Stories are above the law

Power is determined exactly how Adiche describes it, those who have the biggest guns are the ones who are in power. Those who are in power then get to decide who have privilege and who has to bow down. It has been this way in human history since the agricultural revolution. The Europeans did it in the Americas when they were colonizing the native people, and it will happen again if Aliens invade (which they will) or if another war breaks out. Power doesn't determine who tells stories. Those are the people that want to spread the word about what happened to their people, or pass on the history of their civilization. Storytellers are the ones who are above all laws, because it is very hard to stop stories from being told.

Re-education is not for me

I really had no idea that under the rule of Chairman Mao the youth were sent into the countryside to be taught how to work like a farmer. Now I know what happened and just how awful those conditions were sometimes. Frankly, I am surprised that Dai Sijie survived re-education because I doubt that I could have made it through a month of living there. I can definitely see why this is historical fiction and not a historical account. This novel is a lot more romantic and cliché than history would be, but that is what makes this such a good book. You can actually connect to Luo and the narrator while reading. When the narrator gets jealous about Luo spending so much time with the little seamstress you can relate that to a time in your life where you may have envied the girlfriend that one of your buddies has. Although, I really doubt that some of what happens would have occurred in an actual re-education town, which is why this is historical fiction and not an actual historical account.

Put me in Coach, I'm warmed up now.

My work this year has been mediocre. I can be doing much better than I currently am. I can make excuses and say that this year caught me off guard, but in actuality I just need to get more organized and stay focused. I am a book-lover and this is not how a bookworm performs in an English class. I can say that I am excited for this next quarter though because it will allow me to get back into the swing of things. I hope we do more creative writing this quarter!

THIS TITLE IS OFFENSIVE AND NEEDS TO BE CENSORED

The only book I've read from this list so far has been Persepolis, but I've read lots of books that would fit rather snugly onto that list. The image that I get from reading the banned books list is one of some overprotective person that doesn't want the kids and people of USA to be exposed to reality. If we are not ready to read about reality, then what will happen when we are finally exposed to it? I'm not saying books are the only way to prepare us for adulthood, but I think it is a very good one.

I don't think there is any merit for people to say those books are dangerous. After reading the descriptions of them all they seem to describe is human life and I don't see how that is dangerous. The only way I would say they are dangerous would be if they are telling people to hurt themselves, then that book would literally be dangerous. Or if the book had razors instead of pages, then I would also say the book is dangerous. Other than that there is no reason for these books to be described as dangerous.

How far would I go to read something deemed illegal by my community? I would go to no great lengths to get this book. As much as I am for uncensored books and having the freedom to read, I don't want to be ostracized or shunned by the community. I like to make friends and I think by doing something like that then I would have accomplished the opposite. Unless someone handed me that book and I felt like reading it, then I would NOT read a book that the people around me deem illegal. Granted that I try and surround myself with like-minded people, I don't think living in a place like that will happen.... At least I hope it won't!

We Are Wimps

Without inequality and competition our society would be a bland one. Creativity stems from people wanting to out do each other, craving to be seen as the person who beat the others. Unfortunately the way that this society is teaching their children, I think that might cease to exist in the future. Parents are spending too much time teaching their children to play nice and “share”, when they should be teaching them to enjoy the friendly competition every once in awhile. When I say “share” I mean sharing the winnings which is a stupid idea if you ask me, what’s the point of winning then? Currently I’d say we are a generation of wimps. It is a sad direction that our country is headed in.

The Debate

My parents have always taught me to stick with what I believe in no matter what others say, I need to "stay true to myself". At my middle school I was always the outsider or at least thats it felt like. I wanted to fit in, but it was hard as things were always testing my patience. One time during lunch, I sat down a bit late and much to my surprise my friends were in a heated debate. Usually they were talking about surfing or some new video game that had just came out, so this was a strange occurrence. I tried not to get involved with whatever they were talking about because it seemed pretty intense and I felt like eating not getting angry. I had a voracious appetite because I hadn't eaten much that day. As I was about to tear into my sandwich, something caught my ear. 

"Being gay should be outlawed bro, it's so f*cking gay that the Obama hasn't done that yet. He's such a bad president," one says to another.

At this point, they had come to some sort of agreement on whatever they were talking about before and had continue onto this subject. Of course, in the current state that I was in, being starving and tired from class, I was ready to snap at anything. So this particular sentence really made me mad, because I just didn't agree with anything they had just said. 

I retorted with something along the lines of, "how would you like it if the Government banned you from going to the beach because they didn't like surfers? Oh I know, you wouldn't. Why do you say such hateful things about a group of people that just want to be happy?" 

Some of what I said after that didn't make sense because I was hungry, but eventually I stormed off to eat my lunch elsewhere.

Cheers.

Quote Analysis

The media is no different from any other company in that they want to make money. The way that they make their money is by scaring the masses into reading or watching what they are producing. They will run a story and then hope that people watch it, and, depending on the response, they will keep doing follow up stories until no one cares anymore. This is then repeated for eternity. The response that the majority has will then try and relieve their anxieties by voting on laws  that in theory could prevent whatever the news was warning them about. The result is government money being spent on the wrong things like on the prison systems and not on the education systems. So yes, I do agree with George Gerbner, a fear-based media is a major problem and it is affecting the well being of the people of America. I don't think it will ever end until the media ends. This cycle will keep repeating itself.

Blog #2: A picture worth 1000 words

The story here is that two people are helplessly stuck at the top of wind turbine as it burns around them. They have no way to go down, except to jump. These two people, much like the Falling Man, have their fate in their hands. When I first saw this image, I was not sure what to think. I didn't know how to emotionally respond with this image. I couldn't help but think about if I was up there, what would I do. Would I choose to sit idly by as my world burns away with a slim chance of escape, or jump and seal my fate. I thought about the irony of this image, how this wind turbine was built to create electricity from a reliable clean source, catches fire and pollutes the air with the very smoke it is trying to prevent. It shows how invasive humans are, and when we try to fix what we have wronged, things like this happen. Proving to us that we shouldn't try and control nature, but, rather, accept our fate as not the masters of our domain.

Anyways, those were my two cents on the topic.

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If you are wondering what this means, I'm glad you asked. I am a music loving, gamer, who loves to read! My favorite games are CS:GO and GTA V. I watch tons of YouTube videos and am starting a channel.