Gay Bashing

In 2008, 190 homosexuals were killed in Brazil, one every two days, known as a 55 percent increase on the previous year. The annual report on murders of homosexuals, according to the Grupo Gay da Bahia from Brazil, says that 64 percent of the victims were gay men, 32 percent were transvestites, and four percent were lesbians. This is absolutely astonishing. Even though homosexuals have chosen an alternative lifestyle, they still deserve to live a normal life without being victimized of physical harm for their choices.Homosexuality is not â€Å"normal† in biological terms. If it were normal, then everybody would be homosexual and that is self-evident. Homosexuals are actively striving to convince us that homosexuality is â€Å"normal,† but they confuse frequency and familiarity with normality. Today's world is more familiar with homosexuals, their reputation, their struggles, their status in the population, but that doesn't change the underlying biology: homosexuality is not â€Å"normal. We are all people. People who love, cry, eat and breathe just like everybody else does. If homosexuality is not â€Å"normal,† then what is it? Homosexuals, and heterosexual as well, argue that it is not a choice, but inherent to who they are. With certain qualifications for people of confused identify, it is acceptable to believe that homosexuality is rooted in biology, and that the individual doesn't choose it. The American researcher Dean Hamer published research that seemed to prove that homosexual orientation could be genetically transmitted to men on the x chromosome, which they get from their mothers† (Am I Gay? ). If it is rooted in biology, and is not normal, then therefore, homosexuality must be a genetic quirk, a genetic mutation that causes a person to have a sexual identity that is innately in contradiction with that person's physical self and with the natural instinct to pass one's genes to the next generation through procreation with a person of the opposite sex.If science proves homosexuality is innate, is there any basis to deny gays equal treatment — including the right to marry? But if scientists unravel the roots of sexual orientation, will it some day be possible to â€Å"fix† people who don't fit the norms or abort fetuses likely to be born gay? † (Doughton). In our culture, the victim of gay bashing is considered the sinner. That's why so often the crimes against homosexuals go unpunished until someone is found beaten, burned and tied to a fence post. There is a pat psychological answer–gays are threatening to us because of homosexual tendencies built into the human psyche, which frighten us and which we must put away from us†¦at any time, in any culture it seems to be convenient to have a group of people who can be demonized and excluded†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Stop Bashing Gay People). The verbal taunts and persecution of people because of their sexual orientation are so commonpla ce they set the stage for murderers who think it's no crime to hate gays and to act on that hate. â€Å"It is that instinctual fear of rape that drives much of homophobia.Straight men often instinctually see gay men as a threat, and they instictively fear that threat. It's a fear of a loss of control, of dominance, of status† (Bidstrup). As anybody can tell, the opportunity to be threatened, humiliated and to live in fear of being beaten to death is the only â€Å"right† our culture grants on homosexuals. If you listened to the opponents of laws designating gay bashing as a hate crime, you'd think there really was some fundamental difference between being a black man, who is beaten and dragged behind a truck, and being a gay man, who is beaten, his skull crushed, and left tied to a fence to die. Gay bashing also sends the message that whether a person is actually lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, or queer, if they are perceived by others as being so, a negative (a nd potentially violent) reaction may occur† (Matzner). The only real difference is the nickname the killers use to describe the victim. The one used for the black man is considered an obscenity so appallingly offensive, it can't be written, printed, or projected verbally. The one used for the gay man is a common expression. It's familiar in schools, comedy routines, the media, and on street corners all across America.There is the perception that homosexuals are a socially acceptable target. Therefore, when young people are asked, they will justify and defend targeting gay people as inferior. â€Å"Gaybashing is the most socially acceptable, and probably the most common, type of hate crime, especially among male teenagers and young adults† (Matzner). There's a belief nowadays that it's not so cool to assault racial minorities. It's not so cool to assault women, Blacks or Jews. But assaulting gays is actually something humorous to a lot of young people. It's probably the last socially acceptable group to assault.Part of it is related to the fact that discrimination against gays is still legalized and encoded. That sends a message to young people that, if gays don't have equal rights in employment, housing, child custody, the military, or marriage, then there's something wrong with them, and nobody's going to mind if we have some fun at their expense. According to statistics released by the FBI, hate crimes that are specifically committed in relation to the victims sexual orientation have risen over the past three years. There were 1,017 reported in 2005, 1,195 in 2006 and 1,265 in 2007.The FBI reported a 6 % increase in hate crimes against gay, lesbian and transgender people in 2008. A gay-bashing incident took place in Vancouver in March of this year. â€Å"He’s a faggot. He deserved it. I’m not a fag. The faggot touched me. He deserved it,† the accused said to a witness. Richard Dowrey, a 62-year old man was punched in the fac e at a pub and has left him clinging to life in the intensive care unit at a local hospital. The force of the punch threw him backgrounds, falling to the ground and hitting the back of his head. â€Å"Most commonly, respondents said that they were defending themselves against sexual predation† (Franklin).The man will live with permanent brain damage for the rest of his life. Unfortunately, this incident was humorous to someone. What if you were the man who had to live as a vegetable for the rest of your life? Nobody should think that there is not a possibility of this happening the other way around. It may not be as likely, but there is always that possibility of a homosexual physically harming a heterosexual just for being heterosexual. Gay bashing occurs even among children of very young ages, and in this instance, it was too late. 11 year-old Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover was found dead after he hanged himself earlier this week by tying an electrical cord around his neck that was fastened to a support beam in his home. The child had enduring day after day of taunting with anti-gay slurs at the school he attended† (Hipps). People don’t realize that they go too far with the unbearable taunting. Not only may it lead to physical harm, but it really affects people emotionally and to the point that they may inflict harm upon themselves because they have lost their self-esteem. Being homosexual may not be the norm, but they are human beings just like the rest of the world.They have feelings as well. Another example of a gay bashing tragedy: the heart-wrenching story of Brandon Teena, a young transsexual murdered in a hate crime, which took place in the 90’s. Brandon was born biologically a female, but lived as a male. Because of this, he was subsequently brutally beaten, raped and murdered. His life story and death was later portrayed in the Academy Award winning film, â€Å"Boys Don’t Cry. † This story was brought to life agai n for people to manifest the horrific actions that did and still do take place in our prejudice society.It is needed to have these stories known and fleshed out. It is unfortunate that our society lives in a country where hate crime legislation is not necessary, but it is. If a crime is committed because of a prevailing prejudice, that prejudice will only subside when we as a society are having an active conversation to bring the issues out into the open. The more they get shoved into the dark, the darker and more horrible they become. Acts and laws need to be passed in order to bring these issues to light in a way that the media cannot ignore.It would be the best way to both bring these crimes to justice and bring about cultural change in our society about a minority group. â€Å"The cost to society is enormous, not just to the gay person, but to his family, his acquaintances, his employers, and to society as a whole† (Bidstrup).Works Cited â€Å"Am I gay? Are you born gay? Can you stop being gay? † Bidstrup, Scott. â€Å"Homophobia: The Fear Behind The Hatred. †The Nature of Homophobia. 3 September 2000. Doughton, Sandi. â€Å"Born gay? How biology may driveorientation. † Seattle Times. 19 June 2005. Franklin, Karen. Why Do People Say Gay bash? † Assault onGay America. 1995-2008. Frayssinet, Fabiana. â€Å"RIGHTS-BRAZIL: Gay-Bashing Murders Up55 Percent. † IPS News on the Web. 22 April 2008. Hainsworth, Jeremy. â€Å"Community demands court treatgaybashing as a hate crime. † Where Queers Conspire. 26March 2009. Hipps, James. â€Å"11 Year Old Hangs Himself Over Gay Slurs. †Gay Agenda. 2008. 11 April 2009. Matzner, Andrew. â€Å"Gaybashing. † Social Sciences. 2004. 19August 2005. Schneider, Walter H. â€Å"Gay Violence Statistics. † Fathers ForLife. 1998-2008. 1 April 1998. â€Å"Stop Bashing Gay People. †

Employment: Education and Students

1. Describe the skills or attributes you believe are necessary to be outstanding when working in student support services. You have to be able to relate and understand with the students on a positive level to reach an optimal outcome from any situation. Hillside Academy taught me when dealing with students with special needs it's best to go for an approach where you can talk with them one on one and get a better understanding as to how they are thinking, what would be the best possible outcome and what is the best solution to the problem without a non-violence approach.Students what to know they have the support of an adult faulty member with whom they can trust and build a positive solid relationship with and I think all these key factors help to create an outstanding student support service. 2. Please identify and describe any significant differences you would promote in a school which a majority of the students are African-American and Hispanic/Latino.I would promote a program whe re African Americans and Hispanic/Latino both have the opportunity to learn about each others cultures so that the students have a better understanding of each other and point out the similarities in each culture so that the students can come together as one. I feel as though the two cultures don't fully understand each other as a whole and that creates a cultural clash. I would be fully interesting in creating a positive environment with the schools staff and resources to provide a common ground that will create stable relationships amongst the students and faulty members.Throughout my years of employment working with the youth and previous staff members I have learned to be a good listener, a great problem solver in the most chaotic and worst situations, a positive team player and most importantly a compassionate and understanding person. I am enthusiastic about applying my skills which I have acquired through previous experience and I look forward to being apart of the team to ma ke an influential difference in the Proviso Township High Schools. . How would you address a wide range of skills in your classroom?Dupage school A lot of planning. The easiest thing to do is pull small groups. If your school uses 3 group rotation it is easy to implement. If your school uses another method of instruction you can pull groups during any independent work time. When some students are completing an independent assignment you pull another group to work with you (on that same activity or anther lesson all together. ) When the students need to complete the same activity you can differentiate by setting different goals for different students.In writing assignments you can alter the number of sentences that need to be written, how much sentences need to be extended, or how many details need to be included. Some students may edit on their own, some with a partner, or some in a small group with you. For reading assignments you may need to give different leveled books to differe nt kids. You can find many books on the same topic at different levels. Most times your teacher manual will list alternative book options for more advanced or struggling readers.For reading assignments that all students need to complete try choral, echo, or partner reading for those who need it. Math is the easiest to differentiate. Some kids can use manipulative and some might be able to use mental math. Additionally, you can do an introduction and guided practice to the whole class. Whoever can complete the independent assignment on their own can do that and you can pull a small group for those students who still need guided practice or more scaffolding.

Administrative Discretion PA301 wk 5 Research Paper

Administrative Discretion PA301 wk 5 - Research Paper Example He also emphasized the use of violence in a legal way as he categorized social leadership from rational to traditional and appeal (Turner, 1992, p. 57). His analysis suggested that the government institutions of his time started the development based on logic or reason. In totality, his works summed up the existence of rational and legal implications of capitalism and state development. Weber also influenced the concept of administrative discretion as he got into several sociological issues. Administrative discretion has been linked to bureaucracy. Bureaucracy allows the legal application of administrative discretion. According to Rosen (1998, p. 8), Weber listed three characteristics that allows administrative discretion: 3. Methodical provision is made for the regular and continuous fulfillment of the duties and for the execution of the corresponding rights; only persons with the generally regulated qualifications to serve are employed. The three characteristics provided may limit the actions and decision-making of the government leaders as laws may not cater a broad perspective. Since some laws are limited, there would be less room for progress. The author thinks that administrative discretion should be tolerated as long as the actions taken have rational basis. They must have a certain level of freedom in deciding and acting upon the policies they make and process since older policies may not cater the current needs of the state. With that, public administrators have the capacity to legally change or resist any changes without any sanctions. Having them enjoy the discretion allows them to resist or modify the decisions made by government leaders. They can do it to prevent themselves from becoming puppets of their leaders. In addition, they can also apply their knowledge regarding the policies for the public. With that, they are able to contribute in shaping the policies for the public to follow (Spicer, 1995, p. 67). It shows how the

Corporate Social Responsibility for Profit Article

Corporate Social Responsibility for Profit - Article Example â€Å"The Havas Media Lab underscores this transformation with a list based on a survey of 50,000 consumers worldwide who identified the companies they feel have the most ‘meaningful’ CSR† (Levick, 2012). Corporate Social Responsibility is being used as a strategic approach by many Fortune 500 companies. Corporate social responsibility connects to the well being of the customers. Some companies such as Nike are taking a straight on approach to CRS. The firm instead of using celebrities to send a message about the quality of the shoe, they design the shoes in a manner that using their running shoes will actually improve the running experience for their customers. Integrating quality into the products is an effective way to satisfy the needs of the customers. In the past many companies thought the CRS was a program that should be considered an expense. This view has changed a lot in the 21st century as companies are realizing that there is a lot of value associated with the implementation of corporate social responsibility programs. There are companies that have adapted their philanthropic efforts to extend it beyond donating money and merchandise. Many companies today, including Leroy Merlin, are volunteering the time of their employees to help out in social causes. Protecting the environment is a way to show corporate social responsibility. The use of recycling programs and energy savings initiatives is a great way to show a company cares about the well-being of our planet. An industry that has is outperforming others in terms of corporate social responsibility is the electronics industry. Three companies that top the chart in terms of its corporate responsibility programs are IBM, Hewlett Packard, and Texas Instrument. â€Å"These sector-leading companies have pushed hard to highlight their greater focus on enhanced sustainable design, manufacturing, distribution, use, and end-of-use management† (Levick, 2012). The utilization of CRS programs can help improve different aspects of a firm’s operations. The use of CRS programs can also help enhance a company’s customer retention rate. Application of CRS topic for class Corporate social responsibility is a topic that is very important to learn about due to the fact that CRS can be used as a focus strategy for marketers of corporations. Customers worldwide have become more aware than ever about the actions of companies in regards to social and environmental issues. Back in the late 1990’s Nike showed a complete disregard for human suffering when they got involved in a sweetshop scandal. That scandal cost the company over half its sales in 1998. The reason that people pay close attention to the actions of corporations is because the corporate world holds more wealth than the combined wealth of all the world’s countries. Whenever a company is involved in a good deed associated with corporate social responsibility it is the duty of the marke ting department to create awareness in the media about the efforts of the company. Green initiatives are a great way to win the hearts and support of the customers. There are tax incentives that can be used to lower the tax burden of the company. These tax shelters are available to companies that donate money or resources to good causes. In the United States customer expectation is higher than in other emerging economies. U.S. customers are more wiling

Dred Scott Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Dred Scott - Essay Example In 1836, Emerson moved to Wisconsin which is now Minnesota where again slavery was prohibited under the Missouri Compromise. During their stay at Fort Snelling, Emerson acquired a slave Harriet Robinson which Emerson married. In 1843, Emerson died and his widow hired Scott out an army action when Scott first sought freedom for himself and his wife. He first attempted to buy his freedom from Mrs. Emerson for $300 but was declined. After the refusal, Scott turned to the courts for his freedom. The trial begun in June of 1847. He lost because he could not prove that he and his wife Harriet were owned by Mrs. Emerson. He then sought for retrial in 1850 at St. Louis circuit court which ruled that Scott and his wife were free. This decision however was overturned after two years when the Missouri Supreme Court reversed the decision of the lower court. Scott then elevated the case to a federal court, the United States Circuit Court in Missouri. Unfortunately, the court upheld the Missouri Supreme Court decision. Dred Scott now has to make his last appeal at the United States Supreme Court.   The majority of the justices however were pro-slavery being appointed by Presidents from the South where five came from slave-holding families. The main argument at the Supreme Court was whether Scott’s was indeed a citizen. The United States Supreme Court ruled in March of 1857 by Chief Justice Robert B. Taney who wrote also the decision of the court. The decision stated that since Dred was of African descent, a Negro, he was therefore not a citizen of the United States and it follows that he has no right to seek redress to the court for his freedom. At the same time, the decision also declared the Missouri Compromise of 1820which prohibited slavery in selected states to be unconstitutional. The Supreme Court decision was received with mix reactions.

Historical figure-prove with evidence that Jesus actually excited Research Paper

Historical figure-prove with evidence that Jesus actually excited - Research Paper Example In the simplest terms, this is the case of Paul having the means to verify through James whether he had a brother Jesus or not. This is a natural means of verifying Jesus’ existence through relationships verification. This same process works in the case of for Paul directly knowing Peter, the disciple who is nearest to Jesus. If Jesus did not exist, then Peter would have told Paul so. This is common sense, given the public nature of Pauls work. Peter would have corrected him if Jesus did not exist. Also, Jesus being a life-defining figure for Paul, it would have been fantastic if he did not try to discuss Jesus with Peter and James. Peter and James would have corrected hm if Jesus did not exist. The personal relationships of Paul with James and Peter therefore stand as very solid pieces of evidence for the historical existence of Jesus. In turn, Pauls life accounts in the Bible can be taken as concrete evidence for the same (Ehrman, 2012). In Galatians 2, we have an account of the precise nature of that personal relationship and interaction between James the brother of Jesus and Paul, with Paul attesting to his being accepted by the disciples as a representative of the church to the Gentiles, in the same manner that Peter was the apostle for those who were part of the group of circumcised people. â€Å"James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me (Galatians 2:9 New International Version). In Galatians 1, too, Paul narrates his personal close contact with Peter, who he calls Cephas, and his encounter with James. This was when he visited Jerusalem, and when he stayed there with Peter for fifteen days: â€Å"Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days. I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother† (Galatians 1:18-19). Evans (2012), on the other hand, focuses on the

Who am I Personal autobiography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Who am I Personal autobiography - Essay Example Difficulties in my growing years molded my character when it comes to endurance which proved to be vital in a future stepping stone, the navy. There were times I felt so terrible because of disappointments to myself when I fail in an endeavor but as I looked around and saw others committing mistakes yet never giving up, I learned to encourage myself. Controlling my emotions was one of the things I learned because I have learned that being emotional could break a person. This could probably one of the things that have strongly influenced me to consider discipline and determination to be my friends and little victories, my comfort. I am family oriented and I value education for myself. Having grown in a closely-knit family, the value of it has deeply been rooted in my heart so that treasuring family members has become a part of me. I believe that family comes first in a married man’s life because there would be no other people more concerned of an individual than a bloodline. To day, there could be home cares for elders where family members could be nursed however; there would still be no better place like home and no better people to look after an aged person than a family member. Entering the navy in 1989 with the full support of my family, I knew I was taking a jump of a great distance that could either make or break me knowing the discipline the opportunity has in store for me.

The Privatization of Intelligence Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words

The Privatization of Intelligence - Term Paper Example The conventional intelligence cycle is characterized as fragmented and Clark argues for a more conjoined intelligence cycle under what is described as a target-centric approach to intelligence collection and sharing. However, one of the significant post-9/11 changes made to the intelligence cycle was the outsourcing of intelligence to the private sector. The Department of Homeland Security explained that since 9/11 the DHS has enhanced private sector involvement for â€Å"facilitating more effective and rapid communication with key organizations† and as a means of â€Å"bolstering regionally-focused information sharing efforts†. Russell argues however, that the intelligence community remains fragmented in that a number of agencies are responsible for collecting intelligence. For example, the National Security Agency is responsible for intercepting and decoding â€Å"communications†; the National Geospatial-Intelligence is responsible for analysing satellite images; the Defense Intelligence Agency is responsible for running â€Å"military defense attachà © collection abroad;and the Department of State oversees the collection of information from diplomats abroad. Moreover, the CIA has its own collection functions and also recruits spies for the benefit of US security. Complicating matters,the different agencies within the intelligence community have a tendency to jealously guard their information. While putting a tight lid on information can be justified on the grounds that it is too sensitive to risk unauthorised leaks, often times, information â€Å"hoarding† is cultivated by â€Å"petty bureaucratic rivalries†.8 This is problematic since analysts are required to make informed assumptions on the basis of information received from all the various sources of intelligence.9 Intelligence that merely informs decision-makers of what is taking place abroad or at home has less intrinsic value than intelligence that informs of what might be happening.10 The outsourcing of intelligence functions to the private sector can only serve to further fragment the collection and

Tale of Genji-Evanescence of Life Essay Example for Free

Tale of Genji-Evanescence of Life Essay Man has always been the one that chases the woman, and the harder the woman is for them to get the more the man wants her. People tend to not appreciate what they have in front of them until they don’t have them anymore. The evanescence of a man’s relationship with a woman of importance is a recurring theme throughout the book. This is demonstrated frequently through Genji’s relationships with the women and people he cared about throughout his life. In Genji’s life he encounters a variety of women through which the same routine occurs; he falls in love, he loses her then he suffers. An important aspect of this evanescence of women is the consolation phase which follows where male characters seek comfort for lost from women of similar physical traits. In The Tale of Genji, Murasaki Shikibu convey the idea of evanescence of important relationships through Genji’s life. Genji’s mother Kiritsubo, who is the Emperors true love, died when Genji was only three years old. Genji had very little time with his birth mother; this foreshadows Genji’s whole life as he matures of how he continuously suffers from losing the women he cares about. When Kiritsubo passed away the Emperor was filled with unending sorrow, he â€Å"had clung all too foundly to his old love, despite universal disapproval, and he did not forget her now, but in a touching way his affection turned to [Fujitsubo], who was a great consolation to him† (Murasaki14). The Emperor seeks a substitute for his wife while Genji seeks a mother. The Emperors grief over Kiritsubo is eased when he meets Fujitsubo because she almost exactly resembles Kiritsubo. Although Genji does not remember his mother much, when the Dame of Staff told him that Fujitsubo resembled his mother, Genji â€Å"wanted always to be with her so as to contemplate her to his heart’s content† (Murasaki14). In order to find comfort, both Genji and his father seek substitution after losing the women the y love. Genji’s relationship with Fujitsubo was short lived. Fujitsubo was a mother replacement when Genji was young, and when Genji came of age he was denied access to her. Genji had an affair with Fujitsubo, falls in love with her and got her pregnant; even though no one found out he still cannot marry her because she is his father’s wife. When Genji was eighteen, he discovers Murasaki in the hills north of Kyoto. Though Murasaki was only ten years old, she already looked extremely similar to Fujitsubo. To Genji, Murasaki is a subsitude for Fujitsubo; he is drawn into her from the moment he saw her and was determined to adopt her no matter what. Genji told the nun that, â€Å"There is an unfathomable bond between her and me, and my heart went out to her the moment I saw her† (Murasaki 99). He falls in love with Murasaki because of her physical resemblance to Fujitsubo. In the end, Genji successfully took Murasaki away to his household before her birth father could make his proper claim. Genji was a father status to Murasaki when she was young, but when she came of age Genji married her. Genji and his first wife Aoi’s romantic relationship is short lived, Genji and Aoi is married for a while, she passed away when he just began to care about her. Genji did not have a good married relationship with Aoi because he finds her cold and unsympathetic, but when Aoi died Genji was depressed. After giving birth Aoi became very sick, Genji went to visit her, â€Å"The sight of her lying there, so beautiful yet so think and weak that she hardly seemed among the living, aroused his love and his keenest sympathy. The hair streaming across her pillow, not a strand out of place, stuck him as a wonder, and as he gazed at her, he found himself unable to understand how for all these years he could have seen any flaw in her† (Murasaki176). Genji did not appreciate or notice Aoi’s beauty until he loses her. After the Emperor died, Genji’s power and influence d eclined. Genji and Oborozukiyo also had a short relationship. They were caught in the act of making love by the Minister of the Right. After knowing that their affair was found out, Genji sent a message to Oborozukiyo saying that, â€Å"I am not surprised to have heard nothing from you, but I am sorrier and more disappointed than words can say now that I am leaving all my world behind† (Murasaki 235). Genji was refrained from seeing her and was exiled to Suma by Lady Kokiden. Throughout Genji’s life, he always falls in love with the women, then loses her and suffers in the end. It is also human nature that the harder it is to get something the more we want to get it. Genji fell in love with Utsusemi when he visited the governor of Kii in Kyoto. Utsusemi’s little brother Kokimi appealed to Genji, therefore, he took him into his personal service. Kokimi helped Genji deliever letters to Utsusemi, and Genji â€Å"learned that there was no hope, her astonishing obduracy made him so detest his own existence that his distress was painfully obvious† (Murasaki 44). He tried hard to seduce her but kept on getting rejected. Genji got hurt when he was rejected by Utsusemi, â€Å"It infuriated him that her amazing resistance, far from disappearing, had instead risen to this pitch, and he was beside himself with outrage and injury, although he also knew perfectly well that strength of character was what had attracted him to her in the first place† (Murasaki 44).When Kokimi was unable to set up Genji to meet with Utsusemi, Genji tells him, â€Å"Very well, then you, at least shall not leave me† and had him lie down with him (Murasaki 44). Since Genji was unable to get Utsusemi, in a way Kokimi became a replacement for her. In The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu, Genji’s always have short lived relationships with the women he cares about. When it comes to love, Genji tends to not have self-control. He knew he should not pursue Fujitsubo, Oborozukiyo, and many other women, but still he does it. Therefore, Genji has to suffer from constantly losing the woman he loves as the consequence to his actions. After falling in love, losing his love, and suffering, Genji always looks for someone who is physically similar as a subsitution. When the first object of desire proves to be out of reach, attention is naturally transferred to the next best thing. Bibliography Murasaki, Shikibu, and Royall Tyler. The Tale of Genji. New York: Viking, 2001. Print.

The Internet in Our Lives Essay Example for Free

The Internet in Our Lives Essay The Internet has always made our lives easier and faster since it was invented. While some people think that the Internet is harmful or dangerous invention especially for children and teenagers, other people debates that the Internet now is functional, because they use it in the most their needs. This essay will discuss why the internet is a good invention and useful for humanity. There are many reasons why the internet should have more security. First of all, the internet provides an avenue for criminals to destroy the privacy of families. To illustrate, there are many criminals who are using to girls to get their own photos and then try to get money for avoiding spreading photos in the web sites. Secondly, pornographers which are web sites that include sexual materials, are easy to reach, because there is not enough censorship from the government on these web sites. Teenagers today are independent, because the try and search for the sexual materials. Finally, the internet now is providing the best place for thieves to create many ideas for stoling. For instance, phishing sites which buy and sell sites, fake bank sites. These sites are not censored and entirely similar to the original sites. However, if we look at the positive side of the internet, we find that the advantages are more than disadvantages. Thus, I feel that the internet is helpful in our lives for many reasons. Firstly, the internet is the best way to communicate with other people anywhere and anytime. For example, when a member of family studies abroad, the family can communicate with each other by many programs which are supported by the internet such as Skype and MSN. For this reason, the internet will be helpful for not feeling homesick, because the internet is the easier and cheaper than other ways of communicating. The other point is that the internet could be used in education. For instance, we can access our homework, listen to science lectures, and search for information about a particular topic. The internet makes our education easier; because can find information quickly. Searching for information from the library takes long time, while the internet simplifies that. Lastly, introducing our religion which is Islam using the internet, we can invite people to join Islam. People who join Islam earlier are always excited to invite other people on their country, so Islam will increase around the world. In summary, this essay illustrated the benefits and disadvantages of the internet. It illustrated that the advantages are more than the disadvantages. I think using internet has more advantages then disadvantages and I feel that the internet has changed our lives positively since it was invented, because everything around the world is changed such as technology, but it should be more censored and security from the government.

Dynamics of Modernity: Berman Canclini

Dynamics of Modernity: Berman Canclini Compare and contrast Marshall Bermans and Nestor Garcia Canclinis account of the dynamics of Modernity To be modern is to live a life of paradox and contradiction. It is to be overpowered by the immense bureaucratic organizations that have the power to control and often to destroy all communities, values, lives; and yet to be undeterred in our determination to face these forces, to fight to change their world and make it our own. (Berman:1983:13-14) Modernity has long been hailed as one of the most powerful forces to have emerged in the world, with the capacity, according to Marx, to move mountains, and to ensure that all that is solid melts into air. Within the statement by Berman that begins this essay, we can see one of the dynamics that has created this impression. Modernity, despite its deeper roots, begins to be talked about by a series of thinkers who combine a high degree of abstraction with a imperative to act. Thus Marx argues for huge motors of historical telos that exist outside of our will, and at the same time argues for an immanent need to change historical conditions. This relationship between abstraction and concreteness is perhaps the most fundamental dynamic of modernity. It gives rise to the planned economies of communism, and the controlled biopower of modern states that Foucault (1998) talks about, which attempt to rule over the function of life itself. At the same time is gives rise to what Badiou (2005:12 ) calls the passion for the real; the search for an authentic existence in the absence of the certainties with which previous epochs lived. What is crucial about these two movements is the way in which they inflect each other. The idea of authentic will becomes possible only with the collapse of grand narratives and the rise of administered life, and the administered life then uses the same notion of self-fulfilment within consumerism to further be able to administer biopower. It is this covalence that is fundamental to modernity, and which this essay will argue is entirely misunderstood by Berman. One of the reasons for this is that, as Braudel (1995:14) notes, â€Å"each civilisation tends to overestimate its own objectivity.† Likewise, each age tends to see itself as more unique than the last. However, this is particularly a problem with the period called modernity because during this period it was thought reason could break with the past, and a utopia of the state was possible. We can see this legacy in both the Communist economies and in the artistic movements such as Marinettis futurism, which had as its mot to: â€Å"make it new.† It is precisely this trap that Berman falls into: confusing the ideas of modernity with the effects of modernisation. In fact, Bermans fetishished notions of will and authenticity, played out in the ahistorical telos of his modernist planar development, resemble nothing as much as a 19c treatise on the movement of history. Perhaps part of the reason for this is the combination of Bermans European sources with his background in the strong individualist tradition of American pragmatism, as we can see in his first book (1970). Canclini stands just south of Berman, but from the perspective of Mexico, modernity is a not a finished project to be talked about nostalgically in the way Berman does. Because this project is unfinished, Canclini is much better placed to understand the complex and intertwined relationship between what is constructed as tradition and what is constructed as modernity. His notion of hybridity, placed in the context of a heavy reliance on Gramscis theory of hegemony, allows one to understand that supreme category of modernity: tradition. For instance, Canclini notes (1995a:53) that there is no clear line between popular and hegemonic culture, because (ibid:75) peasant culture is necessary for capitalism as a symbol of national identity and because (ibid:83) it offers the construction o f a hegemony through the management of cultural fragmentation.† Thus modernity can be seen here as a hybrid form whereby old identities are mobilised rather than changed and uprooted. Canclini understands that modernity, if it means anything, means a change in underlying structure rather than the type of cultural universalism which lies as the undertone of the work of Berman. This essay will consider how Berman sets up the dynamics of modernity within this ahistorical schema, and argue, as previously alluded to, that he misses the important aspects of the relation. It will also be argued that Canclini, within his much more modest project, understands the underlying dynamics of the abstract and the concrete to a far greater degree. Perhaps Bermans problems begin with his tripartite division of modernity into modernity, modernisation and the modern, without every looking at how these categories are mutually constitutive of each other. Modernity, Berman explains is (1983:15): â€Å"a mode of vital experience – experience of space and time, of the self and others, of lifes possibilities and perils.† Bermans book is more of an evocation than a scholarly argument, but nonetheless is seems pertinent to insist on some evidence for such a claim: did other ages not experience space and time? The problem here is not simply that Bermans generalisations do not tell us anything about modernity, but that they conceal the real dynamics of the process. For instance, Berman often insists on the sense of newness, of authentic experience, within modernity. Yet understood as what Berman construes it to be, the sense of the new is not an experience particular to modernity at all. What is important here about the dynam ics of modernity is the way in which the experience of the new, what Berman calls modernity, is an essential part of the process of modernisation. This has been argued well by one of Bermans claimed inspirations, Walter Benjamin, whose Arcades Project (2002) traces the way in which a sense of wonder was used to create the consumer sensibility. This is also laid out in the work of Canclini, who chronicles the powerful political effect created by constructing modernity as something to come – around which one can mobilise people towards new identities and on new political projects. However, this is a discursive effect, rather than a fundamentally new ontological possibility for the modern subject, and Berman asserts the latter as a property of the former without giving a single argument. Instead, Berman (1983:15) gives us evocation and adjective, one strung after the other. The underlying dynamic of modernity for him is: â€Å"modernity is a paradoxical unity, a unity of disunity: it pours us all into a maelstrom of perpetual disintegration, of struggle and contradiction, of ambiguity and anguish.† Underlying all this purple prose is Marxs statement, that inspires the books title, that all that is solid melts into air. Yet what Marx is talking about is the ability of capital to undermine use-value and create a world of people alienated from their labour and extracted of surplus value. Now one can take issue with Marxs account, (as Baudrillard (1983) most usefully does by pointing out that use-value is also a fetishisation, this time of authenticity, and that the original alienation occurs with the construction of value) but what he draws attention to is the way people see the imaginaries of capitalism as real: capital is perceived by people in Marx as somethin g actually existing, rather than a maelstrom of perpetual disintegration. Here, Berman fails to give proper account of why he diverges from Marx. What can we salvage from Bermans account of the dynamics of modernity? It is true to say that the political subject in modernity was thought of as massively flexible and capable of continual reinvention. Though it must be added that this notion has much broader historical roots that Berman gives credit for: one can already see it in Machiavellis (2004) notion that people are capable of masking their intentions and this constitutes the basis for politics. However, this continual possibility for reinvention led to some of the most firm sets of continuities the world has seen for some time: the idea of class war, the tradition of the French bourgeoisie, and the modern state. Berman writes off in a few lines most of the great thinkers who have analysed this mutually constitutive relationships, Adorno here meriting a line. Canclini, in contrast, is alert to the way the supposed newness of modernity function to preserve power, and in his account of modernity in Mexico draws attention to th e the way newness is made a continuity of ritual and hegemonic power. Berman then separates out modernization as the social process that brings this maelstrom into being. In doing so he outlines some clear divisions between the phases of modernity. These phases resemble nothing so much as the clear evolutionary steps of early modern thinkers like Morgan. In doing so he makes a mockery of the patient work of people like Arrighi (1994), who have worked to uncover all the continuities that exist between different periods. Furthermore, his account is not even internally consistent. There is insufficient clarity in his work as to the difference between the 19C and 20C: Pushkin and Biely are made manifestations of the same movement, despite the widely different impulses that inform their work. What Canclinis work manages to do very well is to understand the way in which modernity, more than any other epoch (for it is the epoch of men who make history themselves without reliance on religious narratives) is complicit in its own construction of history. He trac es the way in which history is used as a political tool, and that the function of the type of planar divisions Berman uses is to extract a continuity from a succession. Which is to say that such divisions function as a political tool to extract a notion of destiny and objective inevitability from a history which is contingent and uncertain. Bermans one-sided and simplistic reading of modernity reaches its apex in his account of the American city. His account is a one sided view of power, as if Le Corbusier had artfully created American cities and all the modern man needed to do was stand up against this bloody tyrant. Canclini (1995b: 743-755) charts the way in which the modern man is complicit in the spaces that he builds, and that the solution is to problems of alienation that occur in such spaces is not some type of revolt by a careful reworking of the practices and delimitations of space that occur in the city. It is working through the very dynamics of modernity that one resolves its problems, and to do so requires an understanding of their complex inter-relation. Such an understanding is accurately posed by Jameson (1992:335) in his understanding of how it was the very construction of space in Los Angeles that led to the possibility of that constructions overthrowing. Furthermore, Berman misunderstands how contest ed Le Corbusier is in architectural theory. He fails to see the varying currents that inform modernity and that produced a diverse and heterogeneous formation of space, even within Le Corbusiers own school (Rabinow: 1991). Theoretically, he also fails to see what De Certeau (2002:19) has persuasively argued for, which is that it was the very relationship of time and space in modernity that leads states to forget the possibility of space. He argues that the spatial organisation laid out by the modern state was predicated on a notion of time as mode of organisation (e.g. wage labour) and a possibility of reinvention which necessarily allowed the particularities of space (as somewhere one has a proper place and a tradition that cannot be reinvented) to left to the people. Thus the conditions for contesting the state in modernity emerges from the intertwining of the micro and macro processes. These complex processes are ignored by Berman, because he is looking for a will-to-power to set against what he sees as the large bureaucratic structures of modernity. This is why he is so against Foucault, who attempts to set out the co-relation between these things. In attempting to find human creativity outside of any sort of system (though without offering any kind of rigorous account of how that might be achieved) he gives to much credit to bureaucratic systems. Canclini, in understanding how the four divisions of modernity he sets out (the rationalising, renovating, emancipatory and democratising projects) are frequently in conflict and lead to a conflicting and contested legacy, is in a much better position to understand. Ultimately, Bermans work seems as if it was written with a long nostalgia to badly understood 19C authors. He uses a notion of freedom as fetishised will (where he deploys what one could reasonably call a notion at all) without understanding that the development of modernity has destroyed this very category. As Zizek (1999:389) artfully pointed out it is the search for the real, for fetishised will, that, when not placed in a grand narrative, ends up in indulging in its simulacrum; the real emptied of risk. Likewise, it is the bureaucratic form of government that has led to the globalisation and decentralisation of its own form. These processes are ignored by Berman, who sees modernity as a universalism, even if a contradictory one, issuing like a new beacon of hope from a centre in Europe. Canclini understands modernity as a hybrid formation that cannot be tied to Europe, and has begun to chart the complex ways that modernity brings to bear on itself, and construct it own legacy. Bibliography Arrighi, G. 1994: The Long Twentieth Century. London: Verso. Badiou, A. 2005: La Sià ¨cle. Paris: Seuil. Baudrillard, J. 1983: For a Critique of the Political Economy of the Sign. London: Telos. Benjamin, W. 2002: The Arcades Project. Harvard: HUP. Berman, M. 1983: All that is Solid Melts into Air: Experiences of Modernity. London: Verso. Berman, M. 1970: The Politics of Authenticity: Radical Individualism and the Emergence of Modern Society. New York: MacMillan. Braudel, F. 1995: A History of Civilisations. London: Penguin. Canclini, N. G. 1995a: Hybrid Cultures: Strategies for Entering and Leaving Modernity. Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press. Canclini, N. 1995B: Mexico: Cultural Globalization in a disintegrating city. American Ethnologist. Vol. 22, No. 4: pp. 743-755. de Certeau, M. 2002: The Practice of Everyday Life. Berkeley: UCP. Foucault, M. 1998: The History of Sexuality: The Will to Knowledge. London: Penguin. Jameson, F. 1992: Postmodernism: Or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. London: Verso. Machiavelli, N. 2004: The Prince. Oxford: OUP. Rabinow, P. 1991: French Modern: Norms and Forms of the Social Environment. Mass: MIT. Zizek, S. 1999: The Ticklish Subject: The Absent Centre of Political Ontology. London: Verso.

The Teaching Styles of the Apology of Plato an the Gospel of Luke Essay

Socrates and Luke are both considered to be great educators. They have both influenced countless people with their teachings. However, comparing the two is slightly strange since Socrates is the subject of the story, which is told by Plato, and Luke is the teller of the story of Jesus. A comparison can be made between the two as Socrates is a great teacher while Plato is mostly silent and Luke, while not overly prevalent in the his story can be compared to other accounts of the story of Jesus among which his by far the most didactic. But when you are comparing the two you must keep in mind that you are in actuality comparing four and also that while the story teller is supposed to only be telling you what he saw, he is also telling his personal vision of what he saw. Therefore he has a personal bias, which affects the purpose behind his style.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A strong parallel exists between the two storytellers Plato and Luke in that they are both biased to a great degree. While they both teach a wonderful perspective they teach solely their perspective with no room for any other. Luke asserts that when Jesus died â€Å"the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two,† (Luke 23:44) thus giving divine testimony that Jesus is indeed the son of the Almighty. Whenever Jesus is questioned the people who do so are inevitably wrong, there points being made to look stupid as Jesus transcends the question with a new concept. For example, in Luke 20:34-40 Jesus is asked about a wife who has been widowed and remarried several times and to who she should be married in heaven. This is a difficult question in Jewish tradition where the concept of the resurrection is that of a physical rebirth and the continuation of life on earth. However, Jesus comes up with an new and controversial idea of an i mmortal soul. He uses the rational that since God only spoke to the living in the Torah, he only deals with the living; so since God still represents you after death, you must still be alive after you die. This is a questionable argument at best however the obvious leaps of logic here are never examined because the questioning scribes â€Å"no longer dared to ask him another question.† (Luke 20:40) This obviously must be because Jesus is the Son of God who speaks with divine and unquestionable authority, or so Luke seems to imply. In much the same way,... ...awesome strength and believability. So while martyrdom may not actually say anything about the truth of what they say, it is very still very convincing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Overall, it is probably better to look at the teaching styles of Socrates/Plato and Jesus/Luke as being less instructional and more as a form of propaganda. The ways ideas are presented in both the accounts seem to be meant to convince the reader of a particular viewpoint rather than enlighten him. Biased accounts in both cases use manipulative and emotional methods such as leading and fantastic situations to influence the reader. This is not surprising since both accounts are apologies or defenses of a particular view. The goal is therefore not to educate but to persuade the reader to agree with the beliefs of the author. This is of course not to say that there is nothing of educational value in either of these accounts. Both contain monumentally important ethical principals such as wisdom comes from realizing that you are not wise, and love your neighbor as yourself. However, the actual teaching style that is used by both Plato and Luke is one that has a purpos e beyond the reader’s own education.

Personal Growth in College Essay examples -- essays research papers

So far, the college experience has made me a changed person. College changed me into a better person on many occasions. I have learned to be more responsible, when it comes down to getting work done. In college you must be responsible. I have also changed my attitude. Moving from high school to college is a big step; if you don’t change your ways for the better then you might not be successful in college. When you reach college then is the time that you become an adult. First off, the college life has changed me for the better. I am much more responsible in many different ways. I had to change my study habits, or should I say I have to get study habits. I high school I never studied, because everything came so easy to me and I could just do the work and end up with passing grades. When I reached college I tried to do the same thing and it didn’t work. I had to start studying on a daily basis and it was hard to go from not doing any work to studying every night and on the weekends, I wasn’t use to that, but I had to make it a habit or I was not going to make it. Going to school everyday was not a problem because my parents made me go everyday, my major change was my study habits. Secondly, the main thing is to be responsible and make the right decisions. In college you have to make decisions and it is hard. Peer pressure come in hard when you get to college, for example you could have a test that you need to study for and there is a party that you want to go to, and all of ...