Oh, Beast City (Obesity)

The obesity rate amongst people in the United States are continuing to grow. The importance of living a healthy lifestyle can make one feel like a better person. Most importantly, it starts out with our eating habits and how often we exercise. This morning I read an article on SFGate regarding Richmond voters deciding to tax soda in the fall. The tax will include a penny-per-ounce surcharge; hence, offering a way to at least mitigate obesity. I am strong believer in diminishing the obesity rate.

There are tons of fast food restaurants everywhere, that tempts us to eat unhealthy. It all starts out with the unhealthy foods in these certain restaurants. Imagine the youth of our future, if the obesity rate keeps up, youth will be at higher risk for severe medical conditions.I think it is a very good idea that Richmond is going to take this step because soda lacks nutritional value; with that said, even a twinkie has some nutritional value. According to the article by Carolyn Jones, deaths can be prevented as well; a nation-wide soda tax much like Richmond would prevent 100,000 cases of heart disease, 8,000 strokes, and 26,000 deaths over the next decade according to a study by UCSF, San Francisco General Hospital, and Columbia University (Jones 2012).

The question ,"When should I start?" The answer is now. Proper dieting and exercise is the key to prevent obesity. Don't be a statistic, be healthy.

The Stigma through Music

Stigmas is existent in many societies whether it is our choice of music, clothing style or even the neighborhood we live in. One in particular that I would like to mention is the choice of music, Hip Hop & Rap. The issue around listening to those two genres is that you can be portrayed as a gangster, a violent person, and the issue of racism can occur. Lastly, you can be seen as someone who is uneducated.

No one should be judged for the choice of music they listen to but the content of ones character. Just because someone like to listen to Rap, they should not be portrayed as an uneducated individual. It is not fair for one to judge a person thinking they are violent just because the lyrics to a song is. Hip Hop and Rap should be thought of as a form of art.

I know if you are in a nice neighborhood and you are listening to your Rap music loud enough to for others nearby to hear, some peoples first thought may be that person is a gangster or a violent person. Whenever I walk around downtown San Francisco, there are a bunch of youth who may have the image of someone who may do harm. Some of these youth you will catch listening to their Rap music really loud and you can see people that are walking towards them move out the way as if the person listening to music may do harm. This is just an unfair judgement of people.

Many peoples beliefs is that Rap music is stigmatized as mindless music having no artistic or social value, when it can mean change for individuals who gone through same instances that some rappers have undergone. I just know that some people just like the stories being told in a creative way or with a catchy beat.

What I am doing to repair this stigma is proving those who judge wrong by being successful in Year Up. So far I am proving the stigma wrong because I listen to Hip Hop and Rap and I just appreciate its art form. Bottom line to this stigma is to never judge a book by its cover.