Looking at the issue
objectively there are a few questions that came to my mind first right off the
bat:
-What was the background of the victim’s family? (i.e.
family support, who is in the family, other factors)
-where did the event take place?
-who else was involved? (i.e. were there any bystanders,
other witnesses or others directly influencing the victim)
-if alcohol or drugs were involved, was there a background
of those substances or substance abuse within the family?
Example 1)
The first example that I have
chosen to discuss about substance abuse is the case of a 16 year old boy named
Ernest Azoadam from North Delta who tragically died after being on a party bus
with his friends. This case easily intrigued me to look into it farther due to
the idea that I know people who were in fact friends with this boy and attended
the same school as him. From the many articles I have read and how it has been
portrayed on the news, it seems as though harsh fingers are being pointed
towards the company of the party bus. When in reality, I question whether it
was really their fault in the first place. Legally, party buses do not allow
alcohol onto the transportation devices, but they do not stop people from
proceeding with these doings beforehand. I asked myself whether it was the
party bus company who did not do their job but in fact if they were following
their policies, I feel that the blame should not necessarily be pointed fully
at them.
On top
of reading the articles that I found, I decided to talk to a few people who
actually knew him and see what they had to say about the devastating situation.
One girl that I spoke to said that it was not just alcohol, but substance abuse
was involved and the term overdose was used in her description of the
event. Once I learned this, I started to
question if it were even possible for the party bus company to even be aware of
that situation without preforming an actual test of some sort. In my opinion it
is not the party bus company that should be targeted as the media is currently
portraying, but rather the individual himself and family members that surround
him. It was said on the news as well as in the article that Ernest’s older
brother was in fact of the bus with him. With that type of family supervision
right around him, the situation could have possibly been avoided or taken to a
minimum level. Overall a number of questions need to be asked in order to find
who is truly to blame, but the consequences for an event such as this should
not be thrown all on one person or on one thing.
Example 2)
The
second article I chose took place in 2010 in Ontario involving a 17 year old
boy who died from alcohol poisoning. My response to this article is that the
blame lies farther towards the parents of the second house party. The young 17
year old, Chris Skinner, left a party to proceed drinking at the house of a
friend where his parents approved of their partying as long as it was done
under their own roof. Right there, in my eyes, is the very problem to the
situation. With the consent of parents, alcohol can be taken out of control to
an even bigger level then normally if it were discouraged by adult figures. For
a parent to allow that kind of behavior in their home, they are allowing
dangerous situations to be created in what is meant to be a safe environment.
Also, as a contributing factor Chris later on proceeded drinking with
individuals who were of age, making the situation seem all the better in the
parents eyes who owned the house, for the time being. It seems as though the mom of the home
claimed that under aged drinking was okay, as long as the alcohol was not
provided by her. From looking into the situation it seemed as though the
parents of the house party were to blame for not keeping the matter under
control. Yet, on the other hand not one piece of information is mentioned about
Chris’ parents and where they were at the time. I definitely think the fault of
this case not only lies on the parents of the party but also the many others
that influenced Chris’ life and who could have had the power to change the
situation.
I really liked how you addressed the questions and even raised more questions with the examples that you chose. This demonstrates a critical analysis of the articles - you seem to be suggesting that the media is partly to blame for over-sensationalizing the issue of binge drinking through reports that are ill informed, deliberately misleading or reported too prematurely to draw the conclusions they seem to want the audience to arrive at. Am I correct in this assumption?
ReplyDeleteYour examples are well-chosen to illustrate and connect to the topic. As you are learning how to bvlog - reminder to try to hyperlink perhaps with a title or even embed where possible. Don't forget to provide context and introduce your topic. You might also want to avoid slang phrases or put in quotes so the audience knows this is a deliberate choice. Another well great effort for first attempt.
Kristina, I really liked how your first article was a current event and also an article that some students in high school can relate to. You showed that you had deeply analyzed this article by going to a further resource to collect information and also stating that there wasn’t enough information for the decision of who the consequence will fall upon. Next time you might want to quote your external resource so readers will get a clearer understanding about the article.
ReplyDeleteWithin your second article you did a really good job at presenting your opinion in a thorough and strong manner. You caught the small details within the article and brought them out in your writing. Over all good job!