Clayton, Jackson and Mcghie

Clayton, Jackson and McGhie

I was born on the West coast of Africa. I lived half of my life in Monrovia, Liberia. As a child growing up in West Africa, I did not know what racism was. I did not know that racism causes conflict between two different types of races.  My first experience of racism was my first year of attending school in the United Sates. A fellow student said to me “you are a black so you cannot be part of our group.” I really did not take offense to this statement until few hours later it began to bother me. I asked myself the question, so what if I am black that shouldn’t stop me from being in a certain group? I began to feel like a pariah and that is one of the worst feelings Later, I began to realize the controversy between Black Americans and White Americans. The hate all began, when Africans were taken out of will from Africa and brought to the United States to be slaves. Blacks were considered nothing and they were dehumanized. To this day there is still hate between these two groups of races. Although the situation has gotten better over the few years, there will always be hate. Clayton, Jackson and Mcghie are an example that racism still exists. When I visited the memorial of these three black men I felt really sad and began crying. It takes a lot of hate for a human to kill another because of the color of their skin. This surprised me because these men were lynched and they were not given a fair trial.  They were not able to prove their innocence of the false accusation that was made against them. These three men were falsely accused of raping a White lady. I believe these men were only lynched because they were black and there were not any reasons of killing these men.

  “If you as parents cut corners, your children will too. If you lie, they will too. . . . If parents snicker at racial and   gender jokes, another generation will pass on the poison adults still have not had the courage to snuff out.” I picked this quotation for the memorial because it has a story behind it. This brings me to a quote that was stated by Rob Larson “to be a good teacher one has to be a student and to be a good student one has to be a teacher”. In this case the parent is the teacher and whatever the parent does the child will always try to imitate. If a parent is being spiteful to another group of people, the child would also learn from his parent and continue the pattern. When this pattern repeats itself, it causes conflicts.

People need to stop the hate and the racism. If we cannot stop the society cannot go further. We all should be treated the same way no matter what. We all were created in the image of God. If things like this are still going on the hate will never stop. Black or White it is just a color of the skin it should not define who we are as individuals. I wish more people can look beyond a person’s skin color. This leaves me with a question is being Black a crime? Or are we not consider equals?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1920_Duluth_lynchings

Blood Diamomds

      Conflict Diamond

It is a precious stone, shinning and expensive, yet some of us still do not know the conflict this precious stone is causing in Africa. As the saying goes “Diamonds are forever" and so is his situation ----------------------------------------------------------------->

Blood diamond has been one of Africa's biggest conflicts. This precious stone call Diamond, has brought so much hate which leads to war and bigger issues. Liberia, Sierra Leone, Angola, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo, The Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe all have a history of diamonds being an issue which turned into conflicts and ended up with a war. When issues like these occur it is the citizens of these countries who suffer the most. Think before purchasing this precious stone because you never know how many lives are being dehumanized for one stone. I believe everyone’s life should be valuable than this precious stone. The movie Blood Diamond portrays what is really going on in the mining businesses.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_diamond

Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell

Shooting an Elephant

“Shooting an Elephant” is a first person’s narrative written by George Orwell. Orwell was an imperial officer in Burma. Orwell stands out like a sore thumb in this culture; ironically he was the one who shot the elephant. The reasoning behind shooting the elephant is an interesting part of the essay. An elephant stumbles through a city after freeing itself from being locked up and tramples a citizen. Why wouldn’t they use tranquilizers one might say? The man only had two mediocre powered guns, a rifle which he shot the elephant three times with a few inches away from the opening of the ear and a 44 Winchester pistol which clip was emptied and sprayed the elephant with bullets in multiple spots. This story is very graphic and uses advanced vocabulary to describe scenes.

“Shooting an Elephant” is an essay which expresses the wrong of Imperialism in the east.  This essay talks about the nature of imperialism in the Berman providence in India.  There were a couple of symbols in this reading, one really stuck out the most. The Empire is powerful as an elephant.  I also saw some themes in this essay and they are prejudiced and resentments. The native always laughed and stayed their distance from their oppressor that shows a sense of resentment.  Lastly there were metaphors as says “I could feel two thousand wills pressing me forward, irresistibly”. This is a comparison of will to physical forces.

 In the end of the story the man summarizes his experience and conveys a list full of events that had taken place. For instants he says, “The older men said I was right, the younger men said it was a damn shame to shoot an elephant for killing a coolie, because an elephant was worth more than any damn Coringhee coolie.” I guarantee one thing that this man will always regret his decision for shooting an elephant till the day he dies. He even admits that this will be on his mind and it won’t be leaving anytime soon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_an_Elephant 

Hollywood Being A Good Influence

                                                     Hollywood

What comes to your mind when one hears Hollywood?  I know some of may think about, money, the extravagant life style, and bad influences. Well as for some when they hear the word Hollywood, they think about morals values, money and entertainment. Hollywood can influence people in a positive or in a negative way. Although others may disagree and say Hollywood influence teens in a negative way, Hollywood also influences teens in a positive way. I acknowledge the opponent side but I strongly disagree that Hollywood plays a negative role in people’s lives.

Firstly, Hollywood plays a big role in the entertainment cultural.  Hollywood is providing products to the marketplace. Hollywood is a big part of our culture and economy. Also when you think about it is also plays a huge part in America. Entertainment sometimes relaxes people after a long day of work or school. There is T.V shows made to make people laugh if they are in a sad or bad mood. What would the world be like without entertainment especially in the United States? That question is for you to think about.

The opposing side may say Hollywood film glorify sex and violence, which attacks the moral values of all societies leading the young ones astray. Not all Hollywood movies are about pornographic or violent. Hollywood actually promotes the independent worth of each human life. There are possibilities of individual success through hard work and dedication. There are Hollywood movies that portray the history and culture of this country. For example the movie Roots tell the past history of the United States. This movie reminds us about who we are and what we need to do to make things better. There are T.V shows that help people as well. An example is the celebrity rehab, this show help alcohol and drug users to get sober and they are given treatment to help them live a better life without being a drug abuser or alcoholic. Now is that being a negative influence on people or is it helping others. Well it is up to you to think.

There are Hollywood actors, singers, rappers and actresses who are making a difference in people who are less fortunate lives.  For example when the Earth Quake hit Haiti, the singer Wyclef Jean helped a lot with resources for the people of Haiti. Also there were other singers and rapper put together to rise awareness about what was going on by remaking the song “We are the world” for Haiti. Also some of the actor and actresses went down to Haiti to help. Another example is when Katrina hit, there were celebrities who donated money and helped a lot to get people on their feet.  Helping is a good example for children to learn from. This also plays a positive role in Hollywood which shows they care about others. Celebrities have foundation and charities to help children and adults.

Vans

Vans is one of the most popular shoes brand worn in today's generation. I am a proud owner of vans. Every vans are unique in its own way. The colors of vans catches a lot of people attention also they are very comfortable as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vans
http://www.vans.net.au/wawcs0130206/tn-history.htm

My reflection of me

                                                                My Reflection of Me

Today I shall say it:

I always wanted to say that you are the reason I am alive

You take what people say about you well sometime, but I have to feel the heartaches and pains.

I am always in hiding it is like you are ashamed of me and there is no time for that.

Please do not let me give up; I can only take so much.

I always wanted to say:

You are a wonderful person even though you are still going through the experience.

You are so passionate, always happy even when you are dying inside.

I always wanted to say:

There is a purpose for your life so do not be useless to the society

I am just saying you know I love you.

I am your guarding angel and it takes two to make a decision at times.

It makes me feel better when you listen to me and pay more attention but it seems like whenever you are around humans you push me away.

I understand nothing was really done for me but I am not planning on quitting, people doubt you at times but I always have hope

I always wanted to say: I am obsessed with you and I understand.



HIV The Deadly Virus

According to worldhealth.org 43 million people in the world are infected by HIV. Some people are wondering what this virus is and where it originated from? HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. HIV virus can only infect humans and it is a heterosexual disease.  HIV is a virus that weakens the human immune system which damages the significant cells that fight diseases and infection in our body. Deficient defined by Merriam dictionary as “lacking in some necessary quality or element”. Well, a deficient immune system cannot protect someone from this virus. Unlike other viruses, the immune system clears it out of the body, but for the HIV virus, the body immune system cannot destroy or get rid it instead it retains it. When HIV virus is destroys a lot of CD$ cells, the body cannot fight infections or diseases any more than HIV leads to AIDS According to AIDS.gov “scientist identified a type of chimpanzee in West Africa as the source of HIV infection in human. The virus mostly likely jumped to human when human hunted these chimpanzees for meat and came in contact with their infected blood. Over several decades, the virus slowly spread across Africa and later into other parts of the world.

Stereotypes come into play because people assume that only African can be affected or more chances of being infected by the HIV virus. It is very understandable to why some people may assume Africans are more likely to encounter this disease, it is because Africa was the place HIV virus originated from. In Africa this virus is spread through heterosexual and sharp unsterilized objects. Also the interactions with animals and human in confined places. This disease is an ongoing thing in Africa. Example if a pregnant women  is infected with the HIV virus there is more chances of her giving this virus to her new born baby. According to M. Kate, M.S Ed., in the United States if a HIV woman gives birth, she will be given infant formula to feed her child. In parts of Africa , women with HIV are advised to breastfeed, because the greater killer is dehydration. The virus can be medicated, but there is no medical return from death by starvation. What is a mother supposed to do in this case? It is either the child is infected or lose the child to starvation. If you were a mother in this position one have to make the right decision for the child to survive.

What can we do as a society to help educate others about this deadly disease? Talk to the younger children about sex. The media talks about sex and portrays sex, but it is harder to talk about it. Sex is like pizza. If a child order a certain kind of pizza the parent sometimes asks, why that kind, why eat now or why not a veggie pizza? It is the same way for sex conversations. The question should be asked why are you having sex, do you trust your partner, are you using protection and are you having sex with more than more person? Little contribution like these helps a lot. We need more educators to help make a difference.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIV

The Liberian Civil War

Imagine what it would be like to be a child who is living in a country that has been through 14 years of Civil War. Imagine you are with your little cousin standing on the side of the main road on your way to purchase some snacks, when all of a sudden you hear a loud sound:  POW, POW, POW. You see people scattered all over the road running toward streets corners, behind buildings, and running into stores to avoid being shot. If you were a ten -year- old child at the time, what would you have done? I have experienced things that many people can’t imagine. To me, a typical day now is coming from school, playing with my friends, and going to get snacks; but back then, my “typical day” was seeing people using weapons and seeing people fleeing for their lives.

                I have seen war in movies, and I have heard people talking about it on the news. I never knew how horrifying it could be until I experienced it. I remember clearly; it was 9:00 pm on a Thursday night.  A rocket was thrown over the rooftop of our house. I heard a loud sound which made me go deathly quiet until I blacked out for a minute. When I regained consciousness, I heard my uncle cry out saying, “I am bleeding!” He had been hit with one of the rocket particles. When a rocket explodes, it breaks apart into small pieces that project and cause damage. My mother, uncle, auntie, cousin and I went into my mother’s room. My uncle was crying because the bleeding would not stop. That night there wasn’t any medical equipment or any medical attention anywhere. As a result, my uncle continued bleeding throughout the night until the next morning, when he was taken to the hospital. That night, I feared we were all going to die, and I wondered if other kids had ever been in the same situation that I was in at the moment. Thanks to God I am alive.

                                                                           http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Liberian_Civil_Warhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/news/photo/chi-liberia-slideshows,0,7722098.htmlpage