Blog Post No. 6

This is a response to Luna Trevino's "Let's Talk Guns."

Hey Luna,

First of all, I love how much passion you convey in your writing! I can really tell that you are so adamant about gun control regulation, and that you care so much about this issue. I'm with you wholeheartedly. I too am disgusted by the lack of change, awareness, attention, and flexibility when it comes to the way most right-wing politicians have reacted to the obvious rise in gun violence.

Second, your use of facts and statistics to back up your opinions is really well done. This technique makes for a much more accurate and logical argument. Of course, you're sort of preaching to the choir, and it seems that those that need to be convinced by facts and statistics refuse to, but overall it makes your argument much more reasonable. I also love that you mention the constitution and how problematic it is to follow it so strictly. As our society changes, so do the rules that we implement, or at least they should, to fit and align with current issues. Of course, gun violence is a major issue in America, so shouldn't we adapt our rules to fit our needs? I think yes.

Third, I love that you bring up other countries in your commentary! I always use Japan as an example for being pro-gun regulation whenever I'm debating with gun rights activists (to be honest, though, I try to avoid doing that at all costs).

Overall your commentary is spot on, powerful, and very, very important!

Blog Post No. 5

For the last several months since hurricane Maria decimated the gorgeous land of Puerto Rico, the island has had sporadic and inconsistent access to power. Today, Puerto Rico experienced yet another power outage, except this time, the power outage covered the entire island; this has been the second island-wide power outage in a week. But going back to the days after Maria hit, when Puerto Rico was powerless, drowning, and in desperate need of help from the United States, President Trump disregarded the island’s distress, blamed it for its own natural disaster, and did nothing to help Puerto Rico and its citizens. (If anything demonstrates this the best, its this video.) In fact, he still has not done much to help this neighboring territory. He did, however, provided many of his resources to, and offered his deepest sympathies for the citizens of Houston. Of course, the effects of hurricane Harvey were devastating and deserved the government’s attention. But, there has been a striking imbalance regarding the amount of help that Houston has received over the entire island of Puerto Rico. This not only perfectly illustrates how spiteful President Trump and his administration are, but it also highlights an issue that has yet to be fixed. 

The island of Puerto Rico inhabits about 3.3 million people, which is about a million more people than the city of Houston. According to puertoricoreport.com, the island saw a staggering decrease in population after hurricane Maria. This population decrease can be explained by the hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans moving to surrounding areas, most notably, Florida and other coastal American states. FEMA set up Disaster Relief Centers in Miami, Orlando, and Fort Lauderdale, but did not provide the same aid to Puerto Rico directly. FEMA also did not implement the same shuttle services to the victims of Maria as they did to the victims of Harvey. This negligence has caused a plethora of Puerto Ricans to flee and find safety in the states, when if the federal government, or organizations like FEMA, had been devoted to helping Puerto Rico, many of its citizens might have been able to stay in their homes. While the United States does not have unlimited resources, this situation is less about not being able to do something, and more about simply caring enough to do something.