The following is the opinion of the writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of RISE NEWS.
By Chuck Forbes
The decision to fire James Tracy, a professor at Florida Atlantic University, has stirred up a lot of buzz in South Florida and amongst the FAU community.
Tracy was let go by the University for claiming that the 2012 massacre of 26 people- including 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut was a staged hoax designed to pass gun-control legislation.
Even more outrage took place when Tracy sent a letter to Lenny and Veronique Pozner, parents of a six-year-old boy named Noah, who was killed in the shootings demanding that they show proof that he was indeed their son and that he ever lived in the first place.
The Pozner family never replied, claiming Tracy’s actions were outrageous and unsettling and filed a police report for harassment.
Upon not hearing back from Noah’s parents, Tracy took to his blog called Memory Hole and labeled the Pozner’s as “alleged parents,” ultimately leading up to his firing.
At the surface, this story is sad. A professor claiming a national tragedy as a hoax and going as far to call out the parents of a boy who passed away in the shootings.
But, if you always look at the surface you will never know how big the ‘iceberg’ really is.
The rest of this article may offend a few and cause comments to follow, but I am too passionate about this subject – because it has changed my life – to not speak about it.
Everything below is completely true and my hope is at the end of this article you are able to see below the surface and understand how Tracy’s way of thinking is what college students need more of.
Everything below is completely true and my hope is at the end of this article you are able to see below the surface and understand how Tracy’s way of thinking is what college students need more of.
While getting my degree in Marketing/Communications at FAU, I took three courses that James Tracy instructed.
I remember the first one was a three-hour class once a week. Within the first 30 minutes it was very apparent that Tracy did not teach like and was not like other professors. You could tell a million thoughts were racing through his mind during discussions. We would align our desks into a huge circle for group forums discussing politics, theories and the media.
Tracy would challenge students directly with questions and asides to comments. He would challenge students on their views so much, sometimes you could feel the anger boiling inside a student. We had a lot of awkward moments in class and a lot of times where Tracy would say something or make a point and leave us scratching our heads.
I remember after the first few classes I would leave with other students and we would make remarks walking down the breezeway like “What is that guy thinking?” or “I don’t know he seems really egotistical.”
I knew that Tracy had to be digging at something more, he had to have a purpose behind his madness. It wasn’t until a good month into his class that I realized why he did what he did.
James Tracy had his syllabus set up for students to grow their critical thinking skills. He challenged students with questions we couldn’t answer on purpose because he knew once we figured out where his counter-question came from we would open another point-of-view we never had before.
James Tracy taught us that if you only receive information, you will never be able to make a change, be a leader or think for yourself. You must receive, analyze and then counter back further explanation or questions.
This type of teaching and critical thinking is so important for personal development into your career. Up until college, I dominated grade school because the curriculum was a simple foundation. You learn a subject and take a test that spits the same information back at you. What is the freezing point for water? When did World War II start? Who was our 12th president? Etc.
This laid the foundation for what I needed next, the type of learning Tracy provided. When you learn how to think critically and look beyond what is being told to you, your brain opens a whole new world. No longer did I just accept something to be true because a source told me so.
No longer did I believe the initial purpose of an event just because everyone else thought so too. No longer did I think that actions, events and words couldn’t have a mass effect on our society, government and globalization. I began to think in layers. I began to control multiple scenarios in my head. I began to pick up on social and economical cues that I never did before.
I remember watching TV when FIFA chose Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup. I had friends next to me say exactly what the media did, “they’re trying to expand the game to new parts of the world.”
I looked at them and laughed and said, “No, they’re trying to extend their pockets to own the world.” The FIFA scandal came out shortly after.
Tracy taught our class to ask questions. Simple as that. Why are commercials louder than TV shows? Why does my technology break down after a certain point? Why is instilling fear in a society good for a government?
There has never been and will never be a crime to ask a question. Do not just receive – you must also analyze and figure out more. This mentality has allowed me to be great at proofing work, finding better solutions, communicating items through multiple departments of a company, and keeping a loyal circles of friends.
Thinking critically and asking questions as Tracy taught, is not just what conspiracy theorists do – it’s what successful, keen people do.
I am not a conspiracy theorist and I do not agree with all of James Tracy’s actions.
I am not a conspiracy theorist and I do not agree with all of James Tracy’s actions. However, I will ask questions, I will break down a situation, I will try and uncover motives of the parties involved, I will look at history to predict your next move, I will ask you to prove necessary items, I will not be naïve and think that I am the only one who knows something, I will not take anything for face value, I will analyze information given and plot all angles of the situation – all traits that are brewed from learning what Tracy teaches.
For example, too many people focus on the conspiracy theorist’s physical being – honestly if you don’t like someone, who cares?
It’s the system in which they think that is the real gold mine. If you don’t want to believe 9/11 is a conspiracy – don’t! But at the same time, if you’re not willing to take their thinking into account and apply it to what you need in life – you may find yourself walking the same path as others. You will never challenge yourself, never grow and never be innovative. All traits that people strive for everyday.
I shared my feelings about this subject, as I always do with my people I knew from my Alma Mater, on Facebook.
Below are real comments from people (names excluded) from a post I made on the subject.
The comments and my responses to them will hopefully shed more light into my thinking on this.
“He is disgusting for ever even saying what he said. Vote for whoever you want, say what you want (to an extent) don’t bring innocent lives lost and their families into more of a heartache…”
This comment leads to the point of not having the ability to ask questions. Again, I don’t believe Tracy’s actions in sending a letter to Noah’s parents is right. However, if you lack the capacity to even think or understand why someone would – you’re missing another side of the story. Tracy doesn’t care about embarrassing a family, he cares about opening people’s eyes to realize that sometimes there is a larger purpose behind tragedies. Sometimes events are staged. And sometimes it’s OK to ask if they are, because if you abandon that thinking all together, you leave yourself vulnerable to manipulation.
“He might’ve been a good professor, but he might also be a sociopath. So yeah, I think he deserved to lose his job.”
He might be a sociopath? So, it’s not OK for someone to ask or even claim (which is an opinion) that Sandy Hook is a hoax, yet it is OK to generalize people into categories because we don’t understand how they think? Got it…
“The name of the class was ‘Conspiracy Theories’. Then he got fired for talking about conspiracy theories lol. God bless America. I took this guy for a semester. The first thing he says to the class is to open your mind and not be a sheep. He then explains that these are just theories and none of it is proven facts.” I can also confirm this is true – first day of every class he clearly said that we were diving into sensitive issues and what would be talked about is theory, opinion and the media.
Perhaps it’s different for others, but when I was in college I longed for lectures and classes like I read about in books or saw in movies. Classes that students were so engaged with and concerned about. Classes that made you feel like a new person afterwards. Classes that were so different they were borderline crazy! That was Tracy, I knew every time I would leave with a deeper understanding of new ways to think. James Tracy never tried to turn anybody into a conspiracy theorist. He could care less what you thought. He taught class to give you that “awe” moment, to make the light bulb go off and say “Wow! I never thought of that but it could make sense.”
Sending a certified letter demanding proof of the Pozner’s child was too far. However, instead of filing a police report I wish they would have used that time to write Tracy back, document it on social media and show that he is wrong. That would have ended his whole theory and shown his students that his way of thinking is just that – an opinion.
Then we could have shed light on what matters – asking questions about events that have a large impact, even if you’re proven wrong. At least you then know the truth and you set a foundation that hoaxes, lies or anything of the sort will not go unnoticed.
FAU may have lost a ‘crazy person’ but they lost an even better professor.
Cover Photo Credit: Florida International University
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My Parents Couldn’t Afford Health Care Until The Affordable Care Act. Please Don’t Take It Away From Them
If President Trump repeals the Affordable Care Act (ACA), both of my parents will lose their care.
Right now, I’m sitting at the airport in Kansas City, waiting to board my flight back to Washington.
I spent the weekend advocating for the ACA in Topeka with the Save My Care campaign and Senator Bernie Sanders.
Since the ACA became law in 2010, Republicans have called for repealing it ad nauseam.
Now that they hold the White House and both chambers of Congress, they have promised to act swiftly in scrapping health care.
They claim that it isn’t helping people, and that it costs too much.
But the reality is that repealing the ACA means as many as 30 million Americans would lose their care — my parents included. Further, rolling back the law would actually increase the federal deficit by $353 billion over 10 years.
That said, the most important consideration concerning ACA repeal is how this would affect the lives of everyday Americans.
We must focus our attention on how repealing health care could be the difference between pain and suffering, and wellbeing and happiness.
The Kitchel family.
Both of my parents are self-employed.
My father is a landscaper and my mother operates our small family farm.
Growing up, I was privileged to always have access to health care because California’s Healthy Families program provided an affordable option for children in working class families.
My parents only had to pay about $12 per month to cover my brother and me.
However, given my parents’ working class income level, purchasing their own health insurance was beyond what they could afford.
My mother hadn’t had health care coverage since I was a baby. My father hadn’t had coverage since he was in college in the 1970s.
Both of my parents work blue-collar professions that require a great deal of manual labor.
Every week, my father can be found digging ditches, installing sprinkler systems, laying sod, and planting trees.
While I was a kid, I remember several occasions when he severely injured his back.
Given that he didn’t have health care coverage, he didn’t see a doctor.
The result was chronic back pain that he still experiences today.
When I say my mother manages our family farm, by that I mean that she plants the crops, tends to the crops, and ultimately harvests and sells the crops — all by herself.
This often-grueling work has resulted in a rotator cuff tear and back pain.
She could not afford to see a doctor about these injuries and therefore has endured long-lasting pain.
If my parents had been able to afford health insurance throughout their careers, I can’t help but think about all the pain and suffering that would have otherwise been preventable.
Everything changed when the Affordable Care Act became law in 2010.
For the first time in decades, my parents could afford health insurance.
They started visiting the doctor again, both to address existing conditions and to receive preventative care.
Given that they are growing older now, both in their 60s, preventative care is critically important.
Sen. Bernie Sanders with the author.
The fact that President Trump and congressional Republicans are playing politics with my parents’ health absolutely infuriates me.
And compared to many Americans who would be impacted by an ACA repeal, my parents are relatively well off.
I think about those who have chronic conditions, where access to care is literally the difference between life and death.
The fact that Republicans would put these folks’ lives at risk, simply for political gain, is the most disdainful excuse for governance that I can imagine.
As Senator Bernie Sanders said in Topeka, KS:
“We are working overtime to tell Republicans in Congress: You are not going to repeal the Affordable Care Act!”
This is a fight that I plan to see through to the very end. I hope you’ll join me.
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in the world. You can write for us.
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Can This Video Game Change Your Ideology?
I’m a firm believer that interactive media can elicit stronger emotional effects than just reading a book or watching a movie.
But can playing video games change someone’s perspective on war and the refugee crisis?
Many video games feature war or armed conflict as a central inclusion to their story arc. War facilitates a reason to shoot people, defend a base, or just kick some ass.
And you’ll almost always be completing your objectives as part of the in-game military or government.
This War of Mine: The Little Ones uniquely puts you in control of those most vulnerable during war, the civilians.
Without much instruction, the game thrusts you into an abandoned house, one where you and your randomly selected group of survivors must hunker down until a ceasefire.
The problem is, you don’t know when that day will come.
Through my three playthroughs thus far, none of the groups I was given made it to the end.
The difficulty spikes in the game come from the unexpected nature of every encounter.
One night may be completely calm and routine, but following the next day, half of your group could be lethally wounded by raiders that also stole most of your supplies.
The setting of This War of Mine is all too real.
Gameplay from This War Of Mine: The Little Ones.
It’s inspiration comes from the Siege of Sarajevo, a battle for the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina that represented the longest siege of a capital in modern history.
Lasting for 1,425 days between 1992 and 1995, the siege claimed the lives of more than 10,000 people.
This War of Mine recreates the danger the Bosnian war presented by blocking off previously loot filled areas with fights and sniper fire.
The Little Ones add-on even subjects children to these perils.
The horrifically recognizable sniper alley of the Siege of Sarajevo manifests itself in “sniper junction” an in-game scavenger location, and tragic odes to the real-world travesty are seen everywhere in the game.
While slightly underutilized, the inclusion of children into the game hammers home one of the game’s central selling points; “In war kids are still kids”.
I often used their inclusion in the game to warrant the atrocities I committed. I didn’t want to add to the bodies littering the city, but I soon realized I had to kill in order to live.
I found no joy in robbing an elderly couple in order to feed my group of survivors. I tried to morally justify it by saying that they had lived a long life and that my group was still young.
I often risked too much for a simple set of bandages or basic crafting supplies, and got my best scavenger killed in the process.
I gathered toys for the children instead of feeding my group for the day, causing one of the adults to become immobile from starvation for several days.
I chose not to intervene when a soldier was attempting to rape a woman.
I decided the supplies were more important and the risk of being shot was too great.
And those were the choices I had the most control over.
I didn’t get to choose who would attack me on sight.
I made no decision as to whether I would be raided multiple nights in a row.
I especially had no choice when my first playthrough ended because my final survivor killed himself.
Gameplay from This War of Mine: The Little Ones
This War of Mine: The Little Ones is not a fun, light-hearted romp.
It is a grossly realistic look into the human element of war, including the often forgotten or downplayed numbers of civilians trapped by shelling and snipers.
While the Siege of Sarajevo took place more than 20 years ago, present day wars still ravage humanity in places like Aleppo, Syria.
Video games existed two decades ago, but their arguably mainstream appeal today would allow games like This War of Mine: The Little Ones to have a widespread impact on our collective thinking.
Will one game alter the perspectives of everyone who plays it?
I doubt it.
But games like This War of Mine have created a new entry point to dialogues on touchy subjects such as the refugee crisis.
You can’t solve a problem without first addressing its existence and I see video games as a way to shine light on the iniquitous pieces of humanity, whether they dwell in the past, present or future.
This story was originally published on ThePolyglot.net.
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in the world. You can write for us.
Photo Credits: 11 bit studios
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Acknowledging Our Built In Biases Can Make Us Stronger And More Tolerant
By Zac Head
My name is Zac,
I am not a person of color. I am not female. I am not a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
I have not truly experienced poverty. I will likely never know what it is like to be a member of any of these groups.
I am a straight, white male, whose household income is significantly above the poverty line.
I grew up with happily married parents who were always very supportive of me.
I have broken laws, and been sent away from at least two encounters with law enforcement with “warnings”.
I have benefited from biases of others based on race, gender, social class, and sexuality.
I am privileged.
While I value all human life equally, recognize the sacred worth of every individual, and know that we are all God’s children, made in the image of God, and equally loved by God,
I have biases that affect the way I perceive people of color.
I have biases that affect the way I perceive females.
I have biases that affect the way I perceive people with different religious and political views than my own.
While these biases are most often subconscious, I am aware that they exist and that they cause damage in relationships and the lives of others.
My mind often feels threatened by those who are different than myself.
My mind often feels threatened by black masculinity.
I am aware of my biases and constantly fight against them.
I pray for deliverance from my biases.
Through prayer and conscious effort I have experienced deliverance from bias bit by bit, but if I am being honest I may never completely leave these biases behind.
All I can do is try each day to only see people for the children of God that they are.
Until we can acknowledge our biases we will continue to teach these biases to our children.
Until we can acknowledge our biases, it should be no surprise that those against whom we are biased will suffer.
Until we acknowledge the issue of black masculinity being perceived as dangerous, black men will continue to die from violence (with and without police involvement) at a higher rate than white men.
Until we acknowledge the issue of black masculinity being perceived as dangerous, little black boys will continue to grow up being told by the media that they are more likely to be violent than their white counterparts.
Until we acknowledge the issue of black masculinity being perceived as dangerous, we should not be surprised when this cycle continues.
I can never know what it feels like to be black, a woman, or someone who grew up in poverty.
All I can do is try my very best to listen to others who have those perspectives, acknowledge the worth of these perspectives and individuals, and live in such a way that teaches my daughter to move past biases while doing my very best to keep certain biases from forming in our household.
Today, I acknowledge my biases.
Today, I pray for deliverance (my own and that of our society) from these biases.
Today I am proud to see so many young people standing up for what Is right and am filled with hope for the future.
Forgive us, oh God of grace, for failing to see your image in one another.
Zac Head is a pastor at Mount Hebron United Methodist Church in Beaverton, AL.
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in public affairs. You can write for us.
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3 comments on Sandy Hook Denying Professor Was The Best Sort Of Teacher Imaginable According To This Former Student
Comments are closed.
This is one of the worst defenses of a truly deplorable individual that I have read in a long time. It is not at all respectable to praise a man for thinking critically for the act of denying the massacre at Newtown and pushing conspiracies about gun violence. It doesn’t matter at all what his teaching strategies were like – he is an objectively awful person in the way he has taunted families who lost children to gun violence, and pushed conspiracies about other tragedies. I can’t decide if this piece is more ignorant or naive, or equally both. There is always room for debates and ideas, but I think it has to be balanced out with respect for history, tragedies, and the families involved – imagining one of those families reading this piece, I can’t help but think about how about insulting it is to them to justify Tracy’s actions and ideas by pushing them as a good example of critical thinking. Yes, we should always question, always ask for facts and information, but there are extremes. Tracy is far into that extreme.
Great Read. A lot of people completely miss the point of this because their minds can only think on a one-way street. He’s not saying that every tragedy is a conspiracy – but it IS possible to have conspiracies, it IS possible for a tragedy to be staged for another objective, it IS possible for things to be fabricated and given out to the media for us to consume. So if it IS possible, then why in the world would you ignore it? That’s our right as Americans to know truths, be able to have freedom to ask questions and know what is really going on. Respect for history?? You would be disrespecting our history if you didn’t exercise your right to speak out and ask these questions.
There is nothing wrong with thinking critically and questioning things that happen in the world. It is a skill that should be taught and grown by teachers, not just in universities, but in high schools. I do not know this man and have never taken a class of his, so I can say little about his teaching methods.
That being said, what he did was vile, and your defense of him is downright insulting. Espousing a theory that Sandy Hook and other mass murders are hoaxes is one thing. He has the constitutional right to do that. However, bringing emotional distress to people is a different story. My “conspiracy theory” about James Tracy is that he did this to gain notoriety and his 15 minutes of fame. He is no better than people who deny the Holocaust, and no more correct.