Donald Trump? No......Bernie Sanders

In an article I read about Donald Trump on CNN, they talk about Donald Trump bashing our country and the people trying to run this country. He goes on about how this country is a weak country, and that it is going to take some toughness, strong, and very smart people to make America great again. Trump’s first example of this was that of Bernie Sanders. Bernie Sanders in a democrat who is running for presidency in 2016. Trump explains at a press conference in Michigan that in one of Sander’s campaign events how it was hijacked by a group of African American activists. He went on to say how it showed weakness, and that is one thing America can’t have. He then talks about Jeb Bush and how his idea that, illegal immigrants come here as an act of love for the United States to better their family, is once again, weakness, and that no act of love can ever make America great. This is a tough man’s country, and it is going to be taken care of. Trump calls himself a counterpuncher. He says that he doesn’t take the time to search and attack people for no reason, he only retaliates when someone “hits” him first. Later in the article, the leader of Russia, Vladimir Putin, says that Donald Trump hates Obama, and that he doesn’t respect him as a person. The reason why I bring Putin into this is because I have heard things on television and on radio talk shows, where people compare Trump to Putin. But, basically in this article, it just proves Donald Trump’s radical ideas, and thoughts. Should he be president? No, I don’t think so. So who should be president? Bernie Sanders vote for Bernie Sanders, and by doing so, he will make America great again.

The Donald gets all fired up in this article

Freddy Gray

Who let Freddie Gray down? Did society let him down, or did the government? I believe it was both. He was born into a rough life, his mom did drugs throughout her pregnancy with him, and which may have caused him to be born early, and when he was born, the doctors found a crazy amount of lead in his blood. He was then diagnosed at a young age with Attention Deficit Disorder. He and his family lived in Baltimore, which historically hasn’t been the greatest place in the United States. In school, he didn’t have the greatest time in school. He had trouble paying attention to his teachers, and reading information out of his books, his writing skills were poor, and he had the hardest time just trying to stay focused on his school work. His whole life was just filled with hardships.

                People say that Freddie Gray was a well like man. If there was something you needed, Freddie would do anything he could to help, even though sometimes his ways weren’t always the most legal, or correct way to do it. He started his life of crime with a lot of small petty crimes. Things like drugs, alcohol, stealing, and vandalism were some things he was arrested for. Then came a day when Freddy decided to go out on the town, and he turned around the wrong corner and his life came tumbling down. The police saw him and started chasing him, and he ran. He wasn’t doing anything wrong at the time, but he knew that he wasn’t going to get away from the cops unless he ran. The cops caught him, and they said they put him in the vehicle, and he was struggling in the back, which caused him to have a spinal cord injury, which then lead to his death.

                The reason why I believe that both society and the government let him down was because as a society, he wasn’t ever given a chance to live a peaceful life. He was doomed to fail his whole life. The government let him down by the police force. Just because he was black, the cops brutally beat him, and assumed he was a trouble maker. He was an overall good man, but had a lot of things he had to overcome. I believe he was wronged, but, there’s nothing we as a society we can do to go back in time to change anything.

NRA, White Privilege and Mass Shootings

America is a place for peace and tranquility, a place where anyone can go and start their whole lives over and start the American Dream, a place where everyone gets along. What a bunch of bologna. America is full of violence. You can’t just walk up in America and think it’s going to be all fun and games, and that it’ll be just a piece of cake. It’s going to be hard, and some people can’t handle that. Some people snap under the pressure, and some of those people just go off and shoot up a bunch of kids at a school or murder a bunch of people, all because they didn’t get what they want. Sadly enough, ninety seven percent of these mass shootings are males and seventy nine percent of those are white males. Also, within the last few years, the shootings that have taken place among the white, males, a huge portion of those were middle to upper class individuals. To me, this sounds like a bunch of spoiled, rich white kids who have gotten their way ever since they could talk, and the one time that somebody does something that they didn’t like, or somebody told them they couldn’t have something, or couldn’t do something, they go crazy, psychotic even. All they want is attention; they want people to remember them forever. The only problem with that is that, these kids go out and shoot mass numbers of kids and adults, and either they kill themselves, or else they get shot by the law. I don’t quite understand how they think that they will get away with something like that.  There are people who are scared of what is going on out there in the real world. These people are trying to point fingers, and they are pointing right at the National Rifle Association (NRA). The NRA is a very, very big organization that has so much political control that it will never go away. For instance, presidential candidates have dropped out of the election race because they didn’t have the support of the NRA. People are trying to say that it is too easy to get a gun these days in the United States, and that may be true, but you can’t blame the gun and make the gun responsible for killing all those innocent people. In order to put blame on anyone, you have to look at who pulled the trigger. Look at the man or woman who took the time to plan out the activity he or she intended on doing. They are the ones with the problem. I also believe that our great law and order lets these people, who do end up making it into custody, off way to easy. There is no reason in the world why these people are allowed to plead innocent due to insanity or some other brain illness. They did the crime they do the time. Going back to the whole NRA thing, I’ll say this again; that people shouldn’t be blaming them for what happens in this world. The NRA has nothing to do with the distributing of guns and who can buy or who can’t. Yes, they have a strong influence on the gun control policy in the United States Government, but the government is the one who sets things in stone. They are the ones who say it is just fine for anyone who is over 18, with no criminal record, or no “proof” of a brain defect or brain illness, can buy a gun. Don’t you think that this is a little too broad? I feel like the gun laws should be a little stricter, but don’t change anything too drastic. The only change I feel is necessary would be that people need to take a test to show they are mentally stable, can pass a hunter safety test, and can prove that they have had absolutely no felony convictions. I do understand that people, who can’t pass those things, can and probably will get a gun anyway. I mean, we made drugs illegal, but yet people still do them. If we make it so some people can’t have guns, they are just going to get them some other way.

Do I believe white privilege exists? Sadly, I do believe that it exists today in America. You see all the time if some white person does something wrong, or something bad, we as a society have grown over time to just look over our other shoulder. When it comes to a minority though, we Americans tend to blow everything we here about a minority out of proportion. As an example, we have had so many cases where a white person (cop) has shot a black individual (bystander). People in the media have tended to blow this up. Do we ever hear about a white man (bystander) being shot by a black individual (cop) or a black man shooting a black man? No? Why is that you may ask, I personally don’t know, but it is wrong. Another thing I would like to use as an example, comes from an episode from the show “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” Season 1, Episode 6 ‘Mistaken Identity’. In this episode, Phillip Banks and his wife plan to go with their friends to Palm Springs in their friend’s helicopter. In order to have transportation when they arrive, they have Will and Carlton drive their Mercedes to Palm Springs, but along the way, Will and Carlton get lost. So Carlton is driving about 2mph trying to figure out how to get back on track, when they get pulled over by a cop. The cop accuses them of stealing such a high priced car and takes them into custody. They end up getting out when they agree to take responsibility for all the local car thefts and do a public confession on TV, when Phillip sees them on TV and goes to their rescue and takes them from jail. What I am trying to get at, is that, just because they were black driving a very luxurious vehicle, the cop immediately assumed they stole the car. Let’s say Carlton and Will would have been white, the cop probably would have asked them what was wrong and helped them along with their day, but since they were black, they were wronged. So yes, I do believe that white people have it easier in this time in the world. Is it right? No, it is absolutely wrong; every man is created equal, no matter what the color of his skin is.

Deviance

The article that showed up on google first, when I searched for articles about deviance was ”Heavily Tattooed Students More Prone to Deviant Behavior”. This article talks about how students who have more piercings and tattoos are more prone to be involved with drugs, alcohol, and other things that can get them in trouble with the law. The study also states that kids who had four or more tattoos, seven or more body piercings, and or one intimate piercing are the most likely to have been arrested for drugs and alcohol, cheat on school work and have multiple sexual partners. It also talks about how people  with small tattoos such as a rose or dolphin or something innocent are people who are less rebellious and less likely to have problems with the law, whereas kids with full arm sleeves, or huge back tattoos have a higher percentage than those with none or a few. The study showed that over a third of the people interviewed were pierced, and about half of those people had tattoos, and about a fourth of those had multiple piercings and tattoos. He also states that tattoos and piercings were not as popular back in the day, but have now become a thing of the present. More and more kids are finding it socially acceptable to go and get a tattoo or a piercing these days, and they is nothing we can do to stop it. I myself, don’t think that getting a tattoo is a bad thing, but I do think it is a little over board when someone does, for example, get a full arm tattoo, or a giant back or chest tattoo.

Me Project (Pt1)

I believe that heredity has a big part in the development of a young child. It’s the one thing that we are actually born with and it’s completely out of our control. Some of these heredity traits include; skin color, eye color, hair color, and in some cases, even height, weight, and body build. All of these traits develop when a child grows up. Yes, some things like aptitudes develop with parental help, but mainly it is from the traits a child inherits from its mother or father. For me, when people see me alongside my family, there are very similar traits that you pick out. These include; blue eyes, brown hair, musically inclined, consistency of above average singers. But there are some traits that I believe I have that others in my family don’t that I have inherited from my grandparents or even more distant ancestors. I, myself happen to be a lot taller than most in my family, I happen to have a lot bigger body build than that of my family. So yeah, heredity is for sure something that goes from generation to generation, but I also think that some traits may skip a generation.

I believe that birth order is a very important factor, the book talks about how the oldest child is the most responsible whereas the last born isn’t as careful, more risky. I believe that this is true in most cases, but not my family. In my family, my oldest sister was the risk taker, she was the one who wasn’t very responsible, and she was the rebel of the family. When my middle sister was growing up, she was the responsible one, the one who was most likely to achieve, she was the smartest in the family. Then I was born. I believe that I am the more active in social relationships, and I do believe that I am much more affectionate and friendly than that of both my sisters at times. I also believe that I am more susceptible to take risks on things more than my middle sister, but not to my oldest sister. I believe the studies the book talk about are true in most cases but not all.

The next factor is parental characteristics. The book talks about how possibly ideas, thoughts or even age can affect a child when he is being raised.  Some of those ideas or thoughts include; belief in religion, level of education, cultural background, occupational background, and economic status. I believe that all of these influence me on how my parents decided how to raise me. I am very active with my religion, I strive to have a higher education, my parents want me to try for a good job, my parents want me to be economically stable, and they want me to keep my culture on how I raise my children.

The last factor would be cultural environment. This means that where you were raised, and the culture you were raised in affect you. I grew up in South Dakota, in the greatest country ever, the United States of America. I believe that with how the U.S is very competitiveness, and individualism in this fine country helped shaped me to be a strong and valiant young man.

I can’t just pick one factor. I would have to pick two of these and those two would have to be, parental characteristics, and cultural characteristics. I believe that these two things have the greatest impact on me because, your parents are what shape your ideas, and thoughts, while as the culture you live in also affects how you think. They influence you to follow the steps of those around you and mold you into one of their society.

veterans day blog

I know that it isn’t Veterans day, but I would still like to thank all those who lost their lives for freedom, and to all those who have served and or currently serving! I know many people who have served in wars, and I can’t thank them enough for what they have done or are currently doing.

A man, correction, a soldier by the name Lt. Clint Lorance who was sentenced twenty years for his unorderly conduct. He was given this because the judge said her violated the rule of releasing fire upon the public without convincing evidence and or hostile action with intent. Lt. Lorance ordered his men to fire at 3 men riding motorcycle as they were heading directly at them, with no intent to stop. Lt. Lorance was jailed, gave up all his pay, and the military had him released of his duties. All this for trying to protect not only himself, but his men also, protect them from danger, or even death. Dying happens, and it will no matter what. People are going to kill people, and soldiers are going to kill terrorists, and vice versa. Should it be murder if a soldier protects himself against someone who may try to kill, no. I believe that a soldier must do anything to protect himself, or his men, or his country. If I was in his position, I feel as though I would have done the same thing. Those soldiers are under so much pressure and have so many people telling them what they can or can’t do, or what’s right or what’s wrong.

“Citizen is a duty, not a privilege.” I agree, but yet I disagree. I believe that we shouldn’t take our rights as American citizens for granted, but we should also feel honored that we have them also. It is also my right, and everyone else’s right to fulfill those rights to the best of our ability. The troops that fight for us are the ones that help us keep those rights. Thank you to every soldier for helping me keep my rights.

Racsim. Can't We All Just Get Along?

Racism. What exactly is racism? Well, racism is “the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.” says dictionary.com. Now I don’t know about you, but that’s just not ok. Like it says in our United States Constitution, “ALL men are created EQUAL!” Yes, you did read that correctly, all men (and women) are created equally. Now I don’t want to get all religious, at least not for now, but I want to talk about the 3 articles that my teacher had us read about racism. We had recently watched a movie that was about racism, and how you don’t necessarily realize that racism is happening unless that you or another party step into another person’s shoes and take the criticism from the group or individual that is trying to force superiority upon your ethnic race.

The first article talks about how racism was a man made thought or an idea. It also says about how that in early western civilization, people then started to try and make themselves feel better and more superior than anyone else, first in the case of the pilgrims, then in slavery. In the beginning with the pilgrims, they had used their technological advancement of warfare to force the Native Americans out. They thought that since the Native Americans were a different skin color and did things differently than they did, that they were less of people. Same goes to when they started importing slaves. They were different colored, and had different customs than what the “Americans” had. So, what did they do? They enslaved them. Made them lesser than the white race. And when they started slavery, that’s when racism exploded. Racism then started to spread to all the corners of the world. The author of the article also stated that he believed that religion has a big part in racism too. And I also think it does. Everyone is religious, whether you are an atheist or Lutheran, catholic, Methodist, whatever you may be, you are religious. Because being religious means that you believe in a set of values/ beliefs or a god or gods. This is kind of weird, but today in church, my minister talked about racism in the world. She also related it back to biblical times to when Jesus’s followers were get persecuted for believing in him. They were treated horribly and some cases even killed. Why, you may ask? It was because they believed in something different. There’s that word again, different.  They didn’t do what society as a whole told them to do.

The second talks about racism in America. He talks about how the American society is kind of made up people who are racist. We as a society aren’t just racist towards African Americans, but to all minority groups. As an example, we stereotype African Americans to be bad people because of what a small percent of them do. Yes I understand that you have your bad people, but every racial group is going to have bad people. We stereotype people with Middle Eastern background. Ever since all the problems in the world with terrorists from that part of the world, everyone just associates everyone with the same ethnic background to be those bad terrorists. I was watching television today, and a show called “The George Lopez Show” talked about racism. He had a man working for his company (they build plane parts) who was from the Egypt, but, here’s the catch; he had taken flight lessons and knew how to fly a plane. Everyone that worked at that plant, freaked out because they stereotyped him to be racist, when in reality he was just a great guy. His bosses told him to fire this man, but he said that he wasn’t going to do it because this is America, and if he has to fire someone for stereotypical ideas of other people, he said he didn’t want to live in this country anymore because he was raised that no matter the color of your skin, the religion you were a part of, it doesn’t make you any less of a person. That hit me hard, because, I know that happens in the U.S. Good people get treated badly because they have the same color skin as a group of people who have done bad.

The third article talked about how the media affects the negative stereotypes in the world against different ethnic groups. He talks about how the progression of technology in media has had a major impact in the rising of racism in America and the world. It all started out in the papers, and then it went to the big screen. From there, it was movies, then it was TV, then it was cartoons, and now it’s on almost any channel there is, whether you realize it or not, it’s out there, right in front of your face. A few shows that I would like to use as an example of this; The Jetsons, have you ever realized that there are no minorities up in the clouds with all the white people? Go take a closer look next time! The next one id like to talk about is one of my child hood favorites, “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers”.  Now, the Yellow Ranger, she was Asian, the brains of the group, the Blue and Red Power Rangers were your average everyday white males. The Black Ranger, who was the lone ranger who always happened to be involved in trouble, or was getting in trouble. Then you have the Pink Ranger, she was the cute little perfect, white girl. Finally, the White Ranger, he was the one with all the skills, and he was the best of the best. Coincidence? I think not.

Now, I think the one word that works perfectly with racism, is “Different”. People are afraid of change, and when things change or aren’t what you are used to, those things, (people) are different being different from someone is not a bad thing! In fact, I encourage being different, being unique. People are saying that they want to put an end to racism. But do they really? On the inside we are all the same, so why judge someone by how they look? Like the saying goes, “Never judge a book by its cover”. I believe that racism will never end. Too many people are bull headed and stubborn to accept the fact that the one guy who is black, and the other guy who is Middle Eastern, may end up being your lifelong friends. It’s all about giving people a chance, a fair and equal chance. Finally, to wrap things up, I would like to quote one of my favorite movies. The quote comes from the movie "The Longest Yard" and the man who stated the quote was Mr. Caretaker (Chris Rock), "Stop it! Stop the violence! Can't we all just get along?!"