1.13 My Thoughts on Public Comments

How would you describe the fears and anxieties being expressed in these comments? What are these commenters afraid of, specifically?

Many of the commenters seem afraid over employment.  Some on income inequality.  One guy is afraid of dog fighting.  Most of all, the comments seem to focus on illegal immigration.

Trump's views on immigrants seem to be what attracts a lot of the attention towards him.  Many see him as a racist, but many try and praise his positions.  Many will blame other issues, such as the economy or job market, on the immigration problem.  It speaks a lot on many people's viewpoints towards Mexican immigrants.

But immigration aside, most people seem to be afraid of Donald trump.

What kinds beliefs and values are represented in these comments? How would you characterize the kinds of values and beliefs being expressed in the comments?

A lot seems to be related to the common American belief that if you work hard, you can achieve greatness.  Some will blame immigrants for 'cheating the system', so to speak.  Sneaking over illegally and stealing benefits rather than doing it the way the rest of us have to.

Others will point out the seeming impossibility of the American dream in current society.  It's hard to give it your best and pull yourself up by your bootstraps when all the jobs are leaving.  As the commenter BongBong says (a sentence I never thought I would write), "The manufacturing base...is gone and will not be returning."  A lot of these jobs didn't just move, they disappeared.  They're gone.  They won't build another factory to employ workers when a machine or computer can do it better and, more importantly, cheaper.

Others would point out concerns over Trump's beliefs.  Most of his comments are perceived as racist and many would criticize some of his more extreme opinions.

Most of all, the topics of the economy and racism appear the most frequent.

Which commenters came across as the most reasonable? What made them seem reasonable?

The best commenters were the ones that had complete sentences, few to no spelling mistakes, correct punctuation and well thought out or reliable viewpoints.  The best I felt was Al'n, who had a well thought out comment and used personal experience to refute Trump's comments. Whether you agree or not, it was a reasonable reply.

Which commenters came across as lacking credibility or trustworthiness? Why didn’t they seem trustworthy?

Right of the bat, anyone who can't type.

Anonymous#1 seems to Like to Capitalize random Words on occasion.  I don't Know how he think It works, But I don't Think it's Like That.  Also, one question mark usually conveys the point.

Paul feels typing in ALL CAPS is a debate technique, but it just reads like shouting or being drunk.  There may be people trying to sleep, Paul.

Anonymous#2 goes on about dog fighting, which while tragic, has nothing to do with Donald Trumps political aspirations, nor is it a reason to kick out all the immigrants.

Anonymous#3 goes straight for the Hitler card and invokes Godwin's Law.  Shame, Anonymous#3.

EDIT: I commented on Steven's blog and Andrew's.  It seems like a lot of us agree on which comments were good and which weren't.  It's also interesting to see how many people are put off my bad grammar and spelling.

1.10 Anti-Vaccination

Salzberg, Steven "Anti-Vaccine Movement Causes Worst Measles Epidemic In 20 Years" 2/01/2015 via Forbes

The posted article is from Forbes, discussing a recent measles outbreak originating from Disneyland in California.  In 2014, there were 644 cases of measles, a disease that was eliminated in the United States back in 2000.  The spike is attributed to the anti-vaccination movement, which believes that vaccines have numerous health concerns, including that they cause autism.

This movement concerns me, as an improperly vaccinated population can cause a resurgence of many deadly diseases.

1.9 Calendar Reflection

Upon looking over my schedule, I can see that Monday, Tuesday and Thursday are my busiest days.  As I am currently in Spanish for 4 days out of the week, Monday through Thursday is a crazy, panicky mess.  The best times for homework would be Friday through Sunday, which has nothing going on.  I'm not working right now, so my weekends are pretty free (except for, you know, laundry and stuff).

Although Wednesdays have only one class in it, I'm expecting it will often be used to catch up on stuff that needs to be in on Thursday.  After Thursday, nothing else is usually due until Sunday night or Monday morning, which frees up time for English.  Also, Spanish will be done by the middle of October, and that will free up my schedule tremendously.

2 hours of English on Friday, Saturday and Sunday should help a lot.  As English assignments are usually due on Saturdays, I may try and squeeze an hour or two in on Wednesday.

EDIT: An idea from Liz Kinney I liked was to do homework immediately after class.  This makes since because I'd still be in the mood for schoolwork before getting too comfy.  There's also people like Michael Dominguez who have busier schedules than I, so I should be able to do it. 

1.8 My Writing Process

• What Type of Writer do You Consider Yourself to Be?

I would always like to consider myself a heavy planner.  When working on a project where time seems not to be an issue, I can create a detailed and thorough outline, planning each minute detail with careful planning and consideration.  Usually though, I find myself having only a day left to finish and having to make a mad rush to get it in on time.  This project is different though.  I still had two days left when I started this.  Technically not procrastination.

• Does Your Writing Style Include Several of the Above Approaches?  If So, Which Ones?

Probably all of them (Well, Sequential Composers is equal parts planning and revising I guess, so probably just two).  I would like to assume that I am a well rounded and careful writer who knows how to play to his own strengths and weaknesses.  We all know, however, that there will be one assignment where I'm staring at a clock that reads 11:58 and hoping the page loads before the clock rolls over.

I actually found a clock that had 11:58 on it.
Micthev "Clock 11-58" 4/18/2010 via wikimedia
GNU Free Documentation License

I don't even know if the phrase "equal parts Procrastination and Sequential Composers" is fair to sequential composers.  Probably equal parts procrastinating, sequential composing, and sleeping in until noon.

• Does Your Writing Process Seem to be Successful?  What are the Strengths and Weaknesses of Your Approach?

Well, I've never gotten a book deal.  I've also never been hunted down alive for the terribleness of my writing.  I guess the phrase would be "pretty good".

The strength is that is obviously works.  I've never outright failed when I write a paper.  The weakness is...well...everyone who's failed a paper at one point didn't fail a paper.  The day may come when the people have had enough, gather outside my home and shout, "Jon!  Your writing's bad, you're a disgrace to your name, and we can take these atrocities no more!"  I'll then be forced to carry out the remainder of my days as a member of the Night's Watch.

• Do You Think it Might be Beneficial for You to Try a Different Approach?  Why or Why Not?

I did have this idea of writing an outline, composing a first draft, revising my mistakes, composing a second draft, submitting to a third party for review, composing a final draft and creating a well thought out and concise literary piece.  I don't know if it would work though.

EDIT: It appears a lot of people consider themselves heavy revisers, preferring to 'get it down' and fix it later.  I'll agree with this to a point, as it can help to just have something to start off of.  I still feel a nice and concise plan to work off of is essential though.  If you just write what comes to your mind without and planning or guidelines, you get the Star Wars prequels.  We don't need to make that mistake 4 times.

I also commented on Mariana Beltran's blog, along with Hunter Murrell's.