peace

Lisa Rodrigues

13 December 2011

FD5/Final Exam

We live in the most beautiful state.  The melting pot as it is called due to the face we have people of almost every race living here in paradise.  Sometimes, there’s a dark side to our paradise.  We are not free of the evils of the world.  Every day we hear comments people make to about one another.  The word Haole, is considered derogatory when used in a malice statement toward a Caucasian.  [THESIS] The world would be a much better place if we learn to walk in each other’s shoe and learn to tolerate differences.[THESIS]

We preach “aloha” all the time.  We sell the islands to outsiders at the “aloha” state.  When these outsiders visit our beautiful island(s), more often than not, they are confronted with raceism.  We all use the word “haole” to describe a Caucasian person.  However, just the word it’s self is discriminatory.  I work at a hotel, we are not allowed to use that word as it can make a person feel harassed or discriminated against.  Every year we go through mandatory anti harassment, sexual harassment, and discrimination laws.  At the end of the training, we need to sign off on a paper indicating we’ve been through the class and understand the consequences should we violate the policy.  I believe this training is a good thing.  Companies, schools and universities should offer such training.  Educate people.  Companies lose money when their employees say foolish derogatory things.  If people are made aware of the monetary value involved, they may think twice about using such words.  It’s not just companies that lose money, an individual can also be sued.  If the pocketbook is what it takes to get people to stop using derogatory words, then that’s what it should be.  Greg McMackin knows.  In the article “University of Hawaii Coach Greg McMackin Suspended”, he was suspended for 30 days without pay and took a salary pay cut of 7%. 

One case that may be familiar with some of the younger generation, is Alexandra Wallace.  She made an “Asian Rant” video on youtube.  In it she complains of them bring their whole family to the campus on the weekend to do their laundry, how the parents don’t let their children grow up and the use of the cellphone in the library.  Mind you the cellphone in the library was after the tsunami in Japan in which it was assumed that a family member was contacting the Asian to inform them of it.  Needless to say, after the video, she herself received hate mail and ended up leaving the campus.  The school she attended, UCLA.

On the other side of the spectrum, we have our First Amendment.  We are allowed to use it anyway we want.  Whatever words are said, falls under the protection of the “freedom of speech” clause.  Michael Richards did it.  He played Kramer on the hit sitcom Seinfeld.  He used a derogratory word for African Americans at one of his stand up shows.  A guy in the audience was “heckling Richards when suddenly, the comedian lost it”(TMZ).  What he said caused many in the audience to leave.  It was in poor taste, hateful and wrong.  But it did fall under the First Amendment.  I’m sure Mr. Richards is felt the wrath of using such language.  The repercussions too as many people don’t want to be associated with people that show hate or are racist. 

To truly make this a better nation, we need to educate each other in the different customs.  Not just Hawaii, America is a melting pot.  We have many foreigners who come here to seek a better life than they had back home.  As Americans, we don’t look favorable if we sterotype profile other races or act like they have the plague when around us.  To help overcome this obstacle, we need to first show our appreciation of being able to live in a country that has freedom.  Show appreciation by being nice to people of other race, skin color and nationalities.  We know it’s started as there are many people in America with more than one race.  I myself have five different nationalities. 

To help make this a better world.  We need to start educating our children the importance to accepting people for who they are.  We should never be teaching our children how to hate other races, as no race is superior.

Arab, Zahid. “University of Hawaii Coach Greg McMackin Suspended.” 31 July 2009. KHNL.com. 12 Aug. 2009 [http://www.khnl.com/Global/story.asp?S=10830037

“‘Kramer’s’ Racist Tirade — Caught on Tape.” TMZ.com. 20 Nov. 2006. 07 Dec. 2006
[http://www.tmz.com/2006/11/20/kramers-racist-tirade-caught-on-tape]

peace

Lisa Rodrigues

13 December 2011

FD5/Final Exam

We live in the most beautiful state.  The melting pot as it is called due to the face we have people of almost every race living here in paradise.  Sometimes, there’s a dark side to our paradise.  We are not free of the evils of the world.  Every day we hear comments people make to about one another.  The word Haole, is considered derogatory when used in a malice statement toward a Caucasian.  [THESIS] The world would be a much better place if we learn to walk in each other’s shoe and learn to tolerate differences.[THESIS]

We preach “aloha” all the time.  We sell the islands to outsiders at the “aloha” state.  When these outsiders visit our beautiful island(s), more often than not, they are confronted with raceism.  We all use the word “haole” to describe a Caucasian person.  However, just the word it’s self is discriminatory.  I work at a hotel, we are not allowed to use that word as it can make a person feel harassed or discriminated against.  Every year we go through mandatory anti harassment, sexual harassment, and discrimination laws.  At the end of the training, we need to sign off on a paper indicating we’ve been through the class and understand the consequences should we violate the policy.  I believe this training is a good thing.  Companies, schools and universities should offer such training.  Educate people.  Companies lose money when their employees say foolish derogatory things.  If people are made aware of the monetary value involved, they may think twice about using such words.  It’s not just companies that lose money, an individual can also be sued.  If the pocketbook is what it takes to get people to stop using derogatory words, then that’s what it should be.  Greg McMackin knows.  In the article “University of Hawaii Coach Greg McMackin Suspended”, he was suspended for 30 days without pay and took a salary pay cut of 7%. 

One case that may be familiar with some of the younger generation, is Alexandra Wallace.  She made an “Asian Rant” video on youtube.  In it she complains of them bring their whole family to the campus on the weekend to do their laundry, how the parents don’t let their children grow up and the use of the cellphone in the library.  Mind you the cellphone in the library was after the tsunami in Japan in which it was assumed that a family member was contacting the Asian to inform them of it.  Needless to say, after the video, she herself received hate mail and ended up leaving the campus.  The school she attended, UCLA.

On the other side of the spectrum, we have our First Amendment.  We are allowed to use it anyway we want.  Whatever words are said, falls under the protection of the “freedom of speech” clause.  Michael Richards did it.  He played Kramer on the hit sitcom Seinfeld.  He used a derogratory word for African Americans at one of his stand up shows.  A guy in the audience was “heckling Richards when suddenly, the comedian lost it”(TMZ).  What he said caused many in the audience to leave.  It was in poor taste, hateful and wrong.  But it did fall under the First Amendment.  I’m sure Mr. Richards is felt the wrath of using such language.  The repercussions too as many people don’t want to be associated with people that show hate or are racist. 

To truly make this a better nation, we need to educate each other in the different customs.  Not just Hawaii, America is a melting pot.  We have many foreigners who come here to seek a better life than they had back home.  As Americans, we don’t look favorable if we sterotype profile other races or act like they have the plague when around us.  To help overcome this obstacle, we need to first show our appreciation of being able to live in a country that has freedom.  Show appreciation by being nice to people of other race, skin color and nationalities.  We know it’s started as there are many people in America with more than one race.  I myself have five different nationalities. 

To help make this a better world.  We need to start educating our children the importance to accepting people for who they are.  We should never be teaching our children how to hate other races, as no race is superior.

Arab, Zahid. “University of Hawaii Coach Greg McMackin Suspended.” 31 July 2009. KHNL.com. 12 Aug. 2009 [http://www.khnl.com/Global/story.asp?S=10830037

“‘Kramer’s’ Racist Tirade — Caught on Tape.” TMZ.com. 20 Nov. 2006. 07 Dec. 2006
[http://www.tmz.com/2006/11/20/kramers-racist-tirade-caught-on-tape]

First Amendment 1.1 censored

Lisa Rodrigues

12 December 2011

FD4

Amendment 1.1 censored

Freedom of speech is our birthright from the moment we Americans are born. Growing, we were encouraged to speak and to speak up. The First Amendment gives us the right to speak freely whatever, whenever and wherever in the United States we want without Government censorship.  [Thesis] However, I believe there should be a censorship placed on unpatriotic statements made such as those made by Ward Churchill.  [Thesis]

As American’s we have so much more freedom than other countries.  However, we take that freedom for granted and do and or say hurtful things to each other.  Ward Churchill was a professor of Ethnic Studies at UC Bolder.  He eventually became Chair of the department in 2002.  On September 12, 2001 the day after the World Trade Center attacks, Churchill wrote a short essay titled “Some People Push Back:  On the Justice of Roosting Chickens”.  This essay has struck many people as unpatriotic.  It suggests the people killed in the twin towers were not innocent citizens.  Citizens’ yes, but they were part of the American greed.  They were at the heart of America’s financial global empire.  The very empire that helped fund the military who in turn genocide the Middle East.  It was this action of the United States that led to the attack on the Twin Towers.  His essay is very ambiguous and has led many to verbally attack him.  His thoughts were an expression of his freedom of speech.  However, he did not take into account the feelings of the victims’ families.  In summary, what he said in his essay was in poor taste.  It is a bad reflection on our Country.  The families were going through a loss, instead of words of condolences, he gave words of hate.  During a time such as 911, we should show solidarity and cohesiveness.  In 2007, Churchill was elected by the board to be fired.  Their claim for firing him was academic misconduct and plagiarism.  Churchill is suing to get his job back claiming he was fired due to the essay and that the University violated his freedom of speech.  Mr. Churchill needs to look at his record.  If the University was against his essay, they wouldn’t have promoted him to Chair of Ethnic Studies in 2002.  His promotion was given after the essay was published. 

We were not free of Ward Churchill’s controversy here in Hawaii.  Sen. Fred Hemmings tried to block Ward Churchill from a speaking engagement at the University of Hawaii in 2005.  In the article entitled “UH President McClain upholds the visitor’s freedom to express an unpopular opinion.”  “He said McClain has the freedom and responsibility to deny Mr. Churchill access to the University of Hawaii as a forum for his evil.  Failure to do so will dishonor your institution and maybe even jeopardize funding from the private sector”.  Sen. Hemmings made a valid point.  The private sector may not want to be associated with someone that says unpatriotic things.  Most people try to stay away from conflict as they don’t want their name or company name associated with it.

Today in our society, television stations censor bad words that are uttered on air, radio stations censor bad words in songs and newspapers have the option to print letters to the editors or not, they also have the capability to edit a news piece before it gets published.  Many people today use Facebook, they have a policy in their safety section “You will not post content that is: hateful, threatening, or pornographic; incites violence; or contains nudity or graphic or gratuitous violence.”(Facebook)  Even with our first amendment, users of Facebook are restricted from posting hateful things.  It’s not necessarily the Government but it still monitors and restricts users.  Personally I think it’s a good policy.  Violation of the policy means removal of your account.  If you can’t be a good sport about, then you shouldn’t be able to participate.  The First Amendment is a good thing.  I believe there is a time and place for us to speak freely like rallies and appealing to law makers.  A mature person knows when to not to speak.  Imagine posting ranting blog or article for everyone to see.  A few years go by and your stance may change, you apply for a job.  The employer does an internet search on you and the article or blog pops up.  The first thing on the employer’s mind would be hiring you may not be such a good thing; I may have problems with this person.  This also applies to promotions, what you say, may affect your ability to advance higher in the company.  Nobody wants a manager that shoots at the hips and has the potential to bring down morale.  So while we are entitled to speak our minds, most of us are mindful of what and how we say it.  Words are the most powerful tool we have.  We can either build up a person or take them down.

In an article written by Linda Campbell, “So What does it do for me?”  she states “51 percent of high school students believing government should vet stories going into the newspaper.”  Vet’s definition is “ to make prior examination and critical appraisal of (a person, document, scheme, etc)”  Her article goes on to say “our nation’s high schools are failing their students when it comes to instilling in them appreciation for the First Amendment.”  Maybe so, but think about this for a moment, we teach our children respect.  If a child is out of line and says something disrespectful to an adult or authority figure, they get reprimanded.  But whatever they’ve said, good or bad falls under the First Amendment.  If we truly instill in children the First Amendment, we will have even more disrespectful children running around expecting we don’t discipline them for their words. These children may eventually be our future leaders.  That would be a horrible thought. 

Growing up, I had no First Amendment rights.  I often spoke to my parents disrespectfully and got punished.  Now, I have two children; they are both entitled to use the First Amendment.  However, as long as they live with my husband and I, and we support them, there is no First Amendment for them in our house.  They need to be respectful.  They are not allowed to cuss at us or talk back.  Expressing themselves in a sassy manner will get them punished.  Unbeknownst to us they may do it outside of our home (we wouldn’t know) but they are not allowed to do that in our home.  However, we expect that they don’t do it outside of the house to their teachers and people of authority as that is not the way we raise them. 

Max Bablyon believes “The (sic) first amendment of the constitution gives anyone in this country the freedom of speech.  This is protected by the government but there is also a level of ethics and lines that should not be crossed by a person.  Anytime a person is commenting on innocent lives and people of whom they have no idea who they are, bad words should not be spoken”.   

On the other side of the argument, we have Oliver Wong who states “Our (sic) freedom of speech is one of the greatest amendments that we have in our country as it allows us to be ourselves rather then censored and by allowing Churchill to voice his opinion, it only shows how blessed we are in our country that we have such a right”.  Ultimately the first amendment is what it is, the right for us to say anything we want without being punished for it.  It opens the doors for us to be creative.  The First Amendment is non discriminatory, we all can use it.  That also includes churches preaching on the streets or even saying a prayer before a sporting event.  Prayers are also often said before the start of a new legislative session.  One recent incident was during the lighting ceremony at City Hall; two Pastor’s came in and did a prayer.  In the background, you could hear an atheist protesting the prayer that it was a violation of his Constitution.  The Pastor’s were merely exercising their right to free speech. 

The First Amendment is a great concept.  There are people that abuse it and will say and do hurtful things about people, race, religion and country.  The First Amendment doesn’t make it right for people to do such things then hide behind it.  Censors are already in place now with newspapers, television, and internet.    Having censors in place doesn’t make it a bad thing, it makes our world safe. 

Works Cited:

Bablyon, Max – “Attack Churchill (11/18) 5 Dec. 2011

https://laulima.hawaii.edu/portal/site/KAP.XLSENG215js.201210/page/70638c63-3d48-4275-828a-7e37acace01e

Campbell, Linda. "So What Does It Do for Me?" Star-Telegram.com 3 Feb. 2005. 2 Dec. 2011 <http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/columnists/linda_campbell/10805866.htm?1c>

Facebook, 26 Apr. 2011

2 Dec. 2011 http://www.facebook.com/legal/terms

Gima, Craig. "Lawmaker Wants Speaker Blocked." Starbulletin.com 19 Feb. 2005. 2 Dec. 2011 <http://starbulletin.com/2005/02/19/news/index3.html>

Vuong, Oliver – “Defend Churchill”  5 Dec. 2011 https://laulima.hawaii.edu/portal/site/KAP.XLSENG215js.201210/page/70638c63-3d48-4275-828a-7e37acace01e

X__ Nov. 9- Intro to Paper #4. Read the Guidelines for Paper #4.
_X__ Nov. 14- Complete readings for paper #4.
_X__ Nov. 18- Laulima Discussion: Attack Ward Churchill
_X__ Nov. 23- Laulima Discussion: Defend Ward Churchill
_L__ Nov. 28- Submit RD4. [50 pts] Review the Review the guidelines.
_X__ Dec. 5- Submit three RD4 evaluations [50 pts] Review the guidelines.
_L__ Dec. 8-12- Submit FD4 [150 pts] Review the guidelines (revised fd to show this log, otherwise FD was submitted on time)

Amendment 1.1 Censored

Lisa Rodrigues

28 November 2011

RD4

Amendment 1.1 censored

Freedom of speech is our birthright from the moment we Americans are born. Growing, we were encouraged to speak and to speak up. The First Amendment gives us the right to speak freely whatever, whenever and wherever in the United States we want without Government censorship.  [Thesis] However, I believe there should be a censorship placed on unpatriotic statements made such as those made by Ward Churchill.  [Thesis]

As American’s we have so much more freedom than other countries.  However, we take that freedom for granted and do hurtful things to each other.  Ward Churchill was a professor of Ethnic Studies at UC Bolder.  He eventually became Chair of the department in 2002.  On September 12, 2001 the day after the World Trade Center attacks, Churchill wrote a short essay titled “Some People Push Back:  On the Justice of Roosting Chickens”.  This essay has struck many people as unpatriotic.  It suggests the people killed in the twin towers were not innocent citizens.  Citizens’ yes, but they were part of the American greed.  They were at the heart of America’s financial global empire.  The very empire that helped fund the military who in turn genocide the Middle East.  It was this action of the United States that led to the attack on the Twin Towers.  His essay is very ambiguous and has led many to verbally attack him.  His thoughts were an expression of his freedom of speech.  However, he did not take into account the feeling of the families of the victims.  In summary, what he said in his essay was in poor taste.  It is a bad reflection on our Country.  The families were going through a loss, instead of words of condolences, he gave words of hate.  During a time such as 911, we should show solidarity and cohesiveness.  In 2007, Churchill was elected by the board to be fired.  Their claim for firing him was academic misconduct and plagiarism.  Churchill is suing to get his job back claiming he was fired due to the essay and the University violated his freedom of speech.  Mr. Churchill needs to look at his record.  If the University was against his essay, they wouldn’t have promoted him to Chair of Ethnic Studies.  His promotion was given after the essay was published. 

In our society today, television stations censor bad words that are uttered on air, radio stations censor bad words in songs and newspapers have the option to print letters to the editors or not, they also have the capability to edit a news piece before it gets published.  Many people today use Facebook, they have a policy in their safety section “You will not post content that is: hateful, threatening, or pornographic; incites violence; or contains nudity or graphic or gratuitous violence.”  Even with our first amendment, users of Facebook are restricted from posting hateful things.  It’s not necessarily the Government but it still monitors and restricts users.  Personally I think it’s a good policy.  Violation of the policy means removal of your account.  If you can’t be a good sport about, then you shouldn’t be able to participate.  The First Amendment is a good thing.  I believe there is a time and place for us to speak freely like rallies and appealing to law makers.  A mature person knows when to not to speak.  Imagine posting ranting blog or article for everyone to see.  A few years go by and your stance may change, you apply for a job.  The employer does an internet search on you and the article or blog pops up.  The first thing on the employer’s mind would be hiring you may not be such a good thing; I may have problems with this person.  This also applies to promotions, what you say, may affect your ability to advance higher in the company.  Nobody wants a manager that shoots at the hips and has the potential to bring down morale.  So while we are entitled to speak our minds, most of us are mindful of what and how we say it.  Words are the most powerful tool we have.  We can either build up a person or take them down.

In an article written by Linda Campbell, “So What does it do for me?”  she states “51 percent of high school students believing government should vet stories going into the newspaper.”  Vet’s definition is “ to make prior examination and critical appraisal of (a person, document, scheme, etc)”  Her article goes on to say “our nation’s high schools are failing their students when it comes to instilling in them appreciation for the First Amendment.”  Maybe so, but think about this for a moment, we teach our children respect.  If a child is out of line and says something disrespectful to an adult or authority figure, they get punished.  But whatever they’ve said, good or bad falls under the First Amendment.  If we truly instill in children the First Amendment, we will have even more disrespectful children running around expecting we don’t discipline them for their words. These children may eventually be our future leaders.  That would be a horrible thought. 

Sen. Fred Hemmings tried to block Ward Churchill from a speaking engagement at the University of Hawaii.  In the article entitled “UH President McClain upholds the visitor’s freedom to express an unpopular opinion.”  “He said McClain has the freedom and responsibility to deny Mr. Churchill access to the University of Hawaii as a forum for his evil.  Failure to do so will dishonor your institution and maybe even jeopardize funding from the private sector”.  Sen. Hemmings made a valid point.  The private sector may not want to be associated with someone that says unpatriotic things.  Most people try to stay away from conflict as they don’t want their name or company name associated.

I have two children; they are both entitled to use the First Amendment.  However, as long as they live with my husband and I, and we support them, there is no First Amendment for them in our house.  They need to be respectful.  They are not allowed to cuss at us or talk back.  Expressing themselves in a sassy manner will get them punished.  Unbeknownst to us they may do it outside of our home (we wouldn’t know) but they are not allowed to do that in our home.  However, we expect that they don’t do it outside of the house to their teachers and people of authority as that is not the way we raise them. 

Max Bablyon believes “The (sic) first amendment of the constitution gives anyone in this country the freedom of speech.  This is protected by the government but there is also a level of ethics and lines that should not be crossed by a person.  Anytime a person is commenting on innocent lives and people of whom they have no idea who they are, bad words should not be spoken”.    However, Oliver Wong states “Our (sic) freedom of speech is one of the greatest amendments that we have in our country as it allows us to be ourselves rather then censored and by allowing Churchill to voice his opinion, it only shows how blessed we are in our country that we have such a right”.  I disagree with Oliver in the sense that there are censors in place for television, radio and internet. 

The First Amendment is a great concept.  There are people that abuse it and will say and do hurtful things about people, race, religion and country.  The First Amendment doesn’t make it alright for people to do such things.  There should be censorship on what is published whether is besmirches a person and our country. 

Works Cited:

Bablyon, Max – “Attack Churchill (11/18) 5 Dec. 2011

https://laulima.hawaii.edu/portal/site/KAP.XLSENG215js.201210/page/70638c63-3d48-4275-828a-7e37acace01e

Campbell, Linda. "So What Does It Do for Me?" Star-Telegram.com 3 Feb. 2005. 2 Dec. 2011 <http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/columnists/linda_campbell/10805866.htm?1c>

Facebook, 26 Apr. 2011

2 Dec. 2011 http://www.facebook.com/legal/terms

Gima, Craig. "Lawmaker Wants Speaker Blocked." Starbulletin.com 19 Feb. 2005. 2 Dec. 2011 <http://starbulletin.com/2005/02/19/news/index3.html>

Vuong, Oliver – “Defend Churchill”  5 Dec. 2011 https://laulima.hawaii.edu/portal/site/KAP.XLSENG215js.201210/page/70638c63-3d48-4275-828a-7e37acace01e

Will The Last Honest Person Please Stand Up

Lisa Rodrigues

8, November 2011

FD3

Will the last honest person please stand up.

Good morning graduating class.  You are on the cusp of a new chapter in your life, one that takes you into a lifelong journey.   Many of you have entered the working world, some have not.  Up till now, you’ve had the guidance of faculty, counselors, professors and parents.  After this day, what little coddling existed will cease.  One thing you should always remember, whether with family, friends or co-workers,  [THESIS]” honesty is the best policy”(webcitation, p 6)[THESIS].

Dishonest people can be classified as selfish.  They think only of themselves.  They don’t care about the well being of other people.  They do not care who they hurt.  One big recent case of a lie, Bernie Maddoff.  He was a successful trader who’s firm created the NASDAQ.  He served as president on the board of directors for NASDAQ.  However, greed got in the way.  His dishonest ways produced ”securities fraud, investment advisor fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, false statements, perjury, false filings with the US Securities and Exchange commission, and theft from an employee benefit fund”(biography).  He wasn’t thinking of the trail of destruction behind him.  People lost their pensions.  Banks, individuals, and investment companies lost money.  Reflecting on this case brought to mind an excerpt of a reading “Judged one instance at a time, any “harmless” lie may be trivial, but the habitual telling of white lies may ultimately lead to undesirable consequences.”(Schulman, p 10)  Bernie Maddoff’s undesired consequence is a prison sentence of 150 years.  His dishonest practices not only besmirched him, it ruined the trust people had with their investment banker.  Some people found out that the money they entrusted to their banker, was used to invest with Bernie Maddoff.   

Everybody goes through ups and downs.  But how you handle the situation shows your character.  You will either be a person of morals or a person of ethics.  You can’t be both.  A moral person knows the difference between right and wrong and will act upon the right.  An ethical person is guided by their own philosophy.  They may act upon the wrong but have justification.  One night after a long day of work, my husband and I were up talking about our day.  He had a tough situation at work and asked how I would handle it.  I give him my honest answer.  When we were done talking, he told me that I was the only person in all his life that he ever trusted.  That no matter what, I was the only one that he knew would ever tell the truth.  It felt good to hear that.   That he could confide in me, whatever he needed to say about work would stay with me.  I was his rock.  This deeply enhances our marriage.  As a mother of two, I’ve also found that what I say will affect my children.  Often times my children would ask if I can take them to the store and I would say yes.  The day goes by and I haven’t taken them to the store, they would remind me that I told them I would and by not doing so, it was a lie.  Children trust their parents.  Everything you say to children is taken into context.  So if you say you will do something, you better do it otherwise failure to do so is a lie.  They do not understand that you may have had a ton of things to do or that you were tired.  They only know failure to do what you said you would do is a lie and lying is bad.  So when you commit to something, you need to be sure you follow through. 

During Christmas season we are all so busy with shopping, family gatherings and parties.  A group of us at work decided to do an outing rather than exchange gifts.  The outing however, wouldn’t take place till after the New Year.  It wasn’t till May of this year that we finally did our gathering.  We all agreed on a date.  However, what you should know is that in this group is a person that I really don’t care to be around.  It was also during that time that we were getting our house tented and needed to bag all our food.  I agreed to pick up dinner the night of the outing, completely forgetting I made a commitment.  The day of, I was reminded of the dinner.  I didn’t really want to go and was looking for a good lie to get out of the dinner.  But then I remembered that I needed to pick up dinner for my family.   These people that I was to dine with are much older than me.  So I figured, I’ll tell them the truth and they would understand, after all I need to take care of my family.  It wasn’t a lie and I was being honest.  As it turns out, they didn’t understand and were soon on the phone with each other talking about me.  Yes, I could hear one side of the conversation.  Yes, I did say they were older than me.  Even though I didn’t lie, I felt bad that was trying to get out of a commitment that I agreed upon.   I also felt like our working relationship would be strained by not going.  So to please everyone, I left work early to get dinner for my family, dropped it off at home, headed back into Waikiki to have dinner with the office gang.  Now remember, I said there was one of them that I didn’t like.  Just being there felt like a lie.  I think it caused so much stress on me that I actually got a headache and felt nauseous.  I ended up leaving the dinner early.  I was out sick for the next week with the flu.  In Japanese we call that bachi.  I was dishonest by pretending to like being in the company of someone that I didn’t like all to keep a good working environment.  As Dean Kurozumi wrote “I (sic) believe that just by being honest, you will have a clear conscience.”  In this case, I should have been honest and declined the offer.  Had my conscience been clear, I wouldn’t have had to endure the stress of the situation.

Honesty may not always net the results you were expecting but it is the best way to go. University of Texas Philosophy Professor Richard Solomon says, “The honest man is not so much one who refrains from lying, much less one who resists the temptation to lie because he or she knows that it is wrong to lie; he or she just does not lie.”(Schulman, p 14)

“Bernard Maddoff.” Anwers.com. NP. 31 Oct.2011

<http://www.answers.com/topic/bernard-madoff>

“Bernard Maddoff.” Biography.com. NP. 31 Oct.2011

<http://www.biography.com/people/bernard-madoff-466366>

“Honesty”  Webcite. 25 Jul 2007. 31 Oct.2011

<http://www.webcitation.org/5iXHXyAmW>

Kurozumi, Dean “honesty – Dean Kurozumi” 31 Oct 2011. Laulima.Hawaii.edu/discussion and private messages

“Truth and Consequences.” Schulman, Mary. NP. 07 Nov.2011

http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v10n1/truth.html

_X__ Oct. 13- Intro to Paper #3. Read the Guidelines for Paper #3.
_X__ Oct. 17- Complete readings for paper #3 for paper #3.
_X__ Oct. 21- Laulima Discussion #1
_X__ Oct. 28- Laulima Discussion #2
_X__ Oct. 31- Submit RD3 [50 pts] Review the guidelines.
_X__ Nov. 4- Submit three RD3 evaluations [50 pts] Review the guidelines.
_X__ Nov. 8- Submit FD3 [125 pts] Review the guidelines

Will The Last Honest Person Please Stand Up

Lisa Rodrigues

31 October 2011

RD3

Will the last honest person please stand up.

Good morning graduating class.  You are on the cusp of a new chapter in your life, one that takes you into a lifelong journey.   Many of you have entered the working world, some have not.  Up till now, you’ve had the guidance of faculty, counselors, professors and parents.  After this day, what little coddling existed will cease.  One thing you should always remember, whether with family, friends or co-workers,  [THESIS]” honesty is the best policy”(webcitation, p 6)[THESIS].

Dishonest people can be classified as selfish.  They think only of themselves.  They don’t care about the well being of other people.  They do not care who they hurt.  One big recent case of a lie, Bernie Maddoff.  He was a successful trader who’s firm created the NASDAQ.  He served as president on the board of directors for NASDAQ.  However, greed got in the way.  His dishonest ways produced” securities fraud, investment advisor fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, false statements, perjury, false filings with the US Securities and Exchange commission, and theft from an employee benefit fund”(biography).  He wasn’t thinking of the trail of destruction behind him.  People lost their pensions.  Banks, individuals, and investment companies lost money.  All because of Bernie Maddoff’s dishonest practices which not only besmirched him, it ruined the trust people had with their investment banker.  Some people found out that the money they entrusted to their banker, was used to invest with Bernie Maddoff. 

Everybody goes through ups and downs.  But how you handle the situation shows your character.  You will either be a person of morals or a person of ethics.  You can’t be both.  A moral person knows the difference between right and wrong and will act upon the right.  An ethical person knows the difference between right and wrong, and gray.  They will usually act upon the wrong and have justification.  One night after a long day of work, my husband and I were up talking about our day.  He had a tough situation at work and asked how I would handle it.  I give him my honest answer.  When we were done talking, he told me that I was the only person in all his life that he ever trusted.  That no matter what, I was the only one that he knew would ever tell the truth.  It felt good to hear that.  Knowing that he could trust me no matter what happened.   That he could confide in me, whatever he needed to say about work would stay with me.  I was his rock.  This deeply enhances our marriage.  As a mother of two, I’ve also found that what I say will affect my children.  Often times my children would ask if I can take them to the store and I would say yes.  The day goes by and I haven’t taken them to the store, they would remind me that I told them I would and by not doing so, it was a lie.  Children trust their parents.  Everything you say to children is taken into context.  So if you say you will do something, you better do it otherwise failure to do so is a lie.  They do not understand that you may had a ton of things to do or that you were tired.  They only know failure to do what you said you would do is a lie and lying is bad.  So when you commit to something, you need to be sure you follow through. 

During Christmas season we are all so busy with shopping, family gatherings and parties.  A group of us at work decided to do an outing rather than exchange gifts.  The outing however, wouldn’t take place till after the New Year.  It wasn’t till May of this year that we finally did our gathering.  We all agreed on a date.  However, what you should know is that in this group is a person that I really don’t care to be around.  It was also during that time that we were getting our house tented and needed to bag all our food.  I agreed to pick up dinner the night of the outing, completely forgetting I made a commitment.  The day of, I was reminded of the dinner.  I didn’t really want to go and was looking for a good lie to get out of the dinner.  But then I remembered that I needed to pick up dinner for my family.   These people that I was to dine with are much older than me.  So I figured, I’ll tell them the truth and they would understand, after all I need to take care of my family.  It wasn’t a lie and I was being honest.  As it turns out, they didn’t understand and were soon on the phone with each other talking about me.  Yes, I could hear one side of the conversation.  Yes, I did say they were older than me.  Even though I didn’t lie, I felt bad that was trying to get out of a commitment that I agreed upon.   I also felt like our working relationship would be strained by not going.  So to please everyone, I left work early to get dinner for my family, dropped it off at home, headed back into Waikiki to have dinner with the office gang.  Now remember, I said there was one of them that I didn’t like.  Just being there felt like a lie.  I think it caused so much stress on me that I actually got a headache.  I ended up leaving the dinner early.  I was out sick for the next week with the flu.  In Japanese we call that bachi.  I was dishonest by pretending to like being in the company of someone that I didn’t like all to keep a good working environment.  As Dean Kurozumi wrote “I (sic) believe that just by being honest, you will have a clear conscience.”

Honesty may not always net the results you were expecting but it is the best way to go.  “A harmful truth is better than a useful lie.”(webcitation, p 6)

“Bernard Maddoff.” Anwers.com. NP. 31 Oct.2011

<http://www.answers.com/topic/bernard-madoff>

“Bernard Maddoff.” Biography.com. NP. 31 Oct.2011

<http://www.biography.com/people/bernard-madoff-466366>

“Honesty”  Webcite. 25 Jul 2007. 31 Oct.2011

<http://www.webcitation.org/5iXHXyAmW>

Kurozumi, Dean “honesty – Dean Kurozumi” 31 Oct 2011. Laulima.Hawaii.edu/discussion and private messages

The Drawbacks of Advertising

Lisa Rodrigues

October 26, 2011

RFD2

The Drawbacks of Advertising

Advertisements are everywhere, you can’t escape it.  You see it on the television, hear it on the radio, see them in the newspaper and while browsing the internet, you may even have the dreaded pop up.  Some ads can be very entertaining, making us laugh, some are somber. Whatever impressions ads leave on us, do ads or commercials ultimately have a negative impact on our lives?  [THESIS] Yes, ads or commercials have a negative impact on our lives.[THESIS]

On one of my day’s off, I watched my ten year old niece.  She loves to watch Nickelodeon.  That particular station has many commercials geared to kids.  The commercial I am about to describe clearly screamed bandwagon.  The commercial starts off with children singing “Wuggle Pets” with clips of the pets, monkey, raccoon, dragon, bunny, puppy etc being made by a little machine that comes with the kit.  You put the stuffing in the machine, turn the crank and watch the pet get filled with stuffing.  You can even put into the pet some “magic dust” (glitter stars), and or a voice recording of a special message you make.  All the while, the children singing in the back ground, a lady speaking of what is included in the kit and clips of the pets being made or shown hanging from backpacks (they have clips attached to the pets).  The kit also comes with a birth certificate.  One kit is nineteen ninety five plus shipping.  You can have a parent call to inquire of party kits too.  My niece loved going to Build a Bear and now that it’s gone this was the answer to what’s missing.  She nagged me for over an hour to order the product for her.  Commercials create a “want” in us to order things that we really do not need.  Did she really need to have this kit?  No, she has many bears from her many visits to Build A Bear.  However, since that store has closed, she now needed this item to fill a void. 

Several years ago a new product came out on the market for men.  Axe body spray, Clix scent.   The commercial features Nick Lachey walking about town when he comes across a woman who sticks her finger into the foam of her coffee then sticks her finger in her mouth.  He clicks, his clicker.  His next stop at a store nets a flirtaous look from a woman, he clicks.  Dry cleaning place, woman flirts, he clicks.  Music store, two women flirt, double clicks on his clicker.  Shoe store, woman flirts, he clicks, doorman flirts?  Puzzled look, he clicks.  Standing on the street a bus full of college women stops, they flirt and he clicks away. In the restaurant, women flirt, he clicks away.  Then he’s shown walking into an elevator with a delivery guy in it.  He shows the delivery guy his clicker with the number of women that flirted with him that day, the guy shows his (it has more) the commercial ends showing us the delivery guy spraying Axe on himself  before he leaves for work.  This commercial is faulty use of authority and bandwagon.  That is just one of many Axe commercials.  Tag is a competitive brand but has the same concept.  The product draw is that if you use their product you will attract women.  After seeing those commercials, my son who wasn’t even a teen wanted me to buy him some.  This is a bad thing as it makes the guy look out to be a ladies man, he may actually think the scent will attract women.  Maybe my son thought if he wore that spray that the girls would like him.  I did buy it for him to promote good hygiene.  However, in my opinion the smell was unattractive. 

Let’s not forget McDonald’s commercials.  Those ever popular Happy Meals.  They advertise the meal, hamburger, cheeseburger or a four piece chicken nugget with french fries and a small soft drink.  Or these days, you can get a mighty kids meal which is a happy meal but super-sized for kids.  So a hamburger would be a double hamburger or a cheeseburger would be a double cheeseburger or instead of a four piece chicken nugget, they can get a six piece chicken nugget with small fries and a medium sized drink.  Meals appeal to the children as it comes with a toy.  McDonalds has used Beanie babies, Barbie, Hot Rods, etc to lure children into buying their product.  In fact, during the Beanie Babies promotion, McDonalds also attracted adults.   I must admit, I was one of them.  I even had the option to buy the Beanie baby without the meal.  But what good is that?  McDonalds advertising followed the bandwagon.  Something that every kid felt they had to have.  Did it really make them happy?  I don’t think so, well maybe just for the moment.  It did cause children to want to eat unhealthy greasy food with a sugary drink by giving them a free toy.  San Francisco has recognized this type of advertising to be a problem as they “forbid restaurants from offering a free toy with meals that contain more than set levels of calories, sugar, and fat.”(Bernstein, par.2)  “From San Francisco to New York City, the epidemic of childhood obesity in this country is making our kids sick, particularly kids from low income neighborhoods, at an alarming rate.”(Bernstein, par.4).

Fellow classmate Carmen Lee agrees “while most of us do not notice, many ads deceive us into believing what they have to present.  It is not uncommon for us to bypass the fact that some ads can be misleading.  Ads exaggerate in order to impress their viewers.  It is common to see an ad that makes you think it is too good to be true. “ 

Yes, ads and or commercials show us other options to similar products.  Yes, they help stimulate the economy.  However ads and or commercials can have a negative effect as we have a tendency to jump on the bandwagon.  Companies use celebrities to as a way to encourage or entice us to buy their product.  We spend money foolishly on things that we really do no need with money that we really don’t have.     

Bernstein, Sharon “San Francisco Bans Happy Meals” Los Angeles Times 02 November 2010.  02 October 2011 http://articles.latimes.com/2010/nov/02/business/la-fi-happy-meals-20101103

Lee, Carmen.  “Ads Pros and Cons”  Online posting 23 Sept 2011.  Laulima Discussion https://laulima.hawaii.edu/portal/site/KAP.XLSENG215js.201210/page/70638c63-3d48-4275-828a-7e37acace01e

Log of Completed Activities
_X__ Sep. 19- Intro to Paper #2. Read the Guidelines for Paper #2.
_X__ Sep. 23- Laulima Discussion: Ad Pros and Cons
___ Sep. 26- Complete readings for paper #2.
_X__ Sep. 30- Laulima Discussion: Logical Fallacies Exercise
_L__ Oct. 3- Submit RD2 [50 pts]. Review the guidelines.
_X__ Oct. 7- Submit three RD2 evaluations [50 pts]. Review the guidelines.
_X__ Oct. 12- Submit FD2 [125 pts]. Review the guidelines.