Attack in Woolwich, London

I don’t think this post needs any introduction. My heart and sympathy goes out to the family of the soldier who was hacked to death in Woolwich, London, yesterday afternoon. It kinda knocked me back after watching the incident make breaking news. It’s shocking to see how others treat others. No one is safe these days. It just goes to show that you never know what is around the corner. There are a lot of sick, disgusting things that were unfolded yesterday which makes the incident EVEN WORSE than it is already is. I think it’s the reason WHY the attack happened which has angered everyone. Note: these are my opinions. You may not agree with them but you can’t tell me I’m wrong because this is what I THINK. However, I would appreciate any comments you may have.

Timing

The incident took place around 2.20pm in the middle of the afternoon. It’s broad daylight. There’s no getting away from the fact that the attackers may be seen. For it to happen in the middle of the street is pretty disgusting. They knew what they were doing, which makes it even more sick. They made no attempt to flee the scene which baffles me. I understand they had a reason for it. I’m not justifying it. But this was’t the time or the place and it definitely wasn’t the way to get the message across.

Another point of timing that I have to make is that it took 20 minutes for the police to arrive on the scene. I understand they are busy and there are other crimes they have to attended to but it is completely shocking that the media and camera crew got to the scene before the police did. The attackers used this time to preach a message, justify why they did it. I can’t say it enough, but that it sick, vile and disgusting.

Racism

Someone on Facebook had posted a screenshot of Twitter. The words hurt. They cut deep. There’s a lot of ignorance in the world when it comes to religion and race. Some people refuse to learn the difference especially when it comes to Asians. There’s a big difference between Indians and Pakistanis, if you choose to learn about it. For those who don’t, everyone gets painted with the same brush. On twitter I saw a lot of tweets consisting of “pakis this” and “pakis that”. Sorry to burst your unnecessary racist banter but the attackers were black. Come on people, you really can’t be THAT stupid can you? I can’t do anything but shake my head in disgust.

race war on twitter

A lot of white English people were defending the country effing and blinding at non-english people. Muslims were defending their religion, saying that not all Muslims are terrorists. Indians were fighting to say that this attack has nothing to do woth their race and religion. Black people were arguing that they are always portrayed in a bad light and this incident had made it worse for them. I understand that everyone wants to defend their own but there’s becoming a bigger divide between races. It was hard enough overcoming this in the riots of 2011 but to bring it within the community again is a shame. I honestly believe, and have said this many times before, that the INDIVIDUALS should be blamed for the crime. Their race and religion has nothing to do with it. Never has, never will.

Religion is not an excuse

I have previously published a post with the exact same title. It definitely applies here. Many terrorists who commit acts such as these have said that it is written in the Quran. I have never read the Quran so I can’t say for sure but the people who I have spoken to have said it’s NOT written in the holy book. So who do you believe? Where is this message being spread? Who started it? These are questions I cannot answer but either way, it does not, in any shape or form, excuse the acts of these people. Murder is murder, regardless of whether or not it’s written in the Quran or if Allah expects/wants you to do it. Using religion to justify violent and deathly acts like this is inexcusable.

Media

I am a strong believer of saying that you shouldn’t let the media overtake your thinking. Judge for yourself rather than acting on what you see and hear on the news. I’m going to say something which may cause arguments and heated debates but oh well. Whenever a crime is committed by a non-white person, I feel like there is an emphasis on their race and religion. However when a white guy commits a crime, the media will never say “a white, Christian man/woman”. When Asians are highlighted in the media, their religion is always mentioned. This is something I don’t agree with. As previously stated, individuals are accountable for the crimes. Their religion/race has nothing to do with it.

There’s many other little points to raise but I will keep this post short. If I have comments to this post, then I will certainly address them.

Thin and Beautiful Shoppers

I was reading the newspaper a few days ago and saw an article about Abercrombie & Fitch. Instead of it being about fashion, it was about the CEO of the company, Mike Jeffries, stating he ‘doesn’t want larger people shopping in his store, he wants thin and beautiful people.” They do not womenswear above large or trousers above a size ten. It is also believed that Jeffies admitted “he doesn’t want his core customers to see people who aren’t as hot as them wearing his clothing,” and “people who wear his clothing should feel like they’re one of the “cool kids.”‘ WOW!!! You know this definitely caused outrage and controversy but there are many factors to consider before jumping up to say he’s wrong.

Unique Selling Point

Every company wants to tap into the niche market, something that will make their company different to everyone else’s. The fact that he only caters to a certain percentage of people is his right to do so. It could be his own downfall but there’s nothing to stop him. Ihe’s targeting slim 18-22 year olds. If you don’t agree with the ethics of a company, you wouldn’t shop there, would you? This could be the rise and fall of his company but let him be, I say.

Slim vs. Large

There’s a lot of companies who cater for larger people but there doesn’t seem to be any backlash about that. I don’t complain because Simply Be and Evans don’t cater for my size. I just don’t shop there, simple! So I don’t understand why people are complaining about Abercrombie and Fitch. If the clothes don’t fit, find a shop that cater for you. It’s times like this that make me think that people don’t have anything better to do than bitch and moan about things. A lot of people will say “oh, it’s easy for you to say that because your slim” and yeah, in a way, that’s right. But being curvy, I find the average high street stores don’t always cater for my size. My waist is a lot smaller than my thighs and bum. If it doesn’t fit, I’ll leave it, and try another store. I’m not going to kick up a fuss. It’s life, deal with it! You win some, you lose some! Rather than complaining about it, do something about it.

Store set up

Something else that I don’t understand is why people would want to stop in Abercrombie and Fitch in the first place. A Hollister store opened in the city centre a while back and I was more than intrigued to check it out. It was dark! Like really???? Did you forget to pay the electricity bills? How the hell am I supposed to find what I’m looking for. Forget looking for thinking, the music was SOOOO LOUD! It actually felt like I had stepped into a night club. It is, by far, the weirdest shop I’ve ever been to.

Complicit

Here we go with another film review. It’s pretty ironic how I watched this film even though I don’t know what the word complicit means. According to the Oxford dictionary it means “involved with others in an activity that is unlawful or morally wrong”. That gives you a clear indiction as to what the film is about. It’s about an MI5 officer who is working on a case of a British terror suspect who he believes is planning another 7/7 style atrocity. He has a lack of solid evidence, his superiors don’t believe him, and he works hard to prove himself as well as protect his country. I don’t really watch films of this genre but there were two powerful storylines running parallel with one another.

The first storyline is the fact that he is a black MI5 officer and his superiors are white people. He feels he is discriminated against his skin colour. I know it’s quick and easy to throw in the race card. A lot of people do. When they don’t get their own way, they say the opposition is racist. It’s becoming one of those things that are being used willy-nilly so it’s hard to believe who is being honest. Being of Asian heritage myself, I know how it feels to be stereotyped. I may have brown skin, but I don’t have a bomb strapped to my body, I won’t be forced into marriage and neither am I any less of a person compared to males. In the film, he feels like his superiors look down on him and do not give him a job promotion because they are white and he is black. Again, this is something hard to prove. Instead, he feels like he has to work harder than everyone else in order to show and prove his worth.

He suspects a Muslim guy is planning a ricin attack in Britain but he has no real evidence so works REALLY hard to get hard facts. He checks over loads of CCTV footage and emails hoping to get hard evidence of the planned attack in order to protect his country and boost his career. The suspect is smart and refuses to answer any questions so the MI5 agent resorts to torture the suspect. Of course it’s a wrong thing to do but he’s adamant to get to the bottom of it. It’s unprofessional and morally wrong but he’s desperate for answers. The suspect gives him an address in Britain about where the ricin is being manufactured. BINGO! He’s got what he wanted. End of story. WRONG!!!!!!! The address was incorrect, his superiors find out and he loses his job. Gripping story, I have to admit.

So the second storyline is how the media portray terrorists to be Muslim. This definitely angered many people and rightly so. But to be honest, I think the film was captured correctly. I’m not trying to be biased or anything but I was gripped to the film. I’ve said in many posts before, the minority always spoil it for the majority. It’s like there’s a stereotype of terrorists being Muslims and I think  it’s going to be around for a long while. Once you get stuck with it, it’s hard to shake it off. I don’t really want to elaborate on this too  much, because I don’t want anyone to get offended by my opinions, so I’ll let you form your own opinions.

Moral of the story: make sure you watch this film because it really is an eye opener to careers, cultures, lifestyles, stereotypes and just a general outlook on life.

Second moral of the story: DON’T always believe what you hear and see in the media.

Don’t Blame Facebook

Let’s face it. We can’t live without Facebook. We love being nosy and finding out what our friends are up to. With so many social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, the people that we can meet are endless. As a fan of Twitter (when I can be bothered to use it, out of sheer boredom), I am fascinated with the different types of people who follow me. For regular readers of my blog, you know I love watching documentaries, so this post is no different. The show entitled “Don’t Blame Facebook” explored different uses of social networking sites and how they don’t always work in our favour. It seems like they are more of an hinderance than help. I think everyone should be aware that you can never been too sure of who is monitoring, reading or sharing your social media timeline.

Davey Taylor was using MySpace a lot in order to update his friends about his whereabouts and what he’s getting up to. It’s amazing the type of information we give away to strangers when we are updating. Harmless, right? WRONG!!!!! After a night out from a party, he came home to find one of his MySpace followers in his BED. It seems a bit far fetched, I agree, but when he thought about some of the comments he’d been sharing, it was no surprise that the guy knew exactly where he lived. One of the comments he had shared on MySpace was “Moving into my own place tonight…. Finally some freeeeeeedom. Call me the King of George Street!” To me, this was really stupid. You wouldn’t give your address to a stranger on the street so why would you do it online? I’ve said in many posts before common sense isn’t as common as it should be. In fact, that was stupidity. The guy had convinced the flat mates that he was a friend of Davey’s in order to gain entry into the flat. It just goes to prove that you  should think about what you write on the Internet. It’s so easy to want to inform everyone of your doings but you never know who is reading it. Once you publish something on the Internet, it is hard to retrieve it.

Camron Reilly was a Scots Guard employed by the Ministry of Defence to protect the Royal family days before the marriage of Kate Middleton and Prince William last year. A few days before the wedding he updated his Facebook status which read “hue and William drove past me on Friday and all I got was a sh***y wave while she looked the opposite way from me. Stupid stuck up cow am a not good enough for them! Posh bi**h … who really gives a f**k about hur”. Firstly, his spelling, punctuation and grammar makes me wonder how he got a job in the first place *rolls eyes and shakes head in disbelief*. Secondly, he has quite an important job so you’d think he’d be a bit more discreet with what he shares on Facebook. It would be really funny if the Queen herself was scrolling through her Facebook newsfeed and came across his comment. MoD were not impressed by it and questioned whether Reilly was capable of protecting the royal family and Kate Middleton, a future queen. He was given a “less glamourous” role within MoD.

There were two friends, Leigh Van Bryan and Emily Banting, who were planning a trip to L.A Hollywood. He was so excited about his trip, he constantly tweeted about it. One of the tweets were “We are totally in LA in 3 weeks on Hollywood Blvd and digging up Marilyn Monroe.” The next tweet “free this week for a quick gossip / prep before I go and destroy America?” was the one that was unknowingly going to get him in trouble when he landed at LAX airport. They searched his belongings as well as going through the content of his phone. In an interview he said “Airport security told me that how I answered his questions would determine whether or not we were allowed in. Then he asked me if I had a Twitter account, and I thought ‘Oh no he’s going to want me to follow him.’” I’m sure security have better things to do than increase the amount of Twitter followers they have. That was a really stupid thing to say, especially on national television. Silly man! Anyways, he explained to the officials that he wasn’t a terrorist and that destroy meant “drink”. They were questioned and booted out of America and sent back to England. He did admit that now, before he sends a tweet, he constantly thinks about what he is writing, how it could be misunderstood and so on. Too late, mate. You should have thought about this sooner.

Moral of the story: If you wouldn’t share certain information with strangers on the street, then don’t share it online. I’ve always thought that social media sites are more hassle than they are worth and these examples prove me right. Think twice before you click the share/send/tweet button.

Music is more than just words and sounds

I was stuck in traffic the other day and was listening to a song called ‘same love’ by Macklemore featuring Ryan Lewis. It was the first time I’d heard it and the lyrics were quite meaningful when I’d listen to them properly. Listen to the song here. Before you start thinking, no, I won’t help people promote their mixtapes on my blog. I get enough of that on Twitter. I’ll actually tell you some of the lyrics which stood out to me and made me think about them more. Before I go on, I must say that this post may start a debate. I have no problem with people expressing their opinions against my posts but I have to remind you that these are my OPINIONS. You may agree with what I’m saying, you may not. But in no way, shape or form am I trying to state facts, neither am I trying to offend. So here goes.

“The right wing conservatives think it’s a decision and you can be cured with some treatment and religion“. This prompted my thought of whether people are born gay or if they “turn” gay. A lot of people may call me ignorant, others will have strong opinions about it, but I don’t think there is a clear cut answer for this. In the song, it comes across as though people are diseased if they are gay. I don’t think you can ever win a debate as to whether being gay is right or wrong. Personally, I couldn’t care less. I’m not very keen of the practise but it is what it as. As I’ve said in a lot of posts before “different strokes for different folks”. What happens in people’s bedrooms, love lives, sex lives is nothing to do with me but it is shocking how quick some people are to form an opinion. I will definitely write a separate post about this. But until then, we’ll stick to the lyrics.

“America the brave, still fears what we don’t know and ‘God loves all his children’ is somehow forgotten but we paraphrase a book written thirty-five-hundred years ago.“ Debates get serious when religion is involved. The first part about about fearing what we don’t know is an interesting line. It makes it seem like there is a lot of ignorance in the world especially when it comes to homosexuality. There’s always a stigma that comes with it as it was a taboo in history. It still is, to a certain extent. I think this is the reason why people need to learn about it and deal with it because homosexuality will always exist. The second part of the lyrics is about the Holy Bible. To be honest, I kind of agree with it, in the sense that people pick and choose part of Holy scriptures that they want to in order to raise a point. I can’t mention too much about this because I’m not sure what is written in the Bible about homosexuality but I do know it is frowned upon. In most discussions about religion and homosexuality, there will always be someone who mentions Adam and Eve and how it’s the norm for a male and female to be together. However, everyone is entitled to their opinion.

The second verse of the song was very thought-provoking.

“If I was gay, I would think hip-hop hates me
Have you read the YouTube comments lately?
“Man, that’s gay” gets dropped on the daily
We become so numb to what we’re saying
A culture founded from oppression
Yet we don’t have acceptance for ’em
Call each other faggots behind the keys of a message board
A word rooted in hate, yet our genre still ignores it.“.

Truthfully, the word “gay” is overused and not always in the correct context. It’s a term that is used so loosely that we actually forget what it really means. We tend to forget the deeper definition of the word as it’s become street talk now. I’m not saying that’s an excuse for people to say what they want, but it’s the world that we live in. It’s the way that the world is changing (in a bad way). The way in which gay has been used this context, linking it to hip hop, is more insightful. Music and video games receive a lot of flack about the way people view the world, in particular, women, sex, violence, drugs and so on. I know that’s slightly off topic but when you think about it, it all interlinks. Women always have amazing figures in music videos so it becomes the norm for women to have curves in the right places as well as look pretty. The men always have muscles so we expect to see that in reality too. So it’s no shock that the word ‘gay’ is being becoming a part of the norm.

“I might not be the same, but that’s not important. No freedom till we’re equal, damn right I support it.” Again, the fight for equality is hard to win but it’s worth the battle. I take my hat off for anyone who is trying to make a difference. Women have fought hard for their rights but I don’t think we’ve completely won. Now it’s time for homosexuals for fight as well. It’s not going to be easy but definitely needs to be fought for.

Mother’s Day

Firstly I would like to wish all mothers out there a very happy mother’s day. I know it’s not easy to be a mother. I admit I can be a bit of a problem child from time to time. I’m definitely more of a problem child when I don’t really buy my mum a present because I think it’s a commercial day. Why do I need to buy my mum a present? How does it make the day better? I believe it’s a made up day just to create more revenue in the shops. I REFUSE to be a part of it. My mum and I have a typical relationship. We get on, have a laugh, have a slight argument, break up and then make up again. I think a lot of people have a relationship like this. If you don’t argue with your mum, you’re either the perfect child or your mum is the perfect mother. I’m far from the perfect child but I don’t feel the need to buy my mum a present. It doesn’t make me love her any more. If it was so much of a special day then it would be celebrated across the globe, not just in the UK. That’s my justification for not celebrating this made up occasion. Call me a party pooper all you want, but I know a few of you reading this may agree with me.

To make the day worse, I see the shops filled with Happy Mother’s Day for a nan. Classic example has been included below. I know she may act like your mother but quite frankly she isn’t. Am I the only person who doesn’t see the logic in a card like this? I’m surprised they don’t have a separate occasion for grandparents. I bet someone’s thought of it and may implement it soon. Like I said before, I REFUSE to be involved with this hype. I’m not the richest person around, I can’t afford to keep buy people presents.

card for my nan

You might think my views are bad but the image below makes me seem like an angel. At least he had bought his mother a card to explain why he couldn’t make it to her celebrations. Truth be told, this is the perfect way to end this post.

It’s the thought that counts

My Birthday

I had neglected my blog for a short time while I celebrated my birthday. I’m not one of these people who are ashamed to tell everyone my age. I’ve reached a somewhat mature age of 24, time for me to start acting my age now. I say that every year and fail miserably. I’ve wrote a few posts about how certain days are becoming commercial, such as Christmas and Valentine’s Day. I think birthdays are quite different, they are more personal. All my friends know that I have a week of celebrations. It’s one of the few times in the year where I can spend time with my friends and family. This is the problem with being older; my friends are working and living in different cities; we have different working patterns; different family commitments. As a result of this, I give my friends about a month’s notice about what I plan to do for my birthday.

Celebrating with the family is really enjoyable. My house is a like a busy bus station, one person comes in and another one leaves so everyone getting together is a rare treat. I’m a party animal so my family have no choice but to celebrate with me. I have to love them for that. They drop any other plans to cater to my needs. Yes I moan at my family but I do love them. So anyway, my actual birthday was spent with my family in a restaurant. To be honest, I’d rather go out with them then party at home due to the fact that I get lumbered with washing the dishes after they’ve left. That sounds really mean but it’s true. Nevertheless, we had a really good time and yes, as usual, the jokes were on me. I wouldn’t expect anything less from them, They are constantly teasing me but I don’t get any sympathy on my birthday so the jokes continued. The following evening, we had a small, intimate house party. You know the party is amazing when everyone fights for the microphones for the karaoke machine. Something as simple as this means a lot to me. I don’t mean to be sentimental and emotional in this post but I might as well show my softer side.

Yesterday evening I went out for a meal with one of my close friends who I went to school with. She left me to start a career in a different city. We don’t get to spend enough time together so we are constantly bothering each other via text messages. Thank God I get unlimited text messages otherwise my phone bill would be RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE. I really love this girl. She is a true friend. We are brutally honest with one another. But I respect her for the fact that she tells me what I NEED to hear, not what I WANT to hear. It’s hard to find friends like that. I always say she’s my twin, because we are so alike yet so different. (I’m the cuter twin, regardless of what she says).

Next week, I am planning to meet up with two of my smartest friends who I’ve known since college. But to be honest, I’m not there to get cards and presents, it’s an excuse to spend many hours gossiping away to see what we’ve all been getting up to. These two girls keep me grounded and focused in my life. They are set in their careers whereas I’m still floating around from job to job. I make silly decisions in life but I know I can always tell them what I’ve done and they give me the support and advice that I need. They also show no remorse when they shout at me for making wrong decisions. But I know in advance when I’m in trouble so I flash them my innocent smile and hopefully they’ll show some sympathy. I can’t wait to see them.

Moral of the story: don’t be greedy for presents because as you get older, the sentimental, priceless acts mean more than presents. However, a handbag will always be much appreciated. Hint hint!

My Mum + Technology = Bad Combination

I love the way everyone wants to keep up with the latest technology, regardless of their age. I can’t really blame them because technology is amazing, when you know how to use. It has unlimited uses and is constantly changing. I’m an undercover geek so I like to stay ahead of the news so I know what gadgets are new to the market as well as what they do, which apps to download and so on. I may not have the latest iPhone or Blackberry but I have an Android phone which could keep me entertained 24/7. I think it’s the reason why I become anti-social. It’s mainly the reason why I stay up late every night because me and my phone are best friends. Where I go, my phone goes too. I hate my phone being left unattended. I never want it to feel neglected. Social networking websites are the bane of my life. I use Facebook for friends only whereas Twitter is not as personal where I’ve met some amazing people. That’s another story by itself.

My love of technology was amazing until my mum asked me to teach her how to use the laptop and how to surf the internet properly. Yeah, I said it. MY MUM is on the internet *shakes head* I quite enjoyed teaching her about the internet and the amazing fun you can have once you start searching for things. I love the way she was fascinated with Google maps. It’s pretty funny how there are millions of things to look at on Google maps, but everyone looks at their house first. Why do you need to look at your house on the internet? You live in that bloody house, you see it EVERY DAY. Anyways, different strokes for different folks. If it keeps my mum out my hair, then let her Google Map the house to her heart’s content. Recently, my mother is feeling very adventurous on the Internet and is constantly telling me about new websites that she has found. I’ve known about them since I was sixteen years old but be patient with her, she’s a newbie. Cool. So I sit there and listen to her stories, because I’m a good daughter *acts like an angel*

All fun and games so far until she asked me to create her a Facebook and Twitter account. WHAT?! WHY?! Mothers and social networking sites should be illegal, right? Well illegal is a bit far fetched, but you get the point. Obviously, like any child, I asked her why she needed an account and she replied “so we can be friends”. Why do I want to be friends with you online? I LIVE with you. Isn’t that enough? Well apparently, no it’s not, according to my mother. To be honest I preferred it when my mother was an Internet virgin. I’m sure she does it to be nosy. I don’t actually have anything to hide (thank God) but I still don’t want to accept a friend request from her on Facebook. It wouldn’t feel right. How do I convince her that the further away from Facebook she is, the better my life will be? That sounds really harsh but it’s true. I explained the ‘poke’ to which she was disgusted. YES!!!! That made my day but this was just the start of my problems.

To make things worse, why does she want to be on Twitter? I’ve been using it for about 6 months and I’m baffled by it. I personally think it’s a bit too advanced for my mother and would prefer it if she stayed away from it. I can’t imagine explaining how the @ aspect works let alone the hashtags. It does my head in just thinking about it. I dread to think who she’d follow or harass. I think she got confused when I explained the 140 character limit tweet. She was like “I don’t know what one character is, let alone 140”. I let out the biggest sigh of relief and replied back saying “see mum, it’s really confusing and it’s not worth the hassle”. I managed to get out of that one. Let’s see what ‘brilliant’ ideas she has next week.

Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents

Yes, you’ve guessed it, time for another post about reality television. Some of you are either jumping for joy or shaking your heads thinking ‘here we go again’.  The principle of the show is quite simple. British teenagers take their first summer holiday  abroad not knowing that their parents are secretly watching them. It may sound like a silly programme but it is really interesting. The teenagers get up to all sorts, drinking, smoking, getting drunk, having sex. You name it, they are doing it. At the end of the programme, they are confronted by their parents who admit they have been secretly watching their every move. I LOVE IT!!!!!

I’m not very old myself but I am actually disgusted with the stuff they get up to. Call me a party pooper, I don’t care. I don’t understand why people go on holiday and end up doing crazy stuff. It’s as though they leave their common sense at home. Naughty people! In one of the episodes a Jewish guy, who has NEVER had a girlfriend, went on holiday with his friends. He was adamant he wanted to lose his virginity on holiday. Why did he want to do it on holiday? What’s wring with the girls in England? I don’t know what the motive behind it was or whether that was a poor excuse. Either way, this is the kind of stupidity that happens in this show. Anyways, his mum rang him at 11pm and he said he was going to the library. Dude, come on!!!! If you’re going to lie, then you should lie properly. Which sane person goes to the library that late at night? To make it worse, his mother actually believed him. To be fair, his mother seemed a little crazy. Well she must have been to believe his pathetic little story. Mothers, hey! I’m not really bothered about what people do on holiday, but this guy went against his own religion. Maybe he thought that God wasn’t watching him because he was on holiday. SILLY!

I love the way most of the teenagers act like virgins and saints when they are at home. They go on holiday and become a totally different person. Truth be told, they can act like the REAL person that they are when they are away from their parents. The youth of today are a bunch of party animals even though a lot of them don’t have much money. I think a lot of them are keeping up with the Jones’. Rather than spending within their means, they will spend ridiculous amounts of money just to show off to their friends. Pretty pathetic in my eyes, but that’s the way of the world. It’s becoming a popular trend.

In another episode, three guys went on holiday together. One of them wasn’t paying his fair share for the drinks and the excursions, so the other two kept paying for him because they wanted to do things together. On day 3 of the holiday, the guy said he had “spent half of his holiday money”. Why the heck would you go on holiday if you don’t have much spending money? How stupid do you have to be to spend half your money in the space of 2-3 days? When the youth of today do stupid things like this, it’s no wonder I get so angry.

Moral of the story: Don’t do stupid things for a television programme because your parents WILL find out. Sneaky business will definitely get you into a lot of trouble. Be warned!

Religion is NOT an Excuse

As you know I am constantly reading the newspapers and watching the news to see which stories emerge. My blog features a lot of posts about love/sex/relationships so when I read about this case, I HAD TO blog about it. I was shocked to read that an eighteen year old Muslim guy, Adil Rashid, had been spared from a person sentence, after raping a thirteen year old, on the basis that he attended an Islamic faith school where he was taught that “women are worthless“. Actually, to say I was shocked is an understatement and I was fuming, similarly to the way you may be feeling down. Something else that angered me more was the fact that he claimed he was not aware that it was illegal for him to have sex with the girl because his education left him ignorant of British law.

I can’t say whether his claim is true or false but it’s a pretty stupid excuse. I’m not an expert of the Islamic faith, neither do I know what is taught in faith schools. However, I’m sure that most religions do not agree with pre-marital sex, let alone rape. A lot of people would say that rape is unacceptable regardless of what the excuse is. To be fair, I don’t think that type of behaviour CAN be excused or justified. I definitely don’t think that it can be blamed on religion. People should be responsibility for their own actions.

The judge handed Rashid a suspended sentence, saying: “Although chronologically 18, it is quite clear from the reports that you are very naive and immature when it comes to sexual matters.” I disagree. If you are having sex, then there’s no way you can naive and immature. He knew what he was doing before he took the young girl to a hotel room. This is not a ‘typical’ date for a young couple such as themselves. I actually believe he knew he was going to have sex with the girl. But more to the point, why is an eighteen year old male hanging around with a thirteen year old female. I know it’s only a five year age gap but still, it’s not the usual type of friendship. He admitted he had sex with girl after he has been “tempted by her” after they met on Facebook. They had only known each other two months before the incident took place.

More to the point, Rashid received a suspended sentence, I think he should have been trialled as an adult which according to British laws, he should have received a four to seven year prison sentence. The judge said sending Rashid to jail might cause him “more damage than good“.WHAT????? I don’t understand how this judicial system works. I definitely don’t understand why and how we have laws put in place if they are not being adhered to. I know I can’t do anything to change the laws but it seems like a waste of time to have them if they can be bent. This is a prime example of how the justice system isn’t fair.

The girl told the police that she and Rashid they stayed at the hotel for two hours and had sex after Rashid went to the bathroom and emerged wearing a condom. This just backs up my opinion that he knew he was going to have sex with her. To make the story even more shocking Rashid returned home and went straight to a mosque to pray. I find that pretty sick and vile. He was arrested a week later the girl confessed what had happened to a school friend, who informed one of her teachers. He admitted to the police he knew the girl was thirteen years old but said he was initially reluctant to have sex before relenting after being seduced. WHAT?????? I don’t care what his claim is. How do you NOT know that what you are doing is WRONG, IMMORAL and ILLEGAL. I’m baffled by his justifications. Apparently and according to Rashid, the Islamic faith school that he attends teaches the students that “women are no more worthy than a lollipop that has been dropped on the ground“. It makes me wonder how he treats his mother and other female relatives. It’s disgusting! Does Islam really teach you that men are superior than women?

Even though I don’t agree with the outcome of this case, the Judge bought up some very valid points. He said that Rashid “must have known it was illegal, unless he was going round with his eyes shut”. He also stated that Rashid “had an unusual education, certainly in terms of the sexual education provided. Comparing women to lollipops is a very curious way of teaching young men about sex.” Women. Lollipops. I don’t understand the connection myself. It’s a good job that I do not attend that school because I would have been really confused. The judge sentenced Rashid to nine months youth custody, suspended for two years, along with a two-year probation supervision order.

Yes, there are two sides to every story which brings me on to the girl’s involvement in this case. Firstly, I don’t understand why youngsters are using social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook etc, as a form of dating. I think they are being misused and this is a prime example of that. Don’t even get me started on whether children know the dangers of meeting strangers online. If they don’t, they should read my post about CatFish. Yes, the girl is young as classed as a minor as the British laws state that the age of consent is 16 years old. I think she knew what was going to happen when she agreed to meet him in a hotel room. So maybe she isn’t as innocent as she comes across. I do believe she is partly to be blamed BUT I’m not saying she deserved to be raped. No one ever deserves that. However, as I’ve previously stated, going to a hotel room is not a typical date for teenagers. However, whether she consented to having sex or not, Rashid was the adult in the case which is the reason why he is the one to be punished.