Matt McGorry: "I AM A FEMINIST"

One of the few male stars, Matt McGorry, of the predominately female cast Orange Is The New Black admits that he has recently only found out the actual meaning of feminism.

It came to be when McGorry finished reading Sheryl Sandberg's book, 'Lean In'. He describe his experience, "eye-opening" and has learned more about gender inequality in life, family and in the work force.

It article is closely tied to this week's topic of Feminism. Being a feminist myself, its very encouraging that famous actor's are spreading feminism in a very patriarchal environment, known as Hollywood. Personally, I do not see the reason why female should be considered and treated differently (along the lines of equal pay or how society views them). They are just as able as men are, some may argue that they are more productive, but I will not join that argument.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/06/matt-mcgorry-feminist-feminism-for-men_n_6816738.html

Designer Babies

A new gene- editing technology called the Crispr Cas9 has the potential to eliminate genetic diseases (such as Alzheimer's, Schizophrenia, and numerous forms of cancer) in our DNA that will pass down to our descendants. The powerful tool, Crispr, allows the precise manipulation of a sperm or an egg cell's genetic make up before undergoing cell division. It does so by injecting a certain type of RNA into the blood stream thats splices the unwanted chromosome out of the DNA, altering the helix.

Some people are opposed to the idea when viewed from a religious stand point. Some are excited with the idea of a "super human" that could be possible down the years. If scientists can get rid off  diseases from our genes, why wouldnt it be possible to enhance favorable traits such as intelligence and strength?

Thus article is closely related to the ethical views of existentialism. An individuals take on whether or not they should allow genetic editing in their lives should not be swayed by naysayers or proponents. These individuals should act upon their free will, like myself who is ecstatic with the idea of being completely disease free and able to live longer the life expectancy.

Do you think it will ever come to a point where single individuals advertise their genetic make up in hopes of creating "designer" babies?

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/may/10/crispr-genome-editing-dna-upgrade-technology-genetic-disease

Protesters Going Over Board?

After the funeral of Freddie Gray, a riot happend in Baltimore which left six officers seriously injured, stores destroyed and a building on fire. President Obama is extremely upset by it. He commented on the issue by saying "There's no excuse for the kind of violence that we saw yesterday. It is counterproductive," he also added, "When individuals get crowbars and start prying open doors to loot, they're not protesting. They're not making a statement. They're stealing. When they burn down a building, they're committing arson. And they're destroying and undermining businesses and opportunities in their own communities. That robs jobs and opportunity from people in that area." He magnified the issue because this has been an underlying problem for how many years now, it just became worse. He is making sure the reason for Gray's death is investigated. In this news article, President Obama wanted to let the public to know that this problem really needs to be addressed immediately because this is old news, but because of this major incident, it added more fuel to the fire once again.

My thoughts on this is that, the government should have done something about it already when it was still small. If the people did this to voice out something to the government, or because the people are mad about Freddie Gray's case, we should also see it from another perspective. Freddie Gray is a criminal who tried to run away from the police. He has done a series of crimes and he is liable for his actions. Whatever the case is, there is no excuse for this riot. Buildings have been burned, stores have been destroyed and people were injured. In my opinion, the people who run Baltimore need to be more focused on what is really happening. They should get to the bottom of this right away and stop all riot that is happening. If the people want their voices to be heard, arrange a town meeting, instead of burning a building.I very much agree with what Obama said, this riot is not an excuse to be violent. It’s something to condemn and be concerned about. It’s not something to be ignored. Life is not fair, and there is no easy path to end poverty.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/28/politics/obama-baltimore-violent-protests/index.html

Excessive Force?

A story and a video went viral when an Arizona police officer plows an armed suspect with his cruiser. A 34- year old officer by the name of Michael Rapiejko says ramming the suspect was his only option. Rapiejko says he could have shot the man at fifty feet, but that would put the lives of bystanders and fellow officers around the suspect.

This viral story is related to our chapter readings this week by the definition of utilitarianism: "For the greater good." This officer was mainly concerned for the safety of civilians around the area. Although ramming a human being with half-of-ton piece of metal going over forty miles per hour might seem like its an excessive force, it's more accurate than shooting a gun and have less chances for major collateral damage.

See story here

Teenage Heroes: Girls Use CPR To Save Stranger's Life

Two highschool freshmen girls out of Tulalip, Washington are being hailed as heroes for saving a life of a stranger. Hailey Enick and Jasmine Daniels, along with Enicks mother, pulled into a McDonald's for a stop.

 From what seemed a quick stop for snacks turned out to be a life-saving mission.

An unconscious man in his car was being slapped awake by his friend. Having seen his eyes roll towards the back of his head, Daniels steps in his aid. She has just learned CPR in health class last fall and decided to put it into practice, along with Enick, on the man who appeared to be overdosing. 

The girls took turns in compressing the mans chest. After five minutes, he started gasping for air. Moments later, paramedics came to the scene and takes over.

A police officer said if it weren't for the girls, the stranger wouldn't be alive right now.

An inspiring story coming out of Washington as two girls commits selfless acts in saving a life of someone they haven't even met. This coincides with what we've learned in chapter 4. At the moment when the girls noticed a stranger was in desperate need of help, the thinking "If we save this man, we will be popular" were not in their heads. Their reason was genuinely to save someone's life, but that is the definition of Psychological Egoism: not knowing the true motives of our actions, but they will always be selfish. Now that the two girls are getting media exposure and praises from their peers, they are experiencing the effects of P.E.: fame. From what it seems like a selfless act to save a life, ultimately was a selfish deed.

http://www.newschannel9.com/news/top-stories/stories/teenage-heroes-girls-use-cpr-save-strangers-life-16390.shtml

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Professor and Classmates,

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