No One on the Corner has Swagger like Us!

   In today's society marketing is the way to go In marketing you have to always make sure you appeal to your audience but sometimes I feel like how the companies market their consumers is by the way of using sterotypes to help them with their appeal. For example I chose these two State Farm commercials. The first one is of these group of blacks guys that when they greet each other they give each other daps. Im not saying that giving a dap is a sterotype or that makes me feel some type of way because everyone does that but what does bother me is how the guy who explains the State Farm commercials starts talk and his movements. He starts waving his hands like he is about to go rap and spit on a mic or something. I hope that he doesn't think that all black people talk like that just because he seen the other guys do a dap. Compared to the other commercial where a group of friends are out having lunch the way the State Farm representative is talking is very calm which he is in the other commercial but his hand movements isn't as "hip hoppy" as the other one. So basically what I see in these two commercials is when you want to target black people add a little "swagger" in your movements and you got yourself a minority's attention.

What Messages We Send

 By Macy Kee-Jarmon

     Raising children in  the society we live in is difficult at best. We try to teach our children to be kind and caring their fellow man. We punish and reward them to teach them that every action has consequences and repercussions. We teach them about social norms like covering their mouth when they cough or sneeze, excusing them selves when they pass gas. Then after all that we turn around and give them video games that teach them violent acts.

     We as parents spend so much time trying to teach our children to do the right thing and be productive members of society. They are given examples of positive things they should be doing, then we turn around and give them a game that teaches them to rob and steal.

     Yes these games are for entertainment and designated for a mature audience but who knows the age range of who plays the games, they are only monitored when purchased. Do these games teach that there are consequences? Sometimes they do show that there are consequences, but there not realistic how could they be it's a video game! Video games of the past like Super Mario Brothers, Dig Dug, and Donkey Kong were about entertainment and strategies. Video games of today like Grand Theft Auto, Call Of Duty, and Saints Row teach our children violent acts. So often we want our children to mimic the lessons they've learned, so why aren't we more concerned with the negative images they see?

I Want To Be Made Into A Cover Girl

By: Ashakia Macklin

5"5 brown eyes is usually the saying you hear when people describe the "perfect “girl. Or how about the hundreds of magazine covers, ads and commercials you see with the "perfect “girl on the cover. She usually very slim, blue eyes and long blonde hair. Not to discriminate against models but when the last time you seen a girl like the ones pictured on the ads walking around in society. Truth is there are not many. Companies edited the pictures to sell their product while main stream America is trying to be just like that girl. In today’s society they have so many products and infomercials to help you be that "perfect" girl. Stores are packed with products like anti-aging cream to help keep the body young. Infomercials are on all times of the day trying to sell products that will "guarantee" a new slim body for you. Did you ever stop to think who does this affect, who reads these magazines? The answer is Main stream America teens! Teens are  heavily impacted by the media and what they see. So if that all they see that who they want to be like. Media creates controversy in a teen life. White girl sometime affected more by what they see in the magazines oppose to minorities. They [ white girls] want the skinny legs with the flat stomach or that  rich healthy hair like their favorite pop star. Black girls on the other hand say they are not affected as easy, they don’t really care about the girls in the magazines because their not them. To get a better understanding how  easily media influences the youth I took a two minute walk around the mall. Within a minute a found an ad advertising people to come get their eyebrows done because "looking your best is for everyone". Is this ad suggesting you must look your best to impress everyone ? It could be easily interrupted that way.  A ad in Victoria Secret show cased a brown hair , blue eyes, slim models suggesting five ways to make a girl feel "incredible". So you mean to tell me if I do all the things on this ad I too can look and feel like this girl? These are the questions I was left with after taking my walk. To sum my post up I just wanted to point out how although the media can not tell us what to think , they have a heavy impact on our everyday life                                                                                                  .

Doing Gender

By: Dominique Kidd

Doing gender is in our everyday life, we grew up learning on how to do gender. Gender is the behavior, and the culture typically that have to do with ones sex. Most people do gender without even realizing it; for example women do gender everyday by putting a bra on when getting dress, and men always do gender when they stand up to go to the bathroom. But we learn "doing gender" from the very beginning. When babies are born parents usually get everything blue for boys and everything pink for girls. 

This photo is an example of a little girl's toy. This photo give girls the idea that they are just here to wait on their husband's every need and want. And that education is not important because there is no need to have a education to be a stay at home mother and/or wife.

This photo is an example of a toddler boy's toy. It's a fix it bench which can lead boys thinking that they only have to work and fix things around the house and nothing more,when in a relationship.









Doing gender is very easy to do and very easy to break, we all undo gender everyday. For example a man when just getting off from work comes home and put his children in the tub and put them into bed is undoing gender. And a mother who just put together a new sound system and takes out the weekly trash undo gender. Gender is very important in our everyday life and without it who would we be?  

Rehab?

By Marceline A Bien-Aime               

        Drugs, Alcohol and Eating disorders are a few things that can land some people into a rehabilitation center.  Rehab centers are known to help cleanse or detox people from their bad habits to help them get a better life.  But what happens if Rehab isn’t just enough to help the person.  Some people who have addictions can overcome them in rehab while others tend to have a relapse. 

                Many Hollywood artists seem to be going to rehab.  You would think that most people who are in rehab are poor, not educated, don’t work or have low self-confidence.  But people like Lindsay Lohan, Charlie Sheen, Dennis Rodman, Matthew Perry and the well-known Amy Winehouse all had their time in rehab.  Unfortunately for Amy Winehouse it didn’t turn out too well.

              Amy Winehouse was best known for her song Rehab in which she states "they tried to make me go to rehab but I said no, no, no."  The song was a big hit along with the album which won many grammy's however people didn't take her seriously about her drug and alcohol addiction.  After having her family and friends beg her to go to rehab she finally decides to go but on her way buys vodka.  Now if your going to rehab why would you buy what you aren't going to be able to have?  I'm guessing that is what caused her relapse.  Here is a video of her a few weeks AFTER leaving rehab?

       So no matter how rich or poor it seems that anybody can have a relapse after being released from rehab.  Sometimes it does take people once to be cleaned or a few times back and forth to finally get back control of there life.  Using Amy Winehouse as an example I hope people can understand that it's not easy to kick a habit.  If you know anybody with an addiction please visit this website. http://www.theagapecenter.com/Treatment-Centers/Pennsylvania.htm

What the Heck is up with the Music Today?

By Truong Pham

First of all, No one will probably argue with me when I speak of the Sixties as a revolutionary period in popular music, the Beatles, Elvis, remember guys?  The decade brought in a virtually new type of music, and with it, a new type of mentality.  Today’s music contents are either about sex, drugs, or violences.  Modern music have harmful effecst on young children and teens. One of the harmful effects is causing young people to absorb and act out the lyrics. These lyrics can be about violence, sex, drug and alcohol addiction. Plus modern music can persuade young adults to commit violent crimes, through lyrics for example.  It can also alter their perspective on the world.

While popular music, from rap to country, is full of sexual content, that depiction of sex varies widely. And in the new study, researchers found that the distinction between degrading and non-degrading sexual lyrics may make a difference in teenagers' behavior.  Of the 1,461 adolescents aged 12 to 17 they followed, those who regularly listened to music with degrading lyrics at the start of the study were more likely to start having sex over the next two years. 

This song is a example of the music with full sexual content.  My favorite part was from 0:18 to 0:21.  Are you serious?  This song encourage teenagers and adolescent girls to have wild sex.  This is really sicken me!

Harmful music can also inspire young people to commit crimes and acts of extreme violence. Some popular music, especially heavy metal and rap music glorify violence. Through reoccurrence this harmful music can drive their messages home by repeating the same themes of murder, guns, cruelty and savagery.

And this music video is one example of music that encourage violent and gangs.  It is difficult to deny that music has become more aggressive and edgy over the decades.

And the last but not least, Music that are just plainly crap.  Watch the viral video bellow and we'll see.

This song's lyric is just plainly bad, and this is pretty much one of the best example of today Pop music, repeating lyrics, and crappy content.

And finally, I fully agree that mainstream radio and mass-media are to be blamed heavily for the current situation.  They do nothing to improve it, only worsen it by convincing poor people that the crap they send on the radio is real art. What artist today writes good music not just ass shaking music, Very few The Beatles had 20 number ones's and at the time they where competing with literally legendary bands. Music today is mostly soulless ass shaking....sad. I don't mind fun bubble gum music occasionally. I just wish it wasn't the only thing I was being fed currently.

Double dipping... good or bad? Maybe neither

By: Christopher Garrow

So what comes to mind when you see someone dip their chip into a salsa bowl, take a bite, then dip it again?  The majority of reactions are negative.  Everyone assumes that by double dipping you are basically contaminating the dip for everyone else.  Here is a small clip showing just that:

Now after doing some research, I was able to find out that in actuality there is already more bacteria in an average container of salsa then what someone could possibly add to it with just a simple dip of a chip.  The amount of bacteria that is added are microbes (tiny) in size when compared to the large amount already in the store bought container.  So if you are looking for a bacteria free can of dip, you are pretty much out of luck.  If you want to keep it as bacteria free as possible, then you had better keep that bowl to yourself.

So the next time that you see someone double dipping, try not to give them too hard of a time.  Shoot, you can even go ahead and do it yourself.  I know the feeling when you have half a chip and no salsa... Now you can stop worrying and indulge yourself knowing that it is not going to hurt anyone else.

Deviant Norms

By Ruth Wilkins

Deviance is behavior that is recognized as violating expected rules and norms, while the definition of a norm is specific cultural expectations for how to act in a given situation. But what happens when a somewhat deviant act becomes a social norm. Does it make the act fairly tolerable?

When I was a kid there was always an expected behavior of caution. For instance some of the better known examples are don’t run with scissors, look both ways before crossing the street, and don’t smoke in bed. And without explanation I’m sure most of us can reasonably guess the significance of these basic rules.

But can someone please tell me why so many people around Philadelphia load and unload their children from the street? I see it in different neighborhoods, with different races, among different age groups and at all times of the day. There is an element of danger with this poor choice of accepted behavior. I have an idea why people act so thoughtlessly. I think essentially it’s because we are lazy and we are in such a rush that it is easier to pack our children in our cars on the same side as we get in.

Here is a picture of a young lady loading her child from the street, and I’m sure she is vaguely aware of the consequences:

Although you would think most people would know the importance of protecting their children, they don’t acknowledge the significance of the consequences from this behavior.  I have found that taxi cabs are more thoughtful at providing safety rules for their patrons than some parents for their children. Do you know the proper way to exit a cab is on the sidewalk side of the cab (it’s usually posted in the cab). The most obvious of reasons is for the safety of the person taking the taxi. Now this posted blog is not about taxicab etiquette. But give this some thought, if a group of people we have little respect for can have patrons practice something as logical as exiting a cab from the sidewalk side then…

Why don’t people apply this fundamental rule to loading and unloading their children? How we teach our children good behavior is largely based on how we treat them. If we treat them as though it is ok to act irresponsibly at such a basic level we have a long road ahead of us and them.

Why A Good Education Is So Important And The Key To Success

By: Cheryl Ewing

Education is the key to a successful future and the key element in helping everyone to develop to their full potential.  Having a good education will open doors of opportunity and take you to a higher level of success in your career endeavors. Through education and becoming exposed to added knowledge and experiences, people can find out for themselves what they are best suited for or interested in doing for the rest of their lives.

Making the decision to take advantage of all educational opportunities that are available is not something that is easy, oftentimes it takes effort to seek out those opportunities that could potentially help to further develop talents and abilities that we may already have. Education is not limited to just going to school. Any way a person can educate themselves or learn more about the world around them is key in establishing a successful career and future. It's rarely the knowledge and facts that you know that carry you up the career ladder and into the realms of success but rather the connections you make with others and how fast you can think on your feet and solve problems and generate new ideas. Simply getting by and passing classes in school is not enough. In order to get a good education, we have to put a great deal of effort and time into it and make the most of it. We have to be willing to learn new ideas, try new concepts, and experiment with what we are unfamiliar with. It doesn't matter what age you are or where you come from it's never to late to learn something new.

Drinking and Driving

by: Hai Hu

Driving while drunk is dangerous and drivers with high blood alcohol content or concentration are at greatly increased risk of car accidents, highway injuries and vehicular deaths. In the United State, there are 25,000 people die each year of alcohol related collisions. Federal and State law could enforcement revoking your driver licenses if get drunk and driving, also, impounding your vehicles and vehicle plates. The rate of alcohol related fatalities has increased over the past decade in the United State.

Every single injury and death caused by drunk driving is totally preventable. Even though people pay attention in the proportion of crashes that are alcohol related in recent years, there are still far too many such preventable accidents. Unfortunately, alcohol impaired driving remains a serious national problem that tragically affects many victims every year.

In conclusion, drunk driving fatalities are more devastating because they are one hundred percent avoidable. The accident related fatalities that occurred could have been prevented in a sample way, like took a taxi or called someone drive for you. In some states drivers can be arrested for driving while impaired even if their blood alcohol concentration is lower than the legal limit, if the law enforcement officer believes he has probable cause based on the behavior and reactions of the driver. It's simply not a wise choice to get behind the wheel no matter how much you have had to drink.

Stop the Madness!!!

By: Tyree Reese


 I have the unfortunate problem of noticing that the new trend is wearing jeans with out a belt. Don't get me wrong I'm not in my later years of life i.e. Seventy and up. I just don't get this new thing that is considered in. Guys have been wearing their pants low for as long as I can remember but now I have noticed that females are starting to do it more. I am not trying to create a double standard but guys wear boxers to cover their actual bare skin, where as females are not. I can't tell you the amount of bare skin I have seen all day every day. What is it that makes a female wear her jeans so low and nothing to cover her crack? Why do I have to see every part of your backside while I'm trying to eat? I have sat back while in a local mall and counted the number of females that don't have on belts but choose to wear low rider jeans. The number would drive you crazy. I know everyone wants to be seen as 'cool' or 'in' but some times you have to go against what is seen as cool and do what you know feels right.

What does it help when a women walks around showing the crack of her butt! I personally find it simple minded that anyone would show their but crack as if every person on the planet wishes to take in that mental photo. This fad is driving me crazy. I think that if you choose yo wear very low cut jeans than at leas have the decency to carry something that you can place behind you to cover your crack when you sit in an open backed chair. I know I feel air on my crack when my jeans are to low or I bend over, so why is it no other female takes a second to correct themselves as I and other women do? Either pull your jeans up or you shirt down!!!

Please ladies try to fix this issue that seem to going on. I wanna know am I the only person who is feeling this way? Am I wrong for not wanting to see the dark place that should stay hidden? Please post a comment and let me know?

FLASHMOBS by: William Wilson

What the hell is that? I said as I was taking a shower one evening not to long ago. It sounded like a war zone on my block and I was helpless in my bathroom. I quickly gathered myself together to go outside and see what the commotion was about. Can anyone guess what I saw stampeding down the middle of the street?  How about 100 to about 150 screaming kids causing terror to anything that was in their path. This ladies and gentleman was a flash mob in the middle of the city in the middle of the night. They were climbing on poles, dancing  on top of cars, kicking peoples cars and fighting each other. Now my question in all of this was where are their parents? Its one in the morning and last time I checked curfew for people under the age of 18 was about 10:00.

I wanted to know just what go's through the minds of kids across the area when they participate in these kinds of activities. I've seen people get beaten with night sticks by cops, arrested and jumped all in the midst of these things. Coming into these kinds of things one has to in some way know the consequences of it all. This to me though is just another sign of the times that we live and grew up in. I and a few friends were once caught in a flash mob. We weren't doing anything but everyone around it is usually guilty by association. All flash mobs aren't bad but the particular ones that I'm targeting are.  We already have enough violence in the world so why do people band together to influence it even more? It's not right and we need to teach younger and older generations that it's not right. I also think that flash mobs are a great example of group think.

The True Meaning of The Symbol Swastika

By: Jian-Hian Chen

What is a symbol? A symbol is things or behaviors to which people give meaning. Symbol can also be something such as a particular mark that represents some piece of information. One symbol that everyone seen before that thinks they know the meaning to it is the Swastika.

What do you think when you see this?

Yes, this is the symbol that Adolf Hitler used known as the Nazism. The Nazi believed that they were the supremacy of an Aryan master race and claimed that Germans represented the purest Aryan nation. The Jews people were affect the most because the Nazi claimed that they were the greatest threat to the Aryan race and the German nation. The symbol has been forbidden in several countries and especially in Germany. In some areas public display of the Swastika may be fined or even jailed.

This video shows the true meaning of the symbol Swastika. This symbol has appeared around the country in ancient artifact from Japan, China, and India for 5,000 years. The Swastika symbol represents good luck, love, light, and life. What a peaceful symbol but, because of one person it is only remember as a symbol of hatred, death, and evil.

At the end of the blog I hope everyone understand a little more about the meaning and what the Swastika symbol represents. The Swastika symbol represents Good, Love, Light, and, Life. This symbol is mostly in the Asian culture it appears in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Mithraism.

"BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER"

By Alicia Arties

 WHAT IS THE MEDIA DOING TO OUR YOUNG GIRLS?

I'll tell you what they are doing! They are poisoning the minds of today's society. The sad part is it's not just teenage girls, it's grown women, it's our entire society (including men).

 The media has put such a huge emphasis on body image that everyone wants the "perfect body", and will take drastic measures to get it. This effects our culture and our society as a whole, but the damage that it's doing to our teenage girls is astronomical.

 The media portrays a false image that is next to impossible to acheive. Some of these young girls idealize people like super models, actresses, and vocalists based off of looks, instead of their own mothers. They would rather look like these women that they see on screen, then to look like themselves. They are bombarded with magazine advertisements(ads) like "Quick Ways to Shed Body Fat" or " How to Drop 10 lbs. in 10 Days". Young girls read these magazines and aspire to look like these women. What they don't say in these ads is that most of these photographs are air-brushed. What they don't tell us is that some of these women are just as insecure about their bodies as you and I.

Teenage girls especially, are starving themselves, purging, and even using laxatives to help control their weight. The media's focus on "beauty" has teenage girls resorting to cosmetic surgery. You can get anything "fixed" nowadays, from head to toe(literally).

The news is agenda setting at its finest. Just once I'd like to see an "unattractive" or "over-weight" man or woman broadcasting the news or weather. What exactly is the criteria? Do you have to be articulate and beautiful; or maybe you just have to be visually appealing to most and you just "wing" it. (no disrespect to all the news anchors out there)

 We need to put more focus on inner-beauty, integrity, self-esteem, and building a more positive and healthy self image. Thankfully, there are some celebrities and companies that are trying to make a difference by promoting individuality and health, opposed to the stereotypical image of beauty.

 Agenda setting is an on going problem, and its up to us to try to reverse the damage thats been done. We need to reinforce certain values in our children; let them know that beauty truly is only skin deep.

"Do or do not, there is no try"

-Raimundo Rivera Jr.

Aside from the slightly overused quote, now that we have successfully completed Sociology 101, this will be our mind set continuing on in our lives after this point. We are now equipped with the tools to either better our society or continue on with blinders. In these short weeks, we have learned about inequality, injustice, prejudice, ignorance and everything that makes us as humans, seem a bit less... human. All the things that we shake off and accept as normal are things we could be changing. Our "Master Yoda" Jamie L. Gusrang has given us important insight and knowledge about the world as it is, and the world as it could be. All the things we have we can use to impact the world in some way, be it in a small or large way. So my fellow classmates, the stand we take now only has two sides. We become the change or let the world and our society continue on in brokenness. Its " Do or Do not" time, there's no room to try.

Education: Does Schooling Really Matter?

By: Monique Brockington From a person's early childhood days of elementary school, the most popular question that your teacher asked was, "What do you want to be when you grow up?". Of course we gave the most common answers such as a dotor, a lawyer, a teacher, a nurse, a fire fighter, a policeman/policewoman, president,or like mommy and daddy. We were also taught by our parents & teachers that if you stay in school, do well & go to college, you could be whatever it is you want to be. With hard work & persistance anything is possible. As children some of us were taught the importance of a good education, to think of schooling as your financial ladder towards your future. Who you are or turn out to be in life based on your social status will be achieved through your education & occupation.

I believe that schooling matters when you consider the financial aspect of it, there's a difference in pay depending on the occupation you choose and the degree level you pursue.If you can finish school and get a degree, it shows that you can commit to something and see it through but if you drop out before you get anywhere, it just proves to an employer that you might not cut it. The schools that you attend plays a huge role in that, for example, public schools vs. private schools. The opportunities are offered if not handed to you with private schools, but when it comes to public schools, you have to make your own way, put in your own foot work to create your success in life.

Another factor that plays a role in which schools are best to go to is the teachers experience. Picking a good school occurs way before you attend a college. You have good teachers who actually teach you how to apply what you learn and have a decent life, and then there's the mediocre teachers who could care less rather you learned something or not.....only thing that matters is that they get paid their check for doin absolutely nothing. So to answer the question, yes schooling matters to a certain extent but it doesn't define a person's success in life.

Poverty in the United States and Guatemala

Uliser Galdamez Corkery

Poverty is defined as being poor, lack of money and food. In the united state there are very few people or family that lives in extreme poverty, but live absolute poverty. The difference in absolute poverty are people that make a dollar a day, anything below that is consider extreme poverty. Here in the united stated families that have an income of $21,203 is consider in the line of poverty, but compared to other people in the world this is consider a family well off. In America, the poverty level is determined by the yearly income that a family of four haves to maintain a suitable standard of living.


I was born in a country that poverty is well common all around. Guatemala is a country that people struggle day by day to make ends meet. In other words people work their butts off to make enough to eat. Some off this people and family eat one meal a day or shared their meal with their young ones, which means that they starved. This people are knowed as extreme poverty; absolute poverty in my country is a little different, many people that fine them self in this situation move to a country that haves more opportunities or where they can earn more money to live a suitable life.

                          

Poverty and starvation is all over the world and is becoming more common in places that does not have much support by the government. In Guatemala, education and employment is very poor and this is why children and adults are suffering from it. If Guatemala had the same laws that the United States have, half of the population in poverty can be reduced. Our current president Obama here in the USA has just open a law that all children should finished 12 grade or parents will get in trouble by the school district. I other country would have the laws this could help out poverty.

Bad Boys, Bad Boys

By: Katherine Peralta

Gender, what is gender? It is the socially learned expectations and behaviors associated with members of each sex. So how does bad boys, bad boys connect with this? Well, in careers like law enforcement and criminal justice or movies like Mission Impossible and Live Free Die Hard, society expects men to be the main stars. Why don’t women play such a role, as a special agent? There are a few movies of women playing this role of a tough special agent like the Silence of the Lambs and Untraceable. “Why” is the question.

I never knew that in the work force women were paid differently than men. I was highly disappointed and I guess that if you’re a woman reading this, you are too. It’s something that has tried to be passed by congress that women get paid equally but it fails over and over again. Is this gender stereotyping or prejudice? Gender stereotyping is based on a person’s gender; stereotypes about women are most likely to be negative, rather than men stereotyping. The Human Capital Theory explains the gender differences. Why should women be treated unequally compared to men? According to the Dual Labor Market Theory, women gain less than men because they have low paying jobs and men work in different segments. Another thing that affects the pay is gender segregation. Women get placed in different sectors based on gender. Employers assume “She’s a women, she can’t do that; it’s a guys job!” Why should women get treated differently. YES, I do agree that some jobs can be difficult for women but as long as it’s able to be completed, I say “It’s just perfectly fine!”

                          

This is a perfect example of the hard work women go through to join the FBI; they dedicte themselves to accomplish their goal and strive for what they want.

So now to my point, in careers like in the FBI, people picture a well built male agent but they don’t count in the female agents. Now at days, women are needed in the FBI. There are about 2,000 women in the FBI who serve as agents all over the country and in overseas offices. They play a major role, contributing to the FBI with their skills and experiences. Most of the women that join the FBI, apply because they had misperceptions they had about the FBI or thought that the headquarters only hired men as agents. Let me just say they were WRONG!

                                    

Personally, I love the fact of joining the FBI; I love everything about it. I’m looking forward to pursuing this career; I know that its hard work and that maybe just maybe I do get paid differently than men but let me and women, just hope this is over and we accomplish to get equal treatment like men. Women can make a big difference in the work force.                                                                                                                    

"I know what dude I am! I'm the dude, playin' a dude, disguised as another dude."

By: Cherie Simpson

What do we perceive as being white? What causes people to use term "white" as an adjective when describing individuals of another race? We've all heard it before, "He's the whitest black guy I've ever met!" For the most part, we think lightly of these types of remarks and often times humorous when used in comedic situations. In fact, movies are notorious for poking fun at this issue. But why? What are these "white" qualities that we project on other races?

Stereotyping and generalizations are part of produce this sort of commentary. By expecting that all races act the opposite of white people, we create cultural rules in which everyone should abide by. If we accept the fact that people's representation of themselves is directly correlated with their upbringing and not a cultural "standard", then perhaps we would be able to diminish this sort of commentary.

Not too long ago, I found myself in a situation relating to this issue. Upon moving into our new apartment, my boyfriend and I shortly began to realize that we could hear our neighbor's conversations through our shared walls. Immediately we both agreed that our neighbor sounded like the character "Newman" from the television sitcom Seinfeld. Well, naturally if he sounds like this fictional character, surely he must look like him too, right? Two months later, we found ourselves face to face with our chatty neighbor and low and behold, the man who stood in front of us hardly resembled the "Newman" character. In fact, he wasn't even white, but a friendly George Clinton type, with an affinity for World of Warcraft.

Slap the cuffs upon our wrists for we were guilty by our own assumptions! This is just one of many examples in which we judge and assume, most of the time not intentionally, due to widespread stereotypes, generalizations and cultural behavior norms. How many times have we found ourselves in this type of situation? Normally our commentary is not meant to be offensive, but we must refrain from such judgment for it may be found highly offensive by in the individual on the other side of fence.

Cigarette VS Alcohol

By: Ang Anwar Nowadays, most people enjoy smoking and drinking. Some of them are a social smoker or a social drinker, and some of them are a heavy smoker or an alcoholic. These smokers and drinkers are willing to spend their money just to satisfy their needs. Tobacco companies earn a lot of profits by selling cigarettes, as well as hospitality industries. Moreover, both of smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol are consider a deviance in the society. However, which one is more destructive to our society, smokers or drinkers? In a cigarette, there are 4,000 chemicals; that is includes 43 cancer-causing compounds and 400 other toxins. Furthermore, there is also nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide in a cigarette. As we all know, nicotine is really addictive, it also has some bad effects to our cardiovascular, respiratory, dermatology, and musculoskeletal systems. Moreover, even though the tobacco companies printed the bad effects of cigarettes on the a cigarette box, most people still smoke cigarettes.

What about alcohol? Alcohol is considered as carbohydrate family, because it has two carbon sugar in the structure. The structure is in a small size and simple that it is easy to be absorb by every cell in the body. Alcohol has a lot of bad effects to our brain system, such as depression, anxiety disorders, low self-esteem, etc. Furthermore, alcoholism also can cause someone to get into breaking the laws, such as, driving under influence(DUI). Currently, "Jackass" star, Ryan Dunn was killed because he was driving under influence and it also cause the death of his friend who was in the car that night with him.

Thus, smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol are not good habit in the society. Both of cigarettes and alcohol can cause a lot of bad effects that not only does it affect the person who smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol, it also affect people around them. Which one is worse, a smoker or a drinker? Both of the cigarettes and alcohol is dangerous. However, although the statistic shows that the mortality rate is higher for smokers, I believe alcohol is worse than cigarettes, because it can kills you either slowly or fast (like what happened to Ryan Dunn). I would suggest people to avoid smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol. However, if people can avoid it, just control themselves and do not consume cigarettes and alcohol too much. Just like a proverb, too much anything is always bad.