Bias Websites

For projects, papers, vocab tests, fun, entertainment, interest, curiosity or just plain boredom, the majority of people turn to the internet. Hell, I'm on the internet right now for this assignment (obviously). While the internet is an amazing technological resource, it is scary what is out there waiting to be seen. I'm not talking about innapropriate pictures or chatrooms, but extremely biased and/or innacurate information.

For the Perilous Paper assignment, I went online to find information about the American's internment camps to incorporate in my paper. Like I initially thought, the camps sounded terrible- because they were. There were quotes by politicians and other important figures in the United States saying terrible, terrible things, but then the website turned for the worse. Understandibly, the writers of the web page began relating some of the content to the Nazi's death camps in Europe, but what sickened me was how they portrayed the information. They made the camps sound tolerable, as if it was a small inconvienience for them to be there- they mentioned a few deaths, and some diseases, but almost nothing about the terrors that happened there. Even asking around, it makes me sick to my stomach that my classmates dont know who Dr. Mengele is. It is sick and twisted. And by now, most teachers assume everybody knows about the holocaust- but they dont!

The website talkes about the aspect of the holocaust. They said, "Actually, the Germans had far greater cause to intern the Jews of Europe than the Americans did to incarcerate the West Coast Japanese. The Japanese were sent to camps solely on suspicion of what they might do. Not a single Japanese had committed an act of espionage or sabotage. But many thousands of Jews throughout Europe had committed countless acts of murder, destruction, sabotage, arson and theft before the Germans began their general evacuation." http://www.ihr.org/jhr/v02/v02p-45_Weber.html That isn't even close to why they were taken. It is terrible that websites aren't portraying accurate information that is relevent. Maybe there were some murders against the Germans when the evacuation of the Jews began, but only after they were treated like animals- harrassed, and herded into ghettos where many died of starvation and disease, and so much more indignance.

So if you are looking for accurate, informative information- make sure you look at multiple sources!

Something Wicked This Way Comes

After reading the New York Times article about witchcraft in Africa, many thoughts configure in my head. I have heard stories about bad people doing bad things, but it is truly crazy how evil and corrupt some people are. There are scared and ignorant people in the world that truly believe that witchcraft is killing their family members when the death is a medical mystery; and there are people so mean that they will take advantage of anyone to make money- such as "The Healer" Joao Ginga who makes loads of money 'treating' more than a thousand cases of child witchcraft per year. When questioned, Ginga didn't even remember one of his patients, Alfonso Garcia, when interviewed. He was accused of killing his mother and was kicked out of the house to live on the streets. There are many, many other cases, most inflicting violence upon the children accused of witchcraft. (It is considered common in some villages)

It is terrible that these children are being prosecuted and that the police are doing nothing about it, but it is another to take advantage of them. There have been some recent programs set up to help the children, but the violence against these should not be able to continue.

Sweet Home Chicago

I have lived a half an hour from Chicago my entire life and have loved every minute of it. It is the most beautiful, clean, and enjoyable big city in the world (in my opinion). As a child, my favorite part of vacations is the flight back home and looking over the city at night- the dazzling lights brighten my spirit and I have always whole-heartedly enjoyed that.

Visiting the city on Wednesday was an extremely enjoyable experience for me. I rarely go to the city anymore (except for Bears games) because I have no time for it. I loved walking around the city independantly and being trusted to wander around in such an inviting city. Never before had I noticed all the Native American artwork all around the city, even though it was staring me in the face. They were the kinds of things that my eyes would normally gloss right over as I gaze at the skyline or Millenium Park. It is strange to imagine that these pieces have been sitting there for my entire life and I had never noticed it once- and I'm sure the majority of people that live in Chicago have not noticed it either.

Just imagine, if these pieces of art are 'hidden' from the community, what else is hidden as well? There is so much in this world that is overlooked, but it is so strange to think that there are millions of things that our eyes glance past without a second thought.

The Spirit of Holloween

In every American childhood, Halloween was a happy time where you could dress like a princess or a pirate or a witch and frolic about the streets collecting candy from complete strangers and it was completely acceptable.

As time continued, Halloween became a time where teenagers could roam the streets and "have fun" and nobody would really be surprised if their house was TPed or their car was egged.

Unfortunately, as time goes on, Halloween has matured into a holiday where it is acceptable to dress like a complete slut and it will be normal, it is even a standard. It is taking a great toll on American culture, enhancing the downward spiral of the world's opinion of us, which frightens me.

I'm not saying Halloween isn't fun, because it is, but the problem is that in this age, it wont be long until it reaches the point when little kids begin dressing like Brittney Spears (Well, young Brittney...) Not only will that taint the children of this country, but who knows what kind of effect it will have on our country when they grow up and take control?