Ferguson, MO: Abhorrent Actions?

This has been a pretty awful week for small-town Missouri. A few days ago, a teenager was involved in an altercation with Ferguson police that led to his untimely death. As he was unarmed, the public demanded an inquiry. They were instead met with a press blackout, which led to protests, eventual rioting, and a town-wide police action to quell said rioting. Most prevalent was the use of tear gas and other dispersal weapons on unarmed civilians. Controversy abounds over who truly struck first, whether one side used excessive force, and how the law enforcement agencies need to be put in check. (For more info, check #Ferguson on Twitter).

Now, we have talked extensively about subjects which parallel the actions taken in this cataclysm of events, from the nature of transparency to the fervor manifesting in a large group. So when we apply these tropes to a real world context like this one, what connotations do we give them? And why exactly does it matter?

On the one hand, we have a militant force which sought to preserve itself at the expense of its contractual obligations. The officer who fired the first shot is given the priority by his law enforcement brethren to perpetuate a false image that "We're the good guys; we make the tough calls so you don't have to." There is a certain rationality to it because in the event of that image being shattered, we lose a fundamental sense of security. While we do want justice to be served, it is debatable just how far we'd really be willing to go if it meant sacrificing the backbone of our security.

On the other, we can become so blinded with our perception of justice that it leads us to contradict our need for security. In their quest for immediate results, the protesters of Ferguson affected not just their local police force, but the law enforcement agencies which serve across America. As public disdain for the police continues to grow, it will lead to further alienation between the two groups, and even more hate. And it leads us to perhaps the most important question:

Are We Going All-In?

I'm going to be brutally honest here: the police have already won this fight. It doesn't matter how long the public decides to protest, or how much pressure the public heaps on. As long as the police force has manpower and supplies, they can outlast any riot or siege. The people will grow weary as the night wears on, and after a few days of this, their spirit will be broken enough for them to give in completely. Their rationalization of the necessity of public safety - even a public safety steeped in lies - will overtake them, and they will surrender.

The only way for the public to achieve supremacy over a corrupt police state would be the complete neutralization of that state in a lightning fast attack. It would have to completely drain the morale of law enforcement to the point of disbandment. When that occurs, well... we all know what happens next. Many of us aren't even capable of fathoming such an anarchic reality.

All of this has to be taken account not in the present, but looking toward the future. Now that law enforcement feels the judgments cast upon them, they will lose yet another sliver of their dwindling professional decorum. The actions of a few days ago will occur again with someone else falling victim.

That's not to say that I justify any of the actions taken in this incident, because I certainly do not. The police force of Ferguson has been taking wrong turns every step of the way, but it's understandable what led them to this. Still, if the public fails to back off, not only will they be hurting themselves; they will be cultivating a monster that they in no way want.

The protesting needs to stop. There has to be a better way, one which allows both sides to come to terms. That's just how I see it.

Retake: "Full Auto Capitalism"

(The joy of reading or watching a particular work is that when you go over it a second or third time, you begin to see alternate perspectives on how the story is playing out. You get to highlight new items of significance and draw new parallels. So while we have covered a great many works in the WLIA blog, a select few will have multiple articles dedicated to them.)

Title: "Full Auto Capitalism" (Episode 14)
Series: Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Original Topic: Investments

This stand-alone episode of Ghost in the Shell deserves special mention because like in Idolater, the Section 9 team sought to cover up a potential scandal, which meant allowing an unethical action continue to manifest. Confused as to how the death of one man could be scandalous? Well, consider this.

In April 2013, the Associated Press's Twitter account was hacked to publish a claim that the president of the United States had been involved in a terrible accident at the White House. Because the tweet came from a reliable source, and was spread by thousands of people, it triggered a red flag in various search algorithms the world over, including those tied to Stock Exchange manipulation. In just one day, the S&P 500 lost an astonishing $130 Billion in value. Had humans not stepped in to correct the mistake, we could have been looking at a catastrophic market event and progressive long-term financial damages.

Videogame Cause and Effect: The Pursuit

Once upon a time in a far off galaxy, there lived a child not unlike you and me. Unfortunately, tragedy struck when the child's parents were murdered horribly by a criminal group. The child was then raised by foster parents, entered a law enforcement academy and graduated top of the class, to join the galactic law enforcement agency. (Even if you know what I'm referring to, I ask you keep reading).

This individual had two goals. The first was to seek vengeance for the murders from years prior. The second was to ensure that justice and order were maintained, an oath most officers of the law are accustomed to taking. Where things get complicated is when the individual discovered that law enforcement had begun to use the same techniques as the criminals being fought. This presented a moral battle for the individual: "Do I condone the hypocritical means of those I serve? Or do I seek to bring down both corrupt entities?"

Oh, and one last thing: this officer is a woman. Her name is Samus Aran, perhaps you've heard of her?

It has come to my attention that the image of the character one portrays is very important to certain people. In the case of the Metroid franchise, the reveal that Samus was a girl all along came as something of a shock to the audience. Since then, female protagonists in videogames have become far more prevalent, to the point where the absence of one can be a PR disaster. But why?

The Fog of Education

(Note: The views expressed in this article are not representative of any particular group or institution.)

"Anyone from the president on down will tell you that a focus on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education is not just good for kids but for the nation." - Cliff Ransom

September's issue of Popular Science opened with emphasis on changing how we educate today's youth. Additionally, the publisher is partnering with a DIY electronics company to make Arduino boards more fiscally friendly to the nation's educational infrastructure. Other initiatives highlighted in this issue include using games as a teaching tool (SimCity EDU and LEGO EV3 robotics being the primary examples), and a contract between Red Bluff High School and NASA to run geological simulations at Lassen Volcanic National Park (which, for those of you who know me, is only an hour and a half to the west of where I'm from).

Speaking of, Lassen High School in Susanville, CA has some rather unique technological programs of its own. For those who are unaware, this is the high school I went to for four years, eventually to return to as a part-time faculty member for the past eight months and counting. That is to say that I have not only seen great changes in that time frame, but that I have also had the opportunity to help cultivate those changes. Though that last part is neither here nor there.

The Nature of Goals and Dreams

About a decade ago, some curious net entrepreneur developed a website where you could create what many refer to as a "bucket list." That website, 43things.com, has reached its end-of-life as of this month, and at the end of the year, will likely be removed from the internet entirely. Websites where the purpose is to create a list of life goals will certainly live on, however.

I used to spend a bit of time thinking of goals, but I was never all that creative in coming up with of things to do. Even now, I'm not really sure what appeals to me in terms of "things to do before I tap out twenty to forty years from now." Nevertheless, it is a trope present in many acclaimed films, anime, literature and even games.

For example, Angel Beats! played this trope by making dream-fulfillment a requisite to pass on to the afterlife. Madoka Magica deconstructed this by allowing dreams to be achieved on a whim, albeit at a deadly price. Evangelion moved into this direction through its breakdown of Shinji Ikari as a child fighting to understand the possibilities of the world beyond the EVA (though that will not be discussed fully until a later article).

The problem is, all of these series either have characters who already know what it is they want, or discover it in ways which aren't quite explained to the viewer. So when the viewer goes to ask these questions of their self, there really isn't a model to seek reference from. It's aggravating, but if you look at what relates all of the characters of these series, however, their goals always appear to be based upon things they are or things they lack.

Haganai - Episode Two Analysis

In "There's No God in the Electric World," our Neighbors Club crew decide that the best technique to make friends in the modern world is with videogames. Videogames, after all, promote cooperation and can be an excellent teaching tool in their own right. However, things don't go as planned when the three begin an RPG only to turn on one another. After this chaotic session, Sena brings in a new console with a romance visual novel. The club spends the afternoon trying to complete it, but it turns out to be a lot more than they bargained for.

It would seem that videogames, then, are not so wonderful for bringing people together, are they? Well, the answer is clearly not so clear-cut. In the real world, what it has been doing is creating a semi-tangible layer of sorts to real world goods and services. The science here is in the expansion and preservation of these goods and services, which is where the cooperation truly comes from. So in a way gaming becomes work, and work has its own set of tropes and social customs.

First, a little primer: intangible objects which had their start in videogames have value. Individuals who are invested in these objects seek others who have the objects they are seeking, either to exchange or to capture said objects. In fact, one of the reasons these games do so well in major cities (like Tokyo and New York) is because of the large population necessary to increase the total output of virtual goods and services. We can hereby conclude that the success of these games is dependent on continual expansion of contributors to the whole; getting others to see the value in these goods increases their desire to exchange or capture them.

What we need, in order to put this to the test, is a city built upon gaming, gamers, and the proliferation of game objects.Would everyone in this city be working together? Or would the city fall into chaos the way things did for the Neighbors Club? Time would surely tell.

Haganai - Episode One Analysis

Most of you might recall a not-so-brief description of the Haganai series in a recent discussion about sexual themes in media. This anime is the story of a boy and a girl who, unable to make friends, start a club with the sole purpose of making friends. For a full synopsis, please see this article.

With that out of the way, let's get to it, shall we? In "We Can't Make Any Friends," protagonist Kodaka Hasegawa encounters Yozora Mikazuki in an abandoned classroom, the latter speaking with an imaginary friend. Kodaka and Yozora get in a quarrel, as we learn a few tidbits about Kodaka's situation. It turns out that, on his first day, he made a rather horrid first impression. Meanwhile, Yozora just struggles with social situations in general.