How Soccer Explains the World Post #1

Black Men and Public Space By Brent Staples

Brent Staple's essay, Black Men and Public Space, focuses on the common issue of what it's like to be viewed as a criminal all the time. He provides anecdotes to show how people often fear him, a black man, when crossing paths, especially at night. He doesn't particularly point at any one race due to the fact that it happens regardless of race. When walking at night, if someone sees a black man who isn't in a dress shirt,tie, and slacks, he is thought to be a "mugger, rapist, or worse." He speaks of his ability to alter public space as an inheritance because although he may not be a mugger or rapist, there are some black men who have put fear into society's eyes causing people to view black men as dangerous. He says he has grown accustomed to but not comfortable with people crossing to the other side of the street rather than pass him. He has found that an excellent tension-reducing measure is to whistle melodies of great composers as Beethoven and Vivaldi because people don't think a mugger would know such tunes. This is a sad truth because black men have to try extra hard to not get looked at as dangerous on a daily basis. It reminds me of the movie Crash and how people automatically assume that they are in danger in the presence of black men. Black men have to deal the prejudices of society and negate the stereotypes placed upon them often times prohibiting them from acting on instinct. I enjoyed reading this essay because I can relate to incidents such as Brent Staple's when I've been with black males, family or friends.

Charges filed in death of Angels pitcher By Tony Barboza

Wednesday night, April 8, 2009, marked the last day of the life of three young people: Courtney Francis Stewart, Nick Adenhart, and Henry Pearson. On their way to a nightclub in a Mitsubishi eclipse, they were "broadsided" by a Toyota Siena minivan driven by Andrew Thomas Gallo. Los Angeles Times writer, Tony Barboza, wrote about the the deceased and the charges filed against Andrew Thomas Gallo in his article "Charges filed in death of Angels pitcher", April 11, 2009. Driving the Mitsubishi eclipse was Cal State Fullerton communications student Courtney Stewart, 20, along with passengers Nick Adenhart, Angels pitcher (22), Henry Pearson, a 25-year-old law student, and Jon Wilhite,24, former catcher for the Cal State Fullerton Titans. Courtney Stewart, Nick Adenhart, and Henry Pearson were all killed in this crash while Jon Wilhite remains hospitalized. Andrew Gallo,22, who already had a suspended license at the time of the crash due to a 2006 DUI conviction in Riverside county, was charged with three accounts of murder. As Courtney Stewart drove into the intersection of Orangethorpe Avenue and Lemon Street, Gallo exceeded the 35 miles per hour speed limit flying through the red light at 50-65 miles per hour crashing into the Mitsubishi eclipse Courtney Stewart was driving. Gallo left the scene on foot without checking on the victims and was arrested thirty minutes later. He was questioned early Friday where "he was calm and answered clearly." Barboza states that prosecutors decided to charge Gallo with murder instead of vehicular manslaughter because he was 'doing an inherently dangerous act' without regard for the safety of others. District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said that "When their conduct is this egregious-high speed, high blood alcohol content, priors- it's more preferable to prosecute as murder." If Gallo is convicted on all counts, he will face a sentence of 55 years to life.


Application: Do you feel that Gallo's charges are appropriate? Is it possible that he was charged with murder rather than vehicular manslaughter because one of the three killed was a professional athlete?

Application: There has been several fatal car crashes recently resulting in the deaths of several people. How do you feel about the penalty for drunk driving? Is it fine as it is or do you think there should be some changes to it?

'Baby Fat' could make for leaner adults By David Brown

Los Angeles Times writer, David Brown, explained in his article "'Baby fat' could make for leaner adults"-April 9, 2009- the studies being done on brown fat-"unexpectedly large and active deposits of a calorie-burning type of fat that bioloists thought disappeared after infancy." The existence and persistance of brown fat may be a potential strategy in fighting obesity. Through the three studies, it is shown that brown fat may play a role in diseases such as Type 2 diabetes where the energy balance is thrown off. The tests also show that: "leaner people have more detectable brown fat than overweight people, brown fat appears to be more active in women than in men, and the safest way to detect brown fat is to stay chilly." Brown establishes credibility by using facts from the expert researchers performing the studies and quoting their opinionated statments. Dr. Sven Enerback, a researcher at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, says that a drug that stimulates brown fat "is definitely something we should pursue" bacause one day people will be able to stimulate their bodies to get rid of stored energy as heat. The studies were performed in cold environments where brown fat is best detectable, and the latest findings show that "obesity is a consequence of evolution." This is because Homo Sapiens evolved in a world where there was hardly enough food, continuous physical activity and dangerous cold- characteristics of this brown fat keeping the body lean. But now we live in abundance, leisure and warmth. So the question posed from this research is "which would you rather be, thin or warm?"



Application: According to the article, brown fat could potentially be stimulated to burn off ordinary fat as heat and ultimately help fight obesity. But how do you feel about the question "which would you rather be, thin or warm" posed due to this research? How would you answer that?

Application: If in the future there is a drug to stimulate brown fat, how do you think people's physical activity will be affected? Do you think people will solely depend on the stimulation of brown fat to keep them from becoming overweight?