My Social Awareness Project

News Diary

Day 1: Black Friday & Protests in Egypt (NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams 11/23)

Black Friday has become Grey Thursday. Lines were huge and spending was on a rise. I find it crazy that people are screaming just to go shopping. People get hurt in the crowds. I even saw a video of people fighting over towels. They were throwing them into the crowd while people push other people out of the way. I don't think shops should be open on Thanksgiving. It's a holiday, and Thanksgiving should be spent with your family and friends reflecting on the things that you should be thankful for, not fighting over the newest flat screen television. But it is all about the profits for companies, not about, may I say, the morality. Black Friday turns people into animals, and that’s why I shop online.

The Egyptian president is giving himself more political power, and people are rebelling. He claims that he is not a dictator, but citizens of Egypt aren't believing that claim. They are rebelling in Tahrir Square. Also, members of the Egyptian presidents cabinet are resigning one after another. This must be horrifying to the Egyptians. They fight for justice and then their new president gives himself new powers. I hope that Egypt does not have another deadly revolution. The people stand no chance against the military, but they must fight to keep their new democracy. Maybe America can help.

Day 2: Looting of Homes & Small Business Saturday (News4NY 11/24)

People who lost nearly everything during Hurricane Sandy have been hit with another problem. Their homes are being looted. This is just adding insult to injury. You must have no morals to loot someones home after a hurricane. People don't even have electricity, but those who do are watching out for their homes and their neighbors. It's nice to see that there are still people willing to watch out for each other.

Small businesses hit by Sandy need today to help generate revenue, but there aren't as many customers. I hope that small businesses can rebound, but some might be flooded. As they said though, more than one day will be needed to help the businesses. I think that local is better because there are less crowds to deal with.

Day 3 Ban on Fracking in Longmont, Colorado (New York Times)http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/26/us/with-ban-on-fracking-colorado-town-lands-in-thick-of-dispute.html?ref=science

Longmont, Colorado has become the first town in Colorado to outlaw fracking. However, now the town is in trouble with the State of Colorado and the oil companies. This is not the first time Longmont has been sued for laws they made. Why the ban? The oil companies say that the practice is completely safe. However, opponents raise concerns about water contamination and air pollution; they also object to “islands” of well pads and “forests” of drilling towers. The companies are enraged because the ban affects private land that they own and gives them the right to drill in Longmont. In other cities, the effects of fracking are obvious. Wells stand close to schools. Tanker trucks fill up with water at dawn. In Erie, elevated levels of propane and benzene were found in the air. In order to get the ban legalized, supporters of the ban didn’t focus on climate change. They asked citizens if they wanted oil drills in their front yards. The oil companies and big businesses tried to fight the ban, but they were unsuccessful. We will see if Colorado can successfully sue the town.

I’m not a supporter of fracking, but I’m not totally against it either, because I don’t know enough about fracking to pick a side. However, these “forests” of drilling towers sicken me. It’s nature, and you fill every inch of that land with drills. I can see why Longmont would ban fracking, they don’t want their beautiful town ruined. I wouldn’t want to live in a town surrounded by oil drills, and if I had a kid, I wouldn’t want him/ her to grow up with drill towers. I don’t think the ban will last because it wasn’t even their law to make, and you can’t have a town versus the state with oil companies. I hope that the town can be an exception, but oil companies might pressure the town into removing the ban.

Day 4: Susan Rice (NBC Nightly)

Susan Rice had a face to face meeting with her critics over the Benghazi attack. It did not go well, and now the president must decide whether to choose her as the next secretary of state and face the criticism or nominate someone else. She falsely said that the attack was spontaneous. Some people said that they were more troubled then they were before. The president will fight for Rice, and the White House also defends Rice.

I personally don't believe that this is all Rice's fault. She was simply repeating information that she was given. She didn't gather this information. She also made it clear that the conclusion was preliminary, not final. People make mistakes too, but the CIA and Rice could have checked their information before they made a public announcement. If you want to convince the other party that you should be the next Secretary of State, then you have to make sure that you don't make any mistakes, because the opposite party is waiting for you to trip up. I hope that the White House can fight hard enough to get her the job, but her critics won't forgive her and forget her mistake that easily.

Day 5: (Syria)http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/29/world/middleeast/syria-war-developments.html?hp&_r=0

In Syria, the rebels had success on the political front and the military front. A coalition formed to decide on what transitional government will replace President Assad. The coalition, formally known as the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, is recognized by officials around the world. First, it must unite all the exiles and rebels in Syria and form one group. The coalition met in Cairo, and they talked about the selection process rather than who the actual political candidates would be. On the military front, car bombings in Syria killed over 30 people. The Syrian government refuses to acknowledge the rebels attempting to overthrow Assad, saying the people responsible for the attack were terrorists. Rebels also successfully shot down an aircraft, endangering the Syrian air force. The plane was dropping bombs on homes, and after it crashed, the supposed pilot was taken away. According to the video, the man was going to be treated in a hospital. The rebels have also used their arsenal of missiles and machine guns to shoot down air crafts.

I'm on the rebels side. I have no respect for Assad. He is someone who killed his own people. He shot innocent protesters in the streets and shelled innocent people's homes. All for power. I see it greedy and despicable that somebody could do such a thing. It's a little shameful that America and other countries are not helping the rebels. America helped the Libyans, so why can't we help the Syrians? Are we supposed to watch innocent people maimed before our eyes on our television. We could at least supply the rebels with weapons. We need to end this power struggle.

NBC Nightly Website: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/

News 4 NY Website: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/

What have I learned? To put it simply, we are in a world of opposites. Some people are kind enough to watch out for their neighbors, but others are cruel enough to bomb their kindred and steal from the less fortunate. Some people have the power to control what happens in their town, and people with power can make detrimental mistakes. Everyday, the news changes, giving us a little piece of the world that we wouldn't otherwise notice. It keeps us involved in the huge world we live in. It's better to know about the world we live in rather than not know at all.

A Poem

If they would only leave her alone.

Her tormentors pass her everyday.

She tries to block the words out, but they are stuck in her head.

Perfection is what she tries to achieve, though she knows no one can obtain it.

Her tormentors pass her everyday.

Words like newly sharpened knives, piercing and cold.

Perfection is what she tries to achieve, though she knows no one can obtain it.

She can simply keep going on, down the path of no return.

Words like newly sharpened knives, piercing and cold.

They rip at her heart; stab at her brain.

She can simply keep going on, down the path of no return.

She can turn back, pushing her way through to get were she once was.

They rip at her heart; stab at her brain.

They are the ghosts of memories past.

She can turn back, pushing her way through to get were she once was.

If only they would leave her alone.

Reflection:

This poem is about bullying and peer pressure, which can be considered a form of bullying. Bullying is an issue that is becoming more and more present in society. There are two main types of bullying; physical and mental/ verbal. This poem focuses more on the mental aspect, because it takes place in the girls head.

The first step to writing this poem was deciding on what to write about. I chose bullying because I felt that I could be more creative with the topic. I also had to chose the type of poem. I recalled a type of poem that I learned in seventh grade that I enjoyed writing. It has a nice, repeating aspect to it that makes poems darker. Bullying is a dark topic, and bullying is usually repetitive. So the type of poem was the best fit for the topic, in my personal opinion of course. Then I wrote the poem. I usually just go with my impulse and see where it takes me, and then I will change lines to make it sound more poetic. For example, the “Perfection...” line was rewritten to make the poem sound less choppy. Finally, I reread the poem to make sure everything is just right.

A response on an essay: Link to essay : http://thisibelieve.org/essay/7707/

This essay is about discrimination against people of color, or racism. I chose to do an essay on racism because I have always felt that I could relate to the social issue more than I could relate to other social issues.

The message is that people should not discriminate against neighbors in which people of color live in. The author saw a beautiful house in a “bad” neighborhood. People told him that his wife would not be safe, they said that the schools were bad, that crime ruled the area, and that there was nothing of value. Then he saw the truth, which was the actual crime statistics. Most of the crime that had occurred in the region had not even occurred in that neighborhood, in fact, more crime occurred in wealthy neighborhoods. It was a bad neighborhood because the residents were low-income people of color. But the neighborhood turned out to be a beautiful things, with friends eager to play with their kids, jazz, snow cones, and special burrito places.

The essay makes me feel a little sad, because I live in a neighborhood once considered bad. But last year, Time Magazine named my neighborhood as the “hippest” place to be. I'll admit, it has changed. I can relate to the guy completely. Just because there are people who are less fortunate doesn't mean that criminals are rampaging through the streets all day. Yes, there might be the occasional incident, but that happens in every neighborhood, not just a “bad” neighborhood. In the end, we all want to live in a place we can truly call home. Then other people's opinions don't stand a chance against your happiness.