So first a little update on what's been going on in "Markville." Not much to say, really. Everything has been going smoothly, but I will say there is major change for me on the horizon. As some of you may know, I, along with my fellow AP students, have been suffering in my classes, specifically AP Stats, but there is some light at the end of this tunnel. Call it "giving up," call it whatever you will, but I have finally decided to take the first steps towards dropping that class. I have tried week after week, day after day, to make the least bit of progress in that class, with no results whatsoever. I know some people think otherwise, but I believe that it is better to drop that class and spare the trouble of watching my GPA dip than to stay and keep on suffering and wasting my time and effort. Now I bet there are some of my fellow AP Lit classmates reading this and thinking Bro, why not ditch AP Lit instead? You know our teacher is impossible to deal with! Get out while you still can!! I'll be honest, yes it is a pain to have to deal with preaching over teaching almost half the time, but keep in mind my major has to do with writing (hell it is writing), so I'm willing to go through the trouble of dealing with our teacher in a class that will undoubtedly help me in the future than struggle in a class that's helping me not in the slightest bit.
One last bit before delving into today's topics, if any of you reading this are into Anime (or not), you all should check out Tokyo Ghoul. I'll admit, I was a little incredulous on what to expect for this, as I myself am not into Anime or Manga, but when my bro introduced me to it, I was HOOKED. For those of you who do watch Anime, TG specifically, the new continuation of the show, Tokyo Ghoul: Root A, premieres today, and I just finished watching the first episode, and I must admit...it was okay. I mean I haven't read the Manga (yet), so I can't comment on what was left out or anything like that. Obviously I'm not a big-time Manga/Anime fan, but I will say that I am pretty stoked for what is to come and what's to become of the series. If you're not into that stuff, you should definitely give it a try. You will not be disappointed. On with today's stories.
Parlez-vous Freedom?
So I'm sure many of you--if not all of you--know or at least heard about the bloodbath in Paris not too long ago which was carried out by a group of terrorist sympathizers. The attack on Charlie Hebdo, a French newspaper, is another example of the consequences brought by the blessing of free speech, as well as the more-harm-than-good sentiment of religion. Now I'm not gonna single out any one particular religion, but I will say that this is why more and more people become unaffiliated with these beliefs. There is no such thing as a "religion of peace," especially not whatever it is these terrorists are promoting.
Where to begin? Well first of all, I stand by the employees at Charlie Hebdo, and they have my 100% support of the way they go about flaunting their creativity. I feel like this what all newspaper/media companies should do. Just give the world the finger and show everyone how they truly feel regarding certain topics. I mean that's exactly what I do in my blog posts. I give my honest opinion on what's going on in the world and when it comes down to expressing myself, nothing else matters to me. This is what I want to do with my life. Write. Express myself. Make my voice heard. These terrorists and other opponents of free speech think they can get away with their actions and deter the future of journalism and free expression? Nope. You are dead wrong. I am fully aware of the risks that come with the package. I mean all you hear about in the news these days is journalists getting their heads cut off or massacres like this one. But you know what? If it is my fate to die doing what I love to do, then so be it. Freedom of speech means everything to me, and to have that blessing in this country full of wrongdoings is something I do not take for granted.
Second, this is exactly why (no offense) the religion of Islam is looked down upon. Now, obviously, just like with cops, not all Muslims are terrorists or terror sympathizers, even if it seems like it. And to be fair, I don't just have a bone to pick with this particular religion. I loathe religion as a whole. As we all can see, it just brings more harm than good. Religion is the main reason we as humans are divided and are tearing each other to pieces. The way I see it, religion and the practice thereof is simply a way to keep us on a leash. A way to prevent violence. Tradition. It means nothing. But some people just take things way too seriously. Speaking of which, I see nothing wrong with the depiction of Muhammad that sparked the violence. Other major religious figures (and non-religious) are satirized in some form or another, yet no one ever seems to give a hoot about that. That's the beauty of freedom of expression. That we can speak or draw what's on our mind without worry of being reprimanded. These terrorists want to take that right away from us. But it won't work. This blessing is here to stay, and I'll do my best to fully exploit that right when I'm writing front pages for the New York Times or some other major newspaper in New York (which is my future home, just FYI).
Who Let the Dogs Out? Not PETA, Apparently...
Take a look at this photo here:
See anything wrong here? Yeah neither do I. All I see is a boy harmlessly standing on his pet dog, a large dog, mind you, who doesn't even seem to notice that there is a much smaller human being standing on him. But, this was another no-no for, you guessed it, PETA. Jesus Christ, here we go with these people again...
Okay...where to start...he's a KID. A KID. KIDS like to have fun with their pets in other ways that are "worse" than simply standing on their dog's back. If this photo wasn't posted, PETA wouldn't even be getting their dirty paws into business that's not theirs, as they always do. Hell, I had a dog (100x smaller than a lab) who was practically tortured by my younger cousin, and yes the pooch was afraid of the little rascal, but he still loved his owners dearly as if nothing ever happened. Kids do the craziest things with their pets on a regular basis (pulling their cats' tail, throwing their birds into the air, etc), but that's just how they roll. If PETA doesn't hear about it, they butt out, but as soon as they catch wind of something as trivial as a small kid standing on his much larger companion's back, all hell breaks loose. C'mon now, PETA. Why not go after the people who are purposely abusing their pets? Ever thought of that? Nope. Standing on a dog's back is worse than actually hurting it, right?
Rise of the Millennials
So I'm sure many of you heard Kanye's new song "Only One" on New Years Day right? I'm not a fan of the guy myself, but the song was decent, and hey-yo, Paul McCartney! Then came the Twitter rage... Some of Kanye's fans seemed completely lost and were praising the rap star for giving this "new" star exposure. Whether they were serious or not is up for debate, but the reaction to the tweets were priceless. Left and right there were Twitter junkies losing their heads, preaching "I don't wanna live on this planet anymore" crap over, what, five, six people who didn't know who Paul McCartney was. Assuming this handful of people was serious, yes it is quite an embarrassment. Yes we should all be facepalming at their complete slowness. But--again, assuming they were serious--we shouldn't lose our heads and go all nuts just because a tiny percentage of Kanye's fans know no other music other than his. There are still major bands out there that have been around for some time that I'm barely starting to catch up on myself, but what do you expect?? Sure, we don't live under a rock, but it's not like we are the gods of music or something. We can't know every single artist out there. Now, assuming they were joking around, it is pretty funny, I suppose, but again, this kind of humor can attract the wrong attention from the millennials...
Close
So that's the end of this post, peeps. If you made it this far, thanks for reading. Hope you are all having a great week. Stay up to date, stay safe out there, and until the next post. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment