R
eading Trump’s Twitter
rants is the best form
of entertainment. You
never know what he will say or
who he will insult
next.
No
one
is
safe from his social
media-based
shots.
Not
Alec
Baldwin,
not
Meryl
Streep,
not even his fellow
Republicans like Paul
Ryan. Trump takes
to Twitter to insult
anyone who doesn’t
completely agree with
him, so it is no shock
he went after congressman and
civil rights legend John Lewis.
Trump’s timing is impeccable
because if you’re going to call a
man who has dedicated his life to
public service and civil rights “all
talk” and “no action,” you might
as well do it on Martin Luther
King Jr. Day weekend. Many
people use the long weekend to
reflect on and celebrate the work
of King and other civil rights
protesters. But Trump, always
looking to shake up the status
quo, took a unique approach.
If Trump needs to see Lewis do
something, he can turn on almost
any documentary about the civil
rights movement and see Lewis
marching and organizing to end
segregation.
However,
based
on Trump’s attitude, I suspect
that he would call Lewis taking
part in the Freedom Rides “just
sitting down in a bus.” When he
watches Lewis take hit after hit
from a policeman’s nightstick,
sees Lewis pushed to the ground
and look up only to see the stick
coming toward him again, he
would say “he just fell down.”
Though it is not a documentary,
I
recommend
Trump
watch
the 2015 film “Selma,” since he
doubts that Lewis is a man of
action. Then hopefully he will
realize that his statements about
Lewis are completely false.
In
the
tweet,
Trump
specifically
attacks
Lewis’s
public
service
record,
so
I
assume he means to define
action as vocalizing the concerns
of constituents and working
to address issues within the
district. Lewis’s district faces
challenges,
including
poverty
and unemployment, but it is also
considered a tech hub. One of its
cities, Atlanta, was rated one of
the “fastest growing metro areas
from 2013 to 2015.” Trump’s
tweets overemphasize the issues
and completely ignore the positive
characteristics of the
district. Citing a few
negative
statistics
and using them to
represent an entire
district
does
not
provide a complete
characterization
of
the district.
Trump,
even
though
he
is
the
president-elect, is in
no place to criticize
Lewis’s political experience and
work. Besides his presidential
campaign,
Trump
has
no
experience in public service.
While Lewis spoke with his
constituents and sponsored and
introduced bills in the House
of
Representatives,
Trump
made a name for himself in real
estate and numerous business
ventures. This, in addition to
the fact that Trump has no
experience living in Georgia’s
fifth district, leaves Trump
unqualified
to
make
these
claims. If he wants to tweet
about someone who’s “all talk”
and “no action” in the realm
of politics, I suggest he tweet
about himself.
Maybe he forgot that he’s
supposed to be president, but
in any case, going on Twitter
rants like these is a waste of
time and should not be the
behavior of an elected official.
It’s fantastic that politicians
can use social media to interact
with their constituents; using
social media makes politicians
less like political figures or
images only seen on TV or
heard in the news, and more like
relatable people. New Jersey
Sen. Cory Booker, one of the
people on Trump’s growing
list of enemies, embraces social
media; he Snapchatted while
he
campaigned
for
Hillary
Clinton. Social media is a great
way for politicians to connect
with constituents, but it should
not make national news nearly
every week and should not be
used to insult others.
Instead of tweeting, Trump
needs to direct his attention to
his upcoming job. He needs to
receive the presidential daily
briefings every day, not just when
he feels like it. He needs to figure
out how to unite the country. On
Friday, the task of addressing the
concerns of all Americans will
pass to his shoulders. He won’t
be able to effectively complete
this task if he can’t put his phone
down. How will he have time to
“make America great again” if he
is too distracted by his Twitter?
Trump’s tweet about Lewis is
another example of how much
Trump loves to stir up drama
through social media. He can’t
help himself — tweeting hurtful
statements is his favorite pastime.
But this type of behavior is
unacceptable for anyone. When
we see the first signs of it in kids,
we take them aside and explain
why it is not OK.
Unfortunately,
no
matter
how many times we tell Trump
to stop insulting people, to act
like an adult and not like the
school bully, the message never
sticks. For someone who claims
to be a “smart person,” he can’t
seem to figure out that insulting
everyone who doesn’t share
his ideas and beliefs is wrong.
Trump cannot effectively work
with anyone if he constantly
attacks people who say anything
against him on Twitter. Before
his inauguration, he needs to
realize that people will say
things he doesn’t like and that
should not encourage him to
incite a Twitter war.
Any time I read or hear
about Trump’s latest tweets, I
always ask in exasperation “Can
someone please take Twitter
away from him?” But part of me
likes seeing all the ridiculous
statements
on
his
Twitter
account. It gives a clear look into
the mind of the future president.
His tweets are more honest
than any speech he will give,
any statement he will make, any
action he will do. On Twitter, he
disregards what few standards
he sets for his behavior. He can
give a speech written by writers
and reviewed by his staff, but
what he tweets off the top of his
head without time for anyone to
check him or tell him to stop is
where we see the true Trump.
While I dislike him, I want to
know what I’ll be stuck dealing
with for the next four years.
Plastic bags, one of the
auxiliary
containers
the
Michigan
bill
prohibits
regulating,
are
often
not
recyclable and can take years to
decompose. Due to their shape,
plastic bags snag on conveyer
belts used to sort recyclable
materials before repurposing
and
hinder
machines’
and
workers’ progress. They billow
out of collection trucks and
into the streets, where they
become tumbleweeds of the
city, twisting in the wind and
eventually ending up in tree
branches,
drainage
systems
and waterways. From there,
wildlife can get trapped in or
consume these plastic bags,
choking them or filling their
stomachs
with
indigestible
plastic. Not to mention, as the
Great Lakes State, we must
be mindful of our fragile
freshwater ecosystem and work
to protect this environment
and its wildlife at all costs.
This legislation is at odds
with Michigan’s Bottle Deposit
Law, which added a 10-cent
deposit to bottles and cans
as a means of decreasing the
number of cans and bottles in
landfills. This deposit helps
fund cleanup, development and
pollution-prevention
efforts
across Michigan. Consumers
can earn the 10-cent deposit
back by returning the items
to return centers in grocery
stores, making this legislation
friendly for people’s wallets as
well as the environment.
Michigan is not the first
state to propose legislation
surrounding
the
regulation
of
single
use
containers.
Other states such as Alabama,
Idaho and Missouri have also
banned the banning of plastic
bags. Washington D.C. has
implemented a plastic bag tax,
which has generated a large
amount of revenue allocated
toward
environmental
and
social issues. California voters
last year also approved the
nation’s first statewide ban on
plastic bags, which is estimated
to remove 15 billion pieces of
plastic each year once the ban
takes effect.
A
10-cent
tax
won’t
eliminate
plastic
bags
and
their
environmental
impact
— only a well-enforced ban
similar to California’s will do
that. However, the production
of paper bags has a larger
carbon footprint than that of
the production of plastic bags,
which calls into question the
degree to which banning plastic
bags outright would have a
positive impact. Furthermore,
a tax would also allow the
state to allocate more funds
toward cleanup and pollution
prevention
measures;
a
statewide ban would eliminate
this source of revenue.
Though a 10-cent tax may
seem relatively inconsequential
to those carrying extra change,
this universal tax could have
potentially stressful effects on
citizens who already struggle
to
pay
for
groceries
and
cannot afford the alternative
reusable canvas bags. Still, the
tax would force all citizens,
regardless of socioeconomic
status, to be mindful of their
consumption
of
the
non-
recyclable bags.
Nonetheless,
the
bill
passed by the Michigan state
Senate will leave containers
like plastic unregulated and
therefore more likely to pollute
the
environment
through
production
or
disposal.
A
statewide
tax,
which
gets
people to think twice about
plastic bag use and promotes
the recycling of plastic bags, is
closer to the ideal solution.
Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4A — Wednesday, January 18, 2017
Short, but not so sweet
ANNA POLUMBO-LEVY | OP-ED
A
s much as I attempt
to read as many New
York
Times
and
Atlantic articles as I possibly
can, I confess: It just isn’t
feasible. Given my school work,
extracurriculars and attempt to
get what’s considered a healthy
amount of sleep, I just don’t have
the time I’d like to sit down for
hours and pore over every news
outlet, read every breaking story
and debate the findings. That’s
why I’ve recently begun to swear
by The New York Times’ morning
briefings, essentially one- to
two-sentence summaries of what
the brief writers considered
some of the most important news
stories that day. This way, I feel
as though I am staying up to date
with the latest news.
About a week ago, The New
York Times added a section
called
“Smarter
Living:
Morning Edition.” While the
contents of the first edition of
this new section were off to a
positive, seemingly encouraging
start — including reminders to
stay positive and giving me a few
tips to relieve my stress — the
second Smarter Living edition
struck a different cord. Scrolling
past the section title, a plug for
one of the stories caught my eye:
“Miss your morning meal? Don’t
sweat it — the science around the
importance of breakfast is still
basically unproven.” In it was a
link to a piece on how breakfast
may not be as important as we
thought, because according to
the article’s writer, many of the
studies that corroborate this
stance are weak at best.
While I don’t have too much of
a problem with the fact that the
author sets about to debunk the
myth of breakfast being the most
important meal of the day, the
intentionally short plug — meant
to hook the reader and recap the
piece — was worded in such a
way that its writer appeared
oblivious to the harmful ways
in which our society discusses
eating. If I hadn’t clicked on the
accompanying article, I might
read the takeaway as one that
deemphasizes the importance
of eating more generally. The
plug implies people should
focus on eating less, but the
piece focuses on debunking the
theory that breakfast is the most
important meal.
What’s even more jarring to
me is the fact that if I suffered
from an eating disorder, I might
have read this short sentence and
seen it as another affirmation
of our society’s values. Instead
of taking a flippant attitude
toward
skipping
meals,
we
should be re-examining the way
we talk about food. Even though
this short sentence to draw in
a reader may be misleading,
what if this is how you get your
news? We are a society that puts
thinness on a pedestal; from the
dimensions of Barbie to the style
tips that tell us what colors will
make us look thinner, we are
constantly made self-conscious
of our bodies. And though
many eating disorders are about
control, not so much food itself,
there is no doubt that American
society often emphasizes one
ideal size.
As
a
young
college-aged
woman,
fitting
within
the
demographics most at risk for
eating disorders and body image
issues, this anecdote is especially
alarming to me. According to
the National Eating Disorders
Association website, in 2011, 20
million women and 10 million
men in the United States suffered
from
some
type
of
eating
disorder. In fact, girls as young
as 6 are concerned with their
weight or figure.
Instead
of
encouraging
people to eat, short statements
such as these tell a society
(and
anyone
else
reading
this) where many are already
hyperconscious of their body
that eating isn’t very important.
(That said, I acknowledge that
there is a significant number of
people who are not a huge fan of
all meals, and if they want to skip
a meal, that is their prerogative.)
But it is the job of journalists
to be careful of every word
they put out there — every
phrase they shorten to make it
fit into a briefing, every word
they decide to use to pack more
of a punch — because words
matter. For the most part, I
firmly believe that the fewer
words you use to say things, the
better. We need to think twice
if we are attempting to boil
something down that actually
requires a more fleshed-out
explanation, or we risk it being
misinterpreted. For the young
woman who, simply judging
by her demographic as a young
woman, already has a high
risk of possibly developing an
eating disorder, how does this
seemingly inconsequential (yet
attention-grabbing)
sentence
about how harmless it is to skip
breakfast affect her? Something
so stark published by a well-
regarded publication like the
Times has the power to help or
harm in significant ways.
It is the job of the Times
and all publications — in fact,
all journalists, friends, family,
authors
and
government
officials — to think: If I condense
something complex down into
so few words, am I doing more
harm than good?
REBECCA LERNER
Managing Editor
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890.
EMMA KINERY
Editor in Chief
ANNA POLUMBO-LEVY
and REBECCA TARNOPOL
Editorial Page Editors
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s Editorial Board.
All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
Carolyn Ayaub
Samantha Goldstein
Caitlin Heenan
Jeremy Kaplan
Max Lubell
Alexis Megdanoff
Madeline Nowicki
Anna Polumbo-Levy
Jason Rowland
Ali Safawi
Kevin Sweitzer
Rebecca Tarnopol
Ashley Tjhung
Stephanie Trierweiler
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
Anna Polumbo-Levy is a
co-editorial page editor.
#Unpresidential
COREY DULIN | COLUMN
Corey Dulin can be reached at
cydulin@umich.edu.
COREY
DULIN
FROM THE DAILY
State should reconsider bag ban
L
ast month, Michigan’s Lt. Gov. Brian Calley signed a law that will
prevent local governments from taxing or restricting the use of
“auxiliary containers,” defined as single or multi-use bags, cups,
bottles or other packaging. This comes after Washtenaw County passed an
ordinance last June to charge a 10-cent fee for paper and plastic grocery bags
that would have gone into effect this April. With this statewide ban, we will
continue to see the harmful effects of plastic bags and other non-recyclable
containers on the environment and deny the state a possible source of revenue
that could be used to counter those effects. While legislators cited a desire to
not force a patchwork of laws regarding these containers on state businesses,
The Michigan Daily’s editorial board believes the best course of action
should be to pass a statewide tax on plastic bags, thereby enforcing one law
across the state and discouraging the use of harmful disposable containers.
ANNA
POLUMBO-LEVY
JOE IOVINO | CONTACT JOE AT JIOVINO@UMICH.EDU
As the Great
Lakes State, we
must be mindful
of our fragile
freshwater
ecosystem.