my little superwoman

So i think i might be a lil sexist. not one of those crazy extreme ones but u kno like a little small miniature one. for real i would have to say most males are a lil sexist and so are females. i really use to think i wasnt one but talk to this girl made me realize i was. so i been dating this girl for like 3 months. she got a cute face, nice slim body, and when i first met her i though she was pretty much a girly girl. u kno like the kinda girl that run away when u throw a ball at her, and freak out when she see spiders and loves pink and stuff. now that i think about it she is somewhat of a girly girl but when it comes to competing with me all that vanishes. like she really beleive with all her mind body and soul she can beat me in anything. at first it sound like she just been competetive but when she start talking trash yo, i just be like wow this girl is crazy. she "always so anything u can do i can do better." and i just be giving her that look like " u must be stupid". and like a couple days ago she asked me why i aint think she could be me and i said "cuz u a girl, cant no girl beat me in nothing" not only did that get me in trouble, it started the longest discussion of my life. she started by sayin that i was a "sexist". i said " na if u really think about it, girls are physically and mentally inferior when compared to boys" and thats wat really set her off. she kept talking and talking and talking and when she was done we said are goodnight and got off the phone. the next day i got on the phone with this girl, i find out that she made list of all the things she thought she could be me at and all the things she thought i had a chance at beating her at. as we talked she proposed a challenge. she said " we gonna do everything on this list and we gonna finally get to see who inferior"( she got this cute jamaican accent so i aint really doing her justice). but anyways i said ok and challenge aint for like another couple weeks. i already kno ima win. first all i just dont lose, for real all those things she put up there are like wreslting, arm wrestling and stuff like that and aint no girl beating me in that lol. but hey ill let yall kno if she actually beat me in something

Black Boy

A couple years back, around the time i was in 9th grade, my mom and i were at target. As we were walking i asked her "if i wasnt ur son and you saw me walking by wat would u think?" she answered "i would be scared of u". I asked her "why?" and she said" cuz of the way i look, they way i dress, and the way i walk" and then added "on top of all that ur a black male". Mind u the woman tell me that she scared of me cuz im black is also black herself. i though about what she said for about like 1 week and decided to pay attention to how people looked at me. i soon noticed that pretty much every where i went people were giving me the same look. i was being followed in the stores, getting stares while i walked through crowds of older people, and you could just tell that my presence wasn't wanted. it was kinda crazy knowing that ppl would judge me and condem me without having talked to me and not even tryin to get a chance to get to kno me. i asked some of my black friends if stuff like that happened to them. some of the things they said made my small week worth experience seem like nothing. since my mother said this basically happened cuz i was black i decided to ask my non black friends if the dealt with things like this. the majority of them had no clue about wat i was talking bout. they seemed at a lost. this kinda suprised me but not to the point of total shock. i knew some of the kids that i had ask were worse them me but i guess they didnt fit the profile of a trouble maker. but anyways after a while i relized no matter where i was everybody in the room would first notice that im black. they wont notice my shoes, my hair, my clothes, but they will notice the color of my skin and treat me according. What a shame!

why play games?

I don’t think I will ever understand the point of games when you are trying to talk to someone and get to know them on a deeper level. It is such a mind riddle its stupid. Texting in my opinion makes the games 10 times worse…say if you text someone your talking to and they don’t respond back…its like..do I send another text?..or will I look psycho and pressed for doing that?....WHY COULDN’T HE HAVE JUST RESPONDED BACK? It takes seriously 3 seconds to do so...Or when you know the person is mad at you and only sends one word texts…I’m like how am I suppose to know what your mad at if you keep being vague and why can’t you just pick up the phone and call? With person I'm talking to now if we get in a fight and i'll call he won't pick up and wait a hr to call back..and I do the same to him because he does to me eventhough I think its a complete waste of time. The guy I’m talking to now he always waits until I get use to the idea of him (meaning I’m use to talking to on the phone everyday and checking in ect.) and then he will randomly disappear for 2-3 days and I won’t hear from him…not texts or calls. We have been talking for 3 months so I feel crap like that is unacceptable. Don’t get me wrong I like a challenge and everything but damn…sometimes the game playing gets to a point where it’s too much energy and then I think to myself we aren’t even committed..so why does it matter to even put up with all of this. Why is it so hard for some people to be straight forward with someone you are talking to?! :( why does it always have to be a game?

Religion

Although religion is a source of inspiration for many, it’s also one of the biggest causes for division and discrimination today. I was raised Catholic and I went to Catholic school up until high school, and some of the things I “learned” there were just ridiculous. One of my teachers told us that ying-yangs meant that “good was evil and evil was good” (insanity!!!) and that the “peace” symbol was actually Jesus hanging upside-down on the cross (when it actually started out as a symbol against nuclear weapons). They gave us a bunch of pages worth of different symbols and musical groups that were “evil” and “immoral”. They also told us that if we didn’t believe in Catholicism, and accept Jesus as our “savior” (I never understood what this meant) we would burn in hell for all eternity. That doesn’t sound like a very forgiving God to me, which is also something they taught (God is all-loving). I feel like that even though I realized that what they were saying was crazy, there were other kids in my class that didn’t know any better because their parents were just as fanatical as my teachers were. Though when I think of some of the things I “learned” as pretty funny now that I am older, it is also kind of scary in the sense that this type of education is still going on and is even more extreme in some places. This can be seen in the real world by the way of the Israel/Palestine situation. Many of the Jews and Muslims in the region think their religion is the most “righteous” one (just like Catholics!) and it is perpetuated further by their education systems, which are basically teaching ignorance and discrimination against the “wrong” religion (Both sides are taught that the other side is sneaky and unworthy of trust). This causes both sides of the war to blindly follow what their leaders tell them and to not think about the individuals on both sides of the story that are working for peace. Religion can be an extremely positive thing, as can be seen by religious people volunteering to help others (I went to Baltimore to give away food to the homeless with my school), but it’s just very strange to me because many of the people that want to go to war are also extremely religious.

Death Penalty

When I was growing up I was always taught that two wrongs don’t make a right. Whenever someone was mean to me, I was always taught to take the higher road and to not retaliate. This policy is also taught in many, many schools. If two wrongs don’t make a right then how come this country till supports the death penalty. It is true that if someone does something wrong they should be punished. But if someone murders another individual, does that give this country the right to turn around and murder the murderer? Wouldn’t that make us just as bad as the murderer themselves, or are we justified because he did the wrong doing first? Many believe that the death penalty is necessary, while others believe it is unjust and immoral. How do we determine who gets to live and who should die? In my opinion a lifetime in prison would be worse than the death penalty. Having to sit in a small cell for the rest of your life, knowing that thousands of people hate you, and that you will never get a chance to make something of your life, seems like a way worse punishment than death. Though many disagree with me, I still believe that two wrongs don’t make a right, and I know for a fact that two deaths will never make a new life.

parents

My parents came to America from India about 18 years ago and I was born here. Being born and brought up in another country around different traditions is chaotic when two different worlds collide its very confusing. My parents are very strict even though I’m 18 I’m not allowed to do anything. I’m not allowed to date, stay out late; they always expect me to do above and beyond. Certain clothes I wear they don’t like. They hate the music I listen to they always say it sounds like dogs barking. They love to brag I think it’s an Indian thing. They are always comparing other peoples kids to me saying ”look at them they get better grades than you” and things of that nature. I feel like foreign parents just don’t understand the situation. Many kids are put under stress to because there isn’t communication with parents. I know that I can’t go to my parents if I have a problems and that’s pretty sad. They just won’t understand. I know it’s because they were brought up differently from me because they had an arranged marriage and I date around without their knowledge and I lie to them saying I’m with a girlfriend or cousin. I think many kids face this especially because America is so diverse. My parents had chilled out a little after talking to them and explaining to them that I’m not a kid but they still treat me like one. It still is and issue because things get serious like who do you go talk to when you get pregnant, or fail a class, or have a boyfriend or girl friend problem. There are some foreign parents that are very understanding but I guess its just a fact that they aren’t use to what we are.

Inside or Out ... What really matters?

Does what a person look like on the outside influence how we treat them? After listening to the bad experiences of an obese woman this past weekend, I found myself questioning whether or not I have ever looked at an obese person in a negative way because of their exterior. Due to her experiences with being an obese person in this society, she has developed low self-esteem, feels ugly, and believes that no matter how productive she is in her life, a stranger looks at her negatively because of her size. It made me wonder; how do people REALLY treat an obese person? We all know that society has tried to make it so that we believe that “skinny” is beautiful and better, and this has had a big impact on our society to believe that anything BUT, is unacceptable! Now don’t get me wrong, I feel we SHOULD all want to eat healthy and be active so that we are not too overweight, because obesity does have a negative impact on our health. However, many people are overweight due to health issues, as well as some life circumstance, where well eating isn’t an option. Although many people are obese simply because they don’t make healthy choices, eat too much and are not active also. But a person’s size shouldn’t cause for anyone to be treated mean, or looked at in a negative matter, especially if we haven’t gotten to know the inner person. Does societies perception about how we should look on the outside cause for us to ignore what a person is like on the inside?

The effects homelessness has on children

Homelessness is taking a big toll in our country today. There are thousands of families everyday that become homeless and end up in the streets. Because there are so many families that becomes homeless with children, it has a great impact on our kids today. Children everyday has self-esteem issues, stress and parents are worried about the well being of their child. Some children have to repeat the same grade because they don't have a proper place to live or food to eat. Also homeless children don't have the proper clothing to wear to school and they sometime repeat the same outfit everyday. This can lead to the other kids teasing them about what they got on and calling them dirty. Sometimes these issues can lower a kid self-esteem and make them feel like they are unworthy to have what the other kids around them have. Most homeless kids have to sleep in the backseat of cars, floors, and even benches. Homeless children take on a lot of stress. Sometimes their mother is very young herself and has a lot of issues. The child father has left the mother and does not help out with the kid. There can be a lot of reason why the kid suffers from stress. When the family moves from house to house and does'nt have a stable home, it can lead to stress and a lot of other problems. They often go without full meals and sometimes only eat once a day. By being homeless and without anything, a lot of kids turn to drugs or get caught stealing and other violent activities.

Life: The Last Frontier

This blog will be two-fold...first I want to address the execution that took place today and second the mass-homicide that took place at Fort Hood in Texas. First, the execution of the D.C. sniper was scheduled today 11/10/09 at 9pm. This is a question of whether the death penalty should be allowed or not in this country. My view on this is kind of complex. Although internally I feel that "an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth," should be the principle that is used when such topics are discussed; I know that not every situation is the same. Sometimes the issues behind sentencing someone to death row may be perplexing and bizarre. Today I was discussing with someone why the D.C. sniper deserved to be executed. ( I was surprised that I chose to be the devil's advocate in this debate, but I stood by it nonetheless). My friend was saying how she felt sad that the sniper was going to be executed, and I was like, 'why should you feel sad, don't you know how much senseless pain and grief this man has caused to innocent people and families who didn't even see it coming.' I tried showing her that retribution must be exacted on this man for his transgressions. But saying that seems like we are in some way in charge of his life, and so when he slips and falls (transgression), we play the role deciding if his life is valuable to society any longer. And that was exactly my friends point. Who are we to decide to end this man's life...we are not God. I agree to an extent that capital punishment is fundamentally flawed. Constitutionally, we tell the citizens of this country that you are not to kill. That it is illegal to kill. Yet, the government can chose to kill people when they deem it is necessary; either by tribunal or court proceedings, it has the power to go against one of its on statutes. This is perplexing. As a tangent, when a person in his own home has the right to use his weapons to defend himself and/or his property, it is legal for him to do so. I don't get. What if that person protecting his home kills an intruder or whatever. Does he get executed? No, of course not. Because he only killed in self defense. But what if the D.C. sniper had only killed one or two people. Would he have gotten the death penalty, or would his crime seem less egregious. On this issue, I think I'm firm on the death penalty. The paranoia, fear, and senseless killings that this man has visited to innocent people, in my opinion, is too much for family members to bear. As I was trying to relate this to my friend, she could not clearly come back to me on that point. When we talk about capital punishment and its about other people, we can talk from a distance about what we think and what ought to be done. But if you are related to someone who was killed, its different. You cannot in the right frame of mind, hold on to your inhibitions. You want that person to suffer for what he has done, I know I would. Some people would forgive the person who caused them so much pain. I respect that because that shows that they are at an understanding that a higher power will decide the fate of that person- not them. But it seems to me that our society is torn about capital punishment.

Moving on to the case of the alleged Muslim person who shot 7 innocent people at the Fort Hood army base. I saw some footage of the funeral today, and it didn't move me until they showed the 7 caskets each with a picture of each fallen soldier. President Obama gave a quick description of each soldier, and it was then that you realized that this person was a real person. That they had life, and that they were just trying to make it, like you and me. It was painful to watch because their life ended for no reason. Because a crazed man, who no longer wished to fulfill his duties in the army, chose to act out violently. I don't know how much bearing his Muslim background had to do with all of this. I saw some reports that he attended the same mosque as some of the 9/11 hijackers. I don't know if this is true or not. But my initial feeling after this was not a good one. You get mad after you see something like that. One thing I would like the media to do is get their facts straight before they just broadcast whatever piece of information they just obtained.

Body Art

Individuals with tattoos and piercings maybe looked upon in many different ways. Society has made false acquisitions on the personality of an individual due to the type of body art that is portrayed on their bodies. The thing to remember is that a piercing is not going to change who you are. Society has made up stereotypes of a piercing based upon where it is located. Piercings can be done due to religious or cultural reasons as well. Nose piercing and ear piercings were mentioned in the bible. Nose piercings have been common to the Middle Eastern culture. For example, in the 16th century women would get their left nostril pierced because they believed that it had to do with female reproductive organs which is supposed to make childbirth easier. Ethiopian men and women have various facial piercings and some are identified by oversized ear discs. Lip plates in the women help to gain social status and command a higher bridal price. Henna tattoos symbolize that there has been a wedding or holiday in some cultures. Arab cultures are known for their belly dancing which is why belly piercings are known in their culture. It has been said that guys who had their right ear pierced meant that they are gay and the left means they are straight. Tongue piercing to some people makes the person look trashy and unprofessional. . But I think people should not judge a person by their body art because some people just like it and think that it’s cool. I believe anybody should be allowed to get a tattoo of whatever they want. But I think they should mean something important in a person’s life.

An Assembly of Children

I'm never certain if things in our government are simply getting more ridiculous, or if my perception of the events are simply changing as I grow older and become increasingly disillusioned.

In a sickening display of childish politics this past Saturday, Georgia representative Tom Price - along with several other republican members of congress - took umbrage with the topic and proceeded to talk over the entire assembly, and repeatedly bray 'I Object', in effort to stall the proceedings in as rude a manner as is conceivable.

I'd like to begin by saying that this post is not partisan in nature - rather, I'm disgusted with the entirety of our congressional proceedings. For the most important topics in our country to be reduced to voting along party lines rather than upon the issues themselves is a perversion of the intent of electing them. And really, that's all that politics has become - a game full of bickering children who all happen to be adults.

It seems to me at least that we'd be better off if we were to expel the entire congress and replace them with third graders. The level of argument would remain the same, and they would likely come to a conclusive decision in much smaller a time - not only this, but they'd be capable of worrying about the issue itself, rather than on if they'd be elected for the next term based on the decisions they made, which is all that our representatives seem to care about any longer.

It couldn't possibly be any worse than the way things are now, at any rate.

Besides, a designated 'nap time' could be exactly what congress needs to get their collective heads out of their asses and actually do the job they were elected to perform rather than throwing temper tantrums and wasting all of our time.

Eco Friendly

This weekend I was watching the news. I heard the that John Muhummad was scheduled to be executed. My grandmother was thankful to what she heard, but it made me think about wrongful conviction. Wrongful convictions are the reason why most Americans say that they dislike the death penalty. These people who are against the death penalty believe that sometimes the wrong person is executed and no justice has been done. Other than that, there has been an innocent person killed on both sides, leaving the real killer on the streets. In my opinion, wrongful conviction does not happen at all because of how good the justice system is today. With DNA tests and other technologies, it seems impossible to make such a great mistake. With these technologies, having three suspects can narrow it down to the person who actually pulled the trigger. This is a system in which it is impossible to convict the wrong person. For example, if someone used a gun to kill another person, only that one suspect would be convicted because of the fingerprints on the gun. Another reason why DNA testing is so effective is because you can put fingerprints into a system, and it lets you know if anyone within the database has committed the crime. Not only can this system tell whether someone committed a crime or not, it can also be used to see if there were one, or multiple victims. By testing the blood, hair or semen within the crime scene, finding the suspect is a fairly easy process. This is a system that cannot be blamed for wrongful conviction because it is so accurate.

Pre-Judging...Don't You Hate When It Happens To You?

So many people are quick to judge other people without really knowing them and I think that is just beyond ignorant. To look at some and based on how their appearance looks and then to add cliché stereotypes? Seriously? Now yes some people do fall into the stereotypes, but certainly not all. I talk about this because it happened to me just the other day. I was on my way to pick a friend up from this rich suburban neighborhood and I got lost so I pulled over on the side of the road in the neighborhood. As I’m waiting for my friend to call me back with directions I roll down my window to smoke a cigarette. I notice this old lady walking by car and she starts staring at me as if I’m casing this area out to rob it lol. You know that big eyed look (O_O) My appearance is what through her off because I was wearing a head wrap (my hair was busted that day) with a hood over it sitting in a piece of crap looking car (97 Grand Prix). So she is staring at me while walking then crosses the street to move away from my car because I’m staring back at this point and then continues to walk and stare at me from the other side of the street! Yes, I didn’t look like I belong in the area I was in, but that gave her no right to go ahead and assume I was up to something because in reality I was just trying to pick up my friend. Little does that lady know I would never do anything to put myself behind bars because my dad would leave my ass there and that would be that for me lol. Pre-Judging is offensive and ignorant…but I guess everyone has to deal with it at some point because it will never go away.

Abuse of Stimulants Among Students

The abuse of stimulants has become very common among college students and it is a disadvantage to them in that it comprises their health in the future. At one point in time the abuse of cocaine and heroin seemed to be an issue and now students have turned to prescription drugs that they can get addicted to. Aderol is a prescription drug used for ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) that is one of the drugs that students are abusing to help them focus better and get their work done more efficiently. Concerta and Ritalin have also become popular and students get them from peers with ADHD. This practice has become so common among students that there are more students abusing the drug than students who are actually supposed to be taking the drug. The failure to realize the future health complications of abusing these drugs puts many students at risk for an unhealthy lifestyle. Students usually have tight schedules from going to school, working, peer relationships, and other responsibilities and find themselves doing a lot of school assignments in the last minute. When procrastinating, the use of these drugs is convenient in that it increases alertness and concentration. The drugs later become addicting because it gives them and extra boost of performance and an attempt to keep this level of performance is what causes students to use the drug over and over again. Parents can help prevent their children from further use but a lot of times it the signs are undected until individual gets caught. The drug is illegal for individuals who it is not prescribed to use but yet it is so common. At first I thought that it shouldn’t be a big deal if its helping students do better in school but when I looked at the risks such as heart strokes or other compromises to health it was very distressing.

Abuse of Stimulants Among Students

The abuse of stimulants has become very common among college students and it is a disadvantage to them in that it comprises their health in the future. At one point in time the abuse of cocaine and heroin seemed to be an issue and now students have turned to prescription drugs that they can get addicted to. Aderol is a prescription drug used for ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) that is one of the drugs that students are abusing to help them focus better and get their work done more efficiently. Concerta and Ritalin have also become popular and students get them from peers with ADHD. This practice has become so common among students that there are more students abusing the drug than students who are actually supposed to be taking the drug. The failure to realize the future health complications of abusing these drugs puts many students at risk for an unhealthy lifestyle. Students usually have tight schedules from going to school, working, peer relationships, and other responsibilities and find themselves doing a lot of school assignments in the last minute. When procrastinating, the use of these drugs is convenient in that it increases alertness and concentration. The drugs later become addicting because it gives them and extra boost of performance and an attempt to keep this level of performance is what causes students to use the drug over and over again. Parents can help prevent their children from further use but a lot of times it the signs are undected until individual gets caught. The drug is illegal for individuals who it is not prescribed to use but yet it is so common. At first I thought that it shouldn’t be a big deal if its helping students do better in school but when I looked at the risks such as heart strokes or other compromises to health it was very distressing.

Social Networks

Social networks are ubiquitous around the world. Anybody can travel the world and explore continents such as: Africa, Asia, or even South America and found people who have access to a computer, who owns collectives networks like Facebook, MySpace or Twitter. These websites were created for a purpose of interaction. Even though, many people hold their own conception about these social interactive networks. These websites does not accede a specific age group –Michele Slatalla said, `` At Facebook.com, everyone can join ``512.Literally everyone – with no distinctive feature – just everyone! Teenagers, these days are precocious technophiles who cavort the world of technology however, it is causing quandaries between parents and children.
I have a Facebook profile. My main purpose for creating a profile on Facebook was because all my friends, were talking about how they found long lost friend they have had since the first grade. Then, I thought it will be remarkable to create a page and by curiosity I found friends I had not seen for a while or would not even recognize if they were to pass me in the street. I cannot express the great feelings I get when I find someone, I spent my whole childhood with. I even found other children I dislike back in the days but we were able to burry the old ashes and move on to becoming friends. I often reminisce the old days, and when I feel that way my only option is Facebook. I can express my self, by connecting with my old friends, perform any other types of activities; play games, listen to music ect…
Facebook is accessible to the general public and in my opinion; I think it is totally understandable for many reasons. If parents, adults create their online profiles to monitor their children or companion activities and have fun at the same time then it is a great way to keep online sexual predators away from children or even certain adults. It is just call safety even though many teenagers do not find it amusing or cool to have their mother or father as one of their friends on Facebook or MySpace. Parents were put on earth to guarantee the well being of their children. We live in a sadistic world, and we all can succumb upon temptation but whom do we have to prevent us from that? Parents, I would not reprimand my mother because she is my friend on Facebook, indeed she is, just for the simple fact that we both understand our boundaries and we respect it , and I think that is what every parents should do respect the boundary line between them and their children.
Slatalla writing describes the relationship between her daughter and her as a catastrophic when she joined faced `` But after receiving a follow-up threat from my daughter, I started worrying that allowing parents in would backfire on Facebook ``513. She also questioned, `` if the presence of people like me (parents) alienated Facebook`s core younger group, would they flee? In response to that a Facebook spokeswoman says that more than 50 percent of Facebook users are outside of college now``513. so, where does that leave parents and children social networks wars? The main key to this answer is call boundaries in other words limitation or borders. Parents and children should recognize their boundary lines as it comes to this website and each maintain their role in an adequate way.
Facebook and other network are open the public, is it destroying or reinforcing our society? I would say a little bit of both; the fact that someone can find friends and suitable groups depending on your characteristic is great it is not leaving children or even adults in desperation , it reunites us with those we had long lost. To every situation they most always be the poor side, in this one I would say the confrontation between parents and children. However, we can all get pass that and enjoy the websites as they were created for interaction.

Slatalla Michelle. “Omg My Mom Joined Facebook!!’’. College Composition:
You can get there from here. Ed.Katherine Ann Ackley. Mason OH: Cengage Learning 2008, 511-514.

Youth on the internet

In today's society it seems as if more and more young adults , teenaegers, and even pre-tenagers are in continous use of the internet. A lot of the internet use involves communication. Internet websites such as Facebook and Myspace allow not only youths but anyone to access others profile if they accept their request. This allows almost anyone to get involved into other peoples personal lives and learn information about them without even knowing the person. I also feel like this allows people to start up "relationships" with people they have never even met or talked to in person before. By starting off a relationship of any kind in this way I think that it allows anyone to pretend to be someone they are not. Not to mention this can be very dangerous for young youths meeting people they think there the same "age". WHen actaully there older men/woman who ahave sick disease trying to get sex from youths .I also feel like youths communication skills will be thrown off by not even having the need to talk ith some one face to face. Anytime someone wants to "meet" some one all they have to do is get on the computer. In a way there would never even be a need to go new places or even leave your home. The problem with this I feel is that if this continues, what happens when they have to meet some one in real life or even after they meet someone online they don't have real confidence to just be themself. What happen to going to meet someone for lunch or giving your friends an actual call.

what a mess

It is really scarey to think that people can lose their minds at a blink of an eye. I remember I was watching "The Ellen Show" the other day and they interuppted to talk about the Fort Hood shooting on a military base in Texas. I was like another terrorist attack? Come to find out that it was a Major who just lost it. I am going into the Army in January and it just goes to show you that you must always watch your back and never know what is going to happen. Apparently there were signs that may have prevented this incident from happening, but who really knows. I believe that as horrible and messed up this world is somethings are just meant to happen to show us what a mess we live in and hopefully open some people's eyes. It makes me upset the world in which I live in. I get scared not knowing exactly what could happen. Nothing is a guarantee in this life.

Teen Gang-Rape: Why Bystanders Kept Quiet?

Teen Gang-Raped: Why Bystanders Kept Quiet?

The gang rape and beating of a 15-year-old girl on Richmond High School grounds after her homecoming dance was horrific enough. But even more shocking, police said that, as many as 20 bystanders are believed to have watched without intervening and may have even filmed or photographed the attack.
This is a classical case of group crime, and conformity, where people do things just because everyone else is doing it. Had one person stepped up and opposed to raping the teen, he would have been able to change the hall dynamic.
This is also, peer pressure, where in adolescence value fitting in and being liked more than, self-identity. Some of the rappers may have done it, just so they are not picked on.
Is it mob mentality, or fear?
Teens, brain being undeveloped, they thing differently than adults, they are living in their own society where the rules are different, where there is this issue of inappropriate sexuality, undeveloped sexuality a lot of violence, and there is a tolerance effect, a lot of these teens, have seen so many things through virtual reality, through fantasy, that when it comes to real life their tolerance level is so high, that they now must see some thing much more horrific in real life, for them to realize that this is reality.
Are we manufacturing this, is this a media effect? Well, there is a link between what we watch and how we behave by the availability heuristic, there are other factors that play a significant role in these kind of behavior. Though correlation is not causation, there is a correlation effect between kids from abusive families ,and kids turning out to be abusive.
So, Where do we go from here?, what do we do about this apathy, and silent witnesses? I think that parents should get involve in teaching their children, to intervene, don’t just be a bystander, be heroes instead, and even use some minor sanction when it’s appropriate, but more importantly, change the mindset of bystanders, and that will take more than, just one person opposing the group, but a lot more people are needed to achieve this.

Homelessness

I was in Philadelphia this weekend and noticed that the homeless problem there is either more conspicuous or just plain worse than it is in a lot of other cities. I have always wondered what has brought these people to their current circumstances and how much of it was in their control. Given the choice between hard work or a life on the streets, I’d like to think that anyone would choose to work, no matter what that entails. However, anybody who empathizes with these people and their plight immediately risks being called “bleeding-heart.” And while I agree that personal responsibility is a quality that we all should practice and embrace, there’s nothing wrong with empowering people to help themselves. And if that means a handout is in order initially, then so be it.

It’s hard to imagine yourself in a situation with no one to turn to and that contributes to our indifference towards the homeless. Most of us are fortunate enough to have families willing to help when we need it. Our families also have the means to help. But I imagine that many homeless people probably have no one to provide a temporary home or a meal. And even in situations where there may be family members nearby that doesn’t necessarily mean that they have the cash flow to support another person. Also, I’ve notice that many homeless people seem to suffer from mental problems. So I looked up some of the leading causes of homelessness on the internet and found that very reason near the top of the list. Caring for someone with a mental condition can be a significant burden physically, mentally, and fiscally and that’s probably another reason that family members haven’t taken them in.

It also seems that when a situation is so desperate and a person is forced to live on the street, their problems begin to compound. For example, it’s hard to go to a job interview when you don’t have access to a shower and decent clothing. It’s hard to to signup for programs when you don’t have an address or a phone number. Since drug addiction is a leading cause of homelessness, lack of access to rehabilitation programs is another problem faced by the homeless.

Fortunately, there are organizations that provide some relief to the homeless, such as temporary lodging and a healthy meal. I think the people that run the shelters and soup kitchens are saints. Public funding for those institutions is definitely money well spent. I understand that programs to help the homeless are abused, but that is probably offset by the good that comes from these programs.