My "suffering child"

I remember in sixth grade there was this one kid that a group of people would always pick on. The group of people were mostly my friends so I was always tempted to join them in making fun of them. we were making fun of him because it was entertainment for us, watching him suffer from our comments and react. I decided to not take a part of these activities which was hard because during break it was all my friends were doing. 

From constant bullying eventually came punishment with him reporting us to the teacher. They all got sent to the principal's office (me included). I was confused because I thought that I have done nothing wrong, engaging in no bullying activity. However, I was told that I was in trouble because I did not tell the authorities about the bullying incidents. In other words, they were calling me a coward for not doing anything when seeing such a sight. Looking back, I regret leaving without helping the poor kid and this experience has helped me become a better person. 

Living in Fear

In a chapter of the book Culture of Fear by Barry Glassner, he explains how television shows has impacted our emotions, where we feel more unsafe in what we believe. He argues how it leads to more precaution because we feel in danger. I agree how television shows can have an impact people's perspectives, but speaking for myself, I feel like shows will always be shows. It is easy to fall in the trap of believing everything you here, but in reality the main goal for producing unrealistic violence is for money. Television is good entertainment and should be kept that way. It should not be used as a way for reliable information because of the amount of bias it can have. The idea of television impacting our lives so much that we have to change our lifestyle and live in fear is ridiculous to think about and I disagree with Glassner's study. Violence is edgy and a great way to entertain us, and I do not believe conclusion of how people make choices based on their television to by more security such as guns and locks. Television has multiple purposes, including propoganda and hyperboles. The main goal is to get paid and alter one's mind to gain advantages such as politically. Relating to Nadine Gordimer's short story "Once Upon a Time",  family decided to overload on their security where it eventually led to their demise of their own son dying to the very fence that was supposed to protect them. You cannot account for everything in life and it's hard to predict unlucky occurences. Living in fear is difficult because it will be easy to manipulate you. Think with experiences and real life situations, not what you see on television!

Pictures

This is the house in Virginia where all my cousins gather together and have a fun time. With ages varying from ten to twenty one, it is a great get together to share interests and be around great people all the time. This house is my grandparents house and I can remember countless memories of joy and fun that I have not experienced elsewhere. It is a special place that I dearly miss whenever I leave and look forward to every summer. Family is extremely important to me, and it is always great to catch up on the previous years with them.

Looking at this picture floods in memories on memories in an instant which I feel is more powerful than words describing this house. It holds a very special place in my mind and can only imagine how many words this picture makes me think about.