Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in The Swamp.
History Is Not for Black People
World War I. William the Conqueror. The Magna Carta. The Trenches. Elizabeth I. Oliver Cromwell and the Civil War. Jack the Ripper. World War II. The Russian Revolution. The Blitz. Nazi Germany. The Holocaust. The Tudors. These are only a few of the history units I can remember studying — or having been taught — during my time in secondary school, but there is one glaring similarity between all of them. There is not a single Black face amongst any of them; or at the very least, none important enough to mention by name. And this recognition has led myself, and many other people, to (often subconsciously) draw this one, firm conclusion:
By Lauryn Davis8 years ago in The Swamp
Civil Hypocrisy
Confession: I’m supposed to be out promoting my new LGBT themed romance, Shape of Love. Instead, I’m caught in a tightening vase of anger because of Republicans. Not all of them, there are some Conservatives who I respect and often talk to in the hopes of understanding their positions. The Republicans I’m talking about are the Trump-bots that will parrot whatever lie the Orange one yells or Tweets. The leaders of the party that is supposed to be for families and the working class, ha! Those leaders released a new ad suggesting that all liberals are unhinged, but clearly, they haven’t taken a look at their own party.
By Edward Anderson8 years ago in The Swamp
How ICE Abuses Undocumented Immigrants
Donald Trump made bigotry against Latin Americans one of the pillars of his campaign. He's been delivering on that promise with policies of discrimination and abuse ever since he got into office. On what may be a daily basis, migrants are abused, children are being separated from their families, and detained undocumented citizens are being subjected to inhumane treatment. At the center of all this is the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, also known as "ICE."
By Ben Kharakh8 years ago in The Swamp
Antifa and Increasing Political Violence
While people believe that anti-fascism is a reflection of fascism, the beginnings of fascism are surprisingly simple. The problem of fascism is that authoritarian nationalism is difficult to fight. People believe they are parts of nations and kill others to make those nations realities—this is evident in authoritarian states that use nationalism to keep power. Germany attempted to annihilate the Jewish, Israel is attempting to exterminate Palestinians, and Hungary, Poland, and Italy are currently proposing social cleansing on the scale of the Holocaust. We are on the knife-edge, and the world is about to plunge off the cliff towards fascism, totalitarianism, and authoritarianism. The problem of national security is now mentioned every day on the television. While this is concerning, those who we are securing ourselves from are fleeing violence. Those seeking asylum, those entering through refugee programs, are human beings fleeing situations which seem impossible to escape. They are fleeing atrocities committed by countries we have interfered with. For instance, people fleeing Central America and South America are fleeing governments whose affairs we constantly interfere with, rigging elections, embargoing countries, etc. Our tampering opens the way for fascism.
By Thomas Sebacher8 years ago in The Swamp
Want to Save Marine Life? Let's Ban the Plastics
Right now, our oceans need more help than ever. This is because recent studies have shown that there tens, if not, thousands of pieces of plastic products that floating around in the oceans. Yet, the only way to remove them is if every person, regardless of where they live and work, works to remove all plastic trash from the ecosystem before a bird, marine mammal, or sea turtle begins to choke on it. In fact, millions of tons of plastic waste enter the oceans every year while the average person living in the United States throws away about 185 pounds of plastic per year. Yet, every piece of plastic that people use on a daily basis, only to be later thrown out is still out there today.
By Jenna Deedy8 years ago in The Swamp
'A Seat at the Table'
In 2016 when Solange Knowles gifted the world with A Seat At the Table, people of color around the globe triumphed. Her album articulately embodied the frustration, resentment, and rage that many minorities are experiencing today. So many feel silenced by white supremacy, privilege, patriarchy, racism, and sexism. As a result, Solange’s socially conscious music was a breath of fresh air and collective response to the inequity of society.
By Micky Thinks8 years ago in The Swamp
Compromise
Compromise. We have compromised for too long, there is a single option that we acknowledge as possible and feasible, and that it must happen as decent, principled millennials. We need a revolution, whether it be political or social, to modernize, streamline, and correct economic, political, and social movements that have outlived their usefulness in their current forms. As such, we must acknowledge that compromise is not a part of revolution—if it were, we would very clearly be reasonable. Compromise is only possible among people who believe that the forces must be there. The problem of compromise is that it is just that, when one compromises, their values are compromised. In the rise of the right-wing, we see very clearly that the world is turning towards authoritarian nationalism. Any compromise with authoritarian nationalism is a deal with the devil—it will come back to destroy us. In the 1930s, compromise among the far-right (where the Republicans have been since the 2000s) and the center (where the Democrats have come to be located after decades of neoliberalism) led to the abolition of liberties and the passage of the Enabling Act after a slight national crisis. We are coming to a point where we will—mind you, will—see a genocide in fascist countries in the next decades. We are in a political climate which, if turned towards compromise, will bring both parties to the far right. While compromise, in theory, was what our country was built upon, I find this unlikely.
By Thomas Sebacher8 years ago in The Swamp
North Korean Follies
The recent summit in Singapore between North Korea and the United States is nothing short of historic. Of course no matter what happened during that summit, the US media arm of the globalist NGOs (interest groups) would never allow a positive outlook. Why? The rest of the world seems to be perfectly happy with the first steps that were taken as SOME steps in SOME direction other than a nuclear confrontation were made.
By Chris Michaels8 years ago in The Swamp
Depictions of Communism in Cinema and Other Media
Communism has always been an ideology that has keenly interested me. As a Democratic Socialist I 'believe that both the economy and society should be run democratically—to meet public needs, not to make profits for a few.'(Qoute taken from Democratic Socialists of America Website, 06/02/18.) I personally do have sympathies towards some of the ideals associated with communism but then also my political opinion is that the ideal only works in principle. It does not and never has worked in practice.
By Craig York8 years ago in The Swamp
Immigration Exposed
Trump may have bitten off a little more than he could possibly chew with his idiotic blunder into the illegal immigration minefield. Even though he’s doing nothing more than enforcing laws that are already on the books, which have been upheld by Democrat and Republican presidents, the media’s vitriol for Trump has finally brought attention to these terrible circumstances. Disingenuously, however, this is all being blamed on him.
By Chris Michaels8 years ago in The Swamp
