The Biological importance of water with reference to structure and bonding

Water (H2O) is one of the most abundant molecules on earth, and it forms the basis of the fluids within living organisms; it is therefore essential to their survival. Due to its physical and chemical properties, water can also be a habitat for some organisms.

Structurally water contains one oxygen that is covalently bonded to two hydrogens. This means there is a shared pair of electrons between each hydrogen atom and the lone oxygen.  However, electrons in the covalent bond are not shared equally, this is because the oxygen atom has a greater electronegativity, meaning that it has a greater pull on the electrons. Due to this, each water molecule has slightly negative and slightly positive regions. The two hydrogen atoms are positively charged whilst the oxygen atom is negatively charged therefore the bonded molecule ( H2O), is a polar molecule because the charges do not cancel. This means hydrogen atoms remain slightly positive and oxygen atoms slightly negative. As a result, there is an attraction between the oppositely charged atoms and this attraction is referred to as a hydrogen bond. This is because it is stronger than normal other electrostatic attractions.The chemical structure (hydrogen bonding mainly) of water means that it has many physical properties that make it incredibly diverse.
Water has a very high boiling point and specific heat capacity, many compounds with molecules similar to the size of water are usually gases. Since each water molecule can form hydrogen bonds with up to 4 other water molecules, water is a liquid at room temperature.

Liquid	Molecular formula	Bpt / oC	Mpt / oC	Specific heat capacity / kJ kg-1 oC -1
Water	H2O	100	0	4.18
Ethanol	C2H5OH	79	-117	2.46
Benzene	C6H6	80	6	1.05
Tetrachloromethane	CCl4	77	-23	0.86

The table shows water in comparison to other compounds containing molecules of a similar size. The high specific heat capacity is an advantage to cells particularly because many of the reactions occurring within them are catalysed by enzymes. Enzyme activity is sensitive to temperature and reactions only occur in a narrow range of temperatures. It also has a large enthalpy of vaporisation (heat energy required to convert a liquid to a gas) and this results in a high boiling point. When it evaporates, water draws thermal energy out of the surface it’s on, which can be observed in sweating. In many living organisms, including humans, the evaporation of sweat, which is 90 percent water, allows the organism to cool so that homeostasis of body temperature can be maintained.  In a similar pattern water also happens to have a low melting point as can be seen above, Water’s exceptionally high melting point helps protect Earth’s glaciers from melting. It also keeps oceans and most lakes from freezing completely. Both features are critical for aquatic life. As water cools, its temperature decreases until it reaches its freezing point (0°C). Further cooling, however, will not lower the temperature until all of the water freezes. Because oceans and large lakes are too big to freeze completely solid, their temperatures will never drop below water’s melting point which results in the preservation of aquatic life.

  Hydrogen bonding in water accounts for more than just its thermal properties, because of it, frozen water (ice) is less dense than liquid water. For most other substance the reverse is true however when water freezes it forms a giant structure with every oxygen atom at the centre of a tetrahedral arrangement of hydrogen atoms (two are covalently bonded and two are hydrogen-bonded). This makes a Giant lattice that has many gaps and therefore a lower density (mass per unit volume) than that of the liquid version. This means that lakes freeze from the top down to the bottom which is important for animals that live on ice, as their habitats would be greatly reduced or not exist at all if ice sank. E.G- Seals or Polar bears.

  Although previous properties have been unique and of importance, perhaps the most important features of water is that it is:

     a)      A liquid at room temperature

     b)      the “universal solvent

Water being a liquid at room temperature provides a marine environment for organisms to live in, but also provides a liquid environment inside cells, which holds significant importance, because metabolic reactions that are key to life, take place in solution. It is described as the ‘universal solvent’, because it dissolves much more substances than most common solvents. This is due to H2O being dipolar, which means that the charged areas of the hydrogen and oxygen atoms will attract polar and ionic substances that are dissolved in it, this allows the water molecules to form a layer around each charged ion, keeping the substance in solution. Water being such a successful solvent enables the transport of nutrients and the removal of waste products within living organisms.

Another property caused by water molecules being dipolar is that water has both cohesion and adhesion properties. Cohesion refers to the fact that water sticks to itself very easily, and adhesion means that water also sticks very well to other things. Both of these properties can be observed in transpiration but are also beneficial in other situations. Water cohesion results in a high surface tension of water which is essential for the transfer of energy from wind to the water surface to create waves. Waves are necessary for rapid oxygen diffusion in lakes and seas. The cohesion of water also directly affects us in our daily lives because it results in Capillary action. This is the ability of a liquid to flow in narrow spaces without the assistance of, and in opposition to, external forces like gravity. This assists the pumping action of your heart to help keep the blood moving in your blood vessels.

In conclusion, water is of great biological importance mainly because of its chemical structure. This results in unique thermal and structural properties. It is the most diverse substance and as yet no living organism has been found to successfully function without it. 

The curse of old age

 

The illusion is one of happiness and joy as one reaches maturity. Hollywood has romanticised the inevitable outcome to every generation, and depicted a maturity where one relaxes alongside their beloved partner, and eventually together, they will peacefully fade out of existence. The reality disturbingly contradicts this popular notion.

The uncontrolled defecation, urination, hair loss, joint pain suffered by most is less than enjoyable and of course there is the constant trauma of becoming a burden onto your family. According to John Bingham, “more than one million families have been forced to sell their home in just five years to meet the cost of paying for residential care” and if you’re unfortunate enough to be sent to a care home of less than the highest quality then you’re likely to be subject to abuse and mistreatment from workers who view the elderly as nothing other than invalids. The likelihood of escaping from such an institute is slim to none; your family (in the same way a petulant child might be ignored) will dismiss claims of mistreatment as nothing more than a decrepit cry for attention.  No place is safe, the acclaimed Orchid view home which costs an outstanding £3,000 a month and is rated as “good” was found guilty of mistreatment and abuse of its residents. “A five-week inquest heard that residents were routinely given overdoses of medication, and were left soiled and in pain during two years of terrible mismanagement and staff shortages.”

In recent years, there has been a shocking rise in the number of reported cases of care home abuse, “HSCIC figures showed that the number of cases referred for investigation by councils in England rose from 108,000 in 2011/2012, to 112,000 in 2012/2013.” The concern is that there may still be a wide number of cases that are still not being reported because people fear the repercussions of being dubbed a ‘snitch’. Charities such as age concern UK are working alongside British city councils in the hope of rectifying this neglect.

Old age will eventually come upon even the best of us, and if the social workers employed to take of us cannot seemingly do so, then there is need for concern. “Abuse is unacceptable and we need a zero-tolerance approach to any abuse, whether through neglect, financial manipulation or physical or mental cruelty” especially if the abuse if to one of the elderly who can no longer protect themselves and are dependent on the generosity of those around them. The Hollywood reality should not be taken as fact; the elderly among us are some of the most vulnerable.

 

 

That phone addiction

In the true spirit of "new year, new me," I have subjugated thyself to a complete rehabilitation and the restoration of my independence from the addictive hypnosis of 'The Smartphone.' In hindsight, I can not help but regret my impetuous decision. The brutality of  such a sudden separation is unmatched, and though one has never had the misfortune of being subject to a narcotics dependency, one would argue that the pain and complete helplessness of not having that communication portal close at hand must surely be the same. Smart phones are fast becoming the new method of escapism from the drudgery of reality. At the touch of a few buttons, one can manipulate their hand held device into doing almost anything. Despair does not readily describe my  woeful situation and I can not help but engage in euphoric daydreams of a day when I shall at long last be reunited with my Samsung galaxy s4 mini. It is not just a phone for me, but a way of life and though such an admission possibly makes me seem like an awkward social pariah, it is nevertheless entirely true. I find myself reaching for the none existent device as an impetuous reflex to an awkward social situation, or a sudden lull in conversation. It is only as my hand reaches the achingly empty mobile telephone capsule aka pocket, that I remember - I gave up my phone and I can not for the next five/six months seek solace in the intellectually challenging adventure world of Candy Crush. I blame my irrational decision on serve intoxication and a general malfunction in brain capabilities, I would love to claim that I was coerced into the decision, however, it seems to have been my own foolish decision that has lead to this regrettable turn of events.
Despite my general anguish at this estrangement from what has become almost an extension of my person, I recognise the positive effects the withdrawal has had. Not only do I now suddenly appear to have hours more of free time, but relationships with my siblings and my family as a whole have seen an improvement. No longer do I remain oblivious to their existence as I rapidly gossip to my companions, but instead I have been forced to endure through a myriad amount of family discussions and such like and most surprisingly, I have come to the realisation that the absence of my presence from social networking will not cause the Armageddon I had mistakenly believed.

An open letter to Rakhi Kumar

Rakhi Kumar addressed a letter to first lady Michelle Obama criticizing her choice of role model, In the letter, she openly expresses her contemptuous view of the RnB singer who I am sure could care less.She links Beyonce to the child trafficking problems of the US claiming that these children are coerced into the sordid lifestyle of debauchery and abuse because they are tantalized by the Beyonce lifestyle and therefore wish to emulate her actions. What Kumar conveniently forgets is that many children are sold into the sex trade and it is rarely a thing of choice, to suggest such a thing makes light of sordid illegal trade. After all Rakhi Kumar, if the they willing volunteer to be violated by men old enough to have sired their fathers, why should anyone bother to attempt to rescue them? The reality of the child sex trade is a harsher than what even Kumar believes; there is no choice. One does not just stumble upon thirteen year olds from stable homes opting to journey to a new and hostile environment simply because they envisage a opulent lifestyle much like Beyonces to be awaiting them.
As a sixteen year old, I would like to point out that it was only three years ago when I myself was thirteen (the age, according to Kumar, at which one is susceptibility to all manner of things) however, I must admit despite the allure of 'fame and fortune,' I was not stupid enough to foolishly believe that such luxuries could be granted via anything other than immense talent and hard work. Thirteen is not six, and one must always be weary of generalising what can and cant influence children- they are not all as innocent as you may like to believe. The age specified in the article is irrelevant, regardless of the age of the child, if as a parent you can not teach your own offspring to not be lead by what is supposedly a "bad example" what is to stop them being lead astray by other influences? Surely then, you have failed in your duty as a parent?
Can the first lady of an global superpower not publically appreciate a singer who has appeared at countless United Nations gatherings, the Mandela funeral and even performed at her husbands inauguration? Who then  should she be endorsing? Mozart? Well sorry to be the bearer of bad news but he is dead and given the fact that he lived back in the 18th century, he is rather too dated to be a role model for most. Is it not enough that the first lady chose to support one of the few well known female artists (in the public eye) who not only has some semblance of a stable family, but does not (unlike many) feature in the explicitly sordid recordings that are sex tapes. What more Rakhi Kumar do you want? Beyonce is the epitome of femininity entwined with a stage character that is sensual without being crass and a business woman to boot. What more could she be? I may not be a mother, but I know that if my child were to one day enter into the music industry, Beyonce is who I would tell her to emulate and do you know what? Im not even a Beyonce fan, but i recognise that her conduct though not beyond reproach, is commendable.

DON’T “Just be yourself”

From the moment we first enter into society, we are bombarded with carefully constructed lies designed to indulge us in our idiocy and hinder us from progressing in our daily lives. These falsehoods are often offered in dismissal so that the rest of society is not forced to deal with you wallowing in self pity and are will supposedly boost your confidence (for a while). There is nothing more dangerous than believing said lies.

Lie number one: You should just be yourself

Often when unsure of themselves, people are encouraged to be themselves, worst advice ever. Being you in a completely alien environment is beyond stupid, one must use their own personal judgment to discern the manner in which they should present themselves. The way one would act whilst partaking of a meal in the presence of the queen differs greatly to a more relaxed dinner amongst family. There the particularly crass might comfortably break wind or casually remark upon a much required bowel movement. Sitting across from the Queen however, the conversation would be much more conservative. If not then it is unlikely that you will be called back to Buckingham palace for a second visit. So maybe that scenario was a little extreme, if you want to see that being you is a load of bollocks then consider this: is there a difference between the way you act with friends and the way you act with family? If there isn't then you either have a really laissez-faire household, or your friends are shit.

                       

Lie number two: It’s the inside that counts

Now though this to some extent can be argued to be true, it is the most dangerous lie out there. Fed on a regular basis to ugly girls by their supportive mothers, this grotesque manipulation of the truth leads many females into believing that if they shouldn't even bother with their appearance because a guy must appreciate the inner beauty. *newsflash* If the outside doesn't look good, who’s going to stick around long enough to see what’s inside? Imagine this, two houses are up for sale, one is right next to a burst sewage pipe, there is sewage spewing forth from the ruptured pipe. The road is ridden with potholes; it’s in a rough neighborhood and in a general state of disrepair. No one sticks around to enter in, however, if one were to enter in, they would realise that in contrast to the outside, everything inside is perfectly clean and it rather impressive to say the least, Chandeliers, the lot. The other home that is for sale is located in a more respectable neighborhood; the grounds are neatly maintained overall highly aesthetically pleasing. The interior of the house is however in somewhat of a shambles. Because the outside is so well maintained and attractive, one is almost always willing to compromise and accept the house on the presumption that the interior can be restored to its former glory. The same is true for people if the outside looks like a pile of shit no one cares what’s on the inside, because they never stick around long enough to find out. Let the interior match the exterior and if it doesn't? Then compensate for that shit interior with stunning outer casing. All in all, the inside only counts if the outside is worth looking at.

Santa claus

Santa Claus is perhaps the worlds most famous alcoholic pervet , and yet everyone accepts him for who he is.
In the dead of night while the little ones are asleep, he shimmies his was down the chimney (which is a truly trying task considering his bulk) and yet somehow he achieves this almost supernatural feat.  Suprisingly, he has in all the centuries that have passed since he began his career, never thought to open the front door. All that travel through chimneys cant be good for him and its a wonder he hasnt yet developed some lung cancer or other serious ailement.
The man who is clearly an opportunistic slave driver exploits a poor race of smaller beings. Being the villain that he is, the man overworks the poor souls, while he sleeps and recuperates for 364 days of the year. Yet somehow he alone receives the glory.
Frugal as he is, he refuses to invest in a more conventional transportation vehicle chosing instead to keep enslaved reindeer for his own pleasure. He forces the broken animals to drag not only weight but the considerable amount of presents destined to find their way to some young child who he has been moniteering for a full year. (Creepy much?) The man is truly above the law, not only is his chosen mode of transport questionable, he only has one inadequate headlight. Instead of seeking medical help for the animal that has clearly at some point been exposed to radiation, he continues to use the animals possible source of pain and embarrassment for his own gain. How callous he is.
This is by far not his only road offence, the man will partake of brandy or some such other alcoholic concoction at every house that he vists and considering that the world now has over 7billion people, the man clearly operares his transportation device while he is heavily above the limit.
With all this alcohol helping to free his inhibitions, it is unthinkable what the man is capable of doing once inside your home. Perhaps this state of drunkeness is what leads him to enter through the chimney and not the provided entrance door. Considering that his life is devoted to watching over children, the ideas that may posses him while he loiters in your foyer (in the dead of night) are disturbing to say the very least; it is only a matter of time before his depravity escalates to such an extent.
Consuming all this alcoohol must have by now caused irreparable damage to his liver and since he is not actually formally employed, the NHS must be keeping him alive. His lack of employment also means that he is also living of the back of the tax payer and so he infact does nothing for Christmas, the money for the presents is not even his.
His life is to monitor children and nothing else, and since he is watching at every moment "he sees you when you're sleeping" it is also logical to assume that he is aware of when said children are bathing or performing any other bodily functions making him a pervert and perhaps even a paedophile. The fact that he also "knows when you're awake" suggests underlying stalking tendencies.  Santa Claus is a true menace to society and he must be stopped before it is too late.

Christmas

For 364 days of the year (no not 365, since that is the day they wait for), children and adults alike await the arrival of Christmas and Santa Claus. The deafening sounds of festive caroling, the laborious toiling involved with Christmas dinner and above all the hustle and bustle of christmas shopping. But what truly is the point of Christmas?
Christians would argue that it it is a time set aside to celebrate jesus birth, so why then is it the most expensive time of year? Born in a stable as he was, materialism could surely not have been his life long desire and yet we honour his birth not by considering others but indulging in gluttonous expenditure designed to leave you a dress size bigger than what you previously were.
If one were to be brutally honest with themselves, they would eventually reach the same conclusion that I have. Christmas is a superficial pointless celebration that has been fuelled by retailers in order to generate profit. For many It is a time where nothing matters more than having that new game or that new console. It is nothing more than an excuse to lavish money better spent elsewhere on frivolities that will be forgotten before the new year countdown begins and it is above all an excuse for many to be openly be selfish. It is not the thought that counts but rather the size and worth of said present that truly makes a difference; anyone who claims otherwise is deceiving others and perhaps they themselves believe the falsification. Christmas has lost all meaning and it is a time of nothing but the accumulation of materialistic goods. Try to just have one christmas with no presents and see for yourself the reaction you receive, after all, if it's the birth of jesus we celebrate, why then are we the ones to receive meaningless presents handpicked from the new argos catalogue. Forgive for saying so, but Christmas means nothing.
This realisation is the penultimate step between childishness and maturity and accepting this truth is what marks the end of youthful ignorance. It is a truth that all adults know but ignore for the sake of tradition.

Fat people truly are "Evil"

Being overweight was once upon a time in the days of old, interpreted as a sign of lavish wealth and prosperity. However: with the birth of “junk food”, double chins and abnormally large abdomens, it has became a regular social norm no longer reserved for the elite. This influx of fatties has created a society of “fat slammers”. The larger ones among us have responded in kind by becoming horrid gluttonous masses that despise all things healthy, or introverted pitiful individuals. Now understand that this does not relate to the plump or overweight members of our society, but rather is referencing the grotesquely obese who are in that position due to an abundant lack of self control. A recent controversial article has been hurtling across the World Wide Web, sparking debates between the young and old, men and women alike. The opinionated post – “5 reasons fat people are evil”, -was an attack on all things “fat”.

The author (2Wycked) had five inarguably good reasons for why it was that the generously proportioned among us, were soulless heathens, on a straight course to the eternal damnation of hell. Firstly, this particular group of people are the definition of selfish, the main goal in their lives always to gratify their ever tingling taste buds and satisfy their ever present sexual frustrations with inordinate amounts of calorie rich foods. In the mirror, faced with the morbid evidence of greed and insatiability, some choose to cower behind baggy unattractive pieces of clothing that do everything to hide their unsightly bodies, while others remain disillusioned and continue to wear skimpy strips of nothing that offer no protection from the repugnant sight of their scantly clad bodies.  When confronted by more svelte human specimens these fat people argue that big is beautiful, but not when it has progressed to the point of overhanging stomachs that act as a blanket for the genitals. “Good things come in small packages”.  Notably it has been found that those of a larger than average physique, almost always emit a putrid stench of sweat, passed gas and general smells only caused by a general unhygienic lifestyle.

Because of all these characteristics, fat people often find themselves as outcasts and must make a conscious effort to be accepted by their peers. They do this in one of two ways: become the clown, or use their size to dominate others. It is the latter instance which allows them to truly be dubbed as “evil”. In order to compensate for their feelings of inadequacy, they target and inferiorise those who pose as a threat to them or remind them of their foul lifestyle. Instead of changing their lifestyle to something more maintainably healthy (that is not a shortcut to a heart attack), fatties will attempt to ridicule those around them in order to boost their fragile esteem. Evil – something that is harmful – their mission to inflict themselves upon others is surely the definition of evil? There is noting worse than a person whose sole mission is to demoralize others, and that is something that 2Wycked tried to communicate in his article. Unfortunately for him, his wording of the article seemed, for all intents and purpose, to be an uninspired attack on our society’s heavier occupants.

Original article by 2Wycked http://www.returnofkings.com/18173/5-reasons-fat-people-are-evil

The reality of “the imaginary friend”

The need for human companionship is inherit in all of us, though innocent at best and sinister in the worst of scenarios, the desire for friendship is never more prevalent than in young children. In order to tackle the stifling blanket of isolation shrouding their young lives, these juvenile youngsters conjure up various different imagined playmates; their parents unwilling or unable to devote the appropriate amount of time to their offspring, dismiss these malevolent developments as nothing more than childish shenanigans, and accredit the creation of these characters to overactive imaginations. But are they merely fantastical beings? Or is there more to “the imagined friend” than meets the eye?

The initial assumption, would be that an imaginary friend is conceived in order to satisfy the void of loneliness inside a child, however, a recent compilation of some of the more sinister statements youngster have uttered in regards to their imagined friends challenges this belief and poses the question that none has yet to answer; Are imaginary friends proof of an overactive mind, or are they beings (demonic or otherwise) only made manifest to childish innocence, uncorrupted by the cynicism of our society?

In one particularly disturbing instance a young girl of three tells her parents about her imaginary friend “Kelly” fast forward two years, as the family sit watching the horror movie “Amityville”, their five year old daughter stumbles onto the scene, precisely at that moment, the dead soulless demon appears on screen. The child casually remarks that the macabre phenomenon is the spitting image of her friend “Kelly”. The family shocked as they are ignore all this and simply continue with their day to day lives. Personally, upon reading this. one would strongly suggest a psychiatrist for this child. Either she is delusional, or the child suffers from (judging from this scenario) a case of pathological lying. In any case, a psychiatrist would be the best possible solution for this particular youngster.

Another child, this time a little boy of age 7 claimed his acquaintance and accomplice aptly named “the captain” would continually instruct him to commit murder, upon protesting, “the captain” would argue that after a while, the killing would become enjoyable. Regardless of whether or not “the captain” was a figment of the boy’s imagination, medical help would surely benefit this disturbed prepubescent. Perhaps some time spent in an institutional asylum off sorts would cure him of his insanity.

Though we have come to accept “the imaginary friend” as a common place feature of childhood, one would argue that if we were to pause and process what the children around us are truly saying, we would conclude that many of them deserve to permanently be institutionalised and guided through the perilous road that is childhood. If their minds conjure up scenes of murder and other such sombre scenarios of their own volition, then a visit to the psychiatrist for a thorough assessment would most certainly not be amiss.  After all, one less psychopath integrated in our society simply means a safer existence for all. Imaginary friends, whether they be individuals from the spiritual realm or otherwise, a surely an insight into the psych of our children and they should not be lightly dismissed.

Original article: http://www.buzzfeed.com/jenlewis/the-creepiest-things-a-kid-has-said-about-an-imaginary-fr

Call me what you will

Paul Walker, arguably one of the best action actors of our generation and a key character in the hit movie franchise "fast and furious" is(as of saturday 30 November) dead.
The 40 year old actor was in the car when it crashed into a lamp post and caught fire. Both occupants were killed on site.  Reports claim that he was not behind the wheel at the time of the accident. An inquiry into the circumstances regarding the accident is currently underway.
What gets to me about this story is the way in which everyone has forgotten about the other driver, the one who was killed along with Paul Walker in the crash. what about him? His family, friends, hopes dreams? All anyone seems capable of discussing is the 'tragic' death of Paul walker. Why does no one care about the driver? The answer is simple; he wasn't famous enough.  That is the sad reality of life or rather our society; unless you become someone worthy of note, no one will bother to even find out your name. Despite the fame, with time people forget about you and I can gurantee that in another 5 years you'll look at you friend and say "who was that actor, the hot one from fast and furious who died?" Your friend will look at you blank faced and casually shrug in the universal signature move. "I don't know," then together the two of you will shrug off the matter and continue on your merry way. Now that being the scenario for those of our population who in life         successfully managed to be be labelled as 'a celebrity', how much more insignificant are we? The billions upon billions of people scattered across the globe.
Reading this, you probably realise that you are in fact one of the masses, pause and ask yourself this, if you died today, who would remember you? Who would care?
When one realises how fickle we are as humans, you wonder why you even bother to impress. Why would you please people who will forget you one day? People who will move on while you lay stone cold, six feet under. Then consider this, if you don't live to please people, what do you live for, what is the purpose to ones life? We are born, we are educated, worked until we are of no use to our society and then we die.  No matter how individualistic one may be, the ultimate truth is that we are all following the exact same pattern as that of those before us. Those of us who chose not to (or can not) work and do not have the means to support themselves simply become a burden onto society. From birth till death we are taught to shun this way of life, to work, work, work and earn your living and for what? So you can live comfortably as you await death?
Call me crazy but there must be more to life than that and if not found in life, then forgive me for believing that my peace and purpose will be found in the after life.
For if I truly stopped believing in anything more than the age old tedious pattern of birth to death, I surely would not be able to endure the torture and I would end it before I worked myself to the bone for no apparent reason. Call me a fool but I refuse to accept that it is birth to death and nothing more. Call me stupid for refusing to accept your truth but I refuse to accept that after I die  I shall cease to exist. Call me religious if u will , but atleast I've found a purpose for my life. A reason for living and existing. Call me a dreamer for believing life is but a dream before I wake up to the big picture. Call me what you will, but I believe.

Should bully induced suicide be treated as murder?

I recently found a website called debate.org on which in a less formal structure, two people debate against each other on a variety of different topics. This week, instead of analyzing an article, I engaged in one of these debates. The motion was: Should bully induced suicide be treated as murder? I was against (con) while my opponent was (pro) the idea. I look forward to hearing what you have to say about this issue because I myself am not sure where i stand.

Should bully induced suicide be treated as murder?

(Pro) I believe that if a person is bullied and then commits suicide because of that bullying then the bully should be tried as a murderer in court. Words can be very harmful to a person. They can either raise a person’s spirit or crush all their hopes and dreams. I have been reading about quite a few suicides lately that were the result of bullying. In my opinion the bully might as well have been holding the gun. Many kids that are bullied are afraid to reach out because they fear being ridiculed by their peers, this allows the bully to continue bullying and it may cause the bullying to escalate. If the child being bullied commits suicide then the bully should be prosecuted in a court of law as a murderer.

(Con) My argument is composed of three main points all of which are problems you have failed to realize and consider:

1) You have failed to understand the definition of murder.

Murder- according to every school child's source of homework help, Wikipedia- is the killing of another human being, with malice after thought. Though bullying is frowned upon and can in some cases result in a criminal charge, it is impossible to accuse someone of murder based on the words they speak. In order for a murder charge to be issued, the person would have had to have been actively involved in the murder, but many times, Bullying occurs over a period of time, and there is to begin with possibly never and intent to do harm. People can not be prosecuted with a murder charge because they called someone "fat lard" and it just so happened that this was the push off the pinnacle; Doing so would be a violation of human rights.

2) Suicide is a complicated issue, for one there are many contributing factors to a person committing suicide and it is impossible and unfair to blame it all on bullying. You must consider how people's emotions can lead them to commit suicide over what may be a non issue.

3) Bullying malicious as it is, is a common occurrence in the lives of every adolescent, though words can be hurtful and have grievous consequences (suicide being one) it is very rare for this to be the case. In any way, though bullying is alluded to in every suicide, there is never any concrete evidence to justify this assumption. Do you not think that having to live with the knowledge and the assumption that your actions drove someone to murder is already punishment enough?

Harsh though it may be, words do not murder people, and if it is only words that have been said, harmful and contributory to the suicide as they may have been, one can not classify it as murder.

(Pro) I give you that murder involves a person with malicious intent but does a bully not have malicious intent when bullying a child? A bully will bully a child in order to embarrass that child and make him feel like he is a waste of space. I completely disagree with you that a bully may never have an intent to do harm. A bullies whole goal is to make another person feel lesser than everyone else around them. As a psychology major a know a little about emotions and how they can affect a person and lead to suicide. When a person is constantly told derogative things they begin to believe those things themselves. It's just how our brains work. Bullying has a very large impact on a persons brain. A bully creates a sense of fear for the bullied child. This means that the child will not seek help in ridding himself of the bully for fear of reprisal from the bully. They then start to feel trapped with no other way out other than the taking of their own life. They will become extremely depressed and will isolate themselves from everyone, including their own family. I watched a story over how after about a full year of bullying by another girl, a young lady took her life on her own birthday. The bully had just sent her a message that morning saying that she should die and that no one cared for her. She was constantly called ugly even though she was a quite beautiful young lady. After the young woman committed suicide the bully said that she didn't care and that she was glad the girl had killed herself. I personally believe that this child should be tried with murder. I don't believe that it is enough. Would you consider it enough for a murderer to have to live with the same knowledge and not receive a jail penalty for murder? Bullying is no different from murder. The only difference is that instead of using a gun they use harsh words.

(Con) Negative - studies have shown that many bullies are either battling with low self esteem, concerned with their own self image or are jealous of their victim, Bullies can therefore not be said to have malicious intent but are rather disturbed individuals who need as much help as their victims may need. People respond differently to different kinds of situation, one person may be bullied and subsequently feel so unimportant that they decide to take their own life. while another may mistakenly believe that making another feel their pain is the way to go. At the risk of sounding callous, I would suggest that for many who commit suicide, bullying was not the root of the problem. Their decision to commit suicide may have been spurred on by the bullying however, it is often that the initial problem that the bullying built upon was with them and how they viewed themselves.

Though I would rather dwell more on this motion in a generalized manner, I must, in order to conclusively make blatant the flaws in my opponents argument, direct you toward the well know bullying/suicide case of Amanda Todd. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ej7afkypUsc

I would like you to consider these points:

Firstly she admits that the decision to go on webcam and then later on flash, was hers and hers alone, (though peer pressure may have contributed to the decision, ultimately the decision was hers. She does not mention any of her friends "flashing" therefore we shall for the sake of this debate assume that if they did, she was never privy to this information or perhaps it was irrelevant to the course of following events)

The story then goes on to her being messaged by the man on Facebook, at this point, she was in possession of hard copy evidence of the mans manipulative attempts. It is important to understand that the girl young as she was, had a number of different options. There were any number of different people she could easily have turned to for help, the simple fact that she did not do that shows that to begin with, there was no one close enough for her to confide in. After having gone on webcam with friends sharing what was now happening would not have been too much of a task. Amanda Todd was isolated and that is what made her a prime target for the man to take advantage of her, which is what among other things eventually lead her to commit suicide.

Amanda never says what she decided to do but judging by the outcome I assume that she simply ignored him and the man then sent the picture all around the school, to her family and to friends. At this point in time, her shame and mortification meant meant that the secluded herself from everyone around her and she began to battle depression,, All this was the work of one man and his decision to take advantage of a naive girl who had mistakenly attempted to handle fire and had found out that fire burns.

The problem was never sufficiently dealt with, instead the family moved and Amanda made the decision to turn to drugs and alcohol in order to deal with her problems. She claims that her anxiety escalated but drugs have that effect on people. A year later the guy is said to have come back to target her once more, unless Amanda was further involved with him online or knew him personally, the guy would have after the first attempt simply moved on. When her friends began to once more begun to shun her, she simply retreated into herself as she did not have the confidence in herself to make new friends. As a teenager,people's sexual activity is something that all kids are interested in, because Amanda clearly regretted her decision and had lost respect for herself, her peers responded accordingly. At this point in the story, the bullying starts, she claims that she was called names and "judged". I have to point out that people's judgement will only affect someone if they themselves are embarrassed by it. The name calling was (once the picture was out) bound to happen. Name calling is an almost normalcy in the average high school. "Slut""Slag" are all terms that are loosely thrown around during high school however most people because they themselves still respect themselves are not affected by it. Amanda however was already struggling with her self hared, and she begun cutting.

Once again the young girl moved schools and then she started talking to an "old guy friend" who from the way she mentions going over to his house she likely slept with believing she was in love unfortunately he had a girlfriend she did not know about, because of Amanda's history, this simple everyday misunderstanding escalated.

As expected, when the girlfriend found out what had happened, she was not impressed and the two had a physical confrontation, though nothing is mentioned, Amanda must surely have retaliated in a normal environment the incident would have soon been forgotten or dismissed, however, because of her self hatred and the mistakes from her past, Amanda begun to experience feelings of self doubt and worthlessness. Because of this boys betrayal, and overall her insecurities, she drank bleach and attempted suicide.

Because of the earlier confrontation in which she had painted her self the villain by accepting the blame, there were people who did not feel any sympathy for her because quite unexpectedly, they themselves were still very angry about the situation. Words are exactly that just words, how many times have you made a misguided comment or remark that you have regretted later on? Have you never been so angry and frustrated that you wish someone dead? does telling them that make you a murder? because if it does, then we should all be imprisoned right now.

Amanda moved away and this conveyed a sense of cowardice to her peers who still in anger began a hate campaign, however, because she was not there everyday to confront them with their actions, she just became a joke that people engaged in via the net, the intention was to make her feel terrible about sleeping with someone's boyfriends. Death was not the intended outcome. Her absence from the situation meant that people's emotions went unchecked and she never gave her side of the story. She left as a villain and they remembered her as such. How many times have we heard of something that has happened and without getting the full story we instantly jump to snap decisions? Just look at the case of Bijan Ebrahimi, the man who died because without the full story he appeared to be the villain. As a society when we feel we have been wronged we rarely stop until justice has been served, the people at Amanda's previous school obviously still wanted justice for what they believed Amanda to have done however, because she was not there to defend or tell her side of the story their need for the truth for some kind of justice was never met. As someone in a completely new city Amanda had the opportunity to set aside her past, block and close all her online accounts and just try to build a new life. She was in a completely new city how likely was it that the people from her past would happen upon her? Because of her insecurities and past history, Amanda simply hid away from the problem and eventually it got too much for her and she gave up on her life.

Now I am not in any way attempting to trivialize suicide, however as is clearly seen in the case of Amanda Todd, there are a lot of things that contribute to someone choosing to take their own life. If one considers the whole story, setting all prior convictions aside, you will realize that in most suicide cases, bullying is simply the "the straw that broke the camel's back" and therefore, it can not be tried as murder.

There is no point to Kanye West's Bound 2 video

In recent weeks, the unveiling of Kanye West’s Bound 2 video has sparked much controversy, on the surface; the video is nothing but a sordid misrepresentation of the feminine form. The trashy soft-core pornography is typical of the stereotypical rap video, which is demeaning to women as a whole, while being overly infused with references to the rappers genitals and their subsequently above average sizes. However, after reading Hari Sethi’s analytical article of the video, and his interpretations of what the self acclaimed genius had meant to impart on his audience, I came to the conclusion that perhaps I had been too rash in my judgement of the video, and I like many others, because of my preconceptions, may have instantly missed the point of Kanye’s Bound 2 video.

In the article, Hari Sethi discusses Kanye’s previous works, the motif and the artist’s continual attempts to challenge stereotypes, and create a society in which people are not labelled because of their skin colour. By contextualising the video and the rap itself, Hari Sethi attempts to defend the rapper’s intentions creating a reason behind what is for all intents and purposes, a meaningless and half hearted attempt to generate an income by once again sexualising music.

Kanye West (free spoken as he is) has never struck me as a particularly influence artist, his mannerisms suggest a shallow, self centred, uneducated individual, who futilely attempts to imitate the lifestyle of respected rapper Jay-Z. In his quest for recognition, the frivolous artist has ventured as far as proclaiming himself as God in his crudely entitled musical composition ‘I am God’. Hari Sethi argues that the rapper is in fact working to change the image of Jesus – ‘the most culturally recognisable white figure in the world’- reconciling the image of Jesus, with a black man. The two are classically juxtaposed; Jesus is almost world widely recognised as a chaste icon of purity, atypically black rappers are associated with leading lavish debauched lifestyles and being some of society’s most prominent transgressors. Sethi would argue that Kanye integrates the image of Jesus with that of the rapper in order to spearhead a change in the way rappers are universally viewed. However, I still believe that Kanye’s actions are purely blasphemous, and he is attempting to generate enmity among the religious population in order to stir up discussions so that he stays relevant and well know- a tactic utilized by many an artist, Lady Gaga in particular.

After reading the article by Hari Sethi, I came to the conclusion that Kanye was (as I had previously thought) an egotistical narcissistic iconoclast who strives to cause controversy in order to stay relevant. If he is indeed (as Hari Sethi so vehemently believes) attempting to change the image of the black in today’s society, then he is undoubtedly failing to convey his point and is rather strongly reinforcing the age old stereotypes.  

The article by Hari Sethi: http://sabotagetimes.com/music/why-everybody-has-missed-the-point-of-kanyes-bound-2-video

Sluts?

The sexualization of today's generation has lead to a new breed of female; sluts. According to thefreedictionary.com, a slut is defined as a person, especially a woman, considered sexually promiscuous. A prostitute. The Urban dictionary puts it in simpler terms, a slut is a girl that’s fucked so many guys she can’t close her legs anymore. I couldn't put it better myself.
Lately it seems that the term ‘slut’ has become a term of endearment between friends with some girls even going as far as calling themselves sluts. Why? What gives someone the desire to be called a slut, to be publicly recognized as ‘promiscuous’? The simple answer is Hollywood. In many a Film one will find that the female protagonist is often surrounded (this is particularly true in the modern day teen flicks) if the protagonist happens to be female, then she will 9/10 be involved in a love triangle of some kind on the other hand, if the main character is male, then he will nearly always consort with a variety of females. The message being sent to us is that being a loose woman has become a desirable trait. ‘If you can’t beat them, join them.’ Such a mentality can surely only be a reflection of a flawed society.

Why deny your heritage?

As a teenage African girl living in the United Kingdom it saddens me to note that many of my peers are either ignorant of the reality that is Africa, or misguided in their beliefs. I can not blame them for it seems (in my experience) that many girls and boys who are African to the core, will after entering the UK undergo a metamorphosis.
I have been asked on countless occasions if the rest of my family live in mud huts; not only is there never any evidence to suggest this, but those who dare show such arrogance, are often aware that my family do not live in mud huts and contrary to popular belief neither did my grandparents. I came to the UK when I was only eight years old, never the less I would like to believe that in the eight years since, I have managed to remain true to my African heritage. Why then does it seem as if nearly every black girl around is trying to deny their roots?
Black girls everywhere are trying desperately to fit into the European community around them and though I can empathise with their reasons, it is a deeply saddening thing to observe. These girls in an attempt to meld themselves into that which they are not are now being referred to as 'ratchet'.
Black beautiful girls are undergoing hours of pain at the hair dressers getting weaves that resemble birds nests, stuffing their voluptuous curves -that are atypical of many African women -into air restricting bits of material (that can not be classified under any stretch of the imagination) as clothes. The boys are just as bad.
To an extent this change in the girls can be traced back to their male counterparts. It seems that many boys will (upon entering the UK) strive to eradicate any trace of the African within them. Some will even go to the extent of shunning all that is African and will claim to favour 'white girls'.
These 'Africans in Denial' as I often call them are some of the most racist people I have ever met and it is these sorts of people who I believe are helping to maintain the stereotypes that shroud the beauty that is Africa behind negativity. I wont lie, Africa does indeed have its problems; poverty among them, but these AD's (Africans in Denial) constantly focus on Africa's negative points in order to gain sympathy and acceptance with their peers. Instead of schooling those around them, they will bow to the pressure and play up the stereotype to the full. I often hear most AD's claiming to not like Africa because everyone there is poor and wants their money, one can only laugh, and I have resisted the urge on countless occasions to ridicule such people.
In a foreign country that is miles away from all that they once knew, they have found a way to survive and fit in.