Text Response 4

     Wear What You Want     

Schools should and do have the right to tell us how we can and cannot behave, but i do not think schools should, even though they do, have the right to tell us what we can and cannot wear. Mark Davis is the author of a newspaper column known as, "A Little Civility, Please". He supports the idea of schools having the right to tell students what they can and cannot wear. I disagree with him because clothes are just clothes. Clothes are worn to express one's personality, beliefs, mood, creativity, and sense of humor. I don't understand why schools are so focused on what their students are wearing to school, when they should be focusing on teaching their students how to agree to disagree with other students. 

Davis brings up a good point when he talks about how a classroom that lacks a sense of order will lead to behavioral issues because it is true; however, monitoring what students are wearing will not preserve a sense of order. Instead, the school should allow their students to wear whatever they desire, just as long as they are covering certain areas that need covering. I believe this will expose students to the reality they will be faced with once they graduate from school because in reality you can wear whatever you want, outside of work that is. You will see types of clothing that offend you, but i believe having this sort of exposure during your school years will help you to agree to disagree with their choice of clothing. 

Blog 4

Bring Home a Pet!

Ever since i can remember, my mom and dad always provided me and my siblings with pets. We had dogs, cats, birds, guinea pigs, turtles, fish, and at one point a scorpion. Needless to say, i am all for keeping animals as pets because i love taking care of them and i love the companionship they give me.

Nothing says i love you as well as a dog licking your face.

Many people think it's selfish to own pets because we, the pet owners, take away the animal's rights once we buy or adopt the pet. I'll admit that it is selfish to possess an animal; however, many people who own pets try to give their pet the best life possible. 

This is sadly what happens when a pet ends up in the wrong hands. 

I can't speak for all of the pet owners because there are those pet owners who lack a sense of responsibility, and there are also those who are just plain cruel to their animals. Unfortunately, there is not much to do when you see a pet owner mistreating his or her pet except to report it to animal patrol. So if you ever do witness animals being mistreated please call animal patrol because that poor animal doesn't deserve to be tortured because their owner is too lazy or irresponsible to take care of him or her.

Something to help cheer you up!

Now i'll return to the happier side of owning pets. Caring for an animal is so satisfying in my opinion because you have to feed them, give them water, bath them or clean their cage. All of this work is what makes owning a pet so satisfying. You are responsible for their well-being which gives you, the pet owner, a sense of importance, and it gives your life meaning. 

Guinea pigs make great pets, but be sure to bath them
or else you will find out they can get pretty smelly.

Some people live their entire lives being single, while others eventually find the love of their life and get married. Whatever the case, owning a pet will give both the single person as well as the married couple a sense of companionship. This is what i mean when i say possessing a pet is selfish. We keep them because we love them and we want them to love us in return. I can't imagine coming home and not being greeted by my four dogs. Getting licked and jumped on by my dogs sounds like a nightmare to some people, but to me it shows how much they love and admire me. I know that sounds incredibly selfish, but i also know my family and i give our pets the best lives possible. I truly believe they are better off being kept as pets in my home where i know they are safe, loved, and cared for rather than somewhere else where they might not be safe, loved, or cared for.  

So if you decide you want a pet, just know adoption, in my opinion, is more rewarding then buying a new pet because you are saving a live and providing that pet with a live they never thought was possible for them. Keep in mind before you actually adopt or buy the animal that you'll need a proper income to provide and care for it. If you are certain you make enough money to care for it, then go ahead and bring your new pet home. Make sure you spoil him or her with love and attention because your pet will not only be grateful for it, but he or she will love you in return for taking good care of them.

Text Response 3

The Power a Brand Can Have On Consumers

Have you ever stood in an aisle of a store contemplating about which brand name product to buy? I'm guessing many of you have, including me. After reading Rob Walker's magazine column, "Social Lubricant: How a Marketing Campaign Became the Catalyst for a Societal Debate" i'd have to say that we buy certain brands because we appreciate what that brand represents as well as the message they are sending to their consumers.

Dove beauty products, for example are brand name products primarily selling to women because of the message they are sending to women of all ages, sizes, and colors. In order for Dove to successfully advertise their products they need to photograph models to place on billboards, television commercials, magazine covers, and etc., but not the kind of models you're used to seeing. The Dove Girls being photographed look like everyday women. Some have stretch marks or chubby tummies, while others have wrinkles or tattoos. Dove uses everyday women to portray "real beauty" rather than unrealistic, photo-shopped beauty, and it sells!

I myself use Dove deodorants and Dove body washes for two reasons. The first reason is because i love the smell of it, and the second reason is because i also appreciate the message being sent to their consumers. Rob Walker’s, "Social Lubricant: How a Marketing Company Became the Catalyst for a Societal Debate" discusses the debate between whether or not the advertisements of the Dove Girls are positive for portraying images of real women or negative due to the fact that the women are advertising the brand's products in their underwear.

Throughout the column Walker explains that the images are challenging the stereotype that being thin is beautiful, and further examines the possibility that people will turn to marketers for guidance on how to help get rid of anxiety issues that were placed in their heads by the marketers themselves. Marketers know the power they possess over us, and use it to their advantage. Dove's firming lotion, for example contradicts the message it sends to women. The whole point of the Dove Girls is to portray images of confident women of all colors, ages, and sizes who are comfortable in their own skin, not advertise products such as firming lotion to help tighten up loose skin.

In my opinion, the images are still positive because they are promoting women to have confidence within their own bodies, which is a good start. On the other hand, producing products such as firming lotion contradicts the message Dove is sending to women. Overall, i don't completely blame the brand Dove because they are just meeting the demands of an insecure population. Whatever corporation planted insecurities in to the population's minds is to blame. If there were more corporations like Dove, people would eventually feel less obligated to look a certain way because they would be appreciating the real women Dove is advertising, which would give them reassurance that it’s okay to be have wrinkles, stretch marks, and/or tattoos. Having that reassurance helps women to accept themselves for who they are and their bodies for what they are. This will help them realize that they don’t need firming lotion or anti-aging products to be beautiful, which will then decrease the production and distribution of these products, and lead us to a world where marketing will have less of a say about what should and shouldn't be consider beautiful. 

References

Messenger, Erica, John Gooch, and Dorothy U. Seyler. Argument! United States of America: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2011. Print.