Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in The Swamp.
Europe and the Nationalist Gambit
The state of European politics is in disarray. The political chaos in Italy highlights a swift shift to the right. The main driver behind the rightward departure is immigration, or more honestly the ethnic implications of immigration.
By Nathaniel Purtell8 years ago in The Swamp
Remembering Cable Street
In the current political climate, with the rise of the authoritarian right-wing in its current visible form, we should do well to remember the resistance to the previous forms of right-wing authoritarianism and the birth of anti-fascist movements out of the Second World War and beforehand. Perhaps the greatest of popular mobilizations against fascism was the Battle of Cable Street. It originated out of a march of the British Union of Fascists, a march which would cut through the heart of a Jewish neighborhood, and an armed clash with the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) and a planned effort by 86 organizations to stop the march of the Fascist Union. The first attempts to end the march were peaceful, a petition signed by 100,000 people, and other such attempts. When this did not end the march, a member of the CPGB would organize a blockade of the fascist march through popular organization.
By Thomas Sebacher8 years ago in The Swamp
Covert Racism vs. Overt Prejudice
Covert racism or bullying is underhanded while overt prejudice is obvious such as name-calling. Prejudicial behavior never helped anybody. It means I hate you because “of the way you look” or outward racial appearances. Hating somebody for their race is unproductive. I hate ignorance. I can’t stand sexism. I cannot deal with people who engage in either. I avoid racists in general, and at San Francisco State I was dealing with one racist in particular who yelled at me and another student who were speaking in Spanish. Granted I also dislike people who speak in their native language rather than English since I do not understand what they are saying.
By Iria Vasquez-Paez8 years ago in The Swamp
Adaptability Is Key to Democratic Survival
Adaptability and intellectual flexibility are keys to survival. The only real advantage humans have over other species from planet Earth is the adaptability that they have. The ability to accept and cope with changing conditions, their ability to adjust to fresh challenges.
By Peter Rose8 years ago in The Swamp
Mass School Shootings: An Epidemic Sweeping Across America
I would like to begin this article by personally asking you to read it all the way through, whether or not your beliefs fall in line with mine. I put a lot of time and effort into this article, not for it to be condescending or intentionally aggravating, but to educate. I simply want a safer America, and no matter what, I think you, as the reader, want one too. If, for any reason, you feel that I have published a false report, or something offensive in nature, feel free to email me via the email address located at the end of the article. I hope you enjoy reading my thoughts an opinions, and I hope I may serve as a voice for my fellow students of America.
By Heroic Renegade8 years ago in The Swamp
Why, Racism?
I want to find whoever came up with these double standards and kick them where the sun doesn’t shine. There are double standards when it comes to men and women, the races, employment, and dare I say it, racism. Since Donald Trump became the president of the United States, more and more people are letting their racism and bigotry just hang out like laundry on the clothesline. We all knew racism existed but when African Americans were given more rights and were actually treated like human beings, those bigots and racists didn’t just disappear. That type of thing doesn’t just go away. It just gets buried and hidden so that it can’t be seen. When Trump was elected, he gave those people back their voices. Suddenly, it became okay to compare someone to the Planet of the Apes. Trump has, without a doubt, set this country back because he was so dead set on reversing and undoing everything that President Obama had done to make this country great. I will never understand how protecting and preserving health care coverage for Americans is a bad thing. But when you are used to people going without and having less, seeing them gaining access to a better quality of life will burn you up inside. Just as I suspect that it did for Trump and all of his supporters.
By Shanita Marshall8 years ago in The Swamp
Dear Donald
Many people have their different opinions on President Donald J. Trump. Some believe that he is a monster for securing our borders or for refusing to acknowledge gay pride month. Some believe that he is improving this country more and more with every passing moment. Whatever their opinions may be, President Trump keeps standing for what he believes in, and he is doing everything he can to make this country the best it can be. As for my opinions, here is what I would like for my president to know:
By Anna Lee Vaughn8 years ago in The Swamp
The Left
In history, there are many who claim that the left is immoral, that its precepts are unlikely, that it is itself as bad as the right. However, these analyses are flawed, quite fatally, according to the words of Che Guevara—"The true revolutionary is motivated by deep feelings of love," a compassion that goes deeper than the surface of liberation and goes into the details of liberation. Guevara was not wrong. The left has always had a strong emotional appeal—children starving tends to wake one up from the illusion of capitalist paradise rather quickly and angers one to the point of radical actions. The Right, on the other hand, is motivated by hatred and greed. As I see black children killed, I am disgusted by the police and the criminal justice system that has failed them. But the right does nothing, sees nothing, and if it addresses these it chooses the side of the police, not the side of those who have less, who are persecuted, but the side of the privileged.
By Thomas Sebacher8 years ago in The Swamp
Craziest Pro-Trump Fan Art on the Internet
The internet is littered with pro-Trump fan art. Some of it is crudely photoshopped, other bits are political cartoons, and there are even painstakingly made portraits that reveal significant talent on the part of their creators. Too bad all this effort is going to lift up The Worst of Us! At least this stuff can give us a laugh so long as we don't think about the ways in which these values have already been expressed in American policy and culture for hundreds of years. Whoops; I put that awareness in your head! Ba-Zinga!
By Ben Kharakh8 years ago in The Swamp
You Ignorant White Supremacist
White supremacist types are all fairly ignorant, you people really are. Why bother with so much hate? You have hate in your heart for something dumb—outward appearance or religion if we are talking about your hatred of Jewish people. Racism, however, goes both ways because Jewish people occasionally prefer not to intermix or marry outsiders. White nationalists do not want to do anything about their racism. They want to create their own White state. To which I think to myself, why bother? You people are twisted. Hating somebody for their race or looks is so futile.
By Iria Vasquez-Paez8 years ago in The Swamp
