Monday, September 26, 2016

Journal Four- Alexis Hensel




   Part One: When reading about Colin Kaepernick's activism towards the death of black people across America it enlightened me on a topic that I have heard of recently, but did not investigate further. Police brutality is something that occurs everyday, to people of all ethnicities and religious groups. However, why is it that the cases involving the police and African Americans are mainly the ones publicized? After asking myself this question, I began looking into statistics in regards to the number of white versus black people killed by police. I was surprised that in 2015, police killed twice as many white people than African Americans. I'm not saying that this makes police brutality okay, it just made me wonder what we are not told in the media. The articles about Colin Kaepernick put me in a difficult spot. Is he disrespecting our country by kneeling during the national anthem, or is he using his freedom of speech to do the right thing. Honestly, I believe he is doing both. By using his platform to speak out for others that do not have this privilege, he is able to bring attention to such an important topic. I found it interesting the different opinions that people had toward Kaepernick's actions, but as long as people are speaking on this issue, whether is be positively or negatively, at least it is being talked about.    
     An activism issue that I think everyone should look into is cyber bullying. In today's society, a large amount of entertainment, news, etc., are online, which gives people behind a computer screen the ability to hide their identity and post negative comments without facing consequences. This topic has not specifically effected me, but I have witnessed what cyber bullying does to people's self-esteem. Some people feel that they are not worthy of living and that is no way to live your life. In order to improve people's understanding on this issue, I believe that everyone should take a step back and think twice about what they are posting and encourage others to do the same. The source that I chose was stopbullying.gov, a website that speaks on many different types of bullying. I chose this source because of it's credibility, and the fact that I had heard of this source before. This particular website has different tabs on different bullying types which gives people the option to learn about different types of bullying all in one place.

                                 Image result for cyber bullying

     This photo perfectly depicts what a person feels like when experiencing cyber bullying. Negativity is something that becomes unbearable, and questioning self-worth begins. 
   

      Part Two: Lydia Emery’s profile was my favorite one assigned for today. Her dedication to helping people is very admirable. I was very surprised that she only charged one dollar for an office visit, and two dollars for a house call, because health care today is very expensive. A lot of people go into medicine to help people, but the amount of money that they make is definitely another reason that people may decide to go into medicine. Relating Lydia’s profile to today shows the difference in the cost of healthcare. Recently, the price of an Epi-pen increased 600%, making it impossible for some people to pay for. However, Lydia decided to price her services based on the events that occurred in her town, such as a plywood mill burning down, which would make healthcare difficult to be payed for. She realized that healthcare is a necessity, and one deserves the right to be served, no matter how much money someone has. When she says, “You don't say, I’ll do a plain appendix sew-up on you and I’ll make fancy stitches on someone else,” shows that she sees everyone equal, and that the money that she can make is not what drives her passion to helping others.

8 comments:

  1. I really liked what you had to say about the cyber bullying. I agree with ou on all aspects of it. People today are so mean and i know i sound like a 3rd grader when i say that but its the truth. I think that if people spent the same amount of time on making their life better as they did on trying to ruin other peoples lives they would be happier with theirs.

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  2. I also believe cyber bulling is a huge issue. I personally have never experienced it, but I also have never had a facebook or instagram. Negativity against a person can impact their entire life. I think it is sad that so many people have killed or harmed themselves because of how another person has made them feel.

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  3. I too have seen what cyber-bullying does to a person and it's ridiculous that people say some of the things that they do behind the computer screen. We hear all the time about people that kill themselves because of the things that people say and it makes them feel like they have no purpose in life. It's sad what society has done to people. We should definitely think twice before we just post something on social media or wherever.

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  4. I too have seen what cyber-bullying does to a person and it's ridiculous that people say some of the things that they do behind the computer screen. We hear all the time about people that kill themselves because of the things that people say and it makes them feel like they have no purpose in life. It's sad what society has done to people. We should definitely think twice before we just post something on social media or wherever.

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  5. I think cyber-bulling is such an important issue to focus on because we have either all seen it or even some has been apart of it. I know when I check my social media site, I'm always seeing drama either between two girls or a group of guys. I hate when I see it too, because I think it's too easy to put one another down, so I think we should start focusing on how to lift one another up. I think fighting never solves anything and it's sad to see how some people believe that fighting solves everything.

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  6. You did a good job on describing both issues. It never amazes me that media will only report black people getting shot but you never hear white people getting shot by the police. I think the media only reports what they want you to hear.

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  7. Your statement "Negativity is something that becomes unbearable, and questioning self-worth begins" is so true! Questioning our self-worth can lead to suicide, which many people who are bullied face.

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  8. Cyber Bullying is something that I was a victim of and is something that I take seriously. That lost comment got me right in the feels and I couldn't agree more. Its incredible how bold people can be behind a computer.

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