Occupy Black Friday

I thought this was an interesting picture with an interesting point. I've worked Black Friday for 8 years. And by far its the worst experience I've ever had in retail, each and every year. I worked at Best Buy and endured 2 years of the mayhem. I've been yelled and cussed at like you would not believe. Last year I was yelled at, seriously, because I did not know how much Farmville gold equated to in American Currency. I thought he was joking; he was not.  It sucks feeling like I"m going to get hit over some piece of paper entitling the early shopper for their piece of crap computer. 

This Friday I again worked another Black Friday at a different smaller local retailer. By 8'o clock when our doors opened, I couldn't help but feel like I was entering a Zombie apocalypse. However, the crowds were nowhere near as anarchic as Best Buys. 

I didn't think to compare the masses of people fighting and killing each over greed to those in occupy Atlanta. It made me curious to see what this group was up to on Black Friday. 

From reading some of the articles, they were pretty tame about it. They mostly tried getting people to support local stores rather than big box retailers like Target and Best Buy. 

However, I could not argue against what one Wal-Mart offered for their struggling community in Washington DC a free shopping experience. People could donate things they didn't want so the needy could "go shopping" and get the items for free. I thought that was a really nice twist. 

A different position

I work with a man who was laid off by Verizon several years ago. I mentioned how I have been writing about the Occupy movement and I told him that I for one did not particularly agree with it.

He and his son actually considered meeting up with the protestors in Atlanta one weekend, but had heard about how many of them were being arrested and decided against it.

He asked me why I didn't find it necessary to support. I explained that the way it has been handled bothers me; I don't find a group stating they are nonviolent and then demonstrate the opposite. I asked him what he thought as well as the previous reasons I’ve mentioned in prior posts.

He explained how the CEO of Verizon had worked for retired, which was a company he personally got laid off from. His CEO took with his retirement a private jet, tons of stock shares, and condo with a restaurant below at which he could access at his leisure as well as other ridiculous amounts of perks to last him a mega wealthy retirement. My co-worker explained that if the man had given at least 5% back of what he took for his retirement, the thousands of people that worked for Verizon could still have their jobs.

That does shed more light on the situation. It does make me sick.  But then again, is it the government’s job to intervene with big corporations and tell them what is legal/isn’t?

I’ve looked at the We are the 99% site and have looked at everyone’s sufferings. One girl posted that she could not attend college because her parents divorced and spent all of their money on legal expenses.

Yeah, that sucks. I hate that. But FAFSA provides plenty of student aid as well as thousands of scholarships. I myself have been able to get my hands on some of that aid. I went to school and my parents are both dirt poor.

But anyways, I guess that’s all I’ve got for the moment. I guess I’m just realizing, that no matter how bad I want to get rid of my debt, no matter how ideal it would be that the government paid for everything I owed, I wouldn’t want the nation paying tax money for my poor decisions.

I can’t justify it. 

Still Occupied..

From what I've read, the occupy movement is supposed to be nonviolent. After reading stories from CNN, I see where some of the protestors are arrested for violent threats. One protestor has threatened to bomb Macy's in New York with a molotov cocktail. He also threatened to burn New York to the ground.

Protestors of the Occupy Movement is calling for an American Revolution. Can they do it nonviolently? What do they want exactly?

www.occupywallst.org/ shows live updates of their attempt at shutting down wall street.  At 10:00 am 50 + protestors are arrested and the wall subway has been closed.

This some serious stuff. I keep seeing in stories "the 1st Amendment" being thrown around. I feel like things are going too far. Maybe I don't know enough about the situation. I am trying to do research, but I feel ultimately that perhaps this Occupy Movement is tearing America apart.

Occupy...

During the Halloween weekend I was approached by two supporters of occupy Atlanta. They handed me a brochure and told me to get involved, let my voice be heard.

I've heard about the Occupy movement and I'm a little confused. The news seems to be as well. What is the Occupy Movement really about? Is it about student loans? I've also heard people being angry about the unemployment rate. I feel like they need a message that works together.

I have no voice when it comes to that though. Again, I'm sure its because of my ignorance. But honestly, I have a job. And I don't necessarily want hand outs from the government to cover my student loans. That was my decision and my debt is my fault. I've seen where people in the occupy movement are against major corporations yet they post protests using apple iPhones or smart phones. Its ironic.

Amanda Knox

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/10/05/earlyshow/main20115856.shtml

After several years of jail, American Amanda Knox returns home. She was an American student found guilty for murdering her roommate, Meridith Kercher. She appealed the case and the verdict was turned.

It's interesting to see how the media in Italy and America have differently portrayed the girl. Looking into the case, Italy viewed her as evil and was sure she was guilty of the crime. They see suspects as "guilty until proven innocent" versus  the American view that "innocent until proven guilty.

Student Suspended for Saying Homosexuality is Wrong

Its been a long struggle for the gay community to gain acceptance over the past decades. Even for me, I have found that this particular lifestyle is one that I no longer find unusual. I say this simply because I have grown up in a small community that is lacking in tolerance of anything different to what they are used to or taught. This community, I feel I need to add, is full of Methodists and Southern Baptists that do not condone alternate lifestyles such as that of the gays. I find this important to add simply because as I left home and got to live and think for my own, I have found that I do not find anything offensive about this lifestyle. I set this particular blog up this way simply so that it is understood that I have no bias on the subject for the following story.

I read an article recently about how a christian boy got suspended from school for saying homosexuality is wrong. From what I understand he did not harass anyone or hurt anyone. It was a CLASS DISCUSSION in which he voiced his OPINION.

I just want to know when it became wrong for others to have an opinion. As mentioned earlier, I feel that we are living in an age of heightened tolerance. Its ok to be gay and talk about it, but now those who don't necessarily agree with that lifestyle have to walk on eggshells.

From that I question: Does a student lose their first amendment rights when they walk into a school?
And if so, does that mean that if they do lose such rights in class discussions are they forced to agree or keep quiet? Seems like it defeats the purpose of classroom discussions.

9/11

I can't remember exactly what I was doing during the 9/11 attacks. I feel a little guilty for it as I've read the progressing stream of status updates on Facebook and Twitter of people talking about where they were and how they felt because I can't quite remember for myself. At least not as much as I would like to.

I'm from a small town, and I'll be honest with you. I didn't know what the World Trade Center was at the time and I was only vaguely familiar with what the Pentagon was. I was distanced from the devastation. Again, I was IGNORANT about the situation.

I know I was in high school. I was afraid, and I wanted to get home to my loved ones and I was selfishly glad that I was sheltered away from the tragedy. I was lucky enough to not know anybody hurt in those attacks. But I feared that the attacks wouldn't stop there. What if for some reason Atlanta was attacked? I remember freaking out because I thought the future was going to be filled with war. And though it has been since then, the war in my mind was far different than what it is in reality.

As I'm older, I feel more remorse now than I did. After moving to Atlanta, I know people who have truly been affected by the World Trade Center attacks first hand. I can't even imagine the hurt.

It's interesting to see how people respond during this time of remembrance. Everyone in America was affected by this tragedy and everyone has delt with it and experienced it differently.

 My husband is a 6th grade teacher. It was strange listening to him tell me about their reactions. Many of them did not know that these tragedies occurred. When he showed them a video about the coverage of the attacks, some of them laughed as they watched people run for their lives.
I'm curious: Is that their response to the tragedy a form of grieving, or are they really that cold-hearted?

I remember how I loved studying history. I thought it was incredible what the people of the past have endured. When I was young I couldn't imagine what it was like to live during the Great Depression. I thought that studying the Holocaust was like reading a horror novel. Never in my life would I think that I would live to experience great tragedies first hand. Being sheltered, I thought that those sorts of things couldn't really happen, even if they already did.

A lot has happened this past decade, including the capture and death of Osama Bin Laden. I pray that those who have suffered losses during 9/11 are starting to feel some closure for that if they haven't already.