What has been going on lately?

Recently, there have some pretty crazy and horrifying stories in the news. It seems that all of a sudden there's been an eruption of gruesome and appalling stuff going on, and I don't know what to think. It's like episodes of Criminal Minds are becoming reality or something.

It started a while ago, when the man in Miami was eating off another's face, snarling at police, and continuing even after being shot at four times. When I first heard this, I thought there was no way that it could be true. This was also the first time I had heard about the 'bath salts' drug that seems to have erupted in the media lately. I don't understand why this drug wasn't made illegal as soon as its impact and side effects were discovered.

Next, there was the Maryland man who killed his room mate, and ate his heart and parts of his brain after dismembering  him. He then stored his head and hands in his basement. This was the second gruesome cannibal related incident within a week in the United States.

Then, I heard about the man from New Jersey who called the police to say he was threatening to hurt himself. Once they arrived, he stabbed himself more than 50 times all over his body and then threw his intestines at the police.

Of course then there was the man in Montreal who dismembered another (while filming it all) in order  to send pieces of him to Parliament. To make matters even creepier he then performed sexual acts with the dismembered body after the fact. He then fled the country and was arrested in Berlin on Monday.

So after reading about all this, I've been wondering what brought on this onslaught of killing and gore? Why all of a sudden have these incidents been happening? I'm not sure, but it is frightening to think about the potential that humans have to harm one another when they aren't in a right state of mind.

What I Think of FFP

There are definitely aspects of this course that I really like, and other parts that I'm not too fond of.

In particular, I like the choice available in the projects that we are doing. For example, the fact that we got to choose our own lit circle book was much better than having just any book forced upon us. I also appreciate choosing the projects that we are interested in doing, and then being marked on more of an individual scale. In the History of Democracy project, for example, I liked that we got to choose the assignment as long as it showed our understanding on the topic. The individual projects that we have coming up seem really interesting, too. I'm looking forward to them.

Some things that I find aren't working too well are the loose deadlines. It could be a good thing because it would allow me to work away at small pieces of a project over a long time. In a perfect world, that's exactly what I would be doing; I would spread the workload out evenly over a long period of time. In reality though, I often find myself putting the work for this course on the backburner because I know it has more lenient deadlines. I find that due dates make me more productive, because I know that there is a specific goal I must work to finish in a set amount of time. I wish there were a few more concrete deadlines in this course.

Another thing is that the online collaboration with other FFP students seems disorganized to me. When this course was first described to me, it sounded like we were going to be collaborating and sharing with all the other students often. This hasn't worked out too well, in my opinion. Recieving submissions from other schools for the magazine was pretty disorganized, and one school was late.That very first TED talk with the twitter feed was also unsuccessful, and that's why I'm wondering what the upcoming book clubs are going to turn out like. In the future, I don't think working with other FFP schools should be a part of this course, unless all the kinks can be worked out.

One thing I do appreciate in this course though, is that the subject matter is much more interesting and useful than what I have heard is taught in other careers and civics classes. I think learning about activism, and having guest speakers for careers into the class is a great idea. This is much more valuable teaching than career aptitude tests and personality tests are.

I also appreciate the focus on media in this course, because it seems like many industries are becoming more and more tech- savvy. I feel like I'm learning a lot of useful skills.

Having no exams is also a bonus!

Racist Videos by Teens

I just read this article from the Globe and Mail about two teenagers from Florida who posted videos on line of them ranting about black students at their school. It was followed by a second video by two other students in Florida also making slurs and racist remarks. In the first video they say, "If you lived here you would... not like these black people." Followed by, "There's black people, they're fine, they're educated, they go to school, they do what they have to do. Then there's n------ who can't talk right, they keep having kids, they can't get jobs. There's a difference."

I find these remarks incredibly racist, stereotypical and hurtful. The article mentions that the girls were suspended from school for posting the video, and I'm glad that they were. This is a truly awful thing to do. Since the video went viral, it has been viewed  over a million times. Posting something like this could really have a negative impact on the girls' futures. Future employers would not want to hire someone who has these ignorant and hurtful opinions.

UCLA student during her racist video

I found these videos reminding me of another one I had seen a while ago about a UCLA student who also made a racist speech about Asian students at her university. It is also full of incredibly racist remarks, and the girl comes across as very ditzy and ignorant.

The two videos can be seen here and here.

I think it's awful that people would have these opinions in the first place, but I think it is completely unacceptable to share them on line for everyone to see. Many people were offended by these videos, and the girls who posted them have all gotten themselves into a lot of trouble by doing so.

Teens searching for confirmation on Youtube

I just finished reading this article on teenagers who post videos of themselves on youtube, and urge viewers to comment with their honest opinions on whether or not they are "ugly." Honestly, I find the thought of this really disturbing that teenagers need confirmation from strangers about their looks. It's sad that this generation doesn't have enough self confidence to be able to see that in themselves, rather than having to hear it from complete strangers on the internet.

When I clicked on one of these "am I pretty?" videos, I saw that it was obviously a pretty popular thing for teens to do, because the sidebar of related videos was full of ones bearing similar titles. What I find especially sad is that the article mentions that there are girls who look to be as young as ten or eleven who are posting videos like this. Girls that age shouldn't have to be so worried about their self images. Instead they should be out having fun, not posting videos on the internet. If society is causing girls who are as young as ten to have to be concerned about whether or not they are "pretty", we've definitely gone wrong somewhere.

Celebrities- Bad Examples or Role Models?

I recently read this article on the "downward spiral" of Demi Moore. She was having difficulty with an eating disorder, struggling with addiction, and is breaking up with her much younger husband Ashton Kutcher. I think that she is one of the celebrities (amongst many) that are not setting good examples for today's society. Since the lives of celebrities tend to be all over the news and in magazines, I think they really have to be careful about the way they portray themselves to the media.

There are many celebrities that could be considered "bad examples" because of the choices they make, but I think there are also many celebrities that can be looked up to. There certainly are celebrities that use their fame for good causes and are part of organizations to help good causes or people less fortunate than themselves.

I think one prime example of a celebrity that is doing a great job of being a role model and setting good examples through her fame is Angelina Jolie. She contacted the United Nations in 2001 for information on  "international trouble spots" and went on missions to Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Cambodia and Pakistan, all in the year 2001. Since then she has been to more than 30 countries to help on missions, especially for "forgotten emergencies" that the media's attention has shifted away from but still need help.

Jolie was also not afraid to visit countries that were in heavy conflict. For example she visited Darfur, Chad, Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, all in times of war. I think this takes a very selfless person to be able to go to another country risking your safety for the well being of others. She has also adopted three out of six of her children from countries in need.

So, what I'm trying to say here is that some celebrities attract attention from the media for all the wrong reasons, while others use the media for positive purposes. What Angelina Jolie is doing through her humanitarian action is really remarkable.