Archive
You’re not the boss of me…!
For the record, the whole idea of Conquering Earth is out the window. That was just a far -lung flight of fancy that, while they were here, our alien buds decided was worth trying…for whatever reason. But, how cool would it be to hang w/ Ed? I mean, c’mon–look at him! Anyway, friends, it’s a Wednesday! Have an AWESOME one…!
WordPress Smiley Face
If you are someone who is on wordpress accounts regularly, you have probably seen the smiley face. He is a seemingly omni-present entity that lurks the pages of wordpress, watching and waiting for the time when he will rise and devour the inhabitants that mock his presence, sending them into a pit of eternal damnation to where no one escapes.
At least, thats what I like to think. In case you havnt spotted him, he’s either on the right side of this page, or the bottom depending on what screen size you have.
Like chlorine in the water, I think the government is using him to control us. For all we know, there could be subliminal messages inbedded into his creepy, perverted smile, telling us to bow down to authorities. Many people believe the government has powers over the internet never before known, this could be it.
Then again, he could be a spy for wordpress itself. His calming, almost gentle smile could very well be a cover for wordpress’s devious motives of influence. I would imagine his mission would be along the lines of spying on bloggers to make sure we do what we’re told.
Still though, you cannot dismiss the possibility of alien influence. I suspect that in sending a reconissence team to investigate the likelyhood of invasion, they would implement measures to keep tabs on our news and information sharing. What better way than to stick a face on our blogs and watch us from afar?
But of course there are those crazies that believe hes an html function on blogs to allow access to stats infromation for domain holders, but who believes that crap? I do not know how long this entry will stay alive until whatever authority behind the smiley comes for me. Save these words, for they may be my last!
-Trenton Stahl
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Copyright Notice
Advanced Apathy by Trenton Stahl is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. In addition, all moral rights are reserved.
Advanced Apathy 
Cameras In Classrooms: The Pros And Cons
Having just recently started attending public school, I have found the topic of cameras interesting. Something I have noticed is that no one seems to care. People go about their day oblivious to the round, black semi-spheres that watch their every move as they go about their business. It seems to no one that this is a problem. Let me give you two opinions on the subject.
Yes, we are watching.
Pros:
Being what they are, and what their purpose is, it isn’t too hard to make an argument for cameras in school. Currently, they are only in the hallways and this allows for privacy in the classroom. If someone were to be hurt in the hallways, and accusations were flung, it is simple to see what happened and why.
I am sure there are many instances when a person is accused of doing some wrong and not being able to defend themselves. No doubt those people would have loved having irrefutable evidence of their innocence, I know I would have appreciated it in varying situations with my past.
And lets not forget another important way it could be important for student arguments: evil teachers. If you have ever had any serious problems in school with authority, you can agree that administrators almost always take the side of the teacher in a he-said, she-said predicament. Let me give you an example; your a student in a classroom and your breath is terrible, and a girl you really like is about to sit down next to you. Being the stud you want to portray, you take a piece of gum and are about to begin chewing, when you remember you aren’t allowed to chew gum in that room. You put it away and simply go about the class period.
Detention!
Now, at the end of class you are about to leave but the teacher asks you to stay after class for a minute. They tell you they saw you chewing gum and issue you a detention. You object, explaining the situation. They don’t believe you and proceed to take you to the principals office because your being disrespectful. There, the principal automatically takes the side of the teacher just because shes in charge.
THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED TO ME. And I know I would have wanted a video to prove me right and the evil mistaken teacher wrong. So what could be bad about having cameras in the classroom?
Cons:
The slippery slope is whats wrong. The intrinsic problem with giving power to people is that it will eventually be abused. Some argue that our school system is not as easily corruptible as, say, the government. However, this has been shown to be false, as seen in Safford United School District No. 1 v. Redding. In this case, a 13 year old was strip searched at school, without any kind of parental contact, under the belief that she had ibuprofen. She didn’t. The fact remains that any system needs checks and balances to its authority, or else people and powers are abused.
So, what could be done with cameras? Think about that for a second. At this moment, many public schools already have cameras in the hallway without problems, seeing everything. If they are in the classrooms then there really is no privacy anywhere (except maybe the restrooms). What will happen then is up to your imagination. Conversations between students could no longer be private, any small indiscretion and slip of the tongue will be remembered always, and if anything is said that does not meet the standards of the establishment…well, just read 1984 by Orwell to get a picture of what I mean.
Conclusion:
In a perfect world, you could trust the government and their representatives (school) to carry out the law equally and fairly. However, since this not a perfect world, we cannot. The fact is we need to not allow ourselves to give up every right we have, in the case being privacy. So much of our lives are monitored and watched, that I can’t help but feel we shouldn’t force upon the students of America any more pressure than we already are.
Because, really, how much more as students can we deal with?
-Trenton Stahl
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.