The last paragraph of this article really makes me not proud of the soldiers. They are over there fighting a war against the Taliban and people who are a threat, not innocent young teenagers or bystanders. Looking for innocent civilians to execute is morally wrong of this third platoon to do. Although they are there to kill people, which still is not morally right, they are suppose to be looking for the enemies not the innocent. That fact of the matter is, there most likely have been worst events like this that have happened throughout the many wars we have been in but no light has been shed on them. It is one thing if the platoon talked about “bagging savages” and another when they actually pull the trigger. After I read the article I imagined what things would be like if the war was here in the United States. If the enemy was killing our innocent civilians I would be pretty enraged. Not knowing if you or anyone you love is safe is a pretty scary thought. So by these soldiers planning to kill innocent people really makes me question some Americans and if one day a war should ever come to the States that innocent Americans will be killed at the hands of the enemy like the men of the Bravo Company in Afghanistan.
In class today we watched a film and it stated that in World War I 10% of the killings were civilians. Now our wars 90% of the killings are civilians. That statistic really made me mad. We are over there for a reason and that reason does not have to do with killing civilians. Obviously mistakes are made and if a soldier happens to accidentally kill one of the civilians that is a different story. But when you read articles such as this one, it is not surprising that the percentage of people that are being killed are the innocent and not the ones we are actually after. Hopefully all soldiers will eventually learn that these civilians have families too and if the roles were reversed that they would hope there lives would be spared.

Gender is not as black and white as most people think. Female and male are no longer the only genders, the intersexes are now apart gender. In the reading the author Anne Fausto-Sterling described the herm, merm, and ferm. Mr Devoureau would be considered a merm because he has testes and some aspects of the female genitalia but no ovaries. Though he was not born technically a male pseudohermophrodite, I would definitely put him in this gender category because of the lengths he has gone through to become a male. Transgender’s are highly discriminated upon, maybe even more so than homosexuals. For this man to be fired from his job because his boss found out he once was a girl is discrimination. Ever since he was a young boy he has acted like a one. He got his name changed on his birth certificate, surgeries, and takes male hormones. Who is to say he is not a male just because he was not specifically born one? No one should ever be judged on the personal choices that they make for themselves. It disgusts me that the employer stated that he was not terminated from his job because he was a transgender. In my personal opinion, I do not think that the men that had to pee in front of him would have cared that he was previously a woman. The fact that New Jersey is a state that bans discrimination against transgender status is hopefully enough for the employer of Mr. Devoureau to get in trouble. No one should have to feel that the person who they are and who they want to be has any effect on their job and the way others think of them. At the end he states that he is doing this so everyone knows it is wrong and that it won’t happen to anyone else. To me this is a really courageous act, knowing that he will be criticize either positively or negatively in the news. But that does not matter to him, all that matters is that everyone is treated equal and no one should have to lose their job like he did.

Like this woman speaking, so many children grow up only knowing war. Every day they see the red colors (blood and fire) and brown (the dirt and ground exploding) and that is all they have ever known. It is amazing how this woman speaker has come to be a considerably normal person. I know that having to see fighting, people dying, and complete chaos really takes a toll on people. For example the soldiers who have to witness things no one should ever have to sometimes go through some serious problems when they come back from war. I could not even imagine what it would be like to have to live in it.
She talks about the people in the movies who are heroes but they are still scared because they know at the moment they are going to die. Hearing something like that really makes you appreciate brave people who would fight and die for their country. Our soldiers are incredible who are fighting our wars because not only are they being heroic in trying to help our country, but also they are doing it voluntarily. Presently there is no draft that forces people to fight, that is saying a lot about the patriotism and love they have for our country.
The mention of Rwanda and Congo really disturbed me. She said that hundreds of thousands of women are getting raped and mutilated and that they just become numbers. To me, that is an absolutely horrifying thought. Not only are you getting tortured and raped, you are being completely stripped of who you are. As a woman, I find the things that are going on in these other countries to be completely inhumane and degrading.
The part of her speech that I think a lot of people do not think of when they think of war is that the people whose country it is in are still living their lives. They are still falling in love, going to school, going to hospitals, and getting divorces. They are not letting the war take over their whole lives, which is pretty amazing. If bombs and guns were going off constantly around me I do not know if I would have the strength and courage to live my day to day life normally.

Reading this article kind of shocked me in a way. Although I am not much a religious person myself, I know many people who have strong faiths in their churches and could not even fathom religions dying out, especially here in the U.S. Many people are not very religious, do not go to church very often, or even believe in god or anything for that matter, but the people who are religious I could not see them just letting their religion that they believe in die out. The only way I could see religion dying out in the U.S. is because that most of the people I know that are really religious are adults. If their strong faiths and views are not passed down to their children, then religion will absolutely die out. Though I could not imagine life without religion, thinking about it, not many people I go to school with are religious. By the time our parents die out or maybe even us, religions may be gone because of the loss of people who are very religious.
Before seeing the video, I did not really know about other countries religions and what they believed in. But I was surprised to see that some barely had any until recently. One big assumption as to why religion will possibly die out is because being in the majority is more appealing than being in the minority. That comes as no surprise seeing as how people are always more concerned about doing the “right” things and worried about what other people think of them. If friends and family start to not go to church it becomes easier to just blow it off altogether. I know that when I used to go to Sunday school I used to ask my friend if she were going and if she wasn’t, I would definitely not go.
As I mentioned before, I am not a very religious person, however I personally hope religion does not die out. For a lot of people it saves them and brings them hope and something to believe in. Sam and Laurie were talking about how many of the lifers they have talked to are very religious now. So if it weren’t for that religion, would some of those men spending their lives in jail be as content or maybe even alive if it were not for their newfound faith?

I’m glad this inmate wrote this letter to clarify many things people tend to think about lifers. I know that my immediate thought when I hear someone is in for life is that they murdered someone. A lot of the times it is clearly not the case but I feel that when you hear the news or stories of people committing crimes and going to jail, the people who get the longest are the murderers. He said that in the state of Pennsylvania if you are apart of the felony you are still given a harsh punishment. I guess it’s logical they would get time too, but when I think about rapists or people who actually committed the crime or murder getting out earlier or receiving a lighter sentence, It doesn’t make sense. Recently in the news, a man is possibly getting out of jail 12 years earlier than his sentence for good behavior. The thing I find wrong about this is he should behave well no matter what; he is in for killing and eating a 5-year-old boy. Although many inmates believe they should not be out of jail, I feel that those who committed less serious crimes should get out before a cannibal who exhibits “good behavior.”
I feel that not only does the news have an effect on why people believe lifers are mostly murderers, but also television shows. I know when I watch CSI or a show similar, some times people can get off rather easily but the people who murder get locked up for a long time. Obviously the shows are not real, but it still alters people’s perceptions on who they think are the one’s spending their lives in jail.
When you hear a story such as this lifers’, you kind of just think about how the invisible strings played an important part in his life. Although he was abused by his stepfather and addicted to drugs, he would have never discovered his hidden talents. It’s people like this that make you think everything happens for a reason. He seems to be in a very content with his life, and the place that just happen to show him that was jail.

I have seen this topic in a lot of news segments lately, which has really made me think about how offensive it could be. I truly believe that many people do not realize the hurt that the “r” word could cause/causes people to feel. Most of the time people do not say it referencing to people with mental retardation, they say it just as a word to describe something. It is kind of the same thing with the word “gay.” People say it to describe something and most of the time are not saying it in a way to be hurtful to people. I am guilty of saying something is “retarded” like most other people but have no bad intentions when saying it. After seeing videos of people saying how it is really offensive to them I definitely try and not use it anymore. Society should also try and limit their use of the “r” word whether it is harmless or not. Obviously it is not going to happen over night but I feel the more people become aware of it the more they will realize they should not say it and catch themselves if they do. I recently watched Becky from Glee doing an interview in which she clearly stated that the “r” word along with moron and many others are very offensive and hurtful to her and that she was often called these things in high school. This really got through to me and I truly took a step back and looked at how I would feel if I were in her place. It is a sensitive subject for some and people should take that seriously just like any other word that might be offensive to people. Some people can say that it doesn’t matter and they are not being offensive to them if they are just saying it about something, but if they were in a person’s shoes who had mental retardation or down-syndrome I bet that they would be singing to a different tune. People have their own opinions about everything and will do and say that they want to say, but we’re all human and equal and only want to be treated with respect.

When you come into money, it is easy to lose sight of things and people that really matter in your life. Usually when people are rich they view themselves as being better than others. However, winning the lottery is a completely different kind of being rich. For one thing, it is usually poor people who win the lottery. Like we have talked about in class, you cannot just jump social classes. A poor person will always view things differently than a rich person. What people do not usually realize when they win the lottery is the negatives that come with it. Typically, when people come into money other people are usually the first in line to try and get some. Not only do strangers or friends try to take advantage of your fortune, but also family members try and take advantage of the money you have won. To me, that is the ultimate slap in the face. Your family is supposed to love you and support you, not vie after your money.
Another negative consequence is not handling the money you win properly. Most people I would say would jump to get a new house, car, clothes, and anything else they could not afford before their winnings. What they do not realize is that winning the lottery is a one-time deal. It is not a salary for the rest of your life, it will eventually run out if you do not handle it correctly. Hearing stories of people losing their fortunes is not surprising to me because most people will get greedy and will not stop until they have everything they have ever wanted. It is a good thing that lotteries can provide people who do not have a lot of money with the means to help support them. It is when they take advantage of their luck and sometimes end up back where they started that it is not good.
Not all people will waste their lottery money on nothing. In the article, one man helped his sister out so she would not have to get into a nursing home. People like that deserve to have the winnings that will help family members, friends, and other people in the world. It is easy to get caught up in money, but what people often forget is where they were before they had it.

The reason we fear things that are uncommon is because stories put in the media usually are enough to scare people senseless. Although some of these stories like this one end well, a lot do not. Look at the Dugar kidnapping, she was held captive for 18 years and had two children with her kidnapper. She was finally found, but basically had her whole childhood and teen years stolen from her. Scary stories like these are the ones that instill great fear within parents. Real life stories are not the only ones that scare people. I know that when I watch a movie or television show about a kidnapping or something terrible that could easily happen to a young girl or to anyone, I get very cautious and paranoid and am always aware of my surroundings.
When I read that studies say the best advice to give to kids is to tell them to talk with strangers when there is a problem, I was very surprised. From what I remember and have always heard is that you never talk to strangers, get in the car with them, or “take candy from them.” I did not know that children were being encouraged to talk to these “strangers” that I was taught were “bad.” If I had children and saw things in the news, in the movies, or from knowledge that was instilled in me, I would without a doubt make sure they never talked to strangers and always held my hand and never strayed away. But that is something I was always taught, I do not think it is bad if parents encourage their children to ask for help from a stranger, I would just be the paranoid one to tell my children not to. Personally, I think you cannot trust anyone until you know them because although strangers could be very helpful, they could also be very dangerous. I think that if you are telling your children to talk to strangers you should definitely let them know which one’s are ok to approach. A child at a young age may not know the difference, but if they’re taught to look for certain things then it might keep them safer.

In our society, polyandry seems like a pretty strange way for people to be married. It makes sense as to why they would practice this style of marriage though. Considering the ratio of men to women, it is logical to have multiple men married to one woman. Although polyandry seems the same as polygamy, the roles of men and women are reversed. The strange thing to me is that they allow women to have multiple husbands. In most cultures it is frowned upon for women to have more than one partner. In this culture it is normal for women though. With all that said, I still do not agree with having a marriage with multiple people. You should be committed to one person regardless if there is an uneven ratio of men and women. I can’t judge what they practice in a different part of the world, but I believe it should not be allowed in the United States. Obviously polyandry is not practiced in the United States, to my knowledge, but polygamy is. I find polygamy to be very wrong, not only because a man is married to multiple women and has children with them, but because often young girls are forced to marry much older men or in some cases there own father. That lifestyle should not be allowed to be practiced anywhere along with polyandry.

As for China, the one child rule is a good way to regulate that population. With that said, making people have abortions or killing their children because they are girls is inhumane. The population would not be able to grow without women reproducing. If the majority of the people are men, there will be a serious problem as to how reproduction is going to occur. China should have people be more careful after having one child and promoting women go on birth control or use condoms. Killing their unborn or born children is simply irresponsible and just wrong on the part of the Chinese. Having this uneven ratio is their fault and problem and I feel should be taken more seriously. Killing babies is murder and Chinese families let this happen knowing that it is their children being killed.

While reading “Remember” so many emotions came over me. The shortness and conciseness of each line did not matter when the words meant so much. I got chills reading over just the first couple of lines. My favorite part was where he said that “and I can remember is that while men cannot forgive me (and should they?)… a mighty and all powerful GOD has.” I feel that was the strongest part in the whole letter. The fact that he understands everything he had done has changed so many people’s live but realizes that GOD, who is omnipresent, has forgiven him and his mistakes. It must have taken him a long time to come to terms with what he has done and to realize GOD forgave him must have been one of the greater feelings of his life.
In the letter he mentions no one visits him in prison. He is already 26 years in and I can only imagine how lonely having no visitors can be. Although I do not know all of the circumstances, I think this man should not be completely cut out of his loved ones lives anymore. In my town, two teenagers died during their junior year due to a drunk driver, it practically shaked the whole city. Over time, wounds begin to heal and people start to forgive. You can’t go your whole life blaming someone and holding on to something or someone that is no longer here. I do not know what I would do in the situation of the family of the boy who got killed, but I do know you can’t hold on to someone forever. You have to let them go and come to terms with it. While it was the man’s fault and he is serving time for it, can the family hold a grudge and blame forever? In almost all cases it’s not what the family member who died would have wanted.
It is not for me to judge or tell people what to do, but by forgiving it will let something free and may be the pain of losing someone won’t hurt as bad. People’s lives should not end because someone else’s does. They would want them to live life for them and not dwell on what things could have been like.