Rowan Counterintuitive

Video game developers and publishers may be creating and marketing violent video games for younger audiences, but they are not to blame for the consequences. With plenty of forms of content awareness for video games; the people who are truly to blame are the parents allowing their children to play these games. In a Harris Poll survey, one third of 2,278 US adults said they allow their children to play any type of game, and two fifths of that said they have no understanding of video game ratings systems. This lack of knowledge or care for the subject is why parents purchase violent video games for their children, and in turn video game inspired crimes should be blamed on them.

Violent video games increase aggression, but they do not lead to violent activity. For several years, politicians have believed that when children enact violence in a video game, they are prone to do the same in real life. While the American Psychological Association’s studies on the mental impact of violent video games have proven that they increase aggression in a verbal or mental setting; this aggression is not seen in their actions. With this in mind, violent video games are not a catalyst of violent behavior, but a scapegoat for it.

Self-identification of race encounters more opposition than self-identification of gender in America. We easily accepted Bruce Jenner identifying as a woman in 2015, but shunned Rachel Dolezal, a Caucasian-born woman, for identifying as African-American in that same year. Half of the Millennial generation acknowledge the idea that “gender is a spectrum” instead of just male or female; cities and public establishments have created no-gender ID cards and bathrooms to accommodate for all genders. So what makes choosing our race so different? One example would be that there are benefits to being a certain race, such as earning college scholarships by identifying as African-American. Many see this as unfair to real African-Americans who are eligible to the scholarships – no scholarship means no education. America separates race as White (non-hispanic), African American, Hispanic, Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, Alaskan Native, and bi- and multiracial and we are expected to choose our race when filling out applications and censuses. But if others don’t agree with our choice, then what race are we?

OPENING 1:

One well-placed bullet can change the course of history. On the morning of November 22, 1963 Lee Harvey Oswald changed history with three as he shot President John F. Kennedy as he rode through Dealey Plaza in Dallas Texas. The country was shocked by the question of why someone would want to shoot the President. Unfortunately Oswald was killed just before he could testify, leaving the question as to what the motive was to kill the President of the United States. Also, new questions arose as to why a mobbed-up nightclub owner would put himself in front of the cops and national television just to shoot Oswald. President Kennedy was highly approved of and lead the U.S to make tremendous leaps into progression, he had a dark past and affiliations with organized crime that are believed to be the reason for his early and tragic departure from this world.

OPENING 2:

President John F Kennedy was portrayed to the American public as an outstanding, well-rounded, Irish-catholic man who was a strong leader, but President Kennedy had a deep past associating with some of America’s worst crime figures. Throughout the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, while Havana Cuba was thriving as the gambling capital of the world, Kennedy found himself regularly in the company of known crime bosses such as Santo Trafficante, Sam Giancana, and Carlos “Little Man” Marcello. The then-Senator Kennedy was treated like royalty by these men, receiving gifts and special treatment, all due to their previous relationships with Kennedy’s bootlegger father Joseph P. Kennedy. It is believed that the relationships that JFK made with these men helped put him into the Oval Office; however, it is also speculated that in the long run these men were responsible for taking his life on that sunny November afternoon in Dallas.

 

Imagine a surgery that not only recovers an athlete back to normal selves, but amplifies there game at the same time.  Tommy John surgery, the most common operation in baseball today.  A ligament in your elbow that holds the forearm bones to the upper arm bones is replaced with the tendon in your wrist and intertwined through holes made in the ends of each bone.  We may have hear different things about it, but really don’t know the facts behind it.  A 10-12 month full recovery process can really make a pitcher gain speed and have a stronger arm then they ever did before.  We might even realize, pitchers should have this done before even getting hurt in the first place.  That is the thought that will make you think about how much of a plus this extraordinary surgery really is.

America today is not much different then it was 80 years ago. African Americans are still taking the backseat to white people. Most white people are still racist to black people and it’s a shame honestly. African Americans are still treated as a minority, they aren’t treated as equals, and they have to fight for their lives to even get recognized. Every few weeks you hear of  a white cop shooting an unarmed African American for some bogus reason. When that happens the judicial system always seems to side with the cop who just murdered an unarmed American citizen and they get off free without any punishment. If it were the other way around with a black police officer murdering an unarmed white person the judicial system would make sure that he would rot in the worst prison possible. Does America really treat all as equal? I think we all know the answer to that.

1. The existence of apps like Tinder, meant to aid in modern age dating, are doing more harm than good for those looking to find a serious partner. This is happening simultaneously with an explosion in the hookup culture, it’s popularity is akin to the “Swinging Sixties” in which pre-marital sex was the “new” fad. Users of dating apps seem to be split down the middle, those looking for something serious, and those looking for sex; and as we progress into the future one is becoming much more popular than the other. Activity from Tinder, and other apps that fall into the same category, are pushing long term relationships further and further down the rabbit hole. Forget chivalry, maybe it is monogamy that is dead.
2. Dating apps have come a long way in terms of convenience and efficiency; they provide today’s modern singles with the opportunity to find people with similar wants and interests. Services like Tinder bring local singles looking for love a touch screen away; this raises the question, why are so many people having so much trouble? Recent studies are showing over-use of dating apps are causing low self-esteem and detachment from romantic partners, within their user bases. This seems counterintuitive considering these apps are meant to bring people together not push them apart.