Author Archives: Kamran

About Kamran

Hello my name is Kamran!! UT'19 \m/

“Bill Maher is loco”

Video

“Real Time with Bill Maher: Ben Affleck, Sam Harris and Bill Maher Debate Radical Islam (HBO).” YouTube. YouTube, Oct.-Nov. 2014. Web. 12 Aug. 2015.

The unique attribute of theocracy in general is that people can have many perspectives on it. When people collide theocracy with politics it becomes chaos and people tend to think very conservative about it. In Bill Maher’s show he discuses how liberals fail when it comes to theocracy. Specifically he is referring to Islam and liberals are “offended” when people criticize Islam. In fact he says that people “treat it like it’s a minority”, but it shouldn’t because it’s the second biggest religion in the world. Throughout the video Bill Maher and Smith argue that Islam is a religion that asserts negative things such as violence and lack of open-mindedness. They also discuss that the idea of Islam is bad and that many Muslims are jihadists (Muslim extremists). The opposing side is Ben Affleck who considers Islam to be a peaceful religion and uses many examples to back up his arguments.

Furthermore Maher and Harris discuss how Islam has failed when it comes to free thinkers, freedom of sexuality, and women’s rights. Harris adds that “we have to be able to criticize bad ideas” and “Islam is the motherlode of bad ideas”. While the audience was clapping for the comment he had made, Maher was reiterating it’s “a fact” during the argument. This escalated the debate and Affleck responded, “racist” and “disgusting”. Affleck was astonished what Harris and Maher said; he gave them an absurd look. To neutralize the argument Harris made, Kristof who is a famous author states the “picture you are painting to some extent is true, but hugely incomplete”. He lists notable people who are Muslim’s such as Malala yousafzai, Mohammad Ali, and Rasheed Rahaman. He then conveyed that not everyone is getting the positive exposure of Islam and what it offers. Suddenly Affleck interrupts and says “what about more than a billion people who are not fanatical, who do not punish women, and just want to go to school”. Essentially Affleck is trying to convey that they are stereotyping Islam as violent religion that disapproves every liberal principle. Later Harris breaks the people of Islam into “three concentric circles”. In the center he says its “jihadists” who are Muslim extremists and want to “die trying”. Then he says the second circle Muslims that want change the things in their government by democracy and don’t want to “blow things up”. He also says that those two circles are “twenty percent of the Muslim world”. Finally in the third circle he says there are the “conservative Muslims” who say they are not represented by ISIS. However “they have troubling thoughts about homosexuals and women’s rights” and “they keep them immiserated”. Harris is portraying that most Muslims are conservative when it comes to sexuality and women’s rights.

Additionally Maher aggressively states “it’s the only religion that acts like a mafia that will [expletive] kill you if you say the wrong thing, draw the wrong picture, or write the wrong book.” Maher is employing that Islam has a dearth of tolerance and is a close-minded religion. He does not believe that Islam is a safe a religion and is ignited by fear. When Maher makes these unorthodox comments, Michael Steele who is a politician argues Maher is wrong. He states there “are other souls who stand up to these extremists”, but these “fighters” don’t get enough exposure. Affleck adds that ‘we have killed so many Muslims” and we should not be “exempted” from actions. He also says bluntly “I disagree with you what you have to say”. Affleck is unhappy about what Maher and Harris feel because he thinks there arguments are absurd.

Overall both sides did have proof, but Maher was stereotyping Islam as a violent religion. Towards the end Maher says “ninety percent believe that death is the appropriate way to leave the religion”. Ultimately Maher is uneducated about Islam and needs to acknowledge the fact Islam is based on principal roots.

 

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RS4

Suebsaeng, Ben JacobsAsawin. “2 Chainz for Mayor?” The Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast, 27 Jan. 2015. Web. 04 Aug. 2015.

2chainz mayor

Sullum, Jacob. “The ‘Constitutional Conservative’ Who Wants to Legalize Pot-and Anything That’s Peaceful.” Reason.com. Hit and Run, 04 Mar. 2015. Web. 04 Aug. 2015.

conservative point of view

“Nancy Grace.” Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2015. Web. 03 Aug. 2015.

Grace

The world perceives Taueed Epps or more widely known as 2Chainz to be the typical rapper who boasts about his money and girls. However Epps is a loving father, former division one athlete, salutatorian of his high school class, and obtained a 4.0 in college. Social media highlights none of these things and his career has shaped his image. Recently Epps had debated Nancy Grace on her show about the legalization of marijuana. She had specifically debated 2Chainz because she knows his credentials and he is one of the biggest advocates of the legalization of marijuana. Further she knows he is one of the iconic figures in pop culture and the significant amount of influence he has on the youth.

Throughout the debate 2Chainz is conveying to the audience that marijuana legalization shouldn’t be the biggest problem in our country. Also many people believe Grace to be conservative as well as her audience, which makes it more difficult for 2Chainz to explain his message. Conservatives conceive marijuana as ”evil” because its action “harms other men” (Sullum). Marijuana causes significant hazards to people’s lives and that is the reason Grace seemed exasperated by 2Chainz support of marijuana. In her personal life Grace wanted to become an English professor, however this plan was altered when her fiancé was murdered. This ignited Grace’s career shift to a felony prosecutor. Throughout the debate Grace’s emotions are conspicuous when she discusses about people dying from marijuana or alcohol. She cannot stand the disgust that people suffer from marijuana because people get killed, abused, and sexually harassed. In the debate Grace’s embeds her arguments with videos regarding parents abusing their children with marijuana. She emphasizes how these incidents are “caused by marijuana”, but Epps disagrees and says its “mental illness and alcohol” that are to blame.

Additionally 2chainz discussed in the debate that he had to sell marijuana to provide for his family. He states, “It was a means, a way of living”. “I did it for them [his kids]. I sacrificed that for them so they wouldn’t have to do it.” Growing up from a small city in Georgia, Epps went from rags to riches. He was living in poverty in Georgia and he did everything for his family. The reason Epps’ is so successful is because of the power of capitalism. He is trying to inspire others to become prosperous. Also to extend his influence 2chainz is going to run as mayor for College Park. He adds, “I’m supposed to be running for mayor in College Park”(Jacobs). Epps wants to represent the marijuana community and how they are not the stereotypical community that does absurd things. Epps believes that it’s unfair how people with marijuana possession are treated. They are restricted to vote and ignored from society because it’s on their record.

Overall it’s ironic how people categorize celebrities and rappers because people judge them through their image and music. 2chainz may seem to be the typical rapper, but he is not because he is trying to make an impact on a community. Although he is flamboyant through his music, his music does not personify him.

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Do you like to read? (if you do buy this car)

Screen Shot 2015-08-02 at 3.26.31 PM

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2Chainzzzzzzzzzzz

Kreps, Daniel. “See 2 Chainz School Nancy Grace on Weed Legalization.”Rolling Stone. HLN, 14 Jan. 2015. Web. 29 July 2015.

http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/videos/2-chainz-debate-weed-legalization-nancy-grace-20150114

The controversies of marijuana are overwhelming and there are so many instances where marijuana appears to be a brutal drug. Thus people cannot control their actions after being hypnotized by marijuana. Recently a viral video displayed a mother allowing her young daughter to smoke marijuana. It was embarrassing to see this mother because she is putting her child’s life in danger. As a result of this absurd video the debate between Nancy Grace and 2Chainz triggered. The debate was over why 2Chainz supports the legalization of marijuana. Grace also argued that many people looked up to 2chainz and his stance on marijuana was a negative influence on the youth of our society.

Further 2Chainz is an intellectual person and he graduated from Alabama State University with a 4.0 GPA. His credentials are essential because Grace argues that he should have an alternative stance on marijuana based on his intellect. Grace also says, “why are you an advocate for marijuana? When you hear stories of what I’m talking about”. Grace is disgusted as well as confused because she believes someone as intelligent as 2Chainz should understand what pot can do to people. 2Chainz response to Grace is that “alcohol was involved” in the video where the mother allowed her daughter to smoke. He is trying to convey that alcohol played a significant factor in the mother’s ridiculous actions toward her daughter. 2Chainz further adds “you cannot put an umbrella on the whole community on the instances you gave”. 2Chainz thinks people are stereotyping the community of marijuana and that these absurd events are only triggered by marijuana. However Grace explains that she is not “defining” the community. She is only trying to prove that marijuana ends up in senseless stories like in the mother daughter situation. Besides marijuana being in these senseless stories, she states marijuana can have a bad influence on the future of our world.

Although Grace had portrayed a great argument concerning the effects on marijuana toward people, 2Chainz had some points as well. 2Chainz highlights that he has two kids and how much he cares for them. He also states “It’s about governing your own household. It’s about taking care of your own property. It’s about having some kind of structure in anything, any drug.” He is employing that people need to set regulations and people need to be more responsible. Moreover 2Chainz comments that the legalization of marijuana would lead to the cut of “overcrowding of prisons, as far as putting it on our criminal record to prevent us from getting loans, to prevent us from getting homes”. It is not fair for people who have been charged with marijuana because they are hindered financially. 2Chainz asserts that he used to sell pot in high school to provide for his family and he sacrificed everything for them. He understands what these people had to go through and he thinks people who are in jail for marijuana deserve a second chance. Additionally he believes that several states would be able to improve their infrastructure by legalizing pot because there will be extra funds from marijuana.

All in all this debate broadened my aspect on marijuana in terms of why people would sell marijuana. People will do anything to have food on their tables for their families. Grace and 2Chaniz discuss both sides of marijuana. It is impossible to come to a conclusion concerning marijuana because there are abundant amount of controversies that surround it.

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Communities

“Stereotypes, they’re sensual, cultural weapons. That’s the way that we attack people. At an artistic level, stereotypes are terrible writing.” Judging people based on their color, religion and sex is not right because we don’t have the right to judge others. Society has categorized the types of people based on their attributes. Today I’m a Muslim and others have prejudiced me several times due to my religion. I have ignored these stereotypes because many people are not correctly informed about the ethics of Islam. In order to prevent these stereotypes from spreading rapidly I will have to do something about it. As a result the Muslim community is the community I belong to because I can make an impact by educating others about Islam. Another community I feel like I belong in is the south Asian community.

After the notorious event of 9/11 people were disgusted by Islam. Many people referred to it as “the terrorist group”, which agitated me because we were not a violent community. I later realized people were not educated on Islam and negative figures such as Osama Bin Laden left a bad connotation on Islam. It is ironic that many people perceive Islam as violent religion, because it is a religion of peace and submission. As an incoming freshman and Muslim at UT, I think the best community I will fit in is IMSA (Ismaili Muslim Student Association). I believe this community will try to convey the real message on Islam and will educate the people about my religion. Also this organization will help me meet new people who are from the same cultural background. The people I may meet through this organization could provide me with the right connections. Being with a group of Muslims with the same background story will make me feel comfortable because all of the people in this organization can relate to each other. Islam encourages unity and I will be united with my fellow Muslims.

My parents have dedicated their lives for me to become successful and go to college. This is important in the south Asian community because all of our parents have migrated from different countries. My parents have traveled across the world so I can have a better life. I believe being part of the south Asian community will give me drive to never stop giving up because my parents have sacrificed for me. Also I have noticed that many think that south Asians are pressured to become a doctor or engineer. In fact I was never pressured to any career choice. Many people always think this significant stereotype. Even if we are occasionally forced, our parents do it out of love. Encouraging those fields are not bad because in the long run they pay off. Finally the south Asian community will provide me that motivation and ambition.

Ultimately what people think should not matter to others. As the saying goes, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me”. People should ignore these stereotypes because they are insignificant. If one becomes involves in the communities he or she likes then it will give the individual more confidence. Lastly I think joining these different communities will shape my perspective and make my mindset more diverse.

https://utexas.collegiatelink.net/organization/ismailimuslimstudentsassociation

https://utexas.collegiatelink.net/organization/indianculturalassociation

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RS 2

http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?sid=d9aa3d9a-7202-4174-ab93-8d2a83e43f70%40sessionmgr4001&vid=35&hid=4212&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=99339026

Jonsson, Patrik. “How legal Marijuana is reshaping state economies”. Academic search complete. EBSCO publishing, 11 November 2014. Web. 19 July 2015.

In my high school economics class I learned that the fundamental principle of the government is to maintain a low unemployment rate.  This concept is highly encouraged in the article written by Patrik Jonsson because he discusses how the legalization of Marijuana can have a significant impact on U.S’s economy. Generally, the success of a country’s economy is a measure of country’s superiority. Many Marijuana supporters believe that Marijuana is able to provide a plethora amount of jobs. As a result, Jonsson reiterates the notion of innovation in the job market and the creation of thousands of jobs.

Additionally, Marijuana is able to provide millions of dollars in revenue because the demand for it is high. Also, Marijuana and tobacco are similar in regards to financial benefits because both products can produce successful business industries.  In the article, “how legal Marijuana is reshaping state economies”, Jonsson states “Colorado now sports 18,000 state –certified, or badged, pot industry workers eligible for jobs”. Only in Colorado Marijuana has constructed thousands of jobs, if Marijuana is legalized throughout the U.S the number of jobs would exponentially increase. In fact Marijuana has a lot of monetary value because when people get jobs they spend money thus shifting the economy in a positive manner. Additionally, Jonsson says the “average weekly wage of a marijuana industry worker is $555”. The annual salary of a Marijuana industry worker would be about $29,000, which is significantly higher than the average salary of $26,000 in the U.S. The legalization of Marijuana would increase the average salary and restructure state’s economies. Another economic truth to take into consideration from legalizing Marijuana is that it will have a domino effect which will affect other companies.  In the article Jonsson quotes a spokesman for the Marijuana policy project in Washington D.C. The spokesman states how “packaging and labeling companies “ will be affected financially from the legalization of Marijuana because these companies will be a vital component in the distribution of the product.

Furthermore, there are also false economic assumptions made by people about legalizing Marijuana. If Marijuana becomes a dependent source for economic gain the U.S will be in major turmoil.  Jonsson discusses the stock aspect of Marijuana and emphasizes that “despite the hype with populace, Marijuana stocks remain risky and mostly something to avoid now”.  If the stock value for Marijuana is delicate, the value for Marijuana in the future can have a significant drop.  Also in the business world people will do anything to seek profit and Jonsson examines this issue. He argues, “corporatized Marijuana industry will, like tobacco and alcohol giants, target younger American’s for profits”. This employs the desperate methods that large companies are willing to do for profits. Towards the end of the article Jonsson quotes a Harvard economist about the GDP of Colorado in which he says, “neither Colorado’s GDP nor wages have so far risen notably because of legalization”. Many Marijuana activists tend to overrate the economic upside of the legalization of Marijuana.

 

Ultimately, Jonsson supports legalization of Marijuana because he repeatedly highlights the positive impact Marijuana can have on the economy.  Although he discusses the positives and negatives of Marijuana, he displays greater support towards how the people will benefit economically from Marijuana.

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