“Pathology of power” and police brutality at “Occupy” protests

Philip Zimbardo: When a person feels “I am not personally responsible, I am not accountable; it’s the role I’m playing or these are the orders I’ve gotten,” then you allow yourself to do things you would never do under ordinary circumstances

Watching video of police officers beat, arrest, and pepper spray people – in response to Occupy Wall Street, and the protests it has inspired throughout the country – I can’t help but notice the similarities of the officers who have been violent and aggressive towards demonstrators. It’s almost as if they are acting like the military in foreign and hostile war zones, and less like civil-servants whose job it is to protect the citizens.

Don’t be an asshole: arguments for & against Occupy Wall Street

In the media, in conversations, on social networking sites, there’s nothing worse than irrational people passionately spewing their irrational nonsense. Especially with Occupy Wall Street. On both sides.

Before I proceed, I will tell you that I generally support  Occupy Wall Street and like the issues brought up by the intelligent members of the movement. But every time I hear someone scream “we are the 99 percent” it reinforces my desire to disaffiliate with groups that derive power from numbers. If you said “I am similar to 99 percent of the population in terms of income,” i would be less annoyed.

I’ll support people looking to end corruption. I’ll support people looking out for the least well-off in our country. I’ll support anybody’s right to nonviolently protest anything. But I don’t want to be apart of the group.

In this post, I will analyze some (not all) arguments on both sides of the Occupy Wall Street movement and address issues that I feel are keeping the two sides apart.

What Ever Happened to Free Speech?

AH

On October 3, 2011, Hank Williams, Jr. appeared on the daily morning talk show, Fox and Friends. He was asked how he felt about the upcoming election and who he preferred in the GOP race. Williams, Jr. then, with what seemed like a Herculean effort, blurted, “Nobody.” He then went on to allegorically  associated a golf game between political party leaders with the likeness of Hitler playing golf with Netanyahu. (For those of you not certain who Netanyahu is; Benjamin Netanyahu is the current Prime Minister of Israel.)

Williams, Jr. continued by shouting, “OBAMA!”, in response to a request to explain whom he was referring to as the enemy. He made perfectly clear that the aforementioned golf game was the biggest political blunder, “ever.” Furthermore, Williams, Jr. reiterated time after time how against bipartisanship he was.

Today, October 5, 2011, Monday Night Football (product of ESPN, ultimately controlled by Disney), whom Hank had been the “voice and face” of since 1991,  essentially announced that they gave Ol’ Hank a corporation sized cowboy boot to the curb. Williams, Jr. has responded in anger declaring a violation of his 1st amendment rights (Free Speech), saying he himself has decided to leave. It seemed like a mutual departure. Regardless, when the story broke, a majority of the masses shared Williams, Jr.’s outrage. Their arguments also hinge on the value and more importantly the RIGHT of Free Speech.

Great books: The Making of a Counter Culture

One of the best stores in Kent is Last Exit Books, a used book store with prices so cheap it makes me wonder how they can make a profit. They have a bunch of old books on sale at either 50 cents or a dollar.

In August, I picked up a handful of those books for a couple of bucks. What a great investment. I am currently in the middle of The Making of a Counter Culture by Theodore Roszak, which was originally published in 1969, but it is still extremely relevant in today’s world. It gives so much insight on culture in the United States: young people, rebellion, society, angst. It’s just a great read. When I came across this passage 16 pages in, I was hooked:

“Support our Troops”: The Real War in America

AH

            Firstly, allow me to apologize for such a delay in postings. I started my first year at law school and this is absolutely the first free time I have had since about August 14^th. Secondly, arguably more importantly, I know I’m going to get lambasted for this article. I promise you, there is a point if you make it to the end. So please, as a disclaimer, I admit “journalistic” freedom here from my title. However, I can almost guarantee that if you have read this far it is based partially on my controversial title. Now let’s get to the crux of my blabbering.

This morning, at approximately 9:15 AM, I started on an estimated commute of 6.5 miles from Lakewood to Parma, Ohio. Lakewood, as many people in the greater Cleveland area would attest is known for its more liberal than moderate nature. On the other hand, Parma is known for the opposite, its conservative blue-collar constituency. The very moment I exited the city limits of Lakewood I noticed the car, who so egregiously pulled out in front of me, had two of the classic “Support our Troops” magnets on her car.

Christianity: The Dilemma of being Religious in a Western Society

AH

*Disclaimer: I don’t affiliate myself with any group, this is purely observational*

A little over 2000 years ago a man was born of meager background:

 “And she brought forth her first-born son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:7”

Although there is little historical or even scriptural proof of this event, it is a mainstay in popular Christian beliefs that their Messiah, Jesus Christ, was born in a stable full of animals. Furthermore, he was born of a virgin, Mary, and was wrapped in blankets as they had no clothes for him.

Pop Goes My Blog Cherry

B.B.

My first blog, I feel so “empowered” I mean that’s what these are for right? So everyone has an opinion and instead of just putting up on facebook or twitter for their 100 followers they put it in a blog. At least that’s what I was told how it works.

So, before I begin to write I will say this. MY opinion is MY opinion and mine alone. It has not been shaped from anyone or anything else and it does not mean that’s what Mr. Brown my tag team partner thinks either.