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Show From outlaws to ignorance OPINIONS Women ati ► h r Discrimination has run its head into a wall. A wall that women have already climbed over, fought through and blown up By Collin Lawrence PHOTO COURTESY OF STOCKXCHNG.COM Assistant Opinions Editor Disobedience has its rewards. @STIKEEE We used to be a rebellious people, now we're a content couch riding culture Your mother taught you early in life what women were capable of. Cleaning the house, cooking meals, wrangling children, running errands, helping with homework, knitting scarfs and maybe even finding time to get in a morning run before she went off to her full time job. Lets face the facts, women can get it done. The Unites States Marine Corp motto of "every Marine a rifleman," is flexing its full strength. Every Marine participates in and must pass the Marine Combat Training course. Over the course and evolution of the ongoing conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan female Marines have continuously been attached to combat zone infantry units, and the Army has some too. There are numerous advantages to having females in "hot zones," of which the most important might be, to respect the culture and honor of the women that are encountered in war zones. In a foreign land where we offer hope of peace and freedom, the customs and traditions must not be defiled or relegated to a lower priority. With women joining the ranks with men on the front line, we can better serve our international allies and their esteemed citizens. No female soldier wants to die for her country, but there are plenty that are eager to see that those who do harm to others die for their country. Women share the pride that being an American has always brought out. Keeping up with men in the workplace isn't a new concept, filling in when men are absent is standard operating procedure. In the U.S., men have always gone off to war, but someone still had to build the tanks, bombs, planes, guns and everything else. We should By Collin Lawrence Assistant Opinions Editor @STIKEEE Eco-terrorists are losing. They haven't had a split decision since "off with his head," lost popularity. If the propagation of Ecogenocide doesn't end, we will. Make no mistake and make any inquiry you can, you and I will run out of one thing or another before too long. Clean water will run out as more pesticides are sprayed. Heavy oil will flow through pipes while dirty air fills our lungs. There will be no ecological redemption. Never has been. Never will be. Doc Jarvis may have only cut down telephone poles to improve the view of the beautiful West, but George Washington Hayduke took swings that would knock down Ali, Frazier, Foreman and Dempsey all in the first round. The trouble is, they didn't know they were in the fight to begin with. Billion dollar industries strike back with a vengeance. The characters depicted in Edward Abby's "Monkey-Wrench Gang" seem to have had no offspring looking to uncover the watery town of Hite, UT. Although the gang may have been fictional, the Eco-genocide they fought to prevent and bring to a halt is real. Expanding farther and farther across the west, north, south and well, in every direction is seems, the landscape of yesterday is turning into the toxic waste of tomorrow. The lower estimates of the Deep Water Horizon cleanup efforts are around $15 billion. The cost could reach up to $100 billion in some projections. The costliest Eco-terrorism action thus far was the destruction of some ski lodges totaling $134 million. While violence and destruction of public or private property is never condoned, the question begs asking, why are we letting big companies destroy the world? There are many ways to drive home a point. My parents had some ideas on how to do that, not sure if they worked much though. Revolution, boycotting, sit-ins, strikes and tossing tea overboard into the harbor are all great examples of civil disobedience. The public has a voice, a powerful one, but it has gone silent. The time for action comes, but for now it seems like it has gone. Seemingly, these days the only things that get people really riled up are social issues. I'm not saying they are unimportant, but nobody is getting arrested for chaining themselves to the doors of an abortion clinic, and I haven't seen any pamphlets being passed out inviting me to an underground anti-government meeting. I'm starting to wonder if the peaceful protests are creating results, or if people are too scared to get arrested for disrupting the public or being a public nuisance. Physical crimes are being committed against the homeland. Toxic waste is being piled up in various locations. Pumping dirty, oily water back into the ground under water tables is causing earthquakes all over Texas. A massive pipeline is being constructed right through the middle of protected and private lands, carrying the foulest oil the world has ever produced. Our country is being raped. Yes, I used the word rape because our pristine virgin lands are being decimated by greedy money hungry corporations. Will we go the way of Hite, UT and watch the water rise above our heads? I think we are already. With the pollution and corruption, need and greed, want and squander, among the poor and impoverished, the rich and reveling, the meek and moderate. Muddy banks and clear flowing water were once part of the west, now it's just oil fields and strip mining. You and I are supposed to be speaking for the trees. It's time to speak up, and actions speak louder than words. A3 have expected that some day they might just move right up the production line and stand shoulder to shoulder with their equals. Men, don't be alarmed. Female police officers are sworn to serve and protect their community; female firefighters are dedicated to risk life and limb for those in need; and female soldiers receive the same training male soldiers do. Deployment readiness is equivalent, training standards and duration never waver and direct orders recognize no gender. In short, women do what men do, and unlike almost every job available outside the military, women are We should have expected that some day they might just move right up the production line and stand shoulder to shoulder with their equals. paid the same as men too. The U.S. Armed Forces allows non-citizens to serve in forward combat zones. LGBT individuals are serving their country with honor. Women have been and will continue to be an integral part of the armed forces. From the front lines to the admin desk, they will be performing the same jobs as men. Gender is not a determining factor to bullets and bombs. Women in supply and reinforcement units find themselves under fire just like their male counterparts. I doubt a congress full of elected officials has more intelligence on who can and can't do what jobs, than the sergeants and lieutenants who are experienced in combat zones. I'm not about PHOTO COURTESY OF AIR FORCE ACADEMY Don't tell her what she can and can't do. Women in the military serve their country as expertly as men. to tell them to do more with less anymore. They want trained soldiers, sailors and Marines? They can have them, whatever gender, race or sexual orientation they happen to be. Women are coming home with wounds and medals. Some don't come home. Women understand the inherent risk that military service entails. They have been sending their sons off to war for centuries, often with the expectation that they might never return. I think it's time we give them a chance to correct a situation, free those that are oppressed and pave the way for future generations, so that they might not have to lose their future children to the violence of battle. There is no other way to enter the U.S. military other than volunteering, so lets not stand in the way of those women who seek to serve their country in the most honorable, heroic way possible. Robotic takeover: mechanical madness Robots are slowly moving in to the service industry, but can they really replace people, and will they? By Cameron Simek Opinions Editor @Skabomb It's been said time and time again: we live in the future. We can connect with people around the world in a matter of seconds. We can use our cell phones to order whatever we want off of the internet, including food. More and more, the service and retail industries are seemingly stepping towards a new standard. One of flashy devices taking charge, and less and less people involved in the process. Most stores now have an option to pick up what you have ordered online in the store, cutting out the hassle of going to the store and having someone help you find what you need. Well, sometimes helping you find what you need, sometimes not. In some cases the computers can outperform your everyday sales associate. They know where everything is in the store. They can help you find what you need without any hassle, and they work for you to find the best deals possible. This is why stores are moving toward more digital efforts in dealing with customers, it's easier and causes less problems. There are a few issues with this step toward the future. The first is that lack of a personal touch. Yes, you do see a lot of associates that just don't care about customers, but when you get that one that does, it's a fantastic experience. They are nice and helpful and know how to help you in a way that only a person can. They reach out to you and make small talk while they're helping you, but computers don't do that. They just sit there, coldly waiting for an input to give you a canned answer. The biggest issue I see with computers replacing associates is that there is no one to yell at when something goes wrong. Imagine the day when you use just your cell phone to navigate a store, find your items and ring out when you're done. When something goes wrong, you can't call someone over to explain to them what happened. It's automated, you tap a button to file a complaint and that's that. People want to find someone to blame, and with robots, there is no one to yell at. PHOTO COURTESY OF STOCKXCHNG.COM As more and more measures are taken to "modernize" the service industry, the personal touch is what is really suffering. You can't take up your issues with the system that runs the store, it doesn't care, it just does its job without caring what goes wrong. There is no one to hold accountable when the unthinkable happens and you get charged twice for an item. After spending years working in retail, I've learned that sometimes people just want to yell at you. It may seem like I expect the worst in people, but that's just something I've picked up. People want to find someone to blame, and with robots, there is no one to yell at. As we travel further into the future and become more reliant on technology, we need to remember that people are still useful and should still be kept around to provide that personal touch, and someone to yell at every once in a while. |