The title of this post is actually a trending topic on Twitter today. Troy Davis was convicted in 1989 for shooting and killing an Georgia off-duty officer. The gun was not found but the bullets that were recovered were found to be shot from the same pistol that was shot by Davis in another charge. There were 10 witnesses that claimed that they saw Davis shoot the officer. Later on 8 witnesses recanted their testimonies, saying they were coerced by officers to convict Davis. Davis still claims that he is innocent. His execution is scheduled for today (Sept 21) at 7pm.
I am not writing this post to make a claim that he is innocent. When I first started this blog I promised myself I would never write a post on a high controversy issue unless it was a story I had followed or I knew all the facts involved (hence why I did not write a post on the Casey Anthony Trail). I am not a journalist major but I know the importance of writing with accurate facts. So I will not go into detail about his case and how the evidence and witness accounts have been shady. But what I want to write about is how a death penalty law should not exist when a flawed justice system does exist.
There are a lot of gray areas in Troy Davis' case. I have read that the actual gun was not found. I always thought that if the murder weapon was not found the prosecutor did not have a hard case. But yet in this case a potential innocent man will die tonight without a murder weapon being present. I stated before that 8 of the 10 witnesses have recanted their stories. One witness has even named another person to be the killer. But yet a potential innocent man will die tonight.
I cannot say this man is innocent nor can I say that he is guilty. I'm pretty sure the DA cannot say 100% that he believes that Davis did it and because of this doubt he [Troy Davis] should not be receiving the death penalty tonight. I cannot understand how a man can be put to death with so many gray areas in the case. Humans are imperfect. For a second I am going to sound a little preachy. The Bible says that vengeance belongs to God. Well if you think about it, it is rightly so that vengeance belongs to Him. He is perfect, sees all, and knows all. He does not need DNA evidence or eye witnesses. When He gets His revenge on the wicked, He will never wrongly convict someone. Because we [human beings] are imperfect and did not create life, we certainly do not have the authority to take life from someone else, especially when there is doubt behind their crime.
If we ever find out after his execution that Troy Davis was innocent, it will truly hurt my heart. But for me this case brings me closer to God because He is ultimately my judge, my flawless judge.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Saturday, September 17, 2011
#TheGirlWhoWasntPickedForAKA
Once upon a time, there was this girl who attended an university. She worked hard in her classes and was friendly to everyone that she met. She was not the most popular girl but she was not concerned with that. Giving an earnest effort in her classes and being true to herself meant more to her than popularity.
During her sophomore year she decided that she wanted to be a part of a sorority. Even though she did not know anybody personally in a sorority she had heard good things about women who joined them. That these woman put emphasis on their education, worked hard to make a positive impact on their campus and in their community, and had high standards when it came to the subject manner of womanhood. This impressed the girl because she also valued her education and wanted to make an impact on others.She find out, though, that it took more than being a good person to be Greek.
As said before she did not know any Greeks personally. So she did not know the "not on the sorority's website" rules. She had to learn these "rules" from other friends. She made sure to be discreet and not to go around telling people that she wanted to be an AKA. She made sure that she went to their programs and got involved in other campus activities. And she did what she thought was most important and that was to keep a good GPA, which was a 3.0. (By the way, she kept this GPA all 4 years of college and was even on the Dean's List.) But this would still not be enough.
She would be rejected not once, but twice, from this organization. Each time wondering why she was not good enough for their organization. (She would realize later that it was their lost, not hers.) As far as she knew she had follow their "rules". But in actuality she did not follow all their rules.
The first rule she broke was not looking the part. Even though this girl was not popular, the last thing she had was low self-esteem, nor was she coming to them seeking self-esteem. It didn't bother her that she was not considered the prettiest girl on campus. She knew she was beautiful because she was made in God's image and no sorority could tell her different. Second rule was that she was not popular or known by a lot of people. When this girl came to college the last thing on her "to do before I graduate from college" list was to be popular. That had not even been a priority when she was in high school. She was more interested in learning to be a grown woman. Lastly the most important "rule" she broke was she did not kiss behind, stroke egos, or make these women feel like royalty. She did not want anything that bad.
The only thing this girl regrets is that she was interested at all in an organization with such juvenile rules. By them not picking her she has something more valuable than their membership: she has her dignity. She has this because she refused to play by the rules and chose to instead play by her own rules. If she had the time, she would actually write a letter to these "women" and tell them thank you for not picking her. It seemed to be these "women" still had a great deal to learn about womanhood. The girl can only hope that that these women learn to see someone not only from their outer appearance but learn to see someone for their character.
By the way, this is a true story.
During her sophomore year she decided that she wanted to be a part of a sorority. Even though she did not know anybody personally in a sorority she had heard good things about women who joined them. That these woman put emphasis on their education, worked hard to make a positive impact on their campus and in their community, and had high standards when it came to the subject manner of womanhood. This impressed the girl because she also valued her education and wanted to make an impact on others.She find out, though, that it took more than being a good person to be Greek.
As said before she did not know any Greeks personally. So she did not know the "not on the sorority's website" rules. She had to learn these "rules" from other friends. She made sure to be discreet and not to go around telling people that she wanted to be an AKA. She made sure that she went to their programs and got involved in other campus activities. And she did what she thought was most important and that was to keep a good GPA, which was a 3.0. (By the way, she kept this GPA all 4 years of college and was even on the Dean's List.) But this would still not be enough.
She would be rejected not once, but twice, from this organization. Each time wondering why she was not good enough for their organization. (She would realize later that it was their lost, not hers.) As far as she knew she had follow their "rules". But in actuality she did not follow all their rules.
The first rule she broke was not looking the part. Even though this girl was not popular, the last thing she had was low self-esteem, nor was she coming to them seeking self-esteem. It didn't bother her that she was not considered the prettiest girl on campus. She knew she was beautiful because she was made in God's image and no sorority could tell her different. Second rule was that she was not popular or known by a lot of people. When this girl came to college the last thing on her "to do before I graduate from college" list was to be popular. That had not even been a priority when she was in high school. She was more interested in learning to be a grown woman. Lastly the most important "rule" she broke was she did not kiss behind, stroke egos, or make these women feel like royalty. She did not want anything that bad.
The only thing this girl regrets is that she was interested at all in an organization with such juvenile rules. By them not picking her she has something more valuable than their membership: she has her dignity. She has this because she refused to play by the rules and chose to instead play by her own rules. If she had the time, she would actually write a letter to these "women" and tell them thank you for not picking her. It seemed to be these "women" still had a great deal to learn about womanhood. The girl can only hope that that these women learn to see someone not only from their outer appearance but learn to see someone for their character.
By the way, this is a true story.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
#NewBraNewWoman
I know it has been awhile since my last post but thanks to one of my followers I have an interesting idea for a post. This past weekend my girls and I went bra shopping. And believe me this trip was long over due. As embarrasing as it is to admit, the bras I had been wearing I've had for years. They were worn, stretched to the max, and barely holding anything up. My bras were a disgrace to bras everywhere. Victoria's Secret would have wanted me commited for the condition of my bras.
I did not realize that a bra can really make you feel like a brand new woman. My posture is better, the girls (the ones on my chest) are no longer sitting on my knees, and I feel so much more sophisticated. For me this is a start of my new womanhood. Before it was nothing for me to go to Walmart and throw a bra in the basket along with my debbie snack cakes, toothe paste, Doritos, and Hawiian Punch. Nothing against Walmart, but it is time that I go to real bra stores for the ta-tas. As a young professional woman, it is time that I start looking for quality not just in bras, but in all aspects of my life. It hit me that it is time that I update my style, not to be concerned about the current styles but to more of a classic timeless look. Stores like Rue 21, Forever 21, Rainbow, and Citi Trendz cannot make up most of the clothes in my closet if I am looking for a timeless style or wanting to be taken serious as a professional woman.
 |
| In my new bra!!! |
So as I said this trip was long over due. My girls (not the girls on my chest) and I ended up at Lane Bryant, the thick girl's heaven. As an unofficial spoke person of Lane Bryant, if you are a 38 C or above this is the store for you. The associates were freaking awesome! They sized my friend and I and both of us were in the wrong size, not uncommon for women who are not sized often. But yeah, I was waaaaaaaay off concerning my bra size. Thanks to the associates not only did I get my right size but they also told me what category of bras were right for me. Unfortunately, Lane Bryant associates do not get commision but if they did, I would have made sure that the women that helped me would have gotten their full commision.
This bra has also reminded me how fun it is to be a woman. Later on that day, we decided that it was time to maybe update our other personals: panties. This turned into an hour laugh session about granny panties, thongs, and other coversations that should probably be had in the privacy of your home and not a public place. This was another reminder of my new womanhood. I do not want to sound old but as you grow as woman you worry less about cute panties and more about comfort. Are this panties going to give me a wedgie? Are my panty lines going to show? Should I get the hi-cut briefs over the string bikinis?
Sometimes I cringe about getting older but other days I truly embrace it (yea I know, I'm only 23). I love this new womanhood hood and I love what it is going to offer me in the future (maybe pregnacy, but not looking forward to the change). If you have chance to go bra shopping (not a Walmart) do it and you will find your new womanhood too.
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