The snowflakes that offend because they stand up to create a better world.

It is somewhat ironic that the so called snowflake generation is called that way not because they are actually weak, but because they are standing up to all those things that previous generations just didn't do. And while at times those stances have been taken to extremes, it could be said that many of their detractors don't like the idea that they younger people will question them, and act in order to stand against wrongs not only committed against them, but also to others.

When people who justify doing something is right, or wrong, by saying that is has been done a certain way for since they can remember miss the point that isn't justification to keep doing that way. Just because our grandparents, and parents, did something a certain way doesn't justify keep doing so if there is a better way to do so.

Just because bulling wasn't called out, doesn't mean we shouldn't call it out now. That it wasn't called that way before, it doesn't mean that it didn't exist. So with many things like homophobia, acts of racism, and so on. And just because they were tolerated before, it doesn't mean we have to keep tolerating them.

What offends many about the so called snowflake generation, is they are actually calling them out for what they are. And as such, they are making them face what they don't want to face, such as their own racism, classism and homophobia. The anger that people have against so called snowflakes, is that they are being forced to start treating others in ways that makes them feel that they stop having the control they had over them.

They no longer can just expect to be respected and listened to just because they are older, or have a position of authority. Now they have to earn that respect, and actually listen to those on the other side.

And having to do so, is something they never thought they would have to do.

Just one more thing needed to make the Innova Card really the card for urban mobility in Guadalajara.

For a while now, I've been using a card call Innova Card to pay my bus fare when going to work, and I'm find it to be practical. Yet, there is one thing that prevents me for using it to is full potential.

The card used to pay:

And that is the fact that I can't get credit to it easily, because the machines that from which I can do so are only available on the light train stations. There is plans to partner with a convenience store chain called Oxxo so one can recharge the card more easily, but one is left to wonder why this wasn't done sooner.

What makes so attractive to me, is the fact that I can use it to ride on the light train and all the bus routes I use to go almost everyone in the city. Meaning that I don't need to worry to have some spare change to be able to get to where I need, on more than one public transportation system. For what I gather, I could also use it on the Macrobus, which would make it even more valuable for me since it would be grant me access to all major public transportation modes in the Metropolitan area of Guadalajara.

To be honest, the card is one of those ideas that need can be a lot more practical and its getting there. Yet, it feels to be moving all to slowly.

At least is integrating all the public transportation systems in Guadalajara to a single way to pay for them, it just need to have a more practical way to top it off.

The Internet can empower the people.

The advent of the Internet is still changing how we interact not only with each other, but with governments, small business and corporations. Add to this the advent of smartphones, which allow us to access the Internet on the go, the dynamics of power and how society relates to the government and corporations, has changed in ways are still being determined.

While I'm hopeful that smartphones, and computers connected to the Internet, can empower the people, we are still learning of to effectively use it. I know that there are some people, and groups, that already know how to use it; there is a long way to go before a meaningful percentage of the population can actually use it effectively.

Part of it, is because the education system as a whole still hasn't figure out how to give people the tools needed to do so. While some school are ahead of the curve, most people don't get the education that would give them the tools to actually be able to use all the resource the Internet gives us to use it to the maximum potential.

There is hope, if we don't kill each other first.

The narrative is not only at the hands of the media, and the governments, any more.

With people carrying smartphones connected to the Internet with them basically all the time, everywhere they go, it has become a lot more easier for everyone to share abuses committed by people with power basically as they happen. As such, it has become a lot harder to keep those abuses hidden from the public.

As the protests that have been occurring around the world, the protestors themselves have been documenting their struggle and capturing what is going on around them in order to have evidence of how their protest are developing. Not only that, they are also bringing to light how the authorities respond to them.

It has become harder for media, and the governments, to keep control of the narrative. Now the people have a stronger, and louder, voice on how the story is shaped. Social media, and other online forums, have given the people the platforms we need not only to organize in a more organic way, but have a wider reach for our message and a bigger impact on how the story is told.

While there is still much to learn by the people on how to manage social movements using the Internet, there is hope that we are learning how to do so. What is important, is that people are talking about those movements and what they are looking to achieve.

People having access to smartphones to capture the moment, and also to transmit live what is going on has proven crucial to help capture our stories from the onset. And also tablets and laptops play a role by helping to bring together what is needed to transmit an even deeper, and polished, message in different medias to even more people.

I've hope that these tools will help us to change things in a deep way.

Two sides of humanity.

As the COVID-19 rages on, it seems that people can be fit into those willing to heed the warning of the medical experts, and do they can to prevent the spread of the decease as much as possible. Meanwhile, others seem to ignore all efforts to defeat the virus because they are inconvenienced by those efforts.

It seems that for the second group of people, their rights are all what matters and everyone else should act according not for what is needed, but for what they want to do. It seems that they cannot see beyond what they want now, in order to prevent the spreading of a decease that has proven to be deadly.

The idea that the lock downs, social distancing, and wearing mask is to prevent as many people possible from getting COVID-19 to begin is something those people don't seem to understand. People will get it, and some will lose their lives to the virus, but all the measures put into effect are meant to make them as few as possible. If all those measures are follow, also means that they can be lifted sooner since the virus will be control in a shorter period of time.

What make things worse, is we all have access to all the information needed to know why the measures are put into place work, and how they work. Yet, some choose to ignore them, all call them lies. As is by calling them lies will actually make them lies.

It would be foolish not to admit that there has been some mismanagement, and that there is misinformation being spread in social media and news outlets. But, those are not valid excuses not to do what we can to help combat COVID-19 and actually do some effort to look the information that is useful and sharing with those around us.

The more we do to flatten the curve of the spread of the virus, the sooner we all are going to be able to return to the lives we want.

A lack of critical thinking is hurting all of us.

One of the things that things that are sourly lacking in society, is how to critically think and how to process new information.

Sadly, it seems that many of the educational systems in place in many countries aren't focused in helping people to think critically in an independent way. Why information needs to be memorized, focusing in doing only that is not really helpful in the long run if people can take that information to brake it down to the base data to make new information when circumstances require it.

Pure memorization is only useful for particular circumstances, or take standardized tests that measure just that. But going on in life, it requires to be able to take that information to compare it to new one we receive in daily basis, and adapt both our beliefs and actions according to our new surroundings. Not being able to do so put not only those individuals at a disadvantage, but the whole society since we need all to be able to be capable to independently do so.

We need education systems that give students the knowledge they need, the ability to keep acquiring it, and to think critically by themselves. As we move forward as a society, there is a bigger need not only memorizing facts, but the ability to get to them by ourselves. If not, people won't be able to correctly react to new situations, or be able to understand why they are asked to act a certain way.

In the long run, we all will win by teaching most people to think critically.

Time is starting to drag on.

As the shelter-in place orders keep dragging on, things feel like they aren't changing that much lately. News seem to turn around the pandemic, with few other things seem to be happening.

Political events that could change the landscape, or business deals that could mean a big change moving forward are all focused on containing the pandemic. The economy not being kick stated out of fears that the pandemic might get worse, and as time goes on it will take longer to restart it.

The usual thing that people could do to distract themselves, are put on hold since sport and entertainment venues are closed. Not only that, places where people could gather or just get to for some distraction are not available.

Though with the content in the Internet and the ability to contact our loved ones without having to leave our homes has helped somewhat, they are not full substitutes for actually going out to meet people or distract ourselves from our daily routines.

Even for the few of us that still have the chance to go to work at our normal places, days seem not to be all that different. There are not much options for actually doing something to take us out of our daily routines.

All we can do is to keep doing our best to shorten the quarantine, by following the advice of doctors and nurses.

New opportunities are coming, but not all are going to be able to benefit from them.

The economic downturn that the COVID-19 shutdowns brought, are creating a lot of new opportunities in business and technological development. How many will be able to actually benefit from this new opportunities, will the ones who are positioning to take them as soon as they can.

Most of those who can actually able to take those positions, are the ones who already are in that position and those who have the flexibility to take those position in a timely manner. Those who will be most likely to do so, are those who are small enough to adapt to the new situations, and have the finances to be able to take them.

Not all small businesses could be benefited though, since they have been some of the hardest hit by the shutdowns. This means, that many of those who survive the shutdowns possibly won't have the best financial position to make the best of the new opportunities.

Freelancers on the other hand, could benefit greatly of the new opportunities. They could approach them in ways that businesses could not, allowing them a better shot to position themselves to take advantage of the new opportunities as they show up.

We are in a turning point, but with all the changes coming our way we might not see where this changes will take us.

The Internet is a public utility.

One thing that the COVID-19 shelter-in place orders have proven, is that people Internet access is vital to keep working and for children have to have keep getting an education.

No one can argue that access to the Internet is a luxury, since an access to an education and to work are considered human rights. For many people, having access to a Internet connection is the only way they can receive an education, or have a work that allows them to maintain themselves and their families. As such, access to the Internet has to be at least affordable for those people who need to be readily available to them.

It might not mean to have free access to the Internet everywhere, but it means that price of to such access can not be so expensive that it cut anyone to be able to access it.

Other thing that the shelter-in place order can prove to many employers, is the feasibility of many roles can be done remotely. This can have the consequence of more people working from home than ever before, since this could be a much better arrangement for everyone involved for many reasons.

On the education side of things, the Internet has already been an important complement for a vast number of students. What the shelter-in place order did, was highlight how important it is by making it the sole way students could not only have access the tools they need for homework, but the whole material since it is the only way teachers could actually give students the material they need to complete they classwork.

It has been proven beyond any doubt, that the Internet is a public utility, and is time to classify it as one.

People are starting to make a difference by shaping local policy.

One of the things I've noticed, and found quite interesting, is how people have become a lot more proactive not just holding each other about their actions; but also their local government and other representatives about their handling of the pandemic.

Not only that, in some cases they were at the front of not only proposing what actions to take, but of actually taking them before an official came out to enact such actions. People are becoming not only more socially conscious about the needs of their local neighborhoods, they are actively shaping policy and how it is enacted.

 

People finally become active participant not only sharing important information among themselves, but actually having a hand in shaping how governments respond. It is becoming quite hard for governments to hide what they respond, and how they do it.

Finally it seems that more people are becoming conscious that they can wield the power to shape the response of local governments. And this is a very significant, since the best place to see how much importance has civil participation, and where the results can be seen more readily and faster. There is no better place to set the example that people can actually make a difference in all aspects of our lives, and we should be the ones having the biggest say on how the government does things.

One of the most lasting effects of the pandemic, and one of its most positive ones, is create a precedent that what people does matters.

Home office might finally become more widespread.

One of the things that it seems could change significantly after the pandemic, is the way we work and collaborate with each other. With employers asking a higher percentage of their workforce to work from home, and the amount of time that people will have to fulfill their jobs this way, it quite likely that a significant percentage of the workforce might just keep working this way.

This could be beneficial not only for employers, and the employees, that fall in this arrangement. This could mean less people having to move on daily basis to their workplaces, alleviating some of the congestion we have on our cities, but also it could mean that by staying home they could spend a larger percentage of their income on local businesses of their neighborhoods. Not only that, quality of life could greatly increase by not having to commute and sharing more time with their families, or friends.

Not only employees could save money, and increase their quality of life. Employers could see the benefits of an increase profits by not having to support offices for all their staff, and more productivity by having happier staff working more effectively.

Not everyone will benefit directly from this, but in the long run this could be a better way of conducting business. The technology was already in place, but there was no real incentive for companies to implement remote working. Actually, many where reticent of doing so out of fear that their employees would abuse it. But now that everyone involved has to make it work, it might help to make the case that its a real option to move forward.

While we might still have to see how it pans out, home office might finally become more widespread.