Too many services at ridiculous prices

Editorial

tals to about “500 million people,” which means about one in 15 people in the world own at least one Harry Potter book (AltPress). So many people find Harry Potter to be comforting, from the nineyear-olds of today to your friendly-neighborhood English teacher. Finding comfort and solace in something from your childhood is perfectly fine. However, simply dismissing the fact that someone is discriminatory and ignorant just because you like their content is, in fact, an act of ignorance.

To merely separate the art from the artist is to turn a blind eye to someone’s harmful behavior. As said by writer Melina List, “Pretending that the ideals of the creator can be removed from their creation isn’t doing anything productive: it’s making yourself feel better about liking something that, like all human creations, has the potential for flaws while ignoring that fact simultaneously” (Medium).

Of course, it’s hard to digest the fact that an artist you like is harming people, and it’s very hard to stop liking something that you’ve loved for years. However, you cannot just push problematic behaviors to the side without acknowledging them; accountability needs to be taken in some way. According to Commonwealth Times, “The truth is that we need to be honest with ourselves about whether our connection to a controversial artist’s work is greater than the gravity of the things they’ve done. Instead of avoiding these uncomfortable truths, we should face them head-on.”

So, this isn’t to say that you must immediately stop reading your favorite books, or stop listening to your favorite songs, or stop watching your favorite movies because of someone’s actions. If that’s what you take away from this editorial, then you should read it again.

The point is, acknowledging the fact that a public figure you love may not be such a great person is better than shrugging off a person’s clear insensitivity.

Basketball: Facing off against justice; where to place limits in sports fame

VIEWPOINT

Right now, the mix of justice and fame is on the line. People are choosing to win basketball games over convicting someone. Even if the person didn’t do the exact crime, they still had a part in it.

If you don’t know what happened, on Jan.15, a fatal shooting occurred, killing 23-yearold Jamea Jonae Harris. Former Alabama basketball players Darius Miles, who plays small forward, and Michael Davis who plays center, have been charged in her death. Meanwhile, Brandon Miller, who plays forward, is free of charge and continues to participate in basketball games.

According to police testimony, Miller dropped Miles off at a club, but did not stay because the line was too long. Harris and her boyfriend stopped at a nearby grill to get something to eat, which is where they encountered Davis. Miles and Davis walked away from the Harris’ Jeep, but later returned with a gun and two vehicles trapping the couple. An argument resulted in violent ends for Harris.

According to Harris’s mother in a Facebook post, one of the men accused in the shooting “took my baby’s life because she wouldn’t talk to him.”

Jamea Jonae Harris is a mother of a 5 year old son that was killed because she didn’t want to talk to the guys. Because of that her son will grow up without a mother.

It has been reported that Miles texted Miller asking him to bring Miles’ gun to him, and one of the two vehicles was Miller’s car. Now he didn’t do the actual killing and the killing might not have been at first intention, but he did bring the gun to Miles and Davis. That should account for something.

According to Suhre & Associates, LLC, an accessory to a crime is anyone who helped someone else commit the offense. Accessories before the fact provide assistance before the crime is committed, which Miller did do. He delivered a gun to Miles and Davis. That gun was used to kill Harris.

Miles has been charged with capital murder even though he did not fire any shots. Davis is alleged to have fired multiple shots into the victim’s car and is charged with capital murder. Miller, on the other hand, is not charged with anything, even based on the allegations of his delivery of the gun to Miles and the placement of his vehicle to prevent the victim’s car from leaving.

What is the deal with the millions of streaming services that are on the market today? If you want to watch a movie, you first have to find out where it’s located. Is it on Netflix? No. Hulu? Nope. HBO Max? Not there. Oh, found it. It’s listed on Prime Video for 3.99 to rent.

All these services, and the movies you want to watch aren’t even on them. Even if you were to pay for at least five or six services, you’re going to be paying at least $100 a month to watch a movie or show every now and then. The prices have only been rising, too. At this point, it might be better to pirate media.

Just kidding, don’t do that. It’s illegal.

There’s one thing that Hulu does that is so frustrating. Google will tell you that this show you are looking for is available on Hulu, great! Actually no, it’s on a Showtime add-on that you have to pay extra for. They bundle themselves with Hulu, but you still have to buy it.

Unless you are an avid watcher of a TV series or movie, it’s not worth it to buy. Sharing the service with friends or family members is a way better option, and makes it cheaper for yourself and others.

Did you know that there’s over 50 streaming services in America alone? They should just put all these services together into one. About 87% of American households use streaming services as of 2022, according to sportspromedia.com. That’s an insane amount of people. About nine of ten households own a streaming service.

Sometimes people will be talking about some crazy good show but since you don’t own this specific program, you have to miss out. It’s nice to be able to watch a show or movie every now and then, but needing to look through so many programs just to find something to watch is boring. Sometimes, it will ruin the mood of even watching anything at all.

But the thing is, having services where we can just find some TV show to watch and being able to finish them in one day is kind of a blessing. You couldn’t do that before, unless you had the show on DVD. But now you can just pick out a random show that interests you and watch it, and if you don’t like it, you can just drop it and find something else in a few minutes.

It’s crazy that we have to pay so much for this, but everything is just so convenient. Why should picking a movie be so frustrating sometimes?

While the other two are not playing basketball anymore, Miller continues to play. But, why? He had a hand in the crime. He gave the gun to Miles and Davis, which should account for something because now that little boy does not have a mother anymore. Even if he’s a great basketball player, he should be held accountable for transporting a gun. It would be different if that gun wasn’t used to shoot Harris, but it was. If that gun was never there in the first place, she might have been alive still. Miller transporting that gun would mean either life or death.

But, you never know the outcome; it could have ended differently, but it didn’t. This is why Miller should be charged with something. He was a part of the crime, even though he technically didn’t do it. Why should he not be charged?

MACKENZIE SCOTT Op/Ed Editor

Imagine you’re walking in a crowded public space. People are flocking to the nearest main entrance or exit, but it’s so backed up with people rushing out. You hear the piercing screams of small kids as their parents are trying to rush them out to avoid the bleeding ears of everyone else in the room. Everyone’s at a standstill while there’s so many people trying to fit through the two sets of double doors and you’re just following the masses.

Who are you? Where are you going? You’re not sure, but if everyone is going that way, it must be right. Right? Oh, how you would be so very wrong. You’re overwhelmed by the smells of the food court and the bright overhead lights, and you’re just trying to escape.

Now let’s think about Option B. You walk over to the dictionary and map and see the bright red You Are Here sticker that was haphazardly placed, and you happen to find another exit. So, you turn in that direction and go your own way. It may be on the other side of the building, so you’re taking much more time but you’re going at your pace, not stuck behind large groups of people, in the overwhelming environment. You’re no longer following what everyone else is doing just for some false convenience. You keep walking and find your exit. You walk through by yourself, completely calm since you don’t have the stress of trying to be like everyone else. I used to follow the crowd. I would go under any idea of security and just keep going. Never questioning anything, like a brainless robot whose legs were programmed to play follow the leader. I wish I would have asked myself the question, who are you? Until I found my exit. I honestly believe you’ll have to take the long route or be stuck behind the crowd. It’s how it’s going to go. When I was 12, I bought my first branded shirt. It was a popular brand that everyone else wore. It was a long sleeve shirt that was navy in color...

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