Creating controversy in the Conrad Murray trial

AOLTV.com reported yesterday Nancy Grace's reaction to the verdict in the Conrad Murray trial. Grace was quoted saying, "Well, once I found out it was a guilty verdict thats really all I needed to know... I only wish it had been a murder one, because murder one deserves life behind bars, not four years." She then continued to say, "Hey! He and Casey Anthony can have a tea party in four years!" Catherine Lawson, author of the article, intends to influence the reader with the comparison of the two major trials, where she then implies with Grace's statement that they both got off easy. However she still places emphasis on the fact that she, amongst many other major figures of our culture (including our public), believes that this should be a murder trial and that Murray deserves to rot in prison.

I, however, could not oppose these statements any more adamantly. Where Murray did provide Jackson with the drugs, Jackson has been a known drug addict. It was totally along the lines of his personality to overdose. Tens of thousands of people cannot come to terms that their beloved pop prince could have ever overdosed and they looked to Murray as the fall guy. Jackson had been in a frail state, as well, and with his history of drug use it only makes sense that he would overdose as if the medication he was taking was "magical".

On another note, Grace and Lawson CANNOT relate Murray to Casey Anthony at all. Anthony had so much evidence stacked against her yet she still got out of all murder charges and all child endangerment charges. Murray is bound to get the harshest punishment for his situation, which I feel is wrongfully placed upon him. While Anthony walked away a FREE WOMAN, Murray will walk away in 4 years with a punishment he did not deserve.

I guess when id comes down to a 3 year old and the prince of pop that a jury would rather convict in favor of pop culture rather than for the young child...

Drawing a line in the ballroom: when transgender paranoia crosses the line

With the season fully underway, Chaz Bono has faced the brunt of the "Dancing with the Stars" experience, not only facing elimination this past Tuesday night, but being the face of the season's biggest controversy: his sex change. While both Chaz and the producers of the program attempt to present him as a normal 40-year-old celebrity trying to master his routine for the week, many of his critics continue tearing into his gender-bender decisions. Of all people to display his extreme dislike for Chaz's actions, Dr. Keith Ablow, a psychology professor at Tufts University School, made an appearance on the Bill O'Reilly show the week previous, making a statement to parents that their children should not be allowed to watch the show due to risk factor of enhancing a child's chances of suffering from Gender Identity Disorder. However, many other psychology professors agree to disagree with this accusation, stating that there's no physical evidence that proves that watching Chaz Bono on the show would induce the disorder in which children would begin to question their own gender identity.

Both sides of the controversy bring very strong arguments to the table. Anti-gender-benders claim that Gender Identity Disorder could be similar to when kids light up because their favorite actor smokes or chugs a beer because they did so in their favorite movie. However, pro-gender-benders refute that statement, saying that its extremely easy for teens to be influenced by teen smoking and drinking in movies compared to watching a 40-year-old transgender dance on a reality show, where the issue of his sex change has not even been discussed on the air.

Whatever the case, the extremes some critics are going to in order to degrade Chaz and his sex change are unacceptable at any level by any human being. His sex change was not influenced by watching a transgender on television, then causing him to think in similar ways as that celebrity. In addition, with the transgender bill stalling at the statehouse, nothing could hinder the bill's passing more than a professor from Tufts appearing on a nationally acclaimed show and announcing his distaste for the subject, then taking it one step further and telling parents to shelter their child from reality and having them forbid their children from watching this season because of a transgender, when his sex change has not been mentioned ONCE throughout the duration of this season of "Dancing with the Stars". Already  4 episodes deep into the 20 episode season, you would think if something was to be said about the topic of his sex change, it would have already been said, correct? They're 1/5 of the way through the season, so these allegations are simply factious in nature. If children even find out about the issue, wouldn't it just be easier to simply explain Chaz's situation upfront, avoiding the issue for a later age when it might be too late to discuss the matter? Ablow's comments can only hinder the progression of transgender rights in this state.

Deborah Kotz displays both sides of the controversy upfront, allowing the pros and con from each position to flow through her article.  While stating Dr. Ablow's thesis, that watching Bono on "Dancing with the Stars" could induce a child's Gender Identity Disorder, she counters the thesis with Dr. John Oldham's commonly accepted thesis that Gender Identity Disorder would not simply be created due to watching a transgender on a reality television show. While Kotz states her insecurity with telling her children about Chaz Bono's situation, she describes the benefits and handicaps of understanding the term "transgender", which is more or less a cultural term. "Transsexual" is simply a term associated with hormone transitions and organ transplants due to a person's insecurity with the gender they supposidely embody. Kotz reassures her readers that the chances of having a transgender child are extremely slim, in order to persuade those parents on the edge with this situation that its likely that whether or not your child watches the show that their child will not be a transsexual.

"Chaz Bono on Dancing with the Stars: should kids be banned from watching?"
http://www.boston.com/Boston/dailydose/2011/09/chaz-bono-dancing-with-the-stars-should-kids-banned-from-watching/EPkM8y89Nb6nK2opxlO9JK/index.html

No more hiding behind the word "Drama" anymore... It's time to come clean.

Bullying becomes such a common occurrence all throughout high school that students learn how to cover up their tracks through denial of accusations, knowing who you can and can't say things to, and covering up the severity of situations using well-worded vocabulary. Girls, especially, attempt to shade over the severity of most bullying situations with the word "drama", implying that its not bullying, but simply that girls are going into their "natural" dramatic state that they all go through during their adolescent years. To many unaware of this scheme, they feel as if they may have over reacted to a situation when accusations of bullying arise, only to find out that its "stupid drama", often times those blind to this scheme being teachers, parents, guardians, or many of the other adult figures in a teenager's life. All teenagers, however, learn the coded-language of bullying, and know the true meaning of "drama": a cover-up to hide the true severity in a bullying situation.

While the majority of bullying programs attempt to stop bullying before it happens, very few attempt to provide resolutions in the case of current bullying situations. No teenager is ever unaware of the bullying being put upon them, however they were never given the tools to resolve said situation. Intervening at the point of victimization is crucial in diluting the situation at hand, since the bullying won't simply seize due to one small comment. Adults fail to use "drama" as a synonym to "bullying" due to the previous context of the words being far more distant than they are at this current moment. Students trying to cover up bullying situations use the word to hide their illegality. Whatever the word used, drama or bullying, both qualify under Massachusetts state law as forms of harassment. And yet whether its drama or bullying, we'd rather to tools to diffuse any current bullying situation, rather than trying to prevent something that is simply impossible to halt.

Danah Boyd brings many interesting, often times untouched, ideas to the table towards the increasing bullying situation. Boyd tries to convey how important it is to look deeper than the typical meaning of seemingly harmless words, drama being the most overlooked of them all. Boyd tries to show parents, educators, and the general population as a whole the disturbing level the children of this age have brought bullying to. Where its used to be black and white now involves not only the gray area, but virtually all the colors of the rainbow with so many people hiding the cold hard facts of bullying yet no one giving or receiving help towards diffusing a bullying situation in progress rather than attempting to prevent one. Where are all the programs, she asks? Surely educators should have been on top of this already with the extensive amounts of results pouring in from student surveys pertaining to their bullying in their lives. No better time than the present.


Why Cyberbullying Rhetoric Misses the Mark by Danah Boyd
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/23/opinion/why-cyberbullying-rhetoric-misses-the-mark.html

More than just dancing...?

While many sit on their couches mocking mediocre contestants on ABC's hit show "Dancing with the Stars", political and cultural statements flourish left and right throughout every episode. With their new season premiering last Monday night at 8pm EST, the shows self-proclaimed "A-List Cast" brought just as many controversies as ever to the table, some more about ethics than the cast itself. While most cast members simply compete for the paycheck and the publicity (although the publicity for being the first kicked-off the show is not a coveted feat), simple human ethics come in to play with many of the shows quirks, cast members, and story lines.

Take JR Martinez and Chaz Bono, both from this season (season 13). Currently taking his canceled soap opera, "All My Children", to the Internet, JR Martinez' story runs deeper than the injured Iraq war veteran he portrayed on the show. In fact, he was a real life war vet, discharged from the war after a landmine was set off while he was traveling in his Humvee. Sustaining severe burns to 60% of his body, he endured 33 painful surgeries in order to bring himself back to stability. His purpose on the show is simply to exemplify his pride for his fellow troops and to show that if you try hard enough, you can overcome the obstacles you face in life. Chaz stepped into the dance studio in order to make a statement about transgenders, and "Dancing with the Stars" contributed to his statement. They treated him as a typical 40 year old celebrity, pairing him with a female dance partner, and displaying his struggles to perfect footwork and technique. Yet while millions of fans are rallying behind the Iraq war vet, who coincidentally happens to be one of the best dancers in the group, many are quick to come to support Chaz Bono, who simply wishes to prove that transgenders are no different than any other man or woman.

Joanna Weiss, author of "Moving culture, one dance step at a time", set her sights on Massachusetts residents. After going into lengthy detail about all the cultural aspects the show brings to the table, she then delves into the politics of our state. While many openly support Chaz Bono on "Dancing", the same cannot be said for transgenders in real life, who are constantly being targeted by the public for their decision as a "gender-bender". Weiss brings up the point that while many stand up for the rights of Bono, they fail to reciprocate at the statehouse as legislators struggle to pass a bill prohibiting transgender discrimination. She simply compares the transgenders that so many fear invade our public bathrooms to Bono, when she states, "But what if people saw the bill’s beneficiaries differently: not as strangers in bathrooms, but people next door, trying their best at the cha-cha-cha?" She asks the public of Massachusetts, why not look at it from their perspective?



"Moving culture, one dance step at a time"
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2011/09/25/moving_culture_one_dance_step_at_a_time/