One Step at a Time

A lot of us have either been personally affected by bullying or we know of someone that has. This issue, it seems, has always been a problem in the schools. Bullying happens to everyone but one particular group of kids that have been, and will continue to be bullyed until it ends, is the openly gay and lesbian youth. One organization that was established to help the youth prevail through their difficult times is the “It Gets Better Project”. This project was founded by Dan Savage just last month.  According to their website, It Gets Better Project is so, “young people who are gay, lesbian, bi or transgendered can see with their own eyes how love and happiness can be a reality in their future.” The website allows people to upload their own personal videos to share stories and thoughts. With in the one month of existing, there have been several celebrities share his or her words for the youth. The latest star figure to make a video was President Obama. On Oct. 21, President Obama shared a video telling these kids that they are not alone. In the 3 min video President Obama stated that, “We’ve got to dispel this myth that bullying is just a normal rite of passage, that it’s some inevitable part of growing up. It’s not.” He also reassures the youth that they did not do anything wrong and that they are not alone. He reassures them that our nation was founded on the premise that all of us are created equal.

This organization has been up and running for only a month and it is already successful. The power to allow anyone to upload videos and share personal stories is great. I believe that one of things that make this successful is the celebrity spokespeople that put videos up. They stop caring so much in their popularity and start caring more about the young kids that need our help.

I think that the need for this organization has been long over due. To those families that have had a family member fallen due to bullying, know that their death has not been overlooked. Because of those young children that couldn’t push through any further, there will be a voice to help and make the LGBT youth feel a little less alone.

It Gets Better Project Website- Take the pledge like I did

The Kayne Comeback

It has been about a year since the MTV video awards and the Kayne West outbreak. What I have noticed is that because of the back lash that he received right after his comments, he was no where to be seen. Now, however, he has been all over the place promoting his new album. He was on Ellen and SNL, just to name a few, and this tour of promotion has forced him to talk about his words that we all witnessed. On Ellen, West said that as soon as the incident occurred he was advised to leave to get out of the media’s eye. He lived in Japan and other places in Europe, then when he moved back to America he lived in Hawaii. This made him focus on his thoughts and made him deal with the death of his mother healthier. When he moved back home he became an intern with in the fashion industry, sharing ideas and even getting coffee. He said that he could never imagine seeing his world crash from sincerity and alcohol and loose everything. He also referred to himself as a soldier of culture and that he speaks the truth for those who are unable to. He was getting choked up when talking about the incidents that have happen in the past couple years and said that he will never sit in the audience at an award show again.

First of all, now that the limelight of this incident has faded we can evaluate how he handled it. I think that for him to leave and find himself again was the best thing he could have done. I also think that now that he is talking about his feelings towards what happened makes him seem less of a monster in the public’s eyes.  I never turned my back on West, I always will be a fan and I actually agreed with his comments a year ago. I feel that since West is a huge public figure, we witnessed his darkest time after his mother died.  I think that he has done the best thing for himself by not following the media afterwards and also has done the best thing for his career. It is like he started all over again.

 

 

 

 

Watch all of West\’s comments on Ellen about incident

Halloween Tradition Massacre

Halloween keeps getting closer and closer, and I could not be any happier. I love Halloween and so does Alton, my home town. Every year, Alton holds a Halloween parade for the festivities and it is always very successful. People from surrounding towns join in. Even traditional trick or treat night does not stand a chance next to the Alton parade. This year however, the people that are in charge of putting on the parade have left me a little stunned.

Anyone can enter in a float but this year some regulations have been changed that, in my opinion, should not have. Usually floats would have to put down a $200 deposit that they would get back at the end of the parade. This year’s participants will not be receiving that money back, it is now a fee. This particularly surprises me because I was under the impression that the committee was all volunteers. I do not think that the expenses to put on the parade are big enough to charge each float $200. Also everyone must be in costume, even the people that are walking next to the float to keep kids out of the way of the wheels. Wouldn’t this harm your mobility? What if a kid was about to get hit? Another change is that every float must go along with the overall parade theme, fall harvest, or it must be decked out with black and orange. Now this might not seem as bad as the others but every year the theme of the individual floats have always been up to the peoples or groups entering the float. I have always thought that this is what makes the parade great, the unique and different themes. A new policy this year is that no pets can walk with you.

Now there is one new policy that changed for the better. If there is a child under the age of 12, the person responsible for picking that child up must make arrangements with police department or the child cannot participate. This way the people in charge of the parade will not be responsible for babysitting after the festivities. The biggest change for me is the date. Every year the parade was on the 31^st, this year it was moved to 30^th. This is a huge deal to the residents of Alton. Although kids can trick or treat either one of these nights, the night that was not conflicting with the parade was always the busier night. I’m worried that the word about the date change is not getting out enough. Are people going to be aware that the nights were switched or has my Alton Halloween tradition just ended?!

Don’t Mess With the J. Stew

Stewart poking fun at Sanchez

Just like millions of other people, I tune in to Comedy Central every night to enjoy some comedic political commentary. Jon Stewart has filled our televisions with “The Daily Show” for 11 years now. Many people respect his very opinionated remarks, and view them as great ways to laugh about the seriousness of politics. As you can imagine with the daily jabs at other political commentaries, Jon has made some enemies over the years.

One of the enemy feuds has been put to rest recently. On Sep. 30, 2010, CNN political commentary Rick Sanchez uttered demeaning comments of the XM Sirius radio program “Stand-Up with Pete Dominick.” Sanchez called Stewart “a bigot” and also said that the media is controlled by Jewish people. One day after his remarks he abruptly left the network, as reported my CNN. This remark makes it seem as though he left voluntarily however Sanchez was indeed fired.

Stewart did get his chance to get back on Sat. Oct. 2 while hosting Comedy Central’s “Night of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Concert for Autism Education.” Stewart was reported saying to Sanchez, “If you went on radio and said the Jews control the media…..you may want to hold on to your money.”

Hey Sanchez, just because you have the right to say what you want in America, does not mean that you should use that right all the time. Use common sense when you are going on the record, because if you don’t you might just get yourself into trouble with you employer.

CNN Coverage

Fox News Coverage- also note how they misspell autism in the article