Stop Bullying: A argument of Proposal

Each year ¼ of   teens are bullied in the United States. Also according to Stomp Out Bullying (A National and Anti-Bullying and Cyber bullying Program for Kids and Teens) that means that a child is bullied every seven minutes in the U.S. Most likely, along the line a person you know or have come in contact with has been bullied. Not only is bullying a vicious cycle, but scar its victims. There are many stories that can prove this. For example, the story of acclaimed writer Rebecca Golden who says that not only was she called a “Fat Girl” , a “Moose” by bullies and a “Butterball” by her teacher, but was even stabbed with a ballpoint pen in her algebra class by a classmate. This left Golden considering suicide by the age of twelve. Even though she survived, these experiences left her to this day, slightly cynical about the world, still unable to get over the torment of her childhood.

            Although there are many stories like Golden’s that end on slightly less morbid note, there are many that don’t. With the onset on cyber bullying among other things, it is easy for bullies to follow their victim’s home, tormenting them to death. This can be seen in the tragic stories of Tyler Clementi, a Rutgers University student who committed suicide after a sexual encounter between he and another male was broadcast and fourteen year old Jamey Rodemeyer who committed suicide after being bullied online. While it’s depressing to say, these victims never had a chance at life all due to excessive bullying.

            It can be easy to get caught up in the shuffle of everyday life, but bullying is not something that can be ignored. There are many things that a person can do to combat this bullying epidemic. This includes writing a letter to your local and state Representatives, pushing for stricter anti bullying laws similar to the one in New Jersey which states that schools must get anti bullying coordinators and gives specific instructions for reporting bullying incidents. On smaller scale it can just be stopping bullying when you see it and can safely intervene or reporting it to a teacher or any other official because as reported by Stomp Out Bullying, up to 85% of bullying incidents are not intervened in. The biggest proposal or idea I can give to prevent and fight bullying is for people to be introspective and see if they are being bullies and if so, why they are being bullies. This can help cut off the problem from its source because bullying in any way shape or form is a terrible thing. Nobody deserves to be degraded or to degrade others.  So hopefully this shines light on the issue and none of these proposals will have to be used because we will live in a society where love and acceptance prevail.

           

"The Bleakness of the Bullied" : Toulmin Analysis

There are many issues facing society today, one of the most pertinent being bullying. Bullying and its impact on the lives of its victims are some of the issues author Charles M. Blow focuses on in his article “The Bleakness of the Bullied” The author of the text, Charles M. Blow uses an inverted structure to get his point across. From the start of the passage, he uses a personal experience as a way to come to a general conclusion on the life of the bullied. Although it is slightly understated, Blow’s main claim is that life for those who are bullied is a bleak, sad existence that seems never-ending. He makes it apparent in his title “The Bleakness of the Bullied”  and his third to last paragraph. To back up his claim, Blow uses two main points.             Life for those who are bullied is a bleak, sad existence that seems never –ending. 1) I know that pain. I, too, was bullied as a child. And I, too, considered taking my life. I was 8 years old.   2) Bullying isn’t just a harmless game.It can be a deadly one, and we need to be reminded of that constantly. You never know how your words are affecting another person.   When shown in the text, the example of Blow’s almost suicide attempt at eight years old implies that suicide sometimes seems like the only solution to a depressing, lonely life. On the other hand, he subtly qualifies this by saying “And so there it was, not summoned and without warning, pushing its way through the crowd of questions, “Precious Lord, Take My Hand" one of my mother’s songs sang hard and true, out of her heart and into a steering wheel, coming to save me.” He establishes that whether it is a song or something else, there may be a way to save those being bullied from going over the edge.Blow backs away from wanting people to downplay the nature of bullying and its effects on the victims. If he did downplay it, that would mean accepting bullying as a natural part of life and society, which it isn’t. As a warrant, Blow relies on the basic principals that everyone is created equal and that everyone is guaranteed the rights to “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. Having a depressing life due to bullying clearly violates these rights and its clearly American core values are hard to dispute.              Blow creates his ethos throughout the article by using a personal analogy about his experience with bullying and suicide as his argument. By making himself so vulnerable, Blow really creates a connection between himself and the reader. It also makes the reader believe that if he is willing to be so honest about himself, he will also be truthful about everything else he says in his writing. Having that trust and positive ethos is important in quality writng and in being  a good author.

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Occupy Wall Street:Rogerian Argument

Hello fellow people of the blogging world!

Recently there has been a lot of talk about the Occupy Wall Street protests and their effects. After a push from a small magazine named Adbusters  and others, the protests jump started and have taken on a life of their own. It has grown to thousands of the 99%  camping out everyday in Zuccotti Park in New York and over 1500 other cities , spreading worldwide. As with any large protests, there are going to be supporters and an opposition; making it even more relevant to politics today.

Even today, people are not created equal. That is why I support the Occupy Wall Street protests. The brave souls out there are only fighting for what they believe in, and taking back the power of the people. The general purpose , as the official website says is, “#OWS is fighting back against the corrosive power of major banks and multinational corporations over the democratic process, and the role of Wall Street in creating an economic collapse that has caused the greatest recession in generations. “ Even as they are protesting these people have mostly remained peaceful, and I believe that with a growing crowd, that is a hard thing to do. Still, it’s easy to see why the opposition is opposes Occupy Wall Street. Among other things, it appears as if this movement is uncoordinated since there is no leader, only individuals protesting. On the contrary, Occupy Wall Street is very coordinated one, with the protesters gathering in daily working groups. More so, it highlights two of the most important aspects of the American government- freedom of speech and the right to assemble. As Gene Policinski, the Senior Vice President/Executive Director of the First Amendment Center said, “As a nation, we too often forget that along with apple pie, protest is a uniquely American tradition. We also need to recall that too often we have trampled on that tradition in the name of order or safety or security.” By supporting Occupy Wall Street, I and others help support our civic rights and duties as citizens and America’s long history of people speaking up and standing out to make a change.

Although there may never be a consensus on this protest within the general population, my personal consensus is and always will be that Occupy Wall Street is a positive thing which I support. There is something good to come out of it for all. For the protesters and those who support it , they get a chance to have the world as their audience to listen to and act on solving their problems. For those who oppose it, not only is it a lesson in what humans are capable of when they put their heads together, but what happens to their corporation, businesses, etc. when the pressure is put on; they learn to adapt and survive. In the midst of this revolution of the working class, there is something for everyone to take away.