The Truth Behind Police Brutality

Racial profiling and police brutality in America is viewed right now as an old issue that has resurfaced with a little extra kick to it; however statistics prove that the claims made by the media and protesters are in fact wrong. The “Black Lives Matter Movement” has taken the country by storm being the reason for countless protests and violence. A belief in America is that police and other forms of law officials racially profile individuals, in turn leading to unfair treatment and sometimes death. Claims have been made by countless media outlets and leaders of such groups like BLM that right now is the worst time to be a regular everyday African American citizen. Although, when we look at statistical evidence it is clear that those claims are misconceptions. With an issue involving crime, race, and death it is easy to point fingers at who is wrong and who is right, but the best way to solve the issue is to examine the broader picture. We must look at all outside factors that may give reasoning for a common misconception. The news and social media paint their own picture for us to be interested and play their games. The media cannot always be trusted. Evidence proves that in fact African Americans being targeted by police.

Police brutality is falsely represented in media and therefore gives officers a bad reputation. Statistics show that police brutality in retrospect to racial profiling actually has very minimal correlation to each other. Racial profiling and police brutality has been an issue for all races for decades. In the last couple of years we have seen a large spike in coverage about this issue, specifically with the African American community. Race tensions have always been around and made out to be something larger than what it is, however modern day social media and the internet have made it much easier and more accessible to everyone around the world. When we begin to scroll through social media such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook we are bound to see a story involving race. Most recently the main stories involving race have also been involving police and shootings. Therefore, naturally as human beings we will begin to sympathize with these individuals and believe people of their culture may possibly be getting targeted.  The truth however is these people aren’t getting racially profiled. The media loves to stir things up in the public to create more stories to cover. When we look at the definition of racial profiling it is said to be, “the discriminatory practice by law enforcement officials of targeting individuals for suspicion of crime based on the individual’s race, ethnicity, religion or national origin.” The definition proposes the argument that officers arrest or kill certain citizens purely based off of the color of their skin or beliefs. However, we can’t jump right to conclusions without looking at the evidence and a larger cultural issue we have at hand. Think of it this way, yes most police departments are dominantly Caucasian with a small percentage being another ethnic group. Although, then look at the areas with the most crime and you get a dominantly African American community. Therefore it is hard to say an officer that is white is always racially profiling a certain group when that group makes up the majority of the crime in your area. When we begin to look deeper into the arrests and killings involved with police officers some interesting statistics show up. First, let’s look at where the common everyday African American citizen lives. According to pbs.org, since 1999 it has been recorded that close to 70 percent of black families or individuals live in the cities or inner-ring suburbs of America. Next, when we begin to look at crime rate in America we find out that most of the United States crime takes place in the Cities of the United States.  According to the “New Observer” the worst murder rates take place in Detroit , New Orleans, Newark, St. Louis, and Baltimore; these all being majority black communities at an average of 62%. Crime has been rising for years and even in the past year crimes such as homicides, rapes, assaults and shootings has substantially grown. So naturally when more felony’s are committed in an area it’s safe to say law enforcement will appear in those areas. The officers will be on higher alert and will most likely engage in more action if crime has risen. In an article written by the National Review they used statistics from the Post that said American police had fatally shot 965 people in 2015, 564 of those killed were armed with a gun, 281 were armed with another weapon, and 90 were unarmed. This means that 70% plus cases involving fatal shootings are after an officer is put into danger, defending himself or defending someone else. Unfortunately, these communities with high crime rates tend to reside in the inner-city. The most dominate race in inner-cities happens to be African American and Latinos. According to pbs.org “Across the nation, four out of five whites live outside of the cities and 86% of whites live in neighborhoods where minorities make up less than 1% of the population.” In contrast, 70% of Blacks and Latinos live in the cities or inner-ring suburbs.” With these factors connecting one another we can see now why it seems to be that more and more African American men and women as well as Latinos are being arrested more often. A major misconception is that African American men are fatally shot the most, when in fact only 4% of all fatal shootings performed by officers each year are on African American males.  And the reason mostly black males are fatally shot is simply because general areas with large black populations tend to have high crime/death rates. In the National Review article written by David French, he said blacks “commit homicide at close to eight times the rate of whites and Hispanics combined….among males between the ages of 14 and 17, the interracial homicide commission gap is nearly tenfold.” French went on to say  “In 2014, for example, while black Americans constituted only about 13 percent of the population, they represented a majority of the homicide and robbery arrests. 82 percent of all gun deaths in the black community are from homicide. For whites, 77 percent of gun deaths are suicides.” Therefore, it is fair to agree that cops aren’t trying to racially profile anyone; they are in fact doing their job. The most interesting fact that comes up is actually in the arrests themselves. Even though these communities are dominantly African American, statistics presented by the FBI say, “In 2013, 68.9 percent of all individuals arrested were “white,” 28.3 percent were black, and 2.9 percent were of other races.” Furthermore, the FBI report claimed, “white” individuals were arrested more often for violent crimes than individuals of any other race and accounted for 58.4 percent of those arrests. The article goes on to say that whites account for the most juveniles as well. Although, even with statistics proving that cops are simply just doing their job and trying to protect the non-vigilantes; black communities are still in an uproar over the death toll. Thus, movements such as “Black Lives Matter,” have stemmed from this. The protests have progressively gotten more violent. Law enforcement is now under attack, the best example coming from the protest in Texas where six cops were fatally shot.

A main issue however that is always brought up last is that these statistics may be true, but why is there so much crime to begin with inside the inner cities? The real answer stems from poverty and gross income for individuals living in those areas. On the website Definitions.com they define Gentrification as a trend in urban neighborhoods, which results in increased property values and the displacing of lower-income families and small businesses. The reason this method is controversial is that it essentially puts all the poor people together, thus making new opportunities harder and keeping them in poverty. When anyone is desperate to make money we tend to make questionable choices to help our families and ourselves. Therefore, crimes in those areas are more prevalent. The magnitude of the overall issue in America today has to do with much more than race. But the main topic of conversation is always race and that falls on the media.

The media loves to cover stories involving race. The perception of the public is highly influenced by the media. If the media is always showing the wrong from officers or stories involving a white cop and a black criminal, of course the public will grow a perception of racist police officers. Public perception is everything. This was imminent in the financial crisis of 2008. The public perception began to dwindle as more media coverage bashed the banks for losing money. People began to get scared and pulled out of their shares out of pure fear presented by negative coverage. According to Salvatore Colleluori and Daniel Angster, over 70 percent of crime coverage is based around African American arrests or killings. Like the famous actor Morgan Freeman said in an interview on 60 Minutes, “the reason there is still racism is because we keep talking about it.” Think about that, if we simply stop talking about racism it will slowly go away. African Americans have the same rights as whites; they are recognized as everyday citizens. This doesn’t mean there isn’t racism in the world, but we need to stop blaming a group of people based off an incident by one person. Cops are there to do their job and not to start race tensions. People make individual choices to break the law it has nothing to do with race. A white man is just as dangerous as a black man and we should still understand that. We should also understand law enforcement is here to protect us. Not everyone is a criminal and if we simply listen to the law no one will be a criminal.

Works Cited

• French, David. “The Numbers Are In: Black Lives Matter Is Wrong about Police.” National Review. National Review, 28 Jan. 2016. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.
• http://www.nationalreview.com/article/429094/black-lives-matter-wrong-police-shootings
• Bruer, Wesley. “Violent Crime Rising in US Cities, Study Finds.”CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2016.
• Bandler, Aaron. “5 Statistics You Need To Know About Cops Killing Blacks.”Daily Wire. N.p., 07 July 2016. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.
• “Is Biased Media Coverage of Police Shootings of Blacks Creating a False Narrative of an Epidemic of White Racist Cops Murdering Innocent Blacks?”Is Biased Media Coverage of Police Shootings of Blacks Creating a False Narrative of an Epidemic of White Racist Cops Murdering Innocent Blacks? – Quora. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.
• “Philando Castile Shooting: What Happened When Filming Stopped?”CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.
• “Police Shootings and Race.”The Washington Post. WP Company, n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.
• “Media & Racism.”Media & Racism. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.
• Staff-, TNO. “New FBI Crime Figures Confirm: Black Towns Most Dangerous, White Areas Safest – The New Observer.”The New Observer. N.p., 04 Dec. 2014. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.
• Definitions.com

Stigmatized Stem Cells

Majority of people would agree, further research of stem cells would be advantageous for the human race as a whole. Potentially hundreds of millions of people could be saved, but this research has been marred by the notion that stem cells must be found within aborted fetuses. Although it has been supported that aborted fetuses contain mass amounts of stem cells, they are found in a plethora of other place s as well. These other places range from umbilical cords to the placenta. Majority of those opposing stem cell research tend to be anti-abortion and religious groups; this clarifies why stem cells hold such a negative stigma. Among the stem cell research protesters, Pope John Paul II would be found. He stated, “A free and virtuous society, which America aspires to be, must reject practices that devalue and violate human life at any stage from conception until natural death”.

The life of a human being starting at the moment of conception contains the rhetoric and main argument for these protesters. This misconception brings them to the conclusion that the killing of a unborn baby would be inhumane. Viewing this topic from this closed off angle makes stem cells appear to be the work of mad scientists, due to the negative stigma. Thinking this way without any form of proof nor evidence would also prove how ill informed they truly are. Fertilized eggs that have been in existence for about one week are considered blastocysts and not human being. Blastocysts are a cluster of cells that have the potential to develop into something greater; nothing more, nothing less.

In order to determine if a fertilized egg should be considered human or not, the term human must be studied more closely. Humans are considered the most intelligent creatures on the planet, and this sets the species apart from the rest of the others on this planet. Religions, such as Christianity, states that God created man in his image and likeness; man also have dominion authority over the land and creatures of this Earth. This testament from God indicates humans are more intellectual than other creatures, and they obtain the mental capacity to lead the animals as they see fit. Scientists claim that humans have more complex nervous systems than any other creature on this Earth; this complex nervous system allows for conscious thought that make human beings dominant to other beings on this planet. Since being a human being has been determined by whether or not a being has this complex nervous system, without it one could not be considered a human. The earliest form of a functioning nervous system found within an embryo was the neural tube. Developing the neural tube after roughly four weeks, the embryo could be considered a human being according to this agreed definition of a human.

Religious groups believe that humans are more intelligent than other creatures on Earth, because God gave each and every person their own soul. The soul becomes part of the individual when they take their first breath. This argument for, the sake of the religious beliefs, should be accepted.With that being said, the Bible also states on multiple occasions that God breathed breath into man. By doing so, man was brought to life. Genesis 2:7 states, ” And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being”. Before God breathed life into man, he was not alive; most would agree that before taking his first breath, man would not be considered alive. Trivial details such as this indicates that a human does not have their soul until birth and taking their first breath. More verses from the Bible stating the similar things could be found at Job 33:4 and Ezekiel 37:5 & 6.

By religious and anti-abortion groups hindering stem cell research and making it taboo, many genius ways of harvesting stem cells have been over looked. Fertilized eggs for the first week or two are considered blastocyts, which are clusters of cells as mentioned above. Before a  blastocyt could develop into a fetus and grow its primitive streak and neural tube, these clusters of cells could be manipulated in order to obtain the desired stem cells. The argument that stem cells are found and harvested from aborted fetuses contains little to no support behind it. Places such as the blood located in the umbilical cords of newborn children contain stem cells that could be harvested to save lives.

One study that could help put the aborted fetuses argument to rest, was researched by a team at Advanced Cell Technology in Massachusetts. Their study, much like other experiments, have a control group and an experimental group. Both groups contained pregnant mice that had eight celled mouse embryos. These embryos equated to 23 mice being born from each litter. The experimental group had one cell extracted from the eight celled mouse embryo. The new seven celled embryo would eventually develop into 23 mice offspring; likewise, the control group also had 23 mice offspring. The control group had no actual work done to them, of course. They only received placebo procedures to give both of the groups the same experience. As a result, the single celled stem cell from the embryo was cultured; through mitosis, a colony of one hundred stem cells was created. No harm was brought to either of the unborn mice. Upon birth, these mice were watched for irregular behavior and developmental issues; none of which were found. The offspring were even viable and fertile.

Another study that showed how stem cells could be obtained without aborted fetuses was called the Alter Nuclear Transfer, or ANT for short. The study was done by a group of MIT scientists. In this study, human eggs were extracted from the ovaries, and their nuclei were removed. By placing donor skin cell nuclei inside of these cells, the scientists were able to culture new skin cells. The process done in this study was very similar to that of Dolly the sheep. Since Dolly was cloned, this method seems very unethical at first, but the MIT scientists infected the donor skin cell with a virus. The virus actually hindered the action of the Cdx2 gene. This gene is essential for formation of the placenta. Without a being able to form a placenta, the embryo could hardly be considered a “true” embryo at all. This psuedo-embryo could no longer be considered in the running to become a human being. As a result, the desired stem cells are able to be obtained without an aborted fetus being utilized. This does not refute the idea that life starts immediately following inception, but if the scientific theory that a cluster of cells would be a blastocyst and not a human-being was accepted, research such as this could be done more easily and people could be treated using stem cells.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Committee on Ethics published what their opinion on using embryos for stem cell research was, back in 2006.  It stated, “If the preimplantation embryo is left or maintained outside the uterus, it cannot develop into a human being”. The key focus for this statement was the phrase “develop into a human being”. This phrase’s significance stemmed from the idea that if something were to developing into something greater, it must be something else to being with. This indicates a metamorphosis or transformation would occur. An example of this would be the Caterpillar transforming into a beautiful butterfly, or a moth. Just because a caterpillar has the capacity to become a butterfly does not mean it will; it could also become a moth. A third option would be the caterpillar never makes it out of the cacoon due to complications.

Many anti-stem cell and anti-abortion groups believe that once an egg has been fertilized, it should receive the exact same rights of that of a human being. This idea has been backed with the notion that fertilized eggs would one day become a human being. This idea should be considered absurd, because once an egg has been fertilized, in no way has it been guaranteed to become a human being. In all processes, there are different steps to obtaining whatever goal was trying to be reached. Just because a process begins, does not mean that ultimately it would finish successfully. An example of this would be a boy who dreamed of making his high school basketball team. One of the first steps was to get the paperwork done for said team; a physical must be obtained, and waivers have to be signed. Once this has been accomplished and turned in, he could now try out for the team. The fact that this first step was completed does not indicate he would be guaranteed a spot on the team when tryouts were finished; he was merely eligible to be tested to see if he could be on the team. The same concept should be applied to a fertilized egg. There are many inhibiting factors that may inhibit the fertilized egg from developing into a human. Just because it has completed the first step, it does not guarantee the process would be completed.

A fertilized egg could fail to develop into a human being due to the zygote failing to finish its travels down the Fallopian tube and into the womb. 1 in 80 pregnancies fall under this category. These forms of mistakes in pregnancies are considered ectopic pregnancies. The most common ectopic pregnancy would be described as being stuck within the Fallopian tube; 80 percent of all ectopic pregnancies are found stuck in the Fallopian tube. Due to not being able to escape the Fallopian tube, the egg begins to develop there. As a result, the egg inevitably dies, and the woman carrying the misplaced egg would need immediate medical attention due to the high possibility of internal bleeding. This barrier alone destroys 1 in every 80 pregnancies.

The second barrier to a zygote developing into a human being would have to be flaws in genetic code of the zygote. These flaws in genetic code are not mutations that could potentially lead to advantageous traits, deformed individuals, nor miscarriage, but rather they are a death sentence to the zygote. During the period known as “preimplantation development” about 50 percent of all fertilized eggs fail due to genetic errors. The “preimplantation development” periods refers to when a fertilized egg attempts to embed itself into the uterine wall. After being fertilized, newly formed zygotes release the hormone trypsin; Trypsin signals the uterine wall to prepare its lining for implantation. This action allows for fertilized eggs to be able to implant themselves into the womb, but zygotes with a genetic code error have altered signals. As a result, different hormones are released during this period, causing no lining to be created in the womb. This makes implantation next to impossible.

If a zygote could overcome the 1 in 80 odds of being stuck in the Fallopian tube and the 50/50 odds of having an error in the DNA, one more barrier exists. This barrier’s the most infamous of the barriers, miscarriage. Miscarriage inhibits from 10 to 25 percent of all clinically recognized pregnancies. Miscarriages are caused by many different reasons; they include hormonal problems, immune system responses to the newly formed embryo, infections, preexisting medical conditions in the mother, etc.

People tend to stigmatize the thought of stem cell research, because they are ill informed. By using facts, supporting evidence, and different research, people who oppose stem cell research would have little to no arguments left. There are more places stem cells could be found than aborted fetuses, humans are not human until they obtain their spinal cord, and a fertilized egg does not indicate a human will be formed are all reasons why the arguments held by anti-stem cell research groups should be put to rest. People see this as the work of mad scientists or man attempting to play god, but in reality, it is man attempting to save another man. That idea alone should trump all other notions.

Works Cited

1. “Two ‘ethical’ Ways to Harvest Stem Cells.” New Scientist. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2016.
2. “The Cases For and Against Stem Cell Research.” Fox News. FOX News Network, 09 Aug. 2001. Web. 2 Nov. 2016.
3. “The Bible Tells Us When A Fetus Becomes A Living Being.” The Christian Left Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.
4. Knapp, Julie. “Your Developing Baby, Week by Week.” Parents. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.
5. “What Is an Ectopic Pregnancy? – The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust.” The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2016.
6. “When Does Human Life Begin?” Council for Secular Humanism. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.
7. Conger, Krista. “Earlier, More Accurate Prediction of Embryo Survival Enabled by Research.” News Center. N.p., 03 Oct. 1970. Web. 01 Dec. 2016.
8. Rettner, Rachael. “Fate of a Fertilized Egg: Why Some Embryos Don’t Implant.” Live Science. N.p., 06 Feb. 2014. Web. 01 Dec. 2016.
9. Caplan, Arthur. “When Does Human Life Begin?” Council for Secular Humanism. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.
10. New Testament, King James Version. New York: American Bible Society, n.d. Print.

Lennon Revisited: Imagine Religious Education

Since 1971, all over the world people have sung the lyrics of John Lennon’s song, suggesting that the absence of religion would create a world of peace. The fact is that religion is a vital part of peoples’ lives and the source of great good in society in spite of abominations by some in the name of religion, even in the United States. So rather than abolish the practice of faith we should commit as a nation to opening a dialogue that begins with mandatory education about religious differences. With that, we can imagine a world where our differences are celebrated and encouraged rather than demonized and condemned. It’s a crazy idea, isn’t it? Perhaps it is, but it’s not altogether unreasonable. Such a concept is the dream of many and people all over the world have made great progress toward making this our reality. However, the problem with differences is that they can be perceived as too different to tolerate and some reside on such far sides of the spectrum that finding middle ground can be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Possibly the most controversial topic and point of difference of all time is religion. Religion is often central to the identity of a people group. A statistic on the website “Adherents.com”, the largest database of its kind, states that theologists propose that there are as many as 4,200 recognized religions across the globe. History’s record of conflicts attribute to many a disagreement of religion. According to an article in The Daily Mail written by Ryan O’Hare, religious differences have been causing conflict as far back as 700 B.C. Mesoamerica. With it’s almost as if there isn’t enough room for them to exist together peacefully.

Many believe that the only way to find peace and balance is through understanding, which may derive most successfully from education. It is becoming increasingly important to educate our young people, and even a fair amount of our old people, on controversial social topics such as religion. There are far too many misconceptions about many religious practices and beliefs which could be rectified by a basic understanding of different religions and the cultures surrounding them. It is for this reason that a course covering the most basic aspects of the world’s religions should be made a mandatory component of the public high school curriculum.

More often than not, the only formal education a student receives on the subject of religion comes if they choose to take a course covering it in a higher educational setting or if they enrolled at a private school with a religious affiliation. This is because of the concept called “the separation of church and state.” Though still relevant, the true meaning of this phrase has been distorted over time, almost like in a game of “Whisper down the lane.” To be clear, the separation of church and state defines the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state. Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802 referencing the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, this copy of which was obtained from the online database of the Library of Congress.  It includes this excerpt:

“Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.”

Jefferson’s position is that the Bill of Rights prohibits the establishment of a national church, in turn, preventing the government from interfering with a person’s right to expression of religion by means of supporting one religion over others. After all, this is the reason English pilgrims came to America in the first place. Nicknamed “Separatists” because their religious practices didn’t conform to those of the Church of England, they sailed to America so that they could be free to practice their own religion without fear of persecution or discrimination. In fact, there was a time when America was likely the most accepting as well as diverse nation in terms of religion. People from all over the world fled to America seeking religious liberty. In the article “Republicans Turn God Upside Down with Their Twisted Version of Religious Liberty” for the Huffington Post, Cody Cain explains that the early colonies were populated by Dutch Calvinists, English Puritans, English Catholics, Scottish Presbyterians, French Huguenots, German and Swedish Lutherans, as well as Mennonites, Jews, and Amish from various European countries. Thomas Jefferson was adamant about supporting and maintaining the separation of church and state to ensure that each citizen felt welcomed and protected by our society, regardless of who they chose to pray to.

Over time, the phrase “separation of church and state” has been so widely used and misinterpreted that it’s lost some of its salt. The separation of church and state is also designed to protect some more general religious freedoms such as being able to practice whatever religion or even no religion at all in whatever way you see fit. The United States was founded on biblical principles, most of which serve our country well and support the values of most American citizens, regardless of their religion. However, we cannot claim to uphold our Constitution including the First Amendment while our laws refuse to respect the lifestyles guided by different religions, provided that the practice of which does not put any other liberties at risk. On the other hand, allowing our society to divide itself by religious denomination would be discrimination would breed an environment of resentment and hostility. Having legal freedoms yet being oppressed by the general societal stance on the matter isn’t true freedom.

For example, Muslims are legally permitted to practice their religion in America but after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, animosity towards Muslim Americans skyrocketed. As a statistic to support his claims in his article “Impact of 9/11 on Muslim Americans, Abdul Malik Mujahid claims that one in four Muslims either knows someone who has or have personally experienced an act of anti-Muslim discrimination, harassment, verbal abuse or physical attack since 9/11.

This discrimination and negative stance towards the entire culture isn’t just affecting those on the receiving end of it. American citizens are being misinformed about the reality of the situation. This extreme instance of widespread prejudice has blinded us to the truth about the groups involved, resulting in their abuse and our ignorance. The censorship in schools on what pertaining to religion may and may not be taught can lead to misinformation on the details of situations like the September 11th attacks.This is why we need to properly educate people on different religions. Religion is incredibly controversial and a lot of the friction could most likely be reduced if more people truly understood what they were arguing about rather than making assumptions based on information with no credible sources to back it up.

To continue with the example of September 11, many of those who’ve written articles and thesis papers similar to this one also hold the belief that being properly educated on foreign cultures and religions would have better prepared American citizens to handle the aftermath of the 2001 attacks. Racism has been around since before anyone cared to take note of it and has maintained a constant presence in America. The way in which Americans of middle eastern descent were perceived changed drastically because the attacks of 9/11 were the most mortally devastating acts of terror the world had witnessed. That day set a new precedent for the future of public safety all over the globe. In just one noticeable reaction to the attacks, the United States government created the Transportation Safety Administration which rapidly put into effect a plethora of stringent rules and restrictions for the safety of passengers and goods on land, air and sea. The TSA’s own website states that their mission is to protect the nation’s transportation systems to ensure freedom of movement for people and commerce.

The Guardian posted excerpts from a book called “The Patriot Acts: Narratives of Post 9/11 Injustice”, edited by Alia Malek. It details the testimonies of several victims of discrimination and foul treatment in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks. In 2006, Raed Jarrar, a 28-year-old architect and political advocate of Iraqi and Palestinian descent was stopped from boarding a plane because of his t-shirt. It read in Arabic and in English “We Will Not Be Silent.” The TSA officer told him that because people couldn’t read what it said that it would offend other passengers and that if Raed wanted to board the plane he would need to turn the shirt inside out or they would buy him a new one. Raed boarded the plane in grey t-shirt with “New York” printed across his chest only to find that the seat he had booked in the front of the plane had been given to another passenger while he was asked to sit in the very back of the plane near the bathroom.

This very situation and others similar to it are the reason why a formal education on religion is so crucial to the future of our nation. A main function of school is to prepare students to become productive members of society, thus equipping them to lead our country in a direction that will ensure the prosperity of our people and way of life. In order to accomplish this goal, those designing the curriculum must understand that it’s only effective when recognized as holistic, meaning that the student will never reach his or her fullest potential unless given an education comprised of components from every subject matter.

Returning to the separation of church and state and how this concept plays into the grand scheme of things, it imposes limitations on the way our public schools are allowed to address the topic of religion. To reiterate, the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” In relation to an educational setting, no government institution or subsidiary can offer any kind of support to a religiously affiliated program, including schools. This includes funding an educational course promoting religion.

However, there is a window of opportunity that does not violate the Constitution or its Amendments. While preventing the teaching of religion, the constitution says nothing on the subject of teaching about religion. Yes, there is a difference. As explained in the article “Religion in the Public Schools” on the Anti-Defamation League website, to teach a religion would imply an endorsement. Teaching about a religion merely means supplying information in the interest of education in order to inform and enlighten someone on a certain topic. As long as the curriculum and instructor show no bias, it’s completely appropriate within the bounds of the Constitution. On the website “The Knightly Herald,” Olivia Godfrey claimed in her article”Why Religion Should Not Be Taught In Public Schools” that it would never work because it’s impossible to remain completely unbiased while teaching the material or that children aren’t mature enough to truly understand and think critically about the subject matter in a way that would prove to be worth the effort. The concern pertaining to the accountability of the teachers is not new but neither is the solution. The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development promoted the book “Effective Supervision” by Robert J. Marzano, which clearly states that supervisor evaluations of teachers have been a regular part of that career field since the mid 1800s and will not be stopping any time soon. The evaluations would now simply include a new rubric for a different course to ensure the integrity of the course and that of the instructor guiding it just as for the rest of the general education courses.

“Teaching Tolerance” is a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center and in Carrie Kilman’s article “One Nation, Many Gods” provides the testimony of the Modesto school district where, in spite of the skepticism, officials have already set this plan in motion and it’s working effectively. In 2000, the public school district of Modesto, California designed a mandatory, semester-long world religions course for 9th graders. After beginning the class with an overview of First Amendment rights and responsibilities, the class dives into six religious units, covering Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism. The opposition from some parents and leader in the community was heavy and intense. Teachers feared backlash and criticism, especially if they were to make mistakes in teaching. To avoid such reactions, numerous precautions were taken and rules set in place to ensure success: Teachers are not allowed at anytime to reveal their religious affiliation to avoid confusion with teachers imposing their own bias or beliefs on students. The curriculum is highly structured and leaves nearly no room for improvisation. Each class in the district receives the same books, lesson plans, notes, and other learning materials to keep everyone on the same page. Outside speakers are not permitted and each religion receives the same amount of class time. One of the few ways teachers are permitted to deviate from the lesson plan is whether or not they choose to cover the chapter in the the textbook on atheism. Some do and some don’t but that is up to the discretion of each teacher.

To ensure the legitimacy and adequacy of the course, the teacher-led committee that created Modesto’s curriculum worked closely with religious leaders in the local community during the course’s development. After deciding upon which religions would be included in the curriculum, the committee divided into teams to research each faith. They toured houses of worship in several different faiths and sought guidance from religious leaders of each faith and asked them to review the textbook they planned to use in the course. “There are an equal number of pages given to each religion,” a committee member said. “We knew they would count.”

To further document the progress and eventual outcome of the project, researchers from the First Amendment Center closely followed the course and all of its participants. In addition, the researchers interviewed the students immediately before, during, immediately after and six months after the course had ended to better understand the mindset of the course’s participants and how the program may have altered them. Specifically, they wanted to know if the diversity of the course had any impact on the students’ religious tolerance. “We’ve never really known what effect it would have if we taught more about different religions in public schools,” director of the Arlington, Va.-based First Amendment Center said. “We’ve always said it was a good idea – but in terms of empirical evidence, what it does for our kids, this study is the first indication of what it might do.”

Time and time again, students were found to have become more open minded and willing to defend the religious rights of others. Students themselves said they felt the course had broadened their views and empowered them against faith-based bullying. “I didn’t know anything about any religion other than mine,” said Kristin Busby, now a senior. “By the end [of the semester], we were all much more accepting toward one another. You realize that we’re all not that different after all. We all have these necessities, and these religions provide for those necessities, just in different ways.”

Perhaps the greatest fear of parents was that their children’s perception and opinions on religion, specifically the ones they were raised in would become distorted. They were concerned their children would become confused and start to have doubts about their own faith. However, contrary to the fears of parents and expectations of researchers, this increase in religious tolerance was not accompanied by any change in the students’ personal religious convictions and opinions. “My mom and dad were biased against this course,” said 9th-grader Richard Dysart. “They were afraid I’d convert and get confused about what my family believes. But if you’re part of a culture, you won’t switch just by learning about how other people live.”

The first year of the new curriculum was seen as a great success by researchers, supervisors and the community alike. Modesto was eager to continue with the curriculum into the 2001-2002 school year. Then 9/11 happened. The teachers cited the 30 hours of training required to teach the course as the guide to helping them navigate the difficult questions and conversations that arose that year. They made sure to handle the in-class discussions carefully and made a clear distinction between Islam as a religion and the people involved in the terror attacks. Across the nation, reports of harassment of Muslim students at school escalated quickly after 9/11. In Modesto, not a single instance of anti-Muslim harassment was reported in the 2001-2002 school year.

The value of these programs is in how knowledge empowers individuals to understand and communicate with each other in spite of differences. It prepares us to navigate the most challenging and chaotic circumstances. Mandating education about religion is not only a worthy investment but a moral obligation to ensure a world in which our differences are celebrated and encouraged for the good of all. If we fail to make the necessary efforts then whatever negative side effects we experience, there is no one to blame for them but ourselves.

Works Cited

1. Adherents.com. (n.d.). Retrieved December 01, 2016, from http://www.adherents.com/
2. MailOnline, R. O. (2015, December 22). Religion has been causing conflicts for more than 2,000 years: Rather than binding ancient societies together, belief systems may have torn them apart in Mesoamerica. Retrieved December 01, 2016, from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3370189/Religion-causing-conflicts-2-000-years-binding-ancient-societies-belief-systems-torn-apart-Mesoamerica.html
3. Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury BaptistsThe Final Letter, as Sent. (n.d.). Retrieved December 02, 2016, from https://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9806/danpre.html
4. Cain, C. (2016, May 09). Republicans Turn God Upside Down with Their Twisted Version of Religious Liberty. Retrieved December 01, 2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cody-cain/republicans-turn-god-upsi_b_9857402.html
5. Impact of 9/11 on Muslim Americans. (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2016, from http://www.soundvision.com/article/impact-of-911-on-muslim-americans
6. Mission. (2016). Retrieved December 01, 2016, from https://www.tsa.gov/about/tsa-mission
7. After 9/11: ‘You no longer have rights’ – extract. (2011, September 02). Retrieved December 03, 2016, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/sep/02/after-9-11-muslim-arab-american-stories
8. You are being redirected… (n.d.). Retrieved December 01, 2016, from http://archive.adl.org/religion_ps_2004/religion.html
9. Why Religion Should Not Be Taught in Public Schools – Olivia Godfrey. (2013, September 23). Retrieved December 02, 2016, from http://knightlyherald.com/why-religion-should-not-be-taught-in-public-schools-olivia-godfrey/
10. Marzano, R. J. (n.d.). Chapter 2. A Brief History of Supervision and Evaluation. Retrieved December 03, 2016, from http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/110019/chapters/A-Brief-History-of-Supervision-and-Evaluation.aspx
11. Kilman, C. (2007, Fall). One Nation, Many Gods. Retrieved November 25, 2016, from http://www.tolerance.org/magazine/number-32-fall-2007/feature/one-nation-many-gods

Childhood Obesity has become a serious epidemic in America.  Obesity leads to many other harmful health problems.  Since children are not responsible for financially providing for themselves, there should be a penalty which parents should be held accountable if their child fails to meet a healthy standard according to his height and weight.  Childhood obesity starts at home and carries over to society.  America needs to be more honest with each other no matter how ugly the truth may appear.  If we correct this ongoing epidemic, we will begin an era when diabetes and other heart related problems begin to decrease.  Obesity leads to more than just physical issues, as it’s highly related to mental health problems as well.  Overall, obesity is a problem that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later and if we begin preventive measures with the children of today it’s very likely that we can begin to put an end to obesity and stop it’s rapid linear growth which has been doubled since 1980.

Technology is one of the main causes of obesity.  Technology and children go hand in hand.  Nowadays everyone has some kind of phone or new technology.   The media promotes all forms of obesity and children are the biggest victim. They see a product and immediately want it.  That is because children are naïve and have little say in final decision making, but they can be used as leverage into persuading themselves into eating out rather than preparing a home cooked meal.  My one source noted in his recent study, “The prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents has increased in most Western countries in the last few decades. The recent secular trend seems to be more closely associated with increased inactivity”(Fogelhelm). Parents are responsible for buying them all the newest forms of game consoles, but not stressing enough the importance of going out, exercising, or getting involved in some type of activity.

Children and teens are exposed to hundreds of food commercials.  Whether they know it or not, overtime it begins to stick as they begin to see these advertisements repeatedly and sometimes just give in to the marketing scheme if not once several times a week.  According to Stat Crunch in collaboration with Pearson learning, the average college student spends more than 25 dollars a week.  Relatively low but that is just the average.  Whether this survey was accurate or not depending on the area, race, age, and gender results could vary.  With that being considered regardless of the diet, when it comes to actively exercising there should be no excuse. These lazy teenagers were in most cases not always lazy children.  Overtime, we begin to see more and more evidence which supports the recent increase we see in inactivity which could be the biggest contributor to obesity.

According to a source, approximately two in ten American youth ages 2-19 are considered overweight or obese. (Childhood Overweight and Obesity, 2011) Obesity is linked to other health issues such as heart disease, depression, hypertension, high cholesterol and type two diabetes. (Childhood Obesity, 2011).   Being unhealthy as a child could lead to not only serious physical and mental health problem, but also when they become adults. Children who suffer from obesity have a higher chance of becoming obese as adults according to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The majority of children fall victim to no after school supervision, quick access to fast food, and microwaveable dinners. As a result, children are not getting the proper nutrition needed for healthy growth. That’s why it’s so important for parents to watch what their children eat and make sure they’re getting proper nutrition and exercise.  If these two subjects are touched upon we would see healthier children for the most part. In most families more times than not, both parents work consistent shifts, which ultimately leaves the children home alone.  This is what parents argue.  They work so their children can eat.  Having to prepare food also makes their job as a parent seem impossible.  This is the responsibilities that come along with being a parent.  Being a parent means understanding your duties and raising your child to be as healthy as possible so they can pass off good health potentially to their kids in the future.  With so many electronic game systems (Xbox 360, PlayStation, etc.) and a huge amount of television propaganda is aimed at children and teenagers, millions of kids are sitting in front of the TV, eating snacks, and forgoing a healthy lifestyle.

It’s rare to see young people outside playing at parks or in their yards. Pokemon go was the closest thing we have seen to it for a near decade. Years ago, children chose outside activities such as hide-n-seek, basketball, and many other different games similar in content. Parents would call out their windows and front doors, telling their children that it was time to come inside for a home-cooked family dinner.  At least for me that was my experience of my adolescent days.  This day and age children come home to an empty house because their parents are still at work or on their way home so they’ll eat anything that doesn’t take too long.  Most of the time it’s just a meal they can grab and go without messing with their television time or homework.  For the children who begin to age and see more homework have a different experience compared to those of the younger generation who instead of doing homework or getting exercise, are sitting in front of the television playing a video game or in front of the computer doing the same thing on a consistent basis.

Until recent years, the food offered at schools have been somewhat healthy, now kids can buy candy and soda from vending machines offered in their schools.  Now it’s easier than ever to get a bag of skittles at school.  Most children when given the option of an apple would choose the more sugary treat or desert.  This is because of the way the media glorifies eating unhealthy.  This leads to more and more early sightings of health both physical and mental problems.

There are many health problems that come along with being obese that can turn out to be very serious. Children that are obese are at risk for cardiovascular diseases that include high blood pressure or high cholesterol. According to the CDC, 70% of obese youth were at risk for cardiovascular disease. Diabetes we see also has become more common. Type 2 diabetes is the most common because it is caused by poor diet. It is very likely caused by the 2 minute microwave meals following school. Type 2 can usually be reversed with healthy eating and exercise. Being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes can easily be prevented by just taking what we eat and how much we exercise into precaution.
Asthma is a problem that a child’s weight can interfere with and the growth of the lungs. A long term effect of childhood obesity is that it can last all the way through childhood and still be found as an issue in his/hers adulthood. Heart attacks and strokes also are seen as a risk if nothing was done to reverse the obesity over time. Health problems are a big concern, but a bigger concern comes with the psychological effects.

Low self-esteem in children today is extremely high, especially with the pressure of today’s society. Obese children suffer from low self-esteem, depression, and loneliness. Most obese children feel that they don’t fit in and are often fall victim to bullying whether it’s online or in person. We stress this perfect image and promote these godly features we see in celebrities. This ultimately lowers the confidence of someone who is or feels obese and then put them at higher risks to develop behaviors such as eating disorders and suicidal behavior.

Anorexia and Bulimia are strongly common in those who fall into the obese category.
Even children fall victim to physical and mental issues. The children are introduced to discrimination at a young age. Some studies showed that psychosocial consequences were more important to the children than the health effects. Obese children are still trying to discover who they are and all of the bullying and name calling that takes place can have a big impact on the way they feel about themselves.

This is the parent’s responsibility once again. It’s the parent’s job to make sure their kid grows up healthy and ultimately happy. There are many ways to prevent a child from becoming obese, like healthy eating and physical activity. Parents should provide their family with healthy food options and monitor the amount of sugary foods. If children only eat sweets every now and then, it truly will be a treat. Children and teens should participate in physical activities for at least 60 minutes a day. Schools also play a big part in preventing childhood obesity. Schools can provide healthy meals for lunch that provide nutrition education that encourages a healthy lifestyle. The parent’s and school should work together to inspire a healthy lifestyle. Working together for the ultimate goal has endless potential.

We see advertising for fast food everywhere no matter where we go and will not see any form of change until we do something to spark it. The media acknowledges children when coming out with new commercials.  They know the bigger impact they have been given over the most recent years as their parents are usually busy from the minute they get back from work to the minute they go to bed we are beginning to see family dinners more and more at restaurants and not at home.  The media glorifies McDonald’s fries and will continue to do so until society deems them not desirable anymore. The Obesity Society led by their corresponding author, Youfa Wang states, “On average, the prevalence of overweight and obesity has increased steadily among all US population groups over the past two to three decades.” Obesity does not have a preference on gender or race.

This may lead one to wonder “Will all Americans one day become overweight or obese?”  We can put an end or at least regress the spiraling upward trend of obesity in Americans, but it is going to take a revolution to do so.  For our children and future grandchildren we as a society must rise to take action in order to combat obesity and hope to see the number of people with the disease begin to regress and become a smaller issue than the increasing numbers we see occurring regularly.

Though some may argue they have little control or are not affected by this problem when push comes to shove we begin to all get affected.  So I’m proposing that when a child becomes obese there should be a form of punishment.  That punishment should be one that gives the parents the chance to seek guidance while learning to raise a healthier child.  If a parent fails to meet this requirement, the child should be taken into a controlled custody where the child can begin their rehabilitation as the parent takes some sort of class so they can better guide and suit their child.  Obesity should not be taken lightly as this is a disease that is just as dangerous as it leads to many more serious health problems.

Obesity may not affect you now, but over time as these numbers continue to rise and build momentum, it is only going to be when it is already much too late when we begin to do think about doing something about it.  Whether it is your friend, family, or complete stranger, encourage others to seek a more healthy lifestyle including exercising regularly and better eating habits. Cooking a planned meal instead of going out to eat may be more beneficial, but with healthier ingredients and less sodium and sugar. It’s time we emphasize more exercise and glorify those who battle obesity head on and seek positive change in themselves and their society.  We will begin to see stronger relationships being built amongst families and the rest of society as a whole.  Lets bring back family dinners and lets glorify physical education again.  This is the kind of change that can impact us positively in more ways than not.

 

Works Cited

Fogelholm, M., et al. “Parent-child relationship of physical activity patterns and obesity.” International journal of obesity 23 (1999): 1262-1268.

Lobstein, Tim, and Rachel Jackson-Leach. “Child overweight and obesity in the USA: prevalence rates according to IOTF definitions.” International Journal of Pediatric Obesity 2.1 (2007): 62-64.

Locard, Elisabeth, et al. “Risk factors of obesity in a five year old population. Parental versus environmental factors.” International journal of obesity and related metabolic disorders: journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity 16.10 (1992): 721-729.

Wang, Youfa, et al. “Will all Americans become overweight or obese? Estimating the progression and cost of the US obesity epidemic.” Obesity 16.10 (2008): 2323-2330.

Using the Internet to Aid in Female Liberation

              Women experience a wide variety of forms of oppression, whether it be the wage-gap or the glass ceiling, there are many forces working against a woman’s complete freedom. One of these restrictions of a woman’s capability to make her own decisions comes in the form of sexual repression. Sexual desires are common in both sexes, but only acceptable for one, men. Men are able to be sexually promiscuous without fear of being cast out socially for their “scandalous” behavior, women do not enjoy this freedom. Men and women can both be sexually repressed from their true desires, but most women cannot even partake in a casual sexual relationship without facing scrutiny. A first step to sexual liberation, would be the acceptance of alternatives to monogamy.The internet is an amazing resource, it brings people together from all walks of life. Women can access the internet and see an array of opportunity other than the socially accepted norm.  That means that partaking in blogs, Reddit forums, Facebook posts, putting pictures on Instagram, all have a consequence; they open up society’s eyes to different types of lifestyles. In addition, the existence of well informed and credible websites can provide answers for men and women thinking about sex, sexuality, and relationships. The use of the internet (including social media and dating apps) helps to  inform on sex and sexuality and thereby lead to the destruction of female oppression through education and acceptance .

       Women are typically made to feel ashamed about having sex, while men are championed for their incredible virility. Speculations about the origins of these feelings of shame and guilt range from the cultural family dynamic to the very evolution of human beings. One theory dictates that the way society evolved in its early phases is a leading factor in the existence of the patriarchy. For instance, Sam Richards and Paul Saba attribute man’s transition from hunter-gatherer to agricultural communities as the roots to female oppression (and as an extension, sexual oppression). Explaining that as women stayed within the villages to tend to the children, because at this time the only way to feed them was through breast-milk, the men were able to assume the role as an overall provider. Slowly, villages began to depend on the men for skills that women were unable to harness because their free-time was occupied with raising a family. According to Laurel Limpus’s piece, “Liberation of Women: Sexual Repression and the Family,” the success of the patriarchy is attributed to the fact that men are able to go out and create their own worlds; acquiring wives and giving them children. Women do not acquire their own world, they get acquired by men and raise children. Limpus directly states,”Within the present social context, however, it is still true that men are trained to go out, work, shape their own lives; and that women are not, and that thus, even within the context of their alienating nature of work, they have often more opportunities to satisfy their needs for creativity than do women.” It is this fact that leads to the sexual oppression of women: men are able to satisfy their needs for creativity and women cannot.

Oppression does not only exist within the realms of a household, it is ever reaching in all aspects of life and society. Nothing is as far reaching and expansive as the internet, a sea of web pages and commentary about anything and everything. One of those topics being the sexual prowess of women. There is a multitude of resources available to internet users, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Reddit are just a few of the most prevalent. Through these sources women can have honest discussions and formulate a collective voice in a way never seen before. Caroline Haythornthwaite sums up the connectivity of the internet when she says, “The Internet is a technical means of connecting people. It provides an easy way for individuals as well as groups and organizations to adopt peer-to-peer communication.” The oppression of women can persist on the internet, however, discussions of sex, sexual expression, and sexual freedom are also coming into the arena. These discussions are the positive results of the connectivity of the internet and continue to be grow. Websites like positivesexuality.org, (which belongs to the Center for Positive Sexuality), are a prime example of the opportunities for positive sex talk that the internet provides.

With all of this talk about connectivity and discussion, one is reminded of dating apps. Something designed specifically to bring people looking for romantic partnerships closer together. There is a positive relationship between dating app popularity and female sexual liberation, more of one means more of the other. Through the use of dating apps, women can find sexual partners that are not socially or romantically demanding. Dating apps are not to be confused with dating websites (i.e. Tinder vs. eHarmony), dating websites have been widely used for years now, they do not have the same effect. Dating websites perpetuate monogamy, and the construct that a woman cannot have sex and be single and somehow be happy. Pantea Farvid and Virginia Baum’s view on monogamy and happiness includes ” The prominence placed on life-long heterosexual unions (and romantic love) is socially and culturally produced but ‘naturalised’ within the institution of heterosexuality (Rich, 1980) and heavily tied to notions of ‘happiness’. ” Farvid and Baum argue that monogamy and long term committed relationships are the goal for most members of heterosexual society. This argument is further cemented within a journal entry called “‘Good Girls’: Gender, Social Class, and Slut Discourse on Campus” provided by the American Sociological Society, which states “Although young men are expected to desire and pursue sex regardless of relational and emotional context, young women are permitted sexual activity only when in committed relationships and ‘‘in love’’ (Crawford and Popp 2003; Hamilton and Armstrong 2009; Schalet 2011; Bell 2013)”  One way to combat this restrictive ideal, is to normalize other behaviors. This is done through practice, taking casual sex out of the obscure and showing that it is something even the average woman might want is one way to do that. Hookup apps such as Tinder make acquiring a casual sex partner very easy, and the convenience of it is very enticing for its users. Also, the pop culture support of the app is encouraging for women considering a casual sexual relationship.

It is the silence about sex and sexual freedoms that allows for things like female oppression, and by extension, slut-shaming to continue.These are limiting factors in a woman’s social arena that would prevent her from making independent choices revolving around their sexual conduct. Slut shaming is harassment that targets a woman’s sexual practices and even appearance, it is an offshoot of sexual oppression because it limits a woman’s capability to be free in her sexual decision making. Once again in reference to “”Good Girls”: Gender, Social Class, and Slut Discourse on Campus”, it is mentioned that slut-shaming is the fallout to stepping out of the accepted norm for sexual behavior among women (as in, anything other than a committed romantic partnership.) The threat of being slut-shamed hangs over every decision a woman will make, because it can not only affect their social lives but also their professional-good-name. Women will continue to partake in monogamous relationships and not dare to partake in any alternatives; no matter if they are better suited for the individual or not. Laurel Limpus states

Many young girls, who feel only revulsion when they think they should feel ecstasy, react with immense relief when they are told that this is a quite common experience. Since of course this is not the kind of problem one ordinarily talks about, they did not know that anyone else had been through this, and they had thought that they were monsters.

Which basically solidifies the idea that women and girls are taught to be very coy about sex, and when they learn that they can actually be outward sexual people, it comes as a surprise and a relief. Limpus also touches on the fact that it is not “the kind of problem one ordinarily talks about,” the internet is there to make this, the kind of problem that is  normally talked about. Online forums can offer confidential or anonymous opportunities to have these frank discussions that otherwise would not occur, and girls do not have to suffer alone anymore. Through internet posts that show normalized alternatives to monogamy, women can discuss and interpret their options and choose to be involved in the type of relationships they really want, not just what is accepted presently (monogamy).

As stated previously, the internet is an outlet for conversations about sex and sexuality. That means more than just users talking about sex, it might mean educating about sex. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, only 20  states within the U.S. require sex-education to be factually accurate, and only 24 states and the District of Columbia require public schools to teach sex-education at all. Even within these public school sex-education classes lessons cover “safe-sex” to prevent pregnancy and the acquisition of STDs, and not much else. While these topics are important to teach to high school students, there are other aspects of sex that can be taught to high-schoolers. Lessons surrounding sex positivity, sex and gender identity, qualifications for consensual sex, and much more, can be very beneficial for young adults that are beginning to explore the sexual realm. Thankfully, the internet is there to pick up where the board of education leaves off. There is a disclaimer, not everything found on the internet is true; but finding credible sources to give factual answers is not difficult, and there is nothing wrong with looking for suggestions and advice from online forums. Ignorance to sex and sex positivity is a causal factor in the sexual oppression of women. The internet helps to educate users on more complex levels of sex and sexuality, and this helps to further the sexual liberation of women. An article written by Point of View India covers the idea of using the internet as an outlet for getting advice, “One woman interviewed for a research study undertaken by EROTICS India says, ‘There is no support system (in cities) that women have, and they are often all alone, without advice, and wanting some validation that what they are doing [raising children] is okay or that their experience is shared by others also.’” The women discussed in this article use the internet as a sort of community to discuss and share advice that they would otherwise not have access to.

Social media and the internet is full of monogamy; internet shows, advertisements, and other media sources all mostly still portray monogamy as the norm.This is because monogamy is the default relationship for many people, and it can be very satisfying emotionally, sexually, and romantically. This is all true, but the growing presence of alternative modes of sexual expression carry a lot of impact despite their small percentage.  Their media presence is integral in society’s interpretation of women and even in women’s interpretation of women and their sexual behavior. Consider a woman who never enjoyed the confines of being in a committed relationship. She might be reading an open letter published online written by a successful business woman, who has a good relationship with her family, is happy and stable, but lo and behold; she is single. Not only is she single, she is not ashamed to discuss her preference for casual relationships with romantic partners as opposed to a committed one. She can focus on work, or her  friends, or literally anything she wants. The woman reading this open letter at home is inspired to live the life she wants, after all she can still be happy and successful if she does. This type of representation is becoming more and more common through the internet, and has an immense effect upon society.

Previously, as in, before the internet existed, media sources included television, cinema, radio and newspapers. The Hays Code (Motion Picture Production Code) limited the amount of sexual content for movies, and Brian McNair points out one if its regulations within his lecture on Sex and the Cinema “Pictures shall not infer that low forms of sex relationship are the accepted or common thing.” This component of the Hays Code goes directly against all progress of modern day internet discussion and inclusion. However, the sexual liberation of the 1960’s forced the code to be abolished in 1966. Tv and radio were  not far off on their restrictions of sexual content.Michael O’Malley of George Mason University describes how the Federal Communications Commission or FCC was in charge of making sure that productions were kept modest and decent. Now in the age of the internet, boundaries over censorship and “appropriateness” for tv, movies, and radio, continue to be pushed. The internet, is unique, its vast expanses make it virtually impossible to censor completely. In countries with freedom of speech and press, the internet cannot be censored by a government entity, or any entity for that matter. Websites can be moderated for appropriateness, but that is the extent of censorship within the bounds of the internet. Controlling content that is published on the internet is very hard, anyone can set up a website and start posting. Celebrity nude photo leakages, website hacking, the Hillary-Clinton-Email-Scandal, are all examples of the instability of the internet and its defense against censorship.

Clearly, the effects of society’s constructs upon the sexual preferences of women is heavy enough to create the dependence we see upon monogamy. Fear of being slut-shamed and a desire for acceptance fuels the fire of sexual repression among women. That being said, the existence of the internet is helping to lessen the effects, and even change society’s ideals surrounding female sexual behaviors (and by extension sexual preferences in general.) Being sex positive means that one agrees that all enjoyable, consensual sex, is inherently a positive thing, regardless of kink or fetish. As long as the partaking individuals are participating out of their own free-will, then there should be no shame purported onto the sexual act. Taking steps to normalize casual sex in women will no doubt have a direct affect upon sex positivity. If women can be accepted for their desires to be involved in a no strings attached sexual relationship, then that is one more activity that will be spared from shame, which will lead to the growth of sex positive movements.

Sexual relationships have been the victims of guilt, shame, and also innate curiosity for centuries. Yet, the internet was not present throughout this entire time period. The internet is a relatively new invention, and its wide-spread use is an even newer phenomena. The growth of the popularity and access to computers or other internet accessing devices should not be ignored when it comes to this discussion surrounding sexual acceptance. According to the Pew Research center, American internet usage has gone up to 84% in 2015, compared to 68% ten years prior and at 54% in the year 2000. The World Bank estimates that there is an approximate 36% increase globally of internet usage from 1990 to 2015. All of these juicy statistics mean one thing for this discussion, more people are able to use the internet. With more internet traffic that means more people are asking questions, giving advice, and learning a thing or two about, yes, the sex. Areas that had little to offer along the lines of sex education or conversations about feminism and progressive movements, now have online forums to fill the void. Better yet, the growth of internet accessibility is not over, the technological innovation is sprawling all over the globe.

All in all, it is clear that the internet is a persuasive tool in the connection of the people of Earth, also, as human beings if there is one thing we are curious about, it is sex. Put the two together and one has an unstoppable force, capable of many powerful things. It is not all rose-tinted sex positive forums for confused teenage girls or worried house-wives though, there is still harassment and intimidation occurring on the internet. All that aside, the increasing ranks of sex positive internet users is helping to tear down these dangerous habits of internet users. The increasing amounts of sexually-versed individuals as a result of the educational services provided by the internet, results in abolishing female sexual repression because of higher levels of acceptance. People cannot change unless they are taught that current ideals are harmful and limiting others, in this case, it is women. To some, inferring that there is something wrong with a woman because she is in her early forties, and still serial dating, seems like commonplace. The fact is, there is nothing wrong with a woman who cannot or will not nail a man for good, she is living her life and trying her best to be happy and successful. Worrying about the opinions of the neighbors can become quite tiresome and the pioneer women that step out and are not afraid to publicize their lifestyles through the internet are encouraging other women who feel the constraint of oppression over their social lives, to do the same.

Works Cited

“ABOUT US.” Center for Positive Sexuality. N.p., n.d. Web.

Armstrong, Elizabeth A., Laura T. Hamilton, ELizabeth M. Armstrong, and J. Lotus Seeley. “‘‘Good Girls’’: Gender, Social Class, and Slut Discourse on Campus.” Sage Journals. American Sociological Association, 2014. Web.

Farvid, Pantea, and Virginia Baum. “Casual Sex as ‘not a Natural Act’ and Other Regimes of Truth about Heterosexuality.” Sage Journals. Feminism & Psychology. N.p., 18 Apr. 2013. Web.

Haythornthwaite, Caroline. “Social Networks and Internet Connectivity Effects.” N.p., June 2005. Web.

“Internet Users (per 100 People).” The World Bank. N.p., n.d. Web.

Limpus, Laurel. “Liberation of Women: Sexual Repression and the Family.” Laurel Limpus-Liberation of Women. N.p., Aug. 2002. Web.

McNair, Brian. “Sex and the Cinema.” University of Strathclyde. Lecture.

O’Malley, Michael. “” Exploring U.S. History | Regulating Television.” History 120. N.p., Apr. 2004. Web.

Perrin, Andrew, and Maeve Duggan. “Americans’ Internet Access:2000-2015.” Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. N.p., 26 June 2015. Web.

POV India. “”Women, Sexuality and the Internet.” .” Point of View, 26 Mar. 2013. Web.

Richards, Sam, and Paul Saba. “Basis of Women’s Oppression.” Basis of Women’s Oppression. N.p., 1990. Web.

“”State Policies on Sex Education in Schools.”” National Conference of State Legislatures. N.p., 16 Feb. 2016. Web.

 

The People v. Esports

Esports, the ever growing new found sport of competitive gaming that is surrounded by controversy. A sport that is denied the credibility to be a sport by society outside of the primary fan-base. It can very well be considered a sport and is on the track to becoming one. But many are just not willing to give up the stereotype that video gaming holds in society. Which is why proving its credibility to be on par with say basketball or football is so important to the community that supports competitive gaming. Its about breaking those stereotypes created by the media that have been forced on gamers for so long and molding a new beginning to the world of professional sports.

Competitive gaming or eSports without a doubt is emerging into the professional sports outlet. So much that it can easily compete with other big brand sports like Baseball and Football viewership wise.It has even been predicted to overtake the NHL in viewership by 2018 according to ESPN in an article by Ben Casselman. Esports has been on the rise in North America for the past 4 – 5 years, with constant growing spectator counts and even now an entrance into some cable television networks, networks like ESPN and TBS both feature eSports on their platforms and with the growth of spectators at these major eSport events “Resistance is Futile” (Casselman) and would hinder growth.

An on looker from the outside of this very large community may believe that this is a brand new trend. But when compared to the rest of the world such as Europe and Asia we see that this trend or as many supporters may say, new found sport, has been around since the early 2000’s. Countries like South Korea have an outstanding communal following to the sport. They’ve had several broadcast stations dedicated to gaming tournaments and events.

At the same time the public population within these countries respect the image of the players behind the sport of competitive gaming. These foreign populations have such a different perspective on the matter. They respect these players and competitions to the same level of professional chess players and some eSport athletes are regarded to be at the same status of fame to their Olympic athletes.

You then turn your sights over to the Americas and there’s this sudden drop of respect. How is it that after almost 16 years of success in Europe and Asia competitive Gaming is finally scratching the surface of mainstream media in the states. Even with its growing popularity in NA it still seems difficult for the population to garner that respect needed to help flourish the game

An example viewpoint of one demographic learning about eSports for the first time. This evidence comes from the HBO documentary show, Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel. On this episode they reported on the growing spectacle of eSports and how young gamers are becoming millionaires off of playing video games, and that there is this new breed of cyber athlete. At the end of every episode they hold a short round table discussing the topics presented during the show. The reporter who lead the piece was at this round table as well as her other colleagues debating the fact of whether or not competitive gaming could be considered a sport or not. The lead reporter supported competitive gaming and truly believed it could be a sport, but then her colleague rebuttal-ed with a statement that shocked me, she went on to say “My issue with this is, its still not a sport its a game it just cant be a sport they are playing video games.”

The key word in her statement that turns heads is “game”. Just thinking logically for a minute, what exactly are basketball players or baseball players playing? Is she saying that all sports are not games and are only recognized as sports? Is running around a court passing a ball to teammates not a game? The ignorance is very prominent within some older generations, that said everyone at this round-table was above the age of 40, which is understandable since this is a very new and meta activity that is surrounded by younger generations. As this round-table conversation progressed a question was then asked “Do you have the statistics of how many of the eSport spectators have attended Star Trek conventions?” in response one replied “I’m sure there is a fair amount of overlap.” It’s the misinterpretation and prejudgments that competitive gaming and just gaming in general receives from the public that enrages this community and hinders its growth. The more validation the fans of eSports receive the more this new found sport can grow viewership wise and fan base wise.

Media outlets like CBS, HBO (previously exampled) and TMZ in the past all have incorrectly defined or disrespected the sport of competitive gaming and have also given it a image that they believe fits their agendas. Another example of one of these instances comes from none other than TMZ. TMZ goes to the extent of writing a very ignorant and biased statement in the description portions of one of their YouTube videos titled: Rick Fox – eSport jocks are Just like NBA Players…Real athletes “Question — What do pimply-faced geeks who play video games all day have in common with the 6’8″ demigods who roam NBA courts on a nightly basis???” In this video they interview Rick Fox owner of Echo Fox (eSport Franchise). He was also a former NBA star for the Boston Celtics and LA Lakers. And instead of being serious about the interview and showing the public that they can be open minded they mock Rick Fox and basically say “hey everyone its cool to make fun of people who play video games.”

Now it’s fair to assume that TMZ learned their lesson after the backlash they received from the eSport community for writing something like that. Well in less than a month TMZ uploads another interview with the same person, Rick Fox, and instead of fixing their mistakes they just repeat the cycle. The next video TMZ uploads titled: Rick Fox- eSports Will Overtake NHL In 2 Years!! | TMZ Sports goes onto writing “Beware NHL fans … Rick Fox says your sport will be overtaken … by nerds … ’cause the “League of Legends” team owner thinks eSports is primed to take hockey’s place as the fourth major sport in the U.S. in just TWO YEARS!” For a news/media outlet to set specific physical standards for sports players and to doubt the growth of something that is very much on its way to becoming a major mainstream outlet, just goes to show how ignorant really anybody can be but also opens eyes to who is at the front of our news world. Can this trend end? will the image that society gives videogame playing ever change? If our media cannot accept this new outlet then the casual viewer will have no desire to follow eSports or learn about it.This constant cycle of assumptions and misjudgments that the eSport community receives just doesn’t end.

This then brings me to the point of, what makes sports so valuable in the first place? What effects do sports have on our society? Well one can say that sports are here for exercise and is a great means to keep a healthy body and mind, which is true, But what really makes it valuable is its social aspect. Sporting events bring thousands of people of all cultures together all at once. There are stadiums that can hold thousands of people, and are dedicated to sporting events in major cities.When there is an important match with great teams these stadiums sell out. Of course this isn’t breaking news, this has been going on for hundreds of years.

Millions of families all around the world dedicate the time to sit down with their family and friends at home to watch a major sporting event on T.V. People around the world buy merchandise to represent their home teams or players. Schools around the world have their own sports programs so that students can figure out their potential in the world of professional sports. Sports creates communities. Communities of people that are passionate and engaged, communities that will do anything to support their brand of choice.

Community and fan base is everything when it comes to sports. A fanbase is what can make or break it. And of course other than a fan-base professionalism and extreme consistency in the skill of the athletes are other factors that can help in its success.

Having an activity that our whole world can take part in is something really special. But if an entire culture is going to misinterpret the underlying definition of what a sport really is and what it adds to society then eSports may stay stagnant.

When and how exactly did North American culture turn these fun games of basketball and football into professionally branded sports? Well, soon after the creation of these sports back in the late 1800’s, the creation of leagues rose and opened up the gates to the world of professional sports. With their own rules and regulations they could turn a fun game to play and pass time, to something that can be considered a career, grant fame, fortune and set a standard of living that is now portrayed as the perfect life to regular society.

Esports just like professional sports started with its creation of leagues. Leagues that go by the name of Electronic Sports League (ESL) and League of Legends Championship Series (LCS). These are just two of the larger brand leagues that come along with their own rules and regulations. Which is no different from how the NBA or the NFL originated. Which is just another hint thrown at eSports of how big it is becoming.

What makes basketball and football so popular in North America is its ability to create rivalries between fans and players stemming off of the fact that each team represents a state or city. Which then causes an increase in enthusiasm and support for teams. Esports on the other hand is on the international level of fan bases. Where organisations can represent multiple countries rather than just national states. Even though there is that slight difference eSports can also still hold that same effect where fans create rivalries and support their countries of choice. Wherever there may be competition lies the public to decide who they want to support or favor.

Some questions may be popping up as to how eSports is so accessible to the public since it is gaining so much popularity? Well as presented earlier eSports has been just recently scratching the surface of live television and are being presented on channels like TBS and ESPN. But What really kindled the fire to the growth of competitive gaming is live streaming. What started it all for the eSports scene is a website called Twitch. Twitch allows anybody from anywhere to broadcast a game of their choosing over the internet to anybody tuning in around the world.

After some time those leagues that were discussed, ESL and LCS, caught on to the huge trend that is Twitch. So what better idea than to create official channels for their league and broadcast these professional matches to the ever expanding gaming community. Well it worked, now some of the biggest eSport tournaments are broadcast-ed on Twitch. With some of these tournaments breaking millions of concurrent viewers.

At the same time these leagues are being slowed down by the public image, and is stopping them from expanding or becoming part of more cable television channels. Society has had a set image on video games for a long time now and North American media has played a major role in the creation of that image. But blaming people for not understanding or accepting something they have been taught to hate is counterintuitive.

Now getting into the grit and details of competitive gaming. Esports is known around the world by millions of gamers. Whatever favorite video game one may have possibly lies a competitive eSport scene underneath it. Some of the largest brand competitive games out now are Dota 2, League of Legends and Counter Strike: Global Offensive. Each consisting of 5 vs 5 player matches where teams have to communicate, use tactics and quick reaction times to defeat the opposing team. Those leagues that were previously discussed (ESL, LCS) represent these games stated. LCS is an exclusive league for league of Legends and ESL has events across all three of these games.

League of legends and Dota 2 are in the genre of a MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena). In these games each player has to choose a fighter from a roster of over 100 fighters. Each fighter has its own abilities. Players have to choose wisely as the character they choose may be the deciding factor to a loss or a win. These 5 vs 5 matches then start and it is a race to see who can destroy their opponent’s base first. Some games can last up to over an hour and some can be 30 minutes depending on how badly a team is losing. League of Legends and Dota 2 resemble strategy games that are viewed from a top down perspective.

The next game on the list is Counter Strike: Global Offensive or CSGO for short. CSGO is in the First person shooter genre of eSports similar to the ever popular Call of Duty but far from it. In this game there are no character choices, every player is on a level playing field. At the start of a match every player starts out with $800 of in game currency that they use to buy equipment or weapons. This is a round based game first to 16 rounds wins. Teams start out on either the counter terrorist side of the match (defense) or the terrorist side (offense). The terrorist objective is to successfully kill all counter terrorists or successfully plant and detonate a bomb in one of two spots on the map. The bomb is given to the terrorist team at the beginning of each round. The counter terrorists objective is to either kill all terrorists or defuse the planted bomb. Each round can last up to 2 minutes or even miraculously 15 seconds. A point is then given to the team that successfully completes their objective and again first to 16 points wins.

All whilst the game is going on both teams have to manage and properly use the economy system that is given to them. Winning rounds earns a team a certain amount of in game money. Losing rounds earn a team a certain amount of money, killing enemies earns players a certain amount of money. So not only are players trying to execute certain positional strategies onto their opponents but are also forced to keep track of their economy and understand when they can buy equipment and when they cannot afford to buy the necessary equipment for the round.

Even on top of that a player must be able to keep calm whilst under heavy pressure, have precision accuracy with a mouse and keyboard and have the ability to stay focused and keep that constant communication going with teammates. eSports are no joke and the skill level just keeps increasing. After reading this information hopefully one can make the observation that maybe it does belong in the sports mainstream

A concept that gets lost in translation when explaining eSports to someone is the skill level required to become a professional player in eSports. An example skill needed is consistency. It can span from having consistent and fresh strategies used in game to having consistent mouse or controller accuracy in game. these are skills that one absolutely needs to become apart of the top. These matches last a long time and after a long period of time a player can become fatigued, which can cause minuscule inconsistencies that can cost the outcome of a match.

Yes millions of people can play these games competitively/recreationaly  and one can assume they are far above average but there is much more to becoming a pro than just having individual skill. After watching a video on the pro CSGO team “Cloud9″ giving tips on how to quickly get into the professional scene, one of them summed it up nicely” if you are just starting to play video games in general, then it will take a longtime, by a longtime I mean up to 4 years. if you already have a background of playing similar games to the game you want to go pro in then it can take up to 2 years or even shorter. It isn’t easy for new players to just suddenly go pro”. These pro players are within the top 1% of the games population just randomly hopping on and being the best player in a casual match doesnt mean yo can go pro. Teams recruit players who do have that skill but also have the right mindset for team play. Teams designate roles to their teammates and if a team is recruiting, they will look for somebody who can fit that role and can mesh well with the team.

Another concept that gets misinterpreted with people from outside of this world, is that not every competitive video game is set up like these three games explained. Each video game is like its own sport. So one can make the comparison that CSGO is football, League of legends is basketball and Dota 2 is professional swimming. These are not literal comparisons. it is just a means of expressing that there are multiple sports within eSports. that each has their own rule sets, own game mechanics and in game features that make them different from each other.

Moving onto the glaring elephant in the room. How can eSports possibly be considered a sport? The obvious argument that people have held against it is its lack of physical exertion. Which is true there is not as much physical endurance needed to compete in eSports. First lets look at other well known sports. What about bowling? Yes in bowling you need to put strength behind the bowling ball when sending it down lane. But at the end of the day its not about the physical strength it’s more about technique and keeping that technique consistent.

Then look at poker another known sport that requires no physical exertion, A sport that to some do not consider to be a sport. But in fact they would be wrong, in actuality Poker has been officially accepted as a mind sport by the International Mind Sports Association back in 2010. We now have discovered that there can and are categories of sports separating the physical ones from the less physical and more brain powered ones.

Obviously attempting to credit eSports as a physically demanding sport would not be logical. Yes the physical sports and eSports hold their similarities rule-set wise, but it cannot be placed into the physical sport category. Like poker or chess it should be placed into the mind sport category where it is still considered a sport and can hold that same social value that poker and chess has in society. Because right now the current state of eSports with the public results to ignorant laughter and mockery.

Society needs to learn and understand that there are categories of sport ranging from physical to non physical sports. Until the awareness of this is brought top light eSports may never be considered a sport. But with every challenge comes hope and there is a strong chance that one day eSports will be officially accepted as a sport by not only associations but society and maybe one day families will gather around televisions across the globe to sit down and watch a grand final game of eSports.

Works Cited

Befon. “Cloud9 CSGO: Tips for New Players & Becoming Pro.” YouTube. YouTube, 04 Aug. 2015. Web. 07 Dec. 2016

Casselman, Ben. “Resistance Is Futile: ESports Is the Future.” ESPN.com. N.p., 22 May 2015. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.

HBOsports. “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel: ESports Discussion (HBO Sports).” YouTube. YouTube, 13 Dec. 2013. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.

Staff, TMZ. “Rick Fox: ESports Jocks Are Just Like NBA Players … Real Athletes.” TMZ. N.p., 29 June 2016. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.

TMZSports. “Rick Fox- ESports Will Overtake NHL In 2 Years!! | TMZ Sports.” YouTube. YouTube, 21 Mar. 2016. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.

 

 

Athletes’ Life Long Struggle

Proper practice and training leads to a healthier athlete with less chance of injury.  It is much more common for an athlete to get injured then someone who is not an athlete.  There are different injuries that can happen to an athlete that sometimes may end their careers.  A common injury that happens frequently in the sport of baseball would be the tearing of the UCL in the elbow which usually requires surgery. The thing is these are not the only injuries that happen to people.  A non-athlete can get injured as well but with a lesser chance.  When an injury happens, a main focus is the success rate of the athlete returning back to their prior selves.  There are different types of injuries that happen in each sport.  Would you be amused if you knew that a surgery before the injury even happens makes the athlete stronger?

Comparing football and baseball injuries, we conclude that they both do happen but they are strangely different type of injuries.  In sports, we realize basic things right away.  In football, players don’t use their arms like a quarterback and when it comes to baseball, every single player on the team uses their arm every play.  Knowing this, one can come up with the idea that baseball is usually filled with arm injuries whereas football usually has more lower half of the body injuries.  Either way, both sports have their own injuries that are well known to people all around.  Sometimes it is sad to say but also true, that when watching football, we see someone running and make a cut move and all of a sudden fall, we can tell that they may have injured something in their leg.  When watching baseball, zeroing into the pitcher throwing, we may see them grab their arm, which most likely means they have hurt it.  From this, we know that each sport has their own unique injury.

Examples of injuries in both sports that are very common are a torn UCL in baseball and a torn ACL in football.  We find that they are the some of the longest recovery times post operation in all sports.  The time that happens after surgery from an injury is called post operation.  During this time an athlete rehabs and rests to let the body try to get back to full strength.  There are all different time lengths for all different types of injuries, but some people may say that there is a surgery that not only makes athletes come back to their prior self, but come back even stronger and amplify the game that they play.  Well this one surgery can happen and sometimes even be performed before the injury even happens.  For example, “Tommy John” surgery usually leaves an athlete out of commission for at least 9 months as to if someone in football gets surgery on something as much as a torn meniscus can have them out for as short of a time at 6 weeks.  After a person gets injured, their body has to start to go through the healing process to make them strong again.  Each persons body are all different and can heal fast or some can take longer then others so nothing is ever set in stone.  Different rehab programs will make an athlete come back faster then others but also could cause a long term problem.

An example of this is a meniscus injury.  We can get two different types of surgery in which one is called a meniscectomy where they take the damaged part of the meniscus out of our knee and the other is a full meniscus repair in which they connect it back together and let it heal.  These can be two very different and time-consuming surgeries.  An article from Webmd.com states that “you can return to heavy work or sports anywhere from 4-6 weeks if you have it removed.  They also state that if having it repaired, you will be back to these same activities in 3-6 months.”  We usually see athletes getting it removed to return more quickly, but there is one problem behind this.  Getting the meniscus removed causes bone to bone contact in their knee which can give you arthritis in the future.

There are many leading causes behind sport injuries such as overuse, stops and twists, falls, improper equipment, new or increased activity, fatigue, unilateral movements, and technique and posture.  Being athletes, we need to be in the best shape of our lives and push our bodies harder than they should be pushed at some points which is why we get injured.  There are ways to prevent injuries but some things we can control.   We may even be injured by taking a wrong step.

Injuries do happen to athletes.  They are all different in different sports and there are different reasons why they do happen each time.  It’s never good when they do happen and it is sad to see but it is a part of being an athlete.  There are ways to prevent these from happening but not in all cases.  Injuries are all different, it is important to know how to make our bodies in the best shape for all different sports so that these injuries do not happen.  The athlete has to make sure that they eat, sleep and train correctly just to make sure they have a healthy body and make sure they have the lowest chance of being injured.

A strong example would be the NFL.  Many believe nowadays that the ratings of football are going down because of a new trend called Fantasy Football.  This is when fans are basically the General Manager of a team that draft players with other people.  During this, they rely on their players to get them points so that they can beat their opponent who also are relying on their players.  A bad thing that could happen inside of this app could be if one of their players gets injured or does something to jeopardize their season.  Not that this is the biggest thing to worry about but it is just another reason that we do not want to see anything bad happen to the players who train so hard to impress the people of the U.S.

The thing about sports is that they are never set in stone.  There are always going to be new challenges that players have to overcome and when they do, it’s a great day for everybody.  Along with the good achievements that athletes will be rewarded with, there will always be a chance that some of them get themselves into bad troubles.  Some of the bad things that happen to athletes are them doing stupid things outside of the field or as bad as injuries.  Besides the injuries, we sometimes see things as athletes doing drugs and getting suspended.  We’ve seen athletes go as far as domestic violence and in a case fairly recent, we saw one player was involved in a murder which put him in jail.  These are just things that people do because of mistakes or bad mind sets but we do not know what it is from.  Some may say they are under so much pressure that they crack and some may say they let the money get to their heads.  We try to forgive these athlete for these mistakes but one thing we can not always prevent are injuries.  Injuries are something that do not happen to only athletes but also to normal people in their everyday lives.  There can be bad injuries that happen to an athlete that can keep them away from their loved game for a while or they can have a small injury that some people can play through.  In both cases, there are ways to prevent the injuries and also, some ways to get back quicker during rehab.

We focus into one sport that is baseball and we can see that there is a very bad injury that happens to players all the time.  This injury is a tear of the UCL inside the elbow.  Usually to fix this, a doctor has to take a ligament from another part of the person and wrap it around the torn ligament inside of the elbow making the elbow stronger then it ever has been.  We hear this and we can think that no other surgery would have someone stronger then where they started.  The surgery came from a pitcher back in the day by the name of Tommy John who was the first to have this injury so it was based off him.

An article was wrote on the website of ESPN that gave some importance to the surgery itself.  While reading the article, i came across three bullets that marked the surgery trying to make people more aware of it.  The three things that this article said were:

1. Everyone has a successful outcome
2. The surgery improves performance. And perhaps the most troubling of all:
3. Young players should proactively seek Tommy John surgery to “prevent” a future problem and “enhance” performance

Looking at these three components, we can only think as to why we don’t have the kids get this operation done at a young age.  It is never going to happen.  Kids arms are precious when they are young and in an article in which a man quoted words of his own to the parents of young pitchers.  He says,”I want to encourage the families and parents that are out there that this is not normal to have a surgery at 14 and 15 years old. That they have time, that baseball is not a year-round sport. That they have an opportunity to be athletic and play other sports. Don’t let the institutions that are out there running before them guaranteeing scholarship dollars and signing bonuses that this is the way..”  Kids love to play, but the ways sports are going now, they are overdoing it and it’s leading to earlier injuries in the arm.

To conclude this, we need to know that playing sports is not something that every kid gets to do.  Some kids would love to play but just might not have the athletic ability or maybe something is wrong with them physically.  We need to know that at young ages, it’s more about having fun and learning to understand and get a better feel, not push the athlete over the top.  Kids need to learn how to love the game, not hate it because they are being pushed to hard.  Yes as they get older, if they still have what it takes, they will be pushed more and injuries become more common but there are ways we can stay away from injuries happening so early.

We want to stay away from these injuries when we are younger because it is never good moving forward that a child was injured young.  When kids are young, they need to be enjoying everything and as they grow older, they will start to realize what competition is and start to endure it.  For the youth time that they have, we don’t want them near injury because it is more so likely that down the road they will be accompanied by one.  In this day and age, being healthy for their entire career is one of the hardest things to do.  Think about the chances that an athlete has to be healthy for as long as they play.  It does not seem very likely even if doing everything they can in their power to keep their bodies healthy and limber.

As athletes move on with their careers, we realize that there are many injuries that they can come by.  Some can so much as end an athlete’s career while some have a smaller recovery time.  Knowing there are some that we can prevent but some that will just happen out of no where.  Obviously seeing an athlete get injured is terrible because it is what they live for and put their bodies out there day in and day out. Certain injuries are more popular in different sports.  Finding that there are many processes that we can choose to go through to get better in each case.  Many procedures such as surgery, physical therapy, or rest or icing.  All injuries differ in their own ways.  If we zero in to a certain sport like baseball, we’ll find one of the hardest injuries and something that happens to a lot of pitchers.  The injury is called Tommy John, or a UCL tear which is the ligament inside the elbow in which holds the arm together from the inside.  Many will strive to see the surgery be performed before the injury comes around. A lot of people think that the name Tommy John came from a doctor that performed the first surgery and not that it came from a pitcher in which had the injury first.  An article from fox sports points out a few good things inside.  They say “a lot of young players have become more reckless because they figure they can always get Tommy John surgery, but also fifteen percent of people lack the tendon that’€™s most commonly used to repair the damaged ligament.”  This means that kids are pitching their arms out when they are young without the fear of getting hurt because they think that they can just get the surgery but in some cases, they may not even have the ligament needed to perform the surgery.  Kids can not go out there thinking that it is ok to get hurt because they can just have it it fixed.  People don’t understand that we should never want to fix what is not broken and especially not on the human body.

Why would someone want to be operated on if they do not have an injury?  Nothing says that the injury is going to happen, but the way youth baseball is going, we can guess that it is more common.  Some studies show that getting the surgery brings pitchers back stronger then they ever were because the support in the elbow is so strong that it is basically adding another spring into the elbow which helps throw harder.  Many myths that people are told and believe which are stated in an article by Mike Reinold and they come in the following,”Everyone Returns From Tommy John Surgery, There are No Complications with Tommy John Surgery, Recovery From Tommy John Surgery is Quick and Easy, Velocity Improves After Tommy John Surgery, and All Tommy John Rehabilitation is the Same.” These 5 myths are common reasons why everyone thinks that it is ok to get hurt and get this surgery.  In some cases, people do say that the surgery should be performed before an injury is occurred.  Reasons why this is not a good idea include the following:

Surgery is always something to be afraid of because no one wants to be knocked out and cut open to fix something that is not necessary.  Surgery is not always safe, there are times when people get infections, sometimes nerve injuries can happen, and sometimes Chronic Regional Pain System.  This is something that usually happens to a limb after an injury is occurred where pain is always inflected.  That is a first reason why we should not be having the surgery done if there is no reason to.  Number two, if an athlete is on their way and doing great just the way they are, why would we change that?  There is a saying that goes by, “Don’t fix what’s not broken.”    No reason to put athletes in danger of these problems for no reason.

Like said, injuries to athletes are always terrible to hear and we never want to see that happen to anyone.  If we bring up this argument on whether or not we should put pitchers through the surgery before they have the chance to get injured.  People will more or likely respond with no.  It just doesn’t make sense.  Yes the recovery rate is very high and it makes pitchers strong but we should shouldn’t change what is already working.  In a sense, we can think it is cheating.  Of course if a pitcher gets hurt who was doing great then we will have to get the operation done so they can come back to their old selfs or maybe even stronger.

Athletes go through so much in their lives that when a career ending event happens, it’s almost as if their whole world and life has ended.  Athletes live for what they do and they love every second of it.  A quote from a great motivation video for all athletes states one thing in which is, ” when you want to be succeed as much as you want to breathe, thats when you’ll be successful.”  This goes to show that we have to have a passion for something as bad as we want to stay alive so that day in and day out, we work as hard as we possibly can to reach the top and say we did it at the end of the day.  It goes to show that we all need to respect the athletes between their highs and lows because no one besides them really knows how hard it really is.

Work Cited

Walden, Mike. “Baseball Injuries.” Baseball Injuries. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.

Ratini, Melinda. “Tommy John Surgery (UCL Reconstruction) and Recovery.” WebMD. WebMD, 11 Feb. 2014. Web. 30 Oct. 2016. http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/tommy-john-surgery-ucl-reconstruction#1

@michaelgleibermd. “Common NFL Injuries & Unrealistic Recovery Expectations – Michael A. Gleiber, MD.” Michael A. Gleiber, MD. N.p., 10 Feb. 2015. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.  https://michaelgleibermd.com/news/common-nfl-injuries-unrealistic-recovery-expectations/

Mair, Kathy. “Top Ten Causes of Sport Injuries.” LIVESTRONG.COM. LIVESTRONG.COM, 07 Feb. 2014. Web. 30 Oct. 2016. http://www.livestrong.com/article/526375-top-ten-causes-of-sport-injuries/

By the Time a Pitcher Arrives in Professional Baseball, the Wear and Tear on His Elbow Might Be Significantly Greater than It Once Was, Making Him More at Risk for Tommy John Surgery Early in His Career — and Consequently, More at Risk of Needing a Revis. “What We’ve Missed about Tommy John Surgery.” ESPN.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2016. http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/12648769/what-missed-tommy-john-surgery

“John Smoltz Warns Young Players about Tommy John Surgery in Hall of Fame Acceptance Speech.” USA Today. Gannett, n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2016. http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/07/john-smoltz-warns-young-players-about-tommy-john-surgery-in-hall-of-fame-acceptance-speech

Miller, Sam. “Why Pitchers Will Always Have Tommy John Surgery.” ESPN.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.  http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/12842678/why-tommy-john-surgeries-cease-soon

“What Can Go Wrong.” In Surgery with Dr. Chris Chiodo. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.  http://www.drchiodo.com/Pages/surgery/04_cangowrong.php

Smiley, Brett. “12 Things You Probably Didn’t Know about Tommy John Surgery.” FOX Sports. N.p., 25 June 2014. Web. 06 Dec. 2016.  http://www.foxsports.com/buzzer/story/tommy-john-surgery-facts-baseball-062514

https://www.facebook.com/mikereinold.pt. “5 Myths of Tommy John Surgery – Mike Reinold.” Mike Reinold. N.p., 26 Jan. 2014. Web. 06 Dec. 2016.  http://www.mikereinold.com/5-myths-tommy-john-surgery/