What Russia Has Taught Us During the 2014 Winter Olmypics

By James Mendez

University of North Texas

Mayborn School of Journalism

As the Olympics proceed in Sochi, Russia so do the headlines. If we take a leap back in time to three weeks ago before the Olympics started we find the usual “Olympic drama” was definitely not going to miss out on the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Via English Club

If you have been living under a rock, or in your parent’s basement, for the last 6 months, let me update you on what I am talking about.

Back in June of 2013 the Russian Parliament passed a bill that was, and remains to be, one of the most anti-gay pieces of legislation ever passed.

The bill, that was passed on June 30, 2013, bans the, "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations to minors," according to Polymic.com.

The bill also bans gay pride parades, imposes fines to gay right activists and also denies registration to gays looking to join nongovernmental organizations.

When I first saw the following headline, I definitely had to take a second look to make sure what I was reading was actually there. I could not believe that in today’s world, a government would come out and blatantly discriminate against the homosexual community.

Via Huffington Post

Now I will admit that I am personally not a huge supporter of gay rights, however I do believe that all people were created equal, and therefore, should be treated equally.

With that being said, I totally disagree with the Russian Parliaments decision. From a PR perspective I feel like they sunk their own ship. Russia almost immediately felt the backlash from not only Europe but from Barrack Obama Himself.

And while I do not usually agree with anything President Obama says, I do have to agree with him on this one.

Russia made a terrible decision, and to make it worse made that decision when their country was in one of the grandest spotlights, the Winter Olympics.

Since this unraveling, Russia has tried to make things right with the homosexual community, yet, has failed again.

As I mentioned in my last post, we live in a multicultural, multilingual, gay/straight world, and in my opinion, the best option we have is to accept it.

Let's Keep America Beautiful

By James Mendez

University of North Texas

Mayborn School of Journalism

Last semester I took an advertising class and for our final group project we were asked to discuss a brand that we felt had a major influence on Americans. With that in mind, we decided to look into the Coca-Cola brand. What we found is that not only is Coke a major influencer in America, but that the Coke brand has an influence worldwide. 

This was recently brought to light in the recent Coca-Cola super bowl ad. The advertisement, entitled “America Is Beautiful,” shows a diverse group of Americans engaging in everyday activities.

I will admit that the first time I saw the ad the volume was on mute, however the ad seemed totally normal. To me, Coca-Cola was showing how diverse of a country America truly is. It gave me a sense of community. The term “one love” came to mind and for a minute I felt as though America was actually taking a step in the right direction when it came to the acceptance of different races.

Then I checked my Twitter feed. I was dumbfounded to find so many hate-filled tweets such as…

Via Mediaite

This definitely threw me off and after reading through over a dozen disgusting tweets, I went back and watched the ad with the volume to see what the fuss was all about.

What I discovered was that the Coca-Cola ad featured the song, “America The Beautiful” which was sung in eight different languages. While the ad itself did not shock me, the level of ignorance in America today did.

People were outraged that Coca-Cola would defame such a beautiful American song by having it sung in different languages when the fact remains that each and every American either came from another country or is the descendent of someone who did.

Today, America is a cultural melting pot. We are a bilingual and bicultural country who, more often than not, prides itself on being accepting of others. To see so many people speak out so negatively about the commercial truly upset me.

While I can understand why some people are upset about the song being sung in different languages, I can not understand why people have to react in such a hateful way.

I totally back Coca-Cola and their decision to go through with the ad. America has come a long way over the past 60 years when it comes to race relations; lets continue to take steps forward and not backward.