Tragic Death

On September 19th a young man named Tyler Clementi was secretly recorded by his college room mate having sex with a man in his room and then posted it on the internet. On September 22nd, Tyler jumped off the George Washington Bridge to his death. His room mate, Daharun Ravi, and his room mate’s accomplice, Molly Wei, will be charged with invasion of privacy which is a maximum of 5 years. If it is proved to be a hate crime, which unfortunately is unlikely, the sentence would be raised to a maximum of 10 years. In order to prove it was a hate crime they will have to prove that they intended to cause harm to Tyler. I’m assuming they are only referring to physical harm.

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to write about this story. It has taken me days to finally decide that it is too important to leave unsaid. At first I thought that all the media attention this story is getting is somewhat disrespectful. Tyler obviously did not want the masses to be discussing his sex life. I now feel that this is an opportunity for some people to learn what intolerance and bullying can do to a person. Tyler, just like anyone else, was a person with a heart and feelings. Some people have nowhere to turn when they are pushed to the limit and feel that the only way to not feel pain, is to not feel anything. I can only hope that it won’t be too long before homosexuals don’t have to have the worry of being accepted. That they wont be made to feel different and wrong; because they are not. Things like don’t ask don’t tell and prop 8 are supporting the backwards idea that gay people should be separate from all the “normal” people. It supports the belief that a gay person is some how less deserving of civil rights, thus less human, than a straight person. It’s embarrassing and I’m sick of it. Disgusted, really. The only problem is that the government wont change any laws until the public changes their opinions. This makes me feel hopeless. The only chance that homosexuals have of complete normalcy in society rests with the hateful and moronic people of our country to suddenly become loving and educated. It’s a depressing thought, really. I can only hope that the next generation is at least tolerant enough to keep these unnecessary deaths from happening.

I like turtles

I’ll be honest, I don’t watch local news. Ever. I have always thought that local news is a horrible waste and I have never given it a second thought.




Today, I realized that I have been wrong all along.



If I want to truly know what is going on with the world, I will watch CNN, FNC or even, on occasion, MSNBC. That doesn’t mean that local news has no place in the world. I want for everyone to remember that local news stations have given the world some real gems. If you have been on Youtube before I’m sure you’ve seen this classic:








Here’s another, more recent, local news interview with a man who saved his sister from being raped by a “dumb” rapist.










So after much thought, I have decided to take local news off my “worthless” list. I know that we talk in class a lot about how news shows don’t usually report real news, but I just can not expect these local news stations to have huge segments on the war in Afghanistan or analyze the effect Obama’s speeches have on the upcoming election. They exist to tell us when semi-celebrities will be appearing at the local mall and to interview weird people that make us laugh.

Oblahma

       As I sat down to watch President Obama’s Oval Office address, I had a few expectations. I expected him to officially announce the end of combat missions in Iraq. I expected him to tell us our future plans for Afghanistan. I expected him to deliver this message with the clarity and, let’s face it, star quality that he always has in past speeches. How did I feel about it? Disappointed.

      He did announce the end of combat missions in Iraq, but he didn’t say anything about it that I didn’t already know. After that announcement, I wanted to get to the part I thought to be most important: Afghanistan. I kept waiting and waiting and listening to him ramble and tell stories (even give a shout out to Bush) and finally he mentioned Afghanistan. To my surprise, it was over in the blink of an eye. He, again, said things I already knew. He said he has ordered the deployment of more troops and, “As with the surge in Iraq, these forces will be in place for a limited time to provide space for the Afghans to build their capacity and secure their own future.” The problem? The surge in Iraq was coupled with the Sunni awakening. Those who were fighting against us joined our side to fight alQaeda. In my opinion, the surge in Iraq wouldn’t have worked if that hadn’t happened. Why would a surge in Afghanistan work when the Afghan military and police forces are half of that in Iraq. Can we realistically build up the Afghan army to the needed size by July of next year? I’ll let Petraeus worry about that.

      Obama then turned his attention to the economy, which is the concern of every American. He said we have put off answering the tough questions concerning our economy and the middle class has paid for it. He said, “we must tackle those challenges at home with as much energy, and grit, and sense of common purpose as our men and women in uniform who have served abroad. They have met every test that they faced. Now, it is our turn.” Yes! Now we’re getting somewhere. I’m sure his next paragraph will tell me his plan to get our economy going again. “We must jumpstart industries that create jobs, and end our dependence on foreign oil. We must unleash the innovation that allows new products to roll off our assembly lines, and nurture the ideas that spring from our entrepreneurs.” Yes, yes, that’s what we need to do but how? What do your economists say? There’s no plan to speak of? No direction to look towards?

      After this speech, I felt like I had just watched an episode of Lost. I have so many unanswered questions now that I feel more confused and uncertain than I did before the address.