One of the big topics I have been thinking about a lot recently especially, is the role of women in the media. Especially with the song "Blurred Lines" and it's trash bag singer Robin Thicke, who was quoted saying, "What a pleasure it is to degrade a woman." Watching the American music awards last night, every time his name was mentioned as a nomination it sent a pain through my entire being as a human. The song itself is about "blurring the lines of consent" between consensual sexual intercourse and rape. The video shows Thicke using women as objects and props and from the lyrics he's treating them as nothing but sexual beings put on this earth for him and only him. The song is deplorable. Many many people argue for the video saying "it's not about rape oh my god" or "I mean, it has a great beat" (If you like the beat not the song, may i recommend my favorite feminist parody of it here). Thicke is human trash by trying to propose that rape is okay if you "blur the lines of consent", and the song adds to our society's view of rape. Rape culture in America is disgusting, 89,000 rape cases are reported annually, but 60% of all rapes are not reported (statistics here). 1 in 4 college aged women reported being raped/almost being raped since they were 14. However, no one seems to care. Women who get raped were, "asking for it" or "deserved it" or "were sluts anyways". NO WOMAN DESERVES RAPE OR ASKS FOR IT. There is not a single piece of clothing someone can wear that beckons a rapist, nor should clothing be an excuse. That's like saying that if someone wore a hamburger suit, they'd want you to eat them. Honestly, men should know better. In my 12 years of public school, I've never heard a teacher say "Boys, don't rape." It's always "Ladies, watch your clothes" or "Ladies, keep a whistle and pepper spray in your purse at all times". Why is no one telling men to stop!?!!?! Okay and yes, women rape and men do also get raped, BUT the biggest problem in our country is MEN raping WOMEN. It's time to stop romanticizing male aggression towards women (BIGGEST EXAMPLE OF THIS: when I was little, anytime a boy hit me I was told it meant he liked me). Honestly, do people really believe though that when a women is ""scantily clad"" that men everywhere foam at the mouth, and have the urge right there to rape. NO. Men can and need to learn self control when it comes to this topic.

Deadline Discussion

In America race is a huge factor in the criminal justice system. Over time, our country has progressed in terms of race relations, except in this area. People of color make up 30 percent of America's population, however they makeup 60 percent of the Prison population, and that one in three black men can be expected to be arrested in his life time. (Statistics found here) These statistics are shocking to say the least, because it doesn't make sense that so many people of one race could be committing all of these crimes. I think that race is a huge factor in capitol cases because today most of the people on death row awaiting execution are people of color. Most of the crimes in capitol cases also involve the murder of white people, while I'm sure there are crimes just as gruesome committed against people of color. Take many of the cases of murder on the south side of Chicago for example, if two black children and their mother are shot and killed in the street it's still a horrendous crime and it upsets people but that doesn't mean much is always done about it. However if this same crime had happened but the victims were white, I can guarantee the criminal would be on death row. From the film I think that this is further highlighted, many of the wrongly convicted men/men on death row were black, honestly I can only remember one white guy (however I don't have an award winning memory so). This is a huge issue that really needs to be fixed, because it's really awful that most of these people are probably where they are because of their skin color, not because of many of the made up reasons their opponents create to explain why they deserve to be killed. As progressive as our country likes to say it is, it's not?? all that progressive so I don't know where that came from, not having segregation doesn't like instantly absolve racism.