Racist teenagers; the holocaust remains

Racist teenagers; the holocaust remains

Racist teens continuing on the holocaust

Most racist teens are unaware of what they’re saying and doing, and the massive impact it can have. The holocaust is a mass act of racism so many teens have no idea even happened. They continue their racist acts and slang terms and make cruel jokes. 

The Holocaust

The holocaust was a mass wipe out of people Hitler felt were not human and lesser. Well that is not even close to true at all. Every human being on this planet is worthy of love and a life. Whether they are of color, any religion, or millions of other things. You may not agree with someone but that does not make them less than you! 

How can you help today with stopping racism? There are hundreds of ways but one is standing up for those who are being bullied by others who are racist. That is one of the easiest ways to help everyone near you. It may be simple yet it impacts people so very much.

Teenage racism 

The holocaust is the absolute most tragic incident of racism to ever occur, yet we still are showing extreme racism, especially teens. Something’s got to give, or we will never lose racism in our world. A world so modern, yet millions still face tragic racist people and their in-human hatred. We are falling into a world so full of hate and it is exactly what Hitler would have wanted. He murdered and harmed billions, and, yet, we still are held in his tight grasp in so many ways. 

The slang and terms used nowadays that are racist have become jokes and even casual sayings in our society. How can this world not learn from such a catastrophic event like the holocaust? People today are racist in new forms. People show their racism in very different ways. It’s extremely unfair for those who suffer so much from it.

Hitler’s wishes

Hitler so badly wanted the world to show extreme racism and decades later people are still doing just this very thing. So many people say they hate Hitler and all he has done yet they do exactly what he would have wanted! They unknowingly do this and the more that do it the more we must deal with it in our everyday society. Racism may not be shown towards all those around us in the same way they used to be yet we still show very much brutal racism.

Why must it be those of color, different religions, people unlike us? Why are they so terrible for just being different? Their beliefs may be very different from yours but they are still very much human! So many people hate on one another for differences. Yet all of us are different in hundreds of ways! Racism is idiotic and inhumane. 

The Holocaust

The holocaust was a mass wipe out of people Hitler felt were not human and lesser. Well that is not even close to true at all. Every human being on this planet is worthy of love and a life. Whether they are of color, any religion, or millions of other things. You may not agree with someone but that does not make them less than you! 

How can you help today with stopping racism? There are hundreds of ways but one is standing up for those who are being bullied by others who are racist. That is one of the easiest ways to help everyone near you. It may be simple yet it impacts people so very much.

Stop It

Stopping racism may not seem possible at all, yet it very much is. But you have to change yourself before you can even attempt to change the world. The mass may be intimidating but one soul can affect millions. Stopping hate may never happen. But lessening it is entirely possible.

Hitler may have lived decades ago but he still has an impact on each of us. He was an undescribed cruel human being. Yet hating him will also go exactly the opposite of what I am trying to say to you today. Stopping hate will take each and every one of us. We must love all and stop racism and hatred. Racist people are disgusting. Whether they are conscious of it or not they are indescribably cruel and gross. We must stop this inhuman act.

Why do young kids choose to be racist? Saying things that are racist have become a casual thing for teens today. Social media has impacted teens in this way entirely. It’s gross and vile to think about. I hate the thought that my future children may have to grow up in a society like the one I am growing up in today. It’s disgusting. We must teach our children the cruelty of racism.

Fight Now

So many great people have fought to stop racism in our past, why not be one of them? You must fight for what you believe. Martin Luther King Junior is an incredible example of one of these great people. He fought for his and others rights, and he won that war. We must fight alongside him to stop racism in our world today. 

Teach and educate all those around you about racism. Don’t argue when you can educate. Be a leader, lead by example. Be the hero our world needs today. Fight for everyone. Be an honorable hero. Fight for what you believe in. Stop racism. 

Racism is disgusting. Why can’t we in such an advanced society see that? 

 

Article written by Jordyn Hiskey 9.19.2023

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Softball Facts, History, and More!

Softball Facts, History, and More!

 Softball is a very popular sport! Lots of people enjoy playing it. There are 65 million people that play softball around the world! Here are some facts and history about softball!

 History

 The history of softball is very interesting! The man who created softball was George Hancock. It all started in the Farragut Boat Club in November 1887. He was at a Yale football game. Yale had defeated Harvard and when somebody heard that they got so excited that they threw a boxing glove at another student and the other student tried to hit it with a stick! This gave George the idea of a new game! George wanted to play indoor baseball but with a bigger ball. Other people just thought that he meant outdoor baseball but he certainly did not. He used what he could and tied the laces of a boxing glove to use as a ball. To mark the bases, home plate, and where the pitcher should stand he used chalk. Soon later that sport grew and many people started to play it. After more people started to play it George took the game outdoors where other teams would go against each other. Now more than 65 million people play softball around the world!

 

Facts

 There’s a lot of facts that you may not know about or probably already do because some of the facts are already well known. The first official game of softball was in 1887. It was an indoor game as well. Before softball got its name it was called kitten ball. Then later the Minneapolis Park Board named it diamond ball. Softball then officially got its name in 1927. Softball is played in 140 countries! That’s insane! In the diamond field, each base is 60 feet apart from the other. That’s a little smaller than a baseball field because each base is 90 feet apart. In softball, pitchers pitch underhand and baseball pitchers pitch overhand. Also in baseball, pitchers always have to look behind them because runners can steal bases at any time but in softball, runners can’t do that. So softball pitchers are never looking behind themselves but baseball pitchers are. Baseball pitchers have to pitch on a mound which makes them stand up higher than softball pitchers because they have no mound. That’s all the facts!

 

Jennie Finch 

Jennie Finch was considered one of the best softball players in the world. She was a fast pitch pitcher and a first baseman. Jennie started to play softball when she was 5! She is an Olympic gold medalist. She started to play for the Arizona Wildcats in 1999. She and her team got a gold medal in 2004 in Athens for the Olympic Games. In 2008 in Beijing for the Olympic games, they got a silver medal. Jennie has an N.C.A.A record for having 60 consecutive pitching wins over three seasons. Within those three seasons, she struck out people 1,028 times! Jennie could also throw at 70, which is 98-99 in baseball. Jennie Finch retired in 2010 at the age of 29. 

Sources:

https://olympic.ca/2019/08/23/what-are-the-differences-between-baseball-and-softball/

 

https://www.rulesofsport.com/faq/what-is-the-difference-between-softball-and-baseball.html

 

https://www.teamusa.org/usa-softball/about-usa-sb/history

 

https://facts.net/lifestyle/sports/softball-facts/

 

https://www.britannica.com/facts/Jennie-Finch

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/sports/olympics/biofinch.html#:~:text=record%20with%2060%20consecutive%20pitching,season%20to%20set%20another%20N.C.A.A.

The Christmas Day Truce of 1914

The Christmas Day Truce of 1914

In 1914, during World War l there was a day of peace. There was just a small moment where soldiers from the United Kingdom, French Republic, Austria-Hungary, German empire, and the Russian empire had a brief moment of a cease-fire. A one-day truce. This truce occurred along the entire western front trench lines. During this truce, these soldiers’ enemies or allies celebrated a holiday that has been around for centuries, Christmas.

 

Before the Truce

Before the “Calm within the storm”, World War l had been raging on for months and months. Countries had already been spreading and taking over wanted land. Thousands of soldiers and civilians had already lost their lives. By Christmas, soldiers, civilians, and governments were already sick of the fighting and had no idea that the war would go on for another whole 3 years. A truce for a few hours or so didn’t sound too bad. 

 

Who agreed that they should have a truce?

Though the soldiers fighting and risking their lives didn’t think that a truce sounded too bad, some generals, countries, and entire governments thought otherwise. In, “Christmas Truce | Facts & History” it says, “The pause in fighting was not universally observed, nor had it been sanctioned by commanders on either side.” This means that the truce was between the soldiers and the soldiers had to take the blame for creating an unofficial cease-fire.

 

How did the truce begin?

Though the truce didn’t last very long, only around nine hours, Troops managed to find great ways to celebrate the holidays and come together. Starting late Christmas eve many troops along the western frontlines started to sing Christmas carols to each other. Some soldiers could even hear the sound of brass bands playing along. In “Christmas Truce of 1914 – HISTORY” it says, “German soldiers emerged from their trenches and approached the Allied lines across no-man’s-land, calling out “Merry Christmas” in their enemies’ native tongues.” After seeing that this was no trick, the allies climbed out of their trenches and joined the German troops. 

 

What did they do throughout the truce?

During the nine-hour truce, some of the men exchanged gifts of cigarettes and plum puddings. There have been documented cases found of soldiers playing well-mannered games of soccer. Some British troops even lit small Christmas trees with candles and small handmade ornaments. Others exchanged letters and notes that they received from their loved ones back home. Other soldiers just shared their experiences with others, telling them about their life, where they first lived, and what they would want to be doing in the future after the war. Eventually, the troops gathered together and had a small Christmas dinner consisting of their rations and other foods.

 

How and when did it all come to an end?

Eventually, all things good must come to an end. Finally, during Christmas night soldiers placed candles and trees around the trenches and continued to sing Christmas carols. Then, later the troops all slowly went to bed. In the following few days after the Christmas truce, violence began to erupt once again across the western front. Though in some areas truce continued all the way to New Year’s Day. Soon after the truce had ended both German and British generals quickly took certain steps to prevent any other truces during the ongoing war. 

 

Conclusion

In the end, it seems that a holiday such as Christmas or new years eve can put a pause to an entire war. Holidays can bring us together and give us a chance to communicate, teach, learn, from others. In World War l, we saw a perfect example of that. Troops came together amid war. They celebrated the holidays, sang carols, and feasted together, they shared gifts and played games. Enemies who were once told to slaughter each other came together and for a brief moment in that war, there was peace. The Christmas spirit brought peace within the Great War. 

The Life of John Stockton

The Life of John Stockton

John Stockton is one of the best basketball players in history. He has the most assists in a season for the NBA. Growing up he was the star of his High school basketball team. He has won many awards in his lifetime. He played in the NBA for many seasons. He also has lots of kids. There are so many cool things about him. Stick around to learn more about John Stockton.

 

Early Life

John Stockton was born March 26, 1962, in Spokane Washington, to his parents Clementine and Jack Stockton. He has 3 siblings Steave, Leane, and Stacy. John’s dad played Basketball and that’s where he learned all his basketball skills from. He loved playing basketball with his dad learning and improving every day. In high school, he went to Gonzaga Preparatory School. John was the star player on his school team scoring about 20.9 points and 7.2 assists a game in his Seiner year of high school. He scored over 1,000 points in high school. 

 

Adult life

For college, John went to Gonzaga University in Washington. He majored in Busines Administration. In college, he became Gonzaga’s all-time leader in steals and assists. John had 3,265 steals and 15,806 Assists in his college career. In the West Coast Athletic Conference, he Had the most points, assists, and steals. He had an average of 57% shooting rank. John graduated in 1984 with a 3.30 GPA. On august 16, 1986 jhon got married to Nada Stepovich. He and his wife had 6 kids together. their names are David, Michael, Laura, Samuel, Lindsay, and Houston. John and his 6 kids still live happily together.

 

Career

John Stockton went to the NBA in 1984. Witch means he was about 22 years old. He was the 16th overall pick in the first round to the Utah jazz. Jhon played Point guard for the Jazz for his 19 seasons. He has the most Assist on the jazz team. His shooting percentage was 51.5%. He had an 83% free-through percentage. Right now John Stockton has the most steals in the NBA. His salary in the NBA was $95 million. He retired from playing professional basketball in 2003. 

 

Awards

John has won many awards throughout his career here are some of them. John won the NBA player of the month in February 1988. In the 1990-1991 season, he had the most assists in a season having 1,164 Assist. In 1993 he won the NBA All-Star Game Kobe Bryant MVP award. in 1997, 1995, and 1992 John and his team won NBA All-Defensive Team. Also, in 1992 he won the Olympic gold. In 1995, and 1994 They won the All-NBA Team award. in 1993 he won co-MVP along with his teammate Karl Malone. in 1996 he was named one of the greatest 50 players in NBA history. John Stockton has won so many more awards.

 

Fun facts

John Stockton has many interesting facts about him here are some of them:

  • His nickname is Stock Because he is short.
  • He made the most steals in NBA history.
  • If you want to follow john Stockton here is his Instagram account @johnstockton12.
  • He always wore Nike shoes to his games.
  • He played his whole career with the Jazz.
  • Each year Stockton played with the Jazz they have made it to the playoffs.

John Stockton is an amazing basketball player. He has the most assists in a season for the NBA. He has also, won a lot more awards. Throughout his whole life, he played basketball. While he was growing up he would play with his dad. On the Jazz team, he was one of the best players along with Karel Malone. He is an awesome basketball player but an even better person.

 

Native American History

Native American History

When people think of November, a few things come to mind. The very first thing that most people might think of is Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday. Other things that could be thought of is, no shave November to spread cancer awareness, national novel writing month, and maybe even peanut butter lovers month. There are some important dates and events in November that are less celebrated. For example, November is also Native American heritage month, adoption awareness month, and child safety and protection month. One of the more popular and well-known events that November is known for is Native American heritage month. In celebration of Native American heritage month, it is important to know their history as well as their culture.

 

A Brief Look at Native American History

Most historians suspect that Native American peoples first arrived in the country around 12,000 B.C.E. Native American people had many different customs and languages among different tribes. The amount of different tribal nations and the number of nations in Europe, Asia, and Africa at the time is estimated to be around the same number. Some cities were also around the same size. Around the end of the ice age, Indigenous people had become very skilled farmers and grew several crops. In 5,500 B.C.E., tribes in Mexico farmed corn and squash, raised llamas, guinea pigs, and turkeys, and they hunted deer and bison. They regularly burned certain patches of land to mark where the pasture was, and the animals would come and graze. Most coastal tribes hunted from boats and caught sea animals, mostly fish, using various efficient methods. In the years after 2,000 B.C.E., some tribes started to develop state boundaries. The tribes also established trade and trade routes, they transported supplies by cargo rafts and other boats, and in South America, llamas were used for the transportation of goods. In some places, territory and government lands were marked by mounds of earth. Most of these mounds were flat on the top, and some even had palaces, temples, or burial sites for past respected leaders.

Next in Native American history is perhaps the most known among school children and other people, it’s 1492, and Cristopher Columbus has arrived in the Americas. The Europeans brought with them diseases like measles and smallpox that spread quickly, wiping out most of the population of cities at a time. The invaders colonized land as the population of Europeans started to overpower the population of Native peoples. This resulted in battles over the land in which the colonizers had the advantage. Europeans had three main advantages one, they were immune to the diseases that the Native Americans were affected by as they had brought them there. Two, the colonizers had more advanced weaponry than the Native peoples. Three, more descendants of European colonizers meant more settlements that needed building. The population of white Americans soon outnumbered the number of Indigenous people. The colonizers forced Native American peoples out of their land, and many people profited off of Indigenous people. The Europeans threatened Native Americans’ way of life and their culture.

 

The Trail of Tears

The Trail of Tears was a very significant part of Native American history. At the start of the 1830s, around 125,000 Native Americans lived in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, and Florida. By the end of the 1830s, there were very few Indigenous people living in the South Eastern United States. European settlers wanted the Native people’s land to grow cotton. So, the U.S. government forced Native citizens living on that land to walk hundreds of miles across the Mississippi River to “Indian Territory”. One leader of one of the Native American tribes described the walk as “a trail of tears and death.” from which the trail gets its name.
The walk was more than 5,043 miles long and stretched across nine different states. Those nine states are Alabama, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Arkansas, Georgia, and North Carolina. The government often agreed to the movement and even enforced the effort.

In 1830, president Andrew Jackson, a long-time supporter of the act, signed the “Indian Removal Act”. This made it so that the U.S. government could tell Native Peoples to go from the land east of the Mississippi River where they lived to the land west of it. This land was called the “Indian Colonization Zone”. The act also enforced that Native Americans could choose to do this and wouldn’t be forced to go west. This rule, of course, was completely ignored in 1831. In winter of that year, the Choctaw people were forced to walk the trail of tears, chained up, in double file.

The removal of Indigenous peoples continued in later years. In 1836, the Creeks left to the west. 15,000 people left, and only 11,500 Creek people reached the final destination. By 1838, 2,000 Cherokee people had left, so Winfield Scott was sent along with 7,000 soldiers to get the rest and move them west. Scott and his men then forced Cherokee people into an enclosed area at Bayonet Point as if they were animals. After that work was done, they were marched over 1,200 miles to an “Indian Colonization Zone”. It is estimated that more than 5,000 of them died of Cholera, Dysentery, Typhus, Whooping cough, and starvation.

By the year 1840, tens of thousands of Native people had walked the trail. The U.S. government promised their land would go undamaged and untouched by non-native people however, that promise was very soon broken. White settlers took over more and more land until 1907 when Oklahoma was made an official state. Their territory was finally gone.

 

“The Indian Problem”

Since the very start of this country, American officials like the first president of the U.S., George Washington, wanted to “civilize” Native Americans. This brought what was referred to as “The Indian Problem”. The overall goal of “The Indian Problem” was to make Native Americans as much as White Americans as possible. This involved converting them to Christianity, teaching them about traditional economic practices such as owning land and property, which sometimes meant owning slaves. European settlers also sought to teach Indigenous people to learn how to read and write in English. This later lead to several Native languages being extinct or endangered languages. In the South Eastern United States, there were people of some tribes that accepted “The Indian Problem”. The tribes were Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole, and they were considered the “5 Civilized Tribes”.

Colonizers wanted the Native American’s land as the land was valuable, and they could profit off of it by growing cotton in the areas. The Indigenous residents would not give up the land, so the European settlers took the land by force, which resorted to violence. The European settlers stole property, squatted on Native land, burned down and looted entire houses and cities, and sometimes even committed mass murders for the land.

 

What is Happening Today?

Today, Native American people are still oppressed, and many Indigenous people have been reported missing, but we, as a country, have come a long way. The population of Native people is rising, and Native leaders are also fighting for their rights in politics and other areas. Their culture and traditions are also being more respected and recognized as concern and awareness of human rights are being more seen. We still have a long way to go until Indigenous people are treated like human beings, but we can start by spreading awareness and accepting Native American people as people because that is what they are.

The spark that ignited the fire of WW1

The spark that ignited the fire of WW1

World war 1 began in western Europe going from 1914 to 1918. The spark that ignited the fire of World War One took place on June 28, 1914, when an assassin who worked for the Black Hand named Gavrilo Princip murdered Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austro-Hungria. When Austro-Hungria heard about this they Immediately declared war against Serbia. The Austro-Hungarian empire allied with Germany, and Turkey. This alliance was called the Central powers. After the Central powers were constructed, Great Britain and the British Empire took to action and allied with France and the Russian Empire, this alliance was made by the Treaty of London. World War 1 (also known as the “Great War” during the time) raged on for a whole four years, killing millions.

 

Tensions Rising before Ww1

Many parts went into play leading up to the Great War. Such as Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism and Nationalism. During 1912-1914 armies began to grow all around the world becoming a threat to other countries and their power. Other countries started to force alliances to protect their land and their power. After the Balkan Wars (fought during 1912-1913) Serbia had to undergo extreme economical problems. Citiciants of Serbia started to protest, they wanted peace and recognition. Food, water, and shelter were scarce. There were very few jobs available to the citizens and even then the jobs paid the least amount of money they could. Serbia was coming crashing down from the inside out. When a terrorist group realized that if they didn’t do something soon they would come crashing down with Serbia too, things got out of hand.   

 

The spark that ignited the beginning of Ww1

In 1901 a secret military society was formed, this group was known as the Black Hand. Their goal, Unification or Death. A young nationalist of Serbia, named Gavrilo Princip came to the Black Hand in search of recognition. He introduced the idea of doing something big that would hopefully benefit Serbia and bring unification across the western European countries. His idea was to murder Archduke Franz Ferdinand. On June 28, 1914, Gavrilo Princip murdered both Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife Sophie. When Austro-Hungria heard about this they were outraged. In Austria’s Archduke Ferdinand assassinated – HISTORY it says, “Austria asked for assurances that Germany would step in on its side against Russia and its allies, including France and possibly Great Britain.” The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand set off a turn of events that eventually led to the outbreak of Ww1.

 

Central Powers and the Allies

When Austro-Hungary declared war on Serbia, they immediately realized that they required an alliance with powerful countries to help take down Serbia. Austro-Hungary created an alliance with Germany, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria. This alliance was called the Central powers. When the Central powers were formed Brittan made its alliance, through the Treaty of London. The Treaty of London consisted of many countries. Britain itself, Russia, Serbia, France, Italy, Romania, and Japan. Later in 1917 after the US had realized the struggles that the Allied powers had been going through, they joined the war themselves. The US mobilized over 4 million soldiers, losing 65,000 men by the end of the war. By the end of the war the allies had lost up to 5.7 million soldiers, and the central powers lost around 4 million soldiers. In the article Armistice Day: World War I ends – HISTORY  it says, “ The first world war left nine million soldiers dead and 21 million wounded.” No one won World Ww1; they only ended it and that was a victory itself. 

 

Conclusion

World war 1 began in Europe and ended in Europe millions of soldiers lost their lives. Millions of people sacrificed themselves for the greater good. But in the end, no one is one. Both sides, good and bad, suffered many casualties both soldiers and civilians. It started quickly with what you could call an act of bravery. Gavrilo Princip made a decision that greatly affected the world and himself. Some historians say even if Gavrilo Princip didn’t murder the Archduke of Austro-Hungarian Ww1 would still have been inevitable. Armies were growing and countries were collapsing, power was wanted by people all over Europe. Gavrilo Princip showed us that one small act can set off just the smallest chain of events bringing to some of the largest conflicts, not only changing countries but the entire world.

Did Japan really break a law of engagement through the event of Pearl harbor?

Did Japan really break a law of engagement through the event of Pearl harbor?

On December 7, 1941, Japan sent a fleet of planes to bomb a US naval base, Pearl Harbor. The Japanese went through with a complete surprise attack. Only for Japanese military leaders, along with the Japanese government, to realize that their attack was only successful for one reason. They had entirely failed to send a declaration of war before the attack was set in motion. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto said, “I fear we have awakened a sleeping giant and filled him with a terrible resolve.”

 

Why did the Japanese attack pearl harbor in the first place?

Japan attacked Pearl Harbor for many reasons. Throughout the great depression in the 1930s Japan wanted to solve some of its many economical problems. So Japan started to spread its army across southeast Asia. Soon Japan had taken over many small territories and had won many crucial wars in China and Nanjing. Soon America realized that they needed to prevent Japan’s global expansion. America immediately put an end to shipping, oil, steel, and other resources to Japan. As this realization came to mind throughout the American government and Japan tensions started to rise. Now Japan’s world domination plans were prevented by America’s naval fleet. 

 

How did Japan’s failure to send a declaration of war help them in the end?

During the bombing of pearl harbor America had no idea what was coming. This element of surprise made Japan’s attack nearly completely successful. December 7, was a Sunday, most sailors were on a break, going to church, some were on duty. It was a calm morning, a devastating attack was not expected at all. If America had received a declaration of war, this terrible attack could have been less devastating or even prevented the entire attack. Though some historians say that pearl harbor may have been inevitable, due to the events that took place, before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. At the time during the bombing of pearl harbor, Japan had one of the best militaries, along with, one of the best navies, and the high-tech plane, the Zero. Even though the US government had ended the shipping of oils, steel, and other resources, Japan still had enough resources to fuel its entire navy for 3 more years. Japan had many advantages against pearl harbor but still could not succeed in its goal to smother the US naval fleet.

 

Japan’s failure to send a declaration of war, considered a mistake?

It was not Japan’s entire fault that the US government did not receive a declaration of war before the bombing of pearl harbor. It was Japan’s fault for not checking if the US had received the declaration of war before the attack. Japanese Historians do say that Japan gave the Declaration of war two days before following through with the attack on pearl harbor. But at the time messaging technology was not as advanced as it is today. There is still the idea that the Japanese navy had thought the US had received the message and the debate of whether they broke a law of engagement is just a big misunderstanding that only led to more conflict. No one knows how the declaration of war failed to make it to America, but some historians think that because America received a declaration of war two hours after the bombing of pearl harbor, it may have been the same declaration said to have been sent before the bombing but coincidentally arrived two hours late. 

Conclusion

On December 7, 1941, there was a bombing of pearl harbor. Thousands of soldiers were lost in this Japanese surprise attack. But was this attack just part of the war? Or was it a violation of the laws of engagement? Some historians say that Japan may have just simply failed to send a declaration of war to America. Or they had sent a declaration of war but failed to make it to America on time. If this is the case, Japan may have never really broken a law of engagement and, the attack had been just another attack and a big misunderstanding.

Do People Value Flags?

Do People Value Flags?

Everything you should know about Flags

By Ayden Ewell

Today flags are a big part of American culture, but how did this come to be? Why are Americans so obsessed with their 13 stripes and 50 stars? And do other countries share this trait?

A flag ripped down to its very core is a symbol on a stick. Usually, this symbol represents something but it doesn’t always have to. Today we use flags to represent a unified people such as the American flag representing that we Americans are united together as a country.

Flag History

I found it interesting that when I typed into google just broadly “Flag History” all I saw was the history of the American flag, the only other flag I found on the first page of Google was the Islamic flag’s history. To be honest, I couldn’t really find any other countries who treat the history of their flag so seriously, but what does this mean?

The oldest flag still here today is the one of Denmark. It’s called the Dannebrog and it goes back to the 13th century A.D. and was officially recognized as a national flag in 1625. The Dannebrog is red with a white Scandinavian cross The vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side (the side closer to the pole). The flag was used as a civil flag and ensign, this means that the flag was purely to denote their nationality.

The Importance of Flags

When I looked to see if other ethnicities were as crazy for flags as Americans were, to my surprise they weren’t. After all those cool facts about their flag, a citizen of Denmark would only use it as a convenience to show people their nationality. However I think there is still more importance in flags, I see this in pirates.

Pirates are people who commit robbery or criminal violence via boat or sea typically with the goal of stealing cargo, these people are relevant because on their boats they would always fly a black flag. A “Jolly Roger” is the term used for a pirate flag flown to identify that the pirates were about to attack, basically rendering their flag as a symbol of terror. However, this flag didn’t really actually mean anything significant to the pirates.

What have we learned? Flags are just used for practical purposes. Sadly Americans are very weird in that they value their flag very highly. This doesn’t mean flags aren’t symbols and don’t mean something, they do it’s just that contrary to what I thought people normally don’t value their flags.

Elizabeth Smart

Elizabeth Smart

Elizabeth Smart

     Most people have heard the story of Elizabeth Smart. She is an american girl who got abducted from her home in Salt Lake City at age 14. In this article I’m gonna tell you more about the story and her life before.

 

Who is Elizabeth Smart?

     Elizabeth Smart was born on November 3rd 1987 in Salt Lake Utah. She has 5 siblings and is the second oldest. One of her favorite things to do was play the harp. She got abducted when she was only 14 years old in June 2002. Brian David Mitchell and his wife Wanda Bareez held her hostage until she got her freedom back in 2003. While she got held hostage she got raped, drugged, and forced to do religious  rituals. Smart is now an activist and has written her own book called my story.

 

Her abduction

     On June 4 of 2002 Elizabeth’s family attended an Award ceremony for her school. She won many prizes for academic  and physical fitness. The next morning around midnight or 1a.m. she got woken up by a man holding a knife to her neck. He told her to come with him or he would kill her and her family. Meanwhile Smart’s 9 year old sister Mary saw the whole thing. Mary was awake a little bit when she saw this man in her room. She didn’t know who he was or what he was doing but she heard him tell Elizabeth to go get some shoes and then they walked out. After they walked out Mary went to the door to tell her parents but then saw the man forcing Smart down the hall, so she just went back into her bed to hide. About two hours later Mary got up and went and told her parents.

 

     Smart’s kidnappers name is Brian David Mitchell. Once Elizabeth and Brian got out of the house he took her to a forest where they hiked to a camp that Brian’s wife, Wanda Barzee, was waiting for them. 

 

     Mitchell thought he was a prophet and so he did a ceremony for smart and then declared that she was his wife. After that he raped her. Mitchell raped her daily and sometimes more than once a day. They held Elizabeth captive for 9 months and they would live/move between Utah and California. Mitchell would tie Smart to a tree and give her drugs and alcohol.  Sometimes he wouldn’t feed her for days, almost starving her and tried to convince her that he was a prophet. Mitchell tried to brainwash Smart to believe his insane religious beliefs. 

 

Her Rescue

     A couple months after Elizabeth’s kidnapping her sister Mary remembered that the man who took Smart looked like a man who had worked on her house as a handyman in the past. He had once called himself Emmanuel. 

 

     Soon after Mary figured that out her family told the police and the police then discovered that Emmanuelś real name is Brian David Mitchell. One day someone saw Mitchell walking with Elizabeth, who was wearing a veil, sunglasses, and a wig,in Salt Lake and then reported him. Apparently Brian would take Smart out places a lot but no one would recognize her. The police arrested Brian and his wife and then took Smart to be with her family again.

 

     The prosecution for Brian went on for years but on December 10 of 2010, almost 8 years after the kidnapping, Brian was sentenced to life in prison. Brazee was sentenced 15 years locked up because she helped in the crime. 

 

     Smart is now an activist and goes and speaks to people. She has come a long way since she got kidnapped and now has a family and 3 kids. She lives in Salt Lake City and is very happy!

 

John Wayne Gacy – ¨The Killer Clown¨

John Wayne Gacy – ¨The Killer Clown¨

                                                             John Wayne Gacy – “The Killer Clown”

 

John Wayne Gacy was an american serial killer who lived from March 17, 1942, to May 10, 1994. He raped and murdered at least 33 young male victims. All murders took place from 1972-1978.

 

                                                                                    Growing up

It is unclear what John’s childhood was like. Some say that he grew up with an alcoholic father who would beat him and his siblings with a razor strap if they misbehaved. Some people also suspect that his mother was assaulted by her husband, John’s father. John was often not able to be with or play with other kids at school because of a congenital heart condition. The condition made his father angry and his father used it as a reason to abuse him. Other experts say that he had a ¨fairly ordinary childhood¨ but was interested in sadism which got him in trouble with police in the 1960`s. John revealed that he had struggled immensely with accepting his attraction to men.

 

                                                                                Johns victims

In 1968 John was convicted for sexually assaulting a teenage boy and was sent to Iowa State Men’s Reformatory where he had to undergo psychological evaluation. When police went to search his house they found a crawl space under his house. In the crawl space there were 29  makeshift tombs that had a total of 29 bodies, all young males. 8 of the bodies were never identified, and 4 other bodies were found in Illinois rivers. Experts believe the first victim died in 1972 and the last victim died only 10 days before his arrest in 1978. John started his killings with homeless male prostitutes and soon moved to killing suburban teenagers. John often lured young boys into his car. Robert Piest was one of the young boys who was lured into his car. Piest was offered a construction job by John who was the last person Piest was seen with. Ten days after Piest’s disappearance the police searched Gacy’s house. The police found evidence of involvement in many different crimes. The body of Gacy’s firs known victim, Timothy McCoy, was the first body to be found. McCoy was killed in 1972 after Gacy lured him to his home. After an unknown amount of time of investigating the police found numerous trenches with human remains under the crawl space under his house. Gacy admitted to killing ¨about¨ 30 bodies But later denied all of the murders. Gacy died by lethal injection on the 10th of May 1994.

 

For more information you can go to these links:

 

https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/john-wayne-gacy

 

https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Wayne-Gacy

 

https://www.chicagotribune.com/nation-world/chi-chicagodays-gacy-story-story.html

 

https://murderpedia.org/male.G/g1/gacy-john-wayne.htm

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