Vietnam War photo

Seeing as how I don't precisely like anything that pertains to war, I decided to look for a relatively humorous (more like one that makes me smile) picture with such effect.

Name of photograph: 0309

This photograph demonstrates that the lives of the soldiers was inevitably difficult during the Vietnam War but some still managed to have faith every day they were out there fighting. Moses Sassoon, the young officer pictured in the photograph, is an enthusiastic 19 year-old boy who never thought he would be fighting in a war let alone the Vietnam War. He comes from the small town of Gibson, Arkansas, population 3,543. Moses is very family oriented so when he received the news of being sent away to fight, he was in deep shock. Struggling to keep his head up, Moses cherished each and every moment he got to spend with his family and friends. Out of all the two hundred male students on their way to complete their first year of college, Moses had been the only one drafted for the war. Sure, the thought of being the 'chosen one' was frightening but Moses felt cherished in a way. As the morning of May twelfth arrived, Moses said his goodbyes and hopped on a bus. 

 

The photograph pictures Sassoon shaving at the An Khe base camp while using a mud puddle as both a sink and mirror. Although Moses longs for his family on a daily basis, he does not utter how much he doesn't want to be there. He thought himself as being cherished but little did he know he would be anything but cherished when drafted.
 

What will stick with me is the smile Moses bears. The surroundings are damp and muddy. Tents have fallen down and trees are no longer within sight; but although Moses has no relatives with him only smelly other guys, he still manages to smile...even when he is shaving after a long day of combat.

Racial Profiling

From three of the sources I read online about racial profiling in addition to an editorial and a person essay, I came to the conclusion that racial profiling is unnecessary and inequitable. Reading articles from different situations where airport security has occurred has furthered my knowledge in this unfair treatment towards people of a different race.

• "In a time of declared war, the United States may imprison or deport nationals of enemy nations". I completely understand how the United States is protecting its citizens but we should also take into account that there are others who mean to do no harm to our country.
• In this article, David Harris argues that racial profiling is "unnecessary an an ineffective tool in the fight against terrorism".
• "But our actions must pass a basic test that racial profiling fails: they must help, not hinder, our efforts to fight terrorism and keep Americans safe". Here Harris states the unimportance of racial profiling.
• the United States is going through unnecessary actions by profiling people; we can't see past anyone if we don't talk/interact with them.
• Okey Ifionu expresses her experience through airport security in Terrorism-Profiling Won't Help.
• " 'Do you have any dangerous substance with you?' Did he expect me to say yes even if I did? " Ifionu realized that just because she was Nigerian, the immigration officer at the airport assumed the worst of her and questioned her more than her colleagues from Latin America and Europe.
• As Ifionu states, "There is definitely something bizarre about a policy that discriminates against people on the basis of their colour and religion". In addition, people should see past the physical look of someone and not assume the worst.

Book progress #2

As promised, here is the Power of Context and its attributes to social epidemics. Malcolm Gladwell states that the Power of Context is the idea that epidemics are sensitive to the context, or the time and place in which they occur. In other words, if the context of something is not right it is very likely that the "tipping point" will not occur. An example Gladwell uses to further the significance of the third rule of epidemics is crime in New York City. He introduces the Broken Windows theory and explains that maintaining and monitoring urban environments in a well-ordered condition may stop further vandalism and the increase into more serious crime. In an effort to decrease crime rates and practice the Broken Windows theory, the New York Transit Authority hired George Kelling who then proceeded to establish the theory. The company obliged and hired David Gunn, a subway director who would oversee the subway system. As he "investigated" throughout the city, advocates told Gunn to not worry about the graffiti. In other words, focus more on the larger questions of crime. Perplexed, Gunn insisted he do the opposite. "The graffiti was symbolic of the collapse of the system. When you look at the process of rebuilding the organization and morale, you had to win the battle against graffiti" (142). The city began removing graffiti from subway trains and nabbing fare-beaters one by one. By changing the context of subways, the crime rate declined in New York City.

Senior Project #3

As time progresses I keep pushing Senior Project to the back of my mind, seriously. I haven't met with my mentor other than the day I interviewed him or really put much thought into getting in shape/training for my run. I did start running once again but not as long distances as I ran before my injury. I should call Greg and go on a run with him one of these days. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow? No, I will call him tomorrow. I need to pick it up. These past three weeks have been dedicated to college and scholarship applications ergo no time to work on my project. As soon as I complete applications my entire focus will be on my project. Research paper? Who has time for that? I know, I'm a slacker. I plan to check out books regarding the epidemic of obesity and healthy living. My paper will focus on how the importance of fitness has increased with the rise of obesity. I plan to read books and newspaper articles on how obesity in America has increased over the past decade. As I keep running I can feel myself getting stronger, striving to accomplish my goal of finishing a half marathon. Another problem I have come across is picking an event. I would like to run here in Napa but I would need to pick half marathons before May. I also have to take into consideration the weather; do I really want to be running 13.1 miles in the rain? Seeing as how the forecast is very unpredictable in Napa I hope to run in either late March or early April.

Sentence Fixes

Here are the sentences I fixed from my Fast Food essay.

Book progress #1

   "The Tipping Point is that magical moment when an idea, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire." The nonfiction book I chose is The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcom Gladwell. I wanted a book based on research while also discussing human behavior. Gladwell does just this and shows the readers how the smallest things can trigger an epidemic of change. The Tipping Point illustrates three rules for making an object or idea well known to the world; the Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor, and the Power of Context. Gladwell starts the first chapter by informing readers how the epidemic of syphilis arose in Baltimore in the mid-1990's. Many would argue "people came into contact with others and infected them with syphilis"; yes, this is true but Gladwell goes into detail as to what caused Baltimore's syphilis problem to tip. Almost immediately he changes the subject and talks about crack. What? He was talking about syphilis and now I'm being informed about crack? Little did I know crack influenced syphilis in the 1990's. Gladwell states, "epidemics tip because of the extraordinary efforts of a few select carriers" (22). He goes on to introduce different situations where the "little things" had a dramatic impact in the next decade; such as AIDS, Hush Puppies, the stabbing of Kitty Genovese, and the commencement of the American Revolution.
   Within the Law of the Few, Gladwell groups people in different categories; Connectors, Mavens and Salesmen. For example, Galdwell characterizes Paul Revere as a "Connector" since he knew just about everyone in the town, specifically the revolutionary leaders and a "Maven" because he gathered information about the British. Revere knew the problem that was arising and who to tell. "The phenomenon continues to this day--think of how often you've received information in an e-mail message that had been forwarded at least half a dozen times before reaching you" (33).
   The Stickiness Factor is supported by children shows such as Sesame Street and Blue's Clues. Gladwell goes into gathering empirical data about ideals and interviews researchers about what it takes for an idea to stick. He gives examples of how these assumptions have been supported by data, "Kids don't watch when they are stimulated and look away when they are bored. They watch when they understand and look away when they are confused" (102).
   The Power of Context. Well I haven't read that far so I can't say much. Hopefully by my next blog post I will explain how the Power of Context comes into play with the other two rules. I have learned many events such as the stabbing of Kitty Genovese and how it relates to the rest of the world and the rules. I am looking forward to finishing my book which is rare since I don't enjoy reading in general; but anyways I now have a different outlook on society and how we interact with others based on the "little things" which eventually turn into "big" ones.

Senior Project #2

Alright so Senior Project. Wow what to say. I haven't changed my project whatsoever so I'm still planning on running a half-marathon in late spring. I haven't done anything for my project except run on a daily basis. Problem, I screwed up my knee. Here's the story; I was running about 2 weeks ago and my knee began to hurt on my way home. I thought to myself well you probably overdid it so I went on with my day. A few days later as I was going up the stairs I felt my knee popping. I stretched it out before and after my workout but it still felt the same. Oh and at the time I still didn't have a mentor. Fast forward to a week later, I made an appointment to get my knee checked out and found a mentor. I went to my appointment and found out I had fluid in my kneecap but I was alright to run. I am currently wearing a knee brace and should wear it until it heals hopefully soon. Just yesterday I tried to go for a run with it on but my knee decided to not cooperate with me so I ended up walking/limping home. I am going to take it easy and run about a half mile everyday as soon as my mentor has a training plan for me.
     My mentor is Greg Stueland. Greg is one of the founders of Vine Runners, a local running group that runs Thursday evenings as well as Saturday mornings. I met with Greg last week and told him about my knee situation. Having participated in over 40 marathons, he suggested I take it easy seeing as how I will not be competing until mid spring. Hearing this and my doctor tell me I have fluid in my kneecap really upset me because I feel like I'm lagging on my project but I know it's for the best in order to prevent a more serious injury keeping me from running in the future. Hopefully I will be back up and running by the end of this week in order to train for the half-marathon.