China/Tibet

China's new policy of regulating Tibetans' use of copiers is a violation of human rights.

Tibetans now have to get a new permit from the government to own a printing or photocopy shop. They will also have to take specific information down about their clients and what the clients wanted printed. China put this policy in place without the knowledge of the people. One explanation of the government's action came from a Han Chinese woman who owns a printer shop named Wu, "You know sometimes people print documents in the Tibetan language, which we don't understand. These might be illegal pamphlets." The part of the policy including taking down client information is a violation of human rights. There is not a huge difference between that and hacking into email accounts through Google. This policy is only a stepping stone for the Chinese government being able to have complete control over the Tibetan population.

Drivers Ed

Monday this week was my first day of drivers education. I was really looking forward to it, but I'll be honest, I was nervous, and still am nervous. I figured out on Monday that I was one of the three future drivers in my class to never have driven a car before. This made me even more nervous. The instructor at this point seemed okay. Sure he was strict, but whatever, I wasn't planning on causing trouble. However, yesterday, my opinion of my instructor went down hill. He is a cop and I still respect him, but his sexist views and opinions continue to become more and more evident. He feels that women rely on men to pay the bills and are totally unable to provide for themselves and children after the husband will inevitably leave them. Sure, thirty, forty, fifty years ago, this was the case, but in this day and age, that attitude is unacceptable, and frankly makes me angry.
He, like many ignorant men, seems to believe that women cannot fend for themselves, which I'll be honest, some cannot. But when women risk their lives by your side every day, respect them. Do not call them weak or defenseless.
I can never tell when he is joking or being serious about using violence to solve situations, and this scares me. When asked if he had ever used his gun, he said something along the lines of, "Nope....not yet! Waiting for someone to give me a reason to though." These are the kind of things that make me afraid; the answers that are violent and degrading, you are never sure if he is serious or not.
Along with his low opinion of women becoming independent, he is not too politically correct when it comes to dwarfs and others of a shorter nature. During a discussion about dwarfs during class time, when we should have been talking about parallel parking, he brought up the freak show in the circus. We all laughed in disbelieve and his insensitivity to the subject.
It is his kind of ignorant attitude that disgusts me. You cannot live in the 21st century and hold those ideas about women in your head. Sure I will continue in that class to get my permit, I will be respectful, but I know I will be angry with him as long as I am in that class. I cannot understand how someone whose job it is to enforce the law equally among everyone he pulls over on the highway can do so when he has these opinions.