stand up for injustice y’all

Oct 30, 2009

We can all be influenced by our peers to adopt certain behaviors. The extent to which some will become involved in these behaviors just because ‘that’s what everyone else is doing’ is jaw-dropping. Two recent occurrences in the news sparked the thoughts for this post: the gang rape of a 15 year-old California girl after a homecoming dance, and the deaths in the Sweat Lodge during the “Spiritual Warrior” retreat in Sedona, Arizona. What makes it so hard to go against the grain and stand up to injustice?

CNN reports another arrest in the homecoming gang rape. But what about the dozen or so that witnessed this horrible act of violence and did nothing, or watched and yelled out demoralizing comments? So it was alcohol fueled. How stinking drunk do you have to be to watch another human being raped and beaten to the point that their condition is critical? How drunk to actually initiate or partake in these acts upon another? Who knows what the participants would’ve done without encouragement from others — but the onlookers? Certainly there was one of them that would’ve at least called 911 and stood up to injustice if not for peer pressure.

Adults are influenced by peer pressure too. Take the Sweat Lodge deaths as an example. Read Scott McKain’s viewpoint on the issue and watch the video he included of a survivor speaking out about the ordeal. Now I’m not posting this to talk about why these people paid to go to this ‘spiritual retreat’ in the first place, but rather what happened once something went wrong. The survivor in the video clip talks about “not being able to leave the sweat box because they were told not to if the door was closed’ — and even though she’s a professional (orthodontist) with extensive medical training and her FRIEND was dying right outside …she didn’t leave the sweat box. People were passed out with their eyes rolled back in their heads, mucus coming from their noses and mouths, others not breathing, most vomiting and NO ONE inside would open the door and help because they were told not to?

The influencing factors are totally different in these two instances, but the outcome the same. I don’t get it. There is not one person, not one group, not one ANYTHING that could’ve kept me in that sweat box without physically overpowering me if that were my friend outside. It was constructed of tarps for crying out loud! I would’ve torn the freaking thing APART getting out. Wouldn’t you? And there is not one person, not one group, not one ANYTHING that could keep me from doing my very best to stop an act of violence against another — even if my friends were the perpetuators.

I’ve been influenced by peers in the past and I’m sure I will be in the future. But I draw the line. Have you noticed that for most it’s easier to be influenced by negative peer pressure than by positive? And what was that old saying my Mother used to push down my throat? Something about…birds of a feather… If you’re going to be influenced by your peers — and we all are — then you better make sure you’re hand-picking them.

the Internet can be scary

Oct 30, 2009

I often post about how cool it is to be connected. Like having a video chat with my brother while he’s on a plane. I remember when my friends and I would talk about how in the future we would have phones where we could see each other. At the time, my family had a party line. But I imagined it would be more like the Jetson’s. You remember? The phone that didn’t ring, but when someone called a TV-like screen would magically pop up. I figured our robot maid would announce the caller before they appeared. Even without the robot maid, our ability to connect is unbelievably awesome — but it’s also pretty scary sometimes.

I’ve said before that I love Nancy Grace. She and CNN got some major points when they listened to me and revamped their web site pulling off the old BLOG (Nancy’s book still sucks out loud — no points to gain there!). Watching last night as she told about the suspect arrested in the murder of 9 year-old Elizabeth Olten being a female minor, I figured I’d see what was being said online by folks that lived there. And holy cow…

Within 15 minutes, I know the suspect’s first, middle and last names even though she’s a juvenile — AND innocent until proven guilty. I know her name on Facebook and have visited her page. I know the name she uses on Singsnap and listened as she miserably tried to belt out one of my favorite 3 Doors Down songs, “Here without You“. (I skipped the rest, but the total was 8.) I know her YouTube screen name and watched short portions of 3 videos (there were more, but I’d had enough), and I know what her two younger brothers look like when they are touching an electric fence. I know her MySpace name and I know that she lists her hobbies as, “killing people, cutting”. I also know that her last “recorded” sign-on was just a few hours ago — and I know it wasn’t REALLY her because she’s in custody. I visited the pages of a couple of her friends. I’ve seen photos of her posted on about all of the sources listed above, as well as on Twitter. I know all about the rumor of a teacher knowing too much being found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound — his name, his teacher profile, everything. (I say rumor not because it’s proven to be a rumor, but because I’m not posting this to talk about an investigation. This post is simply to reveal how easy it is to get information about anyone online.)

Now kids, that’s scary stuff! When people like me can get all this information about some young girl we don’t know in 15 minutes, what does that say to you as parents? Heck – what does that say to you non-parental units out there?

As an aside, Nancy should hire me and pay me lots of money to keep her BLOG updated and give her all the grit to use when she mercilessly attacks her guests. I should be the one who says, “unleash the lawyers!”

The War on Drugs

Oct 29, 2009

Posted by Perry

A topic that I’ve tried to stay out of has been the war on drugs. The debate has heated up the past couple of years with both sides making their case for why or why not some drugs (predominately marijuana) should/shouldn’t be made legal.

Proponents say that marijuana is, by itself, a harmless drug and that it has medicinal uses that warrant it being legalized. Those who oppose state that legalizing marijuana would lead to more people (the young in particular) using it for recreation. Both sides have valid points.

There are some out there who would benefit from marijuana, such as, certain individuals who are going through cancer treatment. Marijuana relieves the pain of chemo treatments that other drugs that are legal do not work for them as well. People who suffer from glaucoma and anxiety have also benefited from marijuana.

The problem, however, is that those people represent a small number of the population. The fact is that there are a myriad of drugs readily available that help people suffering from the above lead a better lifestyle. For everyone that claims marijuana is the only drug that works for them, there are dozens more who don’t need it. They lead productive lives without marijuana and see no need for legalizing it.

Supporters for legalizing it also state that by making marijuana legal, you take it out of the black market. This simply isn’t true.

Let us assume, for a moment, that marijuana is legalized. All you have to do to obtain it is apply for a medicinal marijuana card and have it prescribed by a doctor. The government monitors the growth and distribution of it and taxes it accordingly. Do you really think that drug dealers and suppliers would stand for the federal government taking money out of their pocket? What would happen would be dealers lower their prices and make it more available since you wouldn’t have to go through the hassle of obtaining a card to get a prescription. The cartels would make sure that they flood the market with cheaper marijuana.

Another problem that I have personally is that legalized drugs would be in the hands of people we count on. Think about it, legalized marijuana would be obtained and used by military personnel, police officers, fire fighters, EMTs, and even the doctor who is going to perform surgery on you today.

“Not going to happen because those entities have random drug testing” they say. The next step after legalizing marijuana would be the same people who clamored for it would involve that bastion of righteousness, the ACLU, to have random drug testing for marijuana deemed unconstitutional. After all, why drug test for a legal drug right?

The bottom line, in my opinion, is that the vast majority who want marijuana legal are not needing it for medicinal purposes, but rather are recreational users who no longer want to get busted for their indulgence.

I’ve seen it first hand – heck I’ve LIVED it. Should marijuana be legalized you would open a pandoras box of trouble. The system would be abused and it would still be available on the street. Just look at controlled drugs such as oxycontin, zanax, valium and others that you can find out there.

Legalizing is not the answer. Therapy and programs to help people with addictions, illness, and mental disorders is the way to really help them. Pain management clinics would be a boon to people and not have them dependent on a drug to function.

As I said earlier, I’ve lived it and seen it first hand. The war on drugs isn’t a waste of money, there is no government conspiracy concerning marijuana – sorry to burst the theorist’s bubble.

I said my peace, take it for what you will.