fresh fruit, 48% is bread, 29% is milk,yogurt, and cheese, and 19% is pre-packaged sandwich meats,hotdogs, and bacon. 

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8. April 2009 by student.

Would your opinion change on the death penalty if your best friend was murdered?

Prior to my sister-n-law’s best friend being murder in 2005 I used to not support the death penalty.  I used to believe that there were innocent people sent to prison for murder every day.  Those that have been sitting on death row for a while might have not had the opportunity to have DNA evidence to help prove their innocence.  Also maybe their witness testimony was not truthful or their might have been new evidence that was found to support their innocence.

However, once the situation becomes real to you, you stop and think about it. How could this of happened to someone I know?  Why are individuals sometimes let go so easily after being found guilty?

            In my sister-n-law’s case, the person who murdered her best friend, had been recently released from a federal prison in Texas for a very similar crime, taking someone he knew hostage.  He had only been out of prison for approximately 10 months when he came to Ohio and moved in with his current girlfriend.  On this particular night, he became angered and pulled out a shot gun from his locked gun safe in his home and shot his girlfriend and her seven year old son.  He then ran from police through the woods and showed up at my sister-n-laws condo.  My sister-in-law and her roommates were in their early 20’s enjoying life, but had no idea what was about to happen. 

            That Friday night my sister-n-law had received a call from her father, who came in town unexpectedly, and wanted to go out to dinner with her. She had invited her roommate and best friend to go with her, however she decided to stay home.  While running from the cops the murderer broke into my sister-in-laws house and held her roommate hostage.  Her roommates name was Sarah and that night she was murdered after a twelve hour standoff.  She was in no way related to the family of the murderer and was totally innocent.  What makes the case even more frustrating is that the murderer pleaded mentally unstable.  He claims that he has mental issues and therefore that he was guilty by reason of insanity (that he was not responsible for his actions).  I find this hard to believe considering this already had happened once and then he was let go. 

            So I ask you this…How can you not be responsible for your actions?  Did he not already go to prison for a similar act?  Did you not understand that when you purchased guns and ammunition that you potentially might use it in a fit of anger [again]?

Once you experience a situation such as this and how the after affects impact people that you know and love, you start to think differently.  How can you make the pain go away?  How do you help those address the reoccurring questions like, will this happen again?  What if my sister-in-law had been home that night?  Could she have saved Sarah?  

            It is 4 years later and my sister-n-law can’t be left alone at night because she has a fear that someone will break in.  They have a very expensive security system in their home due to this.  Also she has trust issues due to what happened that night.

Now the murderer sits on death row, fighting his conviction.  He now claims that he was set up by the SWAT team and that he is not responsible for his action due to his mental issues.  He also claims that the police lied that night.  I believe that he is wasting tax-payers dollars because he does not have his own lawyer.  On the night he was arrested in 2005, he admitted that he killed all his victims and that he should make it as easy on his victim’s families as possible.  However, he obviously does not care about that any more.  Now it is about his survival.  I wish he would have thought about his wife’s, kid’s, or Sarah’s survival at that time.

So yes, my opinion has changed on the death penalty.  I believe that most of those who have committed a hideous crime like this all have a story on why it isn’t them.  I feel that people need to take responsibility for their actions!

Nationally, 48% of Americans favor the death penalty compared to 44% who prefer life without parole (www.nyadp.org/main/faq).  If you had a story like the above wouldn’t that sway your opinion to favor the death penalty?  If you commit the crime then you have to face the consequences.  “The death penalty is not now, nor has it ever been, a more economical alternative to life imprisonment”(users.rcn.com/mwood/deathpen.html).

So now I believe that in order to get convicted  there has to be some pretty strong evidence that you are innocent.  Also I believe in the right to a fair trial even if it does take a long time.  I believe that there may be some who slipped through the cracks, however, I believe a lot who are on death row did the crime.  So again I ask you would your opinion change about the death penalty if someone you knew and cared about dearly was murdered for absolutely no reason?

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 2 Comments »