The legendary singer and guitarist Eric Clapton was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times. Once as a solo act and two other times as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. In an interview with The Real Music Observer (Transcribed by Ultimate Guitar), the musician criticized the institution calling it a "frat boys club". He also said that artists like J.J. Cale and Paul Rodgers should definitely be inducted. Eric Clapton criticizes the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame "I came to that thing, whatever it is. I think of it as a frat boys club that happened to lure in. And I think the fact that they had Ahmet Ertegun (Atlantic Records president and chairman of RRHF) was the ticket for me. He was doing it for people like Ruth Brown and The Drifters, all those early Atlantic artists that were being forgotten." "And then, it just kind of started to snowball. I was very suspicious because, obviously, the (Rolling Stone) magazine was involved. My dear friend Robbie (Robertson) was also part of the ticket. I thought, 'Well, he was the one that persuaded me to do it.'" "(Then) I did it with Jack and Ginger. I remember the day we (Cream) rehearsed for the show because we were going to play a song after we've been inducted. And something happened, and people were there. The techs that were in the room with us had never seen us play." "We haven't seen one another for 20 years, and we clicked immediately into the group that we had always had. And it was magic, and I thought, 'Okay, if this is why we're doing this Rock and Roll Hall, then I'll go with it," Eric Clapton said. Why J.J. Cale and Paul Rodgers were not inducted according to Clapton https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNUJSuO-lgw "But the fact that someone like J.J. has never even been suggested is proof of what that thing is or proof of what it isn't. It's not like he'll ever come up. It's not their thing. I don't know what their thing is. But he's too anonymous for those guys." Then he talked about Paul Rodgers (Free, Bad Company): "He's a rebel. It's not a place for rebels. It's establishment stuff." J.J. Cale was an American musician who was a huge influence to artists like Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, Neil Young and Waylon Jennings. Two Eric Clapton hits, for example: "Cocaine" and "After Midnight" were written and originally recorded by Cale. Another famous song is "Call Me The Breeze", which was covered by Lynyrd Skynyrd on their second album "Second Helping" In 1974.The post Eric Clapton criticizes the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame appeared first on Rock And Roll Garage.

The legendary Pink Floyd guitarist and singer David Gilmour is currently promoting his new solo album "Luck and Strange" and in an interview with ITV News he said that people that expect a Pink Floyd reunion can "dream on" because it's not gonna happen. He also talked about the Oasis reunion and their dynamic ticket pricing. David Gilmour talks about Oasis and Pink Floyd reunion He was first asked by the interview where are all the bands nowadays, because that's something that many fans ask. “That was part of what was a golden age. There were a lot of record companies who had ideologies that involved them investing money in the futures of young, talented people.That doesn’t seem to be here right now in the same sort of way, unfortunately. (Due to) greed, maybe? Short-term thinking, I suppose is what I would say,” David Gilmour said. He then was asked about a possible Pink Floyd reunion and his answer was: “Dream on (About a Pink Floyd reunion). I mean, it’s not gonna happen. There’s only three people left and we’re not talking, and are unlikely to. So it’s not gonna happen.” Gilmour was also asked what was his opinion on the Oasis reunion and he replied: “I think Oasis should do exactly what they want to do. I’m not sure about his strange ticketing thing that’s going on. I think they should put a price on tickets and stick to it.” He won't play many 70s Pink Floyd songs on his next tour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMSCBa4BnM8 After nine years David Gilmour will finally be back on the road to promote his new album and he revealed in a recent interview with Rolling Stone that he won't perform many 70s Pink Floyd songs. He said that he will play songs like “Wish You Were Here” and “Comfortably Numb” but he is probably not doing “Money”. “One has to wake up to reality once in a while. I think I will be doing one or two things from that time, but it just seems so long ago. I know people love them, and I love playing them. I’ll be doing ‘Wish You Were Here,’ of course I will. And some of the things that started with me anyway. Yeah, quite likely (I will play “Comfortably Numb”. Quite likely.” He was then asked about songs like “Breathe”, “Time” and “Money” and said: “I don’t think I’ll be doing “Money.’ If that’s your reason for coming…” About playing the entire new album, the musician said: “Not in one piece. I haven’t really worked it out yet. We haven’t started rehearsals. I’ve started working on set lists and how I want the show to progress, but it’s not set in stone yet,” David Gilmour said.The post David Gilmour talks about Oasis and Pink Floyd reunion appeared first on Rock And Roll Garage.

Elton John started his musical career in the 60s being part of many bands and also working as a session musician. His solo debut album was released in 1969 and he became a huge superstar in the early 70s with the release of influential albums like “Madman Across the Water” (1971) and “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” (1973). The musician was always interested in what was happening in the music business and is famous for going to record stores almost every week to buy albums. So over the decades he talked about many bands and artists, including The Beach Boys and Brian Wilson. What is Elton John's opinion on The Beach Boys and Brian Wilson Known for the incredible melodies he created to fit the lyrics written by Bernie Taupin, Elton John always admired bands that created beautiful melodies. So The Beach Boys are obviously one of them and he praised the band's mastermind Brian Wilson multiple times over the decades. As pointed on Brian Wilson's official website, the groundbreaking album "Pet Sounds" is one of his favorite ones. "Pet Sounds is a landmark album. For me to say that I was enthralled would be an understatement. I had never heard such magical sounds, so amazingly recorded. It undoubtedly changed the way that I, and countless others, approached recording. It is a timeless and amazing recording of incredible genius and beauty." He had the chance to meet Wilson and even recalled once in an interview with Howard Stern that the Beach Boys member tried to sell him his piano. Elton was the one who inducted Brian into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. He said in his speech (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage): “As you might possibly guess, I’m English. In England, we sort of had all our own bands and all the American R&B music. But The Beach Boys were the first or the first white band I can remember being in England. If you live in England all you ever wanted to do was going to America. Everything you ever dreamed of was American.” He continued: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NADx3-qRxek&pp=ygUOZ29kIG9ubHkga25vd3M%3D “This band not only wrote great songs, initially writing surf music but they did more than that. As a musician, you graduated from just listening to pop songs to bands that produce new sounds and records. This band were geniuses, they still are. But they made me love America so much more because they existed. I’m not gonna go on about it but to me, they influenced my writing. They are for me what America is: a very, very, wonderful place to be,” Elton John said. A few years later, in 2001, Elton had the chance to perform songs like “Wouldn’t Be Nice” and “God Only Knows” alongside Brian Wilson. That performance happened during an All-Star tribute to Wilson. Brian Wilson once said he would like to be Elton John https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhnZEmnuzgM&pp=ygUoc2F0dXJkYXkgYWxyaWdodCBmb3IgZmlnaHRpbmcgZWx0b24gam9obg%3D%3D In an interview with Mojo Magazine back in 2021, Brian Wilson was asked which famous artist he would like to be if he could choose. Curiously, his answer was Elton John. “That’s a hard question. I’d have to put Elton John at the top of that list because of his voice and he is great on piano. I admire him as a person too.” After picking the legendary British pianist, songwriter and singer Elton John, Wilson was asked to name his favorite “Saturday Night Record. Again, he chose an Elton John track. “Anything rock ‘n’ roll is a great Saturday night record, all kinds. I can’t really pin one down. How about ‘Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting’? That’s a good one from Elton,” Brian Wilson said.The post What is Elton John’s opinion on The Beach Boys and Brian Wilson appeared first on Rock And Roll Garage.

Listen, just about every act on “America’s Got Talent” is emotionally impactful in its own unique way. But none have left viewers completely wrecked quite like one from last night’s episode (Sept 11).Sky Elements has continuously wowed the “AGT” crowd with impressive drone shows, but for their semi-finals performance, the group carried out a breathtaking outdoor show which was dedicated to member Preston Ward's late infant daughter, Briley Rose.As the song “Butterfly” by Liv Meola played in the background, the lit up drones depicted the image of a father and his little girl playing together. But as the father throws her up into the air, she turns into a butterfly and flies away.Still, the poignant piece ended on a hopeful note, for as the father began crying, the butterfly flew around a giant rose, landed on the father’s finger and then transformed into an exalted phoenix.When even the characteristically stoic Simon Cowell is left speechless, you know something profound took place. Watch below: - YouTube www.youtube.com After an immediate standing ovation, Cowell, visibly moved, could not find the words. “That was, uh … That was, um — oh, gosh,” were all that came out before he let the other judges have their turn speaking. Howie Mandel managed to share his appreciation for the loving tribute, noting how fitting that it came on Sept 11, marking a day in which so many people lost loved ones. "I can't thank you enough for this," he said. "And I'm looking at your family members... There isn't an act that just moves your heart this much, and you just broke us."Meanwhile, Vergara eloquently said what we’re all thinking: “I mean, who knew that drones could make you so emotional? That was a surprise. That was so beautiful! That was, like, heartfelt, and I mean, I don't even know what to say. Congratulations! What a beautiful, beautiful job.”Even host Terry Crews would later open up about how much the performance resonated. In an exclusive interview with People, he shared “Me and my wife, we know what it's like to lose a child. We've had three miscarriages. It's one of those things where it was so meaningful and special because the dedication is just, it's a way to process these things.”It wasn’t just the live audience or judges moved to tears by Sky Elements’ performance. Just take a look at some of these comments from Youtube.“This act really made me cry because we are living in a world where we are dealing with the loss of our people, our family, our friends who have passed and to those who lost someone in their heart, my heart goes out to all of you.”“I was crying this whole act. It depicts the sadness of losing the people we loved most.”“Gosh! The loss of her daughter and put into this spectacular drone show is just heartbreaking. Got me in tears.”“OMG! I had a lump in my throat and tears were flowing. I was sobbing. What a sad story told in a beautiful way.”“They really outdid themselves with this performance. This isn't the type of thing I would watch much of but the pairing of the song and the imagery turned on some tears. It was magic. Well done.”After the performance, Ward shared that the group hoped their act “we really hope and wish that somebody that needs a little hope got something from that.”Safe to say—mission accomplished.

Americans are 25 times more likely to be shot than those who live in any other high-income country. An average of 327 Americans are shot every day and of those, on average 117 will die. America is the only country with more firearms than civilians, with 121 for every 100 residents.The problem of gun violence in America has been raging for decades without any substantial new federal laws being passed to help curb the problem. This has led many Americans to reluctantly accept this grim fact of life, even though they live in one of the wealthiest and most advanced countries in the world. On the platform, a TikTok user named Ryann (@RyannPdatsme), a registered nurse from Nashville, Tennessee, who documents her journeys with her husband, Ramon, on the platform, shared a novel approach to solving the gun violence problem in America. Although she delivers it in a flippant tone, the idea has been seriously considered in high places.Ryann’s solution to America’s never-ending problem: Gun insurance.Warning: Strong language. @ryannpdatsme “Call me radical, but I think the gun should start to have to have insurance policies. Sorry. That's my solution,” she begins her video. “If I gotta insure my Honda Civic, you need to insure your gun. As with anything valuable in this life, your health, your phone, your house, your car, you insure it. If your guns are valuable to you, it shouldn't be a problem to insure them.”Ryann believes that if guns are insured, people will be more responsible with them to keep their premiums low and to keep their coverage. She told Upworthy that the idea has been around “since mass shootings began,” and has been examined by serious political think tanks such as the Cato Institute. “If you're at my house and you fall off my roof, that's on my home insurance policy, right?” Ryann asks.”If you're playing with my gun and you shoot somebody, that's on my gun insurance policy, right? I ain't gonna let just anybody have my gun. Hell, no. I pay insurance on this.”She believes that once the financially and politically powerful insurance companies get involved, gun laws will change quickly to reduce their liability. “Somebody does something stupid with their gun, then guess who's gotta pay for it? The insurance company,” Ryann continues. “And that's gonna regulate some sh*t real fast.”someone on tiktok said that gun insurance should be mandatory and exactly like car/home insurance and honestly that is so brilliant, why hasn’t anyone thought of that— anna (@slayerfests) September 11, 2024 Insuring guns will also give law enforcement more power to take guns away from irresponsible people. “If the police catch you out with a gun that doesn't have insurance on it, they can take it, you gotta go to court,” Ryann says. “Get insurance on it or prove you had insurance on it. You get your gun back 'cause you're a responsible gun owner.”Ryann’s video went mega-viral with over 12 million views. Even some gun owners thought it was a great idea to make people more responsible. “As an owner of one, I approve. It’s a responsible and reasonable solution. And you’re right, the insurance companies will lobby for legislation when it impacts their bottom line,” one commenter wrote. “This is the best system I’ve heard so far. We own many, mostly for hunting but also self-defense. We are responsible owners, but we agree that something needs to be tightened. I like this,” another commenter added.New Jersey residents hoping to carry guns in public would be required to buy insurance and complete gun-safety training under a measure to be introduced on Thursday. If enacted, the steps would represent some of the strictest gun rules in the U.S. https://t.co/FIe7klmync— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 13, 2022 Ryann may think her idea is “radical,” but two different municipalities have recently tried to implement it. New Jersey passed a law requiring gun owners to carry liability insurance due to go into effect on July 1, 2023, but U.S. District Judge Renée Marie Bumb blocked it. Judge Bumb said that the law infringed on the right to bear arms. "The insurance mandate does regulate who can carry firearms in public," she wrote.The city of San Jose, California, passed a similar law in 2022, but it has been mired in legal battles since then.San Jose unanimously passes a law requiring gun owners to carry liability insurance & pay into a fund to offset city's cost of gun violence. Can still bear arms per 2A but Constitution doesn't require taxpayers to foot the bill. Hopefully this is a model for the rest of the US.— Rich Engstrom (@rdengstrom) July 3, 2021 Gun violence is a serious issue in American life and many feel very passionate about the subject. Even though Ryann touched the third rail of American politics, most of the responses to her video have been positive. “I think most Americans (gun owners or not) are ready for change when it comes to guns and firearms in this country,” she told Upworthy. “My favorite response was someone commenting, ‘American problems require American solutions.’ There have been many comments questioning the feasibility of the idea. To them I say, what is your solution? We have spent years watching this problem grow with no end in sight. I welcome constructive criticism as long as the goal is ending mass shootings and making America safer tomorrow than it is today,” she continued.Ryann’s informative but lighthearted video was an engaging way of looking at the serious topic, but she was serious when she said her solution may be a “last ditch” effort to solve the problem of gun violence in America.“Ultimately, money is what makes our country go round. Insurance companies are some of the biggest lobbying groups in Washington, D.C. By showing them they can make money off keeping Americans safe from gun violence, we may be able to make effective changes to our gun laws,” she told Upworthy. “Other ideas have already been proposed and ‘shot down’ by the NRA and the politicians they lobby in Congress. If we could pin two huge lobbying organizations against each other, we may be able to make change in our country.”

Costco is beloved by its customers for many reasons, from quality items at wholesale prices to the way the company cares for its employees. But one Costco staple in particular has earned the loyalty of customers like no other—the $1.50 hot dog meal.At a time when you can easily drop $10 to 15 on a single fast food meal, spending $1.50 on a delicious, jumbo, all-beef hot dog plus toppings plus a large soda almost feels like highway robbery. And we have one man—and his direct death threat—to thank for it. The Costco hot dog debuted in 1985 at $1.50 and the price has remained unchanged in the nearly 40 years since. Former Costco CEO Craig Jelinek once tried to broach the subject of increasing the price in response to inflation with one of the store's co-founders, Jim Sinegal. It didn't go so well. The infamous Costco hot dog death threatAs Jelinek recalled in a 2018 interview, “I came to [Jim Sinegal] once and I said, ‘Jim, we can’t sell this hot dog for a buck fifty. We are losing our rear ends.’ And he said, ‘If you raise the effing hot dog, I will kill you. Figure it out.’"Okay then. Costco food court hot dogs are 100% beef.Photo credit: bob walker from London, UKSinegal, now 88, told the Seattle Times in 2009 that if the price on the hot dog combo ever goes up, it means he's dead. He told the paper:"It’s amazing how creative we have been to figure out ways to keep the price down. It was a Sinai hot dog, and now it’s a Kirkland Signature hot dog. It’s actually 4.4 ounces, so it’s slightly bigger than a quarter pound now. It’s a drink and a free refill on the drink for a buck fifty. We used to sell the soda in a can, and we put in soda machines, which took the price down. We improved the cost of the condiments, we’ve purchased better on buns and things like that.It’s the same quality hot dog, all beef, the best ingredients that you can imagine. I know it sounds crazy making a big deal about a hot dog, but we spend a lot of time on it…When you get customers who are that delighted with something, it’s worth your time and energy to make it work…We’re known for that hot dog. That’s something you don’t mess with.” Costco sells its hot dog combo for a song at locations around the world.Photo by Grant Beirute on UnsplashWhen, if ever, will Costco raise its hot dog meal price? Surely, there has to be a breaking point, though, right? Loss leaders are common in the retail business, but no one would bat an eye if the hot dog went up, say, 50 cents. Even at double its current price point, it would still be a ridiculously cheap meal. You can't even get the soda for $1.50 anywhere else. Can Costco really keep selling this combo without even breaking even? It's a legitimate question, especially with Costco's four-decade Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti stepping down in the spring of 2024. As the longest-serving CFO of a major U.S. public company, Galanti has overseen pretty much the entirety of Costco's meteoric rise as a money-saving warehouse giant. It's been ultimately up to him to "figure it out," and he has. But with a new CFO coming in, people have wondered if the infamous hot dog deal would continue to stick. "To clear up some recent media speculation, I also want to confirm the $1.50 hot dog price is safe,” new Costco CFO Gary Millerchip told analysts on an earnings call in May 2024, according to CNN. Safe. Phew. As Sinegal has said, the hot dog is an integral part of Costco's brand at this point in addition to being a fan favorite."I was standing in line behind some people in San Francisco one time, a young man and a woman just getting a hot dog, and he says, 'No, you need your cup to get the drink,' and she said, 'We didn’t pay for the cup,' and he said, 'No, you get the drink, too. Don’t you get it? That’s the great thing about this place!'" he told the Seattle Times. "We have people who have parties at our hot-dog stands. Guys in Florida get together and have T-shirts that have the Costco hot dog on them. We have people who after their wedding party came over and got a hot dog at one of our warehouses."Tips for saving even more money at CostcoThe hot dog is not the only almost-too-good-to-be-true deals Costco offers its members. Their $4.99 rotisserie chickens are twice the size and half the price of many grocery store chickens, and whatever they flavor them with is divine. Need a cake that feeds a huge crowd for an event? The Costco bakery's legendary cake system may seem antiquated and terrifying if you've never ordered one, but trust the system and enjoy the delicious layered half-sheet cake that feeds 48 people for $25. Not everything is super cheap at Costco, but frozen fruits and veggies, butter, eggs (regular and organic), cheese, toilet paper, laundry detergent,—all of those are generally a far better deal at Costco than any grocery store. Costco meat can be a great deal or just an okay one, depending on what you're buying.Photo by Tyler Menezes on UnsplashWant to save even more money at Costco? Look for prices ending in $.97. Those items have been marked down at that specific store, often to clear them out. There are some huge bargains to be had in those massive aisles, especially when you know what to watch for. People often ask if it's worth the annual membership fee. Of course, it depends on your needs and how you shop, but members generally agree that the membership more than pays for itself. Even single people and couples share that they save more than they spend on the membership, as long as they actually use it. Think of it this way. The lowest membership fee is $65 a year. The hot dog combo has a value of $4.50 if the price had kept up with inflation. If you took your family of four to Costco for a cheap hot dog dinner once a month—for a whopping $6 a time—you'd essentially be "saving" $144 just in the value of the that combo meal. And that's before you even step foot on the warehouse floor. Here's hoping that the hot dog combo deal stays "safe" for the foreseeable future.

Sophie Jones, 22, of Warrington, England, was so tired of having her life put on hold by her debilitating fear of rejection that she undertook a brave challenge. To overcome her fear of embarrassment, she forced herself to make an uncomfortable request of a stranger once a day for 30 days. She documented her journey on TikTok, inspiring tens of thousands of people to challenge their limitations. It all started last February when Jones learned about rejection therapy, a form of exposure therapy she hoped could help her overcome her fears. Jones has been suffering from an intense fear of rejection since she was bullied as a teen. This made her shy away from relationships, social activities and professional opportunities. “I was scared to make more friends. I felt I had no confidence within myself. I saw others with opportunities and thought, ‘Why did I not have them?’ I felt like it was holding me back. I felt like I’d lost control of my life. I struggled with my mindset and outlook on life,” she said, according to Good News Network. So, in a TikTok video posted last May, she challenged herself to 30 days of rejection therapy and asked her followers to suggest some embarrassing situations where she would have to face her fears. @sophie_jones111 help me become untouchable by doing social anxiety exposure therapy? All ideas welcome so I can hold myself accountable ? #socialanxiety #exposuretherapy #mindset The initial video kicked off a series where Jones put herself in some seriously embarrassing situations. She asked someone in a supermarket to have something out of their cart, asked McDonald’s employees if she could step behind the counter and make a McFlurry and asked to sing with the band at a theater production. @sophie_jones111 A whole load of crickets when i asked. Day 1 of doing rejection therapy for 30 days. ?? #rejectiontherapy #overcomingfears #awkward After the first week of rejection therapy, Jones began to notice changes in herself. "When I first started, I was terrified—but that showed I needed to do it,” she told The Warrington Guardian. "I'm realizing it's never as bad as you think it will be, and the world will keep turning! I'd recommend the challenge to others—it's scary, but when you push past the fear, you feel more confident." One of the most uncomfortable moments of the series was when Jones asked a fireman if she could slide down the pole at a local station. A policeman at the station told her that her chances of siding down the pole were “unlikely.” “It's not even hearing no that's the worst part of this; it's the judgment side of it. You just feel so silly, and they look at you like, ‘what on Earth?’ but imagine in day-to-day life if you didn't have the judgment of other people,” she said in her TikTok video. @sophie_jones111 As if the police got involved?Day 20 of rejection therapy complete. #rejectiontherapy After completing the 30-day challenge, Jones and her audience didn't want to stop there. She then began a series of videos in which she pushed herself outside of her comfort zone. Rejection therapy is a pretty straightforward way for people to overcome their fear of rejection if they can stomach the embarrassment. After multiple exposures, patients become desensitized and realize that nothing bad will happen even if they are rejected. However, Dr. Elisabeth Morray, Licensed Psychologist and VP of Clinical Operations at Alma, suggests that people looking for help overcoming their fear of rejection would be well-served to go through the process with a professional. “The risk of going it alone is that, without the support of someone who understands how to approach exposure therapy in healthy and responsible ways, pushing yourself head-first into the kinds of situations you fear can actually be traumatic in ways that will increase your fears, rather than reducing them,” says Dr. Morray, “rejection therapy may do more harm than good for people who need appropriate support and resources to have a therapeutic, rather than traumatic, experience of being vulnerable to the pain of rejection.” Ultimately, rejection is a part of life, and unfortunately, we all deal with it from time to time. But by actively avoiding it, we cut ourselves off from many of the things that make life worth living, including friendships, professional opportunities and personal growth. Rejection therapy may have made an incredible change in Jones’ life, but it’s also been a great example for the tens of thousands of people who have watched her videos and may have considered challenging themselves in the same way. “Open your mind up to the abundance of life. The unknown means anything can happen,” Jones said, according to The Daily Mail. “You can wake up tomorrow with a dream email, you just need to open your mindset up to the possibility that great things can happen to you. If it can happen for other people, why can't it happen for you.”

You remember what it was like as a kid. At the end of every school year, there was a ceremony, or at least an announcement of some kind, where a handful of students would receive an award for "Perfect Attendance." There was much applause and admiration for these heroic kids.Maybe you got one of these awards yourself. Maybe you simply sat there feeling strangely bad about the one time you had a cold and had to stay home.If only you had gutted through it, you could have had some of that applause, too.Well, one mom has had enough of perfect attendance awards. In fact, when her son's school offered him one, they turned it down. Photo by Denisse Leon on Unsplash In a post on her blog, U.K. mom and author Rachel Wright wrote about the experience and her reasoning behind the decision.It might sound strange at first, but she makes a lot of great points. Her biggest gripe? Kids can't control who gets sick and when:"In this family you are not shamed for ill health, vulnerability or weakness. In this house you are not encouraged to spread germs when you are not well. In this house we look after ourselves and the weakest amongst us," she writes."Can you imagine a work place that at the end of each week marked out all the people who hadn't been sick? Where all the departments with the least number of people off were rewarded — in front of everyone else? "It happens in schools all the time."Can you imagine what kind of atmosphere that would create with people who had days off because of bereavement, mental health problem or chronic conditions? What on earth are we teaching our kids about value and worth? What are we teaching them about looking out for each other and looking after the sick or disabled in our community?"Wright goes on: Most school-aged kids have very little control over whether they get to school. Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash Policies that reward kids for zero absences unfairly favor those of more privileged households.After all, it's a heck of a lot easier to get to school amid rain and snow in Mommy's 4-wheel-drive SUV versus the public bus. And kids with health problems or chronic illnesses? They don't stand a chance."He had no control over his attendance," Wright wrote. "I took him to school and it would have been my decision to keep him off. I should get the reward (or not) for his attendance."The blog post has gone viral, with comments pouring in from parents around the world who share Wright's frustration for this arbitrary form of celebration."The worst time was in primary school when [my daughter] repeatedly 'lost' her class the class award, and was bullied because of it," wrote one mom."In a work place, this would never be acceptable, but we allow this to ... happen for our children," added another commenter.While it's not a bad thing to celebrate kids for commitment and hard work at school, we ought to give some more thought to how we do it and whether we want our kids growing up believing that never taking a day off is something to aspire to.The debate on the pros and cons of perfect attendance awards rages on, even in 2024.Though anecdotally it feels like they're beginning to go out of style. After all, data shows that awards and certificates don't have a positive effect on absenteeism — and in fact can have the opposite effect!In a world that lived through the 2020 COVID pandemic and lockdowns, it seems much smarter to let kids know: It's OK to take care of yourself when you're sick, it's important to stay home to stop the spread of germs, and yes, the occasional day off for your mental health isn't going to hurt anyone.Kudos to Rachel Wright for kicking off a conversation that's finally beginning to make a difference.This article originally appeared on 7.17.17

The September 4th school shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia that killed 2 students and 2 teachers prompted an interesting discussion about how to protect school children on the September 6th episode of HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher.”In the wake of the tragedy, Maher was encouraged that the shooter’s father has been charged with murder for buying his 14-year-old son an AR-15 that may have been used in the shooting. “It's America. So we had a school shooting. When schools go back into session and we're gonna have to talk about this 'cause it happens a few times every year. I think it's happened 45 times already this year, by the way. Here's the new wrinkle in this one. Now they're blaming the parents as I think they should,” Maher said on a segment featuring John Avlon, a Democrat running for Congress in New York’s First District and Rich Lowry, Editor-in-Chief of the conservative National Review.Maher says that the shooter’s parents were “derelict” in their duty and extended that critique to those who let their kids bring smartphones to school. “And we can't also talk about taking phones away from kids in school. It's funny. I think the problem here is that parents just don't have the ability to say no to kids for anything,” Maher said to a big round of applause. In a country where liberals and conservatives are at odds over gun control laws, Maher sees charging parents as a sensible, bipartisan way to improve the situation. He equated this to the recent rise in bipartisan laws nationwide that ban students from bringing their smartphones to class.“This is an issue of bipartisan support,” Avlon said. “There shouldn't be smartphones in schools because nobody likes 'em. Not good for the kids, not good for the teachers, not good for learning. So that's an area where there is bipartisan agreement. Let's act on that. Let's keep advancing it.”Studies show that since 2010, when smartphones became widely used by young people, the U.S., and other developed nations saw an astronomical spike in mental health problems, including self-harm, suicide, psychological distress, anxiety, and depression.Smartphones and social media are also associated with bullying, decreased attention span, diminished social development and trouble with sleep. Collectively, these issues have resulted in an unprecedented mental health crisis.A study by the Centers for Disease Control found that the suicide rate among young people rose 62% between 2007 and 2021. The problem has been especially bad for teenage girls, who are at higher risk of suicidal ideation and behaviors than their male counterparts. In 2021, 3 in 10 female high school students said they had seriously considered attempting suicide. While there’s yet to be a study that confirms a direct, causal link between smartphone use and the dramatic rise in suicide among young people, studies show that when smartphone use is reduced, their mental health improves. Maher made a bold point during the discussion that’s worth examining. He says the mental health problems caused by smartphones may pose a greater danger to America’s youth than school shootings.“But a point to [Avalon’s] point about the guns being obviously more dangerous in the immediate than the phones. Yeah, true. But if you did a really long-term study, I mean over decades. I'm not sure that would come out that way because suicides alone caused by the phone. We know this happens; lots of other bad things happened because of that godd**n phone. And now, 9 states are on board with taking away the phone for the day.”?#BREAKING: Footage/Pictures of the scene outside of Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia where the school shooting took place. pic.twitter.com/psCPvsCqaW— World Source News 24/7 (@Worldsource24) September 4, 2024 “I'm a Neanderthal on this,” Lowry added. “All screens are the enemy. They are distraction machines. Even if you're just sitting and watching TV all day, is that a happy person? No. And we've conducted this mass social psychological experiment on teens with social media. And it's been a disaster.”It’s not fair to the victims of teen suicide or school shootings to say that one problem is greater than the other because the loss of every young life is an unquestionable tragedy. But when it comes to the space these issues occupy in the public consciousness, all 3 panelists agreed that we should treat mental health issues caused by smartphones as seriously as school shootings. Every year, an average of 6,500 young Americans between the ages of 10 to 24 years old die by suicide. Over the past 10 years, an average of 38.5 Americans were murdered at the hands of school shooters every year.The school shooting epidemic has inspired millions of Americans to take political action by backing gun control legislation and red flag laws. It has also deputized countless citizens to create school preparedness plans so that educators, students and law enforcement agencies have all the resources necessary to combat an active shooter situation. The problem persists, but concerted efforts are being made nationwide to make schools safer.Smartphones don’t appear to be as dangerous as AR-15s, but their abuse can lead to the same devastating results. What if we take the same energy to help reduce suicide rates and improve mental health among young people by creating phone-free schools and childhoods that are more about sunshine than screen time?