Post 16. Blogging and Google Drive in the classroom

My English class is almost at an end. This class has utilized blogging and google drive as a tool to help us become better writers as well as better students. Google drive is a great tool to allow to do everything from power points to papers, share documents and even share movies. You can comment on each other's papers without jeopardizing the document. Aside from being able to upload, download and save as a word document you don't have to worry about saving your document because it automatically saves it as you're working on it. The other great plus? It is accessible anywhere you go because it is linked to your Gmail account. I think all teachers should use this, it is brilliant!

Now, blogging is whole other experience on its own. I tried to keep up with all the posts, but not having Internet at home and limited data on my phone I did fall behind a few times. My other classes also made it difficult to blog from the overload of those classes. All and all I still manage to put together some pretty good posts. I love the idea of blogging, I love the opinions we are able to formulate freely although I did feel some students were definitely afraid to voice their opinions probably due to the fact that they do not want to be critiqued about it. I do wish all classes used this system as it makes us learn the ins and outs of the Internet, the power of blogging and I feel writing always frees the soul because everyone has something they want to say, others just have the courage to say it. Overall, some people didn't take the assignment as serious as they should have nor did they care about spelling or grammar which is sad, however, I know it made me a better writer. As for me, I will continue blogging and enlightening at least one person along the way. May the force be with you my fellow readers and classmates!

Post 15. Protesting for a change

I rarely watch the news. It's too depressing and lacks the honesty, however, I did watch the news yesterday as the protesting started in New York in reference to the late Eric Garner. The scene was amazing. I was shocked at how many people came together in Manhattan, Chicago, Dallas, and Washington D.C. The union of all different races coming together to protest against police brutality. Everyone has a theory and excuses of why the police officer did what he did. I heard it all...Eric Garner was 6'4", 250 lbs., he's had other arrests...blah, blah, blah. I cannot fathom that a retired cop on CNN had the audacity to say that he deserved what he got for selling non taxed cigarettes to crackheads. Yes, this guy used the word crackhead on national television. I can only think of one thing. Where is the human emotion of treating a human like a human and not an animal?

This man did not commit a mortal sin. He did not rape anyone, molest any children, beat his wife, abuse his kids, commit murder, homicide or any other capital punishment crime. He was simply selling cigarettes to the drug addicts, he wasn't selling the drugs. Yet, his life was cut short over something so trivial. Officers have mace and stun guns, why not use one of those methods. Eric didn't even assault the officers. In the words of his daughter he died a horrible death because one officer decided to be the hero. I do not condone crime, I condone justice.

Children are taught from very little that when you do wrong there are consequences, even after you grow up, so why are cops exempt? If minors receive charges for their crimes and civilians receive charges for their crimes than I believe officers should be held more accountable, if not, made examples of because they are the law. The people are losing faith in this country, in it's leaders and it's law enforcement. I do believe Mr. Garners death will not be in vain, unfortunately this had to happen for there to be change.

I will keep it short tonight and ask that if you are on the side of justice and believe in humanitarianism, then peacefully protest. Demand a change. Write about it. Talk about it. If there are protests going on in the area I will go. We are all one, one nation under God. This isn't about black or white, as there is a case in Utah where a young white man was shot and killed by a cop. This is a power issue, this is a national crisis. We need stricter rules and better education. Cops are not given a license to kill, they are given a badge to protect and serve. Someone needs to remind them of this. May the force be with you my fellow readers.

Post 14. Welcome to the New Wild West....Lawless Police Officers.

As children I am sure we all grew up seeing police officers as honest people, people we could trust, people that would save us or be our hero in a moment of need. Little boys wanted to be one and little girls wanted to marry one. Police officers were seen as an image of good standing a beacon of hope in a bad situation. To be an officer is to uphold justice and truth. To protect and serve. How is that now all you can see is how an officer killed an unarmed civilian or beat someone to death or worse knock down a clearly pregnant woman? Where is "to protect and serve"? These cops now are serving no one, but themselves. I am not against police officers, what I am is against racism, brutality and downright lawless officers. The staggering amount of officers that use their force in excess is mounting day by day. Let me give you a few examples:

We have a case in Denver, Colorado where officers are seen in a video using excessive force on David Nelson Flores who was unarmed during a search for drugs. The suspect did stick a sock in his mouth full of suspected narcotics. The video shows the officers punching him in the face six times so hard that his head was bouncing off the pavement while he was being held down as well. His girlfriend who was seven and a half months pregnant was yelling to police officers to stop because they were hurting him, she grew closer to the officers screaming. You can see one officer bring out his arm and trip her. The woman falls to the ground hard onto her face and her stomach. A young child was in the back seat while all of this occurred. there is something wrong with this picture. Yes the suspect is a drug dealer and the mother was not of good standing for putting her kids and herself in danger, yet, because they are criminals officers get to abuse a man unarmed, a pregnant woman and an unborn child? Police officers have a too much power on what they are allowed to do. How are they upholding the law with the amount of abuse that is going on in this video? There are ways to handle situations that call for excessive force or extreme actions. I do not believe this was one of them. So, the suspect swallowed the sock, okay, no problem put him in handcuffs and take him to get an x-ray. Drugs found, no force needed. I am sure there are protocols on how to handle these situations and these cops are lawless. When asked why did they punch him 6 times? They gave two responses, we did it so he wouldn't choke on the drugs and fear that one of the officers arm was trapped under the suspects body, but how is that possible when they are ones holding him down?! Wouldn't it make sense to just lift him up? I mean the guy can't be no more than 5'8" and there is more than one officer. I can only describe this as Lawless.  Here is the link to read this story Denver police brutality

Next up we have the case of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. We ALL have heard about it and read about it. It is a shame. There are countless videos and tweets specifically from @Theepharoah that shows minute by minute account of what happened. From what is being formulated is that Michael Brown ran away from the officer, he did not hit him or harm and was not physically harming the officer in any way. The reports say he was shot 6 times with one bullet wound to the face. He was shot in the face!!! How is that not seen as criminal intent? How is shooting a person while running away from you seen as "I was in fear for my life". Micheal had no gun, he was unarmed. If you don't believe me go to ryot.com and click on Michael brown video and tweets to view the post about this new turn of events. As we now know the officer involved in this shooting was not indicted and the town of Ferguson went into a frenzy of peaceful protests that were not peaceful at all. They hurt local business owners. Instead of looking out for each other and coming together, they let their anger get the best of them. If you want something to be done protest with smarts not force for then we are continuing the circle of violence that police officers seem to have now. Violence begets Violence. I think we all know what is right from wrong and I will say it, this shooting was wrong. Of all the other ways to stop someone from running shooting someone in the face is not necessary. There are other ways of to stop a person. May Michael Brown's soul rest at ease and life payback to the man that made this happen.

The last case, but not least is that of Eric Garner. A man who was about to be arrested for selling illegal cigarettes. I didn't know that such a minor offense required you to be put into a choke hold, be thrown down into the ground, have your chest compressed and pushed upon so hard that the medical examiner states that this is what you died of. Whats worse? Mr. Garner lost his life over cigarettes. The officer who did this was also not indicted, yet he has two suits against him since 2013 of which one was dismissed and the other is still open. CNN has the full video clip for you to see how this event takes place. On CNN.com the report states the following: The New York Medical Examiner has ruled Garner's death a homicide. The cause of death was "compression of neck (chokehold), compression of chest and prone positioning during physical restraint by police." But the medical examiner also listed acute and chronic bronchial asthma, obesity and hypertensive cardiovascular disease as contributing factors in Garner's death. (click here to read full report). I am sure the defense attorney used this to his advantage when the focus should have been what this officer did. What I can't believe is this man lost his life to cigarettes...really?! I mean really????
As most people don't want to state the obvious I will, police officers should be evaluated further than just a few psychological interviews in the beginning when they are hired. They should be cross examined constantly like if they are going to work for the secret service. 

How the hell can I trust a police officer to use the law accordingly when lately the aggression seems to be against people who are not white? Am I saying that every officer is like this, NO, not by any means. I actually know of a few good officers that stick to the oaths they take at school. Clearly the power officers are being granted and the escape of repercussions for their actions is what needs to be looked at. Why are these men so apprehensive, counseling and therapy is available, at times required for these officers who have encountered really trying things, but why is no one bringing up the fact that some of these officers could be experiencing post traumatic stress syndrome. No one is exempt from this. It shows that we now live in the new wild west a lawless, were the law is no longer upholding the law, but being as criminal as criminals themselves. I still hope that the officers who are good and do goodwill continue on their quest as I know it is hard in today's society with so many people breaking the laws. I just ask help us believe in the law again because as of right now I think a lot of people have lost faith and wouldn't be surprised if a civil war broke out in the years to come from so much racism, violence, degradation, oppression and frustration.

I too have been subjected to the nasty ways of wild cops when the immigration issue first came out. I was stopped in Palm Springs, FL on a "routine" seat belt check. Funny this is I had my seat belt on, no brake lights out, it was 7:30 am, I didn't have tint on my car at the time, license clean, insurance active....why the hell was I pulled over is what I thought. It became clear when he gets to the window and says "This is a routine seat belt check." I replied "Oh I see, I have my seat belt on. Thank you." He then tells me to hand him my license and registration. I furrow my brows and hand it to him. He walks away, checks it and comes back with asking me if I had my passport. I was blown away. He asked me if Garcia was my real last name. I was appalled. I said "excuse me, I gave you my license and registration of which I know they are both clear and I do not carry my passport with me. Can you tell me what is my offense?" He asked me to get out of the vehicle and I told him I will not. That I have done nothing wrong and he has no reason other than to ask me for passport to check to see if I was an illegal immigrant. I looked at the name on his badge and told him that I cannot believe you pulled me over because of what I look like and my last name. I may have gone a bit far but I said "I was born in a military hospital on a military base. While you were still a child in 1991, my father was serving this country in the gulf war. And as soon as I get to work I am going to call the department to put in formal complaint because legally you have no reason to have pulled me over. I wasn't speeding, everything checks out and nothing on my car is broken. As you see I am in scrubs trying to go to work. One day I will become a nurse and I pray that you never find yourself in the need of my care." He looked at me shocked and told me that all of that was not necessary, apologized to me and said I could be on my way. the cherry topper in this situation...he was white. I am not saying his racist or prejudiced. Perhaps racially profiling, maybe. Poor choice of trying to find illegal immigrants, definitely.

I will never forget this experience. It showed me into what direction this society is heading. I am not racists or prejudiced. I believe we are all the same, it is our actions that define us not the color of skin or the way we look. Did I call his supervisor you may be thinking? I won't say. A true lady does not divulge such things, but what I will say is this. How many more people are going to have to die at the hands of the law or be mistreated before something is done? We need to elevate one another not degrade one another. May the force be with you my fellow readers. Remember we are all one...it starts with peace.