When Pimps Cross the Line

    Pimp: noun: one who finds customers for a prostitute; a total dumb @$$. Anthony McCord, an expert in the pimping arts, tried to get himself admitted as an expert witness in his own trial. When asked what qualified him to be an expert, Anthony replied (to the judge) "I’ve pretty much read every book, saw every movie and heard every song relating to the subject matter" ) McCord then listed his qualifications that proved his expertise in pimping, qualifications like; he attended two national conferences on pimping, and that he is a member of a "quiet society of pimps". Oh yes, Anthony McCord is quite the qualified pimp, his momma would be so proud! Now all this is good and hilarious, but pimping is not be taken lightly. For years sex trafficking has been a world wide issue, and for years "no one has given a shit." It obviously doesn't help that in today's pop-culture pimps are being glorified. When I say pimp you think of a man with a fancy hat, ridiculous clothes, driving a big car. You don't really think about the other aspects of pimping. Beating the girls, raping the girls, getting the girls addicted to illegal narcotics, abducting the girls, etc. There's a much darker side to the pimping world, one we haven't even scratched the surface of yet. Anthony McCord, classified pimp? Do you know what the charges of his trial were? Assault and rape. We laugh at the pimps, cringe at the prostitutes, and ignore whats really going on.
      The author of "When Pimps Cross the Line" Irin Carmon sent readers on an emotional roller-coaster ride. He humorously portrays pimps in the beginning, gets a couple laughs, then BAM, hits you with sex trafficking. Then reader feels sad, not wanting to face the reality of such a laughable topic as pimping, and then, readers get angry. Angry at the world of pimps, angry that no one really cares or seems to care, and angry that pimps are being praised in our culture. And then it's back to sadness when the reader realizes they will most likely do nothing about it. There's a lot of pathos in this article, I sure as heck felt it.

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A Whiff of History

     Every time I get a whiff of cigarette smoke, I think of my grandparents and florida. Whenever I smell baby powder, I remember falling asleep in my mum's bed and the smell of her navy blue starred pajamas. Whenever I smell oranges, I think of how my brother and I had stuck our straws into oranges calling it orange juice. I smell certain scents, and instantly a vivid memory comes to me. Undeniably, there is a link between smell and memory. At least once in everyone's life, they smell a certain scent and almost instantaneously are reminded of an old memory. Smell can remind of places, people, even feelings, but from a historical perspective, is one sense that is seldom used to study the past. Smell is a part of our daily life. That is why it is important to use smell when studying history so that we may have a better grasp on the way that scents influenced and were a part of regular life in that time period. "But despite its primacy in our lives, our sense of smell is often overlooked when we record our history...our knowledge of the past is almost completely deodorized." It's ignorant to ignore the part smell has played in the lives of others in the past. Although smell helps us to understand the smells and experiences of the past, the smell will mean something different to us today than it did to the time period it originated from. "Smell means something far different to us than it did to the people at the time, yet we still recognize its value." Smell is an important sense that enriches our experience of the past. We study and preserve documents and artifacts, why not smells? "What we smell in our cities, homes, and natural spaces is just as much a part of our lives as what we see, hear, and touch."
     I chose Courtney Humphrie's article "A whiff of history" because she recognizes the important links between smell, memory, and the past. Humphrie relies heavily on logos. It;s not a personal article, it's very straightforward, but does provoke some thought on what smells in YOUR life can be traced back to certain memories and feelings.

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An Assault on the Amazon

    I am extremely passionate about the environment. I have a huge problem (as I'm sure most of you do) with selfish human beings depleting the grand and vast canopy of life you may know as the rainforest! Now, if you're not a big eco-freak like the rest of us, then perhaps this will hit a cord; humans are dying because their life depends solely on resources from the ever-shrinking rainforest and hundreds of animals and plant species are losing their homes and coming to the brink of extinction. The reason behind this heartless deforestation? Commercial housing, tourism, and farming land. Basically, it's a capitalist's world; it's all about the money. Brazil's government doesn't care about the devastating results their economic pursuits have thrust upon many natives that have lived off of this environment for generations. Every seconds  1.5 acres of rainforest are being destroyed. This TRUE fact seems impossible to believe/comprehend, but it is undeniable. "Nobody suspected that the forests could be destroyed. But in only 50 years, the impossible has come to pass: almost 20 percent of the Amazon rainforest has been destroyed and even more has been severely degraded." So if you're not a tree hugger, maybe the humane side of this will appeal to you. At the rate we're going now, the rainforest will be GONE by 2030, and trust me, you do not want this to happen. Not only does this mean thousands of animals and plants would become extinct, but it would completely uproot  the lives of thousands of Brazilian natives. Whats more important? Plants and  animals, or people?....People. What's more important, people or money?....still people. 
     The author of "An Assault on the Amazon" Leao Serva, appealed strongly to pathos and logos. He compares Brazil's refusal to allow their internal affairs to be influenced by outside forces concerning their right to strip and burn the remains of the tropical rainforest, to their refusal to allow abolitionists to interfere with internal affairs concerning the abolishment of slavery over a century ago. He painted the picture of a stubborn, wealth obsessed, cool, and indifferent government. That paired with the cold hard facts of deforestation was enough to outrage and stir up emotion in readers. He sure managed to stir up some emotion in me! 


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Arms and the Corrupt Man

      It's been one government rant after another, but it's just impossible to put away this feeling of fear and suspicion. I love how the government prosecutes those who act illegally, but then turns around and does something illegal! "Governments protect corrupt and dangerous arms dealers as long as they need them and then throw them behind bars when they are no longer useful." When it comes to dealing arms, our government likes to associate with less than credible characters. The resent arrest of Victor Bout, illegal arms dealer that supplied weaponry. His clients included, among others, the Liberian dictator Charles Taylor, the Northern Alliance and then the Taliban in Afghanistan, a number of the protagonists in the Balkans, the Angolan government and its mortal enemy the Unita rebel movement, the Democratic Rpublic of the congo, AND the U.S. They United States knew that using him was a legal offense, punishable by law. But when it comes to our government, who enforces and praises the law, they have no problem calling something illegal and then turning around and doing it. That's just a tad hypocrytical....don't ya think? They turn a blind eye to illegal activities as long as they are recieving some benefit. The very second the government's wants and needs are satisfied however, it brings down the full force of the law on the criminals who they had employed. That's it...I can't take this anymore! I'm packing up and moving to Australia. The government can kiss this citezan goodbye!
    The author of the article "Arms and the Corrupt Man" by Andrew Feinstein was very straight forward and to the point. The article was not a rant (which I apolagize in advance for making it seem like it was one), it was simply stating facts and giving suggestions on how to correct the way our government deals with distributing arms. Feinstein relied heavily on logos. Andrew made it clear that he was not supportive of how the government was running things, but he wasn't completely anti-government either, "Until then, the arms trade will remain hidden behind a veil of national-security-imposed secrecy, continuing to undermine democratic accountability, the rule of law and sometimes even the very national security it is meant to bolster." I've read one too many controversial articles about our government I guess. It's really not JUST our government though, most governments around the world are no better. This isn't just a national problem, it's world wide.

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We Could Be Heroes

Oh David!

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

  A great man know suggested that I should read this book. He told me that he had read it when he was in high school, just around my age, about 63 years ago. I sincerely told him it sounded interesting, and that I would look into it and read it eventually, but if you know me, you know that I had forgotten the title by the very next day. This man did know me, and took it upon himself to go out, drive to one of the many bookstores that were closing down at the time, and search for this book. He walked into my house, came into the living room (where I was attempting to read through the last of my AP summer reading books....keep in mind, this was the end of August), and dropped the book on the seat next to me. He said to tell him if I ever got around to reading it....2 months later, I got around to reading it. Thanks Papa.
  All I have to say is thank you to my Papa. Ethan Frome is a small book, only about 160 pages, but man, let me tell ya, there was a lot within those few pages. The book was mysterious to say the least. I couldn't read one page without wanting to read more. I first realized much I liked this book at around 2:34 am on a Monday...school  was not so fun that day. My book is bursting with notes and illuminated with highlighted passages! This book is a heart breaking, almost all to real and crushing view on life. That love does not always conquer all, that sometimes love cannot overcome the obstacles of society and fear. Sometimes doing the right thing, keeps you from doing whats right in your heart. How you can want and need something so bad, but know that you'll never be able to fully have it. The very beginning draws you in, as you slowly get the story, bit by bit, of a man named Ethan Frome. "Even then he was the most striking figure in Starkfield, though he was but the ruin of a man." (Wharton 1) Within the first page I wanted to know; what had destroyed this man? If edith was a fisherman, and I, a fish, she has no problem at all getting me to bite on the story's line of suspense. This man was physically alive, but emotionally dead. "No one gave me an explanation of the look on his face which, as I persisted in thinking, neither poverty nor physical suffering could have put there." (Wharton 10) The setting takes place in the cold winter in Starkfield, Massachusetts. This cold is present throughout the novel. Ethan, in the opinion of the towns people, looks as if he was dead and in hell while living because he has spent one too many winters in Starkfield, Massachusetts. The long winters of Starkfield had extinguished within him; the spark of life.
   I don't want to say anything about the book that would give anything away. Ethan from is a story about catastrophic love, restraint, longing, and anguish. It's a story about a broken man, and how, piece by piece, he fell apart. The ending's twist is ironically tragic, but fits perfectly. I enjoyed this little book to say the least. It's a quick read, won't take up much of your time, so why not sacrifice and few hours of your day, week, or month, and read this book? I highly recommend it. Like my Papa thought, I think this book has something timeless and real to say, and if you read it, I think you will too.

   

Reefer Madness

         Marijuana....a rather touchy subject. Medical marijuana....even touchier. About 1% of the US population smokes marijuana daily (roughly 1.4million), and many others smoke less frequently, or every now and then. If you are in that 1%, you probably won't like this blog post. I believe a beautiful mind is an unaltered mind, a mind in its original state. I'm no saint, but at this point in my life, I won't be "puffing the magic dragon" any time soon. There are many arguement to legalize marijuana, and the most popular arguement seems to be the benefits that can come from the smoking of medical marijuana. I've heard some stories about miraculous recoveries when it is smoked. However, I believe that instead of doping up patients to make them feel better temporarily, we should be putting our efforts into developing medicines that will cure their ailments in a permanent and legal way. I feel that if the US legalizes medical marijuana, it's only a matter of time until the drug is legalized completely. I won't think less of a person who smokes maryjane, but I will never approve it or condone it. I think it's an escape from the realities of life, and if you withdraw yourself from life and unpleasant circumstances, you'll never learn anything from life. Face life head on with a clear mind, and unaltered mind, a beautiful mind, don't hid behind this drug.
        Ethan Nadelman, author of "Reefer Madness" has a clear stance on the issue, he is adamant that marijuana (especially medical marijuana) should be legalized. He believes president Obama should let states decide whether they should legalize the drug, "But over the past year, federal authorities appear to have done everything in their power to undermine state and local regulation of medical marijuana and to create uncertainty, fear and confusion among those in the industry. The president needs to reassert himself to ensure that his original policy is implemented." He believes the legalization of the drug will benefit the community and economy. "Apart from its value to patients, medical marijuana plays an increasingly important role in local economies, transforming previously illegal jobs into legal ones and creating many new jobs as well, contributing to local tax bases and stimulating new economic activity. Federal crackdowns will not stop the trade in marijuana; they will only push it back underground and hurt those patients least able to navigate illicit markets." He fails to use ethos effectively, he seems like a less than reputable character to me! Don't do drugs kids. Don't get sucked into this reefer madness!

Reefer Madness

Totes Presh!

'For seres. Pretty dece! Thats totes presh! Sup? Adorbs. Whatevs. ' is teenager speak for 'For serious. Pretty decent! That's totally precious! What's up? Adorable. Whatever.' It's plain to see that the youth have trouble finishing words and syllables. 'Clipped' or shortened words have become a fad. One might speculate that these word shortenings are silly inventions of today's youth culture, but clipped words have been around much, much longer than your teenage son or neighbor. "Many words we use every day are clippings: gas from gasoline; chimp instead of chimpanzee; deli, not delicatessen. In fact, it would be hard to get through a day without clipped words. You’d have to give up carbs and tech, seeing the fam (or at least your sibs); you couldn’t prep for a bio or chem (or, back in the day, a home ec) exam." No lie, this info is legit! One questions arrises; Why do we love to clip words, and why do newly clipped words nevertheless "face such scorn"? Word clipping is nothing new, but these newly clipped words come off as cutesy and annoying. We have curtailed words in the past, which most likely were as well received as the modern clipped words are today....Some embrace them, and others do not. Many of the common clipped words you've heard all your life, the words you never even gave a second thought, only sound normal because they have become familiar through common use in society. Familiarity breeds acceptance. "But totes and cazh and adorbs are not shortened words for things, with their edges worn down by familiarity; they’re old qualitative words that have gotten a makeover, like a punky miniskirt cut out of an old school uniform. These words make their speakers sound modern--until they become widespread enough to lose their edge." 

     The article "Totes Presh" by Erin McKean was a fun, slightly repetitive, but to the point view on abbreviated words. The author clearly thinks we should embrace these new "slangs", and if we choose not to, it will eventually happen in the future when the word becomes commonplace.  "And because speakers of English, en masse, never miss a chance to do something creative with words, shortening familiar words is a high-reward, low-risk way to sound fresh without sacrificing mutual understanding"  I'm not a fan of these so called "clipped" words, but this article gave a very interesting outlook on them. This article was def an interesting read.

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When the Government Decided I Was a Terrorist

    What do you, the average American citizen, actually know about government intelligence agencies? Go ahead, think about it....I'll give you a minute.....Still thinking?.....Thought of anything yet?....No?...Exactly! The average American knows close to nothing about these agencies that appear to be shrouded in secrecy, which is exactly how they want it to be. The citizen knows one thing for sure, the government is a super-secret security machine, that does a rather good job of keeping its own people in the dark! For years these agencies have been yanking around US citizens. These agencies can one day decide that you are a suspicious character. They can then go on to add you to a list of "specially designated rationals and blocked persons", freeze and or empty your bank account, and the kicker, they won't even mention a word of all these things to you! "It seems odd to me that this top-secret office of Financial Intelligence somehow can’t manage to lay hands on the money it snatched from me, but what do I know? I’m just a citizen." The united states is a country. A country is made by a nation, a nation is made by the republic, the republic is made by its people, and the people are made up by everyday citizens like you and I.  These agencies are taking advantage of and disrupting the lives of many American citizens. For the people by the people? Ah huh, right,   stop abusing your people! 
         The article "When the Government decided I was a Terrorist" by Ann Jones is a riot! It is a reasonably long article, but she has just the right mix of humor, facts, and genuine puzzlement to keep me interested. Ann relies on ethos and pathos mostly throughout her article. She expresses her shock, bewilderment, annoyance, and suspicion perfectly to the reader! "I don’t know how it happened. Or even, really, what happened. Or what it means. So I’ve got no point — only a lot of anxiety. I usually write about the problems of the world, but now I’ve got one of my own. They evidently think I’m a terrorist." I chuckled once or twice; "The bank wasn’t actually holding up the delivery of the money. The funds had, in fact, left my account weeks before, along with a wire transfer fee. The responsible party was OFAC. Oh what? I wondered. OFAC. It rhymes with Oh-Tack, but you’ve got to watch how you pronounce it. Speak carelessly and the name sounds like just what you might say upon learning that you’ve been sucked into the ultimate top-secret bureaucratic sinkhole. It turns out, the bank informs me, that OFAC is a division of the U.S. Treasury Department that “reviews” transactions." This article is a chilling reality check, but it is also a humorous portrayal of how government agencies are taking advantage of the people. 


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