Hate Crime in PA

According to an article from fox news two teenagers from Pottsville Pennsylvania were acquitted of third-degree murder, aggravated assault and ethnic intimidation charges yesterday. The teens were accused of beating a Mexican immigrant to death and Prosecutors called the “beating death of an illegal immigrant from Mexico a hate crime”. Not only did these two teens get acquitted but the jury was an all-white jury in Pennsylvania coal country. I thought that jury’s couldn’t be all the same race because of bias, but I guess this didn’t matter because it happened in Pennsylvania and not New York. Images are from fox news.

Brandon Piekarsky, who is 17, was acquitted of third-degree murder and ethnic intimidation. Derrick Donchak, who is 19, was acquitted of aggravated assault and ethnic intimidation. Both teenagers were convicted of simple assault. Both brutally beat the 25-year-old Hispanic man, Luis Ramirez, and were only charged with a simple assault. A representative of the Ramirez’s family states that these jurors got it wrong. Glady’s Limon who is the staff attorney for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, was at the trial and informed the Ramirez’s family of the verdict is outraged by the outcome of this case. She says, "There's been a complete failure of justice...It's just outrageous and very difficult to understand how any juror could have had reasonable doubt…clearly established that Luis Ramirez was brutally beaten."

The case brought ethnic tensions in Shenandoah PA, which is described as “a blue-collar town of 5,000 that has lured Hispanic residents drawn by cheap housing and jobs in nearby factories and farm fields”. The 2000 U.S. Census showed that Schuylkill County's population was “96.6 percent white, with 1.1 percent of the county listed as Hispanic or Latino” meaning most people haven’t even seen a non-white person.

This is insane how people today are still being racist we are in 2009 why do people still hate other people. Is it because he wasn’t a citizen or because he didn’t have the same color skin as them? Also how is it possible to have an all white jury especially when there is a hate crime at hand? It just makes me think how corrupt our legal system still is along with all the other problems our country has right now. I think these kids should have gotten more of a sentence instead with a slap on the wrist which is basically what they got. It makes me wonder if they didn’t happen in Bumblefuck PA and it happened in a major city like NY, if these kids would have gotten the same sentence or a different one.

Sick people who hurt innocent animals

In an article from fox news a few months ago two teenagers named Angelo Monderoy, 18, and Matthew Cooper, 17, broke into a vacant apartment in Brooklyn and set a cat on fire. The kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes said that the teenagers poured charcoal lighter fluid on the cat while holding it down. They then set fire to the cat causing very deep wounds and fourth-degree burns. The cat was found outside, unable to move and was crying but still alive and later was euthanized at an animal hospital. The ASPCA which stands for American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals investigation lead to the capture of these two teens and they were indicted. In addition the fire also damaged the building where other people were in fact living. Because of this the two teenagers could spend 25 years in prison for allegedly torturing and killing a cat they set on fire when they broke into an apartment in New York City. The charges they face are second-degree arson, second-degree burglary and aggravated animal cruelty. Image was found on flickr.

Another incident of this happened in Mount Vernon recently where someone set a draw which had kittens in it on fire. The kittens were only 2 weeks old when they were set fire The kittens were rescued and survived but were meant to be left for dead. According to Shannon Laukhuf who is the executive director for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Westchester says that “Unfortunately we have been seeing a lot more cruelty lately than we care to see…But I've never seen anything like this though, when four kittens were blatantly set on fire."

After these two stories I am sickened by it because I have no remorse for people who hurt animals. People who hurt animals are usually sociopaths who are people who don’t feel emotion. If these people are hurting animals what’s to stop them from hurting people too. These people belong in jail for the maximum sentence and should definitely seek mental help. If you think someone is hurting or neglecting an animal you can call the SPCA’s of Westchester’s 24 hour confidential tip line at 914-941-7797.

Swine Flu how did it get here????

A group of students from Queens might be the reason that the Swine flu. Image is from flickr. According to an article from the nytimes says that Esti Lamonaca and her friends are under a national spotlight as the health officials try to figure out whether this group of teenagers are the reason there is a swine flu outbreak in New York. This group of students spent five months planning a trip to Mexico to celebrate their senior year of high school. They choose the Oasis Cancun hotel, and it was a dream vacation for the students. Esti Lamonaca said the trip was “awesome”.

This new flu strain is responsible for killing 149 people and sickened more than 1,600 in Mexico. This could easily become a global pandemic, because of all the traveling people do. About 45 cases have been confirmed in the United States and 28 of them were from students at St. Francis Preparatory School in Queens, where Ms. Lamonaca and 7 of the 11 friends she vacationed with are students.

Health officials caution that they are not sure yet whether the vacationers, who came back to school on April 20 after the six-day trip, caused the outbreak. There was a questionnaire given to students at St. Francis asked about travel to Mexico, but also to California and Texas. Ms. Lamonaca said it was not fair to blame her and her friends for the outbreak and says “No one can prove it”. Ms. Lamonaca said she began to feel sick last week, with a sore throat, aching back and a cough, and is now feeling better. However the article states that she had not been tested for the swine flu. So how can we blame someone for this epidemic if they haven’t even been tested for it to confirm they brought it hear?

Car Crashes

In an article from the nytimes says that car accidents and crashes are the leading cause of death for people aged 16 to 20 years old. Image is from flickr. There are about 5,500 or more teenagers who are drivers or passengers that die from car crashes each year. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, about 450,000 teenagers are injured, 27,000 of them requiring hospitalization because of these accidents. From the amount of people who are killed 63 percent are the drivers and about 37 percent are passengers. Males make up two thirds of the fatalities in these crashes. Teenagers make up only 6 percent of all drivers but are implicated in 14 percent of fatal crashes which is almost nine times the rate of the population.

In reaction to this problem the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents have teenagers sign a “driving contract” that goes over when the teenager can use the car and who can be in it. They also recommend that if the contract is violated that they should take away the privileges. I think this is a good idea because parents and teens are on a contract which says what you can do with the car and what you can’t. I personally used to skip a lot of school in high school and my parents tried to track my mileage to see if I was actually in school or not and that didn’t work for too long. Eventually I broke the rules so many times they stopped caring. I think this is a way better way to achieve a common ground with driving expectations.

Another thing that the article explains is how important it is to have experience and it really does matter. The article says that factors like “alcohol, drugs and distractions like the stereo naturally come to mind, the single biggest reason for both fatal and nonfatal crashes involving teenage drivers is inexperience” (JANE E. BRODY ,2009). In a recent study the highest rate for crashes usually happened within the first month of getting your license and the rate drops down after 5 months of time.

Distractions in the vehicle contribute to accidents for both teenage and adult drivers. But distractions are a more serious problem for beginner drivers because they tend to look away from the road for longer periods and may then drift out of their lane or fail to respond in time to a need or hazard. When I first got my license I got in an accident because I looked down at my radio to change the station. The American Academy of Pediatrics noted that “eating, drinking and adjusting the radio or the climate controls each cause more crashes than cellular phone use…Hands-free cell phones have not reduced the risk significantly”.

Teenagers also tend to be greater risk-takers than adults because they think everything they do is right. They are less likely than adults to use seat belts, especially when driving with other teenagers even though it saves lives. In 2004 a study conducted about teenage car crashes says that 58 percent of people died as a result of not wearing a seat belt. The article says that teenager’s use of seat belts is least likely in the most dangerous of conditions including, when driving at night, under the influence of alcohol or with several teenage passengers.

Myth About Teen Promiscuity

In an article from the nytimes says that there is a myth of rampant teenage promiscuity. Teenager’s parents are constantly worrying about changing moral values and risky behavior among this group. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, reported that the rate of births for 15- to 19-year-olds rose for the first time in over a decade. Although this is alarming news in reality most teens are waiting to have sex and are said to be “more conservative about sex than previous generations” (TARA PARKER-POPE, 2009).

According to the National Youth Risk Behavior Survey the percentage of teenagers that has had sex is 47.8 but in 2007. This percentage is down from a 54.1 percent in 1991. In another report from the Department of Health and Human Services showed that 30 percent of teenage girls ranging in age from 15 – 17 in 2002. This rate was down from 38 percent in 1995. For teenage boys who have had sex in the same age range was 31 percent which was down from 43 percent in 2002.

In the same report, the rates went down for younger teenagers as well. In 2002 only 13 percent of girls had sex before the age of 15 which was down from 20 percent in 1995.
According to Kathleen A. Bogle who is a professor at La Salle University she says that “There’s no doubt that the public perception is that things are getting worse, and that kids are having sex younger and are much wilder than they ever were, But when you look at the data, that’s not the case.”

One main reason people misinterpret teenage sexual behavior is because dating and relationships had changed over time. In the first half of the 20th century, “dating was planned and structured — and a date might or might not lead to a physical relationship” (TARA PARKER-POPE, 2009). This scares the parents of teens now because things aren’t the way they used to be. This new pattern of dating is in forms of gatherings and hook ups. It could also be like this picture. The current rise in teenage pregnancy rates is cause for concern for both parents and teens. It could also be like this picture.

Today there are all types of contraceptives including condoms, birth control and abstinence. The rate has dropped drastically since 1950 same with abortion rates. According to Maria Kefalas who is a professor of sociology at St. Joseph’s University she says that “There is a group of kids who engage in sexual behavior, but it’s not really significantly different than previous generations…This creeping up of teen pregnancy is not because so many more kids are having sex, but most likely because more kids aren’t using contraception.”

According to the Nation Statistics on behavior about 16 percent of teens say they had oral sex. Today’s teens are said to have a more relaxed attitude towards oral sex than previous generations. Also some think this is safer form of sex and pregnancy isn’t a problem to worry about. All it takes for teens to have sex is that it requires time and lack of supervision.

Immigrants in the United States

According to cnn there are 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States which make up 4 percent of the United States population. Most of the illegal immigrants come from our boarder in Mexico which is estimated to be 7million people. In a study conducted by the Pew Hispanic Center estimates there are 4 million children who have at least one parent who entered the United States illegally. Once here these children were born in the United States and are now U.S. citizens as a result. There are about 5.5 million children of illegal immigrants inside the United States, according the Pew study. Image is from flickr.com

The study also stated that there is an estimate of 1.8 million children of undocumented immigrants live in poverty, “among children whose parents are unauthorized immigrants, one in three is poor” (Wayne Drash, 2009). This is a very high rate for children living in poverty who are children of immigrants. Also a lot of these children have parents who are constantly working to help make a better life for them here. The study also stated that “children of illegal immigrants make up an even greater share of students in America's primary and secondary schools, with nearly 7 percent enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade” (Wayne Drash, 2009). People from all around the world come to the United States to get an education and opportunity. The Pew Hispanic research also said that children were more likely to live in a two parent household compared to the other parts of the population. The study states that the “vast majority of all children with at least one unauthorized immigrant parent live in two-parent families which is 80 percent” compared to children who had parents U.S. born being 71 percent. This information is explaining how more immigrants are willing to stay together and be depended on each other to manage rather than to just leave or divorce.

However now in our current economy why would you want to come here when companies and banks are failing? Our current unemployment rate right now is 8.5% people who are citizens and illegal are being laid off in all fields. Many people are in debt and borrowed more than they should have and it’s a big mess. But according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Immigrants without citizenship make up more than 5% of the United States. Immigrants are willing to take the jobs that others don’t want to do but times are now changing and many people are desperate and laid off so this (economic recession) might end up affecting more people than previously thought.

Sex Trade: The New slavery

The Federal Beau of Investigation estimates that there are more than 100,000 of children and you women are trafficked into the United States every day. These children can range in age from nine years old to nineteen. Human trafficking is the current slavery of our time. About 200 years ago, the United States outlawed the transatlantic slave trade. And only a few years later the practice of slavery was stopped in Northern part of America. It took the civil war to abolish slavery in the southern states after years of war. While much has changed since the days of the transatlantic slave trade, the “new slavery is now being practiced with children and teenagers. Here is a link to this image .
This is a very big problem which should be addressed and I think that this is more important than the war on drugs. Children, teenagers, young women and men are being bought and sold for their services worldwide by Horney dirty people. People from the United States go to other countries like Mexico and Twain to have sex with young children. My boyfriend’s friend went to Mexico over his spring break and said that people were walking up to him asking him if he wanted sex and one even said “I have a nine year old for you”. This grosses me out and it’s scary to think that someone you know may be involved in this trade. Prostitution is considered the oldest form of work dating back to before the bible.
There are many victims of this and seen as a monetary value not a person with feelings, needs and wants. Many of these victims come from good families and are tricked or kidnapped and forced to do sexual things or their captures threaten their families and their lives. These people are said to be in fact owned by another person. If you think you have come in contact with a victim of human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at 1.888.3737.888.