Outside Reading Blog #4

A lot happened in chapters 11-14. Piper was able to trade jobs from electrician to a construction worker because of the offensive things that her boss had said to her and some of the prisoners she worked with. I didn't ever think that the people that work for the prison could cross the line with the prisoners by saying inappropriate things or even getting involved with a prisoner. I would think that the prison workers have to try and show the prisoners how to make a lifestyle change, not talk to them in degrading tones and use offensive language towards them. In chapter 13, Piper talked about how there was this one woman who would always talk and flirt with one of the workers. I know that any kind of relationship with a prison worker is prohibited but I think that they need to notice if any kind of relationship is starting and take care of the prisoner by sending her to a separate place. It seems a little extreme but I think that in prison most women end up understanding that they want to make a lifestyle change and they won't be able to achieve any of those things if they have the chance the form a relationship. From what I've read of the book, it has made me feel like I'm in the prison with them. Piper is really great at describing all of the situations that she is in and that is what makes it so easy for me to be so opinionated about the different situations because I really feel like I am there in the prison with her.

Outside Reading Blog #3

In chapters 8-10 it demonstrated a lot of how close the women in the prison got to be. They celebrated birthdays together, cooked together and celebrated when women were leaving the prison together. I thought that it was really interesting that even in prison Piper had managed to make cheesecake out of the scarce amount of ingredients she was given. Her cheesecakes were huge hits at every celebration they had in the prison. She shared her recipe with many and they all praised her for making the cheesecake for dessert. Seeing how much the women would share with each other gave me a sense of community in prison. I never expected that there would be any sense of community in a place that was always thought about so poorly. Chapter 10 focuses a lot about the schoolwork that they are doing in the prison. A lot of women try and get their GED while other women have classes that they are taking in prison and those classes are really important to them. Piper helps her bunkie Natalie prepare for the GED test which she finally is able to pass after multiple times of taking it. Piper explains that she feels like breaking down and crying when Natalie finally passes her test. This warms my heart because it shows me how strong relationships in prison and get even if you don't plan on becoming good friends with anyone in prison. Piper also helps Mrs. Jones with a class that she needs to get an A in. Piper helps her write papers and helps her with certain activities from the classroom. This reminds me of my friends and I because we are always helping each other out with homework problems that we don't understand or helping each other come up with ideas for essays. Reading about the community that's formed it makes me realize how closely related school life and prison life are besides the very restrict policies in prison.

Newtown Shootings

After the recent shootings in Newtown, Connecticut I am finally old enough to understand how terrible the shooting really was. When the Columbine shooting happened, I was only four years old so I didn't know anything about what had happened in Colorado. The shooting is obviously something so tragic that has happened to our country but something that I saw on Facebook has made a big impact on how I view this situation. The quote that I saw on Facebook was supposedly from Morgan Freeman but I don't think that he actually had said it. Regardless of who said it or not, it still got me thinking. The quote was saying that the reason these people go out and do these massive shootings is because of the way the media portrays the killer. The quote was saying how the thought process of these killers is so messed up that they would rather leave their lives well known than leave as a nobody so they do things like massive shootings. The main point of the quote that stuck out to me was "do you know the name of a single victim of Columbine?" Thinking about the many situations that have happened; Virgina Tech, the Batman Movie and now in Connecticut. I doubt that there are not many people that can name a victim of these terrible tragedies, certainly I cannot. This made me take a look at this situation and decide that I shouldn't focus on the rumors that are going around and not focus on the media so much. I could never imagine being in the situation that those families are in and the last thing that I want is for the killer to get more media attention. The only thing left to add is please turn off the news channels!

Outside Reading Blog #2

In chapters 5-7, Piper talked a lot about the friendships she was making and how important they were to her. She created strong relationships with the people in Room 6, the first room she lived in, and the people she lives with now in Dorm B. I really admired the way that she is able to gain trust with a lot of different women even though she moved to a different area of the prison. She had strengthened relationships with people she never thought she would be friends with. In particular with another inmate named Pop. She was always so tough on the outside and after a negative run-in with Pop in a previous chapter, Piper wanted to avoid her. After a mutual friend was leaving for a drug program, Piper took the chance at becoming closer with Pop and she didn't look back. It was inspiring to me how Piper could push past the negative interaction before and become friends with Pop, because becoming friends with other women in prison doesn't seem like an easy thing to do. The other thing that was amazing to me was how each prisoner supported each other when they were down, even if they weren't friends. The last chapter that I read was about how everything involving the visiting hours worked. There were different emotions from the prisoners that everyone was able to read and everyone was there for the person that was upset. It made me really happy to see that in a place where nothing was going right for anyone, they were always able to support each other through the good and bad times.

Abortion

After reading the CQ researcher packet we received in class, I realized that there are a lot things that I disagree with. I am pro-choice, I think that the women who is pregnant has the right to do whatever she pleases with the unborn child. After reading the packet I was surprised to see the amount of things some states must do before a women get an abortion. They were saying that the doctor has to show the women the ultrasound image of the fetus before she has the abortion. That makes me really mad because that's basically like guilt tripping them into not giving the abortion because as a girl see a picture of a baby I know it hits my heart and if I were to see an ultrasound image of the fetus I would definitely back out of the abortion. In the packet it also said that in Montana it is  "required that a women be told that a fetus feels pain during an abortion and that an abortion ends the life of 'a separate, unique, living human being.'" How does the state of Montana actually think that it is okay to tell the women that it hurts the child and then think that they are going to go through with the abortion. I think that the woman should decide what she wants to do without anyone telling her or showing her anything before she decides to go through with it. The woman is clearly making this decision because she feels this is the best option for her for whatever reason, but that reason should be left alone and not brought up.

Outside Reading Blog Post #1

For my outside reading assignment I chose to read Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman. This book is a memoir about Piper's experience from her early 20s to when she was sent to federal prison for transporting drug money a decade before her case. During the first chapter of the book it talks about everything she was involved with after her college life and how she got involved with the things she got involved with. In the second chapter she talks about how her life had changed instantly from this trial, she was on the right life track but her past caught up with her. The third chapter really talks about the transition she made from real life into the prison. What I found the most interesting from chapter four is that when she talked about how during her transition from a "newbie" to just a regular prisoner, she talked about how there were different "tribes" of women that took care of the women. They mostly were racially bias unless the people from the prison were just sincerely that kind. I was shocked to see how much racial bias still plays effect into the real world. I wasn't oblivious to the bias before I just didn't think that in a place where everyone is going through a tough time and they're all kind of in the same situation, that there would be so much racial bias. This book really intrigued me because it talks about how she was charged with her crime a decade after she did the crime. On the back of the book there are review quotes and one that stuck out to me from the L.A. Times was, "This book is impossible to put down because [Kerman] could be you. Or your best friend. Or your daughter." This quote made me think about how easily it could be you or someone that you know. Relating this quote to Kerman's situation made me realize how many people think that they're invincible and they're not. Kids around here think that they can get away with anything they want and by only reading four chapters of this book, I've realized how untrue that is. Kerman had just graduated college when she committed the crime and she probably thought that she would never get caught but with something that big, there is no way that her crime would be able to be a secret. I'm not trying to "hate" on the kids around here but there are some people that think they can get away with anything and I think that this book would be very helpful for them to read because it shows that if they make that one bad choice when they're kids, it could effect their life when they are adults.

Long Term Effects of Sports

The game of football impacts many of the players for the long term. There have been many cases of suicides due to the effects that the sport has on the player. Just yesterday the Kansas City Chiefs linebacker, Jovan Belcher, killed his girlfriend and then shot himself in the head after. Football is pretty bad contact sport that can destroy your brain as you continue in the sport. In the past couple of years there have been professional sports players that have committed suicide and have had their brain undergo tests to see if there has been any damage. Dave Duerson and Junior Seau are two players that have recently took their life due to brain damage. The continuous hits on a players body can contribute to brain damage that can cause depression and other brain conditions. Mike Webster is an example of someone who was diagnosed with depression, dementia and amnesia even before retiring from the NFL. Even though I think the sport is still pretty rough I think after seeing so many examples the NFL organization stepped up their concussion policies. I think that being more strict on concussion policies it will better the lives of the players after they retire. No one wants to see someone lose their life over the effects of doing something they love, so being more strict about the concussion policies will be a positive rule for the future.