Fear of the Unknown

The depths of unknown. In no way do we know the the extreme what is roaming the bottoms of a mucky lake. We’ve never been down there ourselves. But we do know, in almost all of these lakes, sits a snapping turtle waiting on its next prey.

As a kid, I was always told, “The snapping turtle will either die, take your foot off, or you’re going down with it.” This incited my overwhelming fear of these awful creatures. I see them swimming in the lake, and it immediately buzzkills my trip. Going into the water is a thought of the past after this.

The sheer size of such a creature is incredible. You see their spiked back and their sharp teeth. They can weigh up to 50 pounds, but from my estimations I was always thinking about 100. This type of monster could do some damage like no other. People always say, “It’s probably more scared of you than you are of it.” The problem with that statement is that it knows where I am, but I cannot see where it is.

Don’t get me wrong, I love swimming in lakes--even more than swimming in pools at times. But when the thought of a snapping turtle enters my mind, it’s unbearable. My day of swimming might as well be over.

The biggest part of this fear is the feeling of uncertainty. We do not know what is beneath us, and at times we do not want to know. This mystery traumatizes the brain more than actually seeing the snapping turtle. Anything could be under there at any time, yet we swim on with a sense of ignorance to this fact.

The fear of the unknown trumps all else.

If you don't like it, don't buy it.

Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke has been around for a while now. It was a catchy song, and every time I listen to it, I still catch myself thinking, "Hey, hey hey" throughout the day. There is a culture to the video that is parallel with some of the worst rap songs today. It was incredibly graphic and more or less, awkward. I found a lot of these people must have felt awkward in their situation. They're all just dancing around half naked, it had to have been uncomfortable for some of them.

The song lyrics were borderline wrong. There were a lot of lyrics that came close to crossing the line, but I don't think they ever truly did. It surely could have, but they held back. Some of the lyrics come across to women as "It's OK to be bad." This made it a more sexual song to some. When listened to on the radio, which I did probably 100 times, listeners likely cannot comprehend the meaning of this song. Once they hear the controversy, they start looking for it hard, and that's where they seem to find inappropriate things. The rape culture was not evident, but to some women, there was clear disrespect.

Some people say that pop musicians have a responsibility for the message they portray. I don't necessarily believe in this. First, we are all protected by free speech. Nothing should be censored or banned in the first place as long as it doesn't threaten somebody's life. And Blurred Lines doesn't. Pop musicians have their own morals, and they should be able to follow that, right or wrong. Perhaps their morals don't line up with yours, that's unfortunate. They be best way to protest is by boycotting.  By not buying their works, you're essentially putting them out of business. People should be able to filter their music by themselves from what they want to listen to. Pop Musicians should feel responsible for what they're putting out in the world, but if people keep listening, then there is no reason for them to stop this type of music.