A Step In The Right Direction

March 24, 2018 was not a normal day in Washington D.C. The district was jammed packed with people protesting the same agenda. They sought increased gun control and more school safety measures. It is estimated that nearly 1,200,000 to 2,000,000 people attended the rallies with many more globally making it the biggest protest ever in the history of the United States. The National Park Service estimated expected only around 500,000 people to attend the rally, which is how many people came to support the Women's March on Washington in January. This march was created by the students of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. The students were survivors of a school shooting and the tragedy is being referred to as the tipping point for gun control legislation by many people.

A picture of the rally in front of the Washington Monument in D.C.

According to CNN, the main goal of the protest was to achieve three things.
1. Pass a law to ban assault weapons that are frequently being used to carry out shootings across America.
2. Restrict the amount of ammunition and stop the sale of high capacity magazines to reduce the fatality if shootings.
3. Close loopholes, have stricter background checks, and require them on all gun purchases.

The march gained huge popularity from many celebrities like George Clooney, Oprah Winfrey, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Steven Spielberg. All of the previously listed celebrities donated $500,000 each. They were the biggest monetary supporters, but other celebrities like Amy Schumer, Harry Styles,  Paul McCartney, Kanye West, and even Kim Kardashian all have offered support for the rally. Other celebrities like Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, Jennifer Hudson, and Demi Lovato have all reported to have participated in the march. The support of celebrities have been huge help as it spreads the message and bring awareness. Half time performer at the recent Super Bowl, Justin Timberlake tweeted this message to his 65.5 million followers. Does this type of involvement show actual sympathy or is he just trying to do what people want him to do?

The National Rifle Association responses to these rallies have been very interesting. Grant Stinchfield, a NRA TV host, said "March for Our Lives is backed by radicals with a history of violent threats, language and actions." I found this to be very spontaneous as many of the speakers at the Washington event were young students. Calling them the names that he did just seems to be petty and that he had no actual support to back up his clams.

Emma Gonzalez recently gained attention in the media saying "We call B.S." referring to NRA backed politicians. She was also a speaker on March 24th, and provided a heartfelt message in six minutes and twenty seconds, which is the amount of time it took for the gunman to kill 17 of her classmates on February 14th. She begged politicians to make changes in the way people can buy guns so no other student will ever have to face what she has.

Emma Gonzalez speaking on stage

Another speaker is also making head lines after she threw up on stage because of how worked up she is over the whole topic. Same Fuentes, a student who was wounded from a gunshot in Parkland, Florida had this to say, “and the moment we speak up, we’re scolded that we are not old enough. It’s as if we need permission to ask our friends not to die. Lawmakers and politicians will scream guns are not the issue. But can’t look me in the eye.” Soon after she vomited on national television. With cheers from the crowds and help from a friend, she was able to get a hold of herself. She returned to the microphone and finished her speech.

The march had a huge turn out and sparked even more events to put pressure on legislators to change the laws on gun. A group of students decided to walk 50 miles from Wisconsin to the hometown of Paul Ryan, House Speaker of the United States. The forty students are leading the battle for gun reform in the United States. Katie Eder, a fellow student who helped create the event said "we wanted the country to know that the young people aren’t going anywhere; that we want our voices to be heard and we want change to be made and we are going to continue to march. Fifty miles and then 50 more miles, and 50 more miles after that."

This march occurred a day after President Donald Trump announced the Justice Department will continue with the plan to ban bump stocks. For those unfamiliar with what a bump stock is, it is an accessories that can be installed onto a semi-automatic rifle allowing it to fire at a much faster rate. The increase rate is very similar to what a fully automatic rifle can do. This could possibly be a huge advancement as now change is actually starting to come to the forefront.

If you would like to join the movement, feel free to show lawmakers by signing up here.

What Do Kids Know About Guns?

Across the country, there has been dozens of walk outs in protest to gun violence. These protest involve students walking out of school in order to force congress to change the policy on weapons. Talking to some of my friends here at Penn State, a good friend of mine little brother recently participated in a school sanctioned walkout. Although it was just a simple walk to there gym to interrupt class, it still did what they are designed to do. My friend said his little brother didn't really know why they were walking out. He thought it was just for a memorial service of the 17 kids who recently lost their life in a school shooting in Parkland, Florida. I think it important to teach these student what they are supporting because they will eventually lead our country at some point of their lives.

Wednesday March 14th was dubbed as National Walkout Day. On this day hundreds of colleges, high schools, and even elementary schools across the nation moved from their desk to participate in the protest. "We are the students, we are the victims, we are change, fight gun violence now!" student organizers wrote for one of the planned events. "High School students across the U.S.A, the way to fight back is here. There has been too much complacency on the part of politicians when it comes to gun violence. The time to act is now!" More walkouts are planned as April 20 will be 19 years since the terrible shooting in Columbine High School were 13 lives were taken. With these walkouts students are hoping to force change in the role that guns play in our community. Many of the students who are actively participating in these walkouts are often too young to vote. This is the only was they can have a voice in the community. I think they are doing a great job and they are making forward progression to changing a law that should have been change a long time ago.

Drew Myers, a student, noted that the school has lockdown drills about three times a semester. And it’s in those drills that he said he feels “helpless.” “There’s really nothing we can do if a shooter enters the building,” he told Fox News. “I find that the most chilling aspect of the whole thing: There’s really nothing you can do.” This brings up a really good point is that once a school shooter is active, what should the students do. It is completely different then a drill. A drill will never fully prepare someone to have to make decisions that are life or death. Students shouldn't even have to worry about someone walking into their classroom and opening fire. However, that is not the class, we live in a messed up society were this happens so much its not even that rare. “Seeing school shootings happen over and over again just really drives home the point that it seems so easy for these people to commit these acts, and you feel helpless in the drills because there’s nothing you can do,” Myers said, adding that he does not support arming teachers, a proposal put forth by the White House.

More than 185,000 students are expected to participate in the walkout, according to the latest numbers provided by a Women’s March spokesperson. And a map of participating schools on the event’s website shows the walkout has gone international – with schools in Ireland, Israel and Mexico participating, Fox News reported. Many schools will not punish students who participate in these walkouts. Penn State even posted on twitter that they will not punish student who apply to the school. This is a huge deal in my opinion as now there is nothing that should hold students from participating.

Another huge march that is coming up soon is on March 24th, 2018. It is "March for Our Lives" and rallies for it are scheduled nationwide for demonstrators to protest gun violence. There is strength in numbers, if enough people are compassionate about this topic and actively participate, change will be made. It is in our hands to change and if not completely stop school shooting we can hopefully make them very scarce.

Gun Violence

Unless you have been in a cave for the past couple weeks, you have surely heard about the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Today was their first day back in class since the terrible accident and people are still trying to recover from the life changing event. In case you have no clue what I am talking about, I'll explain briefly. On February 14, 2018 a mass shooting occurred in a high school in Florida. 17 people were killed and 14 more were taken to the hospital for injuries. The shooter was Nikolas Jacob Cruz. Since then many politicians including the president have even commented about new legislation and executive action. What makes this a tough subject is that kids were the victims here. People are looking right past the lives of the kids and looking to makes changes without taking time to remember the lives of the lost. Another thing that makes this a tough issue is that we aren't even sure what the issue is here. The obvious one that jumps right out is guns, but because tips were called in 2016 and 2017 that he was going to commit a school shooting, mental illness may be an issue here. Today I want to talk about some ways politicians are coming up with ways to reduce gun violence.

The first way would be stricter background checks. At gun shows someone can walk right in and buy a gun off of a vendor. A bill that first came up after the Sandy Hook Shooting would call for requiring background checks for purchases online and at guns shows. A study shows that 22% of gun sales occur without a background check. Cutting the number down would greatly reduce the amount of people that are not suppose to have a gun in the first place. Although this bill was not passed in 2013, talks about bringing it up again are in circulation. Another background check would try to stop the selling of guns to people on the "No Fly" list.

Another one that is talked about in daily conversation is to raise the age to buy guns. Currently to buy rifles legally in the United States, you must be 18 or older. This call to raise the age plans to increase it to 21 years or older.

One that is very popular is one I personally agree with is banning semi-auto rifles and/or modifications that make a weapon fire fully automatic. Having fired all types of gun with my uncles and cousins, I am aware of how much power are in these weapons. Having to fire 20 rounds in less then 3 seconds will never be needed to protect your house. On that note, I do believe it is justifiable to have a handgun of a small caliber for personal protection. If it is possible criminals could have one, you should be able to have one too.

The one I want to focus on today is that there are talks about arming teachers in the schools. Before I continue on this topic, I want to just give you some background. My mother has been a high school teachers for longer then I have been alive. I went to that high school, had her as a teacher(not a fun experience may I add) and would not think that giving her a gun would help reduce school shootings. Lets say its not my mother directly who would have the right to be armed in school. Lets say a teacher who is experienced in all types of firearms with history in the army is allowed to. In public high schools students outnumber the teachers by a huge ratio. If the students REALLY wanted to, I believe they would be able to overtake that teacher and disarm them of their weapon and even possibly use it against them. People also make mistakes, and mistakes are really not good when weapons are involved.

I hope after reading this you have your own opinion on the subjects. I also encourage you to read about other ways we could stop gun violence especially in schools. I ask that you write a comment below and discus with others about what you believe. One final request is that I hope you are able to respect other peoples opinion and just hear them out. They are not looking for a fight, just simply trying to discuss what they believe.

What is Going on in the Workplace?

As kids we were all taught that you should not judge a book by it's cover. In some senses that may be
true, but really we judge people everyday with or without noticing. Mostly I believe we do this for our safety. For example, lets say you are walking down the street and up ahead their are two people. One is a man dressed in a suit talking on the phone. The other is a man dressed in ragged clothes with his hands in his pockets. Which person are you walking with? Most people tend to pick the man dressed in the suit, but why? Just because he is dressed nicer? People are estimated to make over 200 decisions a day. We do things without knowing because that is how are brains functions. So when does this become an issue on being judgmental? The answer to that is simply in the workplace.

Having diversity in the work place is very important. For a business to be successful, they have to know how every customers thinks, as no customer is the same. Having a diverse staff gives you that extra bonus of more likely being able to relate to a customer, and turning them into a regular. Think about it... Do you ever just go to a store because you get along with the workers over another place?
I worked at a movie theater ever since the week after I turned 16. I grew up in a melting pot of cultures, so I was I hired onto a team filled with diversity. First hand, I can say for the business this was a huge bonus as we all work really well together. Customers were always treated with respect. One of the biggest things I learned there was how to act differently depending on a person age. Young people are usually shy and want nothing but to watch the movie with their friends. Adults are usually in a hurry, getting their just in time for the movie, they didn't want to talk much. Then their is my favorite, senior citizens. They would often times show up an hour before we opened and loved to talk about anything. Changing how I acted towards each customer, gave them all different experiences. The diversity in the workplace gave customers and even better experience as many customers would come in being from a place like Puerto Rico. We would strategically have Puerto Ricans working on the floor. This would give the customer a feeling of comfort as they would have something in common.

It is not lie when you hear women are mistreated in the workforce. We all of heard of the Equal Pay protest and have chants that effectively spreads their message. Women are becoming more prominent in the workforce. Between 1984 and 2009, the number of working women has increased from 44 million to 72 million, Tracey Wilen-Daugenti says. That number is a huge increase, but if women want to really gain reputation, they must continue to increase the number of them in the workforce. The must keep attacking DC with their agenda, until something is change. In recent protest about pro-life and pro-choice, we are able to see what women are able to accomplish.

Act, which demands that women and men have equal pay for equal job content. However, even with that act, we still know their are women who are not paid fairly for their hard work. Women still work hard to try to get equal pay, they often hold

However, BusinessInsider thinks that men are responsible for this big split in wages. Being a male this is likely biased, but I do not think men are responsible for it. Males have just as much competition for jobs are women do. If you want a good paying job you are going to have to work for it. You have to put yourself out there and show to employers what makes you unique and why that could help their company. Business wants leaders who are going to work hard, not people looking to make a decent paycheck.

Social Media Affects Politics

With today's advancement in technology, anyone with a smartphone has access to the news at their finger tips. Ask to look at anyone phone and you will probably find apps like Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat. Whenever you visit one of these sites, you are greeted with current new, whether you expected to or not. A recent study showed that 69% of adult Americans use at least one social media platform. The study also proved that most of these people visit these sites at a very MINUMIUM one time a day. Twitter is estimated to have around 65 million tweets per day across the 175 million registered users.

So how exactly does social media play a part in politics? For this blog I will be focusing on Twitter because of the innovation that the developers have brought forth on their platform. When you click the blue bird that everyone knows, you are able to go into a discover mode. This mode brings current events to the publics eye as soon as they happen. You can find information on the newest blockbuster that is soon to be released to the latest gossip between your favorite celebrities. An individual also has access to see what is going on in the executive, legislature, and judicial branch of their government. They also have the ability to even read about foreign affairs going on with other countries as Twitter is accesible around the globe. People are able to gather information about a topic without fear of biased news.

Since Twitter is used by nearly everyone, I can almost guarantee that you will can find your state governor or your local mayor with an account. Even the past couple presidents have Twitter accounts. One might of heard how Donald Trump uses Twitter to reach a large audience. Although, often time he stirs up huge discussion on his post, it is beneficial because it gives people a chance to express how they feel. The public is able to express their concerns through commenting, and are actively taking part in their community. Political officials are able to post about their campaign, giving people a chance to have a voice by retweeting to share with their friends, like to show that they support their platform, or comment and voice what they have to say.  

Recently "fake news" have been challenging civic discourse. Since anyone is able to write anything they want people are able to bring up lies and put them out to the public audience. In the past election, this played a more critical part compared to any other election. Shamidh Chakrabarti, Facebook's product manager for civic engagement, said in a blog post that "it [Facebook] allows people to spread misinformation and corrode democracy." I believe that everyone should be aware of the truth so that can be civically engaged in their community, to hold intelligent conversations with others and just to be correctly informed. 

Even Pope Francis recently had comments on what fake news does to politics. He argued his point by staying it was similar to when the devil disguised as a snake lured Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. He mention that journalist don't just have the job to report the actual news, he said it was their mission. I agree with Pope Francis, if people are getting paid to inform others of what is going on in the world they should be hold accountable to report that news correctly.

Although social media makes news easily accessible to the population, it also brings some negativity along with it. I don't think there is anyway that "lies" can be filtered out, so I think it is only right if people are educated on how to identify it. I believe even though freedom of speech is protected by the 1st amendment, one should have a moral duty to be honest.