People can be Monsters.

I was recently led to a web page with a collection of "Jim Crow" laws (this page: http://www.sju.edu/~brokes/jimcrow.htm , to be exact), and I found these laws are disgusting. Not only do they show how extreme segregation was in the late 1800s and early 1900s, but they also dispel the idea that the North was a safe haven for blacks. Everyone assumes that even during and after the civil war, blacks were treated equally. It's ok to admit it, I thought so too. And while a lot of the laws are from the Deep South, Maryland and North Carolina, generally thought of as "northern states" also forbade interracial marriage and interracial military service, respectively. What I don't understand is what fuels these laws. Is it fear, hatred, ignorance, or some combination of the three?

Like Madlibs, but better.

    I recently read a batch of short stories, and I was amazed by how little they had to say. Even for their length, only half a page typed, I assumed the stories would be devoid of details as their respective authors tried to pack as many relevant details into the story as possible. Oddly enough, these stories were the opposite, where the plots are rather bare, but there are more details that seem irrelevant. It feels like I'm being shown a skeleton (as you would see in a textbook, not a crime scene) with bits of muscle, organs and flesh in only a few select places and I'm expected to figure out how the entire being looks.
    I was initially annoyed by this lack of information, but now I'm thrilled to read short stories like these. As I read, my imagination is allowed to wander. I can make these stories relevant to my own life whether the writer intended them to be or not. I would love to write short stories myself to similarly help other readers, but I'm afraid my writing style is too real. I feel like I've let myself down if I don't include every important detail. I guess it's something else to work on.

Why I Blog

     I believe the first thing that needs to be said about this blog is that I only created it as a project for my AP Language and Composition class. I think Facebook should be sufficient for talking to other people, but I'm open to the experience of blogging and I'm hoping I won't be too disappointed.

     I've seen a few blogs before I began this project, and many of them were simply journals of the creator's life. I'm sure the creators are nice people, but I'm oblivious as to why they would expect another person to regularly donate time (that could spent truly living) to read about the exploits of a relatively average person. Therefore, I will only share personal experiences on this blog if they are significant to whatever I'm discussing.

     I'm not totally sure about what I will be writing about on this page, but I'm heavily considering philosophy. Philosophy is interesting that it exists almost solely to be discussed, and a blog seems like the perfect way to discuss it; blogs are organized; every post made can be found in one spot; and, most importantly, blogs are free for the writer and the reader. Regardless, this blog will not be a plea for attention, but rather either a service (perhaps like the Philip DeFranco Show) or simply a place where people can consider other ideas.