Opinions - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Darts & Laurels: December 2, 2016

Dec. 1, 2016

You’re sitting in the doctor’s office, waiting with anticipation for Dr. Pepper to come in to treat you. After what feels like an eternity, he finally knocks on the door and lets himself in. “So, you’ve been cut in half. Vertically. How you were even able to do anything apart from bleed out on the floor, let alone get up, schedule a doctor’s appointment and attend this appointment, is nothing short of a miracle. Frankly, everything I know about medicine has been undermined by your survival.” You stare blankly at him, then despite your larynx literally being severed in half, manage to shout out “God damn it Doc, speak English! How much time do I have left to live?” Shocked you’re even able to reply, he stutters, “A few minutes, I think? Once again, you’ve literally been split down the middle.” “Oh thank God,” you mutter, spitting blood everywhere. “Just enough time to read the only thing worth living for,

OPINION | COLUMNS

Do not mourn the death of a dictator and his legacy

Dec. 1, 2016

When news of Fidel Castro’s death broke out, the reaction of the Cuban community was one of elation. Cuban-Americans danced and sang in the streets, celebrating the death of a dictator who had divided their families, forced them into exile and, in many cases, imprisoned and executed some of their closest friends and relatives.

OPINION | COLUMNS

How a virtual civil war between Reddit's leaders and The Donald tainted trust

Dec. 1, 2016

For this entire calendar year, Reddit, “the front page of the internet,” has been waging a secret war on one of its most popular and active subreddits: The Donald. Created around the time of President-elect Donald Trump’s presidential bid announcement, this community of brave souls who were courageous enough to proclaim themselves pro-Trump on a website as public as Reddit started off small, with only about 6,000 subscribers after its first six months of existence. Then, sometime around February, an inexplicable spike in subscribers was initiated and has yet to show signs of slowing down. Now with more than 300,000 subscribers, or “centipedes” as they are called on the subreddit, The Donald has become one of the most cohesive, discussion-based and meme-making subreddits in the website’s history.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Absurd arguments: the societal leech

Nov. 30, 2016

Perhaps one of the most famous (and offensive) myths perpetuated by financial conservatives is that all of those who receive government assistance in the form of welfare checks or food stamps are either lazy, addicted to drugs and alcohol or both. Today, we are going to evaluate how absurd and ignorant this view is.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Obama’s response to Castro’s death lacked empathy

Nov. 30, 2016

Fidel Castro is dead. Finally. For years, there were rumors regarding the Cuban leader’s declining health. His public appearances had become scarce since he transferred power to his brother Raúl in 2006. But late last Friday, news broke that the 90-year-old had passed away.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Reaching out or growing deep: the different ways we make and keep our friends

Nov. 30, 2016

I came home for Thanksgiving very eager to shut myself inside the house and relax; my sister came home very eager to get out of the house and see all the friends she had left behind. It’s not that I don’t have friends in my hometown. It’s just that one of them doesn’t come home for that short break, and the others I see in Gainesville anyway. I didn’t really keep in contact with all the people I was friendly with in high school. Maybe in the beginning I did, but in the end, only the really strong relationships lasted.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Presidential experience: It’s the quality, not the quantity, that counts

Nov. 29, 2016

First off: My name is Mia, and I’ll be joining the opinions section next semester as a regular columnist. I love music, politics, great food, good books, comedy and being outdoors. That’s all you need to know about me — on with the column!

OPINION | EDITORIALS

A matador and his muleta

Nov. 29, 2016

Tuesday morning (at 6:55 a.m. to be exact), early riser and esteemed tweeter President-elect Donald Trump turned his attention toward those who seek to make political statements via flag burning. “Nobody should be allowed to burn the American flag – if they do, there must be consequences – perhaps loss of citizenship or year in jail!” the tweet read. Before we go any further on the implications of this tweet, know these things: In 1989, the US Supreme Court ruled that flag burning is a protected practice under the First Amendment. Additionally, we here at the Alligator in no way condone flag burning. We will continue to point out the many things this country has to improve on, and we will always do our best to point out injustices where we see fit. However, that flag symbolizes more to us than a collection of our shortcomings, and we cannot condone such a behavior.

OPINION | COLUMNS

I paint my nails, and my dad doesn’t like it

Nov. 29, 2016

The first time I dressed in drag, I was in the seventh grade. I was at my neighbor Elena’s house for a Halloween party, and I didn’t have a costume. Elena took me into her room and painted my nails black. Then she applied eyeliner, mascara and lipstick to my face. Finally, she put me in this tight-fitting dark-blue dress and, voila, I was in costume. I washed most of the makeup off and put on my regular clothes before coming home from the party, but I left the nail polish on. I liked the way it looked.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letter: Raise your voice for Results

Nov. 28, 2016

This year’s election has been the spotlight of many conversations, and we want to make sure the new leaders are aware of the issues facing their people.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Home again: a week of Thanksgiving firsts and looking to the future

Nov. 28, 2016

Thanksgiving always manages to shift your perspective, creating a different effect with each visit. It can make you nostalgic, anxious or maybe just send you straight into that existential tailspin the Alligator detailed in last week’s editorial. It’s a brief reprieve from a tedious collegiate schedule and a reality check on life in the Gainesville bubble. It’s a week of compromise: with your parents promising not to pry too much about post-graduation plans and you tolerating the pageantry of the Christmas-card photo shoot in return. Despite this being my last Thanksgiving Break as an undergraduate, I experienced a variety of firsts, proving that while I grow and change, so does my home.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

The ‘Great American Hypocrisy’

Nov. 28, 2016

On Thanksgiving, it is custom to sit at the table with those you feel most connected to in your life and be grateful for the simple things. When we sit down at that dinner table, surrounded by good food and better company, we remind ourselves to be thankful for the little things: a good meal, our health and togetherness. As soon as the meal is complete, another great American tradition begins: Black Friday shopping.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Let love motivate you, not hatred, you silly human

Nov. 28, 2016

Sorry, copy desk. I wanted to get kind of political today. Not political enough to provide facts for you to check, but political enough to make you groan at another one of these columns. If it makes you feel any better, I regret this column, too.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

The acquisition of innate knowledge and restrooms

Nov. 27, 2016

Years ago, Wolfgang Kohler conducted a psychological study in which several monkeys were placed in a cage together with a single piece of food at the top of the cage. The monkeys were fed regularly, but if one of those monkeys attempted to climb up stairs and touch the food, the researchers would spray all the monkeys with ice water. The monkeys were eventually conditioned to never go up that high to retrieve the piece of food.

OPINION | COLUMNS

What the frack? A look at fracking economics and why we should care

Nov. 27, 2016

You’ve probably heard of fracking before. For those of you who have not heard of it, let me provide a brief overview. Fracking is another name for hydraulic fracturing, which is a drilling technique used to extract oil or natural gas from deep underground. Right now, fracking is a hotly debated topic both environmentally and politically. Some people say it’s fine, safe and economically sustainable. Others disagree, claiming it leads to contaminated drinking water, air pollution and heightened conditions for global warming.

OPINION | COLUMNS

We’re not talking about Standing Rock correctly

Nov. 27, 2016

Protestors against the Dakota Access pipeline have been told to leave their camp by Dec. 5 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Although they said it’s to protect the protestors from confrontations and illness due to the harsh winter conditions, taking away their right to protest will actually do more to harm them. The people who are most affected by this are the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe; they will have a lot more problems in the future if the pipeline is built without interference. The protestors must be allowed to voice their concerns until they are heard.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Existential crises and Thanksgiving

Nov. 21, 2016

“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” — Heraclitus

OPINION | COLUMNS

A critique of post-election emotion and logic

Nov. 21, 2016

So two weeks have passed now, and many are still upset, surprised or ecstatic that Donald Trump has been elected the future president of the U.S. Regardless of your position, some facts need to be addressed that are eluding the discourse in this post-election environment. This is not a liberal attack on all conservatives — Trump’s campaign included — nor is this a conservative bulwark. This column is an attempt to provide depth to a disillusioned, party-conflicted, currently anger-driven discourse.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

The expansion of Gainesville comes at a bad time

Nov. 21, 2016

Welcome to Gainesville, the city of brick built around a beautiful university with historic architecture and a new skyscraper next door. This development is inevitable in a growing city like Gainesville, but right next to the university was not the best place to start the conversion. Some continuity would be nice. On the south side of University Avenue, you have the UF main campus, with its collegiate buildings and carefully planned open areas. On the north side of University Avenue, you have a 10-story modern-style mixed-use apartment building. On the other hand, the UF campus is a major center of activity for a great deal of the Gainesville population. It makes perfect sense to increase development next to the university: Students want to live close, and people who are in the area for work want to be able to pick up some things. While I dislike the idea of changing the skyline around the university, I must admit that if the city is going to continue to grow, then this type of development must occur. However, this should have started a block or two away from campus, and then, over the years, be allowed to creep closer to campus. That way, people get a chance to acclimate to the different skyline. I think this project had good intentions but poor timing for the location.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

The National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation

Nov. 20, 2016

Perhaps one of our favorite American traditions is the National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation. At this ceremony, the president of the U.S. is presented a live Broad Breasted White turkey. Here, the POTUS pardons the turkey from his death sentence, otherwise to be served scrumptiously next to some mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce.