Response to Lou Bean's Abortion Blog

Wow, those images had tears forming in my eyes and chunks wanting to rise in my throats all at the same time. I definitely think that its ridiculous that people are allowed to have abortions up until that point. I'm an exchange student from the states and abortion is a huge issue there as well and it makes me sick because I know some people who have gotten abortions multiple times just because they couldn't be bothered using a condom or getting on birth control. I feel as if there has to be something done to change how easy it is to get an abortion. I do believe that there are different circumstances-like rape victims, etc. and pro-choice should be allowed but it should definitely have to be done at a certain time, if you ask me. Good post.

(http://vomitandgiggles.blogspot.com/2010/04/abortion.html?showComment=1272668379446_AIe9_BFyp96B2OzGrZLvjzmlL7k90yPIMsJ3F3cbhUZuH_cgW8dxZaVpdDzNXzMqQYGelf9gMYlD9ndM-i9z9Og9f8PWc94d5a2CddsFN04EklPtPJMBkZ7H7ZyXGxREXSGeDuIDDxV9m739OtEInqtiOuunD-ainyNnJnAk-xPgSK-1dadCJ6a5HwsoUQIyCWcMgBcU2KHbLSua3Z_58XZ46quLRdfyzw#c4154727558380630789)

Hip Hop & Rap

(http://img171.imageshack.us/i/hiphopvj9.jpg/)

For some when they hear the words hip hop and rap they cringe. They think of the vulgarity that some rappers bring to the table, you know the "bitches" & "hos" aspect of it. But not all rap and hip hop artists focus their music on the disrespect of women or strictly talk about drugs. In fact much of rap and hip hop is a form of poetry and expression by the artists who produce it. With that said, its important to look at some of the history of the music to fully get an understanding as to why it really isn't all "bad". First I think its important to ask, whats the difference between Hip Hop and Rap? According to Kurtis Blow, one of the first rappers on the scene and also known as "Kool DJ Kurt" : Rap is talking in rhyme to the rhythm of a beat while Hip-hop is a culture, a way of life for a society of people who identify, love, and cherish rap, break dancing, DJing, and graffiti (The History of Rap: Vol.1-The Genesis). Second I think its important to take a look at some artists. For me one of the most controversial rap artists to people over the last few years has been Eminem. Personally, I have a high appreciation for most of Eminem's music, not all of course, but I think that he may be one of the most honest and poetic rappers to hit the scene. He is also by far one of the most vulgar. Heres an excerpt form one of his song, I'm sorry Mama:

"Now I would never diss my own mama just to get recognition
Take a second to listen for who you think this record is dissing
But put yourself in my position, just try to envision
Witnessing your mama popping prescription pills in the kitchen
Bitching that someone's always going through her purse when shit's missing
Going through public housing systems, victim of munchhausen syndrome
My whole life I was made to believe I was sick when I wasn't
'Til I grew up, now I blew up it makes you sick to your stomach, doesn't it?
Wasn't it the reason you made that CD for me, ma?
So you could try to justify the way you treated me, ma?
But guess what, your getting older now and it's cold when your lonely
And Nathan's growing up so quick he's gonna know that your phoney
And Hailie's getting so big now, you should see her, she's beautiful
But you'll never see her, she wont even be at your funeral *hahaha*
See what hurts me the most, is you wont admit you was wrong
Bitch, do this song, keep telling yourself that you was a mom
But how dare you try to take what you didn't help me to get
You selfish bitch, I hope you fucking burn in hell for this shit!
Remember when Ronnie died and you said you wished it was me?
Well guess what, I am dead, dead to you as can be"

(http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/I'm-Sorry-Mama-full-song-lyrics-Eminem/EDDBDC112352891448256E37000B5C13)

When you read the lyrics of this song you can see that he's talking about his life and what happened. It may seem crazy the way that he cusses and calls his mom a bitch but it is clear that this is a way to express himself. Eminem is just one example of artists that use rap as an outlet for their opinions and emotions. I could go on forever with examples but another 2 of my favorite are Kanye West and Common. I won't sit here and provide you a million examples of their lyrics but I will suggest that you look up a song each. For Kanye I'd suggest to look up "Through the Wire" where he talks about his near death accident and for Common I'd suggest the song "Dream" in which he talks about his dream of a better day for African Americans. Oh and one more group I'd suggest taking a look at would be The Roots "Been through the roots".

So overall the point is if you look deeper into Rap & Hip hop you will find that not all of it is really bad at all.

Response to A Rebel Yell's Road Rage blog

Wow, I can't believe that road rage is an official mental disorder. I have the worse habit of road rage ever, especially when I'm driving in an area I'm not familiar with and I pretty much look like a crazy person cursing and yelling in my car. Would have never thought to include this in "Being Bad", good job!

( http://beingbad-arebelyell.blogspot.com/)

Drink. Drank. Drunk.

(http://daninz.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/wickerpark3.jpg)

Binge drinking is an obvious issue in Britain as discussed in class. But as an international student from America I found that a lot of what we discussed is similar as at home. In fact, I'm pretty sure that we are probably the country that is the most comparable to Britain in the way that they drink. It's very common for people our age to focus on school and work all week but as soon as its Friday night start pounding the drinks. There are some nights that people go out on: especially Thursdays (Thirsty Thursdays as they are called in the States). Not only are we big binge drinkers but the whole leaving the clubs and getting into fights thing is quite common as well. Actually, most of the time there is at least one fight that breaks out-usually between two drunk blokes that probably don't even have a reason to fight but just feel like being complete meat heads. But its not just one specific type of person in the Uni years that binge drinks, I'm almost certain that at least 90% of students have been guilty of doing it at least once, I know I have. So the big question still remains: Why do we binge drink? Personally, I have find myself being guilty of binge drinking when all my friends what to go out dancing or I'm in any social drinking scene really. Half the time I'm only getting more drinks because everyone around me is drinking. I also imagine that stress plays a role in binge drinking as well. I mean at home I go to Uni every day of the week and then I work 30 some hours on top of that. When I get a night off and a chance to let loose I tend to go a little above and beyond on the drinking. I know that why people binge drink will probably always be one of those "mysterious" topics but overall I think that its mostly culturally related.

Heres a link to an article from the New York Times that discusses cultural reasonings to binge drinking: When People Drink Themselves Silly and Why

Sticky Fingers.

(http://www.retailtimes.com.au/var/tinymce/retailtimes/uploads/Image/ara_retailer/10_ara/store_300.jpg)

After blogging about peer pressure I started thinking of all the things that I've heard people talking about getting peer pressured into and I realized a common one was shoplifting. Then I started thinking of other reasons why people purposely shoplift. I've never personally stole anything from anywhere, I'm not really a big badass when it comes to that kind of stuff and I have the worlds largest guilt complex ever-not saying that its a bad thing but these factors just make it hard for me to really understand why people do it. The possible answers I came up with before I researched anything were: peer pressure (duh!), having no money & needing things & adrenaline rushes (the whole feeling like a bad ass thing). I found some articles that discussed the whole adrenaline rush aspect of it all but the most interesting article that I read taught me reasons that I never even would have imagined. The article "Shoplifting: the new middle-class disease?" takes a look at how a top PR executive 'Belinda Mowbray' shoplifts and why. It talks about how although Mowbray has the money to buy the clothes and jewelry that she decides to steal that she does it for reasons like knowing that she can and justifies it by reminding herself of the retailers that have ripped her off her whole life. Which I guess makes sense because lets be honest retailers are constantly overcharging for items that probably cost them very little to manufacture. Mowbray also defends herself by saying that she never shoplifts from a store that she has not recently purchased an item from-so maybe she's just trying to get her moneys worth? She also mentions that as she leaves these stores her heart rate barely changes. So I guess that when I read this article I realized that maybe everything that I thought about shoplifting, and the people that shoplift, could be wrong. I mean I'm sure that there are the people that shoplift for the reasons that I had first guessed but this puts a whole new twist on it. People that can afford to buy things but still choose to steal. So I guess my question now is: Is shoplifing "bad" behaviour or just "greedy" behaviour. For me I think that I've found it to be more greedy than bad and I kind of find it stupid. I mean I realize that there are the cases of shoplifting because a family can't afford to buy what they need, and lets face it the economy around the world is shit right now, so maybe just maybe they have a little bit of a reason to do so. But people that can afford the items that they are stealing but just do it 'because they can' kind of make me want to yack. How about you quit spending your energy on stealing from people, even if it is retailers who may rip people off' and put it into something to give back to people?

Response to Amina Caley's Vandalism blog

Hey, I have to say I agree with some of the points you made in this blog but others I may argue. I agree that when people graffiti on public buildings it can ultimately ruin the appeal of the building and cause a hassle for the people that have to clean them up. But I do think that graffiti has its place at times, like skate parks and when you are taking undergrounds and you see it as you fly by the walls. I also think that on street walls it can look quite nice, but that is usually agreed upon by the city in which is done. I think you've made a valid point but I hope you can see the art in some of the graffiti you do see.

"Cmon man just try it, just do it this one time."

(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKWl7Gog0o5KGXL54Zr7sT6cVk68-IuCtCxzvLGQLxNyEn0RzKCs8Oppcyjf4EFWFxhKNPEC7Wb3cBnjU0Lti4hyphenhyphenMcnBndKmL0uAS5UU5cE61jv1FxrVpmiXgzvtK3m8RqZH17guzRHV8/s400/peerpressure-1.jpg)

Peer Pressure. Now many of you may think I'm nuts for including this in a "Being Bad" class as peer pressure may not seem like such a big deal. But personally I think that it has some very awful effects on people. Think about being a teenager-like 14-17- and how many people tried to get you do something that you were hesitant to do. We have all been peer pressured and we all know how difficult it is to resist when on person is persistent. So are we being bad by surrounding ourselves with people that peer pressure us or is that just part of growing up? I personally think that peer pressure is just a part of life and perhaps even human nature. I know that as much as I'd like to say that I've never peer pressured anybody I know that I have, even if it's just something as small as one of my friends not wanting to go out one night and me pestering them until they give in and I get my way. But whats worse, somebody who surrounds themselves with people who constantly peer pressure or the people that do the peer pressuring?For instance somebody who struggles with alcoholism but still insists on hanging out with people that are constantly drinking and trying to get them to drink as well. There is clearly fault in the friends that are doing the peer pressure but if you know that you have a problem and that they only make it worse aren't you just as guilty for surrounding yourself with that way of living?

Peer Pressure isn't always bad though. I mean somebody could be constantly pressuring you into reading for an assignment or doing your school work. Or for the reverse role above and try to pressure you into hanging out with a new group of friends that won't have such a negative role on you.

I'm not going to fib when I say that the articles that I've read on peer pressure are pretty much what you'd expect: tutorials on what peer pressure is, how you can fight peer pressure, etc. But I still thought that this website had a good approach to it. They discuss why we look up to our peers so much, how peer pressure can be good and what to do when the pressure is on. Check it out: Peer Pressure

Winner, Winner, Chicken dinner.

(http://www.wikivorce.com/divorce/images/stories/jreviews/7450_gambling_1250852728.jpg)

When I started pondering different subjects that could go along with this module gambling was the first that really popped out to me. I've never quite understood gambling and why some people have such an addiction or why people really like to do it anyway. My brother got married in Las Vegas 2 and a half years ago and I of course wasn't old enough to drink (legally) or gamble so I decided to spend my money on shopping. Of course I was the only one that really felt that this was the right way to spend my money, I realize at the time I didn't have much of a choice but to be honest I don't think that if I went to Vegas today-now that I'm legal to drink and to gamble- I would spend my time wasting money at the chance to win more money then I started with. I'm much more the type that would rather spend money on something that I know I'm going to get something in return. I do understand the whole "thrill" of gambling though. I mean to put something in and really not knowing whats going to happen-leaving it to lady luck. So is gambling bad behaviour? I would say yes and no. The occasional gambling isn't so bad but I do believe that there comes a point where it becomes somewhat dangerous. For example, one of my good friends Kristina has been dating and living with her boyfriend (along with her son & his son) in a house that she made the down payment on and pretty much paid to fix up with her trust fund with the agreement that Jay (her boyfriend) would make morgage payments and put in money for living expenses for them all. Well a couple of months later Kristina found out that Jay was playing poker online and had lost thousands of dollars. He of course promised that he would not ever do it again if she helped him out of this mess just one time so she did and not even 6 months later he approached her again. It made her despise him for awhile and pretty much almost ruined their relationship and definitely the trust she had in him. When gambling starts to effect your financial life and your family life I think thats when it starts to be seen as "bad" and to be quite honest pretty stupid behaviour. I personally don't think that a small "thrill" feeling is worth losing loads of money and hurting the ones you love.

I did some research on gambling addictions and it even shows that people can get so addicted to gambling that they become suicidal from the problems that it causes. Heres an article that discusses gambling addiction and problem gambling: Signs , symptoms & treatments

Bad Cinema: Kids

(http://www.nataliedee.com/121007/safe-sex.jpg)

I have to say that this movie was rough for me to take in, not necessarily the message that it sends because I think it's an important one but more the way that they went about filming the movie. I mean I think that the movie is a little over dramatic in what they had the kids doing. I'm from the states and I know that there is partying and sex in high school, I mean that is definite-not for every student but overall it happens but I wouldn't say its much like whats seen in the movies. There are house parties where the major drugs are alcohol and maybe some marijuana. Every once in awhile you'll find the group of kids that venture out and try more hardcore things like coke and pill popping but its rare. Now sex on the other hand has become more and more common and I know that even in just my graduating class there were at least 6 girls that had kids before they graduated. I thought the movie did a good job talking about STDs because to be honest its not something that people really think that can happen to them-I think even more so in the States. When I started thinking about writing this blog I started doing some research on the number of teens affected by STDs a year in the U.S. The most recent article I could find included statistics from 2007 and discussed how rates for teens infected with STDs has been on the increase. In 2007, Teens from the age of 15-19 with Chlamydia were 379,418-Gonorrhea: 98,579-Syphilis: 664 (STD Statistics-Teen STD Statistics). This wasn't the only age groups the website included but I thought it was most fitting for the ages of the kids in the movie but to be honest some of the other numbers were even more shocking. To me I guess it shows that we are slightly uneducated in how to practice safe sex-no matter how much we'd like to think that out sex ed lessons in health class teach us everything it doesn't. I think its time for everybody to get a little educated (its not hard to practice safe sex, really) before it gets too "bad".

John Dillinger: Gangster or Robin hood of his time?

(http://crashlanden.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/wantedjohn1.jpg)

I wish I could think of a creative title for this but I just couldn't. It may have something to do with the simple fact that I've had a hard time really getting into this topic. Sure, I see the connection with the module and after a little procrastination I actually was able to start analyzing if these bandits we discussed in class really were "helping the poor". The story of Robin Hood was the one I was most familiar with and I still do believe other bandits we talked about I realized that the people of their time might have been a little misled. The one that caught my attention the most was John Dillinger. I knew of some movies that were based around Dillinger, including the most recent one with Johnny Depp in it, but I hadn't bothered to see any of them. Clearly gangster movies aren't my thing. But I started to read up on Dillinger and learned about how he was a bank robber and gangster during the great depression and how people of his time looked to him as a hero almost. Since there was so much drama during that era with banks pretty much stealing the peoples money I see how they may have thought somebody robbing from those same banks that were basically robbing them (of their homes and money) would seem almost heroic but were they receiving any of this money from Dillinger? No. So even though the bank and ultimately the government was being retaliated on by Dillinger the people of the country were still suffering. They weren't receiving anything personally so I don't think that he could be compared to as a Robin Hood. The research that I found on Dillinger was more of a historical line going through his life and the different crimes that he had committed. His story is an interesting one and the article is as well. I especially found it interesting that Dillinger was a leader of a gang when he was only 16 and the gang used to rob old coal mines. Heres a link to the article (I suggest if you have any interest in Dillinger to check it out, hell check it out if you don't it might spark an interest like it has for me): John Dillinger Biography

Nobody likes a copy cat.

(http://crazy-tattoo-designs.com/maori%20tribal%20tattoos.jpg)

This lecture was by far my favorite so far. Its not like I'm tatted up or pierced from head to toe but I've always had an interest in tattoos and have one of my own. The lecture was packed with history about tattooing and piercing that I knew slightly but not nearly to that extent. It got me thinking about if it is a compliment or an insult to tribes when we mimic their tattoos and piercings. The picture above is a 'copy cat' style Maori tribal tattoo. The Maori tribes are part of New Zealand and for them the tattoos are part of special rituals that celebrate specific and special events in a tribe-persons life. They receive their first tattoos as a rite of passage from childhood to adolescent and would be added whenever there were important events in their lives. Tattoos represented courage and strength of the individual and most of the time the men would cover their whole face (as seen in the 'copy-cat' picture above) while the women only covered their cheeks, the lips and sometimes their necks (What Are Maori Tribal Tattoos-Bernice Eker) So is the copying of these tattoos insult or flattery? I think to some extent it probably is insulting because to them those tattoos represent a huge part of their lives. Like the tribe that gets the face tattoos that literally tell their names to other tribe members. They get them for pride reasons and we get them just because we think that they are cool. Just like the chinese word tattoos that we get, I know many people that get them without even researching and just trust that they mean what they are told. They get them because they think they look cool but don't really know what they mean or represent to that culture. It just shows how easily we fall into "trends" without even considering that they may mean something more than just a cool design. I'm not saying that everybody that gets these tribal tattoos don't do the research or history behind them and what they mean to their designated tribes. If somebody take the time to learn about tribal tattooing and decide that they really appreciate the meaning behind something and what it represents to that tribe and decides they would like to get that tattoo then I don't think it should be seen as insulting. I mean people in every different country and culture has adapted something from one another at some point in their history, its only natural, so I don't think that somebody should be penalized or looked down upon if they have done their research and have a real appreciation or interest in the type of tattoo.

Heres an extra link that I thought was kind of interesting, its a brief time line of Tattoos which include some tribal tattoos and descriptions of the types of tattoos those tribes get: A Brief History of Tattoos

Flirtation: attention without intention? That is the question.

(http://michaelreeve.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/cheating-girlfriend1.jpg)

After the lecture on infidelity it really got me thinking about whats considered cheating. I mean sure theres the obvious sexual affairs that people may have but what about something as innocent as flirting? Luckily I'm single so I can flirt with as many people as I do please but I've watched a lot of my friends struggle with this issue. One of my best friends has been dating for her boyfriend for 2 years now but she has insisted in the past that he was flirting with one of their mutual friends, who just so happens to have been dating somebody for almost 6 years. So did my friend have the right to get upset? Personally at first I thought not. I mean to me it was like even if her boyfriend was casually flirting with their friend, which lets be real I know a lot of guys that flirt without even realizing that they are doing it, he wasn't trying to get her into bed or even making a sexual move on her at all. But after doing some research online it got me thinking that maybe I was wrong. I read the article, "When Does Flirting Become Cheating" which discusses that when a person is in a committed relationship even the lightest flirting can become dangerous because it's a very emotional act. See I was looking at cheating as being mainly physical but the more I thought about it the more I realized the reason people flirt in the first place. I mean sure sometimes you flirt just to have fun with somebody but regardless you are trying to stir up some kind of emotion in the person whether its for laughs or not. Taking a look at myself I realized I usually flirt based on the obvious attraction I have for somebody and at times I flirt with people that I may not have a huge attraction to but I know they have one for me. I can see now that maybe, just maybe flirting could indeed become hazardous to your relationships and could turn into cheating, whether emotionally or physically but should it be considered bad behaviour? I wish I could give a yes or no answer but personally I'm still torn and until I'm put in that situation I'm not sure I'll be able to, at least not honestly. Feel free to let me know what you all think.

"When the world ends, we'll be burnin' one."-Dave Matthews Band

(Image link: http://www.bongsbay.com/funny/marijuana-not-crack.jpg)

Are all drugs bad? I'd personally answer that with no. For me the majority of drugs can be bad and can clearly make people do bad things-especially drugs like: heroin & cocaine-I do believe that its probably best to avoid trying those but what about marijuana? I imagine a large portion of students in our module have at least tried smoking weed once in their lives. I also know a large amount of people that smoke in their daily life and still function normally. It's like a smoker who is addicted to smoking fags only they are smoking joints instead. I found an article online that discusses common myths about smoking weed and then presents the actual facts on the topics. One in particular that I liked discussed the myth that smoking marijuana is highly addictive. The article states the facts that read: "Most people who smoke marijuana smoke it only occasionally. A small minority of Americans - less than 1 percent - smoke marijuana on a daily basis. An even smaller minority develop a dependence on marijuana. Some people who smoke marijuana heavily and frequently stop without difficulty. Others seek help from drug treatment professionals. Marijuana does not cause physical dependence. If people experience withdrawal symptoms at all, they are remarkably mild" (Drug Policy Alliance Network). I'm not trying to sit here and tell everybody that they should go out and become stoners or that they should even occasionally smoke weed but I am asking everybody to really take a look at marijuana and if it's really that "bad" or not. I think that in some cases if it helps somebody relax, like me with a glass of wine or a pint of beer, and isn't doing harm to them or their bodies then they shouldn't be penalized for it.

For more Myths & Truths visit the Drug Policy Alliance Network's article online at: Myths and Facts about Marijuana