Research—pdqlover

Living in a Household with a Disabled Sibling

Parents have total obligations to give to their child, a child has no obligations to their parents unless negotiated between the two. A parent and child negotiation may take place when the child is old enough to do chorus for their parents and in return the child may earn allowance. When raising a child with disabilities it can be different the parents still have all obligations of caring for the child but will the disabled child ever have a negotiation with their parents to have obligations of their own? To further explain, in a morden day family when the parents get elderly and needs care the children step in and try their best to provide care to their parents or they choose other options if necessary in most situations. In some situations a family could have a disabled child who is the only child. What happens when those parents get elderly and need care and the disabled child is not able to provide it. Another question is what happens to the disabled child who needs to be cared for? Yes, there are plenty of other options that can be put into place but what if that is not the families wishes. The responsibilities extend to other family members such as aunt’s, uncles and cousins. This topic can be very touchy but I wanted to share a similar families situation to mine and find out more information on families who are also taking care of a disabled child by research.

Here is a view of a four member house hold that includes one child that is disabled, very similar to my own. Two patents and two children and one child is disabled. All members of the family dedicate time to taking care of the disabled child. Some common and every day needs a disabled child may need are, personal care, feed meals, taking them to therapy sessions and also provided them with their proper medications. And most often these responsibilities get pushed on the able sibling to do. It is not easy, having to care for the disabled child 24/7 these responsibilities may fall on any family member such as mother, father, sibling or grandparents. Both parents are busy working to care and provide for the family. In wishful thinking it would be nice to have a parents who is able to stay at home and care for the disabled child. Having that one on one parent connection is important in many aspects. Some families are fortunate to have only one parent who can work and provides for the family, but not every family is able to have that ability. It seems that families that have that one on one parent connection and caring for the child, are happier and function more smoothly. You may be thinking that both parents should care for the disabled child equally, which is true but both parents will get overworked quicker.

Another common situation is when there is a single parent caring for the family, his or her family may consist of multiple able children and one disabled child. In this situation the single parent is more likely to become overworked. Parents in this situation try to be strong for their family and try to be stress free but the parents may need to seek assistance from programs or family members to care for the disabled child. All children need attention and support from their parents but when a single family house hold it may seem that the parent it constantly showing the disable child more attention then the other children she or he might have. This can cause jealously between the siblings. Until they are able to understand that their sibling has a metal illness and needs 24/7 care. Once they understand that about their sibling they can become a big help to the single parent.

Sometimes parents make negotiations with the able child to care for their sibling and may get allowance in return. If the able child is older than the disabled child and can handle the responsibility, this is what is seen in most cases. At the same time the able sibling tries to have a personal life with friends but often it is hard and seems unfair. The able child thinks life is unfair because they have a huge obligation of providing care for their sibling. While the disable child thinks life is unfair because all they can do is receive care and can’t provide any in return, the disabled sibling child wishing they were able body like their sibling. Both siblings are in tough situations, they may feel like they are stuck for the rest of their lives. Family member may sometimes think it is not fair and the disabled child may have the same thought but coming from different point of views. Another tough situation a family may experience is when a younger sibling is too young to understand. The younger sibling will understand the conditions of their sibling but for many years they have no clue. They don’t understand that their brother or sister has autism, down syndrome or maybe a condition that causes them to be wheelchair bound. This can have a huge impact of the families stress, having to explain to the younger sibling that their older sibling has a mental illness. Eventually the younger child will learn about their siblings metal illness and love them just the same.

Having a disabled child can cause a lot of stress on the parents and the entire family. The stress can come from being overworked and constantly worrying about the disabled child when a family member is not with them. Another stress causer is keeping up with the disabled childs schedule, doctors appointment can cause parents to mess work. Some disabled family members receive therapy. Some therapy sessions the disabled child may attend are Physical therapy, speech therapy or occupation therapy. Parents and family members wishing there disabled child was normal or able body can cause a constant amount of stress.

The author has collected and analyzed the psychological literature examining the Chronic Sorrow of parents who give birth to children with disabilities. She describes the ongoing grief—similar to the grief of parents whose child dies—caused by “the loss of an idealized normal child.” One parent reports that he and others suffer “months and years of anguish, roller coaster cycles of elation and depression as the parents try to deny the evidence before their eyes that their child is less than ordinary or normal.” Their ongoing grief that there child was born with and will likely always live with a disability.

The effect on normal siblings is not described in this source, but is easy to imagine from what is described. “Parents cannot effectively mourn the loss of the idealized child because of the unrelenting daily demands of the living disabled child,” which will reasonably deprive them of the psychic strength to properly nurture their “normal” children as they deserve. And that will likely cause resentment in the siblings. Parents who feel “helpless, hopeless, and anxious” all the time, and who react with “anger, resentment, and aggression” to the frustration of their predicament will not parent as well as they should.

I used this article to establish that parents of a handicapped child are stunted in their ability to properly nurture their other children. Then, since the parents are grieving, I sought and found articles that address how the death of a sibling affects the parent-child relationship with the survivors. Those healthy siblings suffer a loss of affection from their parents along with the burden of being the surviving child, of whom much more is expected and demanded.

My point is a child who is able or disabled has to obligation to “return the favor” to their parents unless negotiated between the child and patent. But Im rebutting that it is not fair for a disabled child to “return the favor.” It may or may not be the child or parents fault the child is disabled but it is something the family has to live with. Why should a disabled child have to “return the favor” when they wish to not be disabled and think it is unfair.

Work Cited

1. Copley, Margaret Freeman, and John B. Bodensteiner. “Chronic Sorrow in Families of Disabled Children.” Journal of Child Neurology, vol. 2, no. 1, 1987, pp. 67–70., doi:10.1177/088307388700200113.

2. Featherstone H: A difference in the family, in Living With a Disabled Child. New York, Penguin Books, 1980, pp 232, 233.

Research – PlethoraGaming

Collegiate esports, worth investing in?

Technology has grown tremendously over the past several years, and alongside it is the video game industry. Over the short years we have seen several genres of video games like MMO, MOBA, turn based games etc; but in the esports industry we only take a look at the competitive games. Esports is “a multiplayer video game played competitively for spectators, typically by professional gamers.” That means professional teams and players battle in video games to become the top team or top players, and there is a reward for being the best. The esports scene has had tremendous success in the last few years, and it will grow for much longer. I have been in the esports industry for nearly four years, and over the years esports have grown greatly and it’s a great investment; however the collegiate esports scene has several problems that it’s not worth investing in at the moment

First we have to define sports and esports. Sports is defined as “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment”. The strongest argument in the definition of sport is ‘involving physical exertion and having skill’. There is a lack of physical exertion, however they have to be in peak mental condition to play the game at its highest level. And for skill, Kane stated “To become a professional gamer, a player must learn different skills and techniques to get better.” And that has been the case for several games including me, practice after practice helps hone in on those skills just like real athletes. Esports can be considered a real sport because they have “Play competitive games, Organized events , Competition, Skill, Broad Following viewers for events, Institutionalization includes rules, coaches etc…” as stated by Jenny

Not only sports and esports are similar in terms of playing but team compositions are similar as well. Sports have members in the teams such as “managers, coaches, starters, reserve players, and referees” according to MatPat and the same roles apply for esports, teams have managers, and coaches, starters are considered the main roster for a team, reserve players are the substitute players in a team, and referees are the administrators of a tournament.

It is also commonly mistaken that video games and esports are the same thing; Funk stated “While all eSports are video games, not all video gaming should be classified as sport. Video games must have structure (e.g., standard rules), organization (e.g., rule adherence), and competition (e.g., clear winners and losers) to be considered sport.” For example Batman: Arkham City has fighting in it, however it’s not an esport game, this is because it is essentially a story game that do not have competition against other players. Comparing that to a game like Smite, this game involved strategy and competition against other players, and for its esports it has rules and standards like in their SPL tournaments.

An important aspect of collegiate esports is the NCAA. NCAA has not formally recognized esports as a sport, however it is in the best interest that they do. There are several colleges that support varsity esports such as Illinois College, Georgia State University, Indiana Tech and a handful of others. NCAA should include esports because “The eSports model will also easily fit into the NCAA structure of Division 1, Division 2 and Division 3”. Each university can provide different games and structure different teams based on the athlete’s ability level” There are skill level gaps among esport teams, and already having a system like the NCAA can help secure esports in colleges. Like Hockey, Soccer and Football they all fall under sports, the same can be applied for esports, SMITE, League of Legends and Dota 2 they all can be applied under esports, it is not limited to just one game. From running tournaments at AVGL there is a huge amount of following for collegiate esports, our Fall 2017 League of Legends tournament had 107 teams competing from US or Canada, that’s 535 players. And when including other game tournaments that we ran for Fall 2017, we had over 1,200 players. That is a huge following for collegiate esports, and only a handful of the teams were actually varsity teams. But the problem is, the conversation of having esports in the NCAA has come up several times and it has not been implemented yet; this makes me believe that esports wont enter the NCAA. This problem makes it very hard for colleges to enter the esports scene because there is no structure other than the tournaments hosters in place.

There are several perks of having varsity esports teams. For students or players, there usually is a nice scholarship money. For example “University of Pikeville (KY) 2014 Offers full ride scholarships available ($23,000/year tuition; $14,000 room and board)”(Jenny). Tournaments for collegiate esports have a huge prize pool payout.

The chart above from the article Campus Knowledge of eSports shows the prize pool of the North American Collegiate Championship hosted by Riot Games for their game League of Legends. This is a huge prize pool for college students, and in most cases that would cover the semester or the year’s worth tuition. But college students enter representing their school, all the money goes towards the player because the school does not have any involvement; the students are entering as an unsanctioned team. Colleges could have sanctioned their teams so the money is directly used for college tuitions and other payments.Even if colleges have sanctioned teams, esports has too many games that colleges simply would not be able to sanction all the games.

Another great perk of having varsity esports team is that it helps create revenue for the college. There is a huge following for esports in nearly all colleges, any gamer can say they love to watch these matches and get really hyped for it. Twitch.tv is a platform used by several gamers to watch or stream their games; in 2014 they had nearly 16 billion minutes and more shown on the graph

View post on imgur.com

To put this statistics into perspective in 2013 “NBA’s Miami Heat vs San Antonio Spurs broadcasted on a public network ABC and drew 26.3 million viewers; while that same year League of Legends world final was streamed on Twitch.tv that drew 32 million viewers.” And League of Legends competitive scene has only been released 3 years prior to that, this shows that esports can pull a huge amount of viewers. Colleges that have varsity esport teams can live stream their matches and I believe majority of the gamers on campus will tune in for that. And the reason that esports pulls a lot of viewership is because esports is not bound to any location, other than internet of course which is global. Twitch has an amazing program called Twitch Partners, this enables Twitch streamers to run ads on their live stream, and even have paid subscribers. All this money will go directly to the college after Twitch takes their cut, but that is still a lot of money that the school can make. Even though Twitch is an excellent outlet to make some profits, it also need a lot of staff members to moderate chat and make sure broadcast is run smoothly.

Just like how people go to a stadium to watch a football game, there is something similar for esports. Gamers call it a LAN event, and at the event is an arena where computers are all set up, we can see all the players on the stage playing the game; and behind them a huge screen for the audience to watch. This is another way to colleges can make a profit; they just have to simply have an admission fee to watch. However they would need a lot of staff to maintain this and make sure viewers do not spoil the games

Sponsorships are a great way for sport teams to make money, we have even seen Coca Cola ads during the Olympics. In esports sponsorships are much easier to obtain, they have fairly low requirements, which almost all colleges meet. Just to show how easy it is RMU esports has over 6000 followers on Twitter and on their Twitch they have around 300 followers; sponsors love to support collegiate esports. RMU has the following sponsors, Steel Series, DxRacer, iBuyPower, Discord, Twitch and almost 10 more sponsors, with all those sponsors it is fairly easy for colleges to set up an esports division.

All these benefits are great for colleges however there are a lot problems that makes collegiate esports difficult to invest in. Esports have several games in it and it varies even in genre of the game, so colleges have a variety of games to invest in. The most common game is League of Legends, that is primarily because of the large player pool for the game and the large prize pool for their tournaments, but if a college wants to include other games how would each teams for esports be treated. For example Smite has a much smaller prize pool for collegiate tournaments compared to League of Legends, so if a college is to include a Smite team the profit would not be as high as League of Legends. So how would they treat the players for each team, would one team get less scholarship money? This causes some serious problems because a Smite team could be putting in the same amount of work as a League of Legends team but the school can not make same amount of profit from each team. That tells me expanding their teams would be very difficult, and more likely would stick to the game that gives them the most profit. The collegiate esports scene would suffer due to lack of diversity in games.

Basketball has a basketball court, football and has a football field and baseball has a baseball field. In esports, courts like this is not good enough of a place for players to practice at. Players require top of the line computers and very high comfort, and this is expensive. Esports in general is very expensive to invest it, first a college would need to give a room or a large enough space for these players. Second they would need top of the line computers to essentially match computers at LAN events, those computers are expensive; a top of the line computer would cost nearly $2,500 each, and that’s without including the peripherals. Comfort is a big issue for players, the pro players practice nearly eight to twelve hours a day, they would need comfy chairs and a comfortable keyboard and mouse to use. Maintenance is a huge factor, the computers always needs to be run smoothly and as technology grows the computers need upgrades, and as their mouse and keyboards wear out they need to be replaced. The cost of maintenance would be high making it difficult for college

Collegiate Varsity Esport teams are not highly skilled. AVGL hosted a League of Legends tournament for the Fall 2017 semester. This tournament had over a hundred teams and from the results of the tournaments, I am able to state that varsity teams are not nearly high skilled as they should be. It is not that the varsity team are not equipped with proper equipment to play at the highest skillset, it is that coaches or the players are just not doing their roles correctly.

Coaches are an important aspect of sports and esports, they are the ones to help the player get better, however esports coaches have a lot of work to put in; this is because for esport titles or moba games, the meta changes. Meta is something we call as a ‘standard’ things to do this version of the game, so our coaches have to stay on top of it. Along with that, doing the math for building items in games and assessing player damage etc… it is a very big aspect of these types of games. So that could very well be the problem for the teams, coaches not being able to coach properly just because it is very time consuming. They are students first, and athletes second.

Most varsity programs offer some type of scholarship so how does teams work for stuff like this. Most teams are compromised to fill the basic minimum slot, for example five main players and usually three subs. Eight player rosters, but in the gaming industry roster changes are very common. School and coaches should be willing to kick members from their teams if they are not performing well. This is a tough choice for gaming teams because we rely on team synergy, because this game requires heavy communication it’s hard to toss a player in and expect them to understand how each of their teammates play and communicate at their level. So team compositions are a huge factor for these varsity teams. I think the best solution is to be very picky about their players, hold a much more difficult tryouts and create a higher incentive for students to enter the team. This is again a problem for colleges to do because of the rigorous tryouts there is no ‘prerequisites’ that can be obtained to determine top players.

Another cause for varsity teams not being as high skilled as they should be is they don’t have enough practice. Teams practice several hours a day, but are they are not practicing at the right skill level. The problem is due to the lack of varsity teams in collegiate esports they don’t or can’t practice with other schools and if they do, they could always just be a bad team. So getting practice from playing ‘ranked’ games are not effective enough for the players, they need to practice against pro teams. And this is what pro teams do, they ‘scrim’ against other pro team, this creates an equal skill level. But as I keep iterating this over and over, the skill level for varsity teams are not high enough. A possible solution this dilemma is that they need to create multiple teams for a single school; essentially a Team A and Team B, this helps with constant practice at similar skill level, and the constant growth of several players to do player swaps if needed. Just like any other sports they need constant practice and the proper level, and colleges simply would have a difficult time committing this many hours for students

Focusing a bit more on team synergy, team communication is very important in esports; they need to be constantly talking and give good and relative information. With this information is up to the team captain to make calls on what to do in game. This is something that is very difficult to do, hesitating could be a serious problem. So who gets the team captain role? This is very difficult because as individual players they might be decent players but they need to be able to keep constant communication to make proper plays in game. This is different from sports because usually the calls for a play are before a game, but in esports its during it. A captain needs to be capable of making the right calls during the game, something a coach can not help with (Usually not allowed in any competitive esports). The amount of sacrifice players need to makes it really difficult for colleges to consider investing in because they are students.

I conducted a survey and asked college gamers “how does collegiate varsity esports team compare skill wise to just gaming clubs. Pretty much is there a skill gap?” The best response I got regarding this is from Victor, he states “I don’t think there is much correlation between varsity and skill based on our leagues. But I definitely think that will change over the next 2 years as the varsity programs get more organized. Right now, the teams are all so new that they are working on hiring coaches and recruiting players and it will take time. Our LoL league had University of Houston (club) beating out varsity teams to reach the Grand Final. However, Columbia College (varsity) was extremely good and beat Houston handedly. They have shown what a year or two and a strong coaching staff can build and there will be more of that to come. A team with a full time coach and 2 analyst are going to beat out a team without the resources in the long run.” I do not believe that things will change in 2 years, more likely 6 years. Students are usually at the school for four years, if nearly 2 years of coaching was not enough to beat a normal college team, how much time do they have to improve the teams each year? I do not think four years is enough for a team to improve so much that they can beat regular players. Because most students are at the school for 4 years, its not worth investing in the players because it is difficult to help a player improve drastically in that short amount of time.

Football, soccer, baseball they have not had massive changes over the years, however in the esports industry especially MOBA games there is always an update for the game. The updates could be weekly, bi-weekly or even monthly, but there are always changes. This could be a downside for players who want to commit several hours for the team to be up to date with game and improve on new strategies, however colleges can not forget that they are students first.

Overall the esports industry is great, it has been growing and have had a lot of success. The collegiate scene on the other hand does not have the same success, there are too many problems starting with NCAA, skill gap, and maintenance that will cause colleges a hard time to start up.

Work Cited

Funk, Daniel. “ESport Management: Embracing ESport Education and Research Opportunities.” Sport Management Review, Elsevier, 23 July 2017, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1441352317300670.

Jenny, Seth. “ESports : The New Intercollegiate ‘Athlete.’” Ascue.org, Winthrop University, 13 June 2016, ascue.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Jenny_eSports_ASCUE2016.pdf

Kane, Daniel. “May 11, 2017 Recognizing ESports as a Sport.” Https://Www.researchgate.net/Profile/Daniel_Kane13/Publication/317929457_Recognizing_ESports_as_a_Sport/Links/597f4db5a6fdcc1a9acd7fe1/Recognizing-ESports-as-a-Sport.pdf, 11 May 2017, www.researchgate.net/publication/317929457_Recognizing_ESports_as_a_Sport.

MatthewPatrick13. “Game Theory: Why ESPN Is WRONG about ESports.” YouTube, YouTube, 17 July 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYlpxFWXCM8

Sugishita, Kenny. “Campus Knowledge of Esports.” Scholarcommons, Scholarcommons., 14 Dec. 2015, scholarcommons.sc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4292&context=etd.

Sunny, Jithin Is there skill gap between varsity and casual esports players?. https://imgur.com/a/tWIZa . Accessed 6 December 2017.

Research – Princess45

Make America Think Again

Infamously, as we know, Donald Trump has noticeably become the talk of the town when it comes to him saying and doing whatever he wants, to and with whatever he wants, especially his twitter rants, but does he truly violate the First Amendment? Under the First Amendment, it protects individual’s rights to free speech, religion, press, assembly, and the right to petition the government. So, was Donald Trump expressing his First Amendment when he tweeted calling the kneeling NFL player a “Son of a bitch”? Disappointingly the answer is yes. In a case called Garcetti v. Ceballos, the Supreme Court held that when public employees are not speaking as citizens — but instead in their official public capacities — the First Amendment does not protect anyone from being disciplined for their speech. (Wehle). But, it is important that when Trump tweets, he tweets as president, and he would not get the same first amendment protections as a private citizen would if their constitutionality were ever tested in a court of law. This is because he is not speaking as a private citizen he is speaking as a government official and not releasing “official statements”.

The question now is, should Donald Trump be disciplined for his speech? If I’m the one being asked I would say, yes, he should. He is the President of the United States and he should act as that at all times, which he does not. I, in my 19 years on this earth, despite that not being very long, I have never seen a President, or someone who is supposed to be the face, and example of our country act as the way Trump has. Now, why has no one stood up for this to be put into action? In fact, someone has and it has been put into action, Trump has actually found himself in a First Amendment violation. (Timm). Trump tweeted that NBC’s broadcasting license “must be challenged” and potentially “revoked,” based on a series of NBC news stories that embarrassed him. He also suggested the NFL’s tax status should be changed and raised if the NFL continues to allow its players to peacefully protest police brutality by kneeling during the National Anthem. (Timm). Trump is threatening NBC and/or the NFL not as a private citizen, but as the President of the United States, from his Twitter account, which the White House has previously acknowledged is a vessel for releasing “official statements”.

Deliberately, Donald Trump is very quick to tweet about all of the “fake news”, “Sons of bitches” and all of the things that could be viewed opposing or negatively affect him, yet he and his defenders simultaneously express outrage when liberal activists oppose speakers they believe publicly disrespect minorities. (Post). Attorney General Jeff Sessions, for example, proclaimed at Georgetown University: “Protesters are now routinely shutting down speeches and debates across the country in an effort to silence voices that insufficiently conform with their views.” (Post). This is a very accurate representation of what Trump is doing, vise versa, and not with private organizations. These people are expressing their first amendment while acting on others, however the outcomes of these situations will be for sure different, possibly completely opposite.

Continuously, Trump is making it obnoxiously clear that those who oppose him will be publicly punished. “A recent example is his call for the firing of ESPN anchor Jemele Hill, who had the audacity to call Trump out as a “white supremacist” and a “bigot.” How do the constitutional standards of the First Amendment apply to such behavior on the president’s part?” (Post) The president has also engaged in a verbal campaign designed to suppress speech that offends him. Trumps angered dedication is clearly directed at core political speech protesting law enforcement’s unfair treatment of minorities. Trump’s allies have already begun organizing boycotts (for example, a “Turn off the NFL” campaign) to give teeth to the president’s intemperate attacks. (Post) There is no indication that he is invoking the law enforcement network of the federal government to harass or sanction NFL players who are taking a knee.(Post). He is just making sure to publicly sanction those who may or many not truly punished in a court of law and anything, and/or anyone who has views other than his own. “Trump’s attacks on the political speech of private citizens are inconsistent with the requirements of his office. It is striking that Trump’s insistent and recurring political instinct is to appeal to his base by constructing enemies—the press, Jemele Hill and now football players who kneel during the national anthem. Enemies are by definition excluded from the American body politic. They are excommunicated from “We the people.” Trump can disagree with his opponents, but he must always convey respect for their right to dissent. By casting them out as enemies, he undermines the hard-earned and necessary integrity of “We the people.”” (Post)

Our president has numerously proved that he is unqualified to upheld to his presidential standards and successfully withhold the position he is holding. He cannot imagine a country where people can agree to disagree, compromise, or freely express the first amendment. Trump may have not actually acted on these, but he is threatening these two organizations for expressing their rights to the first amendment, by trying to sensor their speech, threatening to penalize them for freely expressing what these organizations are supposed to do and what they stand for. If trump were to actually revoke the licenses of these companies because of freely expressing of the first amendment, a case would be actionable. Donald Trump does however, have his own first amendment rights as president to opine about things he does and doesn’t like, but still as a government official, those rights are limited. As stated before, when Trump speaks, the government technically speaks, so he can continue to speak negatively and unprofessionally, yet there may inevitably be judicially enforceable limitations.

Trump’s Approval Ratings Drop Lower than Ever. 56% of our country disapprove of the way Donald Trump is and has been running out country. He has the lowest approval rating of all past presidents except for Gerald Ford in the late seventies. I am indicating that because of Trumps lack of experience, he has low approval ratings and has low presidential standards. Trump was once asked “What are the top three functions of the United States government?” by an Army man, and University student. Sadly, our president struggled to answer this question, the only one he knew off off of the top of his head was National Security. Trump then named health care and education, which is wrong. The correct answers are Defense, State and, Treasury. The governments main jobs are conducting war, promoting peace, and encouraging prosperity. (Brown).

Trumps answer to the question presented to him showed his lack of experience and caused his political views to be more democratic than conservative countering on the things he “Stands for”. This is a clear example of Trumps lack of experience before going into office. If you have any plans on running a country then you must know the top three functions of the government that you are running. “Perhaps, it shouldn’t be surprising. Throughout his campaign and without much consequence, Trump has been dismissive of separation of powers, civil liberties and civil rights. In fact, the only time he has really been pressed on constitutional issues was when he was forced to walk back his bluster earlier this month, after he had wrongly assumed that a president could order the military to torture prisoners of war.” (Brown).

The question of whether or how the military could follow Trump’s orders of targeting the family members of terrorists who preformed attacks against america came up at the Republican debate in Detroit on Thursday night. Trump said he was a great leader and “frankly, when I say they’ll do as I tell them, they’ll do as I tell them.”He also said: “They won’t refuse. They’re not going to refuse me. Believe me,” and: “I’m a leader. If I say do it, they’re going to do it, that’s what leadership is about.” (McCarthy). Again this is relates to Trumps arrogance and his imaginative hierarchy of power. Later, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had reversed that position. He would not order the military to do illegal things with the expectation that they would break the law to follow his orders, he said. (McCarthy).

“I understand the desire to change up politics in Washington D.C., but installing people who have no idea what they are doing, and worse, people who cannot relate to the public over whom they preside, is the antithesis of American government and common sense. When politicians refuse to listen, and when they are swayed more by the donations they receive than the phone calls they ignore, it’s time for fresh blood. It’s time for a grass roots movement where citizens get involved in politics from the ground up, learning the system as they go.” (Rymel).

“Our frustration with national politicians reached an all-time high in this last election. The childish fighting among Republican candidates, and devious maneuvering among elitist Democrats to elect their chosen queen, left a bad taste in our mouths. In many ways, Donald Trump’s election was a middle finger to Washington politicians.” (Brown). Trumps lack of experience has showed from the very beginning when he elected his cabinet based off of their support for him. Trumps cabinet has been dubbed the most unqualified cabinet in U.S history. (Waldman). “Still as a political scientist who agrees with former President Harry Truman’s observation that “it takes a lifetime of experience to understand how much the constitution means to our national life,” Trumps willful ignorance of our system is both shocking and distressing. (Brown).

Dealing with the fact that the presidents cabinet will later/currently control the future of housing, , financing, health care, education, and retirement for 99% of americans, our future is more uncertain than ever. Our country thought/ thinks that having a businessman as president will see things through “new eyes” and change America for the better but what about the political aspect of running our country. How can someone with zero political experience be able to sit in the most political position of them all. Clearly and un-shockingly, our country is regretting this decision and it shows by Trump’s low of lowest approval ratings. Trump is unqualified to be president because he cannot imagine a country in which individuals can reasonably disagree about things that matter, he also cannot relate to us middle class citizens, and will never be able to honestly. Throwing away the affordable care act has no impact on him, or the oil or wall-street executives with whom he surrounds himself, his kids will pay cash for the colleges of their choice. The laws that Donald Trump will and or have signed will do nothing to change his situation except maybe, improve it. (Rymel). An intolerant nation is not a stable nation. (Post)

Donald Trump shows no fear, no guilt, and a large lack of professionalism, as he speaks to the world uncaringly of peoples, thoughts, feelings, and reactions. Trump has repeatedly made himself look unworthy of holding the position in our country that he does. He does not realize how much his words as president truly weigh and have an impact on the people of this country. To many of us he acts as if he is above all else and there are no consequences that will affect him “House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said some of President Donald Trump’s more inflammatory remarks have not only “raised eyebrows,” but have also raised concerns among US allies as to whether he’s serious about the military action he has threatened.” (Lang).

Last month, Trump warned that the United States was prepared to take “devastating” military action against North Korea, and in August, he said he was “not going to rule out a military option” in Venezuela. Many people believe that trump could be setting us on a path to WWIII, even his fellow republicans. The way our president reveals “official statements'” is unacceptable, and unprofessional. “I think that the present occupant of the White House shows that experience counts for something, because he has none and he has not accomplished anything,” she said. (Lang). Before Trump even took office, his incompetence was glaring. (Rymel).

The president may speak unprofessionally and negatively but does he actually violate the first amendment? Surprisingly, he has not, he may have acted on people expressing their first amendment but the only way he could truly violate it is if he were to act on interfering and/ or changing anything that has to do with a person expressing their fre rights to the constitution. He has however, came very close and might have actually gotten himself into a first amendment violation. Because of his threats against NBC and the NFL, he has gotten himself into a sticky situation. Even if Trump’s comments on punishing NBC and the NFL are seen as empty threats, it’s still a First Amendment issue. As Posner wrote in the Seventh Circuit’s Backpage decision: “ [S]uch a threat is actionable and thus can be enjoined even if it turns out to be empty—the victim ignores it, and the threatener folds his tent.” (Timm). If Trump does however chose to act upon his allegations against these private organizations he will then presented in a court of law for attempting to sensor freedom of speech. Sadly, it looks as if the NFL may already capitulate to Trump after his barrage of tweets and comments from the last couple weeks, with owners and the league saying they’re considering a rule forcing players to stand. (Timm).

Previously, as I stated above, Trump was making it clear how he would have the military preform illegal activity to collect vengeance from the terrorist who committed attacks on our country. He then told us he would “Use every legal power that I have to stop these terrorist enemies”. The statement continued: “I do, however, understand that the United States is bound by laws and treaties and I will not order our military or other officials to violate those laws and will seek their advice on such matters.“I will not order a military officer to disobey the law. It is clear that as president I will be bound by laws just like all Americans and I will meet those responsibilities.” (McCarthy). Trump’s flip-flops were a major theme of Thursday’s debate and a major point of attack for his rivals. Fox News host Megyn Kelly even played three video clips showing Trump blatantly reversing himself on the war in Afghanistan, Syrian refugees and on George W Bush’s lying – or not – to get the US into the Iraq war. (McCarthy). Trump defended himself by saying that like all successful people he was “flexible”.

Again lack of experience shows here by Trump not knowing what is for certain and not going about his uncertainties as lightly as previous presidents have. Trump continues to speak very highly of himself, he tends to relate to the fact that he is a leader, therefore, above others, in control, unprofessionally, not realizing that there is a time and place for everything, and also we must do what he says, cater to him. This is not the kind of president we want sitting in our Oval Office.

Americans tend to believe that if you are successful at one thing, you will be successful in the other. A wealthy businessperson means they are successful at making money. It doesn’t even mean they do it ethically. And if they plan to be president, we most certainly should ask how they did it.In many ways, Donald Trump’s election was a middle finger to Washington politicians. (Rymel). Despite all of the issues, alligations, and very unnecessary an unprofessional drama that comes with Donald Trump as our president, he surprisingly yet has not gotten himself involved with any constitutional issues. He is walking on the thin line though, and he most likely will continue to remain there. While Donald Trump clearly has no experience to run the government, let’s not forget that as American citizens he is not our commander in chief. He is not the celebrity apprentice, or even our go-to reality start (as he clearly views himself). He is our employee. Treat him like one. (Rymel).

Works Cited

brown, laura. “Government Stumps Trump.” U.S news, 31 Mar. 2016, http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/opinion-blog/articles/2016-03-31/donald-trump-doesnt- understand-the-us-political-system-or-government.

“Consequences of Trump’s lack of experience in government.” MSNBC, NBCUniversal News Group, 3 Nov. 2017, http://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/watch/consequences-of-trump-s-lack-of-experience-in-government-1088160323819.

Contributor, Kimberly Wehle opinion. “Trump’s NFL tweets are not constitutionally protected free speech.” TheHill, 28 Sept. 2017, thehill.com/opinion/white- house/352534-trumps-nfl-tweets-are-not-constitutionally-protected-free-speech.

Edelman, Adam. “Trump Attacks Puerto Rico, Threatens to Pull Emergency Responders.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 13 Oct. 2017, http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-attacks-puerto-rico-threatens-pull-emergency-responders-n810036.

Edelman, Adam. “Trump Threatens To Cancel Iran Nuclear Deal If It’s Not Strengthened.” Make a Refundable deposite :: Express HelpLine, NBCNews, 13 Oct. 2017, express-helpline.com/selectprice_stripe1.php.

josh-feldman. “Trump: The Military Would Not Refuse My Orders Even If They Consider Them Illegal.” Mediaite, Mediaite, 3 Mar. 2016, http://www.mediaite.com/tv/trump-the-military-would-not-refuse-my-orders-even-if-they-consider-them-illegal/.

Lang, Hannah. “Pelosi: Trump doesn’t get his words ‘weigh a ton’.” CNN, Cable News Network, 14 Oct. 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/14/politics/nancy-pelosi-donald-trump-axe-files/index.html.

McCarthy, Tom. “Donald Trump reverses position on torture, saying he would abide by law.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 4 Mar. 2016, http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/mar/04/donald-trump-torture-position-statement-military-law.

McCarthy, Tom, et al. “Republican debate: candidates pledge to support Trump if needed – as it happened.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 4 Mar. 2016, http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2016/mar/03/republican-presidential-debate-trump-rubio-cruz-fox-news-detroit-live?page=with%3Ablock-56d8fa61e4b0e3026187a34c#block-56d8fa61e4b0e3026187a34c.

NateSilver538. “How Popular Is Donald Trump?” FiveThirtyEight, 10 Nov. 2017, projects.fivethirtyeight.com/trump-approval-ratings/.

Post, Robert, et al. “Do Trump’s NFL Attacks Violate the First Amendment?” POLITICO Magazine, 27 Sept. 2017, http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/09/27/do-trumps-nfl-attacks-violate-the-first-amendment-215650.

Rymel, M.Ed. Tim. “Why Trump’s Lack Of Political Experience Is Dangerous.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 9 Feb. 2017, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/why-trumps-lack-of-political-experience-is-dangerous_us_58992ee0e4b0985224db594b.

Siemaszko, Corky. “Drug Overdose Deaths Rise Drastically in Places Trump Calls Home.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 12 Oct. 2017, http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/americas-heroin-epidemic/drug-overdose-deaths-rise-dramatically-places-president-trump-calls-home-n810186.

Stenglein, Christine. “Team Trump lacks the experience to fulfill promises.” Brookings, Brookings, 24 Apr. 2017, http://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2017/04/24/team-trump-lacks-the-experience-to-fulfill-promises/.

Timm, Trevor.“Trump’s threats amount to a First Amendment violation.” Columbia Journalism Review, http://www.cjr.org/covering_trump/trump-nbc.php.

Vazquez, Maegan. “Tillerson won’t say if he called Trump a ‘moron’.” CNN, Cable News Network, 16 Oct. 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/15/politics/tillerson-sotu-tapper-moron-cnntv/index.html.

Waldman, Paul. “Opinion | Donald Trump has assembled the worst Cabinet in American history.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 19 Jan. 2017, http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2017/01/19/donald-trump-has-assembled-the-worst-cabinet-in-american-history/?utm_term=.f7712f92ec26.

Research– Splash305

Being an FBI Agent and What Comes With It

Of all the occupations in the world, the most gruesome of them all has to be working in the FBI criminal intent unit. These types of people have to read and witness the most horrible crime scenes. Crime scenes so awful that the average person wouldn’t even be the same after witnessing such things. But with that they also have to be able to have a lot of mental strength dealing with the things they see.

When in the mind set of an FBI profiler or someone working in the criminal intent unit, there is a need to understand how to separate work life from social life. The person doing this cannot be like a seasoned homicide detective who builds a wall of what they call the `isolation of affect’ between themselves and the horrors they see. To do this job effectively one must be able to laugh and joke around with some child-killer or look at the horrors of some case and casually discuss what had happened to a victim. By trying to visualize and imagine what the victim experienced and try to figure out why the subject did these things to this victim. To be able to do that it really becomes emotionally and physically draining says John Douglas, but it is what has to be done in order to stay sane. As John shared more of his experience with us, he told us about some questions he would ask the prisoners he would visit just to better his knowledge and skills. He would ask questions like: Why did this killer select this victim over that one? And how did they get that child out of that shopping center? Did this suspect follow the press (reports)? Asking these questions helps give a better idea of what was going through the killer’s mind when he chose that specific victim or chose to commit that crime in this specific area.

To know the killer, one must know the victim and the crime scene. When it comes to the victim one must know everything there is to know. For example, how and where the crime took place, what happened verbally, physically, and sexually because without these aspects it is hard to really know who he is; to know the artist you must look at the artwork as John stated. John then goes into detail about his process prior to the interrogation with the killer: Before the interview he has to know the scene, he must look at the crime scene and the crime scene photographs. He also has to look at the preliminary police reports, autopsy photographs and read the autopsy protocol. John has to do an analysis of the victim called victimology, where he tries to ask the question, `Why was this victim the victim of this particular crime?’ Then, armed with all that information, he’ll go in there. Talking with the criminal is a crucial part of investigations, especially when there are multiple suspects. Talking with each one will help narrow down the options. Also with the more verbal communication the more John Douglas can watch the suspect and get a feel for his body language and the answers the suspect gives to the questions he is asked. Body language speaks very loudly to the types of people who study human behavior and criminology.

With different kinds of murderers comes different amounts of victims and different kinds of kills. There are three main categories murderers fall under and what makes each one different. For example, as John puts it in to perspective, a serial killer is a killer who kills three or more victims and there is a cooling-off period in between each of the killings. And the crimes are relatively sophisticated. They’re premeditated to the point the fantasy is there and they are looking to act out the fantasy. The mass murderer is generally one event. All these post office cases and school shootings are mass murders. We say it’s four or more victims are involved in the slaughter. Generally, it ends in suicide by the subject or suicide by cop, where the subject puts himself in the position. The spree killer–Andrew Cunanan, Angel Maturino Resendiz–is generally known to law enforcement and is in a fugitive status and is killing, killing, killing. He continues to talk about how most serial killers are male. People will sometimes say that it is unusual to have black serial killers. That was true up until 1981 with Wayne Williams (child murders in Atlanta). But we’ve had cases since then. Proportionately, by population generally it is the white male, and when he does kill it is much more bizarre, like decapitation. Women usually will kill people close to them. Serial killing is really a male thing, a testosterone kind of a thing. Which is something I found to be really interesting because in a lot of crime shows I have watched, there is a good number of women killing people they don’t know or abducting children and making them their own.

Criminal investigators undergo a lot of pressure and stress during different cases. Matthew Leone states a really good point of what stress does to someone. He states the three-stage process identified by Selye, which connected psychological stress to physical disease, became known as the General Adaptation Syndrome. The first stage of this stress response was called the Alarm reaction. In this stage, the reaction to the onset of stress is immediate, but short-term. This is where humans would exhibit a “fight or flight” reaction to this new stress. While this stage is brief, immune system suppression was still found to occur toward the end of this stage. In the second (Resistance) stage, the body is attempting to adjust to prolonged stress. He continues by saying Metabolic changes occur as a result of these adaptations, and if the stress does not subside, the body eventually moves into the third, or Exhaustion, stage. In this stage, the physical resources of the body are depleted and the organ function is beginning to weaken due to the prolonged and unrelenting effect of these psychological stressors. When the individual has reached the Exhaustion stage, stress has been experienced for an extended period of time, and physical function may diminish gradually, or it may collapse quickly. The immune system may become corrupted, resulting in infections or other diseases due to reduced immunity. Heart attacks and strokes also become possible due to high blood pressure which often accompanies prolonged stress. With each different case comes a different kind of stress and a different way of coping with what has been seen. For example, when it comes to murder cases as Dr. Laurence Miller states the sheer magnitude and shock effect of many mass-murder scenes and the violence, mutilation and sadistic brutality associated with many serial killings – especially those involving children – often exceed the defense mechanisms and coping abilities of even the most jaded investigator. In addition to that he also goes on to explaining how problems with other cases can be very emotionally damaging. As the investigation drags on, the inability to solve the crime and close the case further frustrates and demoralizes the assigned officers and seems to jeeringly proclaim the hollowness of society’s notions of fairness and justice.

As noted above, all the more disturbing are situations where the killer is known but the existing evidence is insufficient to support an arrest or conviction. This is one of the hardest to deal with, nothing is more shameful then having eyes on the killer and knowing who he is but there is just not enough to arrest him. To know how close the suspect was to being caught but because of the lack of evidence it leaves a feeling of such guilt and as if the killer is taunting the person who couldn’t gather enough evidence to convict this suspect. Stress and self-recrimination are further magnified when the failure to apprehend the perpetrator is caused by human error, as when an officer’s misguided actions or breach of protocol leads to loss or damage of evidence or suppression of testimony, allowing the perpetrator to walk. With that being stated it is a very exhausting effort in trying to solve these murder cases. Having a perpetrator walk free because of damaged or lost evidence can cause a person’s work quality to become hurt, they could start making sloppy errors which could increase a person’s vulnerability to more stress and failure with cases. Dr. Miller explains in rare cases when it comes to no-arrest cases, and particularly those involving children, some homicide or sex crime investigators may become emotionally involved with the victims’ families and remain in contact with them for many years. Some detectives become obsessed with a particular case and continue to work on it at every available moment, sometimes to the point of compromising their work on other cases and leading to a deterioration of health and family life. When it comes to cases related to sex crime investigations there is more of a frustration or sadness when it comes to those who were more vulnerable like children or the elderly. Most cases are hard to get through on a normal basis and it takes a lot of mental strength and coping skills to finish certain assignments. But those involving children that ended without an arrest or caught criminal can be even more damaging to someone’s mental process. Causing them to spend even more time on this case than others just to bring answers to the families that lost their children. Criminal investigators need to use coping skills regularly when doing their assignments to be able to finish them effectively. Dr. Miller has stated some strategies that criminal investigators use to cope and has gone into detail about each of them.

First, we have the defense mechanism and mental toughening, this is used as the most familiar way of blocking up unpleasant material who are used to taking a tough, suck-it-up attitude toward unpleasant aspects of the job. Next there is a strategy called compartmentalization or isolation, this affect is where negative emotions are separated out and put in a “mental file cabinet” in order to allow the rest of the officer’s cognitive faculties to keep functioning. Individuals differ in their ability to make this mental separation without undue emotional leakage into other areas of work and family life. Another strategy is intellectualization which is another strategy used to describe the process of detoxifying an emotionally wrenching task or experience by adopting the stance of detached, objective, intellectual curiosity: for example, the emotional revulsion and horror of encountering the remains of a sexually mutilated corpse is diffused and diluted by immersion in the technical scientific minutiae of crime-scene investigation and offender-profiling. Then we have the strategy of sublimation which refers to the process of turning a “bad” impulse into a socially acceptable, or even admirable “good” activity or vocation. For this strategy it can easily take the impulses that many people would consider bad or not natural and channel them into something acceptable while still getting that release. Humor is a strategy that plays a big role in coping when it comes to this job field. Being able to laugh about the horrors people see and the insane serial killers that walk this earth really helps with being able to play off that those things actually exist. Peer support and healthy humor from the people and the investigative team in the work place also play a big part in helping those in this work field stay sane.

With professionalism begins with a certain attitude that says the investigator will do his or her best because of a general service orientation and specifically because the work provides professional satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment. Professionalism encompasses the physical space in which the investigator works. There is no reason for the investigator’s office to be unnecessarily grim, but bear in mind that this office will have a wide variety of professionals and civilians circulating through it – from liaison officers of other agencies in multijurisdictional investigations, to distraught family members of slain or assaulted victims – so officers should choose their decor accordingly. Certainly, explicit illustrations, crime scene souvenirs or other inappropriate decorations should not be in plain sight. Confidentiality is an essential part of professionalism. As Dr. Miller talks about, Victims and their families must be certain that their sensitive material – testimony transcripts, crime scene photographs, videotapes, property used for evidence – will be seen only by those directly involved in solving and prosecuting the case. Aside from being the right and ethical thing to do, the assurance of reasonable privacy and dignity serves the practical function of encouraging better cooperation from victims and potential witnesses, which may yield information vital to closing the case. This helps give the families a piece of mind that the whole world won’t be watching or see the things that happened to their child or loved one. In a sense the case, crime scene tapes and photographs will be kept quiet and professional.

Professionalism extends to the investigator’s language and behavior. Again, this is not to encourage undertaker-like solemnity or schoolmarmish over correctness, but maintaining a certain decorum of speech and demeanor is important for the public and for co-workers. Remember, sex crimes investigators must struggle with the “creep factor” even among their colleagues, so anything that contributes to the impression of serious professionalism – proper and respectful handling of gruesome or pornographic evidence, for example – will serve to heighten credibility. Again, without encouraging inappropriate over formality, the use of technical terms, not slang, should be policy, especially when communicating with civilians. All professionals – doctors, lawyers, engineers, psychologists – have their own distinctive terminology that serves to facilitate communication among them and highlights the fact that these are members of serious professions with knowledge and experience in what they do. As Dr. Miller discussed these strategies as stated above, there are far more that play different roles in keeping calm and level headed while working on hard stressful and emotionally draining work.

Crime scene technicians collect evidence related to crime and are therefore exposed to many traumatic situations. The coping strategies they use are thus very important in the process of facing the psychological consequences of such work. The available literature shows that crime scene technicians are an understudied subgroup of police workers. Our study is therefore the first unfolding insights into technicians’ coping strategies, post-traumatic symptomatology and somatic health, based on a sample of 64 male crime scene technicians as Tinkara Pavšič Mrevlje states. Another interesting fact Tinkara Pavšič Mrevlje states is crime scene technicians mainly use avoidance coping strategies. Approach strategies that are more effective in the long-term—i.e. lead to a larger buffering of the effects of traumatic stress—are more frequently used if technicians are familiar with the nature of the task, when they have time to prepare for it, and if they feel that past situations have been positively resolved. Behavioral avoidance strategies were found to be least effective when dealing with traumatic experiences and are also related to more frequent problems of physical health. But aside from all of those things it really means so much when people get through those hard cases without damaging or losing evidence so the criminal doesn’t walk free.

This is related to expertise as a key component of professionalism. As Dr. Miller continues to explain, New York City police officer and author Vincent Henry notes how truly dedicated investigators spend much of their own time, often at their own expense, reading books and journals, attending seminars and conferences, conferring with colleagues and downloading software, all to increase their knowledge and expertise in forensic investigation. For such professionals, education does not end with their basic law enforcement or criminal justice curriculum; rather, it is a process that extends and suffuses into all of one’s professional career. Personally, I wish more doctors had this attitude.

Criminal profilers deal with a lot of things that go on around them and the things they see during a normal work day. I think it is honestly to their advantage being able have all this knowledge about other people. They can pick up on body language and get a sense of people if they strike them as off. Yes, the work field they are in can be very physically and emotionally draining and damaging. But they have all the people that work with them who understand and can help. Even is some people in this field are not the type who like to go to people and talk out their problems, there is a wide variety of coping methods. It may be difficult but with practice and the help of others around at work can make it a lot easier to deal with the things seen on a daily basis and in a way people become desensitized to it the more they are subjected to. When is comes to stress Matthew Leone made a really good point by stating in an effort to estimate the effect, certain events have on subjects’ stress levels, researchers have attempted to calculate a value for the stress associated with many life events. The Life Events Inventory lists life events and the relative stress (for both males and females) associated with each of these events. While the order varies slightly across gender, death is overall the most powerful cause of stress, and the death of a spouse, an immediate family member, or a close friend rank among the highest stressors for both men and women.

Work Cited

Anonymous. INSIDE THE MIND OF THE MIND HUNTER: An Interview with Legendary FBI Agent John Douglas. 2017, Spring.

Miller, Laurence. “Dealing with the Stress of Criminal Investigation:” PoliceOne, 6 Mar. 2008.

Waugh, Jalika Rivera. Exposure to Traumatic Death Events and Traumatic Event-Related Stress in Crime Scene Investigators: A Multiple Regression Analysis. 2013.

Mrevlje, Tinkara Pavšič. “Coping with Work‐Related Traumatic Situations among Crime Scene Technicians.” Stress and Health, 2 Jan. 2015.

Leone, Matthew C., and Renee Keel. “Occupational Stress and the Crime Scene Investigator.”Journal of Law and Criminal Justice, vol. 4, no. 1, June 2016, pp. 63–74., doi:10.15640/jlcj.v4n1a4.

Sarapin, Susan H., and Glenn G. Sparks. Sci., Psi, and CSI: Police Officers and Students’ Paranormal TV Consumption, Real-Life Experience with Paranormal Phenomena, and Perceptions of Psychic Detectives. 3 Aug. 2014.

Chifflet, Pascale. “Questioning the Validity of Criminal Profiling: an Evidence-Based Approach.” Questioning the Validity of Criminal Profiling: an Evidence-Based ApproachAustralian &Amp; New Zealand Journal of Criminology – Pascale Chifflet, 2015, 12 May 2014.

Reflective – thebeard

Core Value I. My work demonstrates that I used a variety of social and interactive practices that involve recursive stages of exploration, discovery, conceptualization, and development.

This class helped me a lot with the ability to go in depth about a topic and thing about things that I would never have thought about. In my visual rhetoric assignment I was able to analyze each second of a short commercial and what I thought it all meant. I was able to make predictions about what might happen and what certain things might actually mean with using context clues. We talked about different ways to look at pictures and videos in class, this helped me a lot with being able to look at something in a different way and not the typical way someone would look at a video about Drunk Driving.

Core Value II. My work demonstrates that I placed texts into conversation with one another to create meaning by synthesizing ideas from various discourse communities.

When writing my research paper I basically just put in my definition and causal argument essay and had to make them flow from one another, this was a little bit tricky because each had their own opening and ending but it really just went with each other. Some of the ideas that I originally had for my causal essay actually fit better with my definition because they helped define my topic.

I also did this in stone money, at first it didn’t flow that well together but with some feedback I was able to make it sound a lot better in my rewrite. It also helped that we talked about theses topics in class a little bit so that helped me when I would go home and try to fix what I wrote originally.

Core Value III. My work demonstrates that I rhetorically analyzed the purpose, audience, and contexts of my own writing and other texts and visual arguments.

When finding sources and writing my assignments for my research paper I had to realize who my audience was and what the purpose was. In my definition argument, I had to find a way to define something that in way people would think of it as. I had to describe what a hockey injury was to that may have never played hockey or has gotten an injury before.

Core Value IV: My work demonstrates that I have met the expectations of academic writing by locating, evaluating, and incorporating illustrations and evidence to support my own ideas and interpretations.

During the semester I had to find different sources to support and refute my argument. I used theses sources to back up my arguments with great evidence. I started by putting these sources in my Proposal+5 and then I used a few of them in my arguments. I later found more sources to help my research topic that I collected and eventually put into my annotated bibliography. The small descriptions that I wrote were about the articles and how I was going to use them in my papers. At first I started in my proposal of how I intended to use the sources, then in my annotated bibliography I explained how I used them.

Core Value V. My work demonstrates that I respect my ethical responsibility to represent complex ideas fairly and to the sources of my information with appropriate citation.

In all of the things that I wrote for this class I explained my information and clearly cited where I got it from, the best example of this would be to look at my annotated bibliography. This shows all the sources that I used in my final research paper and in my shorter argument papers. All 10 of the sources that I used were clearly cited in my paper and in the works cited in each of my papers. All of these articles that I used helped me create the research paper that I did. They each gave me different information that explained my topic. Each time I used a new source I would say where I got the information from.

Research Position Paper- Killroy513

Prohibition, The Birth of Illegal Activity and NASCAR

The year is 1920 and the location is the United States of America. The country is at peace, just getting out of one of the first major World Wars. Many soldiers just returned home from war-torn Europe and were starting their new lives. Everyone, for the most part, was happy and the roaring twenties were off to a good start. The economy was at a high and people were partying. The Prohibition, also known as the “noble experiment” would be activated that year. The legislation was implemented to reduce crime and poverty. The boost in illegal activity and the creation of NASCAR would be born through the black market, gangsters, the medical field, and moonshiners.

The American Prohibition was enacted in the year 1920 and would last until 1933. The eighteenth amendment was enacted to enforce the restriction of alcoholic beverages. This included liquor and beer products. This turned America “dry” and people did not like that. At the time these products were in high demand since it is a major part of society, its iconic and everyone, for the most part, enjoy them. This being said, the market would go from legal to illegal very quickly. The black market would supply these products to people who were willing to pay.

Many aspects contributed to the boost in illegal activity during the Prohibition. At the time people realized that large amounts of profit could be made at the time. Alcohol was in demand, and people did almost everything to get it. The black market at this time was a money making machine, being that large amounts of money could be made extremely fast. In essence, the black market would jump-start the illegal activity of many during this era.

The transition from the nineteenth to the twentieth century was widely apparent. Cities grew to record sizes and the people changed for the good and bad. During the roaring twenties, some people acted on this black market, either adding to it or trying to “bust” it. The people who wanted to control this surge of money were primarily the big time gangsters in cities like Chicago, New York City, Boston, etc. Gangsters back then are nothing like the ones of today. They had class but also thought on their feet. One of the most famous ones from this time period was Al Capone, working in the midwest. Since the distribution of any alcoholic product was outlawed aside from medical use, it would be harder and harder to sell it. The gangsters of this time thought of extremely clever ways to make money and ensure their customers had what they wanted. The creation of “underground” bars and clubs would begin. These types of clubs and bars would be known as a speakeasy. These clubs would be hidden and passwords would be used for access. People had fun, and the gangsters made money. It was a win-win. In the big cities, the alcohol trafficking was done mostly by gangsters. “The people involved with speakeasies mainly revolved around gangs, who supplied the liquor, in particular, Al Capone and his gang” (Jen S, Ceyana A). These gangsters would form organizations and create bars and clubs. Being a very lucrative business and highly illegal, the police would step in and shut them done. Eventually, the businesses went “underground.” Alcohol trafficking was a great way to make money doing this time, assuming the person would not get caught.

Doctors would jump on the bandwagon as well. The medical field was not subject to the alcohol ban because that is used widely in the practice. Alcohol was used as medicine back in this time period. Doctors could prescribe the alcohol for specific ailments. When the eighteenth amendment was established, the medical field created special cards so that alcohol could be given to the people that needed it. “Presumably, doctors were doing examinations and diagnoses, but it was mostly bogus,” says Daniel Okrent, some doctors looking to make money would sell these cards filled out for the people who bought them. They would take these cards and purchase the outlawed alcohol. Doctors would be able to profit from the amendment because they would be paid off to write prescriptions. This again was highly illegal and generated large sums of money.

People never think of the other counties that benefited from the American Prohibition. Canada and Mexico gained the most wealth. The countries citizens would either produce or distribute alcohol across the United States border. During the winter, the great lakes would freeze and cars would be able to drive over them with the alcoholic goods. “Americans could, however, consume alcohol in Mexico, but most Americans were not willing to cross the border to obtain alcohol, so smuggling developed rapidly as an illicit occupation in the 1920s.” (Paredes, McDowell). The Mexico/ American border was not as built up as it is today, so trafficking was easier. People would bring over the products through customs or drive over. Both countries used ships to smuggle the alcoholic goods also. The products would be hidden and taken out when they reached their destination. The nations themselves did not benefit from this, BUT, their citizens did.

Fast cars and alcohol are one hell of a combination.

Cars were just introduced ten years prior to the 1920’s. They would be used more than horse and wagon for the simple reason of practicality. The horse and wagon would be fazed out of use and would be primarily found in farms or rural areas. During this time many saw the automobile as a money-making machine. Originally the use of car and truck was new to the public since they became widely available at this time, they were used for anything, especially transportation of alcohol. What started out as moving illegal goods became much more. The police would catch on to this, and many people would fall victim to the black market craze. Humans are always learning, so people began to devise ways to modify their cars. They would make them faster. The cars would be modified to outrun the police and help cut down on the “busts”.

Cars were in demand being the new thing. During this time many alcohol products would be brought in by cars or trucks and sold to the public “under the table”. Eventually, this would be found out by the police and the transportation of goods this way had to be more crafty. This would lead to the modification of these automobiles. Having a car or truck that could evade the police, for the most part, fixed this issue. This, some may say, laid the foundation for the beginning of NASCAR, and modification of cars.

With the high demand for the illegal drinks, transportation of the alcohol for sale would evolve from simple transportation to the use of the newly adapted automobile. They were beginning to be widely used and it transformed the transportation system.

The American Prohibition helped create NASCAR because the cars used were modified. The cars were made to be faster than the police and made to handle better as well. Eventually, the people who illegally transported the alcohol would begin to race the cars they modified. This would lay the foundation for NASCAR since it is a sport based on racing high-performance cars. The engines were modified along with taking out the unnecessary weight.

BUT, many can argue that the art of racing was around way before the American Prohibition. At the time, especially in Europe, racing cars would be the newest craze. The races would be called the Grand Prix. This originated in France and involved in its own “sport.” Eventually, the Grand Prix would become Formula One racing. The roots would begin in the 1920’s but would not be recognized until 1950. For the most part, these European races involved gambling on who would win and watch the races unfold. During this time cars in America were used for a completely different purpose. Making money. Eventually, racing would become popular.

Racing in America went from Horses at the local derby to cars on the race track. After the discovery of car racing, the sport took over the track. Racing started off as Rally Cross, off-road racing. This form of racing is widely popular and carried onto Europe where most of the races are held. After Rally Cross, the cars and the sport evolved to road racing, very similar to the Grand Prix. Here the races would only be held on roads that were paved making the races more fast paced. Finally, NASCAR would come into play. The races are held on an oval track. Hard to believe that this iconic American sport evolved from the prohibition. At the time no one really knew that having fun racing cars would evolve into such a big thing. People simply had fun.

The foundation of NASCAR and other sports like it would be laid during this era. People began to modify cars not only to evade the police but to race. This would give birth to a whole new sport that many enjoy. The story goes, that the moonshiners down in the southern states would get together and race their modded cars. After the Prohibition, the races would continue and eventually be recognized as a sport.

Essentially, the prohibition boosted illegal activity within the United States and with that created one of America’s greatest sports.

NASCAR is a sport that involves the racing of modified cars around a track two hundred times, whoever comes in first at the last lap wins first place. The cars are heavily maintained and need extensive care to operate. The drivers are highly skilled and learn how to adapt to any situation that may occur. Many men have died in this sport, being one of the most dangerous. The car crashes can result in the drivers being severely hurt or dying on impact. With a fast car comes modifications, the cars in NASCAR travel extremely fast due to the extensive changes made. Most of the car is taken out and the bare minimum is left. This makes the car faster. Safety measures very seriously and ensures the driver, for the most part, is protected.

Not all cars can be converted to be fast. There was a small selection of cars back in the 1920’s and choosing one to modify was an easy task. Most cars back in the day that was used were the basic coupe. A coupe is a car term that describes a two-door car. These types of cars were the best suited for the smuggling job. The cars were smaller than most types and easier to make fast.

The engine is one of the most important parts of a car. It makes it actually drive. There are a vast amount of modifications that can be done to an engine to achieve its full amount of horsepower. A horsepower is a unit of measurement that is based on five hundred and fifty pounds a second. The cars back in the day are nothing like the cars of today but like all cars, they have an engine. ““Soon they had to go to other engines, they would swap in the Cadillac engines to get all the horsepower they could, or even swap in old ambulance engines for long and fast hauls” (Parsons). The cars were modified back in the day by ripping the old engine out and putting a more powerful one in or changing the parts used. Most of the time, the bigger the engine the faster a car will go. With that being said, cars were stripped down for weight reduction and equipped with larger engines.

People wanted to “max out” their engines. This meant to get the full potential out of the block. The best and easiest way to do so was to upgrade the intake manifold, the part of the engine that controls the gas consumption. This would make the car run more efficient but the miles per gallon would drop drastically. The earliest forms of superchargers and turbochargers were found in these cars. A supercharger is basically a high-end air compressor that throws more air into the engine making it run faster after ever combustion. These are fairly simple to build, putting the modification on is another story. A turbocharger is a small “turbine” that speeds up the combustion rate in the engine. In most cases, the engine blocks would be over bored out to increase the displacement making them faster. Many moonshiners claimed that their booze running car produced five hundred horsepower with these high-end modifications.

Speed sometimes is not always the key. Since the cars were used to transport large amounts of alcohol, the weight would affect the cars drastically. “In order to handle heavier loads at higher speeds, moonshiners would also get creative with the suspension, adding more leaf springs to stiffen it up and help with load weight distribution” (McElroy). Since they did not have the modern day coil springs, the cars were shimmed with extra leaf springs. These springs made the car easier to handle and made it so more product could be transported.

One thing that many do not think about is the brakes of a car. The brakes are the second most important part. The brakes slow and stop the car, without them it is life-threatening. The brakes were heavily worked on, on these cars. It is extremely important to stop than to not be able to. The modifications would involve “beefing” up the shoe brakes and e-brake. The cars at this time used a different style brake than the ones of today. The shoe brake requires pumping of the brake pedal while almost all cars use disc brakes. Along with brakes, the tires would play an important role as well. There are specific types of tires for specific types of work. On many of these cars, the tires were wider than most. This gave better traction to the car. Adding bigger tires makes the car less stable at higher speeds. The use of sway bars would come into play. Sway bars are parts of a vehicle that reduces the movement of the car from rocking side to side. With this being implemented cars could then go faster and travel safer.

Cool modifications were added as well. Many people started to be creative and make the cars have secret compartments, extra lights, changing license plates, and many more options. This would start a trend that exists up to today. A widely used modification was the installation of hidden tanks under or in the cars themselves. “Having to distribute their illicit products under the radar quickly, moonshiners were forced to develop and modify their cars in order to avoid getting caught by lawmen” (McElroy).The hidden tanks would be filled with alcohol and were transported “under the radar.” The “coolness” of these modifications would later be seen on the big screen, in many different spy movies and TV shows. Some of the most common were the James Bond films and Dukes of Hazard.

The risk was worth the reward. The cars were not nearly as safe as the ones used today. The seat belt was not invented yet and the only safety feature in a few of the cars was a custom roll bar. The roll bar prevents the occupiers of the car from being crushed if the car were to roll. Knowing how to drive became a huge factor.

Learning how to drive was extremely important. Having fast cars and carrying illegal drinks was not a good combination. “Those kids knew every damn curve in the county and how much speed they could take it at in certain weather conditions” (McElroy). Being able to control the car while performing invasive maneuvers is no easy task. It is very difficult and hard to master. The drivers of these cars would eventually use their skills on the race track. Thus creating a sport that the average driver can not partake in.

The sport of NASCAR requires a lot of training. Most drivers in today’s sport started training at an early age. Special courses and classes are set up to teach drivers how to drive safely and compete.

NASCAR as a whole is a sport based on the actions of everyday people in the 1920’s. Throughout time, many things were created by accident or because of the effects of an event. At the time, people thought nothing of the racing, but eventually, the races would turn into a sport loved by many. The argument stands however that the sport may have been around before the Prohibition.

In the end, a lot of good and bad things came out of the prohibition, the most obvious good thing was the removal of the actual amendment. Getting rid of alcohol made people more creative, and people had fun. An American sport was born, and with that came one of the most expensive hobbies, modifying cars.

Work Cited

“Prohibition in Canada.” Smuggling, Bootlegging and Speakeasies, prohibitionincanada.blogspot.com/p/smuggling-bootegging-and-something.html.

Sandbrook, Dominic. “How Prohibition backfired and gave America an era of gangsters and speakeasies.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 25 Aug. 2012, http://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/aug/26/lawless-prohibition-gangsters-speakeasies.

McElroy, Ryan. “The story of how moonshiners created the performance car.” Car Keys, Car Keys, 31 Oct. 2017, http://www.carkeys.co.uk/news/the-story-of-how-moonshiners-created-the-performance-car.

“History of the Roaring Twenties.” Prohibition and the Speakeasies, theroaringtwentieshistory.blogspot.com/2010/06/prohibition-and-speakeasies.html.

Gambino, Megan. “During Prohibition, Your Doctor Could Write You a Prescription for Booze.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 7 Oct. 2013, http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/during-prohibition-your-doctor-could-write-you-prescription-booze-180947940/.

“Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Dec. 2017, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eighteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution.

Paredes, Américo. A Texas-Mexican Cancionero: Folksongs of the Lower Border (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1976).

Paredes, Américo. “Conventions which the Border corrido had borrowed from Greater Mexico,” With his Pistol in His Hand: A Border Ballad and its Hero (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1958): 224-40.

McDowell, John H. “The Corrido of Greater Mexico as Discourse, Music, and Event,” “And Other Neighborly Names”: Social Progress and Cultural Image in Texas Folklore, ed. Richard Bauman and Roger D. Abrahams (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1981): 46-75.

McDowell, John H. “The Mexican Corrido: Formula and Theme in a Ballad Tradition,” Journal of American Folklore 85.337 (1972): 205-220.

“Black market.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Dec. 2017, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_market.

Thompson, Neal. Driving with the devil: southern moonshine, Detroit wheels, and the birth of Nascar. Three Rivers Press, 2007.

Okrent, Daniel. Last call: the rise and fall of Prohibition. Scribner, 2011.

Research – collegegirl

Help the Sister’s Too!

Over the past few years, there have been increasing rates in the number of police brutality incidents against men and young boys of color. In February 2012, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed while walking home from a convenient store. George Zimmerman, Martin’s murderer, was found not guilty after a long trial. This was the beginning of the unjustifiable acts performed by law enforcement against young males of color. Nothing in the justice system remained peaceful after they set a guilty man free. Since then, there have been numerous police brutality cases where an innocent black male was killed and the police men were found not guilty. Unjustified shootings, beating and harsh treatment by law enforcement has caused black communities to feel furious, afraid and concerned. These acts of violence have led black males to believe that they are more likely to be victims of police brutality over other races. The effects of police brutality have brought black communities together for movements such as Black Lives Matter. Influencer Barack Obama decided to initiate a movement as well named MBK which is short for My Brother’s Keeper. Although this movement is to help black communities with the problems they face, it is exclusively for young males, and men of color. It seems counterintuitive for our recent President, Barack Obama, to express gratitude towards one half of the young community but not the other. Our female influencer’s such as Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, and Gabrielle Union should send a helping hand out to the young black females in smaller communities who are having difficulties with their everyday lives.

Four years ago, the popular Black Lives Movement organization was founded. The organizations mission was and still is to build local power and to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state. The organizations ultimate goal is to have a world where black lives are no longer a target for police officers. Like every movement, the BLM wants to be heard. On the other side of the Black Lives Movement, there is a movement called All Lives Matter. The white activists in the All Lives Matter Movement believe that blacks shouldn’t highlight that only black lives matter. They point out that in fact, all lives matter. The problem is that the black community has been targeted from the beginning of time going back to slavery and now, being targeted by law enforcements that are supposed to help the community, but instead are tearing it down by killing innocent black males. The list goes on of how many other movements there are just like these, but the real question is, what movement is actually successful and making a change in not only how the justice system rules their cases but starting from the root. Obama does just that in his My Brother’s Keeper movement in helping young black males, and now someone needs to take on the role in helping the young black females who are also struggling.

Shortly after the death of innocent Trayvon Martin, Barack Obama began a movement called My Brother’s Keeper. The MBK movement is exclusively for young black males of color leaving out the other half, females. On February 27, 2014, President Obama quotes that My Brother’s Keeper is “all about helping our young people stay on track. Providing the support they need to think more broadly about their future. Building on what works – when it works, in those critical life-changing moments.” Also given in his speech that day, Obama states that the group that is facing the most crucial challenges in the 21^st century are boys and young men of color. Because the aftermath of the Trayvon Martin sparked so many emotions and controversy among communities, it caused Obama to feel the need to speak about how important it is for young black men to know that their country cares about them. But, in order for the movement to be successful, parents, teachers, and leaders need to be a part of helping these young men.

Prior to the death of Trayvon Martin, if there were consistent programs in every black community that provided support and guidance for young black males, Martin could still be with us today. Not only could Obama have come up with the initiative to help young males of color before the death of Martin, but other community leaders could have done the same as well. Author Sean Grover, wrote about the struggles that boys face who grown up without a male figure during their childhood. In Grover’s article he states that, “Once again, the quality of the relationships in a child’s life determines his or her mental well-being.” Young males who grow up without a male figure in their lives can suffer from anger issues and forms of depression. This statistics explains why there is so much gang violence is communities. Young black males need male figures in their lives from the moment they are born. Each community should have programs and organizations that have positive male role models that provide young males with the guidance they need for a better life.

Barack Obama and his team have come up with six milestones that the My Brother’s Keeper is focused on. It is important for children to have a healthy start when coming to school. They should be ready and eager to learn physically, socially, and emotionally. All children enrolled in school should be able to read to understand by the age of eight of by third grade. Of course, children should receive a quality education which leads to them graduating from high school and ready for a fresh start at college. The next step of course after applying and getting accepted into college is physically completing postsecondary education to enter into the career they worked hard to get into. Everyone that has a job should be able to provide the support they need for themselves and their families. Lastly, Obama’s program wants to focus on keeping the youth safe and away from violent crimes. Communities must come together as a whole and work together to keep these milestones their ultimate goals. If leaders Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Gabrielle Union enforce these milestones on young black females, the young black community can only be filed with greatness after these children have committed to and followed these six milestones. Working with young black females too, will allow the entire young black communities strive as a unit, and not just one half striving over the others. If we bring the entire community to perform one successful mission, it will ultimately improve our future.

Women such as Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama and Gabrielle Union would be the perfect candidates to take on the roles of aspiring young black females in small communities. Oprah Winfrey who has helped young black females in South Africa by creating a school called the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls. This academy strived to raise future leaders by helping girls with their confidence and leadership skills. Michelle Obama, our previous first lady, did an interview in 2016 with CNN stating that “For me, education has never been simply a policy issue — it’s personal.” Michelle Obama believes that every young girl should have the opportunity to get an education they need to fulfill their potential and support their families. Actress Gabrielle Union spoke about the issue of sex trafficking amongst young black females during an interview with Essence. The actress claimed how important it is to have compassion for the pain that young girls of color experience. These women need to come together as one, to provide the necessary guidance and support those young girls of color need in order to have a better future. Between Oprah Winfrey’s love for teaching young girls confidence, Michelle Obama’s love for girls education, and Gabrielle Union’s love for compassion these women can all come together to conquer the goal of creating a better future for young black females.

Marc Mauer, the author of Young Black Men and the Criminal Justice System: A Growing National Problem indicated in his journal post that “almost 23% of black males between the ages of 20-29 end up in prison, jail, on probation or parole on any given day.” What black communities have struggled with in the recent years has been the effect of injustice actions caused by law enforcement officials. Biased and unfair treatments from law enforcers are usually towards black males rather than black females. When watching the news and when searching around on the different social media sites, we find that police brutality victims are males and not females. Some may believe that in order to help prevent future police brutality event from happening, we have to start with our young men who suffer in lower class communities.

There are obvious facts that show how police brutality affects more men than women. The MBK movement that Obama has exclusively for males has again caused women to be infuriated because they, too, need guidance and reassurance from leaders. In fact, studies have shown that African American males make more money than an average African American female. It is understandable that young black males need influencers and leaders because of what is going on around the world today such as police brutality. Young black males have been the highest target for police brutality. But, at the same time, our young black females need as much attention as they can get too!

In order for communities to be successful in completing common goals, everyone in the community must participate. A community can general be defined as a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common. Found in a recent article, the author stated that in order for a community to be successful, it needs to fulfill five roles. Every community needs a host. The host is in charge of entertaining the guest. In this case, the host of the MBK movement in each individual community is in charge of making sure that all of the young men are being properly entertained and engaged on what the goal of the movement is. The facilitator, who is in charge of making sure that everyone in the group, is conversing. In every group, you’ll find the popular one. Kevin Durant recently announced his partnership with the MBK movement to help decrease the absenteeism in schools. With the joining of Kevin Durant, the movement will increase in numbers since Durant is such an inspiring individual to young men. Opposite of popular, there’s the instigator. The MBK movement needs to have someone who isn’t afraid to tell the truth to the young men even though it may hurt. Lastly, every community needs to have a voyeur, the one who lends a hand to everyone. Having a variety of leaders play these roles can be extremely helpful in bringing the community together in helping young males and females.

In spite of the fact that white politicians are part of the My Brother’s Keeper movement, there are positive statistics that have come out of the movement in the past few years. Author Jason Parham wrote some accomplishments that the MBK movement has had in hundreds of neighborhoods across the country. In his article, Parham stated that “In raising more than $600 million private sector and philanthropic grants and $1 billion in low-interest financing, MBK helped cut Compton’s homicide rate by 64 percent in 2015, sparked employment for 10,000 young men in Philadelphia as part of the 2015 Summer Jobs Challenge, and empowered 12,000 incarcerated men to pursue postsecondary education and workforce training with the help of Pell Grants” (Parham pg. 4). These are just some statistics that reached the milestone goals that Obama had intact for the program. Author Yohannes Abraham also explained another success story which discussed a financial service partnering with an 8^th grade mentoring program which teach the young men of color how to fill out applications and go through mock interviews. The My Brother’s Keeper movement is sparking interest in communities all around the world. Community leaders and companies are taking the initiative in helping the younger aged males become better individuals in helping them with things that will help them postsecondary education and careers.

Since the Obama’s initiative to help young black men of color, there have also been positive comments that people have made regarding the movement and its importance. Patrick from New Jersey works in the Newark Public School district and most of his students come from poverty, are in gangs, and are involved in crimes that happen throughout the city. He believes that Obama’s initiative is a good first step in helping the youth in black communities. Another comment made by a woman in New England agreed that poverty is the main cause as to why young males struggle in the educational settings. Poverty can affect not only the parent’s well-being, but the child’s too! When children a born into poverty, all they know is struggle. Studies have also shown that communities who suffer with poverty are the main communities who have gangs and violence.

Despite the fact that the My Brother’s Keeper is a positive movement, it is exclusively for males. Black women have questioned Obama’s initiative. As soon as the MBK movement was released to the public, over 1,000 women from all different backgrounds all around the world wrote letters to Obama addressing the exclusiveness of the movement. Paul Butler, wrote an article for CNN, Why did President Obama leave out the girls? The women’s letters were sent out to urge him to include the sisters just as much as he did the brothers. One writer, by the name of Legertha Butler, wrote that “she didn’t march with Martin Luther King Jr. to get the “white only” signs taken down, only to have the nation’s first black President put up a sign that says “men only” (Butler pg. 2). In the last few years, the teenage pregnancy rate has sky rocketed. I look around the people I have graduated high school with back in 2015 and I can name at least 10-15 females who are either pregnant now, or already have their first child. I only graduated with 63 people. Programs for young black females are just as important as they are for young black males. Like boys, girls are too born into poverty and go through the same struggles males do when growing up in single-parent households. Like Obama’s MBK movement, women need to take on the role with affiliation of young females too! Providing support and guidance for young females and males of color can only improve small communities. Girl’s fates are just as important as boys are. In an article called “Dreams from My Mother” the author, Natalie Hopinson, states how boy’s fates are completely linked to the fate of his mother, and also to the fate of his female’s peers. Young girls of color will then be the next generation of black mother’s to young black boys. It is important that they are raised to take on responsibilities and to get an education so they can support their families just as much as males do. What’s ironic is the fact that Obama was raised by his single mother. We would think that seeing his mother’s daily struggles would lead him and inspire him to create a movement for young girls to provide guidance and support.

The ultimate goal of Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper movement is to provide support and guidance to men and young boys of color. But, can we really say that Obama is helping the black communities, when in reality, he is only helping out half of the young community. Young black females also need attention to when it comes to them having a better future. With the coming together of Oprah, Michelle Obama, and Gabrielle Union, the young black community can strive as a whole. Although, females have not been a main target to police brutality, they too deal with every day struggles. Communities need to focus on providing support and guidance to both young black males and females because they are our future. They are our future doctors, our future educators, and our future leaders and we want them to be able to take on the important responsibilities of adulthood.

Works Cited

“My Brother’s Keeper.” National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/node/279811.

“The 5 Types of Roles You Need in Your Community.” Salesforce Blog, http://www.salesforce.com/blog/2013/12/the-5-types-of-roles-you-need-in-your-community.html.

JustinTinsley. “Mr. Reliable: Kevin Durant Is My Brother’s Keeper’s Secret Weapon.” The Undefeated, 6 July 2016, theundefeated.com/videos/mr-reliable-kevin-durant-is-my-brothers-keepers-secret-weapon/.

“The New York Times Company.” The New York Times, The New York Times, www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/03/12/the-assumptions-behind-obamas-initiative/the-risk-of-playing-down-racism.

“Building on What Works With My Brother’s Keeper.” National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2014/04/17/building-what-works-my-brother-s-keeper.

“The Academy.” The Academy | OWLAG, www.owla.co.za/owlag_academy.

Obama, Michelle. “Michelle Obama: This Issue Is Personal for Me.” CNN, Cable News Network, 13 Oct. 2016, http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/11/opinions/cnn-films-we-will-rise-michelle-obama/index.html.

Butler, Paul. “Opinion: Why Did President Obama Leave out the Girls?” CNN, Cable News Network, 18 June 2014, http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/18/opinion/butler-obama-girls/index.html.

Grover, Sean. “Boys Without Fathers: 3 Myths, 3 Miracles.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 4 June 2016, http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/when-kids-call-the-shots/201606/boys-without-fathers-3-myths-3-miracles.

Research – theintern

Business “Definition” of Ethics

The business world is a battleground between good and evil, ethical and unethical, moral and immoral behavior. While some businesses have found it easy to increase profits by using unethical practices, many have lost everything by doing so and getting caught. Business ethics are not the same as the moral principles or habits that we learn from birth that help us determine what is right or wrong. They’re more practical and local; they’re rules of conduct recognized as appropriate to a particular class of human actions or a particular group or culture; they’re what “society thinks is right to do.” As such, they differ from company to company.

For example Enron was once a successful company but down the roads they suffered a horrible loss that later on became one of the biggest scandals of Wall Street history. Inside Enron, what was determined “appropriate” was very different from moral behavior. This natural gas company named Enron who was first founded in Houston, Texas in 1985 by Jeffrey Skilling and Kenneth Lay was a fast growing American energy, commodities, and services company. Enron was a great business and everything they did was perfectly fine and when everyone was listening to their moral ethics. Before Enron’s scandal the company was worth a decent amount of 13.3 billion dollars in 1996 but the revenue lies didn’t start until 1998 when Fastow was promoted. Enron was also part of the stock market which was used by the new CFO to his advantage which would change the company forever.

The new CFO of Enron was Andrew Fastow he thought that Enron could be making more profit/revenue so he decided to “cook the books” which meant lie on the books about how much money Enron was making annually. He thought if he lied on the books Enron would increase value which also meant in shares in the stock market. This all came from what is known as business ethics; the stock market is a place where people buy stocks/shares of businesses in which case they are considered part ownership of any shares they bought from a particular company, they own only a small percentage of the business as well as gain a bit of income on the side. So what Andrew Fastow do was drive Enron high in revenue to let more income come his way with the help of Arthur Andersen one of the big 5 accounting firms.

Arthur Andersen was also another case that fell into the arms of unethical decisions who helped Enron commit fraud. Both of these companies worked to together so Enron would not be noticed by the S.E.C (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) and be in a lawsuit for falsely writing high profits on their books. At the same time Arthur Andersen was not following their morals which they knew this was a wrong decision and that they should have declined the offer but because of greed and money, every decision was made without thinking. In reality Enron was in debt and losing money even though they were worth like a few billion. The only way that Enron was ever getting away with this scandal was paying auditors from Arthur Anderson to make Enron look better to the public; as a growing and upcoming business to consider working for. Arthur Andersen not only helped Enron with a better image to the business world but financially they wrongfully reported their books falsely to cover Enron of getting caught by the SEC.

Eventually the SEC caught up with Enron and their unrightfully acts of stock shares increasing from $20 to $90 in just 3 years which is a valuation of $70 billion dollars with the unethical help of Andrew Fastow. The SEC had to do an investigation on Enron and found out that they were committing one of the biggest frauds in the United States. Enron could easily have done fine without lying about their profits and asking for help to improve their company. They decided to take the risky route and achieve greater money in the least amount of time by committing fraud, disobeying the rules, and not sticking to their business ethics of following the rules to success without cheating. Cause of cheating Enron shut down in 2001 after being 16 years in service, and the CEO’s whose income were like millions of dollars each year, were fined a killer amount of money that each one of them went broke. Jeffrey Skilling was one of the principal CEO’s who was sentenced to 24 years in prison but recently was reduced to only 14 years in prison. Sources say he will be released in 2017.

Not only did the SEC investigate Enron they also investigated Arthur Andersen because the auditor’s job is to find any fraud or errors in books. Once the SEC found dirt on Enron, Enron called the auditors, “The fired partner, David B. Duncan, called a meeting of auditors at the firm’s Houston office and ordered ”an expedited effort to destroy documents” on Oct. 23, the day after Enron disclosed that the S.E.C. had begun its inquiry, the firm said. The destruction apparently did not end until Mr. Duncan’s assistant sent an e-mail message to other secretaries on Nov. 9 that said ”stop the shredding,” the firm said. Andersen had received a subpoena from the S.E.C. the day before.” Now why couldn’t Andersen just give in to the SEC and surrender that they helped Enron instead of trying to shred all the evidence. Andersen could have been given a less painful punishment but since they messed up they paid the consequences. Andersen was one of the big 5 auditing firms in the world next to Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst and Young, and KPMG. Now 2017 Andersen is no longer in existence because after this great big scandal no other companies wanted to associate with a firm who were disloyal.

“Every business lies about its ethics” there are many explainations why companies do so. Enron was founded in 1985 but then in 2001 they were finally caught by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for knowingly manipulating accounting rules and masking the enormous losses and liabilities of the company. When a company does not establish rules of ethics that company like Enron will no more be in business. If Enron were to play by the rules their company would have still been in business and so would have Arthur Andersen. Enron lied about being ethical we could tell by the profits that Enron was making within a small span of time. Once the company Enron knew that they had made committed too much fraud they tried to cover it up with bringing Arthur Andersen, one of the big five accounting firms in the world. Enron convinced Arthur Andersen to money launder their money but since their profit margins were too high the SEC became very suspicious of this amount of money Enron was profiting. In the business world no one is forced into committing these crimes; Arthur Andersen had the choice to decline the offer from Enron to help them with money laundering but because they had no ethics they joined alliances with Enron. Once Enron fell apart they brought Arthur Andersen down too. Enron went bankrupt because of all the dues and imprisonment of the CEOs and Arthur Andersen was destroyed with the bad reputation that no company wanted them to do check their books.

Why the readers might ask is Enron so important, well it is important to know that businesses lie about ethics especially a well-known company that was located on Wall Street and was one of a few companies that Forbes magazine could brag to the United States. Sure there are other companies that have committed a unrightfully act of ethics for instance we have Wells Fargo & company which is an American International banking and financial services holding company located around the whole United States. Recently about one year ago Wells Fargo had a big scandal for phony accounts. As a well trusted bank that many people thought had ethical employees was not true. CNN covered the story saying that 5,300 Wells Fargo employees fired over 2 million phony accounts. These employees secretly opened unauthorized accounts under many of their customers to meet their sales target and receive bonuses. Wells Fargo CEO Timothy Sloan knew that these phony accounts were being made but because of his business ethics he did not stop his employees. I understand that Wells Fargo needs to make profits and meet their margins but having an unethical way of making money it’s just heartbreaking that people don’t care about others and just themselves. Tim Sloan is the one to blame for all this commotion; he even got rich off of these 3.5 million phony accounts that would charge fees to clients for having another open but unknown account. Elizabeth Warren suggested he’d be fired but instead congress let him remain where he is but gave him a big fine of $185 million dollars along with $5 million refund to customers.

Corporations find ethics to be a drain on profits; but every corporation claims to promote strong business ethics. Many businesses have rules of Corporate Social Responsibility that states we must be committed employers, be an outstanding partner to customers, be an environmentally friendly player and service civil society. These are the four pillars every business must stand by but for the most part corporations have the rules to promote but will never follow through because profits don’t come as fluidity like being unethical. Businesses promote that they are truly ethical but how can we believe and trust big time companies when their fraud crime scandals were announced to the business world. Forbes releases a list of most ethical businesses every year which does help a customer if we want the best service without any surprise fees. Most companies that are usually more trustworthy are those that are small businesses because what they want is to make their customers satisfied with the little they have to offer. If we were to trust a company I’d say it would have to be a small one because all the big companies get away with almost anything just like Enron did for 12 years. My point proven, the bigger the companies are, the more unethical they become. Big companies have so many clients that if they lose one they still have others to attend and more so other companies will keep coming to make business relations with other big and superior companies.

If we take a look inside small businesses we tend to see exactly what they provide and have to offer unlike other big businesses that have many hidden fees and tactics. According to a journal by Heledd Jenkins she illustrated and discovered that given the significant scale of small business in nearly every economy, their aggregate achievements have a major effect worldwide. Researchers are now also recognizing the importance of business ethics and social responsibility as they apply to small firms. Take a look at Hasbro Inc, it’s a small manufacturing toy business that ensures great quality products for younger children and takes ethics very serious because they would rather be worried about the child’s safety than the gross income they are receiving and that’s why Hasbro Inc is one of the companies to be selected in Forbes article “Most Ethical Companies 2017”.

People say that business ethics and moral ethics are the same but they aren’t. Moral ethics are what you learn from your parents. While business ethics is more of a one way streak there we must follow it one way however the rules are of that certain company. There is no other way to follow it because of how your parents taught you differently that does not fall into place within the business world. If an employee does not want to follow the firm’s rules the outcome is usually to be fired. This is when employees start to realize how the world really works.

People don’t realize but their so-called “ethics” change once they get exposure to the business world. Morals ethics are different from business ethics. Moral ethics are the principles or habits taught by our parents/guardians to understand and state what is the right and wrong choice to make or do. While business ethics falls under different standards; it is mostly the rules of conduct that a company gives to their employees which usually affect their morals because sometimes we are unwilling to do the tasks of what the company we work for ask us to do. We ask ourselves why do we follow these unethical rules the reason is why we want to keep our jobs and keep supporting our families. The effects of telling the company we work for that we will not follow these unethical rules will end in either getting fired or told that there will be changes but most likely lose the job.

In the business world we won’t hear too much about business ethics, though another term we do hear is corporate social responsibility which is somewhat like ethics just a more narrowly concern about the company’s obligations. CSR plays an important role in every firm or company in the United States. CSR and business ethics go hand in hand if either of them are tampered with or in other terms, people change the rules and make it their own so their business would prosper. Word gets out when businesses do not perform well and lack in any of the four axes such as being a committed employer, build relationships with our customers, serve civil society, being an environmentally friendly player. I believe that the CSR is like an insurance for business ethics, CSR is there to provide people with guidance on how to act within the firm with everybody. However if CSR starts to lack no customer will seek guidance from that firm/company again because of how their service lacked. This affects the business tremendously for example if customers stop recommending others to come to our firm we can not make profit and worse run of our business. That is why having the right kind of ethics is important and should always be looked upon and checked every now and then.

According to a study made my Peter Arlow a journalist who found out which group of people would be more likely to cheat and be negative orientated towards social responsibility. He made tests with the following information: first off he included the major whether they were business majors or non business majors, second he included the sex male or female, third their age either under the age of 24 or equal/over the age of 24. Arlow decided to conduct this test with surveys and then using t tests and correlations to figure out which group was more reliant to follow the rules. Overall the nonbusiness majors scored higher on all five ethical dimensions. Each ethical dimension were based on (Aldag and Jackson, 1977): (1) Traditional Orientation – sees efficient production as the key social responsibility and profit maximization as the corporate goal. (2) Negative Orientation Toward Alleged Social Responsibility – sees social responsibility as a gimmick and a cover for mismanagement. (3) Demander Orientation – calls for diversion of shareholder resources to society in general. (4) Constrainer Orientation – favors tightened control of government over business. (5) Negative Orientation Toward Adequacy of Corporate Social Efforts – sees current corporate social effort in a negative light and sees negative consequences of a lack of social effort. This data was determined under all five of these dimensions of social responsibility and then followed through to which was one would be the most adequate to choose from depending on the score. These were the measurements to access business ethics based on the work of Miesing and Preble (1985): (1) Machiavellianism – moral actions are justified to serve some purpose, (2) Objectivism – the focus is on rational self-interest and avoiding ethical judgements based on feelings, (3) Social Darwinism – accepts percepts of “survival of the fittest, and the strong are morally superior, (4) Ethical relativism – ethical judgements are based on social convention and that which is sanctioned by group norms at a given time and place, (5) Universalism – rules of behavior are absolutes, and apply equally to all places and times. Within the process there were two measurements to be measured it was the business ethics and social responsibility.

As for the results Arlow figured out that business students may not be as self-centered, selfish and opportunistic as the stereotypical view of individuals. Within the business ethics of Meising and Preble the two were Machiavellianism and Darwinism. Which meant that these business students are willing to do business but with a purpose however they would do anything to get to the top, survival of the fittest. When the business and nonbusiness students were compared using the social responsibility measure of Aldag and Jackson there was a significant difference found on the dimensions of Negative Orientation Toward Social Responsibility and the Demander Orientation. These results suggest that non business students are more negative toward current efforts at social responsibility, seeing it as a cover for mismanagement, and the lack of upholding and keeping any company they work well-connected.

Sex wise the data showed that females were less likely to do commit fraud or do anything that would be considered as unethical. The results say that females would want to keep the company from falling and keep it balanced but the males seemed like they didn’t care if the company would collapse as long as they would make profit and have something to live from. That’s why females are considered more passionate and considerate other than males.

While the age group of higher than the age 24 were considered to show a greater negative orientation because of their lives being more ahead of the other people. Older people are considered the most target audience to commit any type of business crime because of them considered to have a family to take care of without a great income it would totally be impossible to maintain a family.

The people who were surveyed mostly students are determined to be influenced by peers from the exposure of the larger sociocultural norms than by education in specific disciplines.

Works Cited

That’s exactly what happened to Wells Fargo customers nationwide. “5,300 Wells Fargo Employees Fired over 2 Million Phony Accounts.” CNNMoney, Cable News Network.

“The Rise and Fall of Enron.” Journal of Accountancy, 1 Apr. 2002,

Investopedia. “5 Most Publicized Ethics Violations By CEOs.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 5 Feb. 2013.

Arlow, Peter. “Personal Characteristics in College Students’ Evaluations of Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility.” Journal of Business Ethics 10.1 (1991): 63. ProQuest.

Ackman, Dan. “Enron The Incredible.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 06 June 2013.

“How Corporate Social Responsibility Pays Off.” Long Range Planning, Pergamon, 26 Feb. 1999.

“Ethics vs Morals.” Ethics vs Morals – Difference and Comparison

Jenkins, Heledd. “Small Business Champions for Corporate Social Responsibility.“SpringerLink. Kluwer Academic Publishers, 02 Sept. 2006. Web. 03

PBS. Public Broadcasting Service,Web. 02.

Tribune, Chicago. “Ties to Enron Blinded Andersen.” Chicagotribune.com, 12 July 2008.

research–todayistheday

Family Fun and the Feeding Frenzy

It’s a very unnatural occurrence when the predator becomes the prey. The hunter becoming the hunted, the victim stalking the killer. It crams individuals into a category they don’t fit into, they are forced to adjust or else they die.

Orcas, also known as killer whales, are one of the most powerful predators in our ocean. NECSI describes predator/prey relationships, “Predator and prey evolve together. The prey is part of the predators environment, and the predator dies if it does not get food, so it evolves whatever is necessary in order to eat the prey.” Orcas have evolved to be sophisticated strategists and dedicated hunters. Orcas stick together in pods, consisting of up to 40 killer whales. They communicate with each other when prey is spotted, detecting the prey with echolocation, determining the size and location. Depending on the prey, they deploy intelligent designs of tactic based on species, their strategy is effective and deadly. With razor sharp teeth and dozens of killer whales, the odds are in the orcas favor.

Predators, such as orcas, in an ecological sense are defined as being larger than their prey and killing their prey. Predators and prey are a part of the same environment and evolve together. The predator evolves to kill the prey; meanwhile the prey evolves to avoid being killed by the predator. Both are key to each other for survival. The categorizing of predator and prey relationships is defined by consumption, who is eating who.

Predators rise to the top of the food chain because of certain skills or characteristics they maintain. Most predators are stealthy, they approach an attack with careful precision. Predators have dominating physical features, their size is typically larger than their prey along with their sense of sight, smell, and taste that must be greater than their prey. Bradford in her Live Science article establishes,”They weigh up to 6 tons (5,443 kilograms) and grow to 23 to 32 feet (7 to 9.7 meters). That is almost as long as a school bus.”

But outside of the animal kingdom, predators are still lurking in the shadows waiting for the right moment to pounce on unsuspecting prey. In society we categorize pedophiles as child predators. They are larger individuals waiting to feed off a child’s innocence, killing their purity. We can see government as a dangerous predator with all the power. The citizens are the pawns, individuals are so easy to sweep away and stomp out. Predators are killers, feeding off the prey.

When a pedophile is arrested and locked away in prison they are no longer a predator. They are confined behind concrete walls and shackled; they are cast away from their community. They were caught and imprisoned; the predator then becomes the prey. The predator than becomes the prison guards or the criminal justice system or their fellow inmates. The pedophile’s fate is determined by the criminal justice system that sends him to prison. The pedophile’s fellow inmates could have a distaste for perverts and beat him until he dies; he came the prey.

So, when orcas are captured and locked within concrete enclosures they are no longer the predator. They’re ripped away from their food chain and placed in an entirely different environment. Once at the top of the food chain, they plummeted to the bottom. Their fate lies in the hands of SeaWorld. They rely on their kidnappers for their survival.

But SeaWorld doesn’t become the predator. SeaWorld is something different entirely. SeaWorld wouldn’t benefit from killing their prey. SeaWorld needs to feed off their prey and reap the benefits for as long as possible. SeaWorld is a parasite.

Parasites leech onto their host, either clinging to the body or digging their way inside. They feed off their host, stealing from them. NECSI explains to us the parasite and host balance, “A parasite and its host evolve together. The parasite adapts to its environment by living in and using the host in ways that harm it.” Parasites harm their hosts, or prey, but rarely kill them. And if they do kill them it wasn’t intentional. They can cause sickness in their hosts that can ultimately lead to their death. Tapeworms, for example, live within the intestines of their host. They feed off the partially digested food, robbing the host of that nutrients. Ticks dig their heads into their host and stuff themselves full of blood.

The Toxoplasma gondii, also known as the mind control bug, infects, most commonly, rodents. It infiltrates the brain, erasing the fear of cats from the rodent’s brain. This then causes the rodent to be captured and killed by the cat. Toxoplasma godnii can also infect humans. In severe cases, brain and organ damage occur.

SeaWorld leeches onto the orcas and refuses to let go. True to parasite nature they cling onto their hosts until they, themselves, are exterminated or until their host dies. SeaWorld, the ultimate parasite, opts for the latter. They ignore any suggestions of seaside sanctuaries where the orcas can live free. Because without their host, they wouldn’t survive.

Like Toxoplasma, SeaWorld, slithers into the host’s brain and takes control. It overrides the hosts natural instincts, instead, they insist on unnatural performances.

Parasites can cause several alarming symptoms in their host. They can cause abdominal pain, fatigue, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, dysentery and weight loss. Parasite’s are detrimental in the health of their host.

Orcas suffer from poor dental health from chewing on cement walls and metal gates. Closed quarters lead to fighting among the orcas , which can cause raking (teeth on skin) marks. They offer suffer from poor eyesight, due to increased light sensitivity. Collapsed Dorsal fins due to restricted diving capabilities. And to their demise orcas easily develop pneumonia in their lungs due to their chemically treated water and insufficient diet. Orcas suffer greatly as the parasite continues to gnaw on their cash “cow”.

SeaWorld digs into the orcas, draining them of any nutrients they can. The only nutrients SeaWorld needs are the crisp dollar bills lining their pockets. They push the orcas to perform tricks for audience members. They even force conception so that more baby orcas can be apart of the SeaWorld cult. SeaWorld’s best interest is to keep the orcas alive so that they can benefit from them. They showcase the orcas and open their parks so that people can witness the blood sucking frenzy disguised as a family friendly marine park.

There is a player we didn’t factor into the game; the audience. The killer whales once predators now the prey. SeaWorld, a monstrous company, is the parasite feeding off the prey. When factoring in the new addition the roles change slightly. The orcas become bait to us. We see happy faces on SeaWorld commercials as Shamu swims joyful laps. We watch as children hug fluffy Shamu’s to their chests, holding it close to their heart. That is when we bite down onto the brilliantly appealing bait. We are hooked. SeaWorld begins reeling us in, slowly with stealth so they don’t alarm us to their trickery. Their lure is embedded into our mouth, pulling us closer toward their greedy gates, like open arms waiting for an embrace. We, the audience, buy tickets to walk through the gates of the park. Wonder filled eyes gaze at tanks filled with animals more majestic than we could ever dream of. We clap, cheer and laugh as we watch the orcas flip out of the water and wave their fins. Behind closed doors SeaWorld counts their cash and smiles knowing their hook is sliced into our mouths, holding us tight.

SeaWorld continues to be the parasite feeding off any entertainment drained out of their hosts and from the audiences gullibleness. They rely off of the orcas helplessness and the audience’s blindness. Without the orcas, there is no audience, and vice versa. Seaworld chomps down onto any vulnerable flesh, and they suck, until their pockets stuff themselves with crisp dollar bills and coins with a distinctive iron smell.

The 1993 Warner Bros film, Free Willy, sparked a national outrage over the injustice of keeping orcas captive. Free Willy is the reason the fight for captive orcas was acknowldeged. The film continues to be a push to open our eyes to the compassion and magic of orcas. The family friendly film highlighted the special bond between a teenage boy, Jesse, and a young majestic orca named Willy. Audience’s hearts warmed and they rooted for a happy ending for both Jesse and Willy. The movie ends in bitter happiness, Jesse succeeds in freeing Willy to reunite with his family. As much as Jesse loved Willy it was only right for Willy to return home.

When released the film inspired thousands of people to strike against marine parks that keep orcas captive. In his article describing the impact of Free Willy, Dylan Powell states, “Having a massive corporate media outlet behind the film, and providing coverage for much of this ‘effect’, has made all of this advocacy impossible to ignore.” A letter campaign, Free Willy-Keiko Foundation, succeeded in freeing Keiko, the whale that ‘played’ Willy. Keiko was taken out of a marine park in Mexico and first brought to Oregon to be treated for health problems. Once in the clear, Willy was flown to Iceland to be kept in a seaside sanctuary where he could relearn his natural instincts and environment. Keiko was released into the wild, and thrived until he died of pneumonia not long after his release. Regardless of his sudden death, Keiko was 27 years old when he died, still living longer than SeaWorld’s average.

The film made over 100 million dollars, some of which was donated to releasing Keiko. Schellenberg in her article informs us, “As the credits appear in front of a video of whales frolicking in the wild, a note says, ‘You can personally help save the whales of the world by calling 1-800-4-WHALES.’ This number was called by millions who wanted the real-life Willy to be freed, and a plethora of donations were collected.” Keiko, along with other captive orcas, had a similar story line to Willy. In 1961, the first captive orca was brought to a marine park. Orcas were hunted and surrounded, the youngest orca ripped away from its family. The orca’s pod has been known to follow the boats as long as they can. I’m sure that if we could understand their cries, we wouldn’t rip them away from their home and force them to live inside a concrete prison.

Willy was ripped away from his family and placed in a marine park. His cries were heartbreaking and lonely. He refused to perform and was stubborn to eat. Willy would cry long high pitched vocals, the Washington state waters cast in the background. Kasatka and Katara are a mother daughter pair of orcas that were inseparable. Katara wouldn’t leave her mothers side and Kasatka protected and loved Katara unconditionally. Katara was sold to a park in Florida, they loaded her onto a shipping truck. Kasatka was left in the pool, crying high pitched vocals. They were never heard before. A specialist was brought in and revealed that Kasatka was crying long range vocals. She was trying to locate her daughter.

SeaWorld rips family units apart like they are simply plastic pieces in a game of Life. We must come to understand that humans are not the only individuals on Earth that feel emotions. Orcas have strong family ties, they continue to be with their family units their whole lives.

They have a part of the brain, humans are deprived of. It is believed to be the center for their strong love and devotion to their family. The thought of ripping a human child away from her mother and tossing her into a cage is repulsive. Replacing the word human with orca does not make that statement any less horrifying.

Free Willy sparked a movement to free orcas from captivity that lead to the first orca release. SeaWorld and other parks like it, announced they wouldn’t capture orcas from the wild any longer. The Free Willy movement lead to Blackfish which fueled another generation. Blackfish shocked people across the globe and flipped SeaWorld upside down, exposing the corrupt business.

SeaWorld then announced its end to the orca program. SeaWorld would end its breeding program and allow the current orcas to be their last generation. Although, this is a win for future orcas; the current orcas are still imprisoned. Kyara, the last baby orca, was supposed to be SeaWorld’s last pawn. Kyara became another tombstone in SeaWorld’s cemetery. At only three months old Kyara succumbed to an unfair and early death. In the National Geographic article Kyara’s cause of death is established, “Park officals suspect the three-month-old calf died from pneumonia, the same infection that killed the infamous captive whale Tilikum.” SeaWorld’s response, “Kyara’s infection had not been caused as a result of being kept in captivity.” Pull up google, type in pneumonia in killer whales, every single link on the first page leads you to results and articles written for only captive whales with pneumonia. Wild orcas suffer rarely from pneumonia but mostly from humans, who pollute their waters and hunt them.

Kyara shared the same ill fate as Tilikum, SeaWorld’s most famous killer whale. Tilikum, two years old, was swimming next to his mother when he was ripped from his home waters. Tilikum was eventually carted off and dumped at SeaLand in British Columbia. For fourteen hours of the day Tilikum was imprisoned in a tiny sea module, not much bigger than he was. Fourteen hours of mind dulling solidarity and then the rest of the hours were spent being attacked by two dominant female orcas.

A trainer slipped and fell into the orca waters, Tilikum dragged her and refused to let her go, even when the girl’s body was limp and lifeless. That was the first person Tilikum killed. The second was a homeless man who snuck into Tilikum’s tank. The dead man’s body, or what was left of it, was proudly draped across Tilikum’s back when trainers came in the morning. Tilikum’s final victim was a highly respect trainer at SeaWorld. Tilikum scalped her and continued to hold onto the corpse for hours after.

The first years of his life were spent free alongside his family. Then he was plucked from his home and tossed into a tank. Majority of his life spent alone, endlessly lapping his small tank or floating lifelessly. He died of pneumonia after a long suffering life. WDC published an article explaining Tilikum’s life and the effects of it, “The true and only legacy from his sad, tragic existence is that a much wider audience now appreciates and understands that these noble creatures deserve better.”

The memories of Free Willy and facts embraced by Blackfish push people to say no to SeaWorld. Keiko and Tilikum represent every orca in captivity, we should listen closely to their heartbreaking cries. It has thousands, refusing to buy a ticket and support the injustice of imprisoning orcas. The first legendary orca film, Free Willy, lead to a fight for justice. People are now hoping to empty the tanks, to free SeaWorld’s captive orcas into seaside sanctuaries. We have hopes of them living happy lives reunited with their long lost family. We have hopes to Free Willy, once and fore all. Yet with every hero there is a relentless enemy battling us.

We are told, at a young age, to never talk with our mouths full. Jim McBain and Brad Andrews ignore that pleasantry and common formality; their mouths overflow with well-constructed lies. Jim McBain, director of veterinary medicine at SeaWorld and Brad Andrews, vice president of zoological operations at SeaWorld, released a detailed pro-captivity statement during the time Keiko, the star of Free Willy, was in the public’s attention.

McBain and Andrews are well-educated and successful individuals who make a hefty salary each year at SeaWorld. Their experience and knowledge of SeaWorld would be invaluable if it wasn’t flooded with lies and half-truths.

In their PBS announcement, McBain and Andrews defend SeaWorld and its commitment to love and care for their orcas. It is obvious they care, but they care for the money orcas rake in rather than the orcas themselves. If you took the profit away, SeaWorld would be quick to sell their orcas. Money over matter.

McBain and Andrews start their defense by justifying captivity for the sake of education. As we grow and urbanize we should find ways to stay in touch with nature. They claim it is irrational for every person to experience nature by going out into the wild. They claim it is more beneficial to drag animals to us rather than go to them.

They calculated how many people visit SeaWorld yearly and crunched some numbers to see the consequences of those people visiting “Robson Bite” instead. There would be over 2,000 boat trips a day, which to McBain and Andrews would be “ludicrous”. What is truly ludicrous is that they couldn’t bother to spell the location, they’re referring to, correctly. Its correct spelling is Robson Bight which promotes experiencing the majesty of orcas in the wild. They don’t use boats to observe orcas, they use kayaks to avoid endangering orcas with boats. McBain and Andrews don’t provide numbers to refer to, to ensure their creditability. It is highly unlikely all SeaWorld goers would flock to one orca sighting location while dozens exist.

McBain and Andrews claim in the PBS announcement, we’d “destroy what little habitat is left by trying to do that.” They seem to be repressing the fact that SeaWorld destroyed natural habitat to build their marine prison. They choose to crucify getting informed of animals naturally and praise artificially learning about animals.

McBain and Andrews believe people need to be educated and connected with animals. We all agree it is important to appreciate, understand and value the animals we share the planet with. It is crucial to witness the strength, beauty, and intelligence animals in case, for us to understand our human lives are not the only ones that matter. SeaWorld teaches the opposite lesson under the guise of education. SeaWorld doesn’t teach truth.

SeaWorld also claims they appreciate the social and familial bonds orcas have with their family. Yet, they built a company of the deed of ripping young orcas away from their families. They advertise they keep a mother and her baby together because in the wild an orca stays with her mother her whole life. Behind closed doors, babies are ripped away from their mothers and moved to different parks to benefit breeding programs. It’s an endless cycle of pain, but they don’t inform their guests of those facts.

SeaWorld’s website claims that their orcas live life spans equal to those in the wild. Wild orcas thrive in the open waters of the wild for an average of 60 years. Some, on record, prosper for over a 100 years. SeaWorld’s orcas perish at 13. The expiration date is cut down over 40 years. SeaWorld robs orcas of their lives.

McBain and Andrews seem to have good intentions when they strive to have education and connection to animals without destroying habitats. They should take off their rose-tinted glasses and see the damage SeaWorld inflicts. More than habitat is destroyed, lives are devastated.

McBain and Andrews claim that “over 90 percent of the American public feels that what zoos and aquariums are doing the right thing.” I searched to find validation for this statistic. I found only one survey from Debate Organization, that showed only 41 percent of people believe zoos and aquariums are doing the right thing.

Majority of people see through SeaWorld’s façade and recognize it for the sham it is. Now, it is time for SeaWorld to recognize their faults and take accountability for the damage they has done.

SeaWorld is not educational. One cannot force feed lies and label them as education, its blasphemy. “If want a public that’s knowledgeable about wild animals and some sensitivity about them, if we want our children to have a chance to see many of these animals, it’s gonna have to be places like SeaWorld.” SeaWorld doesn’t provide the public with knowledge, they provide entertainment. They also aren’t educating the public on “wild” animals, these orcas were stripped of being wild. Once they were dumped in those tanks they became captive orcas. There is a strong distinction between wild and captive, one is free and the other is a prisoner.

SeaWorld recognizes its company as a place where people can gain sensitivity towards animals. Sensitivity is an ironic word for McBain and Andrews to choose. SeaWorld is the opposite of sensitive, they ripped orcas from their families to make a profit. They ignore the blood on their hands and shove the skeletons deeper into the closet.

Regardless of the corrupted truths SeaWorld chooses to ooze out from the closed doors, the message they convey is that we should be allowed to do what we want, if we make a profit. SeaWorld promotes inflicting pain to make a profit. Children should be taught to recognize and understand imprisoning an animal, depriving them of their natural habitat and sentencing them to a life inside a concrete pool, is wrong. We wouldn’t buy tickets to visit a cotton plantation, watching the slaves work to survive. We should be horrified at the thought of endorsing such inhumane conditions.

Slavery was common when first started off as the United States. The few that fought against slavery became the many, and then as a country we abolished slavery. Today, it is horrifying to look back and read the details of what slaves endured. Confined to small shacks, separated from family, malnourished, and forced to work under inhumane conditions.

The similarities to what we did to people with a darker skin color and to the orcas we keep enslaved at SeaWorld, are repulsive. Confined to shared, overpopulated areas much too small. Ripped away from their children and siblings. Fed diets heavily lacking nutrients. And poked and prodded to produce work unnatural and inhumane.

The end to the African slave trade, left slave masters with little options. They could no longer rip people from Africa and force them into slavery. They began to rely on trading amoung fellow slave masters. They relied heavily on natural reproduction, children being brought into the world by rape. Women were, commonly, raped by their slave masters. Slave masters depended on the offspring produced by such horrifying actions. This must be how SeaWorld felt when their program, to remove wild orcas from their home and place them in their tanks, came to a screeching halt.

SeaWorld scrambled for options. They bought orcas from other parks to fill in their empty spaces, left by prematurely deceased orcas. But most importantly they impregnated their female orcas with hijacked male orca sperm. Baby orcas bring in a good crowd. The pick and choose family structures, forcing young orcas to become mothers. They impregnate their orcas at half the age they conceive in the wild. Artificially impregnated orcas causes miscarriages, still births, and early deaths. SeaWorld is no Mother Nature, but they are the Grim Reaper.

Nat Turner’s rebellion, a slave rebellion that resulted in white peoples deaths, caused national uproar. Nat Turner was crucified and his sins were well documented. But what was commonly ignored was what lead him to kill so many people. His whole life was spent being a slave, whipped until he bled, and worked until he dropped from exhaustion. Tilikum was labeled as a monster for the people he killed. But taking a closer look it is clear he was driven to this psychotic break. His whole life was spent as a slave.

We must see Seaworld as the same disgusting construct as slavery. We must abolish orca captivity like we did slavery.

Works Cited

“The Debate- Pro-Captivity.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service.

“Are Zoos Good (Yes) or Bad (No)?” Debate.org.

Powell, Dylan. “The Free Willy Effect: Perspective and Time in the Anti-Captivity Movement.”Dylan Powell, 12 Mar. 2014.

Schellenberg, Carlyn. “Free Willy: ’93 Film Propels Anti-Captivity Movement.” The Manitoban, 22 Apr. 2016.

“Parasitic Relationships.” NECSI Evolution.

“Predator-Prey Relationships.” NECSI Evolution.

Morell, Virginia. “How Orcas Work Together to Whip Up a Meal.” National Geographic.

Barrie, Nell. “10 Deadly Parasites.” Science Focus, 16 Aug. 2017.

Holm, Gretchen, and Erica Roth. “Toxoplasmosis.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 10 Feb. 2016.

Schelling, Ameena. “SeaWorld Orcas Have ‘Alarming’ Number Of Injuries, Vet Reveals.” The Dodo, The Dodo, 11 Aug. 2015.

Bradford, Alina. “Orcas: Facts About Killer Whales.” LiveScience, Purch, 20 Nov. 2014.

Gibbens, Sarah. “Sea World’s Last Captive-Born Baby Orca Dies.” National Geographic, National Geographic Society, 25 July 2017.

“Tilikum – the Death of a Dark Star.” WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, 6 Jan. 2017, us.whales.org/blog/2017/01/tilikum-death-of-dark-star.

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Depression: The Bad Sides

Depression is common around the world today. Depression can mean different things for different people. For example, I view depression as having an off balance of chemicals in your brain. If you look up depression on Merriam Webster website, the definition is “a mood disorder marked especially by sadness, inactivity, difficulty in thinking and concentration, a significant increase or decrease in appetite and time spent sleeping, feelings of dejection and hopelessness, and sometimes suicidal tendencies.” That definition gives you a list of signs and symptoms to be aware of. I believe there are different levels of depression, for example, depression only and then depression combined with mental illness. To me depression is when you are depressed for no reason like just being sad. While at other times you are depressed for a long time but you are perfectly fine. When you start to spiral out of control, you may suffer from depression with mental illness. Everyone will suffer from depression at some point in their life. But, when a person is depressed all the time, it can be a sign of mental illness as they are frequently intertwined. Depression can make you think that you aren’t good enough or that you did something wrong. Society today makes it seem that mental illness isn’t a real problem. Its view is that people who have mental illness or depression need to get over it and get on with their lives. Sadly, depression sometimes leads people to thoughts of taking their own lives. Many kids, teenagers, young adults and elderly people are committing suicide every day because they feel lonely and depressed and are afraid to ask for help from anyone. There needs to be more awareness and acceptance of depression and depression combined with mental illness.

Personally, I have known some people who have taken their lives from dealing with depression or depression combined with mental illness. At one point they were completely fine and then suddenly they aren’t here anymore. It is a terrible thing to think how they got so sad and depressed that they thought that choosing to take their own life was easier than seeking help. Sadly, they think that’s their only option at that moment in their life. They didn’t realize the devastation, hurt and sadness that will be left behind for family and friends; those people who loved them. It hurts because when you know that person you feel terrible because you didn’t realize they were going through such a hard time. The guilt that family and friends have is hard to deal with as you feel as though you let that person down. My favorite quote is “Sometimes the happiest people are the people who are hurting the most.” The most depressed people could be the ones that always make you laugh or smile and they always try to make you feel happy when they aren’t.

As a society we need to be more accepting and to not shame people who struggle with feelings of depression. Also as a society we need to be more accepting and to not shame people who struggle with mental illness. Society is so hard and judgmental against how people feel. From personal experience I have had my friends say that I could talk to them but I don’t because I don’t want to bother them or get judged for not knowing what is wrong. Our mental health is just as important as our physical health. Doctors and therapists need to know the symptoms of depression and depression with mental illness to be able to help everyone. They need to experiment with different kinds of medicines and alternative medicines. I think maybe there should be study groups of depressed people. Place those people in situations that make them depressed, study what triggers it and find solutions for those triggers. Then the people in those groups can learn how to cope by putting plans of action in place to get them through the hard times.

The bottom line is that depression and depression with mental illness need to be recognized as true illnesses. This will be difficult but my hope is that once we recognize this, the medical profession can begin to find answers and people can begin to get the help they need. Also, it would be great to find ways to prevent depression from happening just as they are trying ways to prevent cancer from happening. Maybe in the future depression will be nonexistent.

At some point in our life everyone is going to deal with depression after all its human nature. There are many different causes for it, such as traumatic events, physical and mental abuse, bullying, etc. The list goes on and on. In a perfect world, we would all be much nicer to each other. But since this isn’t a perfect world, we all need to learn to treat each other better. After all, the golden rule is treat people the way the way you would want to be treated.

There are many ways to prevent depression. For example, if a person has depression in their family they need to be aware of the signs and symptoms and take measures on how to deal with or treat themselves if they feel they might have depression. Also, if young adult or a child shows signs to a teacher or a person in authority, that person needs to help them. It’s okay to ask someone if they are okay or ask them or if something at home is going on. Young kids might not know that what they are feeling is signs of depression. They might not know what depression is or how to deal with these feelings. So, having someone who recognizes signs of it and mentioning depression, it can open up the lines of communication and they can get the help they need. All it takes is for one person to speak up. So, for a person they look up to helps them they will sure get through it.

In “Causes of Depression: What Causes Depression?” Natasha Tracy says that more than ten percent of the population will at some point have experienced depression in their life. There are many different factors for the causes of depression. Depression can be caused by different things for different people. Depression can lead to suicide if it is bad enough for that person.

For example, I know someone that took their life because they felt that they couldn’t fix what was broken in their life and they didn’t know what to do anymore. Other examples of depression could be losing someone you love or losing a job or having financial troubles. Also, alcohol and social media can be influenced to cause depression. Natasha Tracy says that there are many causes of depression that could be physical or genetic or psychological. If a couple people you are related to were diagnosed with depression you are more likely to be diagnosed with it too but you can also not be diagnosed with it.

When I was six years old I snapped my elbow in half at my neighbor’s house. During this time the neighbor wouldn’t give my parents their homeowner’s insurance. My parents went to a lawyer and the lawyer said we had to sue because our insurance wouldn’t pay the hospital bills. When my parents decided to do it, my neighbors got angry and started get everyone around us against us. They started to threaten them, my brothers and my dog. Also saying they were going to hurt me even more. We were forced to move because my parents were scared our neighbors were actually going to do something horrible. To this day when I think about this event I feel like it’s all my fault even though I know it’s not. My family suffered through this because of me and I know that they love me. The whole event changed the lives of my family.

In middle school I had a best friend. We were so close. We loved going to class together and hanging out at our brother’s football practices and just playing around. One month in fifth grade she barely came in and I was so confused on why she wasn’t there. I just thought she was on vacation or with her family. Then one random day our teacher told my class that she had terrible news to tell us. She told us that one of our peers has been in the hospital for the past month with cancer and has recently lost the battle with it. Once she told us the name of our peer I was so upset, it was my best friend. I couldn’t eat lunch that day and I barely talked to anyone in school and when I went home I cried so much and told my parents. The next week or so I was barely myself and my parents noticed. They ask if I wanted to see the school counselor, I didn’t want to, I just wanted to be by myself. Her funeral went by and I couldn’t get myself to go I was so upset and young. I regret it to this day not going to her funeral, I should have gone. Every time I think about her I get so upset. I miss her so much.

I was a about ten years old I had a kidney stone and a kidney infection which got worse by the minute. I was in the hospital for about a week but it felt like years. This happened in the winter and there was blizzard. My mom was home alone because my dad stayed with me at the hospital that night. My mom has told me that she never got any sleep that night and just walked the floors of our house because she was so worried about my condition. I was in very bad shape and because of that I didn’t think I would ever go home. I got very depressed and sad but I tried my hardest to get better. It was December and my brother’s birthday was coming up and I felt terrible because my brother had to spend his birthday in the hospital because of me. I felt like a terrible sister. He couldn’t even have a nice birthday dinner, he had to have pizza in my hospital room.

Another event that has happened in my life is my cousin dying so young. It was my birthday and I came home from school to find my mom crying her eyes out. She told me that my cousin had died of a drug overdose. It hit me hard because he was such a great person and he was only twenty-five but just got mixed up with drugs after his father died when he was a kid. The entire family, his mother and brother and sister along with him were devastated when their father died and they all didn’t know what to do. My cousins were really young when this news was brought to them. To this day my aunt, his mother, believes that if she hadn’t gone to the store and she was home with him that she could’ve saved him with Narcan. It is commonly used now to treat overdoes but it has to be used within a certain time period for it to be effective. She is so depressed about losing her son but she rarely shows it and I think she should because that is a hard thing to go through. She needs to talk about it more to help not feel as guilty and not to feel as alone.

Many women have depression when they have children or go through menopause. This is believed to be the result of having hormone changes. My mom has talked to me about her postpartum depression. She said that she felt so alone even though she had a baby right in front of her. This is caused by the drastic change in hormones. There have been many cases of where a mother is so depressed that she kills the baby because they just don’t know what to do with the changes. Society today is a mean place. When I was in high school there was a lot of bullying and break ups that lead a couple of my fellow classmates took their lives. It’s a horrible thing to go through and we should all be aware of the people around us and help them if they need help. If they show signs of suicide or depression we need to help and not stand around. Causes of depression or mental illness could be a chain of events that led up to it. For example, bullying can cause depression.

Natasha Tracy says there are two factors that cause depression; such as biological and environmental effects. Tracy says that in the biological effects she believes that hormones, physical changes to the brain and neurotransmitters are the most common biological causes. For the environmental effects, Tracy believes that death of a loved one, loss of a job, or financial troubles are the most common environmental causes. There are differences with women and men that have depression. For example, Tracy says that men usually are depressed because of job related problems and also because of low testosterone. While women usually are depressed because of social relationships and also because of pregnancy and menopause. Depression can cause a serious case of mental illness. Mental illness can cause people to make bad decisions.

Depression is often thought to be an easy get over and move on type of deal. People in society see people with depression as attention seekers and that they are just upset and they will get over it in a minute. Depression might be a one-day thing then the next day is great but then it comes back. Also, depression can be a month or more, which can lead to being a sign of mental illness.

For me, I can’t easily get over it. One minute I am fine then the next minute my mind is telling me all these bad thoughts. Like when I am laying in bed and it’s all quiet, that’s when my mind gives me these thoughts. I tried talking to one of my friends and she told me to cheer up, that I will be okay in a few minutes and that my life isn’t bad. She left it at that. She didn’t say anything else. She doesn’t know how it feels to have these thoughts running through your mind. I have sought help and it is hard to own up to it and ask because I felt like people would judge me for it. It was hard to get over all this trauma and my parents saw that I needed help and I saw someone for it. Seeing someone didn’t help me because I am so shy and don’t usually like meeting new people. So, after trying this I became close to my mom and now I go to her whenever I feel it come back up again. My mom helps me so much and I am so thankful for her. My dad is the same way, he helps me no matter what and makes me feel like I’m okay. Parents are great to talk to because they understand and could have gone through the same thing. My parents have had a lot of trouble in their life so I look up to them and I appreciate them when they help me. Some people don’t seek help because either they are scared to be judged and sometimes they don’t know how to ask for help and I understand why it is a scary thing. Being judged is terrible because you can’t help that you feel depressed and people are just mean; they don’t care and they see you as a problem so they don’t want to be near you at all.

In the article “Depression In Teens,” the author gives suggestions to help prevent depression for teens. For example, they can go to therapy or they can take medication that is prescribed to them. If a teen asks for help or say that they are depressed society turns and says to them that they are overreacting. That they are just feeling down they will be okay soon. Society shouldn’t turn away and say these things because it makes the teens feel even worse about themselves. The teens feel as though everyone is against them and no one cares about them. If a teen is refused of help or is made fun of for being depressed it can worsen to a point where they can harm themselves. Almost five thousand young people kill themselves each year from depression or depression combined with mental illness.

Whenever someone asks for help whether it be a young person or an adult or an elder, we should help. Seeking help isn’t a bad thing and saying that you have a problem isn’t either. Society makes it seem like it is. Society needs to learn to be quiet and keep their opinions to themselves if it can hurt another person. There are many ways to prevent depression from getting out of hand and having anyone of any age kill themselves because they think it’s the only way to solve their problems.

In the article, “Residual symptoms at remission from depression: impact on long-term outcome”, the author states that, “Patients who remit from depression with residual symptomatology continue to have more depressive symptoms and impaired social functioning long-term and may need more aggressive treatment.” So, patients that deal with depression and get treated for it, the depression usually comes back. The patients usually need more powerful treatments to help them cope with the powerful depression.
Depression needs to vocalized and recognized that it is there. Depression needs to have awareness bought to it. No one should suffer. No one should kill themselves. People need to know that there is help out there.

Works Cited

1. King, Deborah A. and Kenneth Heller. “Depression and the Response of Others: Is the Effect Specific?.” Journal of Abnormal Psychology, vol. 95, no. 4, Nov. 1986, pp. 410-411. EBSCOhost.

2. Beck, Aaron T., and Brad A. Alford. “Depression: Causes and Treatment.” 2nd ed., Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2009. JSTOR.

3. “Residual Symptoms at Remission from Depression: Impact on Long-Term Outcome.” Journal of Affective Disorders, Elsevier, 11 Apr. 2003.

4. Muñoz, R.,F., Yu-Wen, Y., Bernal, G., Pérez-Stable, E.,J., Sorensen, J. L., Hargreaves, W. A., Miller, L. S. (1995). “Prevention of depression with primary care patients: A randomized controlled trial.” American Journal of Community Psychology, 23(2), 199-222.

5. Zimmerman, Mark and William Coryell. “The Inventory to Diagnose Depression (IDD): A Self-Report Scale to Diagnose Major Depressive Disorder.” Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, vol. 55, no. 1, Feb. 1987, pp. 55-59. EBSCOhost.

6. Tracy, Natasha. “Causes of Depression: What Causes Depression? – Causes – Depression.” HealthyPlace.

7. Tracy, Natasha. “What Caused the Depression? – Causes – Depression.” HealthyPlace.
8. “Depression In Teens.” Mental Health America, 8 Dec. 2016.

9. Gregory N. Clarke, Mark Hornbrook, Frances Lynch, Michael Polen, John Gale, William Beardslee, Elizabeth O’Connor, John Seeley. “A Randomized Trial of a Group Cognitive Intervention for Preventing Depression in Adolescent Offspring of Depressed Parents.” Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2001;58(12):1127–1134.

10. Reivich K., Gillham J.E., Chaplin T.M., Seligman M.E.P. (2013) “From Helplessness to Optimism: The Role of Resilience in Treating and Preventing Depression in Youth.” In: Goldstein S., Brooks R. (eds) Handbook of Resilience in Children. Springer, Boston, MA.

11. “Depression.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster.

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