Kony 2012

Recently, there has been a huge viral movement involving Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a Ugandan guerilla group. Kony is known throughout Uganda and now, throughout the world, thanks to a 30 minute video by the organization, Invisible Children, Inc. The video aims to spread awareness about Kony's vicious military tactics, namely, his treatment of children as sex-slaves and child soldiers. Since the video's release last week, there has been non-stop talk about the documentary and every one is trying to "make Kony famous". In other words, the ultimate goal of the video has been successfully met.
There are a number of things that I find especially interesting about this issue. First off, the viral sensation that this video has become reminds us just how central the internet has become in our lives. Without the internet, I'm more than certain that this issue probably would not have been able to spark the interest of the 75 million people it did. What's also really noteworthy is how one of the major foci of the video is how Kony treated children. While it is a huge issue that Kony is treating children as he is, I think it's also important to realize that it's largely due to the fact that this involves children that the video has become such a sensation. We've seen it so many times in society, when an issue is centered on the ill-treatment of children, everyone cares. And rightfully so, considering children are so innocent and should be protected. Yet, I do believe that if this video exposed Kony and how he treated adult-aged men, some people would still be interested, but I do not think there would be as much of an outpouring of support. By no means am I suggesting that the video is bad or anything of that nature, I am just taking notice of some of the elements of the video that caught my attention, besides the issue itself. Overall, however, I do believe that it is important that we are made aware of some of the serious issues of other countries because unlike many of the people in Uganda, Americans do have the resources to make some sort of contribution and we are better capable of aiding the Ugandans in making a change.

Wait, Was That A Kairotic Moment?

Since we've learned about kairos in class, I've found it so interesting, although I cannot exactly explain why. I guess the overall concept of taking advantage of an opportune moment is intriguing to me and more importantly, how someone decides to approach said moment. But for this blog, I wanted to explore the concept of "missing", if you will, a kairotic moment. What happens if a moment is there but you don't take advantage of it? Is it no longer a kairotic moment if you decide to address it hours, days or weeks afterwards?
I understand that there are some kairotic "moments" which are longer lasting than being merely a moment. For example, I'm sure if Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on December 2nd instead of December 1st, the Civil Rights Movement would have still proceeded as it did, regardless of the one day delay. However, there are those moments where something happens and we might not say or do anything in the heat of the moment but later, we reconsider the situation and realize we should have done something. Then, if you do something later, is the moment still kairotic? Here is a personal example to really capture what I am trying to get at.
So lately, my roommate and I have not been getting along very well. We don't speak to one another when we come in and out of the room and things have just been tense. Over THON weekend, my younger brother came to visit and while he was here, my roommate barely spoke to him and came across rather rude. My brother felt so uncomfortable (as if she really did not want him to be here) that he would find any and every reason to leave my room. At the time, it really bothered me that my roommate treated my brother this way. I believe, regardless of whatever problems she and I might have, she should not take those problems out on my brother. However, I never mentioned anything to her about how her rudeness towards my brother made me upset. Now, it's been about 2 weeks since my brother has been here. Since I let so much time pass, have I missed a kairotic moment by failing to address how I felt when the situation was actually happening? Would it be awkward or even unnecessary to address the problem now?
I think it's interesting to consider how much a situation changes when we allow time to pass and how we deal with missing a kairotic moment. It seems like often times, if we don't address a problem at the moment, it's no longer important to us some time later. Ultimately, we missed the moment so we have to move on. But I'm wondering, is that really the case? Can a moment still be kairotic if we let some time pass and then decide to address it?

Google Does It Again

So this week, as you all know, we gave speeches which rhetorically analyzed advertisements. I found this unit to be especially intriguing, despite the feeling of terror that comes with giving a speech before a class and knowing you will be graded on the speech. Otherwise, this unit has really left me thinking about advertisements in a different way. Yeah, we always see advertisements and we just accept them for what they are, without really analyzing them beyond what is presented before us.
Recently, I've noticed that when I log onto Facebook, along the side there are typically these ridiculous ads about finding a sugar daddy or voting in some type of cutest baby contest. However, I also noticed that with Facebook and some other websites, there are some ads which appear thanks to Google stalking your whole life. I'm guessing Google figured out a way to dominate our internet worlds more than it already does and now, they are strategically placing ads on websites that we visit which are based on some of our searches on Google. At first, I thought it was just a coincidence. But then, I noticed that every time I logged onto Facebook, there were advertisements about sororities or Penn State (which I had repeatedly searched on Google during my first couple weeks in school and some time before I left for college). Initially, I thought "wow, Google has reached an all time low" but then I realized just how ingenious this tactic is.
Typically, when we're flipping through a magazine or even surfing the web, we pay little to no attention to advertisements, unless we see something that catches our eye or something we're interested in. By placing ads on the websites we visit that are "specifically" tailored to our interests, we are far more likely to pay attention to the ad and may even click on it to learn more about what's being advertised. Although it does feel a little uncomfortable that Google manages to use, I'm assuming, your most popular searches to direct ads at you, it is a smart way of getting people to take notice of ads!

"There Can Be Miracles When You Believe"

As many of you may know, this past week, legendary R&B singer Whitney Houston passed away. Having been a huge fan of Houston, I thought I would dedicate this post to her.

Naturally, when any celebrity dies, especially a singer, their music tends to be played again and again on networks such as MTV and Vh1. One of Houston's songs that I heard played this week was "When You Believe", which she collaborated on with Mariah Carey.

Aside from their amazing voices, what makes this song especially moving is the message. The chorus says, "There can be miracles / When you believe / Though hope is frail / It's hard to kill / Who knows what miracles / You can achieve / When you believe somehow you will / You will when you believe..." The song is so encouraging to its listeners; it enables them to believe in themselves because you never know what may happen. The song reminds listeners that miracles are attainable, if you just believe.

This song exemplifies how music acts as a form of rhetoric. Often times, we merely listen to music because the beat is catchy or it's a song performed by one of our favorite artists. However, if we take a second to analyze the music a little bit further, we realize just how rhetorical music really is. Songs almost always have a deeper message for the listener to grasp (well that is, if the music isn't made by Soulja Boy). Here, the song is meant to positively influence and encourage its listeners. Similar to the advertisements we are going to be analyzing, this song portrays a particular message and influences listeners to respond in a particular way. Guess this goes to show how rhetoric can be found in literally everything around us!

P.S. This is one of my favorite Whitney Houston songs and I wanted to share it with you all :)

I'm Sorry!

Chris Brown and Rihanna together some hours prior to the assault
Source: E! Online

So recently in class, we were discussing character in conjunction with ethos. I've always heard the word "character" thrown around here and there but after our discussion (and the textbook reading), I figured I would look the word up just to be certain that I knew it's meaning. According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, character is defined as, "the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual; the distinctive nature of something; the quality of being individual, typically in an interesting or unusual way; strength and originality in a person’s nature; a person’s good reputation." I find that often times, a person’s character is largely shaped by the people they choose to surround themselves with and those who they allow to influence them. However, when a person makes a mistake in life, this is when their character is truly questioned. I think overall, there is a serious “gray area” when it comes to mistakes because there is such a broad range in the seriousness of a mistake. Yet, depending on a circumstances, some mistakes can really alter the perception others have of your character. A prime example of someone who suffered serious consequences in the wake of a major mistake was R&B singer Chris Brown.

Rihanna's battered face after the incident
Source: TMZ

Back in 2009, Chris Brown assaulted then girlfriend, R&B singer Rihanna while the two were in a car in Los Angeles, California. Rihanna later released a photograph revealing the physical injuries she endured as a result of the assault, which further sparked public backlash towards Brown. He lost commercial deals, some radio stations refused to play his music and some networks would not air his music videos. The squeaky clean image and reputation Brown once had was gone in an instant. Some months after the incident, Brown recorded a public apology. Although the apology was staged and scripted at best, I believe this incident is a prime example of how someone’s character can be severely tarnished. Today, while many seem to have forgotten about the incident with Brown and Rihanna, some refuse to forgive Brown for what he did. No matter how many public apologies he issues or how much effort he puts into repairing his image, for most, the damage is already done; there is no repairing his tarnished reputation. While, on the one hand, I find it rather shocking that one mistake can result in people having a permanently altered perception of one’s character, I also understand why. Ultimately, Chris Brown knows right from wrong and he definitely knows that assaulting anyone, especially a woman, is wrong on so many levels.

Do you think it’s fair that some people are never given a second chance? Couldn’t one argue that a mistake is a mistake, regardless of its severity, so if we can forgive someone for cheating on a test, for example, we should also be able to forgive that person for cheating on their wife?

"I Believe In 'Love and Basketball'" Podcast!

Blast from the Past- AACS



AACS following our cultural show
Photo taken by Charisma Ricksy

 During my senior year, I was the president of the African-American Cultural Society, otherwise known as AACS. Throughout my years in high school, AACS always had such a bad rep. Each cultural club was expected to give a performance that reflected some aspect of their culture, be it food, music, dancing, etc. AACS, however, always seemed to either cancel their shows at the last minute or throw together a poorly organized show that made a mockery of many well-known stereotypes of African-Americans. During my year as president, however, I was determined to change our reputation! I wanted other students to actually appreciate the African-American culture. I wanted to disprove any beliefs that our club could not "get our stuff together" and that we could actually perform a successful and thought-provoking show. And in February of 2011, we did just that. The members of AACS and the executive board collaborated on an original show that truly changed Hunter College High School's perception, not only of AACS, but also of the experiences of minority students at Hunter. The show sparked a discussion about race unlike any other in Hunter's history and truly made an impact on my schoolmates. I was honored to have been a part of the organization and humbled by the impact our show managed to have on our community.
I mention this story because as we discussed kairos in class, I was reminded of this kairotic moment in my high school career. (I was also reminded of this story because last night, I received an email from the advisor of AACS, Mr. Joffe, and he notified me of some updates regarding the organization.) AACS seized the opportunity to discuss an issue when the "time was right". Granted, we could have continued to wait, as many students have, until something happened. Instead, however, we decided it was best to create this kairotic moment ourselves. Throughout my 13 years at Hunter College Campus Schools (my school also had an elementary school, which I attended as well), the racial imbalance has always been a pressing issue but few have done anything to try to make it better. It's always been the elephant in the room. That is, until AACS decided to address it!
Can you think of a kairotic moment in your life, whether you created it or were a part of it? What impact did that moment have on your life and the lives of those around you? How did that moment make you feel?

Until next time! :)