Colin Kaepernick Stands Up By Taking A Knee

Colin Kaepernick, an NFL Quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers decided to take a knee during the national anthem because he does not want to show pride for a country that oppresses people of color. Kaepernick immediately received backlash from people around the country. He responded by saying, "I am not looking for approval. I have to stand up for people that are oppressed. ... If they take football away, my endorsements from me, I know that I stood up for what is right." After all the backlash Kaepernick received, many people got a better understanding on why he decided to protest, and some players from around the league even joined him. Through social media while many people made death threats towards Kaepernick, ironically #istandwithkaepernick was the number one trend on Twitter started by many veterans and people who serve our country. They continued to echo Kaepernick's statements that they serve our country so we can have free rights and if he wants to take a knee that is his right to do so. Personally I respect Colin Kaepernick's protest for many different reasons. First of all he has the right to do so, and I would be contradicting my statement if I said he does not have the right to take a knee for a song that symbolizes "the land of the free". People also need to pay attention to the good that has come out of his protest. Kaepernick's protest has started conversation between police and communities, and he has put his money where his mouth is by donating $1 million dollars as well as 100% of his jersey sales, which became the top selling jersey in the NFL, to charities that aid communities. Whether people agree or disagree with Colin Kaepernick's protest there is no argument that it has caused a lot of good to come out of it and we should appreciate he is doing it peacefully.

Reflection On Microtheme

My micro-theme summed up the dangerous outcomes texting and driving could cause. The reason I chose to do my micro-theme on texting and driving is because it is so dangerous yet so common in our society as well. I used my Micro model to show how texting and driving could result in a tragedy and not just for you, but the people around you as well. I also touched up on how getting away with texting and driving does not mean we are immune to the possibility of something horrible happening the next time we are behind the wheel. A survey showed that about 75% of people text and drive or have texted while driving before. The survey also shows that 98% of these people are aware of the risks texting and driving contains. Why this is a common habit among us has no explanation, people need to realize that our lives are more important than sending out a simple text.

Micro Model: Texting And Driving

Photo Credits:

http://villaparkiliad.com/uncategorized/texting-and-driving-1-way-2-die/
http://www.icebike.org/texting-and-driving/
http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2011/08/wear-sunglasses-to-see-better-when-driving-in-the-rain/
https://pixabay.com/en/open-road-road-cloudy-clouds-757949/
http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/portrait-of-woman-student-getting-out-of-high-res-stock-photography/83735993

Texting And Driving

Car accidents is a top 5 reason for cause of death and the main reason for car accidents is distracted driving or as we all know it, texting and driving. Texting and driving is a major cause of death, yet over 75% of people in a survey claimed they text and drive. Nearly all of them agree it is dangerous, however they still don't shy away from doing it. Many reasons could lead to this explanation, however people text and drive because they don't feel threatened doing so, unfortunately more times than not the only thing that will stop people from texting and driving is when they experience an accident. It makes you question if this truly is an accident when we all know what is truly at risk when doing so,

Chicago Cubs NLDS

As October is well underway, so is October baseball and the Chicago Cubs find themselves in the playoffs for the second time in as many years. After failing to win the NLCS last year the Cubs made a few changes in the off season and with the growth and more experience of their young players they hope it is enough to finally make it back to and win the World Series. However, they can't afford to look too much ahead as they still have to finish off the San Francisco Giants, than win the NLCS, just to make it back to the World Series. But, after winning 103 games in the regular season, best in the MLB, and up 2-0 in a best of 5 series against a team that has won it all 3 times in the past 6 years, the Cubs have to feel pretty good about where they're at. Is this a season 108 years in the making, that question might be a little too early to ask, but the Cubs could get one step closer by knocking out the Giants tonight. #FlyTheW

Film Review on After Innocence

Here is my film review on the documentary, After Innocence.

Film Review On After Innocence

“It’s finally over it’s been 19 years.” That is more than just a number, it’s nearly a third of a man’s life that has been absolutely traumatized. It symbolizes an unfortunate truth that resides amongst us today. The documentary I watched for the DOC Project was After Innocence. This film consisted of several men who served in jail for many years over crimes they did not commit. However, that is just part of the issue as these men try to transition back to society.

To start off there were a couple things that surprised me in the film. Although sentencing innocent people to jail was not much a surprise as mistakes will happen, taking twenty years to figure out they were innocent is just beyond belief. Weather the DNA test be done earlier, hearing from more witnesses, whatever the cause may be, but to realize someone was innocent after they were in jail for over two decades is unacceptable. Another thing that surprised me in the film was the government ignoring the situation and not helping the people get their lives back on track. The very least they could do is offer some money to help them get themselves situated but ignoring the problem is a major problem in itself that needs to be fixed.

Moreover, questions remain unanswered after watching this film. The men in the film have already gone through the difficult phase of jail and trying to get back to their normal lives, but what about the rest of the men and women innocent in jail? The question that demands an answer, and quite frankly the right answer is, what will the government do going forward to solve this issue? There should be a law where the government owes innocent people a certain amount of money for the time they served in jail so they could get their loves back on track. Whatever conclusion they come to, one needs to transpire quickly.

To add on, some problematic concepts I see in this film that I would research more about is in fact how the government plans to address this issue. I also want to understand from the people that served in jail, their perspective on the situation and their lives five, ten, fifteen, years later and how they have adapted back to society. I would be intrigued to see how time in jail has changed them, even though they were innocent, but the people they have become after 20 years locked in a cell. However, the most important problem issue is how the government plans to fix this glaring issue that is ruining the lives of hundreds of people each and every year.

In conclusion, the men in this film are just a few out of hundreds around the country that served over decades in jail for a crime they did not commit. There has to be a better way to treat these people that have been proven innocent and more importantly to assure the people serving time in jail are all guilty of a crime, rather than innocent. It’s saddening a normal person like you and I could experience such a tragedy, but it is a main problem in this world that needs to be solved.

Presidential Candidate Debate

As the election of our next president nears, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton begin to have debates to persuade us on whom to cast our vote for. Personally, I'm not too thrilled about our candidates but I do look to vote for this upcoming election. I felt Donald as well as Hillary touched on some key points our country needs to address moving forward. Something I realized was many of their goals were similar such as making the economy better, defeating Isis, as well as solving the racial issues that remain in our country today, however their approach to get there differed from one another. It will be interesting to see what they believe is necessary to make America a better country for all going forward and which candidate will win my vote along with the millions of other Americans around the country.