The Bluffer - Red Bluff, CA
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/59339
Opinion Page 2 he recent tragedy in Afghanistan has the media stirring. As it became apparent that one of our soldiers, Robert Bales, massacred 16 Afghani citizens, including women and children, the question began to arise: what punishment will the soldier receive? There is a very good chance that Mr. Bales was not thinking clearly, civilians is unacceptable and in our opinion horrific. However, there is more to the story than what is being portrayed by T but his actions are unjustifiable. He snuck out of his base at night after drinking heavily and went to two different villages, killing 9 children, 3 women, and 4 men. 11 of them belonged to the same family. Before this event, Bales had already been charged with multiple other crimes that paint the picture of a deeply troubled man. He had been charged with assaulting a girlfriend, fleeing a hit-and-run incident, along with charges that he "engaged in fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, churning, unauthorized trading and unsuitable investments," according to The National Association of Security Dealers. The best decision in this situation is to punish Mr. Bales swiftly and severely. the media. Mr. Bales, in our opinion, was a very mentally sick man. He most likely suffered from mental disorders as he was on his fourth tour in an active war zone. For this, we feel that with his medical conditions not being properly treated by the military doctors, Mr. Bales is not 100% responsible for the final result of his slayings. Yes, Mr. Bales should serve the remainder of his life in prison. Yes, he should be publically humiliated for his actions. Yes, he should suffer in that he will not get to watch his kids grow up. Yes, he should never see the light of day so to speak. But no, he should not face capital punishment. The military needs to claim responsibility for some of this mess. Often soldiers continue battle with ongoing mental issues. This is not acceptable. I Respect people with disabilities, don't bring attention Hip surgery causes enlightenment into the inconvienence and difficulty of being a disabled civilian have always thought I had a good idea of what it must be like to be disabled, as my cousin is in an electric wheelchair and has cerebral palsy. I thought that I was used to the stares, difficulties, and extra care and planning that went into it; and to a small extent I was, but not fully. A few weeks ago I had surgery, and couldn't walk. After surgery, I was sent to the hotel where we were staying. We had carefully explained that we would need a room close to a door, as I would be on crutches, and immobile. We were on the second floor, and as far away from the door as possible. The hotel saw nothing wrong with this, seeming to think, well, it's their problem. A week later, my family and I went to Tahoe, where I was looking forward to looking around, still on crutches with a large brace over my hip. The first day was good, but then the snow started, and we had to get a wheelchair for me, as you can't use crutches well on snow. It was mortifying! Everyone stared. We went to a restaurant twice, and the serving staff recognized my by the chair, crutches, and brace, and pointed it out, saying "Oh, she's back!". Going into anyplace was a hassle. We had to carefully plan exactly where the car would be, where we could go, and what I could do. Even stores that assured us the wheelchair would be no problem were often filled with rows too narrow for the wheels, and sharp turns. Many places had stairs, with the elevator tucked away, out of sight. I had to have help everywhere. Though the dependence on everyone around me, and forced inaction were hard, the stares were worse. People looked at you, and you could feel them wondering "What's wrong with her?" A couple of times I even saw people pointing at me, or laughing while I tried to maneuver into a door. It hurt more than I thought it would. I had foolishly imagined that people would just ignore it, or see it as just something that made me different. I had hoped for compassion, but rarely got it. I am glad to be able to walk again, but I gained important insight from my week of Kony organization goes too far with proposed solution I will give the Kony 2012 movement one thing: it knows how to advertise its cause to the modern media and the public. It has been able to accomplish something that has never been done before and has brought an incredible amount of attention upon itself and its cause. Many people who didn't even know what continent Uganda is on have become social activists because of the powerful video created by Invisible Children, which has been viewed by millions of people on Youtube alone. The speed by which this video gained its popularity is a great example of how emotional our nation is. It instilled this gun-ho attitude that can be every dangerous in certain situations. I don't think the organization was ready for this sort of attention, judging from the recent arrest of the man who made the video and created the Invisible Children organization, Jason Russell. He was arrested just a day after being hospitalized for exhaustion, evidence that the extreme amount of publicity is taking its toll on Mr. Russell. Nevertheless, Children's cause is one that everyone supports for the most part: getting rid of evil war-lords in undeveloped "It is the idea that they are incapable of helping themselves." countries. The only criticism I have about the video and the organization is that it goes too far in prescribing a solution. The video calls for the Invisible continuing support of the U.S. military and its training of the Ugandan militia. The solution sounds fine, but the video fails to mention the abusive nature of the Ugandan militia towards its own people, and helping it search a country for a single man is not going to run as smoothly as the video suggests it will. THE BLUFFER Editorial Staff News Editors Aaron Vasey Austin Chase Viewpoint Editor Marissa Chase A&E Editors Eddie Spidle Connor Ross Features Editors KC Jacobsen Madi Cumpton Bailey Patchen Sports Editors Egan Meagher Nick Reinhardt Shelby Keeler Topic Editor Andrea Hveem Illustrator Editorial Policy: Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the district, staff, or student body. We welcome signed letters to the editor. Names may be withheld upon request. We also reserve the right to edit submission based on length and/or clarity. Editor-In-Chief Austin Chase Aaron Vasey Xarayna Sekscenski Alaina Rudnick Carson Dunbar Payton Cumpton Brittany Villa Laura Defonte The video seems to promote this attitude that is often referred to as "the white man's burden". This attitude makes it seem like the Ugandan people are only helped as much as we, the civilized nation, help them. it is the idea that they are incapable of helping themselves, and it is a dangerous idea at that. Problems in Africa should be solved by people in Africa; that is the best attitude. The African people understand the problem better than we do, and they will be better at fixing it than we will be. I know it seems like a good use of our time to hunt Kony down, but there are many other things we can focus on instead. We need to leave it up to African leaders to take care of their own problems and issues. Aaron Vasey wheeling myself around. Next time you see someone with disabilities, don't snicker, or worse, point. They are aware enough of their difference from society; don't bring more attention to it. I was the same person I have always been, but in a wheelchair, but I was treated as an oddity. Respect that people are people, no matter what kind of help they may need. Alaina Rudnick March 23, 2012 Robert Bales, soldier, massacres sixteen in Afghanistan...opinion of staff split T he series of events that occured a little over a week ago in Afghanistan are extremely unfortunate. The murders of innocent Staff Writer Rush Limbaugh, extremist T who needs to be monitored It's unbelievable that Limbaugh is allowed on radio here are a lot of extremists out there. Most aren't too harmful because they can't get their crazy ideas out there, but there is one who can. Rush Limbaugh has been spouting his right wing ideas on his very own talk show. He had many sponsors and Republicans everywhere revere him. He has even been made an honorary member of congress. There is only one problem: He's a lunatic. Limbaugh has been is the news recently for his name calling. When a female law student talked out against the bills that would limit contraception, Limbaugh called her a "slut" and a "prostitute." He went on to tell the so called "femi-nazis" several creative ways to raise money for birth control. These comments caused Editor-In-Chief The voice of Red Bluff High School since 1901 Editor-In-Chief Advertising Director Shantell Estrada Staff Writers Josiah Vasey Rebecca Blanchard Armando Aguilar Ryan Fisher Claire Samay a huge media backlash that has severely hurt Limbaugh's reputation. He even gave a kind of un-apology, the gist of which being, "I'm sorry I called you a slut, but I wouldn't have called you a slut if you hadn't been such a slut." He went on to blame Obama for making him say these things, claiming that Obama "forced him to that level." Limbaugh has lost 141 sponsors for his show, including IBM, McDonalds', and the U.S. Army. But Limbaugh has said worse things before. For example, he defended the Lord's Resistance Army (yes, Kony's army) just because Obama made the decision to send 100 troops to help capture Kony. "Lords Resistance Army are Christians," he said, "And Obama has sent troops to remove them from the battlefield." He didn't mention that the LRA has been accused of rape, kidnapping and murder. He just supported the LRA because Obama was against it, without even looking that far into what the LRA really does. He is also extremely sexist. He once said, "Feminism was established so as to allow unattractive women easier access to the mainstream of society." He is close minded and ignorant. This kind of biased and ignorant banter is the kind that spreads lies and misinforms people. Limbaugh is so bad that the Westboro Baptist Church is trying to purchase ad space on his show. The church that goes to military funerals and holds up signs that have hateful anti-gay and anti-military messages. I wouldn't be surprised if he accepted. These are just a few of the dumb things that Limbaugh has said. Recently there has been a push to get Limbaugh of the air. Nevada Congresswoman has launched a petition that would cancel Limbaugh's show. Rush Limbaugh is just a hate filled bully with access to radios everywhere. We shouldn't allow his sexism, racism and general hate to be spewed on the radio. Free speech is an amendment that allows this- but it only goes so far. Josiah Vasey Staff Writer Alisa Pelanconi Adviser SPARTAN THUMBS • Cold weather in spring Although spring has just begun, the cold weather is causing hardships on students. • March Madness March Madness began March 11, and it is a popular tournament for kids to bet on. • Closed campus at break Although the rule has been in effect since the establishment of the school, students feel they should be able to leave. • Tennis team is going for Title The boysʼ tennis team is excelling and going for a consecutive EAL League Title. • Losing faculty members Students are upset that many faculty members will not be returning for the following year. *These thumbs came from Mrs. Palubeskiʼs third period class. Staff Editorial