Mainstream Media Supports a Democracy - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1929 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2019/02/15 Category Politics Essay Level High school Tags: Democracy Essay Did you like this example? How is it that mainstream media supports a democracy? Simple. Freedom of speech and expression that helps engage the public. A democracy is a form of government in which people can freely govern themselves as well as given power to elected representatives. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Mainstream Media Supports a Democracy" essay for you Create order Every citizen in their given country has the chance to vote and elect these representatives and people in power. Power can also be held directly by the people themselves as well. In a democracy, there is a belief of freedom and equality amongst the people as well as a system that is put in place based on these beliefs. The role of media in democracy has grown immensely in the last couple of years because of how popular social media and media in general has become. Media in a democracy can help educate voters, report, and can help explore someones interest. Because democracy needs citizens and the people to be actively participating, the media plays the role of keeping these people/citizens engaged in the government by informing, educating, reporting, and gathering the public. Technology has become so popular that someone can go online and google search anything and have the answer right there with doing little to know research. This gives the people the easy way of getting engaged an d educated in the public because of the medias role. Media is the backbone of a democracy as it helps shapes our views and makes us aware of the various social, political, and economic situations whether it shows us the bare truth or harsh realities of the world. Mainstream media in the United States today supports American democracy by giving everyone an opportunity to express their right of freedom of speech and giving people the right to send and deliver (communicate) these messages without being oppressed by authorities. Everyone in the United States has the right to freedom of speech. In this democratic state, each and every citizen has the opportunity to express these thoughts, feelings, ideas with words, symbols, actions and freedom. The media certainly gives the people this opportunity where they can do and say whatever they want to help report, educate and gather the community and audience they are reaching out to. The freedom of speech that these mainstream media platforms give us are very important in democracy because to make it effective, it needs the citizens to be able to participate actively and critic the government. These media platforms could include: radio, social media, online newspapers/articles, and television. For example, on social media platforms, people can go on there and publicly express their thoughts and feelings and give their opinions without any permission. Apps like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter all give the user a freedom to say and do whatever they want o n the platform. It helps support public activism and engagement within the democracy. In a Social Philosophy Policy article called Democratic Ideals and Media Realities: A Puzzling Free Press Paradox, author Michael Kent Curtis says, â€Å"My fourth and final suggestion for protecting the environment needed for a democratic system of freedom of expression is to encourage citizen activism†. Because media is so easy to access and gives the platform for anyone to speak on certain issues, it can help get the population more involved. Kent also goes on to give us an example, â€Å"Some Americans have politely asked television networks to do their part to respond to the current crisis in representative government. A group called Alliance for Better Campaigns (led by former Presidents Ford and Carter and Walter Cronkite) has suggested a modest beginning. It has called on television stations and networks, in the thirty days before an election, to devote 5 minutes a night to broadca sting what candidates sayup they say from a total of 40 seconds typically provided to all candidates.† Not only is this giving the public a freedom of speech and expression, but its also giving them a platform to express these thoughts and opinions which is easy to reach and use therefore supporting public engagement and activism helping support a democracy. While these forms of social media signify what freedom of speech and expression look like, one way in which we can improve the democracy is for social media platforms like the ones stated above as well as television broadcast such as Fox News and CNN need to stop controlling what people will see whether it’s sponsored, censored, or biased. I can see the point in censoring content if it is a form of hate speech which violates the 1st amendment. By these media platforms especially social media and television broadcasts, a lot of stuff can be removed or censored which takes away that person’s freedom of speech and expression. I think one way in which we can improve democracy would be finding a happy medium between the expression of free speech but also the censorship and sponsored formats to help better support democracy. This would include giving people the option to skip over sponsorship ads, as well as given the option to citizens if they want sensitive content to be ce nsored or not. As far as bias goes, it’s going to be everywhere you look and depend on where you are looking. This just shows someone’s freedom of expression and speech which helps supports democracy as it keeps the public engaged. Whether you’re posting something on social media, communicating with the people through radio, or being able to show your interests and views through television news and online news sources, you can say and do what you want while communicating these messages without being oppressed by authorities and people. There is so many polices against oppression like the first amendment for example that protects those from use of fighting words, hate speech, blackmail, as well at threats. Social media platforms, you are able to report people if they have violated the 1st amendment and used their first speech incorrectly. Another way to help improve media to strengthen democracy based off communicating messages without being oppressed by authorities would be to show more equality. There seems to be a major way in which authorities treat people and what messages they try to communicate and convey between social media and the outside world. For example, someone in social media could aggressively voice their thoughts and opinions and no one stops them but in the real world, like at rallies and protests, authorities seem to treat citizens with harsher treatment then through an electronic. Democracy is all about giving the people a freedom of speech and equality and although the freedom of speech is there, equality needs to be worked on. Whether its cracking down on the hate speech in social media and authorities treating it the same way as rallies and protests or having it the other way around, one or the other needs improving to help keep this democracy strong and moving forward. Although there are many ways in which mainstream media for the majority supports American democracy, there are some ways in which it can go against democracy. For example, certain media platforms such as social media as well as online articles/newspapers limits what viewers see because of the side that they support politically. In other words, mainstream media should be a place where people can easily go too to find news without any source supporting one side more than the other and being very bias. It should be a place where people go to express and voice their thoughts, opinions, and ideas without being told to pick and choose a side. In the text We the People: An introduction to American Politics, author(s) Benjamin Ginsberg, Theodore J. Lowi, Margaret Weir, Caroline J. Tolbert, and Robert J. Spitzer, mention how the media can influence the public opinion by choosing what they present and how they present it. They claim that â€Å"the media can shape and modify, if not fully form , the public’s perception of events, issues, and institutions. Media coverage can rally support for, or intensify opposition to, national policies on matters as weighty as health care, the economy, and international wars† (Ch. 6, Page 189). Like I’ve mentioned previously, to support an American democracy, the press gets a right of freedom of speech and they get to post what they want without being oppressed by authorities. Yes, they are still doing this but at the same time some are coming out with complete bias statements and sometimes false news or in Donald Trump’s words â€Å"Fake News†. This goes against democracy as some media outlets are abusing their freedom to say whatever they want to shape public opinion whether its right or wrong. In the end though, the democracy is still being supported by mainstream media as every person gets to do and say whatever they want to say without being punished for it. Based on the two arguments above, American media is effectively fulfilling the role of free press in this democracy rather than tearing it down. Media has allowed people to become more actively engaged as well as better educated and informed because of how easy it is to communicate messages with little to no effort. Media can help reach out to the majority of a society because of the many platforms of it whether being broadcasts, radio, online newspaper/articles, and social media. All of these platforms are easy to access and most are free so the general public has access to it all and all the information. These platforms allow anybody no matter their age, the right to practice their right of freedom of speech and being able to say and do anything without the oppression of authorities. There is a group called Youth Media Action or YMA, that is an independent Youth Media Hub that helps get the youth more involved in politics among the media and free speech. In the article, Making Medi a for Themselves: Strategic Dilemmas of Prefigurative Work in Independent Media Outlets, author Rachel Kulick says, â€Å"YMA identifies inclusivity as a key cultural dimension of free speech. In other words, YMA strives to assure that all individuals have the resources to exercise their first amendment rights of free speech through the production of socially conscious media. [†¦] The YMA prefigurative practices of modeling an alternative media culture of inclusivity occur through cultivating a sense of shared ownership and solidarity, with a focus on producing noncommercial media.† Even the media plays a role in getting the youth engaged and better understand politics. The freedom of speech that these mainstream media platforms give us are very important in democracy because to make it effective, it needs the citizens to be able to participate actively and critic the government. In conclusion, mainstream media has played a huge role in todays society and politics as it is a way where citizens can go to voice their thoughts and opinions as well as politicians use it as a platform to get their name and message/agendas out there. Democracy needs to be supported by the voice of the people in order to keep it strong and strengthen it. Because we saw how much technology plays a huge role in today’s society, mainstream media is the heart of a democracy. People have a way to easily access these platforms that make it simpler to participate and engage in social activism. Mainstream media allows the democracy to keep on growing and getting stronger by supporting the freedom of speech among all platforms as well as the communication between the population without being oppressed by authorities.

Alcatraz Essay - 1246 Words

As the cold waters rush into the San Francisco Bay, they crash up against an island standing in the strait. This rock is hidden by the fog and isolated by the chilling waters of the Pacific that flow in and out every day. It has a gloom that hangs about its rocky face most know it as Alcatraz but the men who experienced this island, referred to her as â€Å"The Rock†. To the men confined there, it is not only the ultimate in isolation but the most ironic because they are there in the midst of the activity of a busy harbor with small craft darting to and from San Francisco, Oakland, Alameda, Berkeley, Richmond, and Sausalito; within sound of the honking horns of a ceaseless procession of automobiles crossing the bridges; within sight of ocean†¦show more content†¦Because of the passing of the Volstead Act in 1920, production and distribution of alcohol became an extremely profitable business. With this also came a noticeable rise in organized crime in many of the big c ities. Even worse, the crimes committed by members of these gangs became more violent. Soon prisons were overcrowded and were merely hold facilities. No correction was in mind for these prisoners. Convicts filled the empty hours with talk, mostly about the crimes they had committed and ways they could beat the law. Drug addicts and other petty offenders were mixed with killers and robbers. Young felons, who had taken to crime for no more than sheer pleasure or pride on a dare, came out of prison with no job skills but with plenty of advice from more experienced criminals. In 1933, J. Edgar Hoover was made the director of the recently established FBI agency. Hoover had plans to crack down on these criminals. The problem Hoover faced was that, no sooner were the criminals locked up than the crime organizations would bust them out. With this major problem in mind, the Justice Department began looking into a maximum-security prison that was not easy to access and therefore inescapable. When they came across Alcatraz, it was almost too good to be true. By April of 1934, work began on Alcatraz to make the current cell house more secure by replacing soft iron square bars on the cells with new,Show MoreRelatedalcatraz779 Words   |  4 Pages An icon of power and strength, Alcatraz has become the single most recognizable symbol of American society. Situated in the San Francisco Bay, one can’t help but be drawn to the rocky shore, the dark walls, and the lone light tower sanding cold against a picturesque sunset imagining what it would have been like to be incarcerated in one of the world’s most infamous prisons. Discovered in 1775 by the Spanish explorer Juan Miguel de Ayala, La Isla de los Alcatraces was little more than a rockRead More Alcatraz Essay903 Words   |  4 Pages Alcatraz: United States Penitentiary 1934-1963 As a result of the Great Depression, a new breed of violent criminals swept the streets of America. In response to the cries of alarmed citizens, Congress enacted a number of statutes, which gave the federal government jurisdiction over certain criminal offenses previously held by the states. With the suggestion of former US Attorney General, Homes Cummings, Congress agreed that a special penal institution of maximum security and minimum privilegeRead MoreInformative Speech Outline on Alcatraz1081 Words   |  5 Pages* Alcatraz Informative Speech Outline General Purpose: To inform the class Specific Purpose: To describe to the audience a brief history of Alcatraz. Thesis: Alcatraz has been a popular social topic because of the mystery that surrounds it and the stories exaggerated in movies and television shows. INTRODUCTION I. If you disobey the rules of society, they send you to prison; if you disobey the rules of the prison, they send you to Alcatraz. II. Alcatraz has been a popular social topicRead MoreInformative Speech on Alcatraz1097 Words   |  5 PagesPurpose: To inform the class Specific Purpose: To describe to the audience a brief history of Alcatraz. Thesis: Alcatraz has been a popular social topic because of the mystery that surrounds it and the stories exaggerated in movies and television shows. INTRODUCTION I. If you disobey the rules of society, they send you to prison; if you disobey the rules of the prison, they send you to Alcatraz. II. Alcatraz has been a popular social topic because of the mystery that surrounds it and the storiesRead MoreAlcatraz Island: A Brief History1608 Words   |  7 Pagesofficers (Mahaney, Erin. History and Facts about Alcatraz. About.com). Closing The Great Depression of the 1930s resulted in the already pricey expenses to run the army barracks to almost double. The current prisoners were departed to other prisons in Kansas and New Jersey. In 1933, the Army deserted the prison.\ Alcatraz would continue as a prison for more than 100 years, but just under a different control†¦ Federal Penitentiary Establishing Alcatraz was obtained by the federal bureau of prisonsRead MoreThe Birdman Of Alcatraz, By Aka Robert Stroud934 Words   |  4 PagesWhile you may have heard of, â€Å"The Birdman of Alcatraz,† aka Robert Stroud, another popular Alcatraz inmate. He was probably the most famous inmate to reside on Alcatraz. In 1909, Stroud brutally murdered a bartender when he failed to pay the girl Stroud was pimping for. He shot the bartender to death and took the wallet for the prostitute. Stroud was convicted of manslaughter and sent to McNeil Island in 1911. At McNeil Island, he was noted to be violent and difficult to manage. Robert StroudRead More The History of Alcatraz Island Essay4099 Words   |  17 PagesThe History of Alcatraz Island Alcatraz Island has quite a distinct history. Many people know that Alcatraz served as a federal prison, but most are reluctant to know that this island served as fort. Built before the Civil War, it served two main purposes. First, that it was to guard the San Francisco bay area from enemy ships against a foreign invasion, and second, to hold hostage prisoners of war or POWs as they were called. In this report, Ill show you how this fortress came to be a federalRead MoreAlcatraz as a Tourist Attraction Essay3109 Words   |  13 Pagestwenty-two acres of solid granite surrounded by a fast moving sea of icy waters. Your name is Al Capone, and youve been sentenced to carry out the last nine years of your eleven-year sentence at the most infamous prison in U.S. History, The Rock. Alcatraz is no longer a federal penitentiary, nor does it house any inmates. Instead, it has become a tourist attraction that allows hundreds of people a day the opportunity to experience what time served may have felt like at The Rock. The island sitsRead MoreThe History of Alcatraz789 Words   |  3 PagesLife on Alcatraz Prison was not as bad as the people described it to be. For the prisoners Living on Alcatraz was similar to life on other American penitentiaries of the era. It wasn’t the brutal hellhole many movies made it look like it was. Each prisoner swept his cell clean, dressed, and then stood ready for head count. Then all marches to the mess hall for break feast before moving on to work out in the docks in the laundry area, or out in any of the other buildings in the island. The food onRead MoreInformative Speech Outline on Alcatraz Essay1090 Words   |  5 Pages* Alcatraz Informative Speech Outline General Purpose: To inform the class Specific Purpose: To describe to the audience a brief history of Alcatraz. Thesis: Alcatraz has been a popular social topic because of the mystery that surrounds it and the stories exaggerated in movies and television shows. INTRODUCTION I. If you disobey the rules of society, they send you to prison; if you disobey the rules of the prison, they send you to Alcatraz. II. Alcatraz has been a popular social topic

You Suck A Love Story Chapter 14~15 Free Essays

string(74) " the fulfillment of a sexual fantasy he’d nurtured for a long time\." Chapter Fourteen Powers for Good The Emperor was sitting on a black marble bench just around the corner from the great opera house, feeling small and ashamed, when he saw the striking redhead in jeans coming toward him. Bummer lapsed into a barking fit and the Emperor snatched the Boston terrier up by the scruff of the neck and stuffed him into the oversized pocket of his coat to quiet him. â€Å"Brave Bummer,† said the old man. We will write a custom essay sample on You Suck: A Love Story Chapter 14~15 or any similar topic only for you Order Now â€Å"Would that I could still hold that kind of passion, even if it were fear. But my fear is weak and damp, I’ve barely the spine for a dignified surrender.† He’d felt like this since he’d seen Jody outside the secondhand store, where she’d warned him away from the owner. Yes, now he knew her to be one of the undead, a bloodsucking fiend – but then, not so much a fiend. She had been a friend, a good one, even after he had betrayed Tommy Iff to the Animals. He could feel the City’s eye on him, could feel her disappointment in him. What does a man have, if not character? What is character, if not a man’s measure of himself against his friends and enemies? The great city of San Francisco shook her head at him, ashamed. Her bridges slumped in the fog with disappointment. He remembered a house somewhere and that same look on the face of a dark-haired woman, but mercifully, in an instant that memory was a ghost, and Jody was bending to scratch behind the ears of the steadfast Lazarus, who had never been agitated by her like his bug-eyed brother, who even now squirmed furiously in the woolen pocket. â€Å"Your Majesty,† Jody said. â€Å"How are you?† â€Å"Worthless and weak,† said the Emperor. She really was a lovely girl. He’d never known her to hurt a soul. What a cad he was. â€Å"I’m sorry to hear that. You have plenty to eat? Staying warm?† â€Å"The men and I have this very hour vanquished a corned beef on a sourdough roll the size of a healthy infant, thank you.† â€Å"Tommy’s Joynt?† Jody said with a smile. â€Å"Indeed. We are not worthy, yet my people provide.† â€Å"Don’t be silly, you’re worthy. Look, Emperor, have you seen William?† â€Å"William of the huge and recently shaven cat?† â€Å"That’s the one.† â€Å"Why yes, we crossed his path not long ago. He was at the liquor store at Geary and Taylor. He seemed very enthusiastic about purchasing some scotch. More energetic than I’ve seen him in many years.† â€Å"That was how long ago?† She stopped petting Lazarus and stood. â€Å"Little more than an hour ago.† â€Å"Thank you, Your Majesty. You don’t know where he was going?† â€Å"I should think to find a safe place to drink his dinner. Although I can’t claim to know him well, I don’t think William passes the evening in the Tenderloin often.† Jody patted the Emperor’s shoulder, and he took her hand. â€Å"I’m so sorry, dear.† â€Å"Sorry? About what?† â€Å"When I saw you and Thomas the other night, I noticed. It’s true, isn’t it? Thomas has changed.† â€Å"No, he’s still a doofus.† â€Å"I mean he is one of your kind now?† â€Å"Yes.† She looked up the street. â€Å"I was alone,† she said. The Emperor knew exactly how she felt. â€Å"I told one of his crew from the Safeway, Jody. I’m sorry, I was frightened.† â€Å"You told the Animals?† â€Å"The born-again one, yes.† â€Å"And how did he react?† â€Å"He was worried for Thomas’s soul.† â€Å"Yeah, that would be Clint’s reaction. You don’t know if he told the other Animals?† â€Å"I would guess yes, by now.† â€Å"Okay, don’t worry, then, Your Highness. It’s okay. Just don’t tell anyone else. Tommy and I are leaving the City just like we promised those police detectives. We just have to get things in order.† â€Å"And the other – the old vampire?† â€Å"Yes. Him, too.† She turned and strode away, heading into the Tenderloin, her boot heels clacking on the sidewalk as she kept her pace just below a run. The Emperor shook his head and rubbed Lazarus behind the ears. â€Å"I should have told her about the detectives. I know that, old friend.† There was only so much weakness he could confess to at one time – that, too, a fault. The Emperor resolved to sleep somewhere cold and damp tonight, perhaps in the park by the Maritime Museum, as penance for his weakness. There was no way she was going to remember his new mobile number. It was five in the morning before Tommy had finished moving all of the furniture, books, and clothes. Now the new loft looked almost exactly like the old loft had looked, except that it didn’t have a working phone line. So Tommy sat on the counter of the old loft, looking at the three bronze statues and waiting for Jody to call. Just the three statues left to move: Jody, the old vampire, and the turtle. The old vampire looked fairly natural. He’d been unconscious when he’d been bronzed, but Tommy had the biker sculptors downstairs pose him as if he was in midstep, out for a stroll. Jody was posed with her hand on her hip, her head thrown back as if she’d just tossed her long hair over her shoulder, smiling. Tommy turned his head to the side, getting perspective. She didn’t look skanky. What made Abby say the statue was skanky? Sexy, well yes. Jody had been wearing some very low-cut jeans and a crop top when he’d posed her for the electroplating, and the bikers had insisted upon exposing more of her cleavage than was probably decorous, but what could you expect from a couple of guys who specialized in making high-end garden gnomes acting out the Kama Sutra? Okay, she looked a little skanky, but he didn’t see how that was a bad thing. He had actually been delighted when she came streaming out of the ear holes to materialize, stark naked, in front of him. If she hadn’t killed him, it would have been the fulfillment of a sexual fantasy he’d nurtured for a long time. You read "You Suck: A Love Story Chapter 14~15" in category "Essay examples" (There had been this old TV show he’d watched as a kid, about a beautiful genie who lived in a bottle – well, Tommy had done some serious bottle polishing over that one.) So the Jody statue stayed. But the old vampire, Elijah, that was a different story. There was a real creature in there. A real scary creature. Whatever bizarre events had brought them to this spot had been set off by Elijah Ben Sapir. He was a reminder that neither he – Tommy – nor Jody had chosen to be vampires. Neither had chosen to live out the rest of their days in the night. Elijah had taken their choices away from them, and replaced them with a whole new set of scarier, bigger choices. The first of which was how the hell do you deal with the fact that you have imprisoned a sentient, feeling being in a shell of bronze, even if he is an evil dick-weed from the Dark Ages? But they couldn’t let him out. He’d kill them for sure if they did. Really kill them, too, a complete death, the kind with no nooky. Suddenly Tommy was angry. He’d had a future. He might have been a writer, a Nobel Prize winner, an adventurer, a spy. Now he was just a foul dead thing, and the furthest his ambition would reach was his next victim. Okay, that wasn’t really true, but still, he was pissed off. So what if Elijah was trapped in bronze shell forever. He’d trapped them in these monstrous bodies. Maybe it was time to do something monstrous. Tommy picked up Jody’s statue and threw it over his shoulder and, despite his great vampire strength, followed it over backward as it clanged against the floor. Okay, it had taken the two bikers and a refrigerator dolly to get the statues up here, maybe a little planning was in order. It turned out he could move the statue pretty efficiently if he slung it over his back and let one of her feet drag, and so he did, down the steps, half a block down the sidewalk, and back up the steps of the new loft. Bronze Jody looked happy in the new place, he thought. The turtle took half as long. She, too, looked pleased with the surroundings. As for Elijah, Tommy figured what was the point of being in a city on a peninsula if you didn’t take advantage of the water now and then. And Elijah evidently liked the ocean, since he’d come to the City on his yacht, which Tommy and the Animals had managed to blow to smithereens. The vampire statue was even heavier that Jody’s, but Tommy felt energized by the idea of getting rid of it. Just a short twelve blocks to the sea and that would be that. â€Å"From the sea ye came, and to the sea ye shall return,† Tommy said, thinking that he might be quoting Coleridge, or maybe a Godzilla movie. As Tommy dragged the bronzed vampire down Mission Street, he considered his future. What would he do? He had a lot of time to fill, and after a while, figuring out new ways to jump Jody would only fill up a part of his nights. He was going to have to find a purpose. They had money – cash the vampire had given Jody when he turned her – and what was left of the money from the sale of Elijah’s art, but eventually that would run out. Maybe he should get a job. Or become a crime fighter. That’s it, he would use his powers for good. Maybe get an outfit. After a few blocks Tommy noticed that Elijah’s toe, the one that was dragging on the sidewalk, was starting to wear away. The bikers had warned Tommy that the bronze shell was pretty thin. It wouldn’t do to unleash a claustrophobic and hungry ancient vampire when you were the guy who had imprisoned him, so Tommy stood the vampire on the corner for a minute while he dug through a trash bin until he found some heavy-duty plastic Big Gulp cups, which he fitted on the vampire’s dragging foot as skid protection. â€Å"Ha!† Tommy said. â€Å"Thought you had me.† A couple of guys in hip-hop wear walked by as Tommy was fitting the cups on the vampire’s feet. Tommy made the mistake of making eye contact and they paused. â€Å"Stole it from a building on Fourth,† Tommy said. The two nodded, as if they were saying, Of course, we were just wondering, and proceeded to move down the sidewalk. They must sense my superior strength and speed, Tommy thought, so they wouldn’t dare mess with me. In fact, the two had confirmed that the white boy in the ghost makeup was crazy – and what would they do with a four-hundred-pound statue anyway? Tommy figured he’d drag the statue to the Embarcadero and toss it off the pier by the Ferry Building. If there was anyone around, he’d just stand at the rail like he was there with his gay lover, then shove the statue in when no one was looking. He felt enormously sophisticated about the plan. No one would ever think a guy from Indiana was pretending to be gay. That kind of thing just wasn’t done. Tommy had known a kid once in high school who had gone up to Chicago to see the musical Rent and was never heard from again. Tommy reckoned he’d been disappeared by the local Kiwanis Club. When he got to the Embarcadero, which ran all along the waterfront, Tommy was tempted to just chuck Elijah in the Bay right there and call it a night, but he had a plan, so he dragged the vampire that last two blocks to the promenade at the end of Market Street, where the antique streetcars, the cable cars, and the cross-bay ferries all converged in a big paved park and sculpture garden. Here, away from the buildings, the night seemed to open up to his vampire senses, take on a new light. Tommy stopped for moment, stood Elijah by a fountain, and watched heat streaming out of some grates by the streetcar turnaround. Perfect. There was absolutely no one around. Then the beeping started. Tommy looked at his watch. Sunrise in ten minutes. The night hadn’t opened up to him, it had been shutting him down. Ten minutes, and the loft was a good twenty blocks away. Jody was quickstepping along the alleyway that came out in front of their old loft. She still had twenty minutes until sunrise, but she could see the sky lightening, and twenty minutes was cutting it too close. Tommy would be freaked. She should have taken the cell phone with her. She shouldn’t have left him alone with the new minion. She’d finally found William, passed out in a doorway in Chinatown, with Chet the huge cat sleeping on his chest. They’d have to remember not to leave William with any money from now on, if he was going to be their food source. Otherwise he’d go elsewhere for his alcohol, and that wasn’t going to work. He was making his staggering way home on his own. Maybe she’d let him take a shower at the old loft – they weren’t going to get their deposit back anyway. There was still a light on in the loft. Great, Tommy was home. She’d forgotten to get a key for the new place. She was about to step out of the alley when she smelled cigar smoke and heard a man’s voice. She stopped and peeked around the corner. There was a brown Ford sedan parked across the street from their old loft, and in it sat two middle-aged men. Cavuto and Rivera, the homicide detectives that she’d made a deal with the night they’d blown up Elijah’s yacht. They’d moved just in time, but then, maybe not quite. She couldn’t get to the new place either. It was only a half a block away, and she’d have to cross in the open. And even then, what if it was locked? She jumped four feet straight up when the alarm on her watch went off. It was toward the end of their second shift after returning to the Safeway that the Animals sobered up. Lash was sitting by himself in the wide backseat of the Hummer limo, his head cradled in his hands, hoping desperately that the despair and self-loathing he was feeling was only the effect of a hangover, instead of what it really was, which was a big flaming enema of reality. The reality was, they had spent more than a half a million dollars on a blue hooker. He let the hugeness of it roll around in his head, and looked up at the other Animals, who were sitting around the perimeter of the limo, similarly posed, trying not to make eye contact with one another. They’d had nearly two semi trucks of stock to put up that night, and they’d known it was coming because they’d ordered it to make up for the time they’d been away and Clint had let the shelves get low. So they’d sobered up, put their heads down, and thrown stock like the Animals that they wer e. Now it was getting close to dawn and it was dawning on all of them that they might have severely fucked up. Lash risked a sideways glance at Blue, who was sitting between Barry and Troy Lee. She’d taken Lash’s apartment on Northpoint, and made him sleep on the couch at Troy Lee’s, where there were about seven hundred Chinese family members, including Troy’s grandmother, who, every time she passed through the room during the day, when Lash was trying to sleep, would screech, â€Å"What’s up, my nigga!† and try to get him to wake up and give her a pound or a high five. Lash had been explaining to her that it’s impolite to refer to an African American as a nigga, unless one was another African-American, when Troy Lee came in and said, â€Å"She only speaks Cantonese.† â€Å"She does not. She keeps coming in and saying, ‘What’s up, my nigga? â€Å" â€Å"Oh yeah. She does that to me, too. Did you give her a pound?† â€Å"No, I didn’t give her a pound, motherfucker. She called me a nigga.† â€Å"Well, she’s not going to quit unless you give her a pound. It’s just the way she rolls.† â€Å"That’s some bullshit, Troy.† â€Å"It’s her couch.† Lash, exhausted and already hungover, gave the wizened old woman a pound. Granny turned to Troy Lee. â€Å"What’s up, my nigga!† She offered and received a pound from her grandson. â€Å"That shit is not the same!† Lash said. â€Å"Get some sleep. We have a big load tonight.† Now half a million dollars was gone. His apartment was gone. The limo was costing them a thousand dollars a day. Lash looked out the blackout windows at the moving patchwork of shadows thrown by the streetlights, then turned to Blue. â€Å"Blue,† he said. â€Å"We have to get rid of the limo.† Everyone looked up, shocked. No one had said anything to her since they’d finished stocking. They’d brought her coffee and juice, but no one had said anything. Blue looked at him. â€Å"Get me what I want.† Not a hint of malice, not even a demand, really, just a statement of fact. â€Å"Okay,† Lash said. Then to the driver he said, â€Å"Take a right up here. Head back to that building where we went last night.† Lash crawled over the divider into the front passenger seat. He couldn’t see shit out the blackened windows. They’d only gone about three blocks into the SOMA district when he saw someone running. Running way, way too fast for a jogger. Running – like he was on fire – running. â€Å"Pull up alongside of that guy.† The driver nodded. â€Å"Hey, guys, is that Flood?† â€Å"Yeah, it is,† Barry, the bald one, said. Lash rolled down the window. â€Å"Tommy, you need a ride, man?† Tommy, still running, nodded like a bobble-head on crack. Barry threw open the back door, and before the limo could even slow down, Tommy leapt in, landing across Drew and Gustavo’s laps. â€Å"Man, am I glad you guys came along,† Tommy said. â€Å"In about a minute, I’m going to – â€Å" He passed out in their laps as the sun washed over the hills of San Francisco. Chapter Fifteen Broken Clowns Inspector Alphonse Rivera watched the broken clown girl – black-and-white-striped stockings and green sneakers – come out of Jody Stroud’s apartment and head up the street, then turn and look back at their brown, unmarked sedan. â€Å"We’re made,† said Nick Cavuto, Rivera’s partner, a broad-shouldered bear of a man, who longed for the days of Dashiell Hammett, when cops talked tough and there were very few problems that couldn’t be solved with your fists or a smack from a lead sap. â€Å"We’re not made. She’s just looking. Two middle-aged guys sitting in the car on the city street – it’s unusual.† If Cavuto was a bear, then Rivera was a raven – a sharp-featured, lean Hispanic, with just a touch of gray at the temples. Lately he’d taken to wearing expensive Italian suits, in raw silk or linen when he could find them. His partner was in rumpled Men’s Wearhouse. Rivera often wondered if Nick Cavuto might not be the only gay man on the planet who had no fashion sense whatsoever. The knock-kneed kid with the raccoon eye makeup was making her way across the street toward them. â€Å"Roll up your window,† Cavuto said. â€Å"Roll up your window. Pretend like you don’t see her.† â€Å"I’m not going to hide from her,† Rivera said. â€Å"She’s just a kid.† â€Å"Exactly. You can’t hit her.† â€Å"Jesus, Nick. She’s just a creepy kid. What’s wrong with you?† Cavuto had been on edge since they’d pulled up an hour ago. They both had, really, since the guy named Clint, one of the night crew from the Marina Safeway, had left a message on Rivera’s voice mail that Jody Stroud, the redheaded vampire, had not left town as she had promised, and that her boyfriend, Tommy Flood, was now also a vampire. It was a very bad turn of events for the two cops, both of whom had taken a share of the money from the old vampire’s art collection in return for letting them all go. It had seemed like the only option, really. Neither of the cops wanted to explain how the serial killer they’d been chasing had been an ancient vampire, and how he’d been tracked down by a bunch of stoners from the Safeway. And when the Animals blew up the vampire’s yacht – well, the case was solved, and if the vampires had left, it would have all been good. The cops had planned to retire early and open a rare-book store. Rivera thought he might learn to golf. Now he was feeling it all float away on an evil breeze. A cop for twenty years, without ever so much as fixing a traffic ticket, then the one time you take a hundred thousand dollars and let a vampire go, the whole world turns on you like you’re some kind of bad guy. Rivera was raised a Catholic, but he was starting to believe in karma. â€Å"Pull out. Pull out,† Cavuto said. â€Å"Go around the block until she goes away.† â€Å"Hey,† said the broken clown girl. â€Å"You guys cops?† Cavuto hit the window button on his door but the ignition was off, so the window didn’t budge. â€Å"Go away, kid. Why aren’t you in school? Do we need to take you in?† â€Å"Winter break, brain trust,† said the kid. Rivera couldn’t hold the laugh in and he snorted a little trying to. â€Å"Move along, kid. Go wash that shit off your face. You look like you fell asleep with a Magic Marker in your mouth.† â€Å"Yeah,† said the kid, examining a black fingernail, â€Å"well, you look like someone pumped about three hundred pounds of cat barf into a cheap suit and gave it a bad haircut.† Rivera slid down in his seat and turned his face toward the door. He couldn’t look at his partner. He was sure that if it was possible for steam to come out of someone’s ears, that might be happening to Cavuto, and if he looked, he’d lose it. â€Å"If you were a guy,† Cavuto said, â€Å"I’d have you in handcuffs already, kid.† â€Å"Oh God,† Rivera said under his breath. â€Å"If I were a guy, I’ll bet you would. And I’ll bet I’d have to send you to the S and M ATM, because the kinky shit is extra.† The kid leaned down so she was eye level with Cavuto, and winked. That was it. Rivera started giggling like a little girl – tears were creeping out the corners of his eyes. â€Å"You’re a big fucking help,† Cavuto said. He reached over, flipped the ignition key to â€Å"accessory,† then rolled up his window. The kid came over to Rivera’s side of the car. â€Å"So, have you seen Flood?† she asked. â€Å"Cop?† She added  «cop » with a high pop on the p, like it was punctuation mark, not a profession. â€Å"You just came out of his apartment,† Rivera said, trying to shake off the giggles. â€Å"You tell me.† â€Å"Place is empty. The douche nozzle owes me money,† said the kid. â€Å"For what?† â€Å"Stuff I did for him.† â€Å"Be specific, sweetheart. Unlike my partner, I don’t threaten.† It was a threat, of course, but he thought he might have hit pay dirt, the kid’s eyes opened wide enough to see light. â€Å"I helped him and that redheaded hag load their stuff into a truck.† Rivera looked her up and down. She couldn’t have weighed ninety pounds. â€Å"He hired you to help him move?† â€Å"Just little crap. Lamps and stuff. They were like, in a hurry. I was walking by, he flagged me down. Said he’d give me a hundred bucks.† â€Å"But he didn’t?† â€Å"He gave me eighty. He said it was all he had on him. To come back this morning for the rest.† â€Å"Did either of them say where they were going?† â€Å"Just that they were going to leave the City this morning, as soon as they paid me.† â€Å"You notice anything unusual about either of them – Flood or the redhead?† â€Å"Just day dwellers, like you. Bourgeois four-oh-fours.† â€Å"Four-oh-Fours?† â€Å"Clueless – Pottery Barn fucktards.† â€Å"Of course,† Rivera said. He could hear his partner snickering now. â€Å"So you haven’t seen them?† the kid said. â€Å"They’re not coming, kid.† â€Å"How do you know that?† â€Å"I know that. You’re out twenty dollars. Cheap lesson. Go away and don’t come back here, and if either of them contact you, or you see them, call me.† Rivera handed the kid a business card. â€Å"What’s your name?† â€Å"My day-slave name?† â€Å"Sure, let’s try that one.† â€Å"Allison. Allison Green. But on the street I’m known as Abby Normal.† â€Å"On the street?† â€Å"Shut up, I have street cred.† Then she added, â€Å"Cop!† like the chirp of a car alarm arming. â€Å"Good. Take your street cred and run along, Allison.† She shuffled off, trying to swivel nearly nonexistent hips as she went. â€Å"You think they left the City?† Cavuto asked. â€Å"I want to own a bookstore, Nick. I want to sell old books and learn to golf.† â€Å"So that would be no?† â€Å"Let’s go talk to the born-again Safeway guy.† Four robots and one statue guy worked the Embarcadero by the Ferry Building. Not every day. Some days, when it was slow, there were only two robots and a statue guy, or on rainy days, none of them worked, because the silver or gold makeup they used to color their skin didn’t hold up well in the rain, but as a rule, it was four robots and one statue guy. Monet was the statue guy – the ONLY statue guy. He’d staked his territory three years ago, and if some poseur ever showed up, he had to meet Monet on the field of stillness, where they would clash in the motion-free battle of doing absolutely nothing. Monet had always prevailed, but this guy – this new guy – was really good. The challenger had been there when Monet arrived in the late morning, and he hadn’t even blinked for two hours. The guy’s makeup was perfect, too. He looked as if he had really been bronzed, so it was beyond Monet why he would choose to get his collections in Big Gulp cups that he’d jammed his feet into. Monet carried a small portfolio case, with a hole cut in it where tourists could stuff their bills. He had primed his money hole with a five today, just to show the challenger that he wasn’t intimidated, but the truth was, after two hours, he hadn’t made half of what he saw the newcomer take in, and he was intimidated. And his nose itched. His nose itched and the new statue guy was kicking his ass. Normally Monet would change positions every half hour or so, then stand motionless while the tourists taunted him and tried to make him flinch, but with the new competition, he had to stay still as long as it took. The robots on the promenade had all assumed poses from which they could watch. They only had to hold still until someone dropped cash into their cup, then they would do the robot dance. It was boring work, but the hours were good and you were outside. It looked like Monet was going down. Sundown. He felt like his ass was on fire. Tommy came to to the sound of a riding crop being smacked against his bare butt and the rough bark of a woman’s voice. â€Å"Say it! Say it! Say it!† He tried to pull away from the pain but couldn’t move his arms or legs. He was having trouble focusing his vision – waves of light and heat were rocketing around his brain and all he could really see was a bright red spot with waves of heat coming off of it and a figure moving around the edges. It was like staring into the sun through a red filter. He could feel the heat on his face. â€Å"Ouch!† Tommy said. â€Å"Dammit!† He pulled against his bonds and heard a metallic rattling, but nothing gave. The red hot light went away and was replaced by the blurry form of a female face, a blue face, just inches away from his own. â€Å"Say it,† she whispered harshly, spitting a little on the â€Å"it.† â€Å"Say what?† â€Å"Say it, vampire!† she said. She whipped the riding crop across his stomach and he howled. Tommy squirmed against his bonds and heard the rattling again. With the spotlight moved away, he could see that he was suspended by very professional-looking nylon restraints to a brass, four-poster bed frame that had been stood on end. He was completely naked and evidently the blue woman, who was dressed in a black vinyl bustier, boots, and nothing else, had been whaling on him for some time. He could see welts across his stomach and thighs, and well, his ass felt like it was on fire. She wound up to smack him again. â€Å"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,† Tommy said, trying not to screech. He only realized then that his fangs were extended and he’d bitten his own lips. The blue woman held up. â€Å"Say it.† Tommy tried to keep his voice calm. â€Å"I know you’ve been doing this for a while now, but I’ve only been awake for about a minute of it, so I have no idea what you are asking me. If you slow down and repeat the whole question, I’ll be happy to tell you whatever I know.† â€Å"Your safety word,† said the blue woman. â€Å"Which is?† Tommy said. He noticed for the first time that she had enormous boobs spilling out of that bustier and it occurred to him that he had never seen big blue boobs before. They were kind of mesmerizing. He wouldn’t have been able to look away even if he weren’t strapped down. â€Å"I told you,† she said, letting the riding crop fall to her side. â€Å"You told me what a safety word is?† â€Å"I just told you what it is.† â€Å"So you know it, then?† â€Å"Yes,† she said. â€Å"Then why are you asking?† â€Å"To see if you’re at your breaking point.† She seemed to be pouting a little now. â€Å"Don’t be a dick, this isn’t my specialty.† â€Å"Where am I?† Tommy asked. â€Å"You’re Lash’s Smurf, aren’t you? Are we at Lash’s?† â€Å"I’m asking the questions here.† She snapped the riding crop against his thigh. â€Å"Ouch! Fuck! Stop that. You have issues, lady.† â€Å"Say it!† â€Å"What is it? I was asleep when you told me, you stupid bitch!† He was wrong, he was able to look away from the blue boobs. He snarled at her, something coming up from deep inside him that he didn’t even recognize – something that felt wild and on the verge of out of control – like when he first made love with Jody as a vampire, only this felt – well, lethal. â€Å"It’s Cheddar.† â€Å"Cheddar? Like the cheese?† He was getting beating because of cheese? â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"So I said it. Now what?† â€Å"You’re broken.† â€Å"‘Kay,† Tommy said, straining against the heavy nylon straps, understanding now what he was feeling. He was going to kill her. He didn’t know how yet, but he was as certain of it as of anything he had ever known. Grass was green, water was wet, and this bitch was dead. â€Å"So now you have to turn me,† she said. â€Å"Turn you?† he said. His fangs ached, like they were going to leap out of his mouth. â€Å"Make me like you,† she said. â€Å"You want to be orange? Is this another Cheddar thing? Because – â€Å" â€Å"Not orange, you nitwit, a vampire!† she said, and she snapped the riding crop across his chest. He bit his lips again and felt the blood running down his chin. â€Å"So for that you needed all the hitting?† He said. â€Å"Come over here.† She leaned up and kissed him, then pushed away hard and came away with his blood on her mouth. â€Å"I guess I’m going to have to get used to this,† she said, licking her lips. â€Å"Closer,† Tommy said. How to cite You Suck: A Love Story Chapter 14~15, Essay examples

Starbucks’ Mission Social Responsibility and Brand Strength Essay Sample free essay sample

The instance â€Å"Starbucks’ Mission Social Responsibility and trade name Strength† fundamentally discusses many things. It briefs you on how Starbucks came approximately in 1973 and how the company has evolved since so and the importance of supporting its image. The company did many things to support its image such as seting money back into the interest holder. Besides Starbucks make a happy work environment by giving their employees full benefits. Starbucks offer one of the best wellness attention plans in the java store industry. By giving the employees what they want they â€Å"make them feel like they are portion of something larger than themselves and they besides believe they have a voice. † This instance besides talks about how Starbucks maintains a good repute for societal responsibly and concern moralss throughout the international community of java agriculturists by constructing positive relationships with little java providers every bit good as the l arger 1s. They besides talk about how the company is besides involved in a societal development plan that investigates edifice schools and wellness clinics. We will write a custom essay sample on Starbucks’ Mission Social Responsibility and Brand Strength Essay Sample or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page every bit good as other undertakings that benefit coffee-growing communities. The instance explains how Starbucks is environmental friendly company. In fact Starbucks was voted â€Å"Most Ethical Company† in 2010. The company thrives themselves on going â€Å"green† by seeking to assist clean up waste issues. Finally they instance negotiations about how Starbucks offer stuff the clients would desire such as ascents to the java machines. or new nutrient and imbibe merchandise and even making a â€Å"instant assemblage spot† and a topographic point that can pull people together. Starbucks development has been based on doing everybody around them happy to do them experience like they are portion of something large. 1. Why do you believe Starbucks has been so concerned with societal duty in its overall corporate scheme? I believe that Starbucks has to be concerned with societal duty because it affects all parties. In fact I believe that Starbucks has achieved societal duty by taking stairss to follow guidelines. minimise its environmental jobs. and became an active spouse within the community. Making that shows Starbucks justness because it has been shown that ethical companies do better for the hereafter. Customers feel good about conveying concern to societal responsible companies and employees experience good about working at that place. This creates better client service by employees because of the felicity shown by all parties created by the cooperation. Small things suction has societal felicity can jar a cooperation to the following degree. Besides they could take a negative impact in the fiscal state of affairs 2. Is Starbucks unique in being able to supply a high degree of benefits to its employees? I believe Starbucks is alone in being able to supply a high degree of benefits to its employees. Many concerns or companies do non supply employees with many benefits and if so they receive the basic benefit bundle. Your employer. by Torahs is non obligated to supply you with a deep benefit bundle. Starbucks understands how of import employees are and that their workers are the face of the company. Happy employees create good client service experiences and repetition concern. Besides this makes the competition for Starbucks less because they can offer something other concerns likely don’t offer. 3. Make you believe that Starbucks has grown quickly because of its ethical and socially responsible activities or because it provides merchandises and an environment that clients want? Starbucks rapid growing is due to both its ethical and socially responsible activities and it supplying merchandises and an environment that clients want. A company needs to worry about its concern in the hereafter and the present. Its ethical and socially responsible activities create a positive image in the public oculus. Customers want to back up concerns like this and employees want to work for a company that makes them experience like they are a portion of something bigger. This helps the company in the long tally. A company besides has entreaty to the client by supplying a welcoming and comfy environment and by remaining up to day of the month on merchandises that they use. No client wants to come to an out of day of the month shop. so hence they create a client friendly environment that allows the client to loosen up and still travel on with their several concern.