Lil' Chick: A feels update

I'm trying to decompress my feelings thus far within this class and sort out what its making my mind process. I feel as though I'm just a lil chick who's been in this unrealistic, sheltered robin's egg blue shell for the past 20+ years. This class has this lil chick feeling like K. Stone is cracking at that little egg shell with a tiny coal miner pick (that sounds very eegh but its not).  I'm feeling like I'm in Aladdin's whole new world. While its so honest and our world kinda (really) sucks, this honesty of human development is actually really beautiful to me right now. I get this egocentrism stuck in my head and its really beautiful to be such a raw, open and honest human being and I think we forget how freeing and calming that can be. I'm not really sure if I got my point across the ways its processing in my head but, still processing.

South Carolina School Shooting

On Wednesday, a 14 year old boy went to the playground at Townville Elementary School in South Carolina and shot two students, and one teacher. He shot one student in the leg, the other in the foot, and the teacher in the shoulder. The student that was shot leg, Jacob Hall, is currently in the hospital suffering from a major brain injury. When Jacob was shot in the leg, the bullet hit his femoral artery. This then led to massive blood loss, which then led to a major brain injury. The other student and the teacher have been released from the hospital.

Before the shooter went to the school, it is suspected he fatally shot his father. Also before the shooter began shooting at the playground, he called his grandparents crying and mumbling. His grandparents became worried and went to his house where they found the shooter's father, their son, dead.

The shooter never made it inside the elementary school because a firefighter, Jamie Brock, apprehended him. The shooter is being charged with the murder of his father, and the attempted murder of the two students, and teacher.

It is upsetting to me that will live in a world where children are attempting to murder other children. The shooter being a teenager, leads me to consider how impulsive this boy probably is. Had he taken the time to truly think about what he was doing, I wonder if he would have made the same decision.

I am incredibly saddened for the parents of Jacob Hall, who is in very critical condition in the hospital. I cannot imagine the pain and fear they are going through right now knowing their child may never recover. I am saddened for the other student and the teacher who were shot, that they had to go through that trauma. I am saddened for the children and the families this shooting has affected. I am saddened for the family of the shooter. How do you deal with knowing what your son, grandson has done, and grieve the loss of his father? I am also saddened for the shooter himself, because there are so many other options than to kill. He will have to live with this decision the rest of his life and suffer the consequences of his actions, as he should.

The environment

I really enjoyed our lecture today! Being outside was so refreshing and really tied into the environment topic. Our discussion today opened my eyes and made me realize that we ALL have to do our part to keep the earth nice and beautiful! I personally have seen someone else's trash on the ground and turned the other way with the mindset of, "that's not my trash, why should I have to pick it up?" and that is so wrong! This is the earth that I live on so I should keep it as clean as possible, no matter who's trash it is laying on the ground. Same with recycling and everything else we discussed. I also like that we talked about clothes being a pollution issue because in one of my other classes we have a group project where we are starting a business. Our group decided to open a store that sells clothes that are recycled and repurposed. Rather than clothes being thrown out into landfills and causing tons of pollution we would remake the items into one of a kind pieces and resale them. Basically a resale store with a spin on it. Anyways, I just think any ideas like that are so great and I wish more people would think with the mindset of helping the world that we all live in stay clean. When you read about all of the ways to be more eco friendly its a lot to wrap your head around if you're not used to living that lifestyle, but I think everyone should look into because it is such an important issue and so much could be prevented if more people would get on board!

U.S. taking step towards protecting the elderly in nursing homes

Many nursing homes have clauses in their contracts that require the use of a private system of justice called arbitration. This allows issues of quality care and abuse to be kept out of the public view. Because of these clauses families do not get justice in cases of abuse and even instances of death and the public isn’t exposed to the information. “In May 2014, for example, a woman with Alzheimer’s was sexually assaulted two times in two days by residents at a nursing home in Lemon Grove, Calif. A subsequent investigation by the state’s department of public health found the nursing home “failed to protect” the woman. But when her family tried to hold the nursing home accountable in court, their case was scuttled because of an arbitration clause. Ultimately, they gave up and settled with the nursing home (NY Times)”. An agency in the Health and Human Services Department has made a rule that any nursing home receiving federal funding (Medicare/Medicaid) must now allow disputes to be settled in court. The rule would help protect around 1.5 million nursing home residents. The rule is set to be effective in November but could be challenged in court. I hope that the rule doesn’t get over turned. I was not aware of the arbitration clauses that many people face but I have heard horror stories of elderly abuse in nursing homes and it is disgusting. I think this is a good step in trying to make a difference and I hope even more changes are made to protect the defenseless.

If you wanna take a look at the article the link is below:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/29/business/dealbook/arbitration-nursing-homes-elder-abuse-harassment-claims.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

Poor Kids Extra Credit Video

            You never really think about the fact that there are so many children living in poverty. These kids have all the reason in the world to give up and loose hope, yet they all have the biggest dreams. They want to do well in school, so that they can get a good job. They have hope that they will one day get out of poverty and improve their lifestyles.

            My heart literally broke when Kaylie said that the hardest part of dealing with her family’s financial difficulties was ignoring the hunger in her stomach. “I’m just starving. We don’t get three meals a day, like breakfast, lunch, and dinner.” Her brother also said that “Sometimes when we have cereal, we don’t have milk, so we have to eat it dry.” I couldn’t imagine not even having enough money to afford cereal and milk. It’s sad to know that there are families that can’t even afford to have food on their table. Kaylie spends her free time collecting cans in order to help her family with money. The squished cans are only worth five cents, yet to her those few cents are extremely valuable.

When Brittany and her brother Roger shared their story, it made me realize how much I overlook the basic essentials given to me. They are very aware of their situation, and they are able to process everything so maturely. It amazed me when Roger said, “You can go from doing okay, not having to go hungry, to this. Going hungry and having to pay all your bills and not being able to buy food, on the verge of being homeless again.” Brittany said that one day she got in the shower and it was cold; their hot water had gotten shut off. I couldn’t imagine my siblings showering with cold water every day. I can only imagine how terrible it must be during the winter. Brittany at one point also said that she wants her family to be happy, that she doesn’t care about her happiness. That just shows you that children are so innocent and genuinely have good hearts.

Johnny and his family lived such a normal lifestyle until his dad lost his company. The one thing he said that stood out to me was, “People who come to a homeless shelter, it can just be just somebody who was living good at one time and had it all; a bill that didn't get paid, a utility bill, a payment, a foreclosure, anything. Anything can easily take them straight down to the floor and down to ground zero”. This is so true. We tend to think that we have everything granted to us, that we are untouchable.

This video really did upset me. I couldn’t believe the living conditions that these children were living in. These are only three families living in poverty. This doesn’t show the other millions of families that live in the same conditions, if not worse. I am grateful that despite the struggle, my parents have been able to provide me with the basic living essentials.  

Post 3

This weekend I was extermely upset at how some students acted during the football game this weekend. There was a group of students that refused to stand during the for the national anthem.  It was very shocking to me. I personally don't understand why you would not stand.

Class this week taught me a lot about how sometimes things like all lives matter can be offensive. I learned that in times like these I need to be more understanding of other peoples views.

Thursday's Discussion

So after Thursday's discussion, it honestly made me feel so sad to see the kind of world we live in. It made me want to go out and see peoples point of views on the situation. After reading Kelly's email that afternoon, I totally feel like that is true that the word too would have been a word that needed to be added to those hashtags. Listening to my classmate talk about how she believes that there is something wrong in the system, because there are good cops but there are also very bad cops. There was a time earlier in the semester how we talked about how now it is pretty easy to become a teacher,and how some people just do it to make money. I am not saying becoming an officer is easy but I just feel that at times people just do it also because they want a job and we do need several officers. There was a video a while back that I saw about this African American officer talk about how when they graduate to become officer they take an oath to help the world not hurt it, but I feel that at times they do think they are better than everyone because they have a uniform they are able to say and do what they want regardless if they are right or wrong. I don't think thats how things should be yeah there are laws people should be punish because they break the laws not be killed. I also don't know how I feel about them being paid leave, like they just killed someone and they are being paid for that like that is just not okay. There have been so many recent incidents just like that and they killed them for no reason, its just so frustrating like what makes it okay for them to shot someone just because they have a uniform.

Another H-E-B...

The third H-E-B in the city of San Marcos was approved this week. Many people are in favor of this new store because there isn't much of a grocery store near that area but others are furious because of the location! Both sides of the argument are valid and make sense. In my opinion I'm kind of in between both sides. I think a grocery store was needed in that side of town, but just not in the location where they plan on making it. Another H-E-B in town will be great considering the big H-E-B is always packed and it will create new jobs and God knows broke college students need jobs. I just wished they wouldn't do it so close to Purgatory. I mean a random grocery store near nature? Also flooding could get bad with all the changes done around the area. I get H-E-B was a huge help during the past flooding we've had so that probably won them some vote but still hate that they couldn't think of a better location!!!

stuff

The story of stuff once again made me angry at the world. I did not know how bad it really was. I feel so wasteful honestly.. I don't even recycle and while i work i have been thinking about all the plastic bags we waste each and every day.. its pretty sad. Also, i still have a perfectly fine phone that works great (iPhone 5s) but i just really think i need the new 7, but do i really?!? NO.. but apple makes everyone think they do need to continuously upgrade even when they have issues with their Apple product! it really is crazy how advertising works...
Though i feel like i am more aware than i was about a month ago i still feel like i don't know hardly anything and its kind of upsetting because i want to be more involved and know whats going. I need to start paying more attention. Some of the things we discuss in class i have no idea about and i want to be able to think "yeah i heard about that too" so my goal is to continuously become more aware. I still enjoy listening to npr while I'm driving!
I read an article that Texas State had a record setting enrollment of 38,849 for the 2016 Fall semester
and a 6.3 % increase in new graduate students. With such an increase, it really makes me think about the parking situation on campus.. something needs to happen to accommodate all of these students. It is so hard to find parking unless i get to campus before 8:00. They really should not give out parking stickers to so many people if there are not enough available spots.

Protest

I have been seeing a bunch of stuff about the football player starting this protest for police brutality and not standing during the national anthem. While I can understand and agree with the reason for his protest I absolutely disagree with the way he handled it and it sucks how so many people have started to follow his actions. It is disrespectful on more levels than one to not stand during the country's national anthem and I wish people were just more decent human beings every now and then. I couldn't decide to write about this or the guy that shot 5 people at a make up counter at a Macy's department store. IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE!

Not Terrible News to Brighten Your Day

(Sorry this is Facebook adjacent, K Stone)

Last week, I read an article about Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan who pledged to donate 3 Billion Dollars over several years to end/cure disease. The money will go to three research institutions to fund their research efforts. Upon initially reading this, I was hopeful and excited about the prospect of abolishing diseases. That's amazing; they plan on curing diseases in their child's lifetime. Today, though, I read additional articles criticizing the duo for the idea behind the proposed contribution. One article said that although the idea sounds promising, there isn't a way to monitor whether or not the money goes to this research or gets donated at all. The most stated critique was that their 3 billion dollar contribution isn't enough to make a dent in the problem. It kind of surprised me how quick people were to criticize positive headlines. There's so much bad in the news, especially this past week. This good news should be celebrated. It also makes me wonder about the dent that could be made if more billionaires did what Zuckerberg and Chan are doing. Last week I watched the Queen of Versailles on Netflix after it was brought up in one of our class discussions. The Siegler family in threw money away like it was nothing. What if some of that money was donated to curing disease? Maybe an actual dent could be made if more of the top 1% took a note from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

Articles to peruse for reference:

http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/09/23/495184078/whats-the-prognosis-for-mark-zuckerbergs-3-billion-health-plan

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/technology/2016/sep/23/mark-zuckerberg-priscilla-chan-bill-gates-charity-philanthropy

Environmental Concerns

In class this past week, we began discussing the environment and how we (humans) are basically destroying the Earth. I took an environmental science class while I was in high school, so I felt that I was aware of how detrimental we are being to the Earth. However, the video we saw in class opened my eyes further.

I did not take into account how us being brainwashed to believing we need the newest, biggest thing was a major reason why we are having environmental problems. I knew that destroying resources, creating pollution, and throwing away items that our Earth cannot properly dispose of was hurting our environment, but I forgot to think about the big arrow. The whole reason we destroy the resources, pollute the air through factories, and then throw away the "old items" is because our society, media, and government convince us that we need the newest thing; thus, starts the cycle of destroying the environment all over again.

How do we stop this mindset of needing the newest thing? How do we change a societies way of living? More importantly, how do we convince the corporations to stop being so greedy?

I am not saying out society should completely stop shopping, but our society needs to stop being so wasteful if we have any hope of repairing our environment. We need to start saying no to the a new phone, television, or whatever the newest item is just because we want it. This planet is all we have; we do not currently have a back up plan. We need to protect our home, plain and simple.

Mirrors - Hillary Clinton

This past week Hilary Clinton launched a new campaign ad called Mirrors. I am not a fan of either candidate but she did a wonderful job of painting a picture of how Trump feels about women. In the past I had heard him belittle and insult minorities, women, and people with special needs and it disgusted me. This ad shows him degrading women and tugs on heart string by showing the effects these kinds of things do to a little girl's self esteem. The media is already promoting and bombarding the minds of children by the hyper sexualizing and extreme photoshopping of women.   And then we have the man who may possibly leading our country showing that he does not have respect for women in the slightest. People have to take a stand and show what a misogynistic, racist, egomaniac he is and I'm happy to see this ad spreading the word and making people think.

The link is provided below if  you wanna watch the ad.
https://youtu.be/vHGPbl-werw

Black, white, or purple.

Despite the obvious tension on Thursday I am so thrilled that professor Stone gave our class time to discuss the BLM movement.  I think it gave our classmates who had a difficult time with using appropriate language on  the matter open their eyes to a new perspective.  I especially appreciated our classmates bravery who shared her experience with her younger brother and mother.  It hit my heart like a ton of bricks.  How awful it is that the individuals who were once labeled as our protectors are now looked at as untrusting monsters.  Like our other classmate shared about her family member being a cop...I too have an uncle who is a cop.  Is it scary? Absolutely.  Do I believe that his life matters more than anyone else's or that he as a Mexican American has been treated has unjustly as so many innocent African Americans? No.  I believe there are good cops and bad cops.  I believe there are good people and bad people whether they be black, white, or purple. 

New York/New Jersey Bombings Last Weekend

Last weekend, multiple bombings took place in New York and New Jersey. This really hit home for me because I am from New Jersey and over the summer, I traveled to New York twice a week for work. The first bomb went off in a garbage can at a Marine Corps Charity race in Seaside Park, New Jersey Saturday morning. Everyone assumed that this was an isolated incident until two more bombs were found unexploded nearby. Then Saturday night, a bomb went off in New York's Chelsea neighborhood injuring 29 people. The remnants of the bomb were found with a note that had names of former terrorists on it, including the Boston Marathon bombers. Then on Sunday night a backpack detonated near the Elizabeth train station in New Jersey. This is all just so crazy to me because we have all been hearing about these types of things happening but until it happens close to home, you never think it could happen anywhere near you. Many people that I worked with take the train into New York and lived near a lot of those places. It is so scary how crazy the world is right now and how these people that are doing these attacks are people that are living in our country. One of my good friends is a train conductor and they had to be on lock down the entire day after this happened. I can't even wrap my head around the fact that myself or someone I know could have been at any of those locations when the bombs detonated.The man behind all of this has been found and arrested but he rode the train to New York with bombs in his backpack, left them in Chelsea, and then took the train back to Elizabeth where he left five more bombs in the backpack at the train station!!! I really can't understand how this happened and how it was so easy for him to do. Something has to change to make these things stop happening so often. There 100% needs to be more security on public transportation.

Taking a stand..or the lack thereof

When I think of the national anthem, I immediately see red white and blue stripes, the people that serve in our armed forces, the fourth of July. This may only be my perspective on the national anthem and it probably accounts for why I always place my hand over my heart and stand proudly when it is played. And only recently have I had to ask myself "Is it wrong for me to do this? Is it wrong for me to feel proud during this moment?"

Collin Kaepernick, a football player for the San Francisco 49ers, was the first to start the "epidemic" of not standing during the national anthem.  His reasoning behind the gesture is to show support for people of color who are being oppressed in the United States and to take a stand against police brutality.

I do agree with Kaepernick that these are major issues that our Country needs to bring awareness and a solution too but I'm not sure sitting during the national anthem is the best way to send that signal to the rest of the world.

More and more people continue to sit or make stands against the national anthem in a way to have their voices heard. Even some of our fellow bobcats sat and raised a fist during the national anthem at the football game on saturday night.

I'm thankful for the people who have chosen to speak out in this very peaceful manner. The rioting and the violence that is happening in other parts of the country right now are heart breaking.

The complicated part is finding a happy medium between violence and staying silent. Maybe sitting during the national anthem is what it will take to have our problems and our voices heard. Just maybe this will help solve the problems of injustice and discrimination that is happening.

I don't have all the answers to how to solve this problem in our world today I don't know if anyone does. What are y'alls thoughts? How do you feel about not standing during the national anthem? Will it make the difference? If not, then what will make the difference?

Protest at Texas State Football Game

    This Saturday at a Texas State home football game a few students decided to remain in their seats during the national anthem. To be honest, I was very surprised that this happened at Texas State. I'm not blind about the fact that we have different races at this school but the fact that their act of protest was recognized by The Statesman caught my attention. What also caught my attention was the fact that some of my acquaintances on Facebook decided to take the time out of their day to voice their disdain for this protest. To them I say, "Where is your disdain for the real problem?" 

     I did not want to talk about BLM or the protest but our conversation in class got me fired up. There are so many people complaining about the Black Lives Matter movement and taking it out of context that it is astonishing. One of the most common questions asked about is, "If black lives matter, why isn't anyone protesting black on black crime?" To those people I will say this, Black Lives Matter is about standing up against people in positions of authority, police officers, who take it upon themselves to play executioner for innocent black people. To reiterate, it is not about hating the police force or minimizing the value of anyone else's life. 

     The riots and looting that has occurred in response to these revolting executions are not a productive way to protest these crimes. But for people to get up in arms about someone not standing up for the national anthem when there are innocent people being gunned down by members of the police  force is equally revolting. Before we all start to question why people are choosing to protest by sitting down for the national anthem, we need to first exercise empathy to understand why there is a need for protest in the first place. 

Imagine...

Over the weekend I had a dream--well a nightmare really.  I dreamt I was driving down the interstate, the sky was turning black, and I looked in my rearview mirror to see several cars crash and go up in a flaming explosion.  I looked back up into the sky through my windshield to see jets dropping bombs.  My only thought was, "This is it. It's finally happening."  When I awoke, I couldn't help but think about the fact that visions like this are all too real for millions of people around the world.

The Civil War in Syria is devastating to learn about.  They discuss Syrian refugees on NPR daily and share stories that leave you in shock.  The wildest thing to me about the hundreds of thousands of displaced Syrians being relocated is that the majority of Americans don't want them here.  WHAT?

Can you imagine if my dream was reality?  Can you imagine if the United States became a warzone and we were dying by the thousands and scrambling through the chaos to get somewhere safe?  Can you imagine if other countries were turning us away?

Think about it.

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion, too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace... 
-John Lennon

Being aware of the news

I'm not going to lie.. I am pretty bad at keeping up with the news. I try but I'm obviously living on a college budget so I do not spend extra on cable and things I do not think as necessary. I would have never even known about the Macy's shooting or the Illinois shooting if it had not been for seeing the previous blogs. That is so scary to me that I am so blind sided. I have been listening to NPR more now and I never used to but  I'm starting to realize the harsh reality in the world and living in my little bubble isn't going to cut it for needing to be prepared for if this sort of thing actually goes down. I can't imagine going through a shooting but I do know that we all need to be prepared because with the way the world is today it is possible everywhere we go. On top of that, it is also very scary to think that people are so rash and make anger decisions so quickly and that is why these shootings and killings are happening. We need to always be aware of our surroundings and what is going on in the world around us even if that means only having access to radio news stations because it is better to be at least a little informed than not informed at all!

Macys Shooting

I didn't know that this shooting had happened at all, maybe I had been living under a rock or something but I wasn't aware of it at all. I went to work on Saturday and I work at the mall in austin so I was hearing about it, so we had to do a drill. I was so shocked and completely disgusted and how could this even happen and why do I have to prepare for it to happen?? Like its so crazy and makes me full of anxiety and what if this does happen to me? Am I ready to deal with something life this, like it could almost make someone not want to leave the house anymore. There needs to be something happening in the political world, either party needs to do something to make us feel safe again.

University of Illinois Shooting

There was a shooting near the University of Illinois. Police believe the shooting took place because of an argument that happened. One of the shooters is still at large. After police got the call, they arrived to the scene to find four wounded victims and one person died soon after. Further investigation is taking place, but they believe the shooting stemmed from an argument at a party that later turned violent. I think it is extremely sad that people really open fire in places where there are so many innocent bystanders. Usually the person in possession of the gun does not have the proper training to use it and does not realize the extremely deadly effects it could have on bystanders. They are careless and taking action with emotions, which is never good when a gun is in hand. The shooter is still on the loose so hopefully the police catch him before he hurts someone else. It is way to easy to get a gun in this country, and ironically it seems like it is getting easier and easier.


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/shooting-reported-university-of-illinois-urbana-champaign-campus/

Macy's Shooting

First off... WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THIS WORLD??!! On Friday night, (last night), there was a shooting at a Washington mall. According to CNN.com, the shooter walked into the mall unarmed, killed 4 women in the makeup department, and then shot a man, who later died at the hospital. The man later walked out of the mall without a trace. The shooter is STILL on the loose. I am extremely mind boggled at the thought of someone walking into a mall, unarmed, murdering 5 people, and walking out without a trace. When you think about going shopping at a mall, you do not think something is going to go wrong, let a lone, be shopping in the makeup department, and lose your life. A mall is, in a weird way, a "safe place"... a place you walk freely, and never (or hardly ever) look behind your shoulder. Now, I will be looking over my shoulder.


http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/24/us/washington-mall-shooting/index.html

WWCGD?

Our BLM discussion was important. The way people say "All lives matter" is really saying "This social issue of you being targeted because of your skin color is invalid". Its such a slap in the face to those effected and saying that highlights white privilege and knocks our progression back sixty, seventy years. This really is such a monumental part of our future history because history is repeating itself people. As the Cheetah Girls would say "We are sisters. We stand together. We make up one big family though we don't look the same" this just came to me while typing and I couldn't not. We are so selfish and we think "not my circus not my monkeys" and ignore the slaying of our neighbors. Maybe if we got our heads out of our butts and started caring for people other than ourselves we might not be fighting a sixty year old issue.

Parking

So I walk pretty much the whole campus Tuesday and Thursday, and every time I am walking to my car off NLBJ because I refuse to buy a parking pass, all I can think about is why is there more parking for people who live on campus then those that commute... Also, why are residential parking cheaper... I just don't understand it. I bet there are more commuters then residents who actually have a car. I think freshman should not be aloud to have a car on campus unless they have proof of a job, live a certain amount of miles from their parents/guardians, or have health issues. What really bugs me is that they built another dorm, but yet didn't build anymore parking... I really don't think they stop and think about their students all the time.. But they need to realize that their students are what makes Texas State the best school, also the professors too! Idk I just think they need to make more commuter lots, and by also having more commuter lots more students probably would go to class. Some students don't go to class because they cant find any damn parking. It's just bullshit. Also, after hours why can't I park in campus with out a parking pass? The rec would be used more, the library and computer labs. With the increase of students using these resources the possibility of better GPA's could happen, using the rec will help with health, which helps the school with students staying in school longer. I also think about the safety of students going to the library late at night. If you cant park on campus after hours with out a pass, students are parking in the square and walking up... Sometimes don't even get out of the library until 1 or 2.. Who knows what creeps can be out at that time. I am just frustrated at the parking situation.. This school makes so much now that we are D1, so why don't we put some of the money towards what's needed and not always in athletics. Education is important too people!!!

Story of Stuff

The video we watched in class this past week about the Story of Stuff was definitely an eye opener. I never really payed attention or even realized how wasteful we really are. We cause so much harm to the environment, and we are destroying our own home. In the video she made it sound like we were robots, always throwing away items in order to buy the newest model. The more I think about it the more I agree. Our society disposes of items so quick. We let companies, like Apple, hypnotize us. I myself have fallen into this cycle. I just got the iPhone 6s in December, and I have thought about buying the iPhone 7. There is nothing wrong with my current phone. I am just one of many consumers that have allowed companies to brainwash me. This video was an eye opener and was very informative. I want to become a conscious consumer.

"You will shelter me, my love. I will shelter you."

Ray Lamontagne has been one of my favorite artist since I was old enough to develop my own taste in music. I remember being in 5th grade and singing his songs about love and heart-break as if I understood what those two things even meant as an 11 year old.

I have bought tickets to watch him do his thing live 3 different times, and all 3 different times the shows were canceled. He has officially taught me a thing or two about heart-ache. The most recent time he canceled his show was this week and it's caused quite the stir. He decided to cancel his show due to not believing in open-carry at music venues.

So, I'll start by saying I'm all about him (and others in the spotlight) using fame and public image to make a political statement/stand because if the people who have it don't use it- WHAT A WASTE. BUT  I'll also say there are more professional ways to take a stand than canceling your concert TWO days beforehand when this law was passed MONTHS ago. Instead of searching for a new venue and etc. Campus Carry was approved many many months ago, before the show was even booked. So, why book the show? Why have fans take the time to take off work, buy the tickets, and get excited in the first place? There are plenty of other venues in Austin, Texas (THE LIVE MUSIC CAPITAL OF THE WORLD) So, why book at the one that allows open-carry if you do not agree with it? I also think, if he is going to cancel his Austin show for this reason, he should cancel ALL Texas concerts because this is not a UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS ISSUE but a TEXAS POLICY issue.

COME ON RAY!!!! Just sing to me!!!

*was this about gun policy or my disappointment? IDK, i'm sad.

Coincidence?

Tonight my boyfriend invited me to go eat with his coworkers at a restaurant down town that was recently opened a few months ago. This restaurant was on my list of new places to try so I thought sure why not. While we were waiting on our food, I noticed that they were showing the news on all the televisions, so I decided I could catch up on what was going on in the world since I did not have time to listen to NPR today. At first they were showing updates on what was going on with elections then they showed a reporter who was interviewing protesters in Charlotte. The reporter was asking protesters what their opinions were about what had happened to Keith Lamont Scott earlier this week. As the interview went on there was footage shown of people who were protesting in the streets of Charlotte with signs that said "Justice for Keith", some protesters even wore shirts with the same saying, and many were holding candles in memory of Keith. I was trying to hear what they were saying since the music was on and all of a sudden the manager comes in and changes all the televisions to E entertainment and football games. He also turned up the music almost three times higher! I am not sure if this just happened to be a coincidence or not but I felt super uncomfortable after. I also noticed after this that majority of the customers in the restaurant were white, so I then wondered if that had anything to do with what had just happened. Have any of you ever been through a similar experience like this?

Very random but I am so frustrated!!

I know this has nothing to do with our discussions from the past two classes, however I am just veryyy angry with the parking system on campus!! Im sure everyone has experienced this several times while going to Texas State and I'm sure you have all felt the anger that I have experienced this entire semester and especially the past two days I've been on campus.
Im graduating in December so I only have two classes this semester which are on Tuesday and Thursday. I also commute from New Braunfels so I typically park at LBJ everyday and pay at least $12 every Tuesday/Thursday. Anyways.. the point of this rant of mine is that this past Tuesday I parked at LBJ, ended up paying $14 for parking (the machine wasn't working and by the time the parking assistant helped me 2 more dollars were added) and then had to drive over to the University Registrar building to drop off a form to have my middle name added onto my diploma...When I got to the parking lot of the registrar building I was stopped by the guard who told me I could not drive into the parking lot without a pass (which is understandable), and I would have to drive to one of the parking garages and pay AGAIN for parking, and then walk back to the registrar building to drop off the form... I asked the guard in front of the parking lot if I could just run in and drop off my form that was already filled out...She said no. Everyone knows how big campus is, so by the time I would of parked, walked to the registrar building, drop of my name request form, and then walk back to the parking garage, I would of had to pay another $6!! Maybe I'm over exaggerating, but to me this is insane! To me this is Texas States way of doing anything and everything they can to get even more money from us!
I am only on campus for about 4 hours, two days a week, so a commuter pass didn't make since to me. If anyone has any tips that will help me get through the next two and a half months that would be awesome!

I apologize for this long obnoxious post but clearly I am very frustrated...
That is all! Have a good weekend everyone!

Black lives matter

It was nice to have an honest discussion about the black lives matter movement and police brutality in front of our classmates. So often we discuss these issues with close friends and family and we are not accountable for the things we say. I believe when we have other people questioning  our opinions we are much more understanding and able to see a different point of view. As a young white American I hear and encounter so many other white people who ignore racism because they believe not acknowledging it means it does not exist. I was almost brought to tears when the student was talking about how her little brother is taught to interact with police because he is black. My brother is 16 and this is never something I would have even considered.  There is such a sad and frustrating racial disparity is this country. However, I do think that discussion is a small step toward equality and change.

I think this article highlights a very important aspect of white peoples response to Black Lives Matter. PLEASE READ!!!




http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-halstead/dear-fellow-white-people-_b_11109842.html

poverty

Unfortunally I missed class Thursday due to trip to Florida to see my family, but from discussion on Tuesday I now question and look at the differences income statues in different parts of cities. While I was in Florida, I drove through a lot of different citites and wondered what the poverty rate was. I am now very curious about the poverty rates and school districts in different counties. After visiting my brothers fiancé and going to her Aunts house for the first time I just asked myself why hell do you have a 5 bedroom house and no kids.... But yet they had a bunch of tvs... I just feel as if they could put there money to better use, but what do I know.. There are just so many people out there struggling to make ends meet but yet the people who just sit on money don't do anything to help others. I guess i will ever understand but hope that one day people while share their welth.

The Media and The Presidential Election

We live in a very scary time when the presidential election comes down to just choosing between the lesser of two evils. I know that there are pros and cons to each presidential candidate and that its is not just between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. However, for the most part I think we can all agree that it is going to come down to one of the two for President. The media shows us contradicting news and makes us believe certain things about each candidate that may or may not be true and it seems as if each news station has different reports on every story covered. Not to mention Gary Johnson who is the candidate for the Libertarian party is never even mentioned, along with Jill Stein who is the candidate for the Green Party of he United States. Both of these people may be a way better choice for President, but the media is choosing to concentrate their stories about Hillary or Trump and it makes us loose sight for the other candidates. The media is doing this because it is more entertaining for the American people because Trump and Hillary always seem to have more drama going on but that is definitely not what should be the priority when it comes to the American people trying to decide on who their President should be. The U.S. should not be run on a popularity vote or a drama game but somehow that is exactly what seems like is happening right now and that is so scary.
Everything about the presidential election is just sketchy and the media is hard to trust with the way they manipulate and control the truth. The media literally ultimately has full control of  what we believe is actually going on in the world and it's hard to believe anything other than what we hear and see in the news if we have no other source to go by. Money is a huge player in politics and I believe that it wouldn't be hard for someone with so much money and power to cover up secrets that they didn't want revealed. So how do we know who to trust?

Petition to Keep Uninformed People From Talking

I was on Twitter last night and saw the news coming in about the Chelsea explosion. At the time, the reports were early and no one really knew what was happening. This morning, I checked the ChelseaNYC tag to see what new information about the event had surfaced. However, I didn’t see any valuable information other than the injury count. Most of the tweets and articles were about Trump and Hillary. Each side was making fun of the other’s candidate. While this was Twitter and I shouldn’t expect educated, factual statements, it did get me thinking about the election in general. These two candidates in particular spark a lot of heated debate. I’ve seen a lot of name-calling and jabs about unnecessary physical appearance on both sides. It’s interesting to me when I hear someone ask another person why they don’t like a specific candidate and their response is something along the lines of he or she is an idiot. That’s it. No facts to back it up; just the name-calling. It’s interesting. I’m not totally without fault. I’ve done it several times. I don’t label myself politically savvy and I’ve been guilty of purely listening to those around me for opinions. If this class has taught me anything, it’s that not only should we be more aware of what’s happening around us, but also that it’s imperative to figure out what our political beliefs are so we can back up our political opinions and make informed choices.

Cheers to being broke!

Discussing what we did on Thursday was a sad reminder of how screwed I am financially.  The short clip professor Stone shared with us especially hit home.  Coming from a family who lived in poverty for a very long time and now me, living off of loan money and my mediocre pay check that I receive bi weekly... It is a very real, scary thing.  We are told to go to school so we can get a job...well folks, I graduate in three months and have done what I was "supposed to do" and will be up to my ears in debt because of it.  As much as I would love to believe we can one day change this messed up system, I do not foresee that happening for a very long time.  Also, did any of my fellow classmates who are affiliated with the military in some way stomachs fall to their feet when professor Stone mentioned the hazzle wood act bs?  Mine sure did. 

I apologize for the very informal blog this week...but I am honestly just annoyed and needed to vent a bit.  Although I am sure yall are feeling the same.

Cheers to being broke!

Child care and the presidential election

This week I have been reading over the proposed child care policies of the presidential canadates. I feel as though this topic is very important to those in the FCD major. SO .... If you haven't read up on NPR you should!!! First of all the Trump proposal discusses tax breaks for child care, howevèr it would only be for people who PAY taxes so that doesn't really help anyone in poverty. Also a main difference between both policys is that one, (trumps),  provides maternal leave and the other provides both parents with leave. I think we can all agree that the later is much better. Not to mention, providing only material leave may discourage businesses from hiring women. Over all I think it is very important to look at every proposed presidential policy no matter how publicized. Making small informed decisions is how we make important decisions.

So confused...

Where did the system go wrong? If we are learning about poverty in our classes, and I’m sure other college students around the country are learning the same thing, so how did we get that information and why are we learning about it and not doing anything about it. Not we as in “I” individually because I don’t think that poverty can be solved by one person, but by as a society.

So when did we just pass the point where we did things and just learned why things are wrong? When its literally a topic in class, like an epidemic, and its not embarrassing as a country that we cant at least get this more under control. 

I think in the clip from that movie we watched when he said, “we waged wars on poverty, not poor people”, how did this happen? Like its just a topic to us, some might not ever thing about it after this class, but it still exists.  We exert so much energy learning about bad things, but not what can we do to help fix it. I hope my rambling makes sense, but there just has to be some sort of solution to make things better for those who are less fortunate. Our parent’s generation thinks that we are lazy and that’s so annoying, their parents were role models and taught them how to change things, but ours didn’t. I literally have no clue besides volunteering at shelters and donating food. Like we just compare our lives to theirs and feel bad but we generally don’t know what to do. In reading others blog posts, everyone is just mad and upset, but there is no solution and its just confusing to me. We go on with our lives after we give our opinions and how we feel but that’s all. So what are we supposed to do!

Poverty

After finishing up the video over poverty last week, and having our discussions in class, I am still amazed at the amount of money some have, and others do not. We are so quick to run to other countries and help out in any way we can, yet, there are people right our side our door that need the same help... yet, we are not willing to give it to them. After our discussion on Thursday (I believe), about the Netflix documentary, Queen of Versailles, I wanted to come home to refresh my memory on the documentary. Although the documentary was released in 2012, and shot over a period of time, it amazes me that there are still people (families) out there that are still living such lavish lifestyles, when there are people (other families) on the other Park Ave. that are struggling just to get by within their day to day lives. I think it is important for Americans to help each other out. To lend a helping hand within our communities, or surrounding communities. Whether that is food donations, or helping with transportation's, or helping the teachers out, so they have more resources within their classrooms.... anything! Instead of staying in the Upper East Side, and having "tunnel vision".

If you want to just watch the trailer, here is a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQW9Ks0GZUQ

If you have a Netflix account, and you want to watch the whole documentary, here is the link: https://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/The-Queen-of-Versailles/70229267

http://www.audienceseverywhere.net/the-queen-of-versailles-netflix-hidden-gems/

Individualism vs. Communalism

Over the last couple of weeks, K. Stone has mentioned the competing concepts of individualism and communalism--where your mentality is either "me" or "us".  Communalism is scarce in our country.  We have developed this way of life that emphasizes the "I" instead of "we" and now, it looks like it may be coming back to bite us in the ass.  We work hard to get ourselves where and what we want, and when we see others that need help, we often shy away from sacrificing anything for the greater good.  I acknowledge that there are many people out there who make sacrifices for other people every day, but I cannot help but feel that if we as a society realized how much we could accomplish through small sacrifices, it could transform this country.  I am very pro-socialist and admire other countries that have policies in place to enable all of its citizens to live comfortably.  No one has more than another, yet everyone has enough.  Everyone has healthcare, everyone has access to higher education (without being drowned in debt).  Are these not two of the major points in the cycle of poverty we covered in class?  Those are major things to be able to provide ALL of your citizens!  So why can't our majestic-ass country figure this out???  Oh, because we are so hung up on paying taxes =l Listen people, taxes are important.  Did you know that the some of the highest taxed countries are the happiest?!  Yes.  Everyone pays more in taxes so everyone is taken care of.
THAT is a community.
THAT is what we should be striving for.
Also, I realize that things rely heavily on those in charge of our tax money.  And when we find out that our government is putting that money toward unnecessary projects it's super frustrating. Just another reason to be more educated and involved I guess!

Sitting During the National Anthem

Sitting during the national anthem has been a major topic over the last few weeks and I am wondering what everyone else's thoughts and feelings on this topic are. It started with Colin Kaepernick (plays for the San Francisco 49ers), he sat during the national anthem, first during preseason games and has continued to do it since. When he was interviewed about his actions he said it was a silent protest to show support for people of color who are being oppressed in the United States and to particularly take a stand against police brutality. He said, "I am not going to stand up and show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color". Since Kaepernick did this in mid-August, many other NFL players on his team and other teams have followed suit by sitting or kneeling during the national anthem. This has even gone as far as reaching high schools and colleges where their athletes are doing the same. I agree that there is a problem that should be addressed and I can understand how Kaepernick is using his celebrity power to draw attention to the issue but I can't decide if I think it is okay or the right way to go about protesting. It definitely should be a peaceful doing to get the point across in the right way, but I also see it from the other side where people died for his right to sit or stand during the national anthem and he is disrespecting that. It mostly bothered me that on 9/11, there were multiple teams who had players kneel during the national anthem and that to me was completely distasteful on that day of all days. I am just curious what other opinions you all have on the subject because I really have gone back and forth on which side I agree with and can see it from both. It is sending the message he wants to send but it is also disrespecting a lot of people in the process. Some players who have chosen to kneel or sit have lost sponsorship because of their actions and one player in particular, Brandon Marshall (Denver Broncos) lost his. He lost his sponsorship with Century Link credit union because they said that although they do acknowledge Brandon's right to sit, they also believe that whatever issues we face, we must stand together to show allegiance to our common bond as a nation for certain things; in this case, the national anthem. It is drawing a huge divide and I am wondering if that is going to only make the problem worse.

 After we discussed poverty in class I went home and talked to my friends and family about what I had learned in class. Like me, they never really stopped to think of what an immense issue poverty has become. I feel like so many people just live there lives and do not pay attention to what is going on around them, myself being one of them. After discussing for an hour we still could not come up with just one solution to this problem. How can we fix poverty? There are so many areas we can attempt to do interventions in but I feel like it all leads to the same thing...money. Money is what is needed in one way or another. If only we could just grow money on trees! But of course the solution is not that simple.


Another issue that has been on my mind all week are the statistics on how many children are affected by poverty. This issue makes me think twice when I want to complain about how bad my day is going. I constantly remind myself that there is someone out there who is going through a worse situation than me, so I should be grateful with what I have. I cannot even imagine what these individuals go through every day not knowing if they will have something to eat the following day or if they will be able to find a ride to school. Some of these children do not even have the privilege to receive an education. I find myself being more appreciative of everything in life especially the little things. I also think it is pretty neat that there are programs who feed these children during the summer so they can at least have one good meal throughout the day. I am sure many parents are appreciative of these programs.

depressing

Talking about poverty all week was pretty depressing. I wish there was an easy fix to help all of these struggling families. What hurts the most is thinking of all the children that are born into poverty... its not their fault. When we discussed the cycle of poverty, it showed how difficult it actually is to get out of it. Some people believe that if you just work harder, you could get out of it, but it really takes a lot more than that. I was shocked when we discussed the distinction between lower, middle, and upper class. The short video we watched in class really showed how bad the cycle of poverty actually is and helped to understand it much more clearly.The poverty line of $23,050 is so low and should definitely be raised because when we did the calculations in class, it showed how unrealistic that amount is. Yeah, they get some assistance but it really is not enough when you consider all the monthly costs of living and feeding the family. I enjoy the videos we watch in class a lot. They really make you think. The Most Honest Three Minutes in Television History was really eye-opening and also depressing. It is very terrifying thinking of all the problems we have and i hope things can change sooner rather than later. I also really enjoy the talks we have each class and i think it is very beneficial. Each week i feel more and more informed.
A few days ago i was listening to 96.7 and i heard about a daughter who is suing her parents because of facebook photos they posted of her when she was younger. She asked her parents to take down the photos and they refused so she decided to take them to court.. crazy right?! And then the woman on the radio mentioned something about how she could have contacted facebook first before taking it to court because they are able to control what photos are posted and all that. THEN she said something along the lines of "well we've heard about the San Marcos mother whose photo of her and her shirtless son got taken down so i'm sure facebook would have helped out the daughter.." I thought to myself "YEAHH THAT'S MY PROFESSOR". It was pretty cool to hear about it on the radio!

Poverty

This week whenever we were discussing poverty after hearing the numbers I was really in shock. The Unites States growing up has been talked about as a great country. Now that I am old enough to realize things on my own I know that is a huge lie. There is such a big difference between the upper class and the middle class and a bigger difference between upper class and the poverty line. I think the statistics presented are also misleading. This weeks lectures have really helped me realized that our country is sinking in poverty. We have a really bad taxation system, by making a lower amount have the same taxation as a higher amount. Also the minimum wage is providing no help. Basic items for survival like shelter, clothing, and food aren't getting any cheaper. Yet our paychecks aren't getting any bigger. It truly sucks that some people in our country can't even afford these necessities because of the greediness of our government.