Definition Argument First Draft – PaulaJean5

Many people are unaware about just how much their mind controls their conscious/subconscious actions. You watch a commercial for some type of food, but you’re not exactly watching it. Unless it is the Super Bowl, you are probably too preoccupied with something else to be watching the commercials between your show. But then why when you go to the grocery store, are you craving this random kind of food? You don’t exactly think twice about it and you buy it anyway. That commercial that was on in the background subconsciously effected your actions without you even realizing.

This happens all day, everyday. What you glance at, hear, smell, hear; all of this is you exploring the world around you. But you do not give much thought to every single thing you see and hear. How does this happen? Sometimes it happens due to expectations and some occur just because your subconscious mind is more alert than your conscious. This is called the Placebo effect.

The Placebo effect is usually mentioned in terms of medical and pharmaceutical trials. Doctors are given an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group will receive the actual medicine and the control group will receive the placebo, or sugar pill. The most effective way to conduct this kind of experiment is double-blind. This means that the groups don’t know what they are receiving and the experimenter/doctor does not know who is receiving what.

Definition—pAtricKStar123

Needs a Title

While there are many law protecting the right of humans there aren’t as many laws protecting animals. Our country has made great effort in the past to protect animals once it has become severe. what i mean by this is we push our selves to make it our job to protect animals after we’ve done serve damage. an example would be hunting exotic animal until almost extinction. With our new technology and innovations as well as social media helping support our causes for equal rights for all. why do companies still test on animals.

So,  the question is why do companies test on animals? why is there a small percentage of us doing something about it? Well the main reason companies claim to test on animals is to check if the products are safe. on of the biggest acts of testing on animals come from the cosmetic industry. the matter of the fact is the U.s in 2014 used over 100 million animals including rats,mice birds, agricultural animals , and reptiles. of these 100 million many died so we have to think what are in these products that we use today?  Especially in cosmetic productions for our skin, hair, and eyes what are putting on. these animals are being misused for our sake. we are allowing these animals to be abused, be misused, harming them by causing them pain, illness, and cancers.

So in terms of cosmetic products why do they use animals when their products are made for humans? well while researching, I have found that although we have different skin types companies are always trying to expand new products. Companies use animals because they are allowed to it is cheaper and it comes with less consequences then testing on animals. if the statistics of animals that got diseases, cancer, skin rashes/burns, and died were switched with human testing. the amount of death would be substantial.

Although many companies claim not to be using animals for testing that could be indeed a lie. companies are not required to put on the label whether they actually test on animals or not. Some brands that test today are Avon, Clinique, Estée Lauder, maybeline, Make up forever, and the most well heard of Victoria’s Secret.

What is scarier is this funding for testing is funded by us . shocking right many people are against this yet do not know that they are unconsciously helping the companies they hate. one way people fund this form of testing is that we have and incredible amount of people still buying these products. as stated in an article by PETA, “Through their taxes, charitable donations, and purchases of lottery tickets and consumer products, members of the public are ultimately the ones who—knowingly or unknowingly—fund animal experimentation. ”

An important scenario to think about is we do not just use animals to cosmetics but also medicine. for example we use pregnant animals to test birth control. what happens is Companies take these pregnant animals force them to take the medicine. Some die, some don’t if the animals lives we check to see if there animals have any side effects. if the animal die we take another and try again. Now how cruel does it sound that after one animal dies, we don’t stop right there. Instead companies dispose of these dead “lab participants” and bring in another countless times until we get it right. similar to most i believe it would be better to test on animals for medical research only just because it was safer then testing on us. through my research i found i was wrong, as an article by PETA states, “Diseases that are artificially induced in animals in a laboratory, whether they be mice or monkeys, are never identical to those that occur naturally in human beings. And because animal species differ from one another biologically in many significant ways, it becomes even more unlikely that animal experiments will yield results that will be correctly interpreted and applied to the human condition in a meaningful way.” so doing so what is the point we are just wasting these animals lives over and over and over again.

i believe we should ban animal testing worldwide. many countries made it a law that they must test before putting anything n their shelves. Countries like China enforce this law. although this might be difficult because people dont want to stop buying these brands which they continuously use daily. this is not impossible. if we come together and spread awareness, we could force these companies to undergo other ways of testing and also save the livef

References

Experiments on Animals: Overview. (n.d.). Retrieved February 14, 2018, from https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-experimentation/animals-used-experimentation-factsheets/animal-experiments-overview/

These Beauty Brands Are Still Tested on Animals. (n.d.). Retrieved February 14, 2018, from https://www.peta.org/living/personal-care-fashion/beauty-brands-that-you-thought-were-cruelty-free-but-arent/

Why are companies testing on animals? (n.d.). Retrieved February 14, 2018, from https://www.safe.org.nz/why-are-companies-testing-animals

Wischhover, C. (2015, January 30). Why the U.S. Won’t Ban Cosmetics Animal Testing Anytime Soon. Retrieved February 14, 2018, from https://fashionista.com/2015/01/us-cosmetics-animal-testing-ban

Definition Argument – DoubleA

Artificial Turf and the Affect it has on the NFL

One of the leading questions critics and players of the NFL have is what to do about the significant amount of knee injuries endured during an NFL season, and the correlation the playing fields have on these knee injuries. With multiple knee injuries occurring to big name players every season the NFL has a problem on their hands.

Due to the increasing number of concussions players were suffering over the past couple decades the NFL has tried to make the game safer. With new safety rules the NFL has managed to decrease the amount of head to head contact during games, but by doing this has raised the amount of low tackles which causes low blow tackles to the players knees. 

Paired with concussions knee injuries are one of the biggest problems the NFL officials face now a days. Every season some team is affected by injuries along the way, but knee injuries are the biggest blow because they can take anywhere from 6-12 months to heal with rehab. This past season big names like Deshaun Watson, Carson Wentz, JJ Watt, Jason Peters, Joe Thomas all had big knee injuries that affected their team tremendously.

Definition Argument- DudeInTheBack

Addiction is debilitating. When your body and brain are physically dependent on something, the addiction runs everything in your life. especially when you have been prescribed a drug for your entire life, all you know is that drug, and without it, functioning seems abnormal. This is the case for people who have been prescribed Adderall since a young age. A drug that gives ADHD patients the magical ability to function normally, making a child grow up thinking they need the drug to function.

Forty Years ago ADHD was not a diagnosis, but rather simply children who could not stay focused in class and had trouble retaining information. They were believed to just be unteachable, and their disruptions in class were not tolerated. So, In return Adderall was prescribed to all of these ADHD classified children. Not paying attention in class, and being disruptive seems like a big issue. In fact, It is big enough to prescribe mind altering drugs to children who do not realize the full power of these drugs.

Now I’m not saying that these drugs are ineffective. Adderall definitely does the job of making you wired. Basically, all of the symptoms involved with ADHD, like inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, lack of focus, disorganization, fidgeting, excessive talking, or frequent interrupting, are controlled. In an article titled, “Adderall vs. Ritalin: What’s the Difference?” it is stated that, “..work by increasing the availability of the neurotransmitters norepinephrine and dopamine in your CNS connections. This speeds up your brain activity.” speeding up brain activity, and also causing you to believe that you are preforming superhumanly, or better than you would sounds perfectly fine. in that case, it would seem perfectly fine to take this miracle pill every day, whenever you need that superhuman boost.

This is where the problem starts, depending on the drug to make you perform, rather than relying on what you are normally equipped with to perform. The purpose for the pill is being put into effect, but what happens if the pill is not there? An article titled, “Adderall Addiction and Abuse” posted by the Addiction center states, “The brain of an addicted person is dependent on Adderall to stimulate alertness and productivity. Without Adderall, addicted people often feel tired and mentally foggy. These are symptoms of Adderall withdrawal, a strong sign of an addiction.” Someone who relies on this artificial performance, after receiving the skills they have obtained through the drug, can act like a bubble pop when the drug is taken away. It becomes a way of life. You take that pill everyday because the doctor prescribed it, and now you are reliant on that pill to succeed. Take coffee as an example, I’m sure many people insist that coffee is what gets hem through the day. without this coffee, they would be useless.

Its simple, the prescription of Adderall to a minor should be prohibited. It is a drug that makes you feel smarter than you actually are, and growing up thinking this can lead to a lifetime of addiction.

 

 

 

 

https://www.healthline.com/health/adhd/adderall-vs-ritalin

https://www.addictioncenter.com/stimulants/adderall/

Stone Money – Doublea

When I first heard about the stone money on the island of Yap I thought it was insane. Then I realized it was pretty fascinating that they could trust each other like that. Then the thought came to my head, what really is currency? It is literally just a piece of cloth/paper that has a number on it. In the world we all have a price on everything but what constitutes the world even having currency. Everything could essentially be free and it could be a first come first serve basis.

Obviously, that couldn’t work but wouldn’t it be pretty interesting? The Federal Reserve just puts out a certain amount of money and they can just say how much a dollar is worth. But what really is the amount of money with inflation and all the other factors. We don’t even know anymore. Think about a bank and how they give loans how does that money even exist it goes from computer system to computer system and it just has a numerical value on a screen.

When I read Friedman’s essay it amazed me how people could just use a stone as a way of currency and they don’t even move it. They literally just pass ownership on and on through the memory of others but everyone on the island knows whose stone is whos. In his article Friedman talked about how the Germans “seized” their stones from them until they made roads. Automatically, even though it is a mediocre thought it made me think of the fact that your parents will take things away from you until they are done. It seems dumb to put it into that perspective but think about how a parent will take away your phone for not doing your homework. The phone is the currency everyone has a phone but when you take away the phone the person instantly does their work to get it back. ONce you get all the work done that you were supposed to and get your grade up you will get your phone back.

nother thing that caught me off guard was that even the people of Yap didn’t have the stone present they still counted it as a form of currency. The article went on to tell a story about how a limestone was brought back from a nearby island. The limestone was the biggest and the prettiest they have recovered. Unfortunately, a storm hit and they lost the limestone in the Pacific Ocean. Now the crazy part is that the people of Yap still considered that stone tradeable. Even though it was at the bottom of the ocean they considered it for trade. It reminds me giving someone something for a check. You have the money but you don’t have it on you at the moment. It’s almost like you’re trusting the person to have the money in their bank account and hope that their check doesn’t bounce. They have to trust that their money is in their account and that they will get the money someway somehow.

The NPR broadcast also caught me off guard too when they mentioned the online banking. They mentioned the fact that the money is just out there online but is it really there. It makes me think about the fact that you request for a parent plus loan for your kid to get a loan for college. The bank gives you the loan by transferring money into your checking account which then you can transfer that online money into the bank account of the University your kid is attending. Now really is there really a physical money present? No, there is not. You literally transferred an online amount of money from the bank to the Univeristy and you have to trust the bank to pay the Univeristy. Banks essentially themselves don’t even have real money. Yes they have money on hand but if you went and tried to withdrawal all 10,000 dollars out of your bank account they most likely wouldn’t front you all that money right away because then what if all they have figuratively in their safe is 10,000 dollars they wouldn’t have anymore money to give out for withdrawals. Banks rely on the constant flow of money from hand to hand in order to get their money to give out. Banks make all of their money from interest on the loans they give out and imagine if they didn’t approve some people’s loans they would have no money to give out because it is all accounted for and they would not make any profit.

After reading and listening to all of this it made me think of an article I read earlier this semester on Bitcoin. Bitcoin is essentially a cryptocurrency. It has a face value and can be bought but it has little to no value in the real world. You can buy stocks but they are essentially worth nothing because it is fake online money. Bitcoin is basically a currency for the black market to trade around. Bitcoin was brought here to become a new currency maybe for the US and the price of one Bitcoin rose tremendously very fast. Now that people know and figured out what it is and that it has no value people are selling their shares for very cheap and getting rid of their Bitcoins . It is basically an illegal form of currency because it is traded on the black market which we all know is illegal.

After reading all of these articles it really has opened my mind on this whole currency thing. What exactly is the currency we use? Yes it is dollars but do these dollars even have a worth? We all know they do to us but we honestly could live our lives with stones and just trade stones like the people of Yap. I will never know what money is now after reading these articles. As a finance major my eyes were opened widely to the fact that people could trade stones and not even care that much about ownership. It must be the most peaceful island in the world and I would like to research the role of currency even more now that I have the knowledge of the people of Yap.

 

Definition Argument- Dancers

Social platforms are beginning to evolve world wide in order to attract a bigger audience and gain more users.  On average a teenager spends about nine hours on social platforms a day.  The average person in society today will spend about two hours on social media. If calculated this is about five years and four months spent on social media within a life time. The average time spent of social media now adds up to be more time than a person uses to eat, drink, and socialize. Evan Asano, in his article “How Much Time Do People Spend on Social Media?”, states that the average person uses YouTube for approximately forty minutes, Facebook for thirty-five minutes, Snapchat for twenty-five minutes, Instagram for fifteen minutes, and finally Twitter for 1 minute.

Social media is all around us in this day and age and every person is on at least one social media site. But what is social media exactly, it is “Computer mediated technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, career interests and other forms of expression via virtual communities and networks.” Wikipedia claims. Social media can be accessed through computers and cellphones now. Which means you have the the technology to use social media in your pocket at all times. There are thousands of different social media platforms available to use daily now not everyone uses every platform but the top five just about everyone uses.

According to statics taken in January of 2018 there are 7.593 billion people in the world.Out of the 7.593 billion people about 4.021 billion of them use the internet, 3.196 billion of them are active on social media, and 2.958 billion of them are active mobile social media users. Within the last year social media users have gone up by 362 million people and people who use mobile apps for social media has gone up 360 million people. America’s population is 1,011 million people and 648 of those million people are active social media users.

Social networking is growing to be more popular and more wide spread to reach all ages of people. Social networking gives people the opportunity to meet new people that share common the common interests. On social media websites the introductions about yourself gives other users information about you, allowing them to get to know you slightly before deciding to even interact with you.  Social media sites are also user friendly they are easy to navigate, even people with little knowledge on how to use the internet can work most of these sites. These websites also give people a job market by allowing professionals to establish their brand online, by posting their skills, accomplishments and previous experiences. In doing so they may be recognized by potential employers and or peers. Now social media allows individuals to reach out but it also allows businesses to reach out as well. Some businesses purposely buy adds on these different websites in order for customers to see them. Finally social networking sites are popular because they are free. It is free to sign up make an account on most of these websites. By these websites being free they gain more and more users.

For each social networking site they reach reach all different ages. Snapchat’s has demographics of 45% percent of users being eighteen to twenty-four, 26% of users are twenty-five to thirty-four, finally they even have 1% percent of users that are sixty-five or older. Facebook’s demographics are the most evenly spread throughout different age groups. 16% of users are between the ages of eighteen to twenty-four, 22% of users are twenty-five to thirty-four, 19% are thirty-four to forty-four, 18% are forty-five to fifty-four, 15% fifty-five to sixty-four, and the last 10% of users are over the age of sixty-five.

Social media reaches people of all backgrounds, such as common people and celebrities as well. Some people have become famous off of using different social media platforms allowing themselves to get their name out their and recognized. Most You Tuber’s start off with very little subscribers but can eventually take over and become widely known around the world. Social media is so influential that sometimes our president even takes to it in order to voice his opinions.

While everyone worldwide loves social media and uses social media daily, it may not be for the best even though it has benefits it also has negatives. With social media it gives people a false feeling of connection. Social media allows you to feel connected to people but at the same time you barely know this person. Using social media decreases the amount of privacy you have within your personal life. The last negative when it comes to social media and maybe the most prominent is the risk of cyber bullying occurring.

Cyber bullying is a problem within schools world wide and is happening more often than expected. Children and teenagers now turn to these different platforms in order to harass other people, finding it easier to hide behind a screen.

References

Chaffey, D. (2018, February 08). Global Social Media Statistics Summary 2017. Retrieved from https://www.smartinsights.com/social-media-marketing/social-media-strategy/new-global-social-media-research/

Aqab, S. (2015, October 10). 6 Reasons Why Social Networking is Popular Today. Retrieved February 13, 2018, from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/6-reasons-why-social-networking-popular-nowadays-sara-aqab

Aqab, S. (2015, October 10). 6 Reasons Why Social Networking is Popular Today. Retrieved February 13, 2018, from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/6-reasons-why-social-networking-popular-nowadays-sara-aqab

Hoelzel, M. (2015, June 29). UPDATE: A breakdown of the demographics for each of the different social networks. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/update-a-breakdown-of-the-demographics-for-each-of-the-different-social-networks-2015-6

Social media. (2018, February 10). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media

 

Definition Argument- lbirch141

Detectors Causing Harm

People around the world live in a very dangerous, harmful world with many things that can go wrong. One of the most dangerous things people have that are potentially dangerous is smoke detectors. Detectors, whether it is for smoke, heat, or carbon monoxide, go unnoticed every day and are not even thought to be harmful or potentially dangerous. The beeping pieces of plastic on your ceiling could turn into a hazard if not cared for or thought about daily. Detectors do have many benefits if properly used, and can save many lives annually. But detectors do have dangers that it is trying to prevent. They have the risk of not alerting when there is a threat of fire or smoke, or could start a fire itself.

It may seem like these detectors are a benefit, considering fire departments and fire protection agencies hand them out. But the risk starts if installation of the product is not efficient and installed properly. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s “Considerations For Installation Of Smoke Alarms On Residential Branch Circuits“, the proper installation of a detector is essential in order to decrease the risk of fires starting from detectors. Shortages, overheating wires and overloaded circuits can start a fire at any time if installation is not done correctly. Wires overheating due to excess current in the detector is a main issue that does cause electrical fires.

As the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission also states, there are some techniques being used to cut down electrical fires. Fuses are now being put into place so if overheating does occur, a fuse will be set off, not allowing any more current to go through the circuit. Overheating would be hard to catch, but a small fuse does make it easier to prevent any fires from starting from your detectors.

Short circuits are a common cause of fires, which a detector can do. According to Elizabeth McGrath’s “What Causes Short Circuits“, a short circuit occurs when part of a wire carrying current touches another wire or part of the circuit and gives the electricity a path of less resistance. For example, if a wire with faulty insulation becomes exposed and touches a metal light switch, current can flow along the light switch and result in a shock. Short circuits will produce more heat in a circuit and results in burns and electrical fires.

Something else that can actually cause a fire are the batteries used to power the detectors. But in many incidences, an ordinary item that may be found in your “junk drawer” may have a higher risk of catching fire than you think. Fire Protection Team writes that if a metal object touches the posts of the batteries, the battery may short circuit, which creates enough heat to start a fire. There have been reports of this across the country of these batteries actually starting a fire, and enough that homeowners are launching a campaign to provide awareness of this unexpected hazard.

But new technology creates a better way to prevent this also. McGrath states that a short circuit will cause your household breaker to trip, allowing you to see something was shorted out. But there are still some risks and dangers even with this technology and advancing improvements. Internal shortages can happen within your ceiling, which are harder to spot and can lead to a fire if it is not noticed fast enough.

It is sometimes hard to believe that a device used to alert you of a fire is actually causing them. There have been some reported fires that have started due to a detector, which have not been researched to see what actually caused the fire. An article titled “Fire services on alert after smoke detector is blamed for causing Two blazes” published by Daily Mail, provides two cases in the United Kingdom where smoke detectors caught fire inside houses. Fire investigators on the case say they are on the side of caution because of these incidents and are taking the situation very seriously. These detectors were installed by fire services for a fire prevention safety campaign.

Poor maintenance and upkeep of detectors can be a major role in your family’s fire safety. What some do not know is that even hardwired detectors have a battery which is used for backup purposes. If electricity is lost in your household and that backup battery is dead, there will be no way in knowing if there is smoke in your house or not.

A deadly example of this is in an article written by Bruce Krasnow, titled “Fire Starts During Annual Smoke Detector Warning…“, which states that a fire started in a house that did not have smoke detectors at all, which may have saved the lives of four children. Fire investigators said that the fire was smoldering long before it ignited, and if a detector was present, the four children would have been alerted and would have been able to get out safely. It is a tragic story that did not need to happen if a smoke detector was properly installed in the home.

This seems strange to think about. No one would think that a device used to alert individuals that there is fire, could be the reason the fire starts in the first place. As a fire fighter, I would not think this at all because of the positives I see, and what many others see also. We all see that blinking red light and hear that loud beep, but never do think about if it is doing more bad than good.

References

Brooke, C. (2011, November 08). Fire services on alert after smoke detector is blamed for causing TWO blazes. Retrieved February 13, 2018 from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2058922/Firefighters-forced-stop-handing-smoke-alarms-catches-alight-nearly-burns-house.html 

Krasnow, B. S. w. (1995, October 29). FIRE STARTS DURING ANNUAL SMOKE DETECTOR WARNING OFFICIALS URGE PEOPLE TO CHECK BATTERIES WHILE CHANGING CLOCKS. Retrieved February 13, 2018 from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.rowan.edu/docview/394791605/abstract/4BF70D91880C41AFPQ/1?accountid=13605

Lee, A., & Lee, D. (2005, October). Considerations For Installation Of Smoke Alarms On Residential Branch Circuits. Retrieved February 13, 2018 from   https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/acfismoke.pdf

McGrath, E. (2017, July 11). What Causes Short Circuits?. Retrieved February 13, 2018 from https://www.thespruce.com/what-causes-short-circuits-4118973

Nichols, B. (2014, June 30). How 9-Volt Batteries Can be a Home Hazard. Retrieved February 13, 2018 from http://fireprotectiontesting.com/dangers-of-9-volt-batteries/ 

Definition Argument-Dohertyk9

The dictionary at dictionary.com defines consent as “permission, approval, or agreement; compliance; acquiescence”, “agreement in sentiment, opinion, a course of action, etc.”, and “accord; concord; harmony”. What the dictionary fails to state is the definition of consent as it relates to law, particularly laws regarding rape.

Rape itself is defined by the same website as “unlawful sexual intercourse or any other sexual penetration of the vagina, anus, or mouth of another person, with or without force, by a sex organ, other body part, or foreign object, without the consent of the victim.” However, if you consider how the law defines rape, it sheds a very different light; in fact, until recently, rape could only be a man against a woman, and the woman could not be the man’s wife. Certain factors also contributed to whether or not an offense was considered rape; as the Free Dictionary states, “women who were raped were expected to have physically resisted to the utmost of their powers or their assailant would not be convicted of rape.” In the modern era, society uses the more inclusive definition stated at the beginning of this paragraph. Even the up-to-date definition does not explicitly cover everything, though. Because consent has the ability to vary from court-to-court, so does the definition of rape.

Not only do societal views define rape, those same views formulate the laws that define rape. In approximately 1780 B.C., people believed that only virgins could be raped; this was reflected in their laws, which stated that rape of a virgin was property damage against her father. For most of history, it was also agreed that only women could be raped. Men were only recently included in the definition of rape. In 1290, the definition of rape changed; without a woman’s consent, she could not get pregnant. Basically, if you get pregnant from rape, it was never rape to begin with. The definition was altered again in the 1300s. The intensity of the punishment was affected by how promiscuous the woman was; a virgin was more legitimate in her charge of rape than a whore was. At the end of the 1300s, the definition of rape changed yet again. Virgins were no more credible than other women, and girls younger than 12 could not consent. In 1670, it was concluded that a man can legally rape his wife, because the marriage contract forfeited his wife’s right to consent. Sir Matthew Hale, an English judge and lawyer at the time, stated, “[T]he husband cannot be guilty of a rape committed by himself upon his lawful wife, for by their mutual matrimonial consent and contract the wife hath given up herself in this kind unto her husband, which she cannot retract.” Furthermore, race was a deciding factor; black women could not be raped, or at least if they were, the law did not care. It was decided in 1814 that rape could be determined by pregnancy; if a woman was raped, she could not become pregnant. Samuel Farr, an English physician at the time, decided that a woman could not become pregnant without an orgasm, and rape could not occur if there was an orgasm. In his Elements of Medical Jurisprudence, he says, “For without an excitation of lust, or the enjoyment of pleasure in the venereal act, no conception can probably take place. So that if an absolute rape were to be perpetrated, it is not likely she would become pregnant.” In the 19th century, it was agreed that if the woman did not actively resist her rapist, she was not raped. Throughout time and across different places, the definition of rape changes. Although the modern definition of rape is much more inclusive than, for example, the definition from 1780 B.C., it is likely that the definition will change yet again in the future.

If consent is an “agreement in sentiment”, then what exactly constitutes this “agreement”? That question can be extremely difficult to answer; it is the reason why many feel they have been wrongly convicted, as well as why many victims feel that they have not received adequate justice. The problem is that consent is not always explicitly voiced. For example, it is likely that not everyone outright asks their person of interest, “do you want to have sex?”, but rather goes through the motions, seeking nonverbal cues to express their intentions. Nonverbal cues are vague and easy to misinterpret, however. Discomfort may look like consent to a less socially observant person. The unobservant person can now be charged with rape simply because he could not pick up on the subtle nonverbal cues of his partner. At the same time, his partner could have believed that her discomfort was clear and obvious and did not need to be stated aloud.

Even when consent is clearly stated, it may not be consensual to the victim. The victim may feel as though the consent was forced from her and therefore not true consent. In this instance, a man may feel that he is justified in continuing with a sexual act, when in reality, his partner does not consent to it. Therefore, it can be concluded that consent can never actually be given.

Every sexual act is rape. A person could clearly and explicitly tell her partner “yes”, but if for even a moment she doubts her feelings or feels any amount of discomfort, the consent is void and she could consider the situation to be rape. No one is capable of stating “yes” in every single moment of a sexual act. The second a man’s partner stops saying “yes” to take a breath of air, his partner has relinquished her consent. And a sexual act without consent is rape. It is especially true that every sexual act is rape because the modern definition includes people of all races and all genders. In the past, it could be argued that almost nothing was rape. Unless you were white and a virgin, you could not be raped in the 1780s B.C. Slowly, more people were included into the definition of rape, until it included the wide range of cases it now encompasses.

 

Works Cited

Eichelberger, E. (2017, June 25). Men Defining Rape: A History. Retrieved February 14, 2018, from https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/08/men-defining-rape-history/

Consent. (n.d.). Retrieved February 14, 2018, from http://www.dictionary.com/browse/consent

Rape. (n.d.). Retrieved February 14, 2018, from http://www.dictionary.com/browse/rape?s=t

Rape. (n.d.). Retrieved February 14, 2018, from http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/rape.html

Rape. (n.d.). Retrieved February 14, 2018, from https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/rape

 

 

 

Definition Argument- tjjones123

Nation Anthem 

How many military men and veterans have to be dishonored and hurt due to the lack of respect shown to them because of the NFL?  In the last years more players are taking part of this protest and not coming out during the anthem or kneeling on the field during the song.  The argument for this act is to fight against black people getting targeted and mistreated by cops.  While I do agree that these actions need to stop between cops and black individuals kneeling during our country anthem is not the way to go about it.  More and more veterans are coming out and speaking how they fight and risk their lives and make nearly no money while these sports players get paid 100’s of millions and disrespect the people the protect them.  The NFL and officials should end this before it gets worse people have the right to protest whatever they want however, sometimes when u cross the line there should be consequences and disrespecting everything we stand for is crossing the line.

Under the constitution of the United States, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” (First Amendment).  Due to the people that founded this nation, we all live free without the horrible lifestyle some other people living in other countries our faced with.  The one thing that signifies our freedom is our flag and nation anthem yet these athletes are disrespecting the one thing that sets them free.

The first change that should be made in the league is that players should not be allowed to kneel or hide during the anthem they have to come out and respect and honor those risking their life.  There are plenty of other ways they can go about expressing themselves.  As retired marine, Jeffery A. Powers said in a letter to the NFL, “I missed the ’90-’91 season because I was with a battalion of Marines in Desert Storm. 14 of my wonderful Marines returned home with the American Flag draped across their lifeless bodies. My last conversation with one of them, Sgt. Garrett Mongrella, was about how our Giants were going to the Super Bowl. He never got to see it.Many friends, Marines, and Special Forces Soldiers who worked with or for me through the years returned home with the American Flag draped over their coffins.Now I watch multi-millionaire athletes who never did anything in their lives but play a game, disrespect what brave Americans fought and died for” (Speech).  This is one of the most powerful speeches I have read in my life, and he talks the truth.  He along with millions of others feel these players are completely disrespecting the marines who died and risk their lives out in battle.

Again I do agree that all people have the right to protest, however when you are going against everything that keeps and honors our freedom there should be consequences.  With the 100 million dollar contracts most of these players sign they can organize a huge event where all the people who support the same cause can come and gather.  Disrespecting our country’s nation anthem on live TV broadcasting to millions of people needs to end or there should be something done about this.

References 

(2017, August 25). Retrieved February 13, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=8xQ1dYFa1RA

Staff, L. (2010, February 05). First Amendment. Retrieved February 13, 2018, from https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/first_amendment

Heuvel, K. V. (2015, June 29). Why It’s Always Been Time to Legalize Marijuana. Retrieved February 13, 2018, from https://www.thenation.com/article/why-its-always-been-time-legalize-marijuana/

Definition Argument—MyrtleView

The more black fashion appears in mainstream the less black, black people become.

When black fashion is pictured we start to imagine black men and women in gold jewelry, wearing Air Jordan’s, and braids. These are just three things that make black people black and it also give representation to the black community. However somewhere along the line the public–mostly white celebrities, started to notice the stylish ideas that were being created. This was not a big problem until they wore it and it was branded as there own to sell and distribute with no acknowledgment of where it really originated.  This lead to widespread cultural appropriation and people believing that they could be accepted into the black community by dressing like black person.

Black fashion has always been a political statement of freedom and fighting against oppression. According to Buzzfeed’s video 100 Years of Black Fashion, ” natural hair, Afros, and African cloth became symbols of African heritage and pride and were further popularized throughout the 1960s.” From the 1960’s and 1970’s black fashion depicted the struggles of the Civil Rights Movement. Members of the Black Panther movement popularized afros and dark sunglasses. In the 1973 the greatest contribution to music was created otherwise known as the birth of hip hop. Hip hop music influenced many teens to sport bright athletic sets and loose fitting clothes. Black icons such as Michael Jackson, Salt and Pepa, and Whitney Houston brought their unapologetic style and grace to the 80’s with flaming red leather jackets and matching outfits for couples. Finally we come to the most inspirational era of black culture The 90’s. During the 90’s black women were going back into their roots and wearing a multitude of  fashionable braids. Janet Jackson, Alicia Keys, and Erykah Badu influenced generations to come that it was okay to be natural and take care of black hair. In today’s era some aspects of black culture are flourishing while others are being taken advantage of completely. According to “Money flowing into the natural hair industry is a blessing and curse for those who built it up” an article on  LA Times written by Makeda Easter, in 2016 2.5 billion dollars was spent on black hair care product by black consumers. While natural hair goes up hair relaxers are taking a 36 percent dive in prices from 2012 to 2017, stated by the article “USA: Relaxer sales fall but Black hair care market is booming, thanks to natural hair movement” from the website Brazil Beauty News. Unfortunately, the more black women wear their hair out the more attention it grabs as with all black fashion.

Black fashion has always been a major factor in how black people and the world view themselves.  The black community has always suffered from the ignorance, oppression, and racism of others who saw them as less. With that being said, black people remember their history through appearances first.  The issue of black fashion becoming more mainstream is that a community of people become muffled and silenced by the others wanting to be like like them but not like them. To be truly black means to experience the hatred the world has for them and wait for the everything that is considered yours to be stolen from underneath your feet. To be truly black is to feel numb every time the news reports of another innocent black victim dead at the hands of the police. Being truly black means to be called “urban”, “hood”, “ghetto”, and “scary”. These attributes may also find there way into other minorities but they can never truly understand the pain and the hardships. The styles the black communities wear are a message all on its own that says to the  world,”I have a history and it will be recognized.”

In no way am I saying that cultures should stick to their own culture since that would be a terrible world. I am saying that if a person doses take from a culture they should definitely refer back to their cultural influence.  Many celebrities have done this in the past and have gotten away with it countless times. Even though the black community show strong disapproval towards the celebrities actions with no apology. Then the media surrounding these famous celebrities increase the exposure of these “trends”. Cultural appropriation happens when a culture, different than the culture a person is in, is worn and is not acknowledge or is demeaning for others outside that community to wear.

  1. https://www.buzzfeed.com/gustavecadet/we-showcased-black-iconic-looks-throughout-history-reminding?utm_term=.mh3PQ2kmew#.ncnvVWqbA3
  2. https://www.highsnobiety.com/2016/03/02/black-panther-party-influence-music-fashion/
  3. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-natural-hair-industry-20170809-htmlstory.html
  4. http://www.brazilbeautynews.com/usa-relaxer-sales-fall-but-black-haircare-market,2110