ORGANIZATION 3
The following is a list of organizations I could work with for the MStB project.
1. Tree People
Website
Contact Page
Tree People is an organization dedicated to the bettering of our planet. They have a division dedicated to solutions to many water problems, including runoff into the rivers, bays, streams, oceans, etc. Some of their ideas include 'Graywater' solutions, and reusing the water that has already been used for other purposes. As far as who I'd want to interview, I would probably want to interview someone who's in charge of that category; or who works with that category, to see what they say about the water in San Diego County. 'Media Inquiries' might be a good place to start, and I could go from there.
2. San Diego County Water Authority
Website
I would want to speak to the person who monitors our water and see what they have to think about the way we treat it ; and in asking them about the way we treat it, ask them if there is any way to fix this problem. It would be a good idea to get information on the quality of the water, how people treat it, and how we can stop them from treating it this way.
3. Project Clean Water
Website
Pueblo Watershed Page
I was looking into the Pueblo Watershed, because that is the watershed that I live in. Naturally, people who have taken it upon themselves to make sure that the water is clean and are monitoring the watersheds would have information on what kind of stuff ends up in said watersheds and thus would have ideas on how we can possibly fix it.
GOVERNMENT:
The following is a list of governmental figures or agencies that I could look into to see how they affect the water, or probably more accurately, how they don't affect the water.
1. City of San Diego | Water Department
Water Department Webpage
The Water Department in the city of San Diego is most likely in charge of... well, that's the thing, I'd like to see what they actually do. All I've ever seen from them is notices that say "This water is contaminated, don't go into it." And I don't think people even heed those warnings. So I'd like to see what they actually DO, and if they don't do anything, I could add how that affects the water.
2. San Dieguito Water District
Figure Webpage
I am not sure what this counts as but it looks like a governmental figure of some sort, and that means I could question his motives and what he wants from world domination... wait, wrong topic. Anyway, I could ask him what he thinks about the water situation and what kind of things he thinks could fix it or absolutely destroy it to aid his plans for total aquatic domination.
3. County of San Diego
Long Link Coverage is a GO
This would probably fit under the classification of 'Meant to be taking care of the water but is failing to do so'... or something. I'm not sure. Either way, it would make for good research to see what they have to say about the water in San Diego County, be it near where I live or in some other area close by. It would also be good for potential information seeking to see what kind of stuff would come up from their research, as comparisons to what I come up with in mine.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Editorial Honors Essay
Editorial: The Foolish Ideals of William Jennings Bryan
by Nikita Atrash October 18th – October 22nd
As a nation, we as a people must band together to solve common issues within our states. It is only through a combined efforts which our greatest accomplishments come to pass. Then why should it be that our country is locked in such turmoil? Surely, the economy is to blame, what with bimetallism in the forms of the Gold Standard and Free Silver, as well as the economic depression left over from the Panic of 1893. With the Presidential Elections on their way, we as a country must pick a man to lead us through these times… and that man is not William Jennings Bryan.
The belief that we can trust in his ‘Free Silver’ is abhorrent, ridiculous, and just plain silly. Those in support of Free Silver often say that, because we have more silver than gold, it is more efficient to use as money. However, this is exactly why we cannot use silver. When it comes to the creation of money, you are allowed to create as much money as you have the resources for. Because there is much more silver than gold, a 16-1 ratio, as those in support would brag, much more money than we already have would be created. However, when a lot of money is created in a very short amount of time, as is generally culture when trying to create more money, the value of that money will go down, and in turn, inflation will go up, resulting in an even worse situation than the country was in to begin with.
The idea of 16-1, which is used to boast the effectiveness of free silver, is also yet another reason why free silver is a bad idea. 16-1 means that 16 ounces of silver were to be equal in value to one ounce of gold. If free silver were instigated, we’d suddenly have 16 times more money than we did before, and we’d have absolutely nothing to do with it, because the sudden amount of money would make said money completely worthless. And what happens when we run out of silver? We’ll suddenly have a blatant shortage of inflated money, and the value of it will suddenly go skyrocketing, resulting in an even bigger economic crisis than we had in the first place.
The belief behind free silver is that it will cure our economic crisis and allow the people who are poor to make a living in these harsh times. However, this would also mean that the people who have the money and are already rich would become poor, and then they would be able to find money to make them rich while the people who became rich become poor again. The cycle would continually repeat, until we inevitably run out of money to become rich with, and end up with one group of rich people and one group of poor people all over again… most likely with the people who were rich in the first place being the group with all the money and power once again.
William Jennings Bryan has supported Free Silver as the means of fixing all of our economic-related issues. However, in praising it, he has forgotten to check it for even the simplest of errors. Bryan has ensured his loss in the election by praising an idea that simply will not work and will only get the economy into a worse state than it was to begin with. By proposing quick-solve ideas, Bryan has proved his incompetence as a financial manager and therefore shown that he is in no position to be running the country in these times of great crisis. So when election day comes around, and you are looking at your ballot before you vote, please think of our future as a country and do not vote for William Jennings Bryan.
Sources:
-Frank Atrash
-http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/currency.html
-http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h763.html
by Nikita Atrash October 18th – October 22nd
As a nation, we as a people must band together to solve common issues within our states. It is only through a combined efforts which our greatest accomplishments come to pass. Then why should it be that our country is locked in such turmoil? Surely, the economy is to blame, what with bimetallism in the forms of the Gold Standard and Free Silver, as well as the economic depression left over from the Panic of 1893. With the Presidential Elections on their way, we as a country must pick a man to lead us through these times… and that man is not William Jennings Bryan.
The belief that we can trust in his ‘Free Silver’ is abhorrent, ridiculous, and just plain silly. Those in support of Free Silver often say that, because we have more silver than gold, it is more efficient to use as money. However, this is exactly why we cannot use silver. When it comes to the creation of money, you are allowed to create as much money as you have the resources for. Because there is much more silver than gold, a 16-1 ratio, as those in support would brag, much more money than we already have would be created. However, when a lot of money is created in a very short amount of time, as is generally culture when trying to create more money, the value of that money will go down, and in turn, inflation will go up, resulting in an even worse situation than the country was in to begin with.
The idea of 16-1, which is used to boast the effectiveness of free silver, is also yet another reason why free silver is a bad idea. 16-1 means that 16 ounces of silver were to be equal in value to one ounce of gold. If free silver were instigated, we’d suddenly have 16 times more money than we did before, and we’d have absolutely nothing to do with it, because the sudden amount of money would make said money completely worthless. And what happens when we run out of silver? We’ll suddenly have a blatant shortage of inflated money, and the value of it will suddenly go skyrocketing, resulting in an even bigger economic crisis than we had in the first place.
The belief behind free silver is that it will cure our economic crisis and allow the people who are poor to make a living in these harsh times. However, this would also mean that the people who have the money and are already rich would become poor, and then they would be able to find money to make them rich while the people who became rich become poor again. The cycle would continually repeat, until we inevitably run out of money to become rich with, and end up with one group of rich people and one group of poor people all over again… most likely with the people who were rich in the first place being the group with all the money and power once again.
William Jennings Bryan has supported Free Silver as the means of fixing all of our economic-related issues. However, in praising it, he has forgotten to check it for even the simplest of errors. Bryan has ensured his loss in the election by praising an idea that simply will not work and will only get the economy into a worse state than it was to begin with. By proposing quick-solve ideas, Bryan has proved his incompetence as a financial manager and therefore shown that he is in no position to be running the country in these times of great crisis. So when election day comes around, and you are looking at your ballot before you vote, please think of our future as a country and do not vote for William Jennings Bryan.
Sources:
-Frank Atrash
-http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/currency.html
-http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h763.html
Blog #16- In which copy-pasting is done
From Kim's idea #1, I thought that it might be a good idea to incorporate quality work into my piece... no, I'm kidding, my ideas all have to do with hand drawn stuff. But in all seriousness, it would be in my best interest to make sure that anything I produce for the project is of the utmost quality so my work does not look amateurish and like I am still in 10th grade.
Blog Post
(just so you know, I now support Kim x Eleni.)
From Jasmine J's Blog 15, I realized that it would be fun to play with a timeline idea in my project. To show how things change over time, it would be interesting to see what kind of ideas would come out of using a timeline to show how the quality of the beach and water has changed over the years, or to show a short timeline of how things change through one or more people's influence.
Blog Post
(I would assume the 1993 comes from her birth year, but...)
From Lynn's Possible MSB Products, I learned that I should take into account technique and certain ways of doing things when I work on my final product. Instead of just recklessly taking pictures, I should focus things like lighting or shot angles into my product. It would work more effectively and I could get some decent photography from the occasion.
Blog Post
Blog Post
(just so you know, I now support Kim x Eleni.)
From Jasmine J's Blog 15, I realized that it would be fun to play with a timeline idea in my project. To show how things change over time, it would be interesting to see what kind of ideas would come out of using a timeline to show how the quality of the beach and water has changed over the years, or to show a short timeline of how things change through one or more people's influence.
Blog Post
(I would assume the 1993 comes from her birth year, but...)
From Lynn's Possible MSB Products, I learned that I should take into account technique and certain ways of doing things when I work on my final product. Instead of just recklessly taking pictures, I should focus things like lighting or shot angles into my product. It would work more effectively and I could get some decent photography from the occasion.
Blog Post
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Honors History Bashing of Politicians Draft
Please note that this is a rough draft that is intended to be terrible. I am simply getting my thoughts down on paper before I fine-tune it into a decent looking essay. I find this works well, rather than just trying to write something decent in a rough draft and struggling to get ideas down.Editorial: The Foolish Ideas of William Jennings Bryan
By Nikita Atrash
The power of free silver is amazing! That is, if you honestly believe there is an infinite amount of silver in the world. Silver is a rare artifact, not to mention it's shiny so it's sought after by the shiny thieves of the world. They are known as the Silver Thieves! And Silver is rare so it's worth lots of money, but if you start using Silver all over the country people will get paychecks of two cents! A whole two cents! You can buy candy with that and get your teeth rotted and then go to the dentist but YOU HAVE NO MONEY BECAUSE YOU SPENT IT ON CANDY! Amazing, am I right? Silver is not an infinite resource, believe it or not! It is finite, and when it runs out, what are you going to do? Not to mention that it's been defeated in the past when it's been brought up in politics. There is no middle ground with Free Silver! The rich people get nothing and the poor people get everything. Then the poor people get rich and the rich people get poor, and it reverses, and it goes on until there is no silver left! And what happens when there is no silver left? FREE SILVER CAN NO LONGER BE ALIVE! And we are all in a national debt crisis because the means of money is suddenly gone!
Monsieur William Jennings Bryan is a fool to think that people will go along with his prohibitionist ideals. Some of our best ideas come from alcohol, and the sheer joy of drinking alcohol, as well as the fact that people often make friends in public places, especially bars. Some of the most productive members of society might even come around from mishaps with alcohol! I am sure the sheer joys of drinking alcohol outweigh any potential benefits from banning it, not to mention that society would probably just continue on drinking it anyway, even if it were illegal. Because that's how things work, if something is illegal, it's just more likely that people will want it. After the Civil War, voting became legal for black people, and it became illegal to try and halt their votes based on race. And yet, people in the South created laws that would still halt their votes - you had to be literate, or your grandfather had to be able to vote, and so on. Making the purchase and drinking of alcohol illegal would make it even more sought after than it originally was. Also obligatory Captain Jack Sparrow line: "But why is the rum gone?"
Also, if we elect William Jennings Bryan, we will all die fiery deaths because he is an advocate of Presbyterianism. Don't ask me why, it's probably something along the lines of us being a country where you have freedom of religion and anyone in the christian faith has a tendency to force their views on other people (God, Jesus Christ, etc). And I know that's not something from 1896 but DAMNIT I WILL FIND SOME WAY TO LINK IT. Or maybe not. But still.
AND THAT IS ALL FOR THIS VERY BAD DRAFT ENJOY YOUR DAY GOOD SIR AND/OR MA'AM.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Blog #15- Possible MSB Products
Art Piece:
>A painting or colored picture depicting how polluted water affects the human body, whether through illnesses, therefore addressing the sub-question of "How does the water pollute us?".
>An example I could use is in this clip, featuring spiders getting high. This video provides a good example of the way that sudden changes to your body can affect your normal system of functioning.
>I could take the specific effects, only for an art piece I'd need a visual representation of them, and place them in the image to show how the body is affected.
>Instead of spiders for the Canadian Wildlife I would use people for the human... wildlife... or something along those lines anyway. This would be done to show the connection between humans and the water, similar to how they showed the similar effects spiders had to the drugs.
>I could also draw the picture in stages- for instance have a diagram or multiple pictures- that detail the adding in of the water and then how the body deteriorates from there. (For instance, the stages of giardia, etc.)
Stop Motion Video:
>A stop motion video depicting people polluting the water and then being affected by the pollution itself in the long run, also answering the question "How does the water pollute us?" but also answering "How do we pollute the water?"
> This video provides a good example of stop-motion, which I could apply the principles of to a stop motion video that I might make.
>The effect of swapping real items with drawings on the board would be interesting to experiment with and might make the video more meaningful.
>The consistency in the artwork would be a good idea to work with - inconsistency would not be a good thing to be working with, especially for stop motion, which would have to flow together well in order to make a good video.
>However, I would try and keep the camera more steady than it was in the video to make it look more professional - have a friend with a tripod or use one myself, for instance.
>A painting or colored picture depicting how polluted water affects the human body, whether through illnesses, therefore addressing the sub-question of "How does the water pollute us?".
>An example I could use is in this clip, featuring spiders getting high. This video provides a good example of the way that sudden changes to your body can affect your normal system of functioning.
>I could take the specific effects, only for an art piece I'd need a visual representation of them, and place them in the image to show how the body is affected.
>Instead of spiders for the Canadian Wildlife I would use people for the human... wildlife... or something along those lines anyway. This would be done to show the connection between humans and the water, similar to how they showed the similar effects spiders had to the drugs.
>I could also draw the picture in stages- for instance have a diagram or multiple pictures- that detail the adding in of the water and then how the body deteriorates from there. (For instance, the stages of giardia, etc.)
Stop Motion Video:
>A stop motion video depicting people polluting the water and then being affected by the pollution itself in the long run, also answering the question "How does the water pollute us?" but also answering "How do we pollute the water?"
> This video provides a good example of stop-motion, which I could apply the principles of to a stop motion video that I might make.
>The effect of swapping real items with drawings on the board would be interesting to experiment with and might make the video more meaningful.
>The consistency in the artwork would be a good idea to work with - inconsistency would not be a good thing to be working with, especially for stop motion, which would have to flow together well in order to make a good video.
>However, I would try and keep the camera more steady than it was in the video to make it look more professional - have a friend with a tripod or use one myself, for instance.
Blog #14- MSB Questions & Resources
Essential Question:
>Why and/or how does water get contaminated/polluted?
Sub-Quesions:
>How long does it last?
>How can it be reversed/fixed? Do people clean it up?
>How does the water pollute us?
Resources:
>Guest teachers from the Point Loma Sewage Treatment Plant
>Photographs from the Point Loma Sewage Treatment Plant
>Photographs of sewage pipes that lead out into the bay/ocean
>Interviews with Surfrider
>First-hand accounts of people affected by the pollution
>Heal The Bay
Sentences:
>Reading reports off of groups like Heal the Bay or Surfrider's websites would contribute research to compare our results to. Depending on how results are compared, we could come up with different statistics about the water around us.
>Why and/or how does water get contaminated/polluted?
Sub-Quesions:
>How long does it last?
>How can it be reversed/fixed? Do people clean it up?
>How does the water pollute us?
Resources:
>Guest teachers from the Point Loma Sewage Treatment Plant
>Photographs from the Point Loma Sewage Treatment Plant
>Photographs of sewage pipes that lead out into the bay/ocean
>Interviews with Surfrider
>First-hand accounts of people affected by the pollution
>Heal The Bay
Sentences:
>Reading reports off of groups like Heal the Bay or Surfrider's websites would contribute research to compare our results to. Depending on how results are compared, we could come up with different statistics about the water around us.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Blog #13- Industrialization & Water
"In California, solar developers have already been forced to switch to less water-intensive technologies when local officials have refused to turn on the tap. Other big solar projects are mired in disputes with state regulators over water consumption."> The main issue is that people are trying to develop new ways of using energy, but those methods are requiring water for their operations. Solar power plants need to be cooled down with water, etc. Some people are upset that their water reserves would be used to make new energy (what's energy without water?), while others want to progress forward, and thus there is conflict. Industrialization is conflicting with people's needs as human beings.
-http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/30/business/energy-environment/30water.html?hp
>The thing missing is whether or not ocean water would be able to be used instead of the water we use to live by. It is also lacking in the fact that there are other ways to cool down things (wind, for one), or simply building structures out of things that do not heat up easily. Might cost more but would save money in the long run.
>The first thing I would do is pick a side- I would have to pick whether or not I wanted to defend the use of water for helping with alternative energy. Then I would state my argument and support my points with other evidence - with the energy made, we could clean out other water we're using to reuse on one side of the argument, and on the other we could find other ways to keep the plants cool and use that energy for other things.
Friday, October 9, 2009
To BeLoved
A brief note before we begin - The lack of punctuation/capitalization is intentional. It is done to mimic the style of the quote at the start of the analysis.
“I am Beloved and she is mine. I see her take flowers away from leaves she puts them in a round basket the leaves are not for her she fills the basket she opens the grass I would help her but the clouds are in the way how can I say things that are pictures I am separate from her there is no place where I stop her face is my own and I want to be there in the place where her face is and look at it too a hot thing”
-Beloved by Toni Morrison, Page 200
Culture shock. It is hard to bear hard to understand hard to deal with hard to let go of the reintroduction of someone you thought you had lost forever into your family the pain of losing someone having to feel the pain of having killed them having to feel the pain of taking care of them catering to their every need making sure they’re happy because when they’re happy you’re happy to be clashed by the moral decision of wanting to take care of someone you love pitted against the decision of being able to work to be able to take care of that someone but having to be away from them you do not want to be away from them you want to be with them protect them cherish them love them treasure them hold them be sure that they’re safe from the white man who wants to take them all away
murder is justified to ensure safety the only safe place is the other side where no white man no black man no white woman no black woman no thing no body no person can lay a finger on the thing that needs to be safe Sethe killed Beloved so she would be safe so nobody would reach her so that she could die and be with Beloved forever they would be safe from black man white man white woman black woman every thing every body every person who wanted to harm them They would be safe but Beloved didn’t want that she wanted her mother to feel guilt to become one with her mother to control her to make her feel the pain the suffering the loneliness the emptiness the loneliness
because of the inner conflict Denver had to leave the house and venture into the town outside she got a job working at a white household where she told them what was happening the town began to gather together after hearing Denver’s story realizing that they should help her and Sethe to defend themselves from the spirit perhaps it was Denver leaving home and thanking the town perhaps it was how they all know Baby Suggs who was Denver’s grandmother perhaps it was just everyone coming together for the sake of a fellow black person who needed their help but Denver was forced to grow to help her mother be freed to save her and to save herself and to release the spirit of Beloved and to strengthen the bond that her and her mother share
Bare feet and chamomile sap
Took off my shoes; took off my hat
Bare feet and chamomile sap
Gimmie back my shoes; gimme back my hat.
Lay my head on a potato sack,
Devil sneak up behind my back.
Steam engine got a lonesome whine;
Love that woman till you go stone blind.
Stone blind; stone blind.
Sweet Home gal make you lose your mind.
-Beloved by Toni Morrison, Page 249
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Blog #11- In Which Questions Are Asked
Question #1-
-> How does pollution affect surfers?
-> Being in polluted waters as often as they are will naturally have negative impacts - apparently, Chris Olivas got sick last year and I know I got sick from swimming in Mission Bay.
Question #2-
-> How does pollution affect the animals, and vise versa?
-> Animals are affected by the trash on the beaches, but they also might be contributing to it or helping clean it up (by bringing it to their young, thereby making a cycle). It would be interesting to illustrate how these things are related.
Question #3-
-> How does all the pollution come back to us?
-> I think people would be more inclined to do something if there was some sort of visible consequence. And by visible, I mean something they can actually see - not people saying 'The water will run out' or people saying 'We'll all die', but something tangible, that people can actually be motivated by to say 'I should do something, if not for the environment then for myself.'
-> How does pollution affect surfers?
-> Being in polluted waters as often as they are will naturally have negative impacts - apparently, Chris Olivas got sick last year and I know I got sick from swimming in Mission Bay.
Question #2-
-> How does pollution affect the animals, and vise versa?
-> Animals are affected by the trash on the beaches, but they also might be contributing to it or helping clean it up (by bringing it to their young, thereby making a cycle). It would be interesting to illustrate how these things are related.
Question #3-
-> How does all the pollution come back to us?
-> I think people would be more inclined to do something if there was some sort of visible consequence. And by visible, I mean something they can actually see - not people saying 'The water will run out' or people saying 'We'll all die', but something tangible, that people can actually be motivated by to say 'I should do something, if not for the environment then for myself.'
Friday, October 2, 2009
Honors History Writing #1
A False Ideology
by Nikita Atrash September 29th – October 2nd 2009
"It's about time. Someone who's white got to stand up and say, 'Our civil rights were violated,'" Hannah Westerman said today after a successful trial. Throughout the trial, she was confident, as if she thought she would be able to bend the trial in any way that she wanted. Once the trial had concluded, both the black boy’s mothers and the white women taking part in the trial burst into tears – all of them except for Hannah, that is. People in Billy’s Bar celebrated the verdict, down the street at Janie’s Market trucks pulled into the gas pump with rebel flags in their beds, and banners appeared in windows along the main street. It was a cause for celebration in the small town of Guthrie, Kentucky.
The trial was to deem whether four young teenage black boys, all of who were tried as adults, would be put in jail. They were tried for the crimes of first-degree murder, civil rights intimidation, and aggravated attempted kidnapping. The trial had to be held in front of a judge without a jury because any potential viewers in the jury would be completely biased against the defense. Aside from two witnesses – Hannah Westerman, who was the victim’s wife, and Tony Andrews, who was a passenger in the car – there was no real evidence for the trial. Thus, the trial mostly revolved around “what Freddie’s attorney called ‘the cockroach defense.’ If you lack strong evidence that might exonerate your client, he told me, ‘you shit all over what the other side’s got.’” The defendants were found guilty on all charges, aside from one who was apparently 'just in it for the ride'.
The idea that the Civil War is the start of Modern America is entirely false. Ideologies, beliefs, even the way people act and think has not changed in many parts of the country. When a white man thinks badly of a black man, it is because of racism rather than the character of either man. When a black man shoots a white man in the southern town of Guthrie, the entire white population of the town jumps on the story and claims that he was the first to die for the rebel flag in over a hundred and thirty years. Ceremonies and festivals were held in his honor and his biography was even re-written to match his new ‘confederate style’. Next to Michael’s grave was “an iron cross identical to those marking the graves of actual rebel veterans, with C.S.A. on one side and 1861-1865 on the other, beside the Confederate motto, Deo Vindice. With God As Our Defender.” People may call this Modern America, but in actuality it is the same as so long ago.
If this were truly Modern America, people would not still continue to be affected by the civil war, even in the days that it has been declared over. Even people in the most secluded places in the country have some link to the civil war, even if it may not be as direct as someone else has. Relatives who died fighting what appears to be a pointless battle – even if many of the ideas brought in by the civil war are in effect today in places in the North, these are the places that originally believed in and fought for these ideas. The places they were trying to change still do not have those same ideals, do not treat black men in the way that they should, and would even yell ‘You lie’ at the president during a speech on health care – not because they disagree with him, but because of his skin color.
It is evident in the streets people walk on, the monuments that have been made both in honor of soldiers who fell in combat years ago and ordinary civilians who were killed in ‘honor of the confederates’, like Michael Westerman, and the special occasions that often grace the town- from cross burnings to concerts where bands will play ‘Dixie’, a popular song in the Confederate States of America from the Civil War.
“Look at this,” he said, opening an album of family history he’d been given by his sister, Brenda Arms. David ran his finger along a list of rebel ancestors: one captured, another shot dead at Gettysburg, and a private “killed in action, 24th May, 1862.” His age was listed as nineteen.”
“Just like Michael,” David said. He wiped his eyes. “They say that war ended a long time ago. But around here it’s like it’s still going on.”
by Nikita Atrash September 29th – October 2nd 2009
"It's about time. Someone who's white got to stand up and say, 'Our civil rights were violated,'" Hannah Westerman said today after a successful trial. Throughout the trial, she was confident, as if she thought she would be able to bend the trial in any way that she wanted. Once the trial had concluded, both the black boy’s mothers and the white women taking part in the trial burst into tears – all of them except for Hannah, that is. People in Billy’s Bar celebrated the verdict, down the street at Janie’s Market trucks pulled into the gas pump with rebel flags in their beds, and banners appeared in windows along the main street. It was a cause for celebration in the small town of Guthrie, Kentucky.
The trial was to deem whether four young teenage black boys, all of who were tried as adults, would be put in jail. They were tried for the crimes of first-degree murder, civil rights intimidation, and aggravated attempted kidnapping. The trial had to be held in front of a judge without a jury because any potential viewers in the jury would be completely biased against the defense. Aside from two witnesses – Hannah Westerman, who was the victim’s wife, and Tony Andrews, who was a passenger in the car – there was no real evidence for the trial. Thus, the trial mostly revolved around “what Freddie’s attorney called ‘the cockroach defense.’ If you lack strong evidence that might exonerate your client, he told me, ‘you shit all over what the other side’s got.’” The defendants were found guilty on all charges, aside from one who was apparently 'just in it for the ride'.
The idea that the Civil War is the start of Modern America is entirely false. Ideologies, beliefs, even the way people act and think has not changed in many parts of the country. When a white man thinks badly of a black man, it is because of racism rather than the character of either man. When a black man shoots a white man in the southern town of Guthrie, the entire white population of the town jumps on the story and claims that he was the first to die for the rebel flag in over a hundred and thirty years. Ceremonies and festivals were held in his honor and his biography was even re-written to match his new ‘confederate style’. Next to Michael’s grave was “an iron cross identical to those marking the graves of actual rebel veterans, with C.S.A. on one side and 1861-1865 on the other, beside the Confederate motto, Deo Vindice. With God As Our Defender.” People may call this Modern America, but in actuality it is the same as so long ago.
If this were truly Modern America, people would not still continue to be affected by the civil war, even in the days that it has been declared over. Even people in the most secluded places in the country have some link to the civil war, even if it may not be as direct as someone else has. Relatives who died fighting what appears to be a pointless battle – even if many of the ideas brought in by the civil war are in effect today in places in the North, these are the places that originally believed in and fought for these ideas. The places they were trying to change still do not have those same ideals, do not treat black men in the way that they should, and would even yell ‘You lie’ at the president during a speech on health care – not because they disagree with him, but because of his skin color.
It is evident in the streets people walk on, the monuments that have been made both in honor of soldiers who fell in combat years ago and ordinary civilians who were killed in ‘honor of the confederates’, like Michael Westerman, and the special occasions that often grace the town- from cross burnings to concerts where bands will play ‘Dixie’, a popular song in the Confederate States of America from the Civil War.
“Look at this,” he said, opening an album of family history he’d been given by his sister, Brenda Arms. David ran his finger along a list of rebel ancestors: one captured, another shot dead at Gettysburg, and a private “killed in action, 24th May, 1862.” His age was listed as nineteen.”
“Just like Michael,” David said. He wiped his eyes. “They say that war ended a long time ago. But around here it’s like it’s still going on.”
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