While you're sitting on the beach this summer, don't forget to learn a bit
During The course of this year I have covered a lot of issues writing for Interrobang. The movie reviews that I've written have asked questions about sexuality, religion, and the American War Machine. My opinion pieces touched on everything from the pitfalls of the tattoo industry, abortion, the drawbacks of Christianity, nuclear war and ‘fifty cent.'
I've received a little feedback, including one death threat, and two polite letters from one of our school chaplains. However, the question is, what is anybody doing?
Fanshawe College is an institution of learning, yet I look around and see so much ignorance; that includes myself. A couple of months ago, I read an piece in this very same paper sharing an opinion that football players infected with HIV should not be able to actively take part in the professional sport. A little more research, however, would have led to evidence that, secifically in the game of football, the chances are in fact so improbable as to border on the impossible.
A 1995 U.S. National Football League study estimated that there's less than a one in 85 million chance of players contracting HIV from one another in on-field contact. But what do they know, right? They should have gone to the players for advice. I'm sure they would have known what to do.
For example, Tony Mills, a wide receiver with the Toronto Argonauts, recently told The Toronto Star, “I don't want to be the one who goes out and plays a sport that I love and comes home HIV positive. I'm just overwhelmed that [Smith] was out there playing while HIV positive and carrying on with his everyday life as if he was like everyone else. He was walking around and talking to the guys in the locker room and he was HIV positive.”
Wow, I wonder if Tony Mills can even spell the word overwhelmed. I mean, can you believe Smith was actually walking and talking to guys in the locker room acting, “as if he was like everyone else.” Didn't he realize that he's… infected?
This is the kind of ignorance that worries me. We should be moving progressively toward a world where people want to actively learn about subjects that affect them. If you have an opportunity to vocalize your opinion, then do it in a way that helps us as a society to move forward, and educate people.
Andrew C. Revkin of the New York Times recently wrote an article about a record loss of sea ice in the Arctic last summer, convincing scientists that the northern hemisphere may have crossed a critical threshold beyond which the climate may never recover. Think about that next time you're out soaking up the rays this summer.
It's time to stop pretending that these things don't affect you! Even if you don't care about the well being of anybody but yourself, remember that it's your kids and grandkids that will be stuck indoors because the environment can't sustain human life anymore.
What about the Bush Regime? These are people right next door to you. There is more then enough evidence to prove that the Bush administration played at least a minor, if not major part in the events of 9/11. He has been breaking the law for some time now and should be impeached. However, until that happens his decisions will affect you! I can't stress this enough. By the end of this year America will probably have gone to war with Iran, and we're talking nuclear weapons this time. Will Canada follow suit with Harper at the wheel? It's possible. Remember though, there is something you can do. Write your MP, make a fuss. The government should be the puppet for the people, not the other way around.
What can we do about it though? Well, you can start by going out this summer into the world and trying to make even the smallest difference. If all you're going to do this summer is get wasted and do drugs, then in the very least you could spend the first hour and a half of semi-coherent sobriety to discuss issues in the global community that you're so much a part of. Even if you don't do a thing to stop the problems, you could at least be aware that you're being affected by them. Open your eyes and look around, and if you're at a rally this summer in protest of anything…look out for me. Until next year.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
I've received a little feedback, including one death threat, and two polite letters from one of our school chaplains. However, the question is, what is anybody doing?
Fanshawe College is an institution of learning, yet I look around and see so much ignorance; that includes myself. A couple of months ago, I read an piece in this very same paper sharing an opinion that football players infected with HIV should not be able to actively take part in the professional sport. A little more research, however, would have led to evidence that, secifically in the game of football, the chances are in fact so improbable as to border on the impossible.
A 1995 U.S. National Football League study estimated that there's less than a one in 85 million chance of players contracting HIV from one another in on-field contact. But what do they know, right? They should have gone to the players for advice. I'm sure they would have known what to do.
For example, Tony Mills, a wide receiver with the Toronto Argonauts, recently told The Toronto Star, “I don't want to be the one who goes out and plays a sport that I love and comes home HIV positive. I'm just overwhelmed that [Smith] was out there playing while HIV positive and carrying on with his everyday life as if he was like everyone else. He was walking around and talking to the guys in the locker room and he was HIV positive.”
Wow, I wonder if Tony Mills can even spell the word overwhelmed. I mean, can you believe Smith was actually walking and talking to guys in the locker room acting, “as if he was like everyone else.” Didn't he realize that he's… infected?
This is the kind of ignorance that worries me. We should be moving progressively toward a world where people want to actively learn about subjects that affect them. If you have an opportunity to vocalize your opinion, then do it in a way that helps us as a society to move forward, and educate people.
Andrew C. Revkin of the New York Times recently wrote an article about a record loss of sea ice in the Arctic last summer, convincing scientists that the northern hemisphere may have crossed a critical threshold beyond which the climate may never recover. Think about that next time you're out soaking up the rays this summer.
It's time to stop pretending that these things don't affect you! Even if you don't care about the well being of anybody but yourself, remember that it's your kids and grandkids that will be stuck indoors because the environment can't sustain human life anymore.
What about the Bush Regime? These are people right next door to you. There is more then enough evidence to prove that the Bush administration played at least a minor, if not major part in the events of 9/11. He has been breaking the law for some time now and should be impeached. However, until that happens his decisions will affect you! I can't stress this enough. By the end of this year America will probably have gone to war with Iran, and we're talking nuclear weapons this time. Will Canada follow suit with Harper at the wheel? It's possible. Remember though, there is something you can do. Write your MP, make a fuss. The government should be the puppet for the people, not the other way around.
What can we do about it though? Well, you can start by going out this summer into the world and trying to make even the smallest difference. If all you're going to do this summer is get wasted and do drugs, then in the very least you could spend the first hour and a half of semi-coherent sobriety to discuss issues in the global community that you're so much a part of. Even if you don't do a thing to stop the problems, you could at least be aware that you're being affected by them. Open your eyes and look around, and if you're at a rally this summer in protest of anything…look out for me. Until next year.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
