A Long Way Gone Part II

As I continue reading the detailed text of Ishmael Beah's A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solidier, I find myself always more and more shocked. Throughout the book, Beah emphasizes that the mindsets of the African regions affected by the war have greatly changed. Strangers, both young and old, are not trusted anymore. Furthermore, when Beah traveled with his brothers and friends, villagers many times thought that they were vicious rebels. Many times they are attacked by these villagers and tortured until proven to be innocent. At one time Beah and his group are forced to strip down and are beaten for their suspicion. I could not begin to imagine this sort of atmosphere, but I can definitely understand how it is formed. Living in a war-torn environment, it is very easy to let go of optimistic viewpoints and to feel a constant threat. Ironically, once the boys have proven that they are just travelers trying to escape this war, the villagers usually welcome them into their homes with food, shelter, and comfort. I can only hope that the optimism that was once destroyed by this conflict will soon return as the war dies.

Issues in Modern America 2011-2012

This past year I participated in one of the most engaging and thought provoking classes of my high school career: Issues in Modern America. Throughout the year, our class explored hot topics such as capital punishment, gun control, abortion, bullying, affirmative action, student rights, and sexual harassment among other topics. With articles, legal cases, movies, simulations, and intense discussions to help us along our way, my peers and I were pushed to explore the intensity and opposing viewpoints of these issues. Before going into this class, I did have some opinions on certain topics. But now, I can honestly say that I do not know what my opinion is on the death penalty or abortion, and the laws for me are not exactly black and white. But I am fine with this confusion, because I am confident that my Issues in Modern America class has given me the necessary resources to explore these hot topics thoroughly. Issues was one of my most rewarding classes because I was pushed to explore all angles of an issue, and to not form an opinion solely on emotion. The healthy and respectful classroom environment that was given to my peers and me in the class helped to contribute to its success. So Mr. Kramer, since I know you are reading this, thank you so very much for a great year. You have helped us all to open up our perspectives and become more involved citizens of the world around us. Thank you very much for everything that you have done for students of the past, present, and for all that you will do for future students.

Free Period

Throughout all of my high school career, I have never had a scheduled free period. So when I realized that I would have second period free during my second semester of senior year, I was relieved. I thought that having a second semester free period as a senior would be extremely relaxing for me, and that it would give me time to enjoy being a second semester senior. And boy was I right! I love having a free period because it gives me a scheduled time in my day, four days a week, where I can work on anything: homework, extracurricular activities, or even take a nap in the silent section of the library. But although the joy of a second semester senior year free period lived up to its expectations, second semester senior year in itself did not. As a student goes about through his or her freshmen, sophomore, and junior years in high school, he or she anticipates the day when second semester senior year arrives. Supposedly there is less of a workload, teachers are less strict, and you are already into college. But for me that was not the case at all. I most definitely did not have "senioritis", (except for random days when I would not do my AP Psychology or Pre-Calculus homework), and my work load was not winding down at all. To pile on top of all of that, the college decision was only getting harder, as I had to decide where I was going to be for the next four years of my life. So no, second semester senior year is not as stress-free as everyone says, but I am sure glad that I got a free period to help lighten the work load.

Narrowing In

Ever since I can remember, I have always been interested in a variety of activities. As a magician, instrumentalist, singer, active youth group leader, social justice advocate, and general entertainer, my activities have always contained a broad spectrum. For years I have been questioning whether or not I should drop some of my activities and focus on one in particular. Because once I choose a specific career to pursue, it will be very hard for me to be as involved in other endeavors as I am now. But for me, that is a very scary path to take right now. Choosing which journey to advance on is terrifying for me because I do not want to make the wrong decision. Do I want to focus most of my energy as a magician, and try to make it to the top? Or would it be better if I pursued my Jewish roots as a Rabbi? What about following my hunger for social justice and working full-time at a non-profit organization? Amongst this are also interests in law, television, and marketing. With such a cluster of fascinations that I hold, how can I be sure that I will choose the right path? All I know for sure, is that as long as I am passionate about what I do, no matter what it may be, I know that I will be happy. For now, I just want to take in as much as I can in college, and I hope that the right path will eventually find its way to me.

Marketplace of Ideas

Last week, my Issues in Modern America class presented a "Marketplace of Ideas". The Marketplace was a place where my peers and I had the opportunity to present our opinions about hot topics to the entire school. During the lunch periods, presentations and posters were set up in a common area outside of the cafeteria. Participating in the Marketplace of Ideas was a very rewarding experience for me because it forced me to see opinions that I would normally not meet. I had an opportunity to talk with my classmates about ideas that I had never thought of before such as organic farming, military budget cuts, and the legalization of elicit drugs. Besides presenting in the Marketplace, I thought that it was highly interesting to engage in discussion with the other students who work presenting their topics. On the first day of the Marketplace, last Thursday, I walked past a presentation which argued that Invisible Children, a non-profit organization that I am a strong supporter of, is a fraudulent and terrible organization. Strongly believing in the organization, I quickly began to share my opinions with the student about why I disagreed with his poster. Eventually a few other students crowded around us as well, listening to my opinions on his topic. Overall, the Marketplace of Ideas is a great concept because it allows us students to explore hot topics that we would not address otherwise, and it gives us the opportunity to respectively share our differing opinions.

A Long Way Gone: Part I

I recently started reading Ishmael Beah's book, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. Beah writes about his own personal journey growing up in Sierra Leone, located in western Africa. During his childhood, Beah and thousands of others struggle with the current conflict of the rebels. The rebels commit mass atrocities and murders all across the land, and they force children to become their soldiers. Ishmael Beah eventually becomes a child soldier, and he recalls his most horrific memories of this horrific time of his childhood.

Although I am only a few chapters into this highly-detailed book, I can already sense the great intensity of Beah's journey. At the beginning of the book, the narrator starts off with a memory of a visit to his mother's house several miles away. However, right when Beah and his brother return to their village, there is an immediate awakening. The text becomes extremely graphic, and it becomes very easy to visualize what Ishmael Beah experienced. It becomes highly graphic. Even though Beah's descriptions can be extremely disturbing, they are definitely necessary in order to bring the proper light to his story. Thousands of people felt so much pain and torture from this conflict, and it is proper to convey those same feelings to the readers of A Long Way Gone. I can only imagine that one of Ishmael Beah's main intentions in writing his book was to spread awareness, and his graphic descriptions definitely help his cause. Beah's text magnifies the reality of his story and the conflict, and it helps to pull its readers into understanding that struggle. Although this is an extremely tragic book, I can only hope that its upcoming chapters will be just as compelling as they are so far.

"The last casualty that we saw that evening was a woman who carried her baby on her back. Blood was running down her dress and dripping behind her, making a trail. Her child had been shot dead as she ran for her life. Luckily for her, the bullet didn't go through the baby's body. When she stopped at where we stood, she sat on the ground and removed her child. It was a girl, and her eyes were still open, with an interrupted innocent smile on her face. The bullets could be seen sticking out just a little bit in the baby's body and she was swelling. The mother clung to her child and rocked her. She was in too much pain and shock to shed tears" (13).

The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

Recently, I had watched Morgan Spurlock's, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold. As the director of "Super-Size Me", Spurlock explores how product placement can alter a movie. Throughout the documentary, Spurlock approaches businesses, big and small, in an effort to get them to sponsor his movie. In return, the businesses will receive product placement in the film. The genius part of this film is that it was completely paid for by its sponsors. From lawyers to gas stations, no professional corporation was even mentioned in the film if it did not sponsor the film. Even while talking to a lawyer about the legalities of his film, Spurlock filmed the conversation and inevitably convinced the lawyer to sponsor his film as well. Amist all of these sponsors, Morgan Spurlock also struggles with not giving into the sponsors' demands, as he tries to keep the movie to fit his original vision. I am not the biggest documentary nut in the world, but I highly recommend that you check out The Greatest Movie Ever Sold. It is a brilliant film, with hints of comedy surrounding every scene.

College Confusion

The current date is April 15, 2012. That means that I have approximately sixteen days to decide which college I will attend next year. As a senior in high school, most of my friends have already committed to their respective universities, and I am still left trying to attempt this puzzle in my mind that is a college decision. As I am currently out of town on college visits,  I am narrowing down my decision between two colleges. We shall call these two institutions College X and College Y. Both of the colleges are great educational environments, and they both will provide me with excellent room for growth. Although I know that both College X and College Y will be great choices for me, I want to make sure that whichever one I choose to attend will be the best. However, this late in the game, I must merely use my "gut" feeling to decide which college to attend. Hopefully, once I follow my "gut" I will be on my way toward attending a college that will provide me with four years of learning, growth, unforgettable memories, and unbelievable opportunities.

The Right to Bear Arms

     In my Issues in Modern America class, we started watching a Michael Moore film, Bowling for Columbine. This very interesting film takes a look at all of the facts that could potentially lead to gun violence and, inevitably, the Columbine shooting of 1999. Our media, politics, and societal influences all play a role in violence, and especially gun violence. The film noted that compared to other countries, the United States has thousands more deaths due to gun violence. Comparing the U.S. with Canada, Moore points out that there is more of a fear of violence in the United States than there is in our northern neighborhood country. Above all theories, it seems that the documentary's director emphasizes the corruption in our media and gun control system. Michael Moore stresses the fact that the media portrays violence so much, that it is now a norm of our society. He goes even further to accuse our nation to be one full of fear and danger. It seems as if every single advertisement or news story is an effort to protect us or to make us better. This type of outlook on life, is what drives our nation to be so violent.
     Furthermore, Moore accuses the gun industry for the violence in our nation. It is way too easy to get a hold of a gun today, and it only escalates the gun violence that we have in America. Just because somebody buys a gun today in America, does not mean that we train them properly to use that gun in a responsible manner. Our "freedom to bear arms" is a disfunctional right of ours. It is one that gives us the tools to kill, and it does not properly teach us of the right's true purpose. The second amendment is not one that was designed for the purpose of murder, but rather for protection.
   Although Bowling for Columbine can be quite humorous and ironic at times, it is also a very disturbing movie. One of the most disturbing aspects of the film for me was the coverage of the National Rifle Association's (NRA) Convention, located in Colorado, just a few days after the Columbine shooting. Even though we all have a right to own a gun, I cannot believe that so many people would have the courage to host a public gathering of gun lovers. Just days after a national, and global, tragedy due to a lack of gun control, the NRA were shown to be disrespectful Americans. It sickens me that they would gather themselves, and ignore the sensitivity and outrage of their nation. They are ignoring the requests of a nation that they claim to be "defending for" with their guns. Bowling for Columbine is a very fascinating, liberal, documentary due to the realities that it portrays about our nation's faults.

Air Force One

This past weekend, while on a bus ride to Minnesota with a friend, I watched the movie Air Force One. This 1997 fictional film, starring Harrison Ford, is an adventurous one that is phenomenal to watch. A small group of Russian loyalist-extremists take hijack Air Force One, in an effort to release former U.S.S.R. General Radic. While the White House Senior Staff and everyone on board Air Force One think that President Marshall, (Harrison Ford), has escaped in the aircraft's escape pod, Marshall secretly stays on board in order to save his family and country.

The reason that I love this film is because it is truly a heroic-American tale. As President Marshall works to fight and defeat the Russian terrorists, and the White House staff work to negotiate with their harsh demands, Air Force One displays core American values of honor, pride, and commitment to our nation. I highly recommend that everybody watches this film, whether that be online illegally, through Netflix, or any other mode of video watching. Air Force One is really an inspirational film, and it allows us all to recognize and appreciate our American armed forces, government, and nation as a whole. Join the ride, and watch Air Force One.

KONY 2012

     On March 5, 2012 the world changed as KONY 2012 was released. A media focused campaign, organized by Invisible Children amongst other organizations, quickly shook the world. KONY 2012 is a campaign that aims to make Joseph Kony the most famous man in the world. Kony is currently the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel terrorist group that abducts children in Central Africa, and forces them to become child soldiers. On March 5, the first part of the Campaign's video started to go viral. This 30 minute film spread to over 150 countries in a matter of days, and has now been viewed over 100 million times. Joseph Kony is now a common name, and the demand to bring him to justice is erupting.

     Unfortunately, there have been much politics that have tinted the main focus of the KONY 2012 Campaign. The Campaign's main theme is that we can all agree, no matter what politics exist, that Joseph Kony is one of the cruelest, if not the cruelest, human beings on earth today. He is a terrible man, and he must be brought to justice. There is no dispute over that statement. That core theme is essential in order for this Campaign to reach its success. There have been many critiques about the legitimacy of KONY 2012 and Invisible Children, and they are all addressed at the following website: http://www.invisiblechildren.com/critiques.html. 

     Everyone should look past all of the politics of KONY 2012, and Invisible Children, and straight to the core of the issue. Since the launch of KONY 2012, there has been much progress. South Sudan, D.R. Congo, Central African Republic, and Uganda have put together military forces to stop Kony and the LRA. Our United States government has joined together to intensify our financial and military commitment toward this conflict as well. We have a great opportunity here to be part of something that is huge, and we have the chance to make a difference in the lives of thousands of people. This is the start of a new journey in this revolution that we call justice. The potential that we have is incredible. KONY 2012: Stop At Nothing.

For More Information Visit: www.KONY2012.com

Terrill Swift: Take 2

Terrill Swift is the most recent man to be exonerated from the State of Illinois. In 1994 Terrill Swift, along with his other co defendants, falsely confessed to a crime in which they did not commit. As a seventeen year old adolescent, Swift signed away what he thought was a way home, but ended up becoming his false confession to rape and murder. For about seventeen years, Terrill Swift was living in Illinois prisons for a crime that he did not commit. As Swift told his story, I could sense that many of my classmates and I felt feelings of disappointment and discomfort with our legal system. Swift told us that false confessions are not a rare case, but that they actually occur quite often. Due to pressure, manipulation, and sometimes harassment, many people confess to crimes that they did not commit.
Terrill Swift emphasized that the most important lesson for all of us to learn from his story is that we must not blindly follow instructions. Swift signed a confession, when he actually thought that it was a consent to go home. Since he did not read every part of what he was saying, Terrill Swift signed over his life with a confession of a crime that he did not commit. When my classmates and I entered the lecture room for Swift's presentation, we all signed in with our names, Emails, and signatures. However, since most of us assumed that the sheet was merely an attendance sheet, we all blindly signed away a confession toward academic dishonesty. We learned that the caption above our signatures actually wrote that we all cheated on our last paper. This activity went to emphasize Swift's message to question instructions, and to never blindly follow those instructions.
Overall, I found Terrill Swift's presentation to not only be informative, but it allowed me to take a look at my life. Swift, now thirty four years old, spent nearly half of his life in prison. His story, gave me a different perspective on life, and it showed me to always be careful with authority. Above all, Swift emphasized that we all know our rights, and that we are never put down by others unfairly.

Born with an Advantage

Generally speaking, I support affirmative action in universities because it increases diversity, and thus enhances universities' educational environments. However, I do see flaws to many affirmative action systems, and I can see how affirmative action is an unfair advantage. For the university applicants who benefit from affirmative action, most of them were born into this advantage. They did not determine their race, socioeconomic background, sex, ethnicity, etc. These students were born as a minority, or raised by parents who were not able to get out of a low income. Of course, there are many qualities to an applicant that they control such as life experience, grades, and extracurricular activities, but for the most part, they are born with an advantage of affirmative action.
However, I do believe that affirmative action is a beneficial system if it is structured properly. I am against the University of California's system, which eventually was removed, that gave diverse and disadvantaged applicants of race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic background an easier application process in their special admissions program. I feel that this system is unfair because it prioritizes diversity and advantages as the most important factor(s) rather than an applicants grades, life experiences, extracurricular activities, etc. Their system is very much discriminatory because of the way that it prioritizes diversity and disadvantages in their applicants.
Furthermore, I am in favor of quota systems in some context. I do not think that it is fair for universities to install quota systems, and ensure that they are filled no matter how qualified the applicants are outside of affirmative action policies. However, I feel that quota systems can be emphasized as long as all of the diverse applicants considered also meet the criteria of all applicants. I do not think that it is fair that a student is admitted simply because he is from another country, or of a minority ethnic group. However, if those same people are qualified as a student, compared to the other applicants, than they can fit into the university's quota system. If the university does not meet its quota system's goals due to a lack of qualified applicants, than it can be ignored. But, I feel that a qualified focused quota system can help to guide a university to maintain diversity. When learning about Harvard University's affirmative action policies, I learned that the University would not want to only have a little bit of diverse groups of people, because they may feel isolated. But, if diversity were to be present on the campus, than it must be present in large numbers. I feel that this qualified quota system would ensure that there is a large population of diverse students at a university, as long as the students are qualified.
I believe that diversity in affirmative action can act as a "plus" for college admissions programs, but that it cannot be everything. An applicant must be qualified in order to be admitted into a university, despite their diversity. Overall, I am in favor of affirmative action because it helps to enrich the overall educational environment of a university.

The White Advantage

Although most people choose to turn a blind side to the advantage of being a white in today's America, it is existent. In Tim Wise's book, White Like Me, he explores the societal differences between whites and blacks in America. Reading a chapter of Wise's book called, "Privilege", I do agree with him that whites are privileged since we are the majority of our nation. It is very hard for a white person to see what it is like to live in the life of a black person, but we can try to understand the differing perspective. However, many whites deny the automatic privilege that we receive, or at least fail to deny it. But Tim Wise pointed out very wonderfully that we, as people, love to accept things given to us, even though we may not have worked for them, without consequences. He says, "We love to accept things we didn't earn, such as inheritance, but we have a problem taking responsibility for the things that have benefited us while harming others" (18). This is why whites many times deny the fact that we are privileged; it is hard to accept the fact that our race accepted and encouraged bringing harm to other races. But, we have an obligation, as a human race, to accept what we have "inherited" as a white privilege. Wise also said, "Likewise, persons who reap the benefits of past actions-and the privileges that have come from whiteness are certainly among those- have an obligation to take responsibility of our use of those benefits" (18). As a part of the white race, and the human race, we must accept these privileges that we have "inherited", and acknowledge them with an effort to make change.
A big part of the author's argument in "Privilege" was the fact that our nation's education system is not entirely exactly, but it is not "anti-racist" either. The majority of America's public school teachers are white, and many white teachers claim to be "colorblind" to race. To many teachers, treating all of the students equally, omits discrimination. However, as Wise fairly wrote, "To treat everyone the same, or like the white common denominator, is to miss the fact that children of color have all the same challenges white kids do, and then that one extra thing to deal with: racism. But if you've told yourself you are not to see race, you'll be pretty unlikely to notice discrimination based on race, let alone know how to respond it" (21). Teachers cannot ignore the fact that some of their students are not white, because that ignores their heritage, culture, family history, and part of their personal identities.
Aside from our educational system, whites have a societal privilege against discrimination. Tim Wise very bluntly pointed out that we, as Americans, (and especially white Americans), have been very quick to judge Arabs and Muslims, (or anyone perceived as either), since September 11, 2001. Although it is very clear that our nation is not at war with the Islam faith or Arabs in general, many of us still profile these groups, (although we may not act on our thoughts). However, after several white serial killers are portrayed as barbaric in our society, much as the 9/11 terrorists were portrayed, we do not seem to profile other whites. According to Wise, "That's what it means to be white: the murderous actions of one white person do not cause every other White person to be viewed in the same light... Whites can take it for granted that we'll likely be viewed as individuals, representing nothing greater than our solitary selves" (53). Although it makes many of us uncomfortable to accept, whites are privileged because, since we are the majority, we are not judged as a group nearly as often as many minority groups.
When Tim Wise was in college, at Tulane University, he noticed his white privilege when engaging in drug use. Although many college students engage in drug use, it is easier for whites to get away with their usage than it is for blacks. From Wise's experiences, he has noticed that police officials, generally, judge whites and blacks differently, even though they both may be in possession of drugs. As Wise simply put it, "I am not the stereotype" (42). He goes even further to explain that when he asked local police officers how they judge whites and blacks, there is a difference. According to their answers, if they saw a young black man in a very nice car, they would assume him to be a drug dealer. But, if that same man was white, he would merely be a spoiled rich kid. As the majority of our nation, whites are privileged to get away with many societal consequences. Although we do not always notice it, we are not judged nearly as much as others are judged. As whites, we often lack an acknowledgment of our privileges, and try to persuade ourselves that we are all on a balanced scale. But, the faster that we accept the fact that whites are privileged, the quicker we can try to break that privilege. Whites must accept both the benefits and the consequences of our inherited privilege, and then change it so that the "white privilege" does not carry on to our future generations.

The Racism Test

Recently in school, I took an Implicit Association Test (IAT) which measured my unconscious preference of African Americans and European Americans. After taking the test, my results revealed that I had a slight automatic preference for African Americans compared to European Americans. According to the chart below, I fall in the 6% of the IAT Web Respondents.

Personally, I feel that the this test did not represent my preferences. I feel that I have little to none preference toward black or white people. However, if I were to have any preference, I feel that it would be slightly toward whites. Since I am white, I am more likely to favor my race than another race. I think that the matching part of the IAT did not take other factors into consideration. It did not acknowledge my testing environment, or the stress of simply messing up the test. The subject of the matching test did not matter, but the fact that it was a fast subject matching test puts pressure on the test taker.

I do agree with the information presented before the exam. Prejudices and discrimination is taught, and I do agree that it is throw onto children when they are developing and learning about the world. I definitely think that I have been influenced by biases as I have grown up, but I do not reject my biases. Luckily, I have grown up in a very accepting environment, and those accepting values have been passed down to me. However, like I explained above, I do prefer my race, religion, ethnicity, gender, etc. over others because it is what I relate with in life. Even though we are all influenced by society to form our own biases, in the end it is up to us all as individuals as to how we present our biases, prejudices, etc.

"Losing Matt Shepard" Part 5

As I started to read Losing Matt Shepard, by Beth Loffreda, I went in as an obvious supporter of the gay community. What I enjoyed most about this novel was the sense of pluralism that it portrayed throughout the book’s six chapters. The novel did not openly support equality within the LGBT community, which I thought it would, but rather it focused on the tragedy of Matt Shepard’s murder, and how it affected the town of Laramie and the State of Wyoming.  But overall, it is amazing how much light shines on Laramie and Matt Shepard’s death compared to other gay murders across the country. With plays, films, and books all focusing on Matt’s death, it seems that his tragedy occurred at the perfect time. In 1998, the year of Matt’s death, Vermont and Massachusetts were the only states that legally accepted civil same-sex marriages. The other 48 states either banned gay marriage, or simply did not acknowledge the issue. Due to the timing of Matt’s death, in comparison with America’s acceptance of gays at the time, it makes sense as to why Shepard’s death received so much attention. Although it is unfair that his story is heard far more often compared to America’s other gay deaths, Matt Shepard’s story shook the nation. It proved that Matt Shepard did not simply die because he was a gay man in Laramie, but that he died because he was a gay man in America. Matt Shepard’s death proved that similar crimes could have (and do) happen anywhere in our country. Especially over the past year, there have been numerous suicides and suicide attempts by those who are harassed because they may or may not have been gay.

Many say that we have to be tolerant of gays, and those who are different than us. But tolerance is merely a stepping-stone for Americans. With tolerance, we learn to live with, or not hate, those different than us. But, just because somebody tolerates another, does not mean that he or she accepts or respects that person. A very good friend of mine, who is openly gay, hates the word tolerant because it does not imply that we must accept and respect each other. Tolerance gives us the power to not kill each other. But better than that, acceptance allows us all to move forward. In October of 1998, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, Matt Shepard’s killers, needed to learn to tolerate Matt. But, what Matt needed even more was to be accepted by them. In the end, if we all learn to accept each other, Losing Matt Shepard would never have been published. The youth of America who constantly questions their sexuality, and is harassed because of it, would not question the value of their lives. With acceptance, we will learn to move forward as a nation, leaving words like “fag” and “dyke” behind us. We will advance together, undivided, as we look out for our fellow Americans, and not shove them down simply because they have a different sexual orientation than us. Of course, this will take time. But, I believe that Matt Shepard’s death was a sign in 1998, and it still is today, that our country must move forward and reach universal acceptance.

"Losing Matt Shepard" Part 4

Throughout the investigation of Matt Shepard's death, investigators and laymen speculated the reasoning of the murderers, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson. When sergeant Rob DeBree asked McKinney if he hated gays, McKinney replied, "I really don't hate them, but when they start coming on to me and stuff like that I get pretty aggravated". Later in the interview, DeBree had asked McKinney how many times he had been approached by a gay person and McKinney said that it was his first time with Matt Shepard. McKinney's story changed several times over the course of the investigation, but it is clear that McKinney does not accept gays in his little Wyoming world. Comparing it to murders displayed on TV, DeBree emphasized the fact that McKinney and Henderson did not plan out Shepard's murder for weeks prior to the tragedy. Rather, DeBree argued that McKinney and Henderson were simply vicious people. Loffreda wrote, "To Rob, figuring out what motivated McKinney and Henderson isn't complicated: 'They were vicious people.' He can't abide the excuses, the laying of blame on drugs or childhood traumas... 'There are people that are just plain vicious, that have absolutely no remorse for anything. They're cold. I don't care what caused it. There's nothing you can do about it. You can always find an excuse, I guess, or attempt to. But sometimes it's juts that this person is a vicious bastard, and they deserve to get what they're going to get. Why give these punks credence?'" (150). Although I do not want to agree completely with DeBree, I do agree with him that those "vicious" people such as McKinney and Henderson should definitely be punished for their crimes. However, I do believe that there is a bit of good in everybody. Of course this is me acting a bit naive with my youth-driven heart, but I truly do believe that although McKinney and Henderson consciously murdered Shepard, I would like to think that there is some sense of humanity still inside of them. But, from what I have gained from reading Losing Matt Shepard, I agree with DeBree that Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson were down-right vicious the night that they caused Matt Shepard to slowly die in pain.

"Losing Matt Shepard" Part 3

For me, one of the most disturbing passages of this book was in Chapter Four. Jim Osborn, a member of the LBGT Association, spoke with Loffreda regarding his disappointment with Human Rights Campaign (HRC); HRC works for equality within the LBGT community.  Loffreda wrote, "Jim notes that the HRC has fund-raised heavily using Matt's image but that otherwise Laramie lies on the margins of their interest: 'Their spokespeople spoke in Fort Collins and Denver, but they never came to Laramie... I think they used Matt as a political tool, that bothers me. He was not a person to them. He was something they could use one month before the election'" (97). Although this only shows one perspective on HRC's use of Matt Shepard's image, it does show a bit of disrespect that HRC had for the town of Laramie. It was noted that Judy Shepard, Matt's mother, had worked with HRC and that the organization did have the family's cooperation. However, even though lots of money was raised with Matt's face as an image and symbol, I feel that HRC should have acknowledged Laramie and its struggled. HRC did not visit Laramie, except for when Elton John performed a concert in the town, and the proceeds were going to HRC. From what I received from the information that Losing Matt Shepard provided me, it seems that HRC was more concerned with raising money on behalf of Matt Shepard, rather than comforting the town of Laramie and its tragedy. Although it is crucial that HRC raises money in order to provide funds for their programs, I believe that their warm heart needs to be spread everywhere, including Laramie, in order to continue to succeed

"Losing Matt Shepard" Part 2

I admire Beth Loffreda, the author of Losing Matt Shepard, because she provides multiple perspectives to not only the tragedy of Matt Shepard's death, but also to the State of Wyoming's multiple personalities. In the beginning of Chapter 2 of Losing Matt Shepard, Loffreda stressed that the town of Laramie, and Wyoming itself, is not its own culture. All of Laramie or Wyoming's citizens do not reflect the same beliefs views, identities, attitudes, or stories. So, to call Laramie, the town where Matt Shepard was murdered for being gay, a hateful and homophobic town is simply inaccurate. It takes more than the loudest voice to make up a town's culture, and unfortunately Laramie's homophobic community made up the loudest voice after Matt's death. Even though throughout her writing, Loffreda defends Wyoming and claims it to not be all bad, not all of here contributors to the novel agree. One supporter of the LGBT community rold Loffreda, "There is a tremendous xenophobia here. Wyoming is run-now not everybody here is like this-but Wyoming is run by people who have a great deal invested in making sure nothing changes. And that includes civil rights" (61). It seems that, even though not all of Wyoming's population shares the same views, the state's leaders chooses to not move forward with society and accept equality for the LGBT community. With a state of less than 600,000 people, the state is one that is caught in the past, and needs to move forward with marriage equality, and LGBT acceptance.

Family Photos

At the end of Winter Break, when I came home from a trip to Florida, I was glad to see generations of family photos hanging around my house. Like most people, I love looking at old family pictures, including those from before I was born. All around are pictures of my siblings and I at all ages, my parents as children, and my grandparents at young ages as well. These photos give off a warm feeling to my house, and it makes everything feel more "homey". However, it seems that the unravelling of these family photos in my house has unleashed a photo diseases, as my parents keep unveiling more and more photos. Multiple times a day there are new photos to look at in enjoyment. At every dinner that we have had since I got home, my dad keeps bringing up more and more old photos. Even now, as I type this blog post, my dad is hanging up more and more family photos around the house. But overall, I really do love the new additions to my household, and I am glad that my parents have decided to add them to our home's appearance. They bring more love and warmth into our home, and it is satisfying to have the ability to look at my family's past whenever I choose.

Invisible Children & School Chest

The three weeks in between Thanksgiving and Winter break are always extremely chaotic for me. Not only is it the height of all of my activities, but it is also the time in which School Chest takes place. School Chest is a three week charity drive hosted by my school in which we raise tens of hundreds of thousands of dollars for a charity of our choice. This year, the school chose Invisible Children, as the 2011 School Chest Beneficiary. Invisible Children is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to ending the use of child soldiers in central Africa. For the past twenty-six years, a man named Joseph Kony has been using his rebel-terrorist group called the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), to abduct children from their homes, and force them to become child soldiers. Many times, the children are forced to kill their friends and/or family, they may be mutilated, and brainwashed to never escape.
The amazing $97 thousand that we raised during School Chest will be used by Invisible Children to expand  upon an early warning radio network in remote areas of central Africa. Overall, this year's School Chest seemed to be a very heated one for my high school. Since Invisible Children was our first international charity for School Chest, it is hard for many students to connect with the progress of our involvement and fundraising. I feel that the majority of students at my school support Invisible Children, there are a lot of students who obsessively support the organization, but of course there are skeptics who do not agree with their tactics.
Since I consider myself to be very involved with the organization, I feel that many of the skeptic students are missing out on key details of how our School Chest is being implemented in Invisible Children's Protection Plan: a multi-step plan to rescue and rehabilitate Kony's child soldiers, and to apprehend him and the rest of the LRA. However, even though many students feel don't feel that they have confidence in Invisible Children, I very happy that Invisible Children, and the LRA conflict, is well known in my school and community. It is a cool feeling to talk about issues regarding the LRA and Invisible Children with my friends and classmates at school, and to know that we understand each other. Overall, this year's School Chest was great not only because of the enormous financial success that we had, but also the amazing awareness success that came along for the ride.