Labels can absolutely be a terrible thing. They can also be a good thing, when used in the right context. When we place labels on people, not only are we limiting our view of them, but we are also limiting how they view us. Calling someone a "lifer" immediately puts that individual in to a box of stereotypes. Especially if the label sticks with the person, it can cause a lot of pain. This example is both embarrassing and ridiculous, but when I was little, there was a bully on the school bus that used to pick on me. Looking back on it now, it really was not even that bad compared to other cases of bullying, but it was a big deal to me at the time. He would sit behind me and punch the back of my seat and call my four-eyes (because of my glasses) or corny kid (my glasses were severely corny). After awhile the nickname caught on and my friends started saying it to, only joking with me, but it still hurt my feelings. In essence, that bully labeled me as the corny kid on the bus, or that kid with glasses. And coincidentally the label did stick around for awhile. Now, this example as I said is ridiculous because getting bullied is vastly different from being coined a lifer by your peers. But when we put labels on people, we become the bullies and they become the little kid on the bus with glasses. Another example is stereotyping people before you know them. I have a black friend who is incredibly racist. Not only towards whites, but to basically everyone. He is constantly placing people into this metaphorical inflexible box just because of the shape of their eyes or the color of their skin. I don't agree with racism, because in my opinion, jackasses come in all races, as do good people. You can't simply group an entire race into the subcategory of bad drivers or thieves or stuck up jerks. And by doing so you are not solving any problems, but rather aggravating problems already in our midst. We all need to practice tolerance and keeping an open mind. Passing judgement and labeling people before we know them (and even after we know them) gets us no where. Only through tolerance and understanding will we progress forward as a species.

The old saying, "It's the little things in life that count," is entirely true. The number of Haitians that lost their lives, their loves ones, and their homes to the terrible earthquake is absolutely awful. Their country, their economy, as well as their lives were completely altered because of this freak natural disaster. What is truly inspiring about this article is the fact that after so much pain and loss, a country can come together and center their attention not on what they've lost, but on what they still have and still love.

Saying that the Haitian soccer atmosphere is intense is a vast understatement. Imagine if the entire United States was hit by some type of natural disaster that destroyed a majority of our country and shattered our economy. Do you think the National Football League would be very high on our list of worries? Probably not. And everyone around the world knows just how much Americans love our football. The fact that an entire country can rally around something as simple, yet as beautiful as a sport is magnificent. This reminds me of a Youtube video that I watched recently. It told the story of a small village off the coast of Indonesia that was built completely on the water. It was a floating "island village." Obviously they had little room for recreation besides the vast ocean. The children of the village decided to team up and built a platform on which to play soccer. It took them years to finish and in the end it was a crude, rough playing surface, but that didn't stop them. They practiced and practiced on their makeshift soccer field, until one day they got world from the mainland that a soccer tournament was being held. They competed and ended up losing in the finals, but to this day, their team is known as one of the very best in the region.

The overall message behind my anecdote and this amazing tale of Haitian resilience is that we can't worry about what we cannot control. We have to "roll with the punches" so to speak, and make our own metaphorical floating soccer field.

This is a very thought provoking question. Is our relationship with Mexico similar to that of the Pilgrims and the Native Americans? I think first we need to pick out the differences and similarities to fully grasp the picture. First off, The Pilgrims came and forcefully took over parts of North America because they were driven to expand their respective countries by the ruling monarchs. They absolutely did a hostile takeover and killed many thousands of Native Americans, which is definitely not right, but as the student said in the video, "That's not fair but these things happen all the time, life isn't fair." So in that regard I would argue that our immigration situation is fairly different from the relationship of the Pilgrims and Native Americans. However, we can look at it from more than one perspective. The Native Americans wanted nothing more than to be left alone so they could live by their own means. The Pilgrims wanted land, wealth, and riches. Now turning the tables, the American economy is down right. Illegal immigrants provide cheap labor that would otherwise be a job for an American citizen which is the main issue. Yes, they want to come into our country because of poverty and dangerous drug cartels, but they should have to follow some sort of protocol. There should be some sort of temporary visa that immigrants are allowed to obtain that would permit them entrance into our country but maybe they are only limited to certain jobs. I understand that sounds terribly racist, but Americans need American jobs, and I imagine there is an incredibly high number of Mexicans who would love legal immigration into our country.

So to bring this all together, yes there are some similarities between the Native Americans and the Mexicans, but the tables are reversed. The Mexicans want into American, and the Native Americans wanted everyone else out of America. Similar but still very different. I feel that a better argument would be to compare our immigration problems with something like the over population of China. They have issues with placement into the job markets because of a large number of citizens. We have issues with our economy because of wars and poor leadership. I feel this comparison makes slightly more sense.

The earthquake/tsunamis in Japan are definitely getting attention they deserve from the media. The thing that worries me is how the rest of the world seems to be responding. It seems to me that we are getting increasingly comfortable with natural disasters and death that it doesn't even affect our daily lives. I know that when I heard about the disaster, I watched a few videos and read a few news articles, then I went about the rest of my day. I tend to stay slightly more up to date with current events than my roommates, and it wasn't until I even mentioned the disasters that my friends even knew what was going on. Then later I walk through the HUB and I see people crying and attempting to raise money, probably because they have family in Japan, and people, including myself, just walk by. We are becoming so overwhelmed with problems in our world that each resulting natural disaster seems to come and go in the media faster and faster.

There is a quote from the movie Boondock Saints that I feel is relevant to my point.

"But there is another kind of evil which we must fear most, and that is the indifference of good men."

We are becoming so used to hearing about terrible things happening around the world that we seemingly pay less and less attention. This is similar to horror films. When I was younger I remember thinking how scary some movies were. Monsters, murderers, blood, and gore were all terrible. Now when I watch a scary movie it seems that I've seen it all before, and there is no shock value left. My ultimate point is that we as citizens of the world need to reach out to those who are affected by natural disasters and not just stand idly by. Especially those of us who are lucky enough to live somewhere where natural disasters do not usually reach us. Western Pennsylvania really is an outstanding place to live as far as nature's wrath. We have a slight danger of flash floods and maybe a tornado once every ten years. We need to realize that just because our lives aren't affected by these disasters, there are millions of people dying, without power or shelter, or who've lost loved ones in Japan.

This story provokes both sadness and astonishment. This man was a dumb fifteen year old when he made the worst mistake of his life. Taking another life must be a terrible burden to carry knowing that the rest of your LIFE will be spent in prison with nothing to do but dwell on what you've done. It is terrible to think that an entire human life will be wastes because of one crime committed at age fifteen. I'm not saying this man does not deserve his sentence, because he does, I'm merely stating that it is a truly sad situation to be in. A life in prison is something that I truly cannot comprehend. If it is true that you only live once, and after death there is nothing, which I am inclined to believe, then spending your brief existence on this planet, something that is both beautiful and terrifying is one of the most depressing and saddening things I can think of. However, I cannot focus only on the bad parts of this story. Here we have a man who committed the most terrible thing a person can commit; taking the life of another human being. Although he is faced with a monotonous life in prison, it is remarkable that he can find religion, or whatever is was that helped him turn his life around. To be stuck in a cell for life, and be able to repent and feel truly sorry for what you've done is an amazing accomplishment. And it is truly another thing entirely to be able to face the loved ones of the person you killed and express in words how sorry you are for doing what you did. What this man did took an unprecedented amount of courage and character. I can not imagine that this is the sociological norm for murderers in prison.
At this point the story becomes a tale of the strength of character or one man, as opposed to the weakness of his fifteen year old alter ego that committed such an atrocity. The justice system definitely works, and murderers deserve to spend time in prison, however, this mans story definitely shows a perspective that normal, law abiding citizens would almost always fail to recognize.

I found this article very interesting upon completing it. The author placed the reader in his shoes as he tried to find the root of his evils. It is an admirable attempt at discovering his own shortcomings in order pass on the warnings to future youngsters. I enjoyed how he passed on his train of thought to the reader. It really showed his process of elimination to find the sociological drive than ran his early life. Many of his early experiences can be applied to my life and I am sure many others. The author did a great job portraying the environment that created his present self. I don't agree with the conclusions he came to based on the rest of the article, however. The author had well thought out contradictions for each of his other arguments but could not find one for his sexual promiscuity. I don't know what crime has been committed, but I do know that the sociological undertone of his crime is being blamed on sex. It seems to me that this young guy got caught up in the pleasures of life like many young people do. I don't know him personally, but it seems that his decisions were based not just on sex, but more on the pursuit of a good time. This drive for pleasure could be brought on by many different things which is why I feel like it is a giant leap to place the blame on having sex before marriage. Life's pleasures drove him and his actions not just sex. Being caught up in living life for its pleasures is not only because of sex, and many young people experience these desires and handle them in much different ways. Becoming this way probably had very much to do with where he grew up, his relationship with his father, and maybe some drug use not just sex itself. The fact of the matter is that he did love the guilty pleasures in life and he let it run his bad decisions, but to place the blame solely on premarital sex is misguided.

I found this article very interesting upon completing it. The author placed the reader in his shoes as he tried to find the root of his evils. It is an admirable attempt at discovering his own shortcomings in order pass on the warnings to future youngsters. I enjoyed how he passed on his train of thought to the reader. It really showed his process of elimination to find the sociological drive than ran his early life. Many of his early experiences can be applied to my life and I am sure many others. The author did a great job portraying the environment that created his present self. I don't agree with the conclusions he came to based on the rest of the article, however. The author had well thought out contradictions for each of his other arguments but could not find one for his sexual promiscuity. I don't know what crime has been committed, but I do know that the sociological undertone of his crime is being blamed on sex. It seems to me that this young guy got caught up in the pleasures of life like many young people do. I don't know him personally, but it seems that his decisions were based not just on sex, but more on the pursuit of a good time. This drive for pleasure could be brought on by many different things which is why I feel like it is a giant leap to place the blame on having sex before marriage. Life's pleasures drove him and his actions not just sex. Being caught up in living life for its pleasures is not only because of sex, and many young people experience these desires and handle them in much different ways. Becoming this way probably had very much to do with where he grew up, his relationship with his father, and maybe some drug use not just sex itself. The fact of the matter is that he did love the guilty pleasures in life and he let it run his bad decisions, but to place the blame solely on premarital sex is misguided.

It's definitely easy to laugh at this video for emphasizing how easily the human mind is conformed to its surroundings based on the behavior of others, though to me, this video is somewhat scary. The people in the elevators are really a metaphor for the pressure that society puts on us to conform to its standards. Substitute facing the back of an elevator for being skinny, tan, or athletic. No one wants to feel awkward or like the odd man out, and that's exactly how the men in the elevator felt when they realized they were the only ones facing the wrong way. We can expand that theory to surmise that society creates these same feelings of tension for those who are deemed unorthodox or weird.

The best example was the younger man in the hat. When everyone faced to the back, he followed suit and turned around. When next the doors opened, we saw everyone, including him had changed directions and were now facing stage left in the elevator. The really funny part came when the gentlemen removed their hats, and the candid man cautiously did the same. When the gentlemen put their hats back on, again the man not in on the joke looked around, and followed the lead of everyone else.

This example is sort of a stretch from real life, because in my opinion, people act weird in elevators all the time. Standing in a quiet, confined amount of space with strangers for more than a few seconds in definitely awkward in our society. Even though this experiment doesn't exactly mirror real life, it does give some insight into the way people think. The man was constantly watching everyone else for his social queues. Whether he was worried about appearing ignorant or just trying to blend in doesn't matter. The fact remains that without being instructed, the young man copied his surroundings so he didn't have to feel different. If you pay careful attention, this kind of stuff happens everyday, all the time. People hug the right side of a staircase whether they're moving up or down. No one jogs to class. If I see someone running with a backpack on, I immediately smirk and wonder where's the fire, because it's considered different.

I can't explain why humans are so prone to conformity but I imagine it has something to do with our primordial ancestors' need for some type of togetherness, or society. Those of a species that acted differently were considered outcasts, and the same remains true today.

I think the media effects men and women alike, just in different ways. In my opinion men tend to be more cynical. When they see an advertisement that shows chiseled, good looking men, they think, "Man, I bet I could pick up a lot more girls if I went to the gym and took care of my body, but I'd much rather sit here playing Xbox and eating Cheetos." Even though they may be affected by the advertisements subconsciously, men don't seem to be as openly worried about their outward appearance. Women on the other hand, tend to be much more open with their emotions and thoughts, and as a result, appear to be more affected by media trends and societal standards. I will totally agree with the fact that media companies definitely use the female body in advertising to a greater degree, and therefore, the increased exposure leads to media saturation. However, it is up to the individual to decide whether or not the opinions of society are going to affect the way they feel about themselves. I personally know a number of girls who don't seem to worry about how other people think of them, and I know a number of guys who are constantly worried whether that zit on their forehead is noticeable, or whether or not they look smaller this year than they did last year. My basic point is that although everyone feels some level of desire to conform to the standards of society, it is up to the individual to control how much their outward appearance matters to them. Maybe this is easier for me to say since I consistently go to class in dirty sweatpants and stained white Ts, but at the end of the day, I'm not trying to impress anyone. If someone is going to judge me based on the way I look, that good for them, but I'm not going to do the same thing to myself.

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