What John Lennon left behind

What was the lasting impact of John Lennon on this world?  Does his message live on through his death? Does that make him a martyr?


To change someones mind is difficult enough. But try to fathom swaying a few million minds. Reversing a persons thought process to make them question their own ideals is next to impossible. An yet John Lennon appeared to do just that during the turbulent 60's and 70's. Being a prominent public figure as one of the Beatles, he already had what most people didn't which was reach. The size of your audience is as important as your message. He was heard by millions of people across the globe as a promoter of peace, and not just over one war or one dispute, but to achieve peace in general. He changed many minds with his simple messages and harmonious sounds that pushed people to reconsider what was right in the world. Soon he create a belief system, one that rang out cries of protest to tell the world that "all you need is love" and to "give peace a chance". Being an artist he rallied other musicians to use their influence to give his message even more room for growth. His works and ideals inspired countless individuals to gather and protest the war-ridden times using his songs as a rallying call. While not altogether successful at winning absolute peace across the world his works defined a generation. And that generation gave birth to another generation that built upon the ideals they were born without the fear of resentment that John and his generation had to grow up against. His songs and words live on ever more clearer in the light of the modern age, with quotes, art, pictures, and spoken words finding a new generation to inspire and lead, across the pages of tumblr, twitter, facebook, and instagram. Letting all the world know that peace will never die.

The Scarlet H: Social Stigma vs. Health Issue

Why is it when it comes to STDs we as a society have a hard time discussing such a sensitive topic? Why does society look at those with herpes as being promiscuous or "slutty? I think people are scared to have an open dialog about herpes because of a lack of knowledge towards the subject. So what exactly is "The Scarlet H?"

                     Know The Facts!!

There are two types of herpes; HSV1 & HSV2-
both types can live orally and genitally.

In some cases it can be asymptomatic- meaning you show no symptoms or have outbreaks (OBs) of the disease.

One in four people are infected with HSV1&2 orally or genitally.

In a normal STD testing panel doctors do not include testing for HSV1&2 because they assume most adults have already contracted the disease.


Oral herpes can be passed genitally through oral sex is commonly HSV1.

You can contract HSV1&2 even if your partner
doesn't show any symptoms or lesions. Doctors
typically believe its passed through the "shedding"
stage which doesn't produce any visible symptoms.

Some may feel like they have flu-like symptoms
and may overlook or misjudge the initial OB

Once you contract Herpes you have it for the rest of your life, there is no cure for the disease. There is a daily antiviral that can be taken to reduce the amount of OBs and the risk of transmission to a "muggle" (those without H).

Get tested every 6 months or whenever you want to become active with a new partner.

Talk openly and honestly with your partner about STDs and get tested together.

For more info about STDs:

- Contact your doctor
- Call 1-800=CDC-INFO
- Visit www.cdc.gov/std/herpes.

Racism is ubiquitous

Racial discrimination persists in American culture facilitating a hostile social environment. Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) fraternity from the University of Oklahoma brought this issue to the public’s attention after their members were uncovered chanting a racist song, which singled out African-Americans. These incidents are not exclusive to just the University of Oklahoma; they are occurring and have transpired in other well-known college campuses. Racism is prevalent in both white and black fraternities and has developed into a massive problem for the universities’ since they have come to light in the media.

We have this assumption that, with our younger generation, bigotry isn't as widespread as it was during the civil rights movement and the Jim Crow law; however, this type of blatant racism continues to occur in every generation in spite of our best efforts to eradicate any form of discrimination from our society. With the backlash aimed at SAE for their intolerance, we have to ask ourselves just how severe are these types of prejudice in other college campuses and what, if any, recourse can we take to eliminate these egregious behaviors? Unless we bring attention to this issue, and acknowledge that it is still rampant in America we will continue to live in a nation divided, and at war with itself.

By:  Zorah Matlock

What's Good Hair?

Hair. The controversial topic in which many are not enlightened about. I know what you are thinking. "Is this some kind of joke? It is just HAIR"! Regarding the African American community and a lot of other cultures, it is a heated and touchy subject. When black women talk about what classifies as "good hair", the terms smooth, straight, silky, bouncy, non-kinky, not course and my personal favorite: NOT NAPPY(combination of curly and course hair), creep into mind. Noticeably, all of the terms I listed are the common depiction of their natural hair. I am sure a lot of those who are not familiar with African American hair will find it shocking to know that we do not wash our hair everyday. Instead, we tend to wash it once or  maybe even twice a week. I know, it sounds extremely repulsive, but there is a good reasoning behind it! Actually, it is not healthy for anyone to wash their hair every single day. It depletes the scalp from moisture, especially for women of color, because their hair is naturally dryer. Their perspective of beautiful locks generally favors a Caucasian, an Indian, or a Puerto Rican girl's hair. Seriously, every time an Indian girl walks by, I cannot help but contemplate scalping her head and making it my new weave! Of course I am joking... sorta...Overtime, women have spent hours and days getting relaxers (the process of chemically straightening course hair, lasting up to two months if treated properly) which causes major damage overtime, and going through intense pain getting weaves sowed in/extensions. The average middle class African American woman spends nearly twenty thousand dollars per year on hair and hair products. It is a known fact that African American women contribute eighty percent on all hair products. Although it is financially reasonable to pull the natural look, many forbid it. Why are women, such as myself are so eager to make tremendous sacrifices? The answer is really simple. We have made ourselves despite the texture of our hair. We fed ourselves lies that our course, nappy hair is not acceptable in our modern society. To style our natural hair is very brutal and strategic task. I think it is fair to say that it is easier to conform to something that is not natural. My mother always told me everyone strives to be someone that they are not. That statement applies to hair in so many ways.Those who have curly hair want straight hair, and those who have straight hair desire curly hair. People fail to realize that the term "good hair" is not a beauty term, it was a survival term. Let's take a not so nice trip down memory lane to a time period I like to call slavery, shall we? Both male and female slaves who had hair that was smooth and silky were more connected to their master. Kinda like a daughter or son figure. That meant they were more likely to access to liberation in academics, clothes, food etc. They (slaves) were not walking around saying " Oh my gosh, I'm so freaking cute now because I have this type of hair"! It just meant their likely hood of survival was at a higher state. This ideology has carried over time. Most believe people who have weaves or manageable looking hair are exposed to more opportunity. The problem is that most do not comprehend the history of African American hair. I firmly believe and encourage others to do what makes them happy about their physical appearance. It does not make someone less attractive or wiser if they choose to wear weaves or rock the natural look. Do not let someone else define what makes YOU beautiful and successful.You do you, boo boo. You. do. you. 

Tips

 

 

When you go out to eat it is nice to consider the tip in the bill. Tipping is an important custom it promotes the “American myth” that hard work brings rewards. There are a lot of factors that will take place on how much you tip. If you are not happy with your service leave a 10% tip this is if your waiter never came back after they gave you your meal or you constantly have to look for him, if service was okay leave a 15% tip this is if  and if service was great then leave 20% or greater. Most waiters get paid less then minimum wage and depend on their tips to pay bills. The federal minimum wage for tipped restaurants workers is $2.13 an hour. I'm sure we've all had a great server and a not so good server and another thing we need to consider when tipping is, tip sharing. Tip sharing is not a law or a rule, but a lot of restaurants do enforce it. As a waiter you would consider sharing your tip with the host so you can get the best tippers and the bartender to hook you up with strong drinks, you also have to tip the busser to have your table clean and ready for your next customer. Personally tipping is very draining to me, to have to base it on, “was the waiter good?” I most of the time tip 15%, if the service was good. I’ve been to some restaurants that include the tip, not the question her is, is that fair? I don’t know, but one thing I do know is that I was a waitress before and it sucked!!! I could not go back to doing that because to me it’s a job you really have to hustle for. We hear waiters’ complaint a lot of the time because they are not earning enough money, some say they get tipped the same as a non-hard working waiter. Next time you go out to eat consider the tip because you never know, maybe one day that will be you.

 

Dark Girls

                                          HEAR WHAT THEY THINK ABOUT YOU!

       Earlier this morning, I watch a documentary on how black women are view in America's society. As the film begins, the first speaker brakes down how slavery counter America. English men long ago sail into the sea to discover a land full of black civilization and took some of them back to the land we call today, "AMERICA".  So years of slavery went by and the English men release black humans from being their slaves; now with no where to go blacks had to turn to the English men for help. Through those years, blacks was treated whose then when they was slaves, if blacks was in the wrong part of two they would be hung and the police beating, well those was mostly in the 90's. Lately in the days we live today, a lot of Law Enforcement activities in the black community is mention to many times. The slave owners did create a friction between the black community, such as the color of skin. The lighter the better, the darker the ugly. During slavery, slave owners had the light skin blacks in the house and dark skin in the field. Back to the documentary...

         This film showed as test of a young black girl pointing out the good and bad of two colors, which is white and black. They ask her, "Who is the pretty and ugly girl"? and there was a picture of a black and white girl on the paper. The black little girl pointed and said that, "The white girl is the pretty girl and black girl is the ugly girl". They also ask her, "Who is the smart girl and who is the dumb girl"; once again she pointed at the white girl for the more smarter one then the black girl. It seems like as a child the mind has been alter to liking the lighter skin, but why is that. Same with the black men in the documentary, lighter skin is sometimes better; most men prefer a lighter girl over a dark girl. Which makes the black community all messed up, especially for the black women because their own race is putting them down lower then the white society itself. Now there is a lot of women with low self-esteem, addicted to drug or alcohol, and single moms being funded by the government.
      FOR SOME CRAZY....The film mention how global racism is out in the open, Dominican citizen talks about global television and how they do not show black people on t.v. In the store they sell skin cream that makes the skin lighter, kind of what people said about Michael Jackson.

     I know most Americans know this information how the media controls some part of the public thought process. Well that was the last thing this film takes viewers through and try to get them to understand what t.v. is showing to the public. As years pass, there's always something new in or going on in American and if its the NEXT BIG THING then it will be on every broadcast station.
The media helps with America's companies pushing all products and giving society the type of lifestyle to live.

   You must know who you are as a person, then life will float like the clouds in they big blue sky.

-Ricky O.

Landfills: The Buried Truth

Environmental Impact of Modern Landfills

            We've all heard about them I'd imagine at one point in our lives, whether it was through pictures, videos or other forms of media. When you think of the word "landfill" I can guarantee the first image that comes to mind is that typical landfill bulldozer that has the four spiky wheels pushing trash and garbage around into big piles. Sometimes accompanied by seagulls flying around the background. Like these :

This is synonymous with environmental documentaries that show the side of landfills that disgust people in order to prove their point that landfills are bad for the environment. 

But I do not see landfills as it is portrayed in these documentaries, there is another side of things. They are not just piles of our garbage in which we bury and forget about, but it is essentially a form of energy and a process where we can make great organic compost soil. It really depends on the operator or company to be compliant with EPA and local regulations. So long as these landfills are far away from people and pose no risk to the environment around them I will support them.

In order for me to prove this to you, I will try my best in evaluating a local disposal company (that's a better way than saying trash or garbage company) by following a criteria that would impress even the most environmentally conscience people, including myself!

These criteria include: the size and duration of operations (and how long reclamation is) ; if sustainable practices are utilized (Recycling); Proximity to residential or commercial areas.

What makes a good landfill? Does it capture the methane gasses that are released during the decomposing or break-down process? These are some questions that I believe everyone should be concerned with and should be asking themselves, investigate further than what they (the companies) say they do. Don't believe everything they tell you.

Getting away from my little rant, I'd like to emphasize the impact that these facilities can have on the surrounding environments, such as accidentally polluting the ground water through leakage or releasing harmful greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

This is potentially a huge environmental issue that could affect the surrounding landscape with consequences that may take years to clean-up. This is a costly endeavor that the federal government must take up through it's "Superfund" ran by the EPA. There's where all your tax dollars are going! Being used to clean up other people's messes!

Here's a scenario, in case you don't think is an issue:

Imagine if a landfill was planning to be developed right near your house, what would be you initial reaction? 

I can answer that for you, you would be morally pissed and immediately be on the defensive! You would contact your state representative (or find out who he/she is) and complain until their ears started bleeding! You would immediately argue that with the construction of the landfill nearby, it will significantly reduce your property value. You would be concerned with the toxic fumes that smell literally, like a dump. You would be greatly afraid for your safety, not only for yourself but for your kids. Your kids are everything to you, and here you would have something that could in reality, affect their longtime heath and future.

You can play every card and speak out to the media but it will be to no avail. When they want to build a dump it's because they need to and there is hardly anything yo can do about it. I believe the two words are "eminent domain" where you will more than likely be forced to move on your behalf with no compensation and with a outrageous amount of lawyer fees to pay. Sucks doesn't it.

I will update this blog once I have thoroughly concluded with my research.

Until then.

-Jerry Sharp III