GorillaOffTopic, Everything But Gorilla Trades

The Gorilla was simply shocked to hear this news! Believe it or not, a middle school in Maine has taken the initiative to “get involved” with kids at their school who may be having sex. The school located in Portland, Maine, is having a debate tomorrow night to decide whether or not it should offer birth control pills to it’s students. Richard Veilleiux is the executive director of the Maine Assembly On School-Based Health Care and has a 12 year old at the school himself. He says that it’s the “community’s job” to give kids services they need to remain healthy and strong. He believes that it is essentially the parent’s job to inform and talk with their children about having sex and the risks therein, but that unfortunately, many parents do not talk with their kids about it, leaving them at risk for having unsafe sex. He believes that this is where the community must step in.  Charmaine Yoest, of the Family Research Council, firmly disagrees. She says that this is a perfect example of the “soft bigotry of low expectations.” She says that by offering birth control we are not addressing other issues such as the health risks, not just pregnancy, that accompany having sex at any age. She says that an estimate 9 million kids between the ages of 15-24 are diagnosed each year with sexually transmitted diseases and that, statistically, when kids start having sex that young, they end up with multiple partners by the time they are in high school. Giving birth control to kids does not address these issues. She believe that this approach is simply “tragic.” The students at the school can sign up for school-based health care, and it can be given without the parents consent! The Gorilla asks: What is happening to our society, when the schools are giving out contraception to 11 year olds?

The Gorilla has been hearing a lot about a recent strain of Staph infections being spread throughout the country. Just today, a 17-year-old student died from a treatment-resistant staph infection, prompting officials to temporarily shut down 21 schools in Virginia in order to keep the illness from spreading. The boy developed Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, which seems to resist common forms of antibiotic and penicillin treatments, and can sometimes be deadly to humans. According to officials, in recent weeks, Staph infections, including the serious MRSA strain, have been spreading throughout schools nationwide. The infection is spread from skin to skin contact or by using an item of someone who is carrying the infection; most likely someone with an open wound. The deadly strain is showing up in gyms and locker rooms, where athletes, who possibly have cuts and abrasions, are sharing equipment. This is a scary concept to the Gorilla, and his heart goes out to this boy’s family at this time. It makes the Gorilla wonder what can be done, if anything, to protect our children at school, especially if these infections are resistant to most treatments.

You’ve come to the right place, that spot where we can freely discuss all things that are interesting - that have nothing to do with the stock market. This blog is created by The Gorilla, of GorillaTrades fame, however its the place to relax and talk about things outside of GorillaTrades. So enjoy, get involved, pipe up, and contribute.