A White, Adolescent, Male's Take On Social Issues (ethic, legal, drugs)

[aaronstlcards]

My name is Aaron and I am a high school student living in St. Louis, Missouri and I just want to share my views and opinions on some issues in America.

I don't pay too much attention to social and political issues, but I am pretty aware of what makes sense and what doesn't. And in fact, there are a few specific social issues that I really wanna give my opinion on:

1. There is NOTHING wrong with being gay/lesbian
It's just shocking to me that so many people in the US have a problem with homosexuals and gay marriage. In an ideal world, a person should get to be themselves and not be harassed or discriminated against because of their sexual orientation. Sadly enough this is far from reality in America. Serious question for any of the many homophobes: Why is people being happy and loving who they choose such a terrible and offensive thing?!

2. Racism is stupid
Regardless of color, anybody who is racist is WRONG. Granted, America has a terrible past in regards to civil rights and I understand the animosity of many, especially blacks towards whites. But that does not justify hating anybody because of the color of their skin. The Black Panthers have some racist views, but the KKK is incredibly racist and wrong.

3. Fox News scares me
Earlier in the year in my Contemporary Issues class, we watched the documentary "Outfoxxed". The documentary focused on and exploited the many corrupt aspects of the network and really got me realizing how truly messed up it is. The fact that Fox News is one of the most watched cable networks in the world is horrifying. Almost none of the mindless crap that they pass as news is the least bit "fair and balanced".

4. Marijuana and other light psychoactive drugs should be legal
Seriously, let people smoke what they want. Nuff said.

5. Gangs are pointless
Street gangs might be the dumbest concept that's considered cool that I can think of. I mean, they are absolutely ridiculous. Stop killing people and selling drugs with your homies and get a f*****g job. Which leads me to my next topic:

6. There IS a serious culture problem among young African-Americans
I know many black people and obviously know that not all young blacks fit this bill, but an alarming amount do. I'm talking about the pants sagging, obnoxious, gangsta rap loving, semi-racist youths. Just kids with the wrong role models, bad parents, and wrong morals. Granted, having a tough past is hard to swallow, but that doesn't justify actions. There is a correlation between poverty and crime, but there is not a causation. Nobody has to steal and murder to make a living. Just stop making excuses, get new positive role-models, and get a real life together.

I think that's all. Thanks for listening and sorry if I offended anyone. Any comments?

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by aaronstlcards

My name is Aaron and I am a high school student living in St. Louis, Missouri and I just want to share my views and opinions on some issues in America.

I don't pay too much attention to social and political issues, but I am pretty aware of what makes sense and what doesn't. And in fact, there are a few specific social issues that I really wanna give my opinion on:

1. There is NOTHING wrong with being gay/lesbian
It's just shocking to me that so many people in the US have a problem with homosexuals and gay marriage. In an ideal world, a person should get to be themselves and not be harassed or discriminated against because of their sexual orientation. Sadly enough this is far from reality in America. Serious question for any of the many homophobes: Why is people being happy and loving who they choose such a terrible and offensive thing?!?

I'm gay so no suprise I agree with this one. To answer your question...when people think of homosexuality, the image that comes to their minds is of 2 men kissing or having sex together. On a subconscious level, people don't like this because this behavior is perceived as feminine. And people are fearful of the feminine. So, a man being gay is perceived of as renouncing his masculinity...which is extremely threatening to those who fear the feminine. This is why people freak out about homosexuality and why gay men suffer greater discrimination than lesbian women.

Originally Posted by aaronstlcards

2. Racism is stupid
Regardless of color, anybody who is racist is WRONG. Granted, America has a terrible past in regards to civil rights and I understand the animosity of many, especially blacks towards whites. But that does not justify hating anybody because of the color of their skin. The Black Panthers have some racist views, but the KKK is incredibly racist and wrong.?

Agreed. Racism is just another thing people use to try to feel superior over others. It seems to be the human condition to want to think you're better or superior to someone else. Humans do this in a million different ways, racism being one of the more blatant expressions of this.

Originally Posted by aaronstlcards

3. Fox News scares me
Earlier in the year in my Contemporary Issues class, we watched the documentary "Outfoxxed". The documentary focused on and exploited the many corrupt aspects of the network and really got me realizing how truly messed up it is. The fact that Fox News is one of the most watched cable networks in the world is horrifying. Almost none of the mindless crap that they pass as news is the least bit "fair and balanced".

You don't have to like or agree with everything on Fox news. But it's basically the only news outlet that shows the conservative perspective on anything. I'm not surprised that someone in your class in school promoted an anti-fox news documentary. People in education, the media, & Hollywood are overwhelmingly left of center in the politics. As a young person, you don't understand how one sided the perspective is that you're getting. When I was in college, I partially saw that the perspective I was getting was one sided, but didn't fully see it until many years later out in the real world. People in the education field are so big on diversity---except when it comes to political diversity. They are very afraid of that.

Originally Posted by aaronstlcards

4. Marijuana and other light psychoactive drugs should be legal
Seriously, let people smoke what they want. Nuff said. ?

I'm not sure how I feel about this one. I wonder if a lot more people will use these drugs if legalized. I don't like the attitude I read and hear from others about pot being harmless and non-addictive. It may not be as bad as other drugs, but that doesn't make it healthy or a good thing, either.

Originally Posted by aaronstlcards

5. Gangs are pointless
Street gangs might be the dumbest concept that's considered cool that I can think of. I mean, they are absolutely ridiculous. Stop killing people and selling drugs with your homies and get a f*****g job. Which leads me to my next topic:

6. There IS a serious culture problem among young African-Americans
I know many black people and obviously know that not all young blacks fit this bill, but an alarming amount do. I'm talking about the pants sagging, obnoxious, gangsta rap loving, semi-racist youths. Just kids with the wrong role models, bad parents, and wrong morals. Granted, having a tough past is hard to swallow, but that doesn't justify actions. There is a correlation between poverty and crime, but there is not a causation. Nobody has to steal and murder to make a living. Just stop making excuses, get new positive role-models, and get a real life together.

I think that's all. Thanks for listening and sorry if I offended anyone. Any comments?

I agree that gangs are dumb and that there is a culture problem among young African-Americans. More accurately, I'd say it's actually among all Americans. Underlying the problems you see in African American households is the fact that around 70% of African American households are run by single moms. This is not healthy for the kids, the parents, or society at large. Unfortunately, the out of wedlock birth rate is high for other ethnic groups, too.

It wasn't that long ago that it was universally understood that kids growing up in married 2 parent families did better in life (on average) than kids who didn't. But now it seems like anyone who says this is written off as some radical right wing kook.

I really like this piece on that subject:

Forget Juno. Out-of-wedlock births are a national catastrophe. - By Emily Yoffe - Slate Magazine

Some researchers identify out-of-wedlock births as the chief cause for the increasing stratification and inequality of American life, the first step that casts children into an ever more rigid caste system. Studies have found that children born to single mothers are vastly more likely to be poor, have behavioral and psychological problems, drop out of high school, and themselves go on to have out-of-wedlock children.

[aaronstlcards]

Yes, yes. I agree with your ad-ons.

[sanrene]

Earlier in the year in my Contemporary Issues class, we watched the documentary "Outfoxxed".

Sounds like you got a nice helping of liberal bias and propaganda disguised as "instruction".

I do hope your instructor presented the other side of the coin, like MSNBC, NYT, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS to show you their bias.

[TriMT7]

Agree with everything.... well, except Fox News scaring me. It doesn't scare me. It's really just sad that many people confuse propaganda, opinion pieces and talk radio as "objective news."

The internet is largely responsible for creating AND helping to alleviate the bias problem. "Independent media" online is a treatment for the problem, but it can also exacerbate the problem, when people rely too heavily on "filtered media that suits their political leanings" (Drudge, Malkin, DailyKos).

[jufrbo]

I mostly agree. Everything except for the whole Fox News deal. All media is biased. Watch a documentary produced by a right winger and you would be terrified of the the New York Times. You kind have to avoid editorial type news and gather your info from all over. Left and Right and find where they overlap. That is usually the truth.

[mb1547]

Hey Aaron--I'm glad you posted.

I have five boys--two are in High School as well. I'm always happy to see people your age getting involved and really thinking about issues that are important to them. It takes a willingness to learn about issues and see all sides of the coin logically and rationally to make good decisions. Sounds like you're well on your way.

As far as the points you raised--I really can't say it any better than mysticaltiger did--I agree with him on most points. I have a comment on the FOX news segment--one of my boys saw Outfoxxed as a freshman in a similar class. The class presented information about distortion in the media on both sides and how voters find information to make intelligent choices--among other things, they had to tape hour long segments from both FOX and MSNBC and evaluate and fact check the content as a group. Sounds like it was an interesting class.

On the drug thing--sorry. I have lots of the same concerns that mysticaltiger does. We have lots of kids in our area who smoke pot, and I hate to say it, but some of them seem to be throwing their lives away. I'm worried that if it's legalized, more teenagers will have access to it and use it. When you're young, you're still learning about life and the world. You don't always have the experience to make good choices, or to understand the consequences. That's what being young is all about--learning to stand on your own, but having guidance while you do it. I know the drugs you mentioned aren't as dangerous as others, but none of it is good.

[miyu]

Totally agree, I give you an A++ for having common sense. BTW your opinions are also widely held among most people from universities, if that is where you are headed.

[Sid2001]

There is hope for your youth. This kid has more insight than most tea party members quadruple his age.

[Redshadowz]

Originally Posted by aaronstlcards

1. There is NOTHING wrong with being gay/lesbian
It's just shocking to me that so many people in the US have a problem with homosexuals and gay marriage. In an ideal world, a person should get to be themselves and not be harassed or discriminated against because of their sexual orientation. Sadly enough this is far from reality in America. Serious question for any of the many homophobes: Why is people being happy and loving who they choose such a terrible and offensive thing?!

There are serious social issues associated with homosexuality. While I contend that it isn't the governments business who you have sex with. I will still insist that homosexuality is a bane of humanity. It serves no purpose, and has only a negative effect on any and every society.

From something as simple as boy/girl/gay bathrooms? To the religious aspect. To fertility rates(IE having children or lack thereof), and everything in-between.

If you could choose to have a world without homosexuals or a world with homosexuals, the simple truth is that the world without homosexuality would be much more united, happy, and productive.

The question with homosexuality is simple. Is it morally right to oppress a minority for the benefit of the majority?

2. Racism is stupid

Regardless of color, anybody who is racist is WRONG. Granted, America has a terrible past in regards to civil rights and I understand the animosity of many, especially blacks towards whites. But that does not justify hating anybody because of the color of their skin. The Black Panthers have some racist views, but the KKK is incredibly racist and wrong.

Racism is not necessarily about hatred, but I do concur that it generally leads in that direction. But why that is, is complicated.

Racism is simply about the belief that your "race" tends to be better than other "races". The superiority of one race or another in one field or another is just reality. This can easily be observed in sports, wheres certain body types of the different races, or even ethnic groups, tend to do far better in one field than in another(IE sprinting/swimming/weightlifting/etc). The same pattern can also be found in academics, where certain ethnic groups are just far more successful than others.

The real problem with racism is two things.

1) While the different races create patterns of success, there is no certainty of it. Therefore race itself becomes sort of a useless characteristic.

Imagine it like basketball. If you knew absolutely nothing about two people, who do you think would win in a game of basketball. The guy who is 6'4" or the guy that is 5'8"?

If average intelligence of the different races was shown as average height. Then Asians would be 6'5", Whites would be 6'4", Native-Americans 6', and blacks 5'8".

And in much the same way that height differences of the different races can be "corrected". Average intelligence differences could also be "corrected" in basically the same manner.


2) Race/ethnicity is highly connected with culture and identity. The entire world was built on white-European culture, period. Outside of north Africa(which are middle-easterners, who are considered caucasians), almost the entirety of Africa was basically living in conditions that had existed for thousands of years prior to that. Europeans hadn't been living like native-Americans for thousands of years either.

It is unfathomable for me to imagine a world without white-European- Christian influences. Democracies simply wouldn't exist. Slavery would be rampant. And technology would be several hundred years behind where it is today.

Race is so connected with who you perceive yourself to be. Because people are sort of pathetic. I was reading the other day about a neo-nazi who learned they were jewish, so now they are practicing jews? Being black equally has extreme cultural connections, and very negative ones might I add. Is Jesus white? Brown? or Black? That depends on who you ask.


Simply put, race is a problem. It will continue to be a problem until people are so similar to each other, to be impossible to distinguish a "race". Once this happens, the cultural ties one has will also be destroyed. It is rather difficult to be proud of someone like Christopher Columbus or the other great European invaders as a native-American. It is difficult to look fondly on the United States takeover of much of North America if you are native-American/hispanic/even the French. It is difficult to be proud of Robert E. Lee or even Thomas Jefferson as a black man(and many others). History and cultural identities must be whitewashed to be acceptable to the masses of differing peoples. To the extent that we will all become nothing more than soul-less, history-less consumers.

History is already being trimmed from many schools cirriculums, since it is unnecessary because it doesn't produce "work-related skills". It has already been decided that being "proud" of something your ancestors accomplished is stupidity, since it isn't actually your accomplishment. So the groundwork for the destruction of the past is already in place.


Religion is also on its way out, especially Christianity which is constantly under fire. Most likely the great "work ethic" associated with Lutherans and other Christian groups, will either be replaced by the "care-free/lazy" ethic of atheists, or the religiously dominating/unproductive/anti-science ethic of Islam.

You think you've won, but really, everyone loses.