Religious Convictions Varied Views of Sayyid Qutb, Abd al Wahhab and John Wesley

Essay --

K-pop, otherwise called Korean Pop Music, is a melodic type containing electronic, hip bounce, pop, rock and R&B music starting from South Korea. K-pop began in the mid 1990s and developed from a melodic classification into a subculture among young people and grown-ups all through East and Southeast Asia in the late 2000s. In 1957, American music began impacting Korean Music which prompted many looking at the two sorts together. Since the time Korean craftsman Psy has overwhelmed the world with his single Gangnam Style, K-pop is getting all the more comprehensively perceived. Numerous individuals are new to the class K-pop and attempt to contrast it with American popular music. In spite of the fact that there are a few likenesses, there are significant contrasts between the two. K-pop is regularly evaluate for abusing English words in its verses and having useless melody titles. Numerous k-pop melodies have straightforward and tedious verses that bode well. K-pop likewise tosses in a great deal of English expressions into their melodies and here and there it is abused making portions of the tune not bode well. My interviewee, Tina, played a couple of k-pop melodies that had English expressions in it that didn’t bode well. One of the tunes was â€Å"Mama† by Exo. There was an expression in the melody that went â€Å"Careless, indiscreet. Shoot unknown, mysterious. Relentless, thoughtless. Nobody. Who care about me?† and I had no clue what this implied. At the point when I originally tuned in to it, I thought it was senseless and arbitrary however the following day after the meeting, I wound up singing the verses to the melody. Tina was revealing to me this is the intensity of k-pop. Despite the fact that the verses and English expressions don’t bode well, the beat is sufficiently infectious to cause you to chime in to it. â€Å"Another tune I didn’t like when I previously tuned in to was Bar by Crayon Po... .... The melody â€Å"Swagger Jagger† is about someone who takes someone else’s style. I found the verses sort of loaded with herself and extremely conceited in light of the fact that she think individuals are taking her style and announcing abhor on them. While Crayon Pop’s tune was tied in with motivating individuals to have some good times. The verses to â€Å"Swagger Jagger† were to some degree making an impression on the entirety of her haters who took her interesting style I don’t think this melody sends a decent message on the grounds that it’s basically advising individuals it’s okay to abhor. There was no genuine movement during the whole show. She just strolled to and fro around the stage. There were times when she would begin bouncing to get the group advertised up and shook people’s hand however there was no genuine moving all through the show. I was not into the exhibitions as much as I was with Crayon Pop. The musi c was acceptable yet it wasn’t as fun and agreeable.

5 Financial Facts About the Olympics That Might Surprise You

5 Financial Facts About the Olympics That Might Surprise You 5 Financial Facts About the Olympics That Might Surprise You 5 Financial Facts About the Olympics That Might Surprise YouFind out which countries pay their athletes the most for winning medals and what sports are the most expensive to compete in!The 2018 Olympic Winter Games have opened in in  Pyeongchang County, South Korea. Right now, athletes from around the world are gearing up for the challenge of a lifetime: two straight weeks that can make or break their athletic careers.Those of us who werent blessed with superhuman ice skating, snowboarding, or bobsledding skills  might imagine that the Olympians gracing our screens are raking in money left and right. After all, those  medals  are solid GOLD, right? Winning one should be enough to set you up for life! Wired calculated that a solid gold medal, which weighs about 3.35 pounds, would be  worth  about $76,000â€"and thats just  the metal itself!But the truth is, Olympic  gold medals are only  plated with 24-karat gold. The rest of it is sterling silver, which is a mixture of silver and copp er,  dropping their market value to around $500!Didnt know that? Now you do! And  in honor of the snowiest games of the season, we put together a list of five more Olympic financial facts you can spout out as you watch  all the  triple axels, ski jumps, and whatever it is you do to win  a game of curling.1. Many countries give out cash bonuses  to athletes who win medals, but  how much depends on your country (and some countries dont offer them at all!)  The U.S. medal bonus is $25,000 for gold, $15,000 for silver, and $10,000 for bronze. Not bad, right? Actually, its on the lower end of the spectrum! Singapore leads the pack with a $741,000 bonus for gold, a $371,000 bonus for silver, and a $185,000 bonus for bronze.  The  list below shows just how much (in USD) countries who shell out a medal bonus give their athletes, and its all over the map:1. SingaporeGold$741,000Silver$371,00Bronze$185,0002. IndonesiaGold$381,000Silver$152,000Bronze$76,0003. KazakhstanGold$250,000Silver$150,0 00Bronze$75,0004. AzerbaijanGold$248,000Silver$124,000Bronze$62,0005. ItalyGold$166,000Silver$83,000Bronze$55,0006. HungaryGold$125,000Silver$89,000Bronze$71,0007. RussiaGold$61,000Silver$38,000Bronze$26,0008. FranceGold$55,000Silver$22,000Bronze$14,0009. South AfricaGold$37,000Silver$19,000Bronze$7,00010. United StatesGold$25,000Silver$15,000Bronze$10,00011. GermanyGold$22,000Silver$17,000Bronze$11,00012. CanadaGold$15,000Silver$11,000Bronze$8,000If this list seems a little unfair, consider that the countries rounding out the bottom are also the countries that typically go home with the most medals every year. Athletes from Kazakhstan, for example, took home 18 total medals in the 2016 Summer Games in Rio, while athletes from the U.S. came back with 121.  Something tells  us that if Kazakhstani athletes suddenly start winning by the hundreds, their  Olympic Committee might reconsider its lucrative medal rewards.2. The Sochi Winter Olympics were the most expensive in history.  Remem ber back in 2014, when pictures of the unfinished and seemingly thrown-together Olympic village became a massive  online meme? Yeah, those shoddy dorms and (now-abandoned) stadiums were not cheap. In fact, despite being one of the least organized Olympic events in history, it was also the most expensive, clocking in at a whopping $55 billion!For comparison, the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics cost just $13.1 billion, and the 2012 London Summer Olympics cost $10.4 billion. Ouch!3. U.S. Olympians are  NOT  (always) paid to compete.  While some countries pony up and give their athletes a stipend for training and competition, the U.S. Olympic committee does not. In fact, many Olympic hopefuls pay thousands out of their own pockets for training, equipment, and travel.Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. Many of the bestâ€"or most famousâ€"Olympians clean up with endorsement deals. Alpine ski darling Lindsay Vonn has a net worth of $3 million thanks to deals with Rolex, Oakley, and Unde r Armour. This pales in comparison with the net worth of snowboarding legend Shaun White, who rakes in $10 million a year and allegedly has around $40 million in the bank from sponsors like Red Bull and Burton.4. Some Olympic sports cost (way!) more  to compete in than  the average American makes per year.  According to U.S. Census data, the median household income in the U.S. is $56,516. For some professional athletes, pursuing their dreams of Olympic gold can cost many times that. On the higher end, Olympic shooting can cost upwards ofâ€"wait for itâ€"$700,000 per year to compete in! According to The Fiscal Times:Professional shooters average anywhere between 500-1,000 rounds a day at $16 per 25 shots for targets and ammunition, according to Kim Rhode, who holds the world-record for winning five consecutive medals. That comes to $5,000-7,000 a day in full training. A gun can cost anywhere between $6,000 to $300,000. Rhode spent between $20,000-$30,000 on her custom gun.Athletes wh o are good enough for the Olympics, but  lack the star quality or endorsements that a famous face like Shaun White enjoys, might see themselves or their families going deep into debt, possibly even being forced into taking out a payday loan or a bad credit loan to cover their living expenses.5. There are actually still a lot of tickets left for the upcoming games, and theyre not cheap.  The  Pyeongchang Olympics had only met 55 percent of their ticket sale goal in late December, likely due to the global anxiety about North Korea, located just 60 miles away from the games.  Even now, mere days before the opening ceremony, there are still tickets for sale, if you have the money. According to Romper:Tickets to individual events and ticket packages are also available through the National Olympic Committees and authorized ticket resellers such as CoSport (though there appear to only be tickets available to the 2018 Para Olympics there) and Jet Set Sports (you must request the sites quest ionnaire to access ticket purchasing). The U.S. National Olympic Committee is also advertising ticket sales through CoSport  on the Team USA website. If youre not based in the U.S., you can find out where to purchase tickets online from this  list of different websites countries are using.If you can afford to  drop a grand to get to South Korea, hop on a train to  Pyeongchang County, and  shell out a cool $1,800 on a hotel room for the week, you might just be able to see some of the games in the flesh. Just make sure you invest in a good winter coat before you head over there, as the current temp in  Pyeongchang is a balmy 17 degrees Fahrenheit.To learn more about the financial side of sports, check out these related posts and videos from OppLoans:How Much Do Common Football Injuries Cost Without Insurance?Know Money, Win Money! Episode 8: Thanksgiving FootballHow Student-Athlete Insurance Protects Financial FuturesWhat do you want to know about the financial side of sports? We  wan t to hear from you!  You can  email us  or you can find us on  Facebook  and  Twitter.

Essay on Dorm Life - Personal Narrative - 1463 Words

Dorm Life - Personal Narrative When a girl is dreaming of going to college, living in a dorm is probably not in the array of things that are being dreamt of. Going to college is supposed to be about freedom and living in your own apartment or house, right? Who wants to live with another girl in a 10 x 15 room? Who wants to have to use a bathroom and shower that is shared among thirty other girls? Not many people would say yes to these questions. I know I certainly didnt when I was planning for college. When my mom told me that she wanted me to live in the dorm my freshman year, I was absolutely devastated. I had planned on having my own place. No matter how hard I tried to argue that a dorm was not a†¦show more content†¦I started to hate my new home more than ever. I said goodbye to my parents at least twenty times and returned to my room. I thought that I would never feel at home again. After unpacking some of my stuff and organizing my ro om, I decided that I should make the best of it and meet my neighbors. When I met all of the girls on my hall, a weird feeling of comfort came over me. I wasnt alone. I had met sixty or so girls who were in my exact same position. I slowly began to feel like I would be okay. I was surrounded by girls who were having the same feelings that I was. It was comforting to know that there would always be somebody around that would understand some of the feelings I was having because they were probably having them too. I had hundreds of potentially new friends. I had three days until classes started and three weeks until rush started. I was looking forward to rush because I would meet a lot of girls who were looking for the same thing that I was, a place where we felt accepted and at home. I knew that when I joined a sorority that I would make at least forty-five new friends. My only worry was what I would do until then. 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The International Relations And Foreign Policies Decisions...

The importance of Ethic in the study of the international relations and in foreign policies decisions by governments and others non-states. The structure of individual estates and how they behave has been influenced by the constitution of the international system. In others words, due to the fact that states behave in an anarchy system, in which is not a high authority that protects them in case that they found themselves into international affairs with others states, it makes that states persuade the seeking of power, trough security competition, to ensure its survival. Due to the fact, that states are the major actors worldwide, to guarantee that the competition between them is not aggressively, for example, after Wars, in the settling of peace. Also, in cases of outlaw societies, that refuse to comply with the law of peoples (Rawuls, 1999, pp.4,90). At this point, it is when, the solutions of these conflicts must have a universal ethical basis and be directed by entities as non-actors that have the political, economic, and most important, the moral power, to persuade states to change or modified their political policies. Also, implement regulations and norms basis in moral ethic to preserve the protection of human rights. (Bell, 2010) without other interest, then peace, and global order, for the wellbeing of the worldwide population. Differences between Liberalism, Realism and its three varieties. Simplicity is an important difference between two theories that explainsShow MoreRelatedForeign Policy And The Current Syrian Conflict993 Words   |  4 Pagesstudy of International Relations there exists a number of different theories, each in which try to explain the role of America in foreign policy and world politics. 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Kabuki Theatre Japan’s National Treasure Free Essays

Aliya Crochetiere Mrs. Crass Theater History April 11, 2011 Kabuki Theatre: Japan’s National Treasure Kabuki Theater has captured the hearts and minds of the Japanese audience from its beginnings over four centuries ago to the present day. In Kabuki wild spectacles of song and dance transpire, different from anything familiar to the Western observer. We will write a custom essay sample on Kabuki Theatre: Japan’s National Treasure or any similar topic only for you Order Now Its color, drama, and richness of costumes and characters contrast wildly with the simplicity and functionality of which the Japanese people live their lives. Kabuki Theater seen today has been shaped by historical tensions about women, religious influences in Japanese society, and is considered to be the people’s theater filled with unique styles and ideas. In order to understand this wild spectacle and its unique techniques of staging and characters, one must look behind the make-up and understand the drama’s widespread roots deeply intertwined in Japan’s popular culture. The word kabuki, as shown in the history of name, is a type of acting based on the arts of singing and dancing (Miyake 11). However, mixed in this display is a variety of hidden aspects such as make-up, costumes, and special effects that make a Kabuki performance unlike any other. Kabuki is a very complicated, highly refined art involving stylized movement to the sounds of instruments such as the Tsuke that takes many years to master (National Theater of Japan). Unlike Noh Theater it does not use masks, but incorporates a vast variety of styles and effects, from the realistic to the grandiosely extravagant through cosmetics (Leiter 18-22). The colors used have symbolic meanings. For example, blue usually indicates evil and red is used to express strength or virtue. Wigs are utilized to inform the audience about the characters age, occupation, and social status and are worn by all characters in Kabuki (The British Museum). In the theater, each character has a defining moment, called a Mie. The Mie displays the characters personality. The actor assumes a position significant to his character and experiences his climatic moment (Binnie and Wanczura). It usually involves a movement of the head, a crossing of eyes in a powerful glare, and shaking. In this artistic spectacle there are two main styles of acting involved, Aragoto and Wagoto. Aragoto, the rough style, contains heroes who are physically strong, impulsive, fierce, and martial (Brandon). This is reflected in the actors’ dramatic, stylized make-up and costumes, and in their exaggerated poses. In contrary, Wagoto features softer, young playboys in more friendly stories. The main manner of Wagoto acting is tender, romantic, or humorous (Encyclop? dia Britannica). Although the styles differ, Kabuki will always be a form of theater that requires a mastery of technique, especially when playing a woman. Unlike Western Theater, Kabuki in the present day features no females on the stage. One feature that sets Kabuki apart from other theater is the Onnagata, a male actor who plays the parts of women. Kabuki was founded in 1603 by Izumo no Okuni, a Japanese princess, with her troop consisting of mostly females (Spencer). The women entertainers, many of whom were prostitutes, performed exotic dances and risque skits causing an instant sensation in Japan with the common people (The British Museum). The idea of women exploiting themselves while creating public messages was preposterous and as its popularity grew, the government was quick to take control of the situation (Lombard, Allen, and Unwin). The prostitution within the theater was believed to be corrupting society and from the 1620’s onward, the government attempted to bring them under control. In 1692, women performers were banned from the stage. It soon became necessary for males to take the part of the females and the art of the Onnagata was formed. The Onnagata does not aim to imitate the behavior of a real woman. Rather, he becomes an artificial and idealized symbol of female characteristics as seen from a man’s interpretation (Binnie and Wanczura). Those who have mastered the art of the Onnagata have the ability to transform a potentially grotesque situation into an emotionally moving truth. The Onnagata does not rely on facial beauty but the talent and skill to make a room full of people believe the authenticity of a teenage girl played by a 70 year-old man. Today, as a result of issues of women corrupting society and the upper class, females have yet to re-appear on the stage. However, because Kabuki is directed at the common people of Japan, it is believed that women will once again grace the stages of Kabuki (Matsuda). Though Kabuki today is generally more accepted as a National Theater of Japan, it originated from the middle class, the common people of Japan, as a way to express their suppressed feelings under restrictive social conditions (Lombard, Allen, and Unwin). At the time when Kabuki was developed, distinction between the commoners and the upper class was more rigid than ever before, so Kabuki acted as a safe means of protest against dramatic and social conventions. Multiple times it was banned from the inner cities because it threatened with dangerous thought and popular freedom (Lombard, Allen, and Unwin). Kabuki was charged with undermining the morals of the warrior class, yet the government was unable to outlaw the theater completely. It had made its way into the social lives of the Japanese people as it developed eclectically from other art forms. As the people’s theater, Kabuki has a very unique relationship between the actors and the audience. The most celebrated feature of the Kabuki stage is the hanamichi, a long extension from the back of the audience to the stage (Scott 18). This symbolizes the close connections that the actors have with the viewers. A continuous interplay of shouts from the audience and reactions from the actors take place in the Kabuki Theater. The show is often interrupted for an actor to address the crowd, which is responded to with praise and encouragement (Encyclop? dia Britannica). The audience hollers the name of their favorite actor, showing a much closer connection to the actors than the directors (Matsuda). For the first time, the actor is in a position of control of his own actions and originality. Because Kabuki programs run from dusk till dawn, in the theater one can find restaurants, lunchboxes, and snack shops. The audience will eat, drink, and talk all during the performance, treating it much more like a social gathering than a trip to the theater (Miyake 25). Unlike western theater a trip to Kabuki is supposed to a social gathering. The audience enjoys the whole day’s event, not just the individual performances. This is in sharp contrast to Noh Theater, a much more serious and formal theater of Japan that incorporates slow, meditational movements under extremely rigid rules (Matsuda). The Noh performance is in slow motion and is much more popular with the military class than the common people of Japan (Mitchell and Watanabe 1-5). Buddhism, Shintoism, and Confucianism have all had a weighty effect on Japanese philosophies of life. This in turn is reflected in Kabuki drama in an innumerable number of ways. Action in Kabuki plays usually revolves around Confucian notions of filial piety duty and obligation, and the Buddhist traditions such as the impermanence of things or the law of retributive justice (Scott 28). The religious part of the drama is expressed through actions and characters, such as the komuso, who wears a large basket-like head covering and plays a flute (Scott 28). The komuso, who appears in multiple plays, is a religious figure in Buddhism, a priest of the Buddhist sect seen preaching about the religion with his flute. During the Edo period when Kabuki was developed, Confucian philosophy defining the hierarchy of social relations was recognized as official thought and caused an uprising of the common townspeople expressed in Kabuki Theater (Ernst 14). A favorite Kabuki technique is to have a dying man recall and regret all past misconducts and return to his innocent state by time of death (Scott 28). This extends to the Buddhist philosophy that man is fundamentally good and all sins committed during his lifetime are purged upon death. This as well as many other examples shows strong Buddhist influences in Kabuki. Shintoism shines through the drama as well. As one of the most common religions in Japan, Shintoism was also the religion of Kabuki’s founder (Spencer). Many religious ideas and themes are apparent in both historical and domestic Kabuki plays. Kabuki Theater, flamboyant and spectacular, has evolved into one of Japan’s cultural treasures. The drama has developed from controversial ideas of women in society, the religious influences of Buddhism and Confucianism, and from the heart of Japan, the common people, as a free way to express themselves. Although some may argue that Kabuki has lost some of its connection to the general public, Kabuki drama is an irreplaceable aspect of Japanese society that will continue to entertain audiences and influence contemporary drama and Japanese history for years to come. The flashy, colorful spectacle filled with music, movement, and emotion has the ability to take the audience on a journey to a new world. Works Cited Binnie, Paul, and Dieter Wanczura, eds. â€Å"Kabuki Theater. † Artelino. N. p. , 2009. Web. 11 Apr. 2011. ;http://www. artelino. com/? articles/? kabuki_theater. asp;. Brandon, James R. â€Å"Myth and Reality: A Story of ‘Kabuki’ during American Censorship, 1945-1949. † Asian Theatre Journal 23. 1 (2006): 1-110 . JSTOR. Web. 11 Apr. 2011. How to cite Kabuki Theatre: Japan’s National Treasure, Papers

Stand Your Ground free essay sample

This paper reflects on how literature can sometimes give you a closer glimpse into history than a textbook; the correlation between the trial of Tim Robinson in the book â€Å"To Kill A Mockingbird† and various trials throughout history that have led to convictions without physical evidence, that were based solely on lies through eyewitness testimony; how Anglo-Saxons felt about discrimination; how African-Americans felt about discrimination; how statistics show clear evidence of racial disparity in death row convictions that have now been overturned due to DNA evidence that was not available when they were arrested; and how different mediums, i. . news, magazines, books, movies, etc†¦ can shed light on discrimination not only on a historical basis, but through current events. In conclusion this paper will prove that in the 1900’s it didn’t matter who lied on you, if you were black you were a criminal, and if you were white you were right. We will write a custom essay sample on Stand Your Ground or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It will also shed light on how the tides have slowly changed over the years leading to honest discussions about racisms role in our judicial system. Key Words: Racism, Discrimination, Justice, History, White, Black, Convictions, Literature, Disparity, Trials, Evidence, DNA, Lies, Change If we don’t study history we are doomed to repeat it. Reading is a fun way to learn about history because you get involved in the most intimate details of the characters lives. There have been several really good books that address racial tensions and how we have progressed as a nation. A prime example of this is the book, â€Å"To Kill A Mockingbird† regarding the trial of Tim Robinson. Most convictions in the 1900’s were based on lies with very little and sometimes no evidence. If a white person said a black person committed a crime, everyone assumed they were telling the truth. Unfortunately not much has changed over the years, as evidenced by George Zimmerman vs. Trayvon Martin, the Central Park Five, and even situations like Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who continuously violates the Civil Rights Act creating laws targeting minorities, and encouraging a â€Å"posse† mentality. Racism is not just a piece of history that we have learned from and changed our ways. One look at the percentage of wrongful convictions on death row is all we need to convince us of that. It would be nice to live in a world where we only read non-fiction stories about the struggles of discrimination. We have come a long way, but we must continue to learn and evolve so that as a society we do not continue down this path of hatred and intolerance. In the book â€Å"To Kill A Mockingbird†, we are taken on a journey of disbelief as we watch Tim Robinson fight for his life because it’s just assumed that any African-American would rape any white woman, given the chance. During this trial we get to see two very different perspectives. Mayella and her father tell the story everyone expects to hear, with the town backing them up every step of the way, describing Tim as the town’s nightmare and painting him as a wicked beast acting out of animalistic lust. Tim simply tells the story no one wants to hear, otherwise known as the truth. This story shines a mirror towards the townspeople who don’t want to face the fact that they are acting out of their own hatred towards black people in general, relying on stereotypes as facts to justify the oppression of an entire race of people who they feel are inferior. While this is a fictional depiction of reality, the fact remains that during this time period Anglo-Saxons had a generalized view of discrimination feeling that they were justified based on their superiority. This perspective was passed down through the generations and ran rampid, not only in society but in the armed services and even the white house. In 1901 Teddy Roosevelt invited Booker T Washington to the White House for a private dinner, prompting citizens to accuse him of committing a crime against society, over a simple dinner. Roosevelt allowed public opinion to sway his decisions and Washington was never invited back. Black people were prevented from voting, amongst other basic American rights and were lynched by mobs on a regular basis. According to David Pietrusza, author of â€Å"1920 The Year of Six Presidents â€Å", between 1882 and 1968 (3,446) blacks were lynched nationwide, mostly in Southern jails where law enforcement did nothing to interfere. One victim, accused of â€Å"trying to vote† was lynched and three of his companions were burned to death. During this time period Segregation was considered normal. The â€Å"Jim Crow† laws were a series of rigid anti-black laws that ensured African-Americans knew their role in society. According to Dr. David Pilgrim, Professor of Sociology at Ferris State University, Christian ministers and theologians taught that whites were the â€Å"chosen† people and blacks were cursed to be servants. Politicians gave eloquent speeches on the dangers of integration; media writers used racial slurs when referring to blacks. Even children’s games portrayed them as inferior beings. Black people were taught to internalize their feelings and were controlled through the intimidation of wrongful convictions and death sentences issued on a regular basis. These infractions could be as small as a black man lighting the cigarette of a white woman. Until the Civil Rights Movement, black people in general tolerated the Jim Crow laws as a means of survival. Fast forward and we see that that although society as a whole began not to support racism and discrimination, they had a long way to go. While the trial of Tim Robinson in â€Å"To Kill A Mockingbird† shined a light on the moral conflicts involved in discrimination, it clearly did not cure the disease of racism. Take the Scottsboro Boys as an example. Nine black teenage boys were accused of assault by several white teenage boys who had been hoboing on a freight train. The sheriff deputized a posse, stopped and searched the train, arrested these nine teens, then found two white girls to accuse them of rape. The common sentence for the rape of a white woman in Alabama was death at this time, but the case was appealed and seven of the eight convictions were overturned. One of the women eventually admitted to making up the story and confessed that none of the Scottsboro Boys had touched either of the two women. Although there was no evidence to tie them to this crime, the case had to be tried three times and all three times a guilty verdict was returned by an all-white jury with the exception of the last trial which had one black jury member. These teens were defended by many in the North, attacked by many in the South, and eventually led to the end of all white juries. Much like Tim Robinson, they had been arrested based on a lie and even though there was no evidence to support their conviction, societies views on whites as superior beings allowed these juries to feel comforted in their decision to rule based on lies, not facts. Discrimination continues to run rampid, driven by fear and ignorance. In 1989 four black teens and one Hispanic teen were accused of raping a female jogger in New York City’s Central Park. She was raped and almost beaten to death, but she recovered with no memory of the attack or the events leading up to the assault which left her with severe hypothermia, blood loss from multiple lacerations, internal bleeding, and a fractured skull. Her left eye had to be removed from the socket due to the severity of the beating. In a move which the police department would ultimately regret, and contrary to the normal police procedure stating that the names of suspects under the age of sixteen are to be withheld, the names of these juveniles were released before any of them had a chance to be formally arraigned or indicted. The convictions were overturned in 2002 when a convicted rapist and murderer, already serving a life sentence for other crimes, confessed to committing this one as well leading to exoneration after DNA evidence confirmed his story. This case sparked an outrage and a mistrust of police in general in the black community. These teens had been intimidated, lied to, and coerced into making false confessions after being held for hours without access to their parents or an attorney. While their so-called confessions were videotaped, the hours preceding these confessions were not. No evidence tied them to the crime, and the myth that when a white woman is raped officers are trained to round up the first black teens they see was exposed. In 2003 two of these accused teens, now grown men, sued the city for malicious prosecution, racial discrimination, and emotional distress. Just recently a self-proclaimed â€Å"neighborhood watch† man used the â€Å"Stand Your Ground† law to absolve himself of any guilt in the killing of Trayvon Martin, a young teen whose only crime was walking home from the corner store with an iced tea and a pack of skittles in his pocket. In 2012 Zimmerman approached this seventeen year old black male while on the phone with 9-1-1 operators who told him to wait for police and stop following him. A fight ensued and shots rang out. Anxious neighbors, unfamiliar with violence in their gated community, called 9-1-1 to report what they described as a disturbance. The haunting screams of the young man could be heard on the recorded sessions just before shots rang out ending his young life. Zimmerman, who was only questioned for a short period of time, stated that he was in fear for his life, hiding behind Florida’s â€Å"Stand Your Ground† law, at which point the officers released him. Media reports, citizen outrage, and allegations of the racist motivation for both the shooting and what most considered police misconduct led to the eventual arrest of Mr. Zimmerman. Fear of retaliation from the community led to a Special Prosecutor being appointed to take over the investigation, so that a third party could make a fair and impartial assessment of the events that took place that night. Although this case is still pending, most are convinced of his guilt due to the media uncovering several instances of racism leading up to the tragic ending of Mr. Martin’s young life. While many people feel that these instances of racism are rare, The â€Å"Innocence Project† has uncovered several death row cases that have led to exoneration, after DNA testing that was unavailable at the time of their conviction proved their innocence. The most common reasons for these wrongful convictions were: eyewitness misidentification, invalidated or improper use of forensic science, false confessions, government misconduct, confidential informants, and bad lawyering. In a nutshell, those who cannot afford to defend themselves properly are at risk for being wrongly convicted due to false allegations. In Florida alone there have been thirteen overturned convictions on death row, with an average time spent in jail being 13. years, with some sitting in prison as long as twenty-three years based on eye-witness misidentification. There have been 305 post-conviction DNA exonerations Nationwide with a disproportional amount of African-Americans falsely accused. According to statistics 190 African-Americans, 87 Caucasians, 21 Latinos, 2 Asian Americans, and 5 whose races were unknown have DNA evidence to thank for their freedom. This is not only a problem in Southern States, as these cases have been found in 36 states including, New York, Florida, Texas, California, and Washington State. Over 25% of the wrongful convictions were based on false statements that were coerced by police due to: real or perceived intimidation by law enforcement; use of force during the interrogation; distress caused by exhaustion, stress, hunger, substance use, mental illness, or limited education; devious interrogation techniques, such as untrue statements about supposedly incriminating evidence; or simple fear on the part of the suspect that if they don’t confess they will receive a harsher penalty. While society as a whole has come a long way with regards to racial profiling, instances still exist. President Obama’s Administration is currently investigating an Arizona County Sheriff Joe Arpaio for allegedly encouraging his officers to make unlawful stops with his controversial SB-1070 law which allows for racial profiling of suspects. His officers have been accused of using excessive force against minorities and the Justice Department has accused him of failing to adequately protect citizens of Maricopa County. Arpaio first made headlines when he accused our first African-American President Barack Obama of presenting a forged birth certificate, citing that he was not eligible to be the President of the United States. This controversial investigation sparked a national debate and led to a resurgence of organized discrimination, prevalent not only in society, but slowly creeping into the political sectors as evidenced through some of the Tea Party rallies. Movie makers are calling attention to this plight with movies like â€Å"Django Unchained† depicting a black slave who is freed and becomes partners with a bounty hunter who eventually helps him overtake a cruel plantation owner so that he can rescue and reclaim his wife who was abused then sold by his former owners. Movie goers have shown strong support of directors willing to shed light on this chilling point in history by spending $416 million in movie theatres world-wide. Movies like â€Å"Lincoln† depict a President struggling with many inside his own cabinet on the decision to emancipate slaves. Author Saundra D. Westervelt, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina chronicles these miscarriages of justice in the book â€Å"Wrongly Convicted: Perspectives on Failed Justices (Critical Issues in Crime and Society)†. She discusses the fact that eyewitness accounts are typically wrong, police trick suspects into making confessions through fear tactics, informants lie to gain benefits, sometimes the police officers are just incompetent and do not do a thorough job while investigating, and shines light on the fact that those who are unpopular, uneducated, or are members of a racial minority invite harsher treatment by the authorities for just being themselves. In short convictions in the 1900’s were strongly influenced by discrimination, which has been proven through history and reflected in the literature we read today. In the past, it didn’t matter who lied about you, if you were a person of color then systematically you were considered guilty. Instead of allowing people to hide behind laws like, â€Å"Stand Your Ground†; we as a society should rise up and stand our ground against those in society who still feel that convicting based on the color of one’s skin is a valid reason for prosecution. If you were to ask me if I thought discrimination played a huge role in history, or if I felt that we were at risk of repeating our mistakes, I’d say the proof is in the pudding. References: