Free Expression

Stable Change (aka Safety Valve)

"It has been suggested that a society in which angry and alienated citizens are allowed to speak their mind, or "vent," will be more stable, as people will be less likely to resort to violence. It has also been pointed out that allowing the alienated and discontented to speak freely enables government to better monitor potentially dangerous groups who would otherwise act more clandestinely. Ultimately, it is in the governments own self-interest to allow such venting."

I have never thought of violence as a way to resolve issues, yet it seems to frequently happen. I feel as if people would not be as violent if there were people that were willing to listen to their situation and help them.

What others fail to realize is that violence is a universal issue that continues to rise. Regardless to whether it is domestic violence, or even hate crimes, violence has become one of the most serious problems that we face everyday. In the news, we see reports about shootings, robberies, rapes, etc.

Violence happens in multiple forms, not just physical, it can be a type of sexual violence, cultural violence, and verbal violence. It does not matter what type, shape, or form of violence that is being delivered, it is still hurting someone else.

I do believe that if people had the right help and the right support, there will be a difference within society. Yet we have people who do not understand, or just do not care about others and their feelings, or cultural ways.

When it states to "monitor potentially dangerous groups," what does that mean? How can you know whether a group is dangerous based on their personalities or the color of their skin? There are people in this world who try to act tough, yet they may be the sweetest person you have ever met.

This one of eight values of free expression is very difficult to figure out what the actual meaning is, especially when the world is constantly changing.

Free Speech Is Killing Us, is a New York Times article suggesting that noxious language online is causing real-world violence and ways that we are able to change that. If you are interested, check out the article, it might help you realize something new.

Cassette Tapes

Cassette Tapes were invented in 1962, they were also referred as "Compact Cassette".

It was a magnetic tape sound recording format, which was created for audio storage. It was one of the first technologies that allowed us to share music and recordings on a wider scale.

The invention was first released in Europe at the Berlin Radio Show, then later released in the United States the following year under the Norelco Band.

Technology kept improving, which resulted in advancing the tapes by noises reduction, ability to play stereo tapes and high quality sound form.

Improving technology was not good for cassette tapes due to them disappearing with more usage of CDs and DVDs.

Today we think of cassette tapes as retro or vintage artifacts.

It has helped society progress to some of the best technologies we've come across.

Tape Head City, is a website where anyone can buy cassette tapes; if anyone is interested. The website shows every cassette tape they have available in the store, starting with the most recently added.

Wall-E

Screens are beginning to take over the world.


People are engaging in technology more than interacting in person.

Referring to Lost In a World, everyone around us will soon have no emotion to life. Everything will be seen, felt, or heard through a screen. Although I am grateful for new technology being created and improving, I dislike the fact that society is allowing it to take over our interactions. Before technology was created, individuals had to make the effort to speak with someone, or make the time to see them. Now, people are just a phone call away. It is much more efficient, yet it takes away the real human interaction that was created for a reason.

The reason why I titled my blog "Wall-E" is because the movie is similar to the video referred to above. In the movie, an individual finds themself surrounded by others who do not pay attention to their surroundings.

In all honestly, I hope society never gets to that point.

Meaning of "sex"...?

Individuals that are a part of the LGBTQ+ community have always been a major topic within society.

According to The American Conservative, the Supreme Court are close to changing the meaning of "sex" under the law. Sports organizations and members of school communities are concerned with transgender athletes.

Honestly, the concept of sex as a binary male/female has definitely changed over time. Individuals continue to claim that their personal gender identity does not match their birth sex. I have no issues with the LGBTQ+ community, as I am also a part of it. Yet there are times when things are unnecessary and need to be left alone. In my opinion, it is not fair to female athletes competing with transgender female athletes. Although they have the same genitilia, their bodies are still built differently.

Although people have difficulty understanding these situations, there are smart and better ways to find a solution for everyone. For example, it may take time to create sports programs specifically for transgenders, yet they may feel as if they're being excluded. All we need to do is sit back and think.

Supreme Court changing the meaning of "sex"?
This article from The American Conservative goes into depth as to why the Supreme Court may change the meaning of "sex" under the law due to organizations being questioned.

Privacy Much ??

By definition, privacy is "the state or condition of being free from being observed or disturbed by other people." A celebrity might define privacy as "the state of being free from public attention."

Social media has continued to grow and has become a part of our everyday lives. Society stays connected with the world 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, whether it is at work or even at school. Although social media has been beneficial, it also caused personal privacy to be put into danger.

There are perks to being a celebrity, yet in my opinion celebrities do not receive their right to their privacy. Well-known celebrities have every bit of their life, whether they choose to put it on social media or not. There have been incidents where an individual's personal photos were hacked and shared with the internet.

Of all things that I want private in my life, the thing I want the most privacy for would be my medical records. I feel as if no one but yourself, your doctor and close family should know about your health or medical records.

Here is a link to celebrity Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) failures: Celebrities' Medical Records are being snooped

Attempting to access someone's private information is over the top in my opinion. Are people really that desperate to know information that has nothing to do with themselves?

Workings of the U.S. Supreme Court

The United States Supreme Court is the most powerful judicial body on earth. The Supreme Court interprets a 200 year old Constitution upholding the rule of law.

Before the United States Supreme Court came about, the only way to resolve legal issues were under the Articles of Confederation. America needed a more powerful government for final decisions and conformity.

Once the court made the Constitution an important part of nation building, under John Marshall's, ruling, they began to earn public respect as a co-equal branch.

Supreme Court justices' take about 7,000 new cases a year, which are sent to the once a week. I am glad to say that from the slavery question to abortion and gay rights, the Supreme Court has allowed the public to send in cases like petitions and written arguments. Today's court looks to the Constitution to resolve national problems. It is interesting that we have 200 years of history to look back upon, and the fact that the Constitution guides us to solve problems that are happening centuries later.

I had no idea that the Supreme Court justices' meet weekly to choose which cases the court will accept and decide. Laws are made by nine people, which means nine different opinions, backgrounds and ideas. In my opinion, I would prefer nine justices' rather than having one.

COM people

Is being a journalist or a news reporter a dangerous job? It might be.

Andy Ngo, a journalist, was attacked by a group of individuals wearing masks in downtown Portland, Oregon.

As we all know, there are chances that social media can ruin an individuals life and career.

Agreeing with Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, I believe that all individuals should stand together against all forms of violence. Forget about the differences between each other, the beliefs, and backgrounds, people need to come together for the cause of saving humanity.

Here's the catch...

Andy Ngo, the journalist, is not the type of person you would think due to the lack of background information on his latest incident.

In my opinion, as a journalist you are expected to watch what you say to certain people because you will not know how they will react. That goes for society as a whole because you never know what can offend someone and what won't, specifically because you are not that person.

As a Communication major, I tend to take news stories more serious than I should because this is not how "COM" people should be. We as "COM" people are not supposed to entertain what I call bullshit and push people's buttons. We are specifically there to take notes, observe, come up with a story, etc., not to push people to get angry with the questions we ask. Our job is to keep society up-to-date when there has been an important announcement or even just a celebrity birthday.

Our job is to know how to communicate with different types of people, who come from different backgrounds, ethnicities, etc. We simply trying to build awareness on how to communicate to different audiences. There was a better way to handle the entire riot in Portland, where Andy Ngo was attacked by a group of people.