Outside Reading #2

 

In my second blog post I want to talk about another big reason that he talks about in his book. He discusses the sense of being a burden on loved ones. I have never thought about that as a legitimate reason to commit suicide. Then I started to think, and people who suffer from depression often times distant themselves from their families often times because they resent them because of the shame that the individual feels. That could easily weigh on an individuals mind and drive them to the brink of insanity. One's loved ones are the people they care about most and once that individual feels like they lost them, what else matters?

       Suicide is a very serious topic and so many individuals have lost great futures because of it. Famous people such as Kurt Cobain and Junior Seau have killed themselves and they were icons in their respective fields of work. Kids can look up to these figures and see that suicide is an option. Serious education needs to take place in schools so that kids know that suicide in no way out. It is an awful thing to do and won't solve anything. In my opinion the biggest thing adults can do to prevent suicide is to educate their kids about the dangers of having that mindset.

Outside reading post 1- trying to understand

   

For my outside reading assignment I chose to read the book Why People Die by Suicide by Thomas Joiner. I recently did a project about suicide and its relation to bullying; this is obviously a topic that really interests me. There are certain reasons that I am so captivated by this topic, my friend that I knew pretty well committed suicide and also one of my fifth grade teachers took her life. I always have had trouble thinking about why them committed it and what really drove them to that state of mind. This book taught me a lot about reasons about how people can end up this way and it really helped me understand the deaths and come to terms with them.

     In this post the main reason that I am going to talk about is loneliness and isolation. My friend that committed suicide wasn't the most popular kid in the school to put it lightly. I was one of his only friends, but he was honestly a great guy he was just very shy. What I thought after reading this book was that that was probably the main reason he committed suicide. It really helped me a lot because although I’ve done research on suicide I have never found a concrete reason about his action until now. I believe that I found a great outside reading book.

President Obama- Real or Not?

Recently In an interview President Obama said that he believes that same sex couples should have the same marriage rights as anyone else. In my opinion he was pressured greatly with the upcoming election and Vice President Biden's comments he made previously. Joe Biden said in an interview that he believes that same sex marriages should be allowed. President Obama was kind of frustrated but not mad that he said that before him, because he said that he wanted to say it on his own terms. It was a pretty sticky situation but I thought that he handled it well.

  Although I do think it is a step in the right direction, he still believes that the states should determine whether or not to allow the marriages. I really do think that it is late enough in his term, that by him saying this it is a stunt to get more votes. Even though it could only be for votes, the impact is still the same. The gay community finally has support from the white house. It is a huge step in a huge fight for them. I am very curious and interested to see how this pans out and whether we will see gay marriage legal across the U.S within the next ten or twenty years.

Trayvon Martin

    This is a pretty old story but I never got to share my opinions about it. Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman, but yet Trayvon did not commit any crime and did not have any weapon on him. Trayvon is now dead, yet Zimmerman is still living and he is not behind bars for murdering this young man. He claims it was in self- defense and that Trayvon was smashing his head on the sidewalk and that he sustained injuries. A long range camera showed no signs of serious injury to Zimmerman after the encounter.

   In my opinion Zimmerman is a monster and he racially profiled Trayvon and automatically assumed the worst about him even though all that he had was some candy. It disgusts me how some people are still so backwards even after all of the civil rights work people have done and how much more our society is educated in being tolerant. In all honesty I do not think Trayvon would be dead if he was not black. Zimmerman sees him walking close to houses because it was raining and just assumes that he is up to no good. I am honestly sick to my stomach and really hope justice is served.

   If George Zimmerman is not locked up I think that there will be many death threats to him and maybe someone will take action. It is not only in public interest to lock up a criminal like him but also in his best interest if he wants to keep his life. In my opinion this is a true test whether or not the legal system is biased or not. I pray to god it goes by the facts and gives Zimmerman what he deserves.

Junior Seau- Too young

   On Wednesday of this week Junior Seau was found in his home dead with a gunshot wound in his chest. At first it was wondered if there was any foul play involved but in the end it was ruled a suicide. This is awful because obviously it was a human life but also the fact that he was an icon and so many young people looked up to him for his play on the football field. I was in complete shock when I heard that this had occurred because all that I have known of him was a happy charming man. When I saw him on ESPN for interviews he was always laughing and enjoying himself, so I never expected that he would ever go to this extent. I guess you never can really know someone by just looking at them.

   Seau's family has agreed to let his brain be studied to see if he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy which is a degenerative disease that comes when a person suffers a lot of concussions. Former Ex-Nfl player Dave Duerson had the disease and committed suicide in the exact same way, he shot himself in the chest. Suicide is a mystery to me. So many different things can cause a person to want to commit it and it honestly blows my mind that a disease such as this could have sent to NFL players to death. Although, I do think it is a great thing that his family agreed to let his brain be examined because it could help others understand about the disease and about suicide and who knows it could even save someone's life.

   It is a very sad day because a great person and a great player has died. This is tragic but in my opinion the way the family is handling the death is great. They are trying to move forward and help others using Junior Seau as an example and I appreciate that because who knows it could end up helping me or someone close to me someday.

Derrick Rose- tragedy

         On Saturday the Chicago Bulls defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 103-91. That loss was overshadowed greatly by the injury to Bulls point guard Derrick Rose. He tore his left ACL with 1:10 left in the game. Teammates and coaches rushed over to him quickly but realized that it was awful when he said that his knee had popped and the look upon his face. It was a tragic day in the city of Chicago.

         The news was all over ESPN it was the front page for at least two days, and the storylines were all similar: that the bulls’ championship aspirations had faded away quickly. I refused to believe it because this was the same team that kept on winning even without their floor leader. I still strongly believe that they have a chance to make it far into the NBA playoffs. Also, there was talk that he would not be able to return at the same level, I don't believe that at all either. Chris Paul suffered a similar injury and he has come back full force, if not even better I am a huge Bulls fan and believe in the effort of the team and the effort of Derrick Rose as well.

           In basketball terms they are losing a lot but their depth will help to minimize their losses. One can obviously not replace Derrick Rose, but the consistent play throughout the year of C.J Watson and John Lucas III will hold other point guards at bay and also score and spread the ball a significant amount. In addition the defensive play of Derrick Rose and C.J Watson is very similar so there is not much of a drop off there.

           Nearly every news article I've read about the situation has either been writing off the Bulls or pitying Derrick Rose. Both are not needed the Bulls have fought through adversity all year and will continue to do so on the way to a championship. I truly think the Bulls have a great chance to win it all this year.

Denial

I believe that whites do have more privileges than blacks today in America. There has been a racism problem for hundreds of years and I don't believe that it is going away any time soon. It’s not because of bad intentions; it is because people are too timid to address the problem. As stated in the article Denial by Tim Wise, once people realize that there is a problem, they soon come to the conclusion that it will take too much effort in order to make an impact. That is the sad truth of society today.

         Being born white gives one many advantages today. A black child basically is born with a lesser chance to succeed than their white counterparts. This is prevalent in the region that I live in and is made evident in the article. Tim Wise uses scenarios to make people think while reading his article. It is very effective because it puts you in the shoes of the victim for once and helps people relate. People don't really understand racism until they witness it. I have a couple of black friends and I have heard countless stories of the adversity that they have to face on a daily basis and it really ticks me off. They are all nice polite people, but that doesn't matter to certain people, all that does is the color of their skin.

         Wise illustrates the problem we have in society perfectly. It is the bystanders that are causing a lot of racism as well as the ignorant people.  Some whites are in denial that racism is prevalent today, but they are just blind, all they have to do is look around and see the injustices occurring.