Saturday, October 29, 2011
Saturday, October 15, 2011
censorship and progression of media outlets
Censorship
media beginnings and censorship
Beginning with the invention of the television the face of news changed. This rise took place in the 50's and 60's. The radio option lacked the option to personally gage a persons movements or reactions to what news they were saying and get a more personalized opinion on what they should acknowledge Since than the way we gather our information on topics that mean the most to us, like politics, has changed and expanded.This also help to aid in the equality of information reaching everyone who seeks it out. In addition to television we Internet and the various social networks,blogs and other vehicles to which we can find our own information. With the new developments in technology and resources both the news papers and the evening news lost audience, making them seek out new ways to entertain.With the convenience of our new media outlets comes the bad and the controversial.
an example of this is the courts decision in the FCC v. Pacifica Foundation in 1978. In this case a precedent was set that the FCC has legal authority to fine any media outlet that knowingly allows the expression of obscene content under certain circumstances(pg.238). An example that was giving was well known nipple slip at the Superbowl a few years back, and an example of the repercussions of this is the delay that takes place during taping of live events. This gives times to bleep or monitor what the public sees.
In my opinion, censorship is a necessary evil but, this can only be done with in the rights of freedom of the press.Yes, we have the right to say what we want on any level of media weather its on paper, the Internet or on the radio. But as a parent I am happy that i can listen to the radio in the car with my three year old and her not have to use "ear muffs" when every other word is f*** or B****. For that censorship I am thankful, but the adult in me that love horror movies and foul mouthed humor appreciates that with a little extra on my cable bill a month I can watch what I enjoy, no matter how disgusting it is, and censor at my desgretion what my child does not need to here.
media beginnings and censorship
Beginning with the invention of the television the face of news changed. This rise took place in the 50's and 60's. The radio option lacked the option to personally gage a persons movements or reactions to what news they were saying and get a more personalized opinion on what they should acknowledge Since than the way we gather our information on topics that mean the most to us, like politics, has changed and expanded.This also help to aid in the equality of information reaching everyone who seeks it out. In addition to television we Internet and the various social networks,blogs and other vehicles to which we can find our own information. With the new developments in technology and resources both the news papers and the evening news lost audience, making them seek out new ways to entertain.With the convenience of our new media outlets comes the bad and the controversial.
an example of this is the courts decision in the FCC v. Pacifica Foundation in 1978. In this case a precedent was set that the FCC has legal authority to fine any media outlet that knowingly allows the expression of obscene content under certain circumstances(pg.238). An example that was giving was well known nipple slip at the Superbowl a few years back, and an example of the repercussions of this is the delay that takes place during taping of live events. This gives times to bleep or monitor what the public sees.
In my opinion, censorship is a necessary evil but, this can only be done with in the rights of freedom of the press.Yes, we have the right to say what we want on any level of media weather its on paper, the Internet or on the radio. But as a parent I am happy that i can listen to the radio in the car with my three year old and her not have to use "ear muffs" when every other word is f*** or B****. For that censorship I am thankful, but the adult in me that love horror movies and foul mouthed humor appreciates that with a little extra on my cable bill a month I can watch what I enjoy, no matter how disgusting it is, and censor at my desgretion what my child does not need to here.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
We shall over come...but there is always more mountains to climb
Civil unrest......
Civil unrest was all over the states. Civil rights activists like Diane Nash and Martin Luther King taught and acted in peaceful protest for their rights. Citizens like Rosa Parks, who was arrested for not giving up her seat to a white man, sparked a fire that led to the boycott of the Montgomery bus system. These peaceful and logical cries for equality were not the only sparks that began to fly in those times of injustice. Segregation made tense and unequal cities and towns made the sweltering summers uproar of violence. It was 1967, and police brutality was on the rise. Numberous mysterious police shootings were swept under the rug. And then there was a breaking point in the community. The raid of a black bar, the blind pig was the catalyst to the riots that ensued.
This was the only place for them to go. Why was it being raided? Why were they being arrested, and beaten? A crowd gathered as the police brought in the clean up crew to arrest over 80 patrons who were there celebrating with two vets who had just returned home from Vietnam. On lookers in outrage began to break out windows of stores, and burn buildings in protest. With in 48 hours the national guard moved in. By the end of the 5 day riot 43 were dead, 1189 injured and over 7000 were arrested.
Recalling the day.....
My grandmother remembers the day of the riots vividly. She was 6 months pregnant with my mother and her and my grandfather both were enjoying a day if americas favorite pass time...baseball. The tigers game continued to the end, the patrons including my grandparents did not know what was happening just blocks away. They had parked some blocks away from ford field at the wonderbread plant where my grandfather worked. " I saw smoke rising in the distance, i knew it was fire but until i turned on the car radio, id did not know that it was the riots." she said. They arrived home to Mount Clemens with worried family waiting on the porch in fear of what was being reported on the news and the radio.
" I never grew up thinking i was better than anyother person, no matter there color, my mama did not raise me to see those things" she strongly stated. I went on to ask about things that she had seen or remember before the riot that would have been a build up leading to the outburst in the black community that year. Surprisingly she had few first hand experiences of injustice. She can recall, while working at Henry Ford hospital in Detroit the differences in treatment between the white and Black doctors, but still seemed to be surprised that the riots happened. " It wasnt like the south with the racism" she said. Then I started to get the idea that yes, northerns faught for the freeing of slaves, but also turned a blind eye to the current results of years of discrimination. " I remember things on the Tv about the bombing of the church that those three little girls died and, i remember thinking who could harm anyone over something so silly, especially a child and be okay with it?" The knowledge of the hate was everywhere, but it was not noticed under her nose, in her own town. I can see this as the orginal "dont ask dont tell" policy.
In our time.....
I asked her what she thought about racism ,and discrimination today and what changes have taken place. " I see that its worse that" I did not follow her on this thought, I knew, yes there are still injustices, but not on a mass population basis like the 60's and before. She continued to give examples of what she noticed in todays society on the subject.I then realized that the perspective was reversed and all her instances were where she thought that african americans were applying the rights to others that they fought so hard for. It was where i grew up too so i could somewhat see her perspective but it was interesting to know see that even not being racist can be just as ignorant. The heat of the summer in 67 lead to a fire that left many dead, but she had no clue what was happening in her community. Its something to look into in your family and you neighborhoods too. This may not be a copy of something straight out the book, repeating something you just read. But i strongly beleive the essence of where this country was and where its going is in the personal experiences!!!
Civil unrest was all over the states. Civil rights activists like Diane Nash and Martin Luther King taught and acted in peaceful protest for their rights. Citizens like Rosa Parks, who was arrested for not giving up her seat to a white man, sparked a fire that led to the boycott of the Montgomery bus system. These peaceful and logical cries for equality were not the only sparks that began to fly in those times of injustice. Segregation made tense and unequal cities and towns made the sweltering summers uproar of violence. It was 1967, and police brutality was on the rise. Numberous mysterious police shootings were swept under the rug. And then there was a breaking point in the community. The raid of a black bar, the blind pig was the catalyst to the riots that ensued.
This was the only place for them to go. Why was it being raided? Why were they being arrested, and beaten? A crowd gathered as the police brought in the clean up crew to arrest over 80 patrons who were there celebrating with two vets who had just returned home from Vietnam. On lookers in outrage began to break out windows of stores, and burn buildings in protest. With in 48 hours the national guard moved in. By the end of the 5 day riot 43 were dead, 1189 injured and over 7000 were arrested.
Recalling the day.....
My grandmother remembers the day of the riots vividly. She was 6 months pregnant with my mother and her and my grandfather both were enjoying a day if americas favorite pass time...baseball. The tigers game continued to the end, the patrons including my grandparents did not know what was happening just blocks away. They had parked some blocks away from ford field at the wonderbread plant where my grandfather worked. " I saw smoke rising in the distance, i knew it was fire but until i turned on the car radio, id did not know that it was the riots." she said. They arrived home to Mount Clemens with worried family waiting on the porch in fear of what was being reported on the news and the radio.
" I never grew up thinking i was better than anyother person, no matter there color, my mama did not raise me to see those things" she strongly stated. I went on to ask about things that she had seen or remember before the riot that would have been a build up leading to the outburst in the black community that year. Surprisingly she had few first hand experiences of injustice. She can recall, while working at Henry Ford hospital in Detroit the differences in treatment between the white and Black doctors, but still seemed to be surprised that the riots happened. " It wasnt like the south with the racism" she said. Then I started to get the idea that yes, northerns faught for the freeing of slaves, but also turned a blind eye to the current results of years of discrimination. " I remember things on the Tv about the bombing of the church that those three little girls died and, i remember thinking who could harm anyone over something so silly, especially a child and be okay with it?" The knowledge of the hate was everywhere, but it was not noticed under her nose, in her own town. I can see this as the orginal "dont ask dont tell" policy.
In our time.....
I asked her what she thought about racism ,and discrimination today and what changes have taken place. " I see that its worse that" I did not follow her on this thought, I knew, yes there are still injustices, but not on a mass population basis like the 60's and before. She continued to give examples of what she noticed in todays society on the subject.I then realized that the perspective was reversed and all her instances were where she thought that african americans were applying the rights to others that they fought so hard for. It was where i grew up too so i could somewhat see her perspective but it was interesting to know see that even not being racist can be just as ignorant. The heat of the summer in 67 lead to a fire that left many dead, but she had no clue what was happening in her community. Its something to look into in your family and you neighborhoods too. This may not be a copy of something straight out the book, repeating something you just read. But i strongly beleive the essence of where this country was and where its going is in the personal experiences!!!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
freedom of speech, tool or weapon?
Our first amendment gives us the right express ourselves freely, but in many cases it seems that it is a double edged sword. Yes, people should have the right to voice there opinions, but there is a thin line between protecting that right and taking that right away from others at the same time. I could agree that the opinions of a klu klux klan member would be offensive to most. but that most is not all, and those with opinions no matter how ignorant they are have the right to promote and support there beliefs. Examples of this was in the Brandenburg v. Ohio case of 1969. Brandenburg was tried ans convicted for violating Ohio's criminal syndicalism law. This law states that a person is not allowed to act in dangerous or violent ways to accomplish political reform.
Soon after conviction, the judgment was over turned. His first amendment right of freedom of speech saved him from conviction, calling his racist banter was merely "advocacy".
I asked myself the same question as the writer asks on page 118." Does hate speech deserve the same constitutional protection as other forms of speech?" and these were my conclusions:
Yes and no:
ignorance in large quantities has proven to ultimately to do more harm than good by protecting there right to "hate Speech" through out history. During the civil rights movement, the ideas that African Americans were sub-human lead to lynchings, burning of churches and homes and many deaths from both civilians and police forces. It was wide spread, and yes something that had been around since the days of slavery, but why go through a civil war and many amendments to not back it up years later?
Though i do and will always think that ignorance is pointless, how can you differentiate harmful from "in fun" forms of racist on a constitutional level? for those of you that like comedy, how many have laughed at a comedian saying a stereotypical joke about another race? i am not ashamed that i have whether it was white, black, Asian, or whatever but i also know my stand on these issues. But where can we draw that line to what is comfortable and what is over the line? Yes there is a big difference from saying that "all n* should go to Africa, and all Jews to Israel" as Brandonburg did. But its not a far cry from you tube videos like " the amazing racist" that push the point of comedy at anothers expense to dangerous heights. This could open old wounds or make it okay to go to neighborhoods and openly slap a culture in the face. But i would feel offended if things like amazing racist were censored.
So its understandable why it may be hard to uphold with out down grading others. The line between the good and the bad is thin. Banning hate speech cant be broken down with out infringing our rights but allowing people to say what ever they want to bring out those feelings of hate in others is dangerous for the people under fire. Being bi-racial may have aided in my thoughts about the harm and harmless of crime of the speech. But it is our right, and i hope that if it were to get to a dangerous level that we the people would acknowledge and correct it with our states and government.
Soon after conviction, the judgment was over turned. His first amendment right of freedom of speech saved him from conviction, calling his racist banter was merely "advocacy".
I asked myself the same question as the writer asks on page 118." Does hate speech deserve the same constitutional protection as other forms of speech?" and these were my conclusions:
Yes and no:
ignorance in large quantities has proven to ultimately to do more harm than good by protecting there right to "hate Speech" through out history. During the civil rights movement, the ideas that African Americans were sub-human lead to lynchings, burning of churches and homes and many deaths from both civilians and police forces. It was wide spread, and yes something that had been around since the days of slavery, but why go through a civil war and many amendments to not back it up years later?
Though i do and will always think that ignorance is pointless, how can you differentiate harmful from "in fun" forms of racist on a constitutional level? for those of you that like comedy, how many have laughed at a comedian saying a stereotypical joke about another race? i am not ashamed that i have whether it was white, black, Asian, or whatever but i also know my stand on these issues. But where can we draw that line to what is comfortable and what is over the line? Yes there is a big difference from saying that "all n* should go to Africa, and all Jews to Israel" as Brandonburg did. But its not a far cry from you tube videos like " the amazing racist" that push the point of comedy at anothers expense to dangerous heights. This could open old wounds or make it okay to go to neighborhoods and openly slap a culture in the face. But i would feel offended if things like amazing racist were censored.
So its understandable why it may be hard to uphold with out down grading others. The line between the good and the bad is thin. Banning hate speech cant be broken down with out infringing our rights but allowing people to say what ever they want to bring out those feelings of hate in others is dangerous for the people under fire. Being bi-racial may have aided in my thoughts about the harm and harmless of crime of the speech. But it is our right, and i hope that if it were to get to a dangerous level that we the people would acknowledge and correct it with our states and government.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Referendum and Initiative
A Direct Democracy is a form of democracy in which political power is exorcised directly by citizens. Just as the chapter reads, this is an example of direct gateways giving the people the opportunity to influence there government.
Some of these gateways are in the form recalls, initiatives and referendum that vary state to state.I am not a native of Tennessee and, I was both shocked and appalled to learn that as a resident of Tennessee I did not have the rights as I did In Michigan. Michigan has both referendum and initiative rights for citizens while Tennessee has neither option. I immediately thought about a proposal that took place a few years back in Detroit. Proposal One and Two were hot button issues on the ballot. It was the citizens responsibility to decide whether or not to legalize Stem-cell research and medical marijuana. Later that year the votes were in and both proposals were passed. While researching facts with family the issue touched i came across something interesting that really was not even a part of my original intent. I never will claim to know all i can about government and I am here to learn almost blindly, but i was curious onto how something like this could happen.
In a conversation my grandmother spoke about a vote for capital punishment that took place some time back. She remembers her vote and why she voted and the out come of the ballot. Capital punishment was voted into the state laws. She went on to say that this was short lived and that soon there after legislature repealed the vote and decided against it. How does this happen? How can something on the ballot be removed after the people have decided whether for or against it. This is not a rhetorical question, but something that i am truly interested to know. So any one that has the answer share it with me, share it with others that may not know as well.
Some of these gateways are in the form recalls, initiatives and referendum that vary state to state.I am not a native of Tennessee and, I was both shocked and appalled to learn that as a resident of Tennessee I did not have the rights as I did In Michigan. Michigan has both referendum and initiative rights for citizens while Tennessee has neither option. I immediately thought about a proposal that took place a few years back in Detroit. Proposal One and Two were hot button issues on the ballot. It was the citizens responsibility to decide whether or not to legalize Stem-cell research and medical marijuana. Later that year the votes were in and both proposals were passed. While researching facts with family the issue touched i came across something interesting that really was not even a part of my original intent. I never will claim to know all i can about government and I am here to learn almost blindly, but i was curious onto how something like this could happen.
In a conversation my grandmother spoke about a vote for capital punishment that took place some time back. She remembers her vote and why she voted and the out come of the ballot. Capital punishment was voted into the state laws. She went on to say that this was short lived and that soon there after legislature repealed the vote and decided against it. How does this happen? How can something on the ballot be removed after the people have decided whether for or against it. This is not a rhetorical question, but something that i am truly interested to know. So any one that has the answer share it with me, share it with others that may not know as well.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
The Constitution
Looking at the effect of the options that there are from the rights that we have as promised by the constitution seemed rather interesting to me. As i studied Figure 2.4 on page 63 of the chapter i tried to see if there were any correlations between what was important to the colonists in its beginnings versus what has grown to be important to citizens later on. Between he years 1791 and 1992 there was a total of twenty seven amendments with a total of forty individual rights involved. This was broken down in the chart in to five main groups. Criminal procedure, Participation, Equality, Structure, and Miscellaneous.
Participation labeled eight of the Amendments, all being passed with in the first one hundred years of our history. Criminal Procedure labeled 13 Amendments splitting it 4 every hundred years. Equality had a low number of four Amendments, one of which was passed in the second hundred years.Structure dealt with Eight additions to the Amendments almost making even between the centuries five to four. And last but not least, Seven Miscellaneous Amendments ranging from involuntary quartering of soldiers to limiting congressional pay raises. During the years since the two hundred year mark there have been a total of two items passed, guaranteeing 18 year olds the right to vote in 1971, and limiting congressional pay raises in 1992.
In my opinion it seems that as a group we are satisfied with criminal procedure as well as Equality when looking at the information shown in the chart... I ask this question to you.. Based on what things you hear and observe in society, do you think this is correct for our day. Our we secure in the way that justice takes place on both sides of the criminal procedures? Are there things we can improve on or challenge? Another question is with activists for multiple causes and groups do you see a pattern in what our Future Amendments could include?
Participation labeled eight of the Amendments, all being passed with in the first one hundred years of our history. Criminal Procedure labeled 13 Amendments splitting it 4 every hundred years. Equality had a low number of four Amendments, one of which was passed in the second hundred years.Structure dealt with Eight additions to the Amendments almost making even between the centuries five to four. And last but not least, Seven Miscellaneous Amendments ranging from involuntary quartering of soldiers to limiting congressional pay raises. During the years since the two hundred year mark there have been a total of two items passed, guaranteeing 18 year olds the right to vote in 1971, and limiting congressional pay raises in 1992.
In my opinion it seems that as a group we are satisfied with criminal procedure as well as Equality when looking at the information shown in the chart... I ask this question to you.. Based on what things you hear and observe in society, do you think this is correct for our day. Our we secure in the way that justice takes place on both sides of the criminal procedures? Are there things we can improve on or challenge? Another question is with activists for multiple causes and groups do you see a pattern in what our Future Amendments could include?
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Entering the Gateways
To me, this is the stuff college is made of. Our Government History is thought and action provoking especially in someone like me, who has tried to stay away from topics like "politics" in everyday conversations in any social setting. Even when I am surrounded by beautiful minds with conflicting and entertaining ideals on society I keep my opinions to myself for two main reasons, Ignorance on the topic and, feeling so insignificant in complexity of our laws and Government. What can I do to change injustice? How can I bring attention to the things that are important in my life? These are questions to which I personally believe are not lone to me. There is a large group of my generation that have there heads down on phones and internet while having no desire to utilize the information at our finger tips to do anymore that ogle the latest trends.
If we were all aware of our rights and the fundamentals of our constitution we would except our responsibility as new revolutionaries and start making changes in every cardboard box town, every pill ridden mountain side,and every gang banging slum. As framer Thomas Jefferson said, in other words, its the peoples right and responsibility to ensure the gateways to democracy are always open and available to them in their pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness. I am ready to stay informed and involved in the passion that built this country till the world we live in truly becomes ours!
If we were all aware of our rights and the fundamentals of our constitution we would except our responsibility as new revolutionaries and start making changes in every cardboard box town, every pill ridden mountain side,and every gang banging slum. As framer Thomas Jefferson said, in other words, its the peoples right and responsibility to ensure the gateways to democracy are always open and available to them in their pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness. I am ready to stay informed and involved in the passion that built this country till the world we live in truly becomes ours!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)