There are stories like this one all over the news every single day in every single town all over the world. There's also like 85 different crime shows on tv. It's all over the place. Like people said, no wonder parents are giving their kids this bad advice. And this isn't a new thing. I remember having some special teacher come into my elementary class when I was little to tell us all about stranger danger and how to scream "no!" and run away. I'm pretty sure there was a video with puppets involved. It's been embedded in our brains for so long. I still find myself avoiding eye contact with strangers while walking down the street and being really stand-offish. However, I can see why these lessons and this advice are kind of stupid. Little kids are pretty good at judging whether or not a person is bad even when adults or older kids can't. I think that all we have to teach them is how to say no and when to run and when to ask for help. Not all people are bad so we shouldn't be teaching our children not to trust anyone. Especially when so many people are effed up with trust issues nowadays. I think that people are starting to get so scared now that they think that the world is this terrible place where everyone is out to get you to hurt you or rape you or kill you. Now, these people may think that I trust too easily, but there is definitely a better chance of someone NOT hurting you and kidnapping you than of someone actually doing that. It's just glorified and amplified on tv to make this world seem a million times worse than it is. People are pussies.

My dad works in a maximum security prison and has worked there since like...the early 90s. He's not usually allowed to talk about anything that happens, but never have I ever heard him refer to a prisoner as something other than just a prisoner. And I guess it's never really occurred to me that all these people are that, they're people. After reading this, I feel terrible. These people may be locked up in a prison, but that doesn't mean that they don't have feelings and experiences and regrets. And the experiences like all the people you thought cared about you simply forgetting about you, except for your mom, or your wife pretty much crossing you out ofher life all sound really terrible, but this man seems to say that they weren't as terrible as what he did to the boy he killed, the families he ruined. He can remember all the details of that night and the events that followed, but after he was put in prison everything else just doesn't seem as important.
To me, this is the worst punishment anyone would have to endure. Everything that seemed so important in your life just isn't anymore because of a single stupid mistake that changes your life forever. And now your life is prison and always will be. These people in prison for life must be very strong, and if they weren't to begin with they got that way pretty quickly. I can't even imagine.
It's good this man has developed a relationship with God since all of his other people have pretty much left him. All he has is God and time so no wonder God has forgiven him. Although I feel like, with that amount of time, you've got to develop a relationship with someone or something or else you might go insane.

Of course this video is super funny, but as we've been learning in class there's a reason every person that was in the elevator with the actors eventually conformed. Just because we know something isn't right doesn't mean that if everyone else is doing it we won't. It's like the saying "if everyone jumped off a bridge would you?" And sad as it is that if EVERYONE actually did, most people would go right along with it. If a huge crowd came running past you you would more than likely go running after them even if you had no idea what they were running to or from. You can't just be left there in the street while everyone is going that way, right?
Also, you can tell that even though the people were going along with what everyone else is doing, they (especially the last guy) look super uncomfortable and confused. Even though they know that this is not the way to stand in an elevator, they can't possibly be the one to go against the group. It's like a small internal struggle. However, who ever said you actually had to stand in an elevator facing front? Everyone else does it, except in this special case. That's how it's always been. So it's kind of like a double edged sword or whatever. Who started all these etiquettes?
It's beginning to seem like no one is actually making any decision for themselves, it's the group, but who makes the decision for the group? These invisible strings are so deep inside us, it's going to be hard to get any slack. Even the "nonconformists" are conforming to that group. You can't escape it. It's like it's impossible to actually, truly be your own free person.

Okay, this is ridiculous. Like seriously? Nowhere in the article or the video clip did it say that this child had any history of abuse or anything happen in his whopping 5-year lifespan. They didn't say anything about him being a bully or a violent kid. So, why on earth are they calling him a suspect in this case? And WHY is it even a case? The kid accidentally brought a weapon to school. He didn't even know it was an actual weapon. Five year olds don't even know what guns really do. They do not see a gun and think "oh that's a weapon I can take to school to hurt someone with" they think "oh I saw one of those on tv. It was funny when the cartoon character used it against the other one and then the bad guy got right back up." There are not 5 year olds running around trying to kill people. It was an accident. I mean, I know it could have ended badly, someone could have actually gotten really hurt, but this kid wasn't waving it around or showing it off. He had it in his pocket. Instead of calling in the police they could have gone to the principle, asked the kid where he got it and what he was doing with it, explained that it was a bad thing to have at school, called the parents, tell the parents what "gun safety" really is, and be done with it. It's not hard, is it? It's hard for me to wrap my head around why this is such a huge deal. Like why was there an entire news story on it? This kid is seeing his story on tv and now he thinks he's famous for bringing a gun to school. These people could very well have given this kid a reason to keep bringing guns to school, he's going to go looking for them now. OR he thinks he's in huge trouble and doesn't understand why. These people are effing up this kid and he just thought the gun was weird or cool. This is stupid. Those people are stupid. It's like they're running out of news, let's pick on the children, they can't stop us. Goodness. Parents need to be more responsible and school administrators need to calm down. This kid is 5. Trade the gun for a remote control car or something and he's happy. Goodness.

I think beauty pageants are a little….traditional. I don’t think it’s fair for a girl to have to go up on stage and parade around in a dress and answer dumb questions in this day and age. However, a lot of these pageants now offer scholarships to the winner and other great benefits. So I can’t just write them off as pointless.

As for the freedom to be in them, I think you have to look at it case by case. Not every mother is living through their tiny two year old prancing around in a cute little outfit, but maybe some of them are. And not every little girl in the pageants hates it. I have definitely seen some snobby little girls who walk around in their everyday life acting like they’re real princesses and I’m sure they would love to be in those pageants. If these little girls really and truly didn’t want to be in these pageants, they would throw a fit and refuse to go. I mean, you know how stubborn two and three year olds can be. And in that case if their mothers don’t let them stop, I do think that their freedom is being restricted or even taken away completely. But seriously, they could just sit down and refuse to move. Everyone, young and old, has the ability and freedom to be stubborn.

I think this changes when the girls get older. As a teenager, you may very well be completely controlled by your mother, but you’re letting her do it. The girls that say they have no choice in whether or not they want to be in a pageant, I believe, are just scared. They’re scared to stand up to their mothers. They may even go as far as saying that they don’t want to disappoint their moms, but in all honesty, most moms just want their kids to be happy and force them into doing things they think will make them happy.

But again, I think this is a case by case thing. Everyone is different. Entering a beauty pageant is not the same as selling your soul to the devil. You will not die if you do or do not do it. If you really don’t want to do it, you don’t have to. This goes for all ages. I believe that everyone has the freedom to decide whether or not they want to be in a pageant. As well as other competitions, or team sports.

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