Connecticut Tragedy

    As most have probably heard, 20 children, along with 7 adults, were killed in Newton, Connecticut on Friday. Obama commented on the tragedy saying that we have to "take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this." What went through my mind while hearing this was, what kinds of meaningful actions and when?? This year alone there have been mass shootings in Oregon, Minneapolis, Tulsa, Wisconsin, Colorado, Seattle, and California, yet it seems that the government has made no progress taking a firm stand on gun control. As this article states, "It is more difficult to adopt a pet than it is to buy a gun." Judging by that statement alone, something needs to be done, and it needs to be done immediately. The government can not take their time settling on a gun control stance, while more and more mass shootings occur.
     What also stands out to me is the way that the media treats mass shootings. Flipping through the channels for the past couple of days, I have heard more about the killer than I have about any of the victims. In fact, I hadn't heard of any of the victims' names until I saw the front of the New York Times this morning, pictured in this post. The media is giving the shooter the attention that he wanted, when they should be focusing on remembering those who were killed. It is also being said that this shooting will rank as the second deadliest shooting, as if, as Morgan Freeman stated, "statistics somehow make one shooting worse than another." The victims need to be remembered, rather than the ranking of the shooting, or details about the killer. How do you think the media should handle these horrible tragedies?
   

Think Before You Sit

    In class a few days ago, Mr. O'Connor briefly mentioned how little a distance people walk per week. Most of the time they are sitting in a classroom, behind a computer at work, or just watching TV at home. According to this article, studies show that for people over the age of 25, every hour of television watched lowers their life expectancy 21.8 minutes. On the other hand, "smoking a single cigarette reduces life expectancy by about 11 minutes." It seems that people may be more aware of how dangerous smoking is in comparison to how much people know about the dangers of sitting. Another article states that sitting "slows the body’s metabolism of glucose and lowers the levels of good cholesterol in the blood. Those are risk factors toward developing heart disease and Type 2 Diabetes."  While it may be true that people are unaware, it could also be that people just disregard the information or are too lazy to do anything about it.
    Dr. Toni Yancey, a professor of health services at UCLA does her work on a treadmill, as seen in the photograph below. Dr. Yancey even sits on her treadmill in her office at work, but some people, like students sitting all day in desks, don't have that choice. What, if anything, can be done to make people not sit as much? Even if people are more exposed to the idea that there are many hazards of sitting a lot, do you think that they, like Dr. Yancey, will do anything about it?

Toys and Sterotypes

    As people begin frantically shopping for holiday gifts, I started thinking about how generic the presents given to girls and boys are. When I was little, I would receive presents like a new dollhouse or princess costume, while my brother would receive gifts like a toy car or a nerf gun. Things still haven't changed; each year I find my family and I picking out a doll for my little cousin Anna, and a toy car for Miles. What I wonder is, why is it this way? If we were to let kids choose what they wanted before just giving them toys that they are "supposed" to like, then would the girls automatically choose a dollhouse and the boys automatically choose toy cars?

   
    I looked up articles relating to this topic, and found this blog on the New York Times website. I have attached the picture that was put in the post. This is an ad for a Swedish toy company in which, as you can see, a girl is holding a nerf gun, a picture not typically seen. Do you think that this picture would catch your eye if you were to see it on TV? Please feel free to comment!