“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.

What We Need Now Is A Good Ol’ Fashioned Rapture

*if anyone would like the citations of the Bible and texts I used just ask*

Five months ago today it was all supposed to be all downhill. The “Lord” was to arrive with the sounding of a great trumpet and gather both the living and the dead. However, the man who made this prediction, Harold Camping, was wrong. Not to fret, he was only off by five months. Now after months of anticipation and all the preparations you Doomsday enthusiasts have made; its not looking so hot again.

“How could Harold Camping be wrong?! We have anxiously awaited the second coming of Jesus Christ so he may lift us up to Heaven and we may be absolved of any suffering during the End Times.”

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.

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:

Life Coach pt2

Feedback from my part 1 of the “Life Coach” blog series was mostly positive. My mom asked, “don’t you think that’s a little intense?” You’d think after twenty-three years she’d realize intensity is my happiness. Ah well.

First I want to thank everyone for the feedback on my writing. I am very self conscious of putting my feelings out there and how I feel. Writing is one of the most revealing things you can do to put yourself out there—so I feel pretty vulnerable every time I click “post” on wordpress.com. I normally read my entries three times the day OF posting just to make sure everything sounds right. I was the same way with school papers….normally because I did those at the last second though.

So….without further ADO…. Part 2 of the Life Coach Blog Series…..if you have any comments, both positive and negative, feel free to email me at boggs.bryan.r@gmail.com and I will post your comments and reply to them next Wednesday in part 3. Enjoy.

Life Coach pt 1

I had two other blogs typed out, the first one was part 3 of what I hate in the media….but honestly is my writing going to change the way the media works? No. At the very least it will shed some light to my twitter followers, facebook friends, and poor saps I pawn this link off on.

The second blog is “what your presidential pick says about you” ….however I am going to go over that post again and again and again until I think its perfect because I am going to get that son of a bitch published on some type on website. I dont care if I have to make up the website in order for it to happen. 

So I apologize for the lack of posting as real life comes first on the internet (what? you’re lying….I swear) So the following series, yes I WILL keep up with this one, is going to be my ATTEMPT to show people what life REALLY is. Not the cookie cutter twitter quotes people copy and paste or retweet. I’m talking about slap you in the f*cking mouth wake up reality check life coaching.

Hopefully I can shed some more light on not only the media, but life in general. So ladies and gentleman…..prepare to be horrified as I allow you to step inside of my brain. Shits real.

“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.