It's OK To Be Gay

On August 22, LA Times reported about Mitt Romney directing his campaign in order to bend the Republican party's idea that there should be no homosexuals serving in the army. During the 2008 elections the Republican party commented on this subject; “the incompatibility of homosexuality with military service” was mentioned, which was also followed by; “protect our servicemen and women” and “the benefits of traditional military culture.” If this comment made me mad, I wonder how infuriated actual homosexuals were. The republicans mentioned our servicemen and women by stating that they are in "danger" from homosexuals, as if homosexuality is a disease that threatens others. It is actually quite funny how our government refuses the help of homosexuals in the army, but are dying to draft other people. Homosexuals are NOT a different species. They are human too, just like the rest of us. If the government needs those volunteers to serve in the army then why refuse the help of certain people just because of the gender they are attracted to? This year, the Republican party did not comment on homosexuality yet, thanks to Romney. They also did not mention the fact that Obama had dropped the "don't ask don't tell" policy. This policy stated that the gays that were serving in the army should not talk about or ever mention that they were gay. That is like telling a person to not mention their own ethnicity. They try to shove down and hide the fact that there are people who are gay, but things are slowly changing. Who knows? Maybe gay marriage will be accepted all over America. Or maybe all over the world.


http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-romneys-gop-drops-cuba-gays-in-the-military-from-platform-20120820,0,4730203.story

"Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King Jr.

The "Letter from Birmingham Jail" was an essay written by Martin Luther King and was not intended to be published. The purpose of the essay was to respond to the comments of the clergymen that had written about Martin Luther King's actions. King had read the newspaper in jail and had decided to reply back but had no paper in his cell. He chose to write on the only thing provided to him; the newspaper with the clergymen's article. King was so determined to respond back to them, that he mailed them their newspaper with a full essay written on every blank space possible on a newspaper. The audience for this essay was the clergymen. King was hurt and a little angry with what the clergymen had to say. The clergymen thought that King was wrong to protest nonviolently and they wanted to start killing and battering the whites just as the whites had done to them. But none of their words were heard by King. Martin Luther King still believed that by not harming anyone, he was proving to the whites that they could be just as good as them without being as violent and destructive as them. Even though King had every right to be angry and disrespectful in the essay, his tone was very diplomatic and civil. King showed everyone just how educated and calm he was. He never dropped down to anyone's level but still never considered himself to be better than anyone. King wrote the way he did so that people would take him seriously.

"No Name Woman" SOAPST

"No Name Woman" by Maxine Hong Kingston was one of the books we read in class. The three SOAPST aspects that I will be writing about are occasion, purpose, and audience. Maxine writes about her childhood years and how she grew up in a different country than her parents. The occasion involves immigration and culture. Maxine's parents had immigrated from China to America because they had better opportunities here in America. But that did not mean that they left their traditions back in China. Her parents brought them along to the new country. Maxine writes about how, at that time, she struggled understanding both her parents and the world she lived in.

The audience for the story is mainly first generation immigrants like Maxine's parents. Maxine wanted to get her point across to people like her parents. The purpose of the story was  to inform and persuade the audience to be a little more open-minded towards not only the younger generation, but also to each other. Maxine also wanted to inspire other younger generations to not grow up only understanding one culture, their parents' cultures, but also the culture and environment they find themselves in.

Good Cop, Bad Cop

Last Thursday in Marikana, South Africa, 34 miners were shot and killed while 78 were hospitalized. What really happened that day is unknown, considering that there are two different sides of the story. One side, the miners' side, claims that while protesting, the police attacked and started killing off the miners. The miners were told to stop running, but they were too overwhelmed by the tear gas to listen to the polices' warnings. That was when the shooting started. The other side of this incident, the polices' side, involved the police claiming self defense. Most of the miners wielded a variety of weapons including machetes, spears, clubs, and even pistols off of fallen police officers. 
These miners have been protesting for better working and living conditions. "According to the report released Tuesday, workers often live in deteriorating shacks without electricity. Some children suffer from chronic illnesses due to sewage spills caused by broken drainage.(The Huffington Post)"
There are videos online showing the police shooting the strikers but also show no violence on the strikers behalf. Basically, the videos show the cops killing off the strikers. But did the videos catch everything? Did the strikers start this brutal fight? Were the cops the heroes or the enemies?

This article was written by Thomas Phakane and Michelle Faul on the Huffingtonpost.com. The article is called "South Africa Police Say They Killed 34 Miners".
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/17/south-africa-police_n_1796082.html?ir=World

My Favorite Book

I have multiple books that can be considered my favorites, but one of books I recently reread was The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. The first time I read this book was when I was in the fifth grade. We read it with the class, but I do not remember how much of the book we actually went over. I wanted to read it again so I could remember what the book was about, but instead I realized how much symbolism and meaning the book had. One of the main themes of the book was that no matter where we come from or who we are, we are all still people - human beings. Ponyboy felt that they, “greasers” and “socs”, should not be fighting because of which part of town they lived or were born in. Ponyboy hated unfairness, and he realizes that he lives in an unfair world. But yet, he tries to find a way to get away from all the fighting and the killing. He tries to make a better life for himself. The other reason I love this book is because the main characters name is Ponyboy and his brother’s name is Soda. That gives me enough reason to love this book.