The first video I watched discussed the recent release of a video involving Donald Sterling and his racist remarks towards colored people. Sterling is the owner the NBA team, the LA Clippers and has been known to have been racism for many years now. So shy now do they finally act upon it? Sterling so far has the chance of being banned from the NBA, fined several millions of dollars and would have to sell off his team. As discussed in the video, he would still be walking out on top of it all, considering he could potentially sell the Clippers for at least $800 million if not more. No real justice is served and nothing is fixed, especially the many known lives he has destroyed as he also owns multiple apartment complexes in LA where he has forced people of color out of them or has made their stay there a living nightmare. An interesting point in the video is the sport of "finger waging" and "head shaking", as a society we are quick and easily ready to do those two things, but yet we do not attack this problem at its source. The same thing can be said as stated in the video with colleges and the incidents with rape involving college athletes. These small clubs, groups, towns etc, have grown too close, protective and powerful. Allowing for outrageous crimes, known too have happened be swept under a rug with little justice or punishment. Not only that, college sports in general are based on practically slave labor as athletes get no say about there college life on campus. Being provided no health care, no spot at the table or vote and they are not paid at least an honest wage for the work they provide. While they do get scholarships, sports and classes together leave generally little time to work for any kind of income and many families can not provide a steady flow of an "allowance" to their kid. Instead, athlete are enticed with a hero and limelight like life, parties and girls which is now being pointed at as the root cause for many rape cases.
The second video I watched discusses GMO foods. With the general question if labeling should now be done stating just how much GMO went into the making of the product. Focusing on the state of Vermont because it is very close to passing a bill requiring just that. There is also an overall argument on whether GMO based foods are healthy, detrimental or even just partially healthy for humans especially in long term usage. As until recently not much study has been done as stated in the video on these products being that the large food/seed companies like Monsanto controlled the products and research done. There has also been a rising problem now with pest and weeds harmful to crops are becoming much more resistant and harder too kill off, costing more money to take care and more chemicals too be sprayed over crops. These affect are unknown yet, but people are really starting to question it and demand research outside of the large companies. For myself I believe GMO products can serve a purpose provided they are healthy but this requires extensive research too be handled by people not controlled by the companies. But we should not stray away from a largely based naturally grown product, and it should not come too a point where like now, we are paying x2 - x3 the cost for fresh and natural grown goods. Anything genetically controlled can not be 100% good for you, but like stated in the video it has large affects not on the food and its possible health factor but on the soil, amounts of chemicals used, pest and weeds. These large food/seed GMO companies need to be held under a stricter and close lens.
Jerrod Goertzen
Soc 122
MW 3:30 - 4:50 pm
4/30/14
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