PAPER CUT

The process of writing the paper in sections and taking over a week to really spend a lot of time on each part was something I had never tried before. I usually just bust out an essay in one sitting. This particular research paper was a little different than most I have been assigned because of the length requirement. I found it much easier to meet that requirement by cutting up the paper into sections  because it made me really focus on each section and how it blends with the one before it. From my first draft of this assignment I feel like the idea behind my paper improved and became much more clear and easy to follow. The hardest thing for me was trying to get all the pieces to flow and mesh as one paper but the steps we took made it a lot easier.

I CAN READ!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qCs8wlNgiM

Connecting the Dots

My current career goal right now is to study and work in the field psychology. This could really help further the study and add depth to my research paper on racism and racial profiling because it explores the human mind and looks at why we think the way that we do. It can help me understand and explain why some people hold certain point of views and opinions towards others based on their race.

Racism

7 TIMES

     After reading and hearing about this horrible  tragedy, my feelings toward this awful news were shared with Erica's view on what had happened. This shooting of an innocent little boy breaks my heart and really leaves me questioning the world we live in and why these sorts of things are becoming more common, and why people do what they do. Its hard to believe that an officer would feel threatened by such a young child and it's also just as surprising to me that it wasn't obvious that the gun held by the little boy was a fake one and could cause no harm. My opinion on this was changed when I saw a picture of the toy gun held to a real one and the similarities were more than the differences. It still does not justify in my mind why the boy was shot 7 times. If they really did feel the need to shoot, why was once not enough? This is the same question Erica had asked over and over and I think a lot others would carry this question after learning about this tragedy. Some could argue whether shooting at all was the right decision or not, but I would hope to find that most people found 7 shots to be an unreasonable amount. Was it an act of racism? Erica draws the conclusion that the shooting was not okay.She also mentions that the racial issue is actually not the real issue here, the real issue is how one person can possibly find it in them to shoot another person 7 times. Javi's essay takes a much more neutral approach stating more facts than feeling which is what Erica focused on.

RACIAL PROFILING LIVES ON

• Judge Shira A. Scheindlin ruled that the stop-and-frisk practices of the NYPD violate the constitution  is being applauded as a victory against unreasonable policing
• Mayor Bloomberg disagrees
• Judge Scheindlin's ruling doesn't change the authority that police officers have been given to target based on race
• Although the 4th amendment protects against unreasonable acts, the police still hold a huge discretion to stop and question those who have done nothing wrong
• can ask for permission to search him or his belongings, wouldn't have to tell him that he has the right to refuse or walk away
• can stop and ask to search for weapons based on "reasonable suspicion"- more than a hunch but less than a probable cause
• officer could chase Tony even if he had no reason to believe that he had violated any law
• if Tony was a Latino, the officer could argue that he looked mexican so he believed that he was undocumented
• can arrest Tony no matter how minor the charge, including handcuffing and searching and hauling him off 
• if beaten, shot, killed, etc; winning the claim would be hard

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/15/opinion/racial-profiling-lives-on.html?adxnnl=1&smid=pl-share&adxnnlx=1383620502-cVKv8zhZKiLOKtUNS36TXg

What I See Is All In My Head

I was so focused on just paying very close attention to the people wearing white and how many passes they were making that my eyes and mind did not wander from those three people at any time during that video and it was shocking to me when I watched it again after being informed that there was a gorilla in the video. It was amazing that the gorilla walked right through the center of the people passing the basketball and even paused for a while before leaving and I didn't even notice it for a second. Watching the video a second time and seeing how obvious the gorilla was really blew my mind.