CEO's and consuming.

Have you ever sat down in front of the T.V. and watched the news and noticed those random advertisement commercials that told you to "BUY, BUY, BUY!!!!"?. "We're targeted with over 3,000 commercials a day." says a representative of the Motivational Speakers India. After reading articles on Media and Advertising, I learned that corporations are basically " from companies, for companies", which simply means that they do it  all for themselves rather than the people. As stated by Noam Chomsky, "The New York Times is a corporation and sells a product. The product is audiences. They don’t make money when you buy the newspaper. They are happy to put it on the worldwide web for free.". This proves that we're looked at as targets for sales rather than people who have needs. We're not just a "product", we're also the "consumers"."The influence of advertising on magazines reached a point where editors began selecting articles not only on the basis of their expected interest for readers but for their influence on advertisements. Serious articles were not always the best support for ads. An article that put the reader in an analytical frame of mind did not encourage the reader to take seriously an ad that depended on fantasy or promoted a trivial product. An article on genuine social suffering might interrupt the “buying” mood on which most ads for luxuries depend.", a statement by Ben H. Bagdikia. As you can see, corporations are not trying for  us, they're trying for themselves. When the news is on T.V., they're worried about the quantity of people they're drawing attention to with bullshit stories rather than the stories we, the audience, deserve to hear or learn about. Consumerism in the news  is just a distraction in which we are persuaded to buy the items that are more like things we want rather than things we need. "The real mass media are basically trying to divert people. Let them do something else, but don’t bother us (us being the people who run the show). Let them get interested in professional sports, for example. Let everybody be crazed about professional sports or sex scandals or the personalities and their problems or something like that. Anything, as long as it isn’t serious. Of course, the serious stuff is for the big guys. "We" take care of that.". In my opinion, consumerism in the news, is something that's affecting our economy mostly benefiting CEO's. While they have us consume and they produce all at a fast pace, the more money the earn, more products are sold, and we stay with their mediocre products probably produced by underpaid workers with extra hours of work they're not even getting paid for. What do you think? Should we try to find a solution to this problem? Or are the rich and powerful going to continue brain washing us with their ridiculous advertisments?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFlMQAppIpg
http://www.globalissues.org/article/160/media-and-advertising#Freemediachannelshaveacost
http://www.chomsky.info/articles/199710--.htm

LGBT. We give a damn.

Many people around the world are unfairly treated because of their race, religion, sexual preference and so on. Recently, I read somebody's story on his experience from being judged for being bisexual. His name is Alex Smith, he's eighteen years old and he struggled with discrimination. He was sixteen when he came out to his mother which didn't take it very well. "Her reaction was less than supportive. " he states in his story. He dated a girl to keep his mother happy. After his experience at a gay bar, he realized he was full on gay, not bisexual. He didn't know how his parents and girlfriend would react to this so his lack of confidence made him go into a deep depression; " I could not stop thinking about how my parents would disown me and how my girlfriend/best friend would hate me." . His depression got so bad, he ended up drinking bottles of medicine to end his life. The only thing he remembered was him waking up in a hospital because of his overdose. He confessed to his parents that he was gay and surprisingly, they both took it well. A few other stories i read like Zack Petrick's story about "discrimination in the workplace and housing." he explains how he felt bitter about not being able to come out to his friends or family and admit that he is gay. Another story that touched me was Mathew Shurka's, in which he explains to us his experience coming out to his parents. "My name is Matthew Shurka, I’m from Great Neck, New York, I’m 26 years old, and when I was 16, I came out to my father. My father gave me the best answer that any son can ask for, was that he loved me no matter what, and that he was going to be by my side always. But immediately after, my father started to build his fears about homosexuality, and what it actually meant, and what it looked like for my family, career – possibly being discriminated and being bullied against as a high school student – and he came across a conversion therapist. My father was told that there’s no such thing as homosexuality, and that everyone is a heterosexual. There are certain people who believe they’re gay, but they’re just suffering from a psychological condition that can be cured and that can be resolved, especially at a young age. So, at 16 years old, I began conversion therapy.". Discrimination towards gay people is getting worse. Parents being unable to understand and accept their children makes children feel like they're doing something wrong. Hopefully one day we can all just agree that everyone has their preference and stop discrimination and give more support. What are your thoughts on gay rights and gay discrimination? Is it unfair or do you agree?



http://www.wegiveadamn.org/2013/09/my-great-escape-2/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YU1CnkdPdPk
http://imfromdriftwood.com/mathew_shurka/

Welcome to The Block

Welcome to The Block. A "ghetto" area in Australia. A place where the government placed aboriginals who just wanted their land. A young man, Fred Buchanan, spoke about the hardships in the impoverished community he lived in until age 5. He spoke about the rundown homes he saw everyday which all seemed to look the same. The drugs, violence , and gangs affected his life on Eveleigh street. A main turning point in his life was when his cousin TJ died in 2004. He fell of his bike when riding away from the police. The effect of this incident were the sparking riots in the neighborhood. Police seemed not to care about anyone but themselves. Fred states that him and his friends where " Subjected to continuous police harassment and routinely stripped-searched on the street when they were younger". Thanks to the riots, many "Youth Support Programs" have dedicated time to helping children in that area. Fred now lives in Petersham with a relative of his. Hearing his story made me realize how impoverished or "ghetto communities" are all over the world. For example in the movie 'Freedom Writers' it talks about ethnicities mixing in poverty areas in Long Beach. Where students from that area were judged by their backgrounds and their lifestyles. Most of those students have went through rough situations through their childhood because their parents' problem with gangs. It was normal for them to see someone die in front of them. Both stories connect because of the fact that they both had to go through violent childhoods with drugs and gangs influencing their lives. According to the article 'How gangs impact communities' health, "Gang violence has traditionally been considered a public safety issue, but it is also a public health problem. Gang activities and the gang power control war result in dozens of death per year, as well as hundreds of injuries and long term disabilities. The LAPD and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that youth involved in gangs usually are also involved in risky health behaviors, such as drug abuse and high-risk sexual activities. ". As you can see, ghetto areas are always here world-wide or not.




sources: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0463998/plotsummary
http://www.sbs.com.au/theblock/
http://www.reportingonhealth.org/2014/02/19/how-gangs-impact-communities-health

Police. Who are they really helping?

Police brutality in 'ghetto' areas just keeps getting worse. Just about two years ago, one of my brother's close friends, Arturo Cabrales was shot and killed in the 10300 block in Lou Dillon ave. According to the police he ran for a gun but his family had a different story. When police threatened to shoot, he ran inside which caused the police officers to shoot and kill him. Our community wants to end this but it seems to be getting worse. More and more brutality acts against African Americans and Latinos are being committed. Personal experience and other's stories are helping me understand that the police departments are only here to 'protect and serve' themselves. What are your thoughts about these police departments? Helpful or nah? Have you had personal experiences or seen something related to police brutality?