YOUPOST 2

Stereotypes: True or False?

I have chosen the stereotype: Americans love guns. Nearly every American household has a gun for self-defense or other reasons. Sometimes they carry their gun with them when they go shopping or when they decide to have a drink in a bar. I'm just wondering why?
It could have started shortly after November 22, 1963, when John F. Kennedy was assassinated and people started to talk about a lack of security and control.
However, the history of the gun goes back to The Bill of Rights in 1791 where the founder fathers had decided  to create the second amendment which states that carrying or owning a gun is necessery to the security of a free state.
 It is said that having a gun is a legal right for every citizen, but unfortunately one minority was left behind. Black people were not allowed to possess guns although the real reason for having a gun was to have the ability to protect yourself. I'm not sure what to think about this law. There could be a good idea behind it but lots of bad things had already happend because of it.
For example, a man called Jared Lee Loughner, who got suspended from  college as a consequence of his erraectic and disruptive behavior, was only allowed to return when he would pass a mental health check that confirmed that he was no danger for himself or others. A month later he went into a shop and bought a gun. He was handed the gun nonetheless, without any questions, although just a quick look on the internet 'googleing' his name, would have shown lots of  materials, that would have led to the decision that he should not be allowed to buy or possess a gun. It would not have made any difference though, because Arizona has passed a law, that anybody over 21years is allowed to have a gun and Jared was 22.
At the end of the Story Jared shot Gabriella Giffords, a congresswoman, in the head and killed six other people.
If such an incident did not open the americans' eyes what else could? This story is just one of many other incidents.
I think the Americans forgot the real use of weapons. We are all just human beings. We are all erratically and controlled by our feelings. So when a husband founds out that his woman has an affair, he becomes very angry. I'm definitely sure that in most of this situations, the man would have taken a gun and shoot the man, with whom the woman is having an affair or was having an affair and in the worst case his woman too. But when there's no gun to use, he just has to deal with the pain or anger or hatred he feels in this situation on his own, maybe get a divorce and that's it. You can not kill just because you have the opportunity to.
America is heading in the wrong direction and I hope that will change or I will be afraid to read the newspaper every morning.

 

YOUPOST 1

What there is to know about Halloween! 

To be honest: I've never given much thought about Halloween. Why we celebrate it, why we wear costumes or why we go trick-or-treating. When I was young, I just did it.
But know I've watched a few videos and it turned out to be quite interesting.
Let's start with the historical background. It all started with a celtic festival on November 1st called Samhain. On the night before Samhain, on October 31, celtic people thought that the dead could return as ghosts. To keep the ghosts at bay the celtic people left them food and wine in front of the door and sometimes even presents which children made for them.
To stay safe the celtic people only left their house with masks, so the ghosts could not recognize them.
Later the pope made this day to the "all hallows day" to celebrate the Saints - known or unknown.
After the Europeans had accepted this tradition the "all hallows day" became "all hallows eve" and as a shortage of that it has became the nowaday well known Halloween. Although it is still the same Festival, lots of things have changed.
The ghosts of the dead became a model for our Halloween costumes.
Trick-or-treating has developed out of two traditions.
The first one called souling, where poor people went from house to house and said that they would pray for dead relatives in exchange for pastries or sweets and the second one called guising, where young people collect sweets and other stuff as a reward for singin, telling jokes or doing poetry.
To sum up: Despite of the fact that "Halloween" is just a tradition, which celtic immigrants brought to America, it is the most celebrated day after Christmas.
I will celebrate it too, but I won't go trick-or-treating instead I will invite some friends. We'll have something to drink and go to parties afterwards. I think the way i celebrate Halloween changes with the Age. As a kid, it is normal that you go trick-or-treating but as a teenager you have other interests than collecting sweets.
I bet you didn't know all of that information, at least I know that i didn't. So sometimes it is a good idea to just take your laptop and look up the kind of stuff you do or the Holidays you celebrate and find out why. :)