13 Year Old Boy Set on Fire

      This is what pisses me off. Racism is still deeply rooted in our society. I'm not talking about white against black, even though sadly that does still exist. No, today I'm talking about black against white. Coming from a nation that spent hundreds of years oppressing African Americans, most would think that racism only travels one way, from whites to blacks, but this is proof that racism does not discriminate as to who should be hating who. 13 year old Allen Goin  was followed home by two young African American teenagers. He ran up his porch and just before opening his screen door one boy doused him in gasoline while another boy used a bic lighter to set him on fire, saying, "This is what you deserve. You get what you deserve white boy." The boy was able to beat out the flames and call 911. He has suffered 1st degree burns, permanent damage to his eyes and lungs, and lost large amounts of skin from his face. According to the boy's mother, soon after the accident his 5 year old brother came to her in tears asking "Mom, am I going to be set on fire today?" Remove the time. Remove the place. Remove their skin colors. Remove their race. Remove everything, and you are left with a horrible crime against humanity. You are left with a group of young men deciding they are going to take away the life of another young man. Those men are monsters, not because of their color, but because of they did...because of what they tried to do.
                This article focused heavily on the logos, and left a gap for readers to wonder in awe, how could anyone do this this to a child. The article itself didn't describe the race of any of the boys, the indicator of racial tensions was seen in the quote "You get what you deserve white boy." I did further research to find out the races of the other boys. I'm still in shock. Thank God this boy did not die, and I can only hope he finds justice.

to read more>>>13 Year Old Set On Fire <<<

Eating in Public- Pleasure or Peril.

       HA! Oh, New York, when will you learn? Perkins, a democratic state senator has introduced legislation that would ban subway-goers from eating. First time offenders would be fined $250, this would be doubled if a rider dared to chew on the subway again. They argue that eating on the subway and littering breeds rats, this is true, but it seems to me the real problem here is littering, not eating. Instead of criminalizing a biological necessity like eating, Perkins should enforce the already existing laws against littering. The author argues that this law would be ridiculous, imagine fining a mother who fed her children a snack on a long ride, imagine fining a diabetic who had to eat in order to maintain his or her blood sugar levels, and imagine making a 12 year old pay $250 for nibbling on some fries at lunch time.....ARE THEY SERIOUS? "Instead of making people feel guilty and ashamed for eating, we should celebrate it, and try to find ways to make it cleaner, easier and more convenient." Food on the go is part of American culture, especially New York culture as it can be seen by the street vendors around every corner. The subways should be encouraging riders to eat, and dispose of the food properly, not making the innocent pay for the crimes of the selfish few. 
          The author used a combination of logos, pathos and ethos throughout the article. He used logos when he explored a diabetics necessity for food, and brought up similar instances from the past when public eating was looked upon with disdain and disgust in New York, and how far they had come. Pathos when he spoke of the mother feeding her hungry children, and other personal instances where this law, if passed, could devastate the common working citizen and shun them from the subway forever. He also used ethos when he established that he was a New Yorker, speaking to other New Yorkers. "And in any case, New Yorkers are a naturally rebellious breed. Good luck to any lawmaker who tries to pry our coffee and Danish, our shawarmas, bagels and churros, from our hungry hands." 


to read the article>>>Public Eating- Pleasure or Peril <<<

Where Do My Bluebird Fly?

         This band was introduced to me yesterday, and I can't stop listening. I love music when it haunts me long after I pressed play. It's beautiful, haunting, and.....it leaves me speechless. The way his voice conveys emotion, the way each chord floats through the air, it's just simply mesmerizing.  Listen, enjoy. I could drown in your kerosene eyes....

Done

Blogging......Oh, how I love thee. You make laugh, you make me cry, but mostly you make me cry....You transform me into a whiny little baby. I don't like blogging, I don't want to blog, I just don't want to do it! ahhahahahahhahhahhhhahhfgednvnsjdmasklknfnjdjnerjewfasasnkndsaknsnenwfbwebwefbwfebfewbjkfbkjfejknbfbjknfeknbfewnkfewknknfwe. There are SO MANY other things I would rather be doing, so many other things I ought to be doing, and yet I'm stuck here trying to blog, but I can't blog....all I can do is  complain. I should be reading and analyzing yet another article, but I'm not going to. We should write more articles....no more analyzing. For the first half of the year it was fine, it was important, but now it's just tedious and bothersome. WE should write OUR own articles on whatever WE are interested in. WE then can attach an additional paragraph in which WE describe the pathos, logos, and ethos that WE used in OUR articles. JUST SOMETHING NEW!!! pleasseeeee. I'm beyond done with this! And I'm sorry to complain, but honestly I've gotten to a point where I just have no motivation whatsoever to continue blogging. See, I told you I've been transformed into a whiny baby. I feel so annoying, but then again that's appropriate, seeing as how I am so annoyed.

     Peaceful protest is ideal, but unrealistic. Whenever a country tries to achieve independence or justice through peaceful protesting, they either fail miserably or turn to violence not soon after. I've observed on numerous occasions countries employing such "peaceful protests" initially, but sooner or later violence erupts. Behind the "peace" tensions were simmering, and violence lurked in the background, threatening to come to a full boil. Such is the case in Senegal. While I would love to see the men and women of Senegal achieve democracy by peaceful means, I don't think this dream will ever come to fruition. They will either continue to suffer under an oppressive, corrupted government, or they will rise, rebel, and fight for the justice they deserve.
     The author of "Strangling Democracy in Senegal" had a strongly rooted opinion on the the current president in Senegal. He portrayed him in a very negative light, and used pathos to make the reader's heart ache for the citizens of Senegal.

Strangling Democracy in Senegal

The Dregs of Dictatorship

         When democracy wrestles dictatorship, it's comparable to wrestling a Hydra; when you cut off one head, two grow back. Patience, persistence, and determination can slay the beast, but the beast will never play fair, and beast will draw blood. Many middle-eastern countries are learning this the hard way. With countries like Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia, and Maldive (the country this article is based on) overthrowing deeply routed dictatorships, it's becoming clear that just taking power away from one dictator does not vanquish or even necessarily improve their governments. Dictatorships don't always die when the dictator leaves office. In these countries, the dictators have stepped down, but they left behind powerful networks of regime loyalists. In other words, the dictator is gone, but others are left behind to pick up where he left off, and sometimes go even further. The president of Maldive, Muhammad Nasheed, was the first president elected into office after the Dictatorship was overthrown. He was able to cut the countries deficit, establish a tax base, and elect a Parliament, but he was still left with a rotten judiciary system  "handpicked by the former president, which was now hiding behind a democratic constitution. These powerful judges provided protection for the former president, his family members and political allies, many of whom are accused of corruption, embezzlement and human rights crimes." Free speech was also being abused by Muslim extremists. The former president’s cabinet members threw anti-Semitic and anti-Christian slurs at the democratic government, claiming that democracy granted them and their allies license to call for violent jihad and indulge in hate speech. When Nasheed sought the help of the United Nations, old loyalists and allies of the former president and the corrupt chief judge of the criminal court, rallied and protested in the streets, and forced Nasheed to resign....at gunpoint. Even though Nasheed worked so hard to establish his democracy, reverberations from past dictatorships could still be felt. 

      The author of the article "The Dregs of Dictatorship" was written by none other than Muhammad Nasheed himself! Ethos: Nasheed was the president of Maldive, saw the injustices and corruption of his past government firsthand, and was involved in the fall, and rise of the corrupt government. Therefore, he is a credible source. Pathos: Nasheed was obviously very frustrated that his best efforts to better his country's government not only got him thrown out of office, but also seemed to be in vain when the corruption continued and peaked. He does not regret trying though, "Choosing to stand up to the judge was a controversial decision, but I feel I had no choice but to do what I did - To have taken no action, and passively watched the country's democracy strangled, would have been the greatest injustice of all." To close, the dictator can be removed in a day, 'but it can take years to stamp out the the lingering remnants of his dictatorship.'

To Read Article >>> The Dregs of Dictatorship <<<

NO MORE BLOGGING/ARTICLE FRUSTRATION/OVERALL FRUSTRATION

There is no inspiration, there will be no inspiration. Inspiration once overflowed, it once quenched and nourished every thought I formed, every word I spoke, and every sentence I composed, but alas, my inner well has dried up. Is it gone? yes. How long will it be gone? no one knows. Will it ever return? no one knows. How can something that was once so deeply rooted within me just vanish so suddenly and so completely? The roots that once held my world in place, held it together,  have been uprooted, and now everything crumbles. Is this simply natural, is this a common occurrence? Is this a repercussion of aging, of maturing, of growing into adulthood? If so, I want none of that. I will never grow older. I will stay frozen in place...in time...in space. I will sacrifice everything for my inspiration, be it happiness, be it trust, be it love, or be it myself... I must hold on, I can not let go, no, not yet.