Today I would like to talk about marijuana, and why it should be legalized.
Where Did Weed Come From?:
I’d like to go back in time to when marijuana was first discovered in 2727 B.C. The oldest known record on marijuana usage comes from the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung. Ancient Greeks and Romans also smoked marijuana. In 1545 cannabis spread to the western hemisphere where Spaniards imported it to Chile for its use as fiber. In North America cannabis, in the form of hemp, was grown on many plantations for use in rope, clothing and paper.
Why Is Weed Illegal?:
Good question. With all the amazing medical benefits, and the wonderful high with no consequences towards health, why would marijuana be illegal? According to Drug Warrant, marijuana has been illegal for 1% of its existence. There are several reasons marijuana is illegal, and the biggest one, in my personal opinion, is a lack of education towards the subject. Society stereotypes weed smokers as lazy slobs who don’t work and leech off of America. I can’t completely debunk this; in my life time, I have definitely met some pathetic potheads. The probably is the only time we ever see people who smoke marijuana is when they’re high, and we assume they are this way all the time. This argument is funny to me, because the same people who are against marijuana are the same ones who support alcohol and tobacco. Arguing that people who use marijuana can’t function in society because they would always be high is like saying everyone who drinks is an alcoholic and people who smoke cigarettes are smoking constantly. If these individuals can hold of for their families and jobs, why can’t marijuana users do the same?
Also, people still believe marijuana is addictive. There are two types of addiction, physical and mental addiction. Physical addictions come from alcoholism, smoking cigarettes, drinking caffeine, and drugs, like meth, coke, or prescription pills. Mental addictions comes from smoking weed, being hooked on adrenalin, eating bad foods, things like that. The difference between physical and mental addiction is fairly simple.
Physical addiction is when your body needs the substance to feel normal. Once you stop giving your body what it’s used to, you go into what is called withdrawal. For example, if you smoke cigarettes, and quit, here are some of the physical withdrawal symptoms: headaches, constipation or diarrhea, difficulty concentrating, and others. If you stop drinking soda or coffee, you go into caffeine withdrawal, and might experience headaches.
Mental addiction is when your body wants something, but doesn’t really need it. There are no physical symptoms from this kind of withdrawal, but there are emotion symptoms, such as: Irritability, depression, anxiety, want, etc. For example, if you smoke weed, and you stop, you may experience depression, constantly thinking about it, and other symptom.
Although mental addiction goes along with physical addiction, mental addiction alone is not physical. If you stop smoking marijuana, you won’t feel any physical pain, unless, of course, you had a pre-existing condition that you were using marijuana to control.
marijuana plant flowering
Another reason why marijuana is illegal is because people refuse to believe in its medical benefits. Charlotte Figi was 3 months old when she had her first seizure. She laid on the floor, her eyes flicking, and the seizure continued for 20 minutes. Charlotte’s parents took her to the hospital several times, only to be told doctors had no answer. Soon her seizures were lasting 2 to 4 hours long. Eventually, doctors discovered what was wrong with Charlotte. She was suffering from a rare condition caleld Dravet Syndrome, a severe form of intractable epilespy. This means the seizures cannot be controlled by any medication.
Before this incident, the Figi’s consitently voted against marijuana use, until they tried it for their daughter.
Charlotte was having 300 seziures a week by the age of 2 and half, and could no longer walk. Finally the Figi’s gave in and spent $800 on 2 ounces of marijuana. They extracted the oils and gave a small dose to Charlotte. Almost immediately, she seemed to get better. The seizures were going away, and staying away for weeks.
Now Charlotte, who is 6 years old, can not only walk, but can also ride bicycles and talk!
Charlotte is not the only child to be helped by the use of medical marijuana. As of December 2013, there were a total of 199 individuals under the age of 18 on the state’s medical marijuana registry.
Another reason why marijuana is illegal is because of the common misconception that marijuana is a gateway drug. Anything can be a gateway ‘drug,’ it’s up to you as a part of society to be responsible with what you smoke or drink. Eventually after drinking for years, your tolerance will build up. This does not nessecarily mean that you will immediately smoke meth. Neither does smoking marijuana. In my own personal life, I have met many people who have used marijuana, and now use dangerous drugs, but I also know more people who refuse to use anything besides marijuana, not even alcohol or prescriptions. It all depends on who you are. A stereotype is unfair to those of us who are responsible.
Republicans are the party that is usually most against marijuana use, which, again, is really funny to me, because of their stance on guns. The liberal argument against drugs normally goes like this: “Guns have been used for violence before in the past, so nobody should be allowed to own guns.” (In my own opinion, I support this argument, but that’s not the point) Republicans and gun enthusiasts complain that is it unfair to group all gun owners into one group, that there are responsible gun owners who should not be penalized for the actions of others.
So why do people who smoke marijuana have to be?
There are hundreds of other answers to why marijuana is illegal that I won’t go into, but you should look at! I will link a couple websites below for you to check out.
I would like to state before the end of this article that I am in favor of both medical and recreational marijuana. Some people are only supportive of medical marijuana, which is fantastic as well! I am not saying in any way that it is ok for children to smoke marijuana. Smoking marijuana is for adults, but children who are in pain should be allowed to use marijuana oil to take away their symptoms. I also believe the same laws to alcohol should be applied to marijuana: Only for adults who are 21, you should be arrested if you are caught driving while high, you should not smoke in front of children or in public, and you should have to show a valid ID every time you purchase marijuana. You should have to be 19 to sell and be able to tax marijuana (even though it’s already ridiculously expensive at this point.)
If you are still on the fence about marijuana, or completely on the ‘no way, Jose’ side, please comment questions, and I would be happy to answer them. All I want to do is educate people, and help those who are in need. Thank you so much for reading!
Works Cited
“Cannabis, Coca, & Poppy: Nature’s Addictive Plants.” Cannabis: History. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Aug. 2015.
Ferner, Matt. “Number Of Children Seeking Medical Marijuana Soars In Colorado.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 25 Aug. 2015.
Guither, Peter. “Drug WarRant.” Drug WarRant. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Aug. 2015.
Head, Tom. “Top Seven Reasons Why Marijuana Is Illegal.” N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Aug. 2015.
“Marijuana Stops Child’s Severe Seizures – CNN.com.” CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 25 Aug. 2015.
“The Symptoms of Nicotine Withdrawal.” WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 25 Aug. 2015.
In the small town of Ottumwa, IA, with a population of 24,840 people, the definition of a ‘hero’ differs from what children are taught in stories. Heroes are not masked men and women who can fly or who have x-ray vision; they are normal people like you or I who can do amazing things with only their God-given abilities. Although Sheri and Gary, the owners of the Blessings Soup Kitchen, may seem superhuman because of everything they have accomplished in such a short amount of time, they will tell you adamantly they are regular human beings doing the Lord’s work in a town most have abandoned.
In a conversation with my grandma, Dolores, Sheri explained that the motivation to being running a soup kitchen came to her in a dream, which she immediately opened up to about with her neighbor, Gary. She said in this dream she saw empty buildings for rent, and could actually taste the food they would serve in the future. This was enough of a sign for the two to go through with the vision. In January of 2014, Gary and Sheri began building the only soup kitchen in Ottumwa, a place where homeless and/or impoverished people can come in for a free hot meal.
When I first met Gary behind the Blessings Soup Kitchen during our family reunion, I began asking simple conversational questions, “How are you?”, “What do you do here?”, things like that, but as we went more into depth about what they were doing, I couldn’t turn away. Gary explained to me that the Salvation Army and other homeless shelters/soup kitchens had given up on this part of town, and that there were no other places these Iowans could turn to in their time of need.
Of course, I like to keep a blog with all facts, and with a broad statement like that, I had to do some checking. Amazingly, it is true. In fact, if you type in “Ottumwa Soup Kitchens,” only results for the Blessings Soup Kitchen and two other food banks will show up.
This is very shocking when compared to the five soup kitchens in Omaha, NE, where my family is from. As far as I could find, there are 35 homeless shelters in Iowa; and yet, not one is found in Ottumwa.
Every day except Saturday, Gary and Sheri open up shop at 11 o’clock, and people begin flooding inside. What was most amazing to me was that the food they serve is actually good food. I’ve always seen homeless people receiving the scraps that the fortunate did not want, until I went to this establishment. Here are some pictures of the delicious food they make for these people.
Behind the Blessings Soup Kitchen is a building used for storage at the moment that will soon be an internet cafe. My cousin and I went exploring around the building, and I noticed how well it would do as a homeless shelter. I asked Gary why they won’t turn it into a shelter, and he explained that they needed a bunch of permits, that were not available to them. It was very disappointing to see how much these people do to help others, and how hard the government pushes back to stop them.
If you would like to get involved with these wonderful people, and continue their efforts, there’s a lot you can do! First of all, they have a Facebook page with all of their information on it. It is a group, so you’ll have to ask to join and wait til they accept you. Once they have accepted you, their address for donation is available. If you do not have a Facebook, here is the address: “Blessings Soup Kitchen” 228 East Main Ottumwa, Iowa 52501
If you live in Ottumwa, volunteer! They need all the help they can get, and they accept everyone. While Gary and Sheri are motivated by God, they have both told me that the Blessings Soup Kitchen is a nondenominational restaurant, so there is no fear for those who may have different beliefs. They accept everyone, which makes this ten times better in my eyes, and I’m sure in yours as well.
All the money goes to lighting, heating, insurance, food, etc. Gary and Sheri explained that they receive no money from this organization, they put it all back into the soup kitchen. Thank you for reading this article about these amazing people, and please, support them and your local shelters/soup kitchens!
On August 18th, 1977, a South African anti-apartheid activist named Steve Biko was arrested in Cape Town. Biko was very involved in the black rights movement in the 60’s and 70’s during apartheid in South Africa, and was expelled multiple times from prestigious schools for his beliefs. He coined the term, “Black is Beautiful,” as well.
Steve Biko
On August 18th, Biko was arrested at a road block in Cape Town, and brutally tortured. On September 11th, 1977, the South African police transported Biko to another holding cell, completely naked. He later died of his wounds on September 12, 1997.
The police told the South African public, Biko’s death was a suicide, that he went on a hunger strike and died from starvation. The coroner’s report disputes that, though, showing signs of blunt force trauma and a brain hemorrhage. Although Biko’s death was a tragedy, he was quoted as saying, “It is better to die for an idea that will live than to live for an idea that will die.” We, as mourners, can live with the fact that Biko’s death was not for nothing.
Apartheid in South Africa ended 1994, seventeen years after Biko passed. Nelson Mandela was quoted as saying, “They had to kill him in order to prolong the life of apartheid.” Mandela also gave a speech about Biko, which you can read here: http://www.anc.org.za/show.php?id=2875
Today, you can remember Biko in a number of ways.
Read poetry- Benjamin Zephaniah has an amazing poem dedicated to Steve Biko called “Biko the Greatest,” which you can read here: http://www.beatknowledge.org/2010/09/12/biko-the-greatness-a-poem-by-benjamin-zephaniah/
Watch movies- In 1987, Richard Attenborough directed a movie called, “Cry Freedom,” starring Denzel Washington as Steve Biko. (Unfortunately, the movie is not on Netflix.
Go online- You can visit the Steve Biko Foundation’s website and educate yourself more on the subject, which you can see here: http://sbf.org.za/steve-biko.php
Listen to music- Peter Gabriel wrote an anti-apartheid song called ‘Biko,’ which you can listen to here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1G8nVMg6Io Steel Pulse wrote a song in dedication to Steve Biko, as well, called “Biko’s Kindred Lament,” which you can listen to here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFZZ7JJ-dzw
Have an amazing day, and keep Biko in your heart.
Works Cited
“Bantu Stephen Biko.” Steve Biko. Steve Biko Foundation, n.d. Web. 18 Aug. 2015.
Davidson, Kavitha A. “Apartheid History Timeline: On Nelson Mandela’s Death, A Look Back At South Africa’s Legacy Of Racism (PHOTOS).” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 5 Dec. 2013. Web. 18 Aug. 2015.
Mandela, Nelson. “Speeches.” 5th Steve Biko Lecture By Former President Nelson Mandela. African National Congress, 10 Sept. 2004. Web. 18 Aug. 2015.
“Remembering Steve Biko, 38 Years on.” SABC News. South African History Archive, 18 Aug. 2015. Web. 18 Aug. 2015.
“Steve Biko Mobilized Mass Resistance to South Africa’s Racist Apartheid Regime.” RSS. Hands Up United, 11 Feb. 2014. Web. 18 Aug. 2015.
Zephaniah, Benjamin. “Biko the Greatness – a Poem by Benjamin Zephaniah.” Beat Knowledge RSS. Beat Knowledge, 12 Sept. 2010. Web. 18 Aug. 2015.
Immediately when the movie begins, Rep. Ron Paul, the governor of Wisconsin Scott Walker, and Rep. Peter Roskam are all quoted saying, “We’re broke.”
Next, they begin talking about how school employees are waiting to be laid off, budget cuts against courtrooms resulting in lay offs, and how up to 80 police officers may be fired by the end of June (the year is unclear, but the state being mentioned is Rhode Island).
Now, within the first five minutes, I learned something I didn’t know: Big businesses don’t pay taxes, such as, Bank of America, ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Citigroup. The total percentage of U.S. Federal Income Tax has been cut in half since 1961.
Before we get started into the politics of this documentary, I’ll give you a quick summary of the film. The title is ‘We’re Not Broke,’ stating that we do have the money, it’s just going into all the wrong places. This movie is going to shed light on what the government is doing with our tax dollars, and how we can protect ourselves.
According to this film, around 70 billion dollars a year are lost due to the US Treasury just from offshore tax shelters. This is a very strong accusation, and I did some research to find out if it is true, and in fact it isn’t…it’s much, much worse. Apple, Nike, Citigroup and a few hundred other Fortune 500 companies have created a whopping 7,827 offshore shell companies to stash nearly $2 trillion in places like Bermuda and the Cayman Islands in order to avoid paying U.S. taxes, according to a new report from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group and Citizens for Tax Justice, both of which are advocacy groups pushing for tax reform. The amount of cash offshore has doubled since 2008.
Companies are doing this because of “transfer pricing,” which means, if you had a large sum of money, and kept it in the US, we would tax you, but if the money is off shore where there are very little to no taxes, then you get to keep all of your money, because the American government can’t tax it.
How did this happen? Well, it all started with the Vietnam war. It’s nothing new to say Lyndon B. Johnson was way over his head, and was ultimately panicking about the situation. He understand we were sending too much money to fund the war over seas, so Johnson imposed what is called ‘capitol control.’ If you wanted to put money in an off shore account, you had to buy a permit.
Lyndon B. Johnson, America’s 36th President
Well, the corporate community was not happy with this, and ending up compromising with Johnson that they wouldn’t have to pay taxes as long as the money was offshore and never came back to the US. Not really sure how this was a compromise, but ok.
Because of this, there was a very high rate of offshore banking. 50 countries now designate themselves as ‘tax havens.’
Now, here’s where I’m a little conflicted. This documentary follows US Uncut, which is protester’s group that started to reinforce tax payments for big companies. That sounds great right? Well, before seeing this movie, I had heard of US Uncut, and I have liked them on Facebook for a while. I’m not sure why I still have, to be honest, they’re kind of jerks. First of all, they are extreme supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement, so much that they ban people from their website who say All Lives Matter. They also refuse to listen to facts.
Exhibit A:
Comment from US Uncut I saw yesterday
Tyrone Harris was 18 years old when he was shot by the police on the anniversary of the shooting death of Michael Brown. First of all, if those people hadn’t started their violent, pathetic, savage protest in the first place and hadn’t been causing trouble, none of this would’ve happened, but that’s besides the point. It happened.
Before this even began, 1) Tyrone Harris was a protester 2) Tyrone, in street language, said he made his money by robbing people and 3) Tyrone had been arrested on felony charges in November 2014, for stealing a car, stealing a gun and resisting. So he had already had a checkered past showing that he is violent. But to the protester’s credit, there’s no way the police officer could’ve known that, so I’ll give you that one.
Even with the video showing Harris holding a weapon and firing at officers, people are still saying he didn’t shoot first.
Evidence seems to mean nothing to these people, because even cold hard facts are seen as propaganda for a pro police society. Um. Have you looked at society today? Do we really seem pro police at this point?
Video Footage Capturing Harris Holding a Weapon and Repeatedly Firing
Anyway, this is my issue with US Uncut, but I don’t think that takes away from they are doing in this documentary, that I truly do believe in.
Corporate tax abuse is out of control now. In 1913, the US tax code was around 100 pages, and today, it is 72,000 pages long, creating loopholes and contradictions that benefit these big businesses, and, scary enough, the code grows bigger every year.
The cost of the Afghan war, from 2001 to 2011, has cost us 443.5 billion dollars, and we haven’t accomplished a darn thing. The cost of the Irag War, from 2002 to 2011, has cost us 805.5 billion dollars, and we still haven’t accomplished a darn thing. Since 2001, 2.4 billion dollars have been lost in federal revenue to the Bush tax cuts.
What I find interesting about those statistics is the starting date, 2001. Bush capitalized on our fear after 9/11, and basically stole our money to fight an unwinnable war to win his candidacy.
Here are some of the programs that have cut to help with the budget: Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (390 million cut), State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance (415 million cut), Community Health Care Centers (600 million cut), Defense Department Environmental Cleanup (638 million cut), Federal Emergency Management Agency (954 million cut), Clean and Drinking Water Funds (997 million cut), etc.
The documentary went on to explain how small business owners are forced to pay taxes, and the fact that big businesses don’t have to is an injustice on the ‘99%.’
Please watch “We Aren’t Broke” and/or visit their website: http://werenotbrokemovie.com/ From there, you can take action, or just educate yourself about what the government is doing to families like yours and mine.
Have an amazing day 🙂
Here are two garbage bags of clothing and things I don’t need anymore that I’m donating to Goodwill today in celebration of national thrift shop day! My bags include like 50 ties, 3 pairs of shoes, purses, hats, a rug, and some swim suits. What will your bags include? How else will you treat yourself and others today?
For the rest of the day, I’m going to be going to the chiropractor, hopefully to relieve some headaches, and then I’m going to spend my night writing for tomorrow. Thank you so much for reading! Please expand this blog’s fan base so we can educate each other!
Of course, this holiday sounds ridiculous at first, and I felt the same way when I first heard of it, but as I do more research, this is an important day to know about.
National I Love My Feet Day is all about taking the time to appreciate how valuable our feet are and take care of them. Our feet are almost like forgotten heroes in a way. We rarely ever think about them unless they cause us pain, but think about this. We walk constantly all day using our feet. Imagine if you did not have feet, how drastically your routine would change.
No more driving, no more walking, even up the stairs for food or using the restroom, no mobility, no freedom. We seem to take them for granted, and expect to always have them.
Today, take the time to pamper your feet. Soak them in warm water, get a pedicure or a foot massage, clip your toe nails, something in that range. Check your circulation and make sure your shoes fit. Buy insoles to take some pressure and weight off of your feet during the day.
Elevating your feet when you sit is a relaxing way to help reduce swelling. Stretching, walking or having a gentle foot massage aids circulation. A warm foot bath is also helpful. Make sure your feet are dry before putting on shoes. Wearing shoes when outside provides your feet better protection.
75% of the adult population has a foot problem and improper shoe choices account for the majority of those problems. Wearing properly fitted shoes with good arch support, getting foot massages and regular pedicures can reduce foot problems in the long run.
If you work at a fast food restaurant, where you on constantly on your feet, take the time to relax them.
Again, if you still believe that this is a silly thing to talk about, imagine living without your feet. It isn’t hard at all to go a little out of your way every night and treat your body right. After all, it’s always been there for us.
Source: http://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-i-love-my-feet-day-2/
Last night, I watched the famous documentary, ‘Blackfish,’ which exposes the cruelty in SeaWorld. The movie took on a different approach and perspective than I had been expecting, but in the end, it was an amazing film, and I highly recommend watching it as soon as you can (it’s on Netflix!)
First of, when I say the movie took a different approach than I expected, what I mean is I thought the documentary would focus more on the unethical treatment of the killer whales, like physical punishments for noncompliance, but it actually covered almost everything wrong with SeaWorld, and gave me a different view on the same opinion I’ve always had: SeaWorld is a horrendous place, and should be shut down immediately.
The movie begins with audio clips of 911 calls on February 24th, 2010, following the death of Dawn Brancheau. During this, we are shown beautiful videos of killer whales swimming. Before I continue this review, I would to say one thing first: My God, these are majestic animals. Just incredibly beautiful beings. Female killer whales can grow to be 26 feet long, and the males 28 feet. They can weigh up to 6 tons. They are gigantic, yet graceful. Truly a gift from nature.
Anyway, back to the movie. After the audio clips end, we see the famous SeaWorld commercial, featuring killers whales ‘swimming’ through the clouds. A talking head interviewer comes on the screen, by the name Hargrove, who goes on to explain he has always wanted to be a SeaWorld trainer, ever since he saw the show when he was younger. Another interviewee, Breg, and around five others say the same thing: They’ve always wanted to be killer whale trainers since they were young.
They describe in depth and great detail how incredible these animals are, and how shockingly huge they are in person.
The film then takes a sad tone, once the interviewers begin talking about Brancheau. We begin to hear audio from a taped interview with a SeaWorld paramedic named Thomas Tobin, elaborating the details involved in Brancheau’s death. Tobin goes on to say: ‘She was, uh, scalped, and there was no blood so, pretty much, we knew then that the heart wasn’t beating.” The interviewer asks if Tilikum ever let go of her arm, and Tobin replies no, implying to viewers that Tilikum ate her arm, which is true.
Dawn Brancheau
They begin speaking about the OSHA case against SeaWorld, following Brancheau’s death. Their case was that killer whales are completely unpredictable, and it is irresponsible to allow humans to be in physical contact with them. OSHA goes on to say that SeaWorld only made changes to its policy because this story went viral and enraged the public, not because they worried for the trainers.
The caption in the next scene says 39 years later, and explains how SeaWorld even began doing what they are doing. The story is absolutely horrific and sickening. In 1970, at Puget Sound in Washington (I’ve been there!), SeaWorld sent out divers to capture orcas. They brought boats and aircrafts, so there was nothing the whales could do to escape. The divers began throwing bombs into the water to herd the whales into coves. With this being said, the divers didn’t understand how smart these whales really were. The whales remembered the last time these men had come to capture them, and they understood that the small whales, the babies were in danger.
So the male whales sacrifice themselves by leading the boats to a cul-de-sac where they were cornered. The fishers noticed that there were no babies, so they knew something was up. The whales probably would’ve gotten away, if it hadn’t been for the plane they brought. As the baby whales and mothers were swimming for their lives, eventually they had to come up for air, and when they did, the aircraft spotted them, and herded them into another cul-de-sac and began capturing the babies.
The most heartbreaking part of this story is that even after the babies are captured and the mothers are let go, they refused to leave. They stayed outside the boats and called to their children, crying out to them. It sounded almost exactly like a baby crying.
Even worse was the end. According to one of the fishermen present at the time, after they released the net, there were three dead whales inside. The fishermen were then instructed to cut the whales open, fill them with rocks, and then tie anchors to their tails to sink their corpses.
The state of Washington told SeaWorld to never come back, to which SeaWorld responded by capturing whales in Iceland instead. The next captioning says: In 1983, a male killer whale was captured from the Atlantic. At 2 years of age, he was already 11.5 feet long. They named him Tilikum.
We see another ridiculously positive SeaWorld commercial, which transitions into several interviewees talking about seeing Tilikum at Sealand, an entirely different company than SeaWorld. Sealand was hardly even a habitat. The pool was incredibly small and hard to live in. They go on to explain the torture Tilikum was put through, including, but not limited to, physical punishments, starvation, and being attacked by the other whales.
Injuries from other whales
At night, the trainers would leave Tilikum and the other whales locked up in a 20 by 20 foot pool, only 30 feet deep. The whales were almost completely immobile. By starving the animals, they could make do anything they wanted. It was extreme manipulation.
Suddenly we are shown clips from news media reporting the death of Keltie Byrne at Sealand.
Keltie Byrne
February 20, 1991, two women went to Sealand. They reported that the water was gray and disgusting, and it looks like it was one its last leg. Byrne began to climb down a ladder after feeding Tilikum fish, and when she came off the ladder, she slipped. The killer whale bit her foot and pulled Byrne in. The other whales joined in the attack. The cause of death was ruled a drowning, even though everyone knew it wasn’t. After the death of Byrne, Sealand closed, which SeaWorld jumped on. Even though Tilikum had killed human being before, SeaWorld bought Tilikum for breeding purposes.
According to the interviewees, they were under the impression Tilikum and the other whales would be used for breeding purposes only, that “the event was so highly stimulating for them, they were bound to repeat it.”
Then they begin showing a preview for a movie called ORCA. This movie is all about how evil killer whales are and completely played into the fear and controversy of everything that had happened at Sealand.
What I found incredibly interesting was that one of the interviewers claimed there has been no record of an orca attacking a human in the wild, which isn’t exactly true. There have been six recorded incidents of killer whales attacking humans in the wild. First, a photographer was almost tipped off an ice floe. Second, a schooner was shoved in by a pod of orca whales, forcing the six passengers on board to retreat in a life boat. Third, a Californian surfer was bitten by an orca in the ocean, requiring 100 stitches. Fourth, a 12 year old boy was bumped by an orca while swimming in four feet of water. There is speculation that the orca misidentified the boy as something else. Fifth, during the filming of the third episode of ‘Frozen Planet,’ a group of orcas tried to tip the filmer’s boat over. And lastly, a free diver in Australia was pulled down for about 40 seconds by an orca before escaping.
So what the man said in his interview is not true, but that does not imply that what SeaWorld is doing is ok in any form.
Orcas have families and live to about the same age as humans do. The children, even when full grown, stay with their mothers for the duration of their life. Every family of orcas has a different language they speak. Orcas also have a part of their brain that humans don’t have that extends from the emotional part of the brain. This means that orcas have very emotional life and understand feelings.
Orca brain compared to a human brain
The term blackfish comes from the natives and fishermen who look up to these creatures as great sources of power and sacred.
They begin showing the arrival of Tilikum at SeaWorld, recalling brutal attacks by the other whales, stating that orca culture is very matriarchal. The abuse became so bad that SeaWorld removed Tilikum from the other whales into isolation, only to be used for breeding purposes then, although SeaWorld denies this. Tilikum was very friendly to humans, although whether or not this was because he actually cared about them or that he was just really hungry is up for speculation.
The scary part was the lies SeaWorld was telling its own employees, the most at risk! SeaWorld repeatedly told the trainers that the two female whales were the cause of Brancheau’s death, when in reality, it was Tilikum who killed her. With that being said, SeaWorld would continue to lie to their workers, but at that same time, would not allow women to be around Tilikum at close range.
SeaWorld Head Trainer Kelly Clark is quoted lying in court against OSHA, saying that they never saw any behavior that worried them about Tilikum, and also, oddly, brings up a weird rape-sexist example against the male prosecutor, saying that just because he can rape, doesn’t mean he will. Just because Tilikum can kill, doesn’t mean he will, which to me is an extremely poor example and a very dumb thing to say.
One of my favorite parts in this documentary is one of the trainers basically repents for everything she had done at SeaWorld, saying she said what they wanted her to say, and that she is mortified for being apart of something like that. It’s amazing to me to see people change their views so drastically on something, and for the better.
When I first moved in with my grandparents, my grandma was a raging homophobe. Now that I’ve lived here for four years, and have come out a transgender, and she sees how happy I am, she’s completely changed her mind. Can you imagine, a 72 year old changed her mind on a very important issue. Normally older people are very stubborn and set in their ways, but she proved to me you can always change for the better. It’s absolutely beautiful to see something like that.
They begin speaking about baby Shamu, who was the new attraction of SeaWorld, but even before Shamu, was Kalina. The problem with Kalina was that she was so attached to her mother, she was getting in the way of performances. At 4 and half years old, they removed Kalina from her mother. Kalina’s mother reacted in the same way humans do when being torn away their children: she screamed and cried. She stayed in the corner of the pool and wouldn’t move. The other whales would come check on her, and she would push them away.
There was another incident with a mother whale and her calf in SeaWorld, too. Kasatke was the mother and Takara was the baby. They were completely inseparable, until SeaWorld transported Takara to Florida. Kasatke, in an effort to find her child, was making calls that had never been heard before by researchers or scientists. At this point, she was trying anything to bring her baby back.
One of SeaWorld’s most infamous lies is about the life expectancy of orca whales in the wild. They report that they live to be about 25 to 35 years old, and that they live longer in captivity. This has been proven many times over to be false. Killer whales in the wild live to be about 100 years old. Another lie is about the floppy dorsal fin. SeaWorld reports that 25% of killer whales in the wild will exhibit a floppy dorsal fin, when this is false. The theory as to why orca whales have floppy dorsal fins in captivity is because the shallowness of their pools force them to surface more often than they would in the wild, leading to exposure to UV rays.
Collapsed dorsal fin
SeaWorld also claims that the whales do have families, they have their pods, but this is not true. Just because every whale looks the same to us does not mean they all look the same to each other. They know they are all strangers, and do not react well to each other.
A prime example of how this kind of whale mixing is problematic is Corky. A whale named Kandu and a whale named Corky were fighting each other for dominance. Corky meant to rake, which is when whale forcefully scratched another whale with their teeth, Kandu, but missed, slamming herself into the side of the pool. She broke her jaw, severing an artery. 45 minutes later, she sank to the bottom of the pool.
Corky bleeding to death
Again, we start talking about Brancheau, and describing her personality. She was very safety conscious person, which made the killing so shocking.
We switch from Brancheau to John Silick, a whale trainer who was crushed between two whales during a performance. Watch the jaw dropping video footage of the incident: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhUz9ILSje4
SeaWorld kept their employees in the dark about the subject the whole time. They also did not inform their employees about Tamarie, another whale trainer who was attacked. Now, I would say, in Orkid’s defense, she was taunting her the whole time. She was stepping on her head and messing with her. Tamarie was completely alone, except for the thousands of people watching her in the stands, but she had no spotter to protect her from the attack. Suddenly, Orkid grabs her foot and begins pulling her in the water. As Orkid begins the attack, the other whale in the pool begins attacking Tamarie as well. They begin pulling her under water, meanwhile, no trainer knows this is happening.
Tamarie’s forearm was snapped in half, causing a compound fracture.
Tamarie before being attacked
There are 70+ attacks from killer whales on trainers and on participants. It’s unclear whether or not the whales are playing or acting violent, but whales don’t understand their own strength, so either way, it is very dangerous.
There are numerous detailed attacks in this documentary, which I, as a viewer, was very thankful for, because I don’t believe anything until I see real proof. This movie gave me more proof than I could’ve imagined. Beyond the attacks in the wild comment, everything is this movie is backed by fact.
There are some gross scenes where we see whale trainers basically jerking Tilikum off, keeping his sperm to impregnate the females.
I’m leaving out part of the end of the movie, mostly because I have things I need to do today that can’t wait for later, but all in all, I recommend watching this movie and showing it to everyone you know.
Before I go, though, here are some ways you can help! The easiest way to help would be to boycott SeaWorld. Never buy a ticket, never go to a show, or allow your children to. Here –> https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2945 you can sign a petition to end cruelty in SeaWorld.
With this in mind, have a great day, and remember the whales!
Works Cited
The Associated Press. “Killer Whale Bumps but Doesn’t Bite Boy.” Killer Whale Bumps but Doesn’t Bite Boy. Juneau Empire, 19 Aug. 2005j. Web. 17 Aug. 2015.
“Blackfish – Orkid.” YouTube. YouTube, 17 July 2013. Web. 17 Aug. 2015.
Crawford, Lars. “Killer Whales Are Non-Human Persons.” Grey Matters. N.p., 7 Dec. 2013. Web. 17 Aug. 2015.
“Filming a Killer Whale Hunt.” Discovery. Frozen Planet, n.d. Web. 17 Aug. 2015.
Garrad, Apsley Cherry. “The Worst Journey in the World.” Google Books. First Lions Press Edition, 2004. Web. 17 Aug. 2015.
“Lodi News-Sentinel – Google News Archive Search.” Lodi News-Sentinel – Google News Archive Search. Lodi News, 17 Jan. 1996. Web. 17 Aug. 2015.
Maas, Amy. “Diver Survives Death Spiral in Whale Attack – National – NZ Herald News.” The New Zealand Herald. NZHerald, 23 Feb. 2014. Web. 17 Aug. 2015.
“The Orca Zone – About Orcas – Free Corky Campaign – A Site Dedicated to Wild and Captive Orca Whales.” The Orca Zone – About Orcas – Free Corky Campaign – A Site Dedicated to Wild and Captive Orca Whales. The Orca Zone, 2005. Web. 17 Aug. 2015.
“Orky II and John Sillick.” YouTube. YouTube, 1 Apr. 2014. Web. 17 Aug. 2015.
With that being said, I would like to give a shout out to all the amazing, influential people, who have been fired, or forced to resign because of jokes they have told, regardless of what their accomplishments are.
Sir Richard Timothy “Tim” Hunt FRS, FMedSci is a British biochemist. He was awarded the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Paul Nurse and Leland H. Hartwell for their discoveries of protein molecules that control the division of cells. Hunt said in an interview, “Let me tell you about my trouble with girls. Three things happen when they are in the lab. … You fall in love with them, they fall in love with you and when you criticize them, they cry.” After the joke was leaked to the internet, Hunt was bullied so intensely by feminists on the internet, he was forced to resign. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Hunt , http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/06/15/nobel-laureate-tim-hunt-says-he-was-forced-to-resign-i-have-been-hung-to-dry-by-academic-institutes/
While sitting in the 10th row of a Python programming conference, a developer who used to work for mobile monetization startup Playhaven apparently made a joke about “big” dongles and “forking someone’s repo.” Adria Richards, a developer evangelist sitting in front of them, called them out on twitter for making the conference environment unwelcoming toward women. Pyco fired both men for a making an immature joke, instead of doing the adult thing, and giving them a warning, or asking them what they meant by the comment. Source: http://techcrunch.com/2013/03/21/a-dongle-joke-that-spiraled-way-out-of-control/
A FIFA statement was released claiming that Gregorio had “relinquished his office”, but the BBC and Daily Mail are reporting that Blatter asked the 50-year-old to step down. Appearing on Swiss TV, De Gregorio said: “The FIFA president, secretary general and communications director are in a car. Who’s driving? The police.” According to Jerome Valke, the secretary general of FIFA, “Walter has worked incredibly hard for the past four years and we are immensely grateful for all he has done.” Regardless of all his hard work, though, he was forced to resign immediately. Source: http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/jun/11/fifa-communications-head-walter-de-gregorio-resigns , http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/walter-de-gregorio-joke-fifa-communications-director-sacked-after-making-joke-on-swiss-tv/story-e6frf423-1227394006500 , http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/walter-de-gregorio-forced-to-quit-after-making-fifa-joke-as-sepp-blatters-senior-aide-leaves-role-with-immediate-effect-10313428.html , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%A9r%C3%B4me_Valcke
Rafe Esquith, a fifth grade teacher, made an ‘inappropriate joke,’ that got him removed from the classroom. While reading a passage from Huckleberry Finn in which “the king came prancing out on all fours, naked,” Esquith remarked that if he couldn’t raise additional funds for his annual production, he supposed “the class would have to similarly perform naked.” Most of his student were low income Korean and Mexican children. Esquith did everything he could to educate those children, by taking them on field trips, and by taking the children to Shakespeare productions. Regardless of all he had done for those students, he was fired immediately. Source: http://www.freerangekids.com/one-joke-to-5th-graders-gets-worlds-greatest-teacher-fired/
UK stockbroker Rayhan Qadar tweeted this joke: “Think I just hit a cyclist. But Im late for work so had to drive off lol.” He also reportedly issued two tweets of apology before locking up his account. The first read: “My previous tweet about the cyclist was obviously not true. I did not hit cyclist. Not today. Not ever. A bad joke on my part it seems.” Even an idiot would know that his tweet was obviously a joke, but apparently common sense was not applied to this situation, and Qadar was fired. http://www.cnet.com/news/man-tweets-joke-that-he-hit-cyclist-gets-fired/ , http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2899148/Stockbroker-sacked-forced-apologise-tweeting-Think-just-hit-cyclist-Im-late-work-drive-lol.html
These are only five examples, but there are many others facing this kind of criticism. All together we have a Nobel prize winner, a developer, a communication head of FIFA, a fifth grade teacher, and a stockbroker all boiled down into nothing but jokes that offended weak viewers.
America, and other countries, please stop this nonsense. Grow a backbone, and tell an offensive joke.
In conclusion to this post, I leave you with a offensive joke: Two sperm cells begin talking to each other. One sperm cell says to the other, “When do you think we’ll get to the uterus?” The other sperm cell replies, “I think it’s going to take a long time.” The first sperm cells asks, “Why do you say that?” The other sperm cell answers, “Because we just passed the esophagus.”
I would like to start off by saying this is a very political blog I will be running. It will be mostly liberal, speaking against animal cruelty and other injustices in the world. I will give you credible information every time I post something, with several websites to confirm what I am saying. No lies will be spread on this website, and if you find that something I have posted is not true, please tell me. I am very open minded, and the truth is more important to me than my opinions.
I will being posting articles and petitions that you can sign or websites you can go to to donate for a cause. I will also talk about my personal life as well, but mostly this will be about solving the world’s problems and making a difference.
I’d like to start off by introducing myself. My name is Jacob Dawson, and I am 18 years old. I’ve been a vegetarian for 4 years, and I’ve recently been trying to transition into being a vegan. I love all kinds of art, and am an artist myself. Every once and a while, I will post things I have drawn. I love going to concerts and movies as much as I can. Documentaries and horror movies are my favorite genre of movies, and electronic music and rock are my favorite types of music. Currently, I am a freshman at Metro Community College, going for my Associate’s Degree in Pre Law. I want to be a lawyer when I grow up, and, hopefully, when I’m older, begin running for office, so I can really make a difference.
Anyway, thank you for reading my blog! I hope you check out my posts every once and a while, and change the world!
In honor of this day, I would like to now talk about poverty and homelessness rates in the United States, the causes of poverty and homelessness, how you can help those who are impoverished and/or homeless, and how you can save yourself and your family from poverty.
The Problem:
First, here are some statistics. In November 2012 the U.S. Census Bureau said more than 16% of the population lived in poverty, including almost 20% of American children, up from 14.3% (approximately 43.6 million) in 2009 and to its highest level since 1993. In 2008, 13.2% (39.8 million) Americans lived in poverty. According to Huffington post, “More Americans said they struggled to buy food in 2011 than in any year since the financial crisis, according to a recent report from the Food Research and Action Center, a nonprofit research group. About 18.6 percent of people — almost one out of every five — told Gallup pollsters that they couldn’t always afford to feed everyone in their family in 2011.” According to Business Insider, in the current economy in America, some Americans can’t afford to buy new clothes.
The Cause:
So why are some many Americans living in poverty? Isn’t this supposed to be the greatest country in the world? How are so many people suffering with no support?
The causes of poverty include changing trends in a country’s economy, lack of education, high divorce rate which causes feminization of poverty, mental illness, alcoholism, drug abuse, having a culture of poverty, overpopulation, domestic abuse, epidemic diseases such as AIDS and malaria, and environmental problems such as lack of rainfall.
One of the main causes of poverty is a lack of money. The United states reduced part of this problem with the creation of the social security, the most successful anti-poverty program in the United States.
Another cause is hopelessness. If you’re sleeping in a parking lot in clothes that haven’t been washed in a long time, and you’re starving, at this point, it may seem like there is not hope. It’s not as easy as we think it is to ‘man up’ and get a job. Minimum wage is not enough money to live on as an adult. Minimum wage is for teenagers starting their first jobs. Without a college education, it’s hard for an adult to earn enough to money to survive.
How You Can Help Others:
Numbers like 43.6 million seem daunting and overwhelming. With a number that high, it seems like nothing can be done to help.
Fortunately, if you feel this way, you would be wrong, and the solution to this problem can be solved very easily. Here is a list of ways you can spend National Thrift Shop day helping those in need.
1. Donate clothing that you don’t want anymore– Goodwill® has a more than 110 year-plus track record in providing services that meet critical human needs in local communities in the U.S., Canada, and 14 other countries. Goodwill is a leading social services enterprise, and consistently ranks among top charities that make your donations go further. If you have clothes that don’t fit anymore or that you don’t like anymore, put them in a garbage bag, and donate them to the closest Goodwill to you. If the clothes are not ripped, dirty, or falling apart, they will sell your clothes for a very, very reasonable price to those who need it. Goodwill Industries International earns a $5 billion revenue per year, and they spend about 83 cents of every dollar on programs and services for people in need.
Donating food to the Food Bank is also an amazing way to help. 48.8 million Americans—including 16.2 million children— live in households that lack the means to get enough nutritious food on a regular basis. As a result, they struggle with hunger at some time during the year.
According to Feeding America, here are the kinds of food that you can donate:
Feeding America’s Network of food banks commonly accept the following items from food drives:
• Canned foods like soup, fruit or vegetables
• Fresh produce & frozen foods
• Dairy & juice within the expiration date
• Excess food from promotions & seasonal products
• Excess food from trade shows
2. Volunteer– One of the best ways to help the less fortunate is to volunteer. You could volunteer at a variety of centers, such as, Goodwill, the Foodbank, and homeless shelters. Volunteering for even a day helps more than you could ever know. Two summers ago, my grandparents and I volunteered at the Foodbank, sorting out food, and giving out free vegetables to anyone who came. It was a really nice way to spend our time (even though, it was crazy hot!).
3. TELL YOUR FRIENDS, GET THE WORD OUT!– Like and share posts from the Foodbank, Feeding America, Goodwill, the Open Door Mission, or whatever charity you like the most. Tell everyone about the poverty rates in this country; let them know what is going on! Once people understand that there are millions of Americans living in poverty and how easy it is to help, we can begin to end this horrible problem in our country. ‘Knowing is half the battle.’
How You Can Protect Your Family:
So, with this is mind, what is the best way to really end poverty in this country? By never becoming impoverished, obviously. How can you stop yourself from becoming one of the 45.3 million Americans in poverty as of 2013? Here are some tips:
1. Budget, budget, budget– Every time you receive a paycheck, before even spending a penny, budget out where you need the money to go. The most important things you must budget for are rent, car payments, gas money, electricity, water bills, gas bills, heating bills, life insurance, health insurance, car insurance, home insurance, etc. Second thing to budget for are non-necessity items, that you still technically need, such as internet bills, cell phone bills, cable bills, etc. Third thing to budget for would be savings. Depending on how much money you make, you should set aside a certain amount of money that you save every month for emergencies, like your car breaking down or going to the hospital. Lastly, and always lastly, budget for fun things to do, like going to the movies or concerts. You should absolutely be able to have fun after working hard to get your money, but having a home is more important than anything else.
2. Don’t Smoke, Drink, Use Drugs, or Buy Things That Waste Money– One of the biggest problems facing homelessness is drug and alcohol addiction. Here’s some simple math to prove my point. In Nebraska, currently the average price of a pack of cigarettes is $6.39. If you are an experienced smoker, let’s assume you would smoke two packs a week. By the end of year, you will have spent $664.54 on cigarettes. Another example, a 20 oz. bottle of Coca Cola usually cost about $1.79 each. If you buy one every day for a year, you would be spending $653.35 on soda. Lastly, the cost of beer. A pack of Bud Light goes for around 8.99 per pack. If you bought a pack of Bud Light once a week for a year, the total would end up being $467.48. If you were a smoker, a drinker, and drank soda, the total would be $1,785.37 by the end of the year.
3. Teach Yourself Priorities– Discipline yourself when you are out in public. If you see a very nice purse, but it’s $250, imagine how many groceries that money would buy for you and your family. Look at the old purse you have and understand that, even though it may not be top of the line, even though it may not be name brand, it is functional. You will be thankful you saved that money for something important later.
4. Set a Budget When Going Out– Part of the problem of over spending is access. If you and a group of friends are going to a bar or to an event, bring a set amount of money, like $40. Once you leave the house, even if you really want something, you will only have a certain amount of money to spend.
In conclusion, please spend part of National Thrift Shop day helping the homeless and poor in America by doing any of these things, or anything else you can think of to help! You are their savior, as well as your family’s and yourself’s.
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