controversies
It seems every time one racially-charged incident ends, a gender or religious controversy takes its place; Ruminate on the issues dividing our nation and world.
My Experience With The Police
I have witnessed domestic violence since a young age. The first time I remember I was five years old. I went out to dinner with my father and another woman, who he claimed was his friend. When we arrived home, I told my unassuming mother I enjoyed dinner with this woman and my father. After an argument, I helplessly watched my mother being choked by my father. The cops were not called. The guilt of this situation weighed on me for years.
By Jenna Bushspies6 years ago in The Swamp
Two Strikes
Growing up, before the Sandra Bland’s the Trayvon Martin’s, the Mike Brown’s, and the George Floyd’s, there was a deep rooted, justified fear in my mother about raising a “black” son in this so-called land of the free. Now, the reason that I put black in quotations is because it is a color and it is not the color of any skin I’ve seen. It is a legal status, that basically means dead, which is why it is ok for us to be killed in cold blood by those sworn to protect us. Only, we were never meant to be a part of the “us” nor the “we” in the “We the People.” It was actually designed for us to be apart, not a part. This is why there is a fourteenth amendment and what are known as the “black codes,” which were laws put in place to convert our physical shackles into economic ones. These “black codes” are what affirmative action, fair housing, and other programs like these are meant to combat. Like my mother always told me, you have two strikes against you already being “black” and being a male.
By Cameron Marquis6 years ago in The Swamp
Protest of Mount Rushmore Presidential Visit
In 1980 the United States Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. had illegally taken the Black Hills (the location of Mount Rushmore) from the Sioux Nation. $100 million in reparations was awarded but the Sioux Nation refused the money citing that the land was never for sale. They wanted to keep the land. Although the Supreme Court had ruled the land had been illegally taken the land was not returned.
By Paula C. Henderson6 years ago in The Swamp
White People Disappoint Me
As a middle-aged, middle-class white woman I need everyone to hear this. White. People. Disappoint. Me. Why? Because your privilege is so engrained that your entitlement keeps you from seeing some very basic, simple truths. Racism is alive and well. PC and Cancel Culture did not kill it. It simply made it a bigger crime to be called a racist than to be a racist. Racism is all around you. Disparities and injustice are waving at you every day and you still fail to acknowledge it. If at any point during a discussion about race you need to hear the phrase, “Imagine if it was your child, mother...”, you are part of the problem. Because white America has claimed to disavowe “Racism” in its most vile sense in favor of allowing “polite racism”
By Sarah Dickinson6 years ago in The Swamp
Will Racist Reactions To Covid-19 Deepen The Divide Between Races In International Politics?
Around the world, people are experiencing unprecedented difficulties as a result of the widely spread virus named Covid-19. The virus, of which there is no cure or vaccine at this time, has killed over 250,000 people since it emerged just a few months ago. The first case is thought to have been in Wuhan, China on the 17th of November 2019. This has led to a number of reactions to the virus being based on outdated and racist perceptions that have put many blameless people at risk of hate crimes. The short-term effects of this are evident in the hate speech and actions toward Asian people in both the media and in person. In the long term, the increase in paranoia and xenophobia surrounding people from China since the start of the pandemic can lead to deeper divides between races in international politics which is deepened by the negative media
By Charlotte Elliott6 years ago in The Swamp
Culture Wars 2020
By Dejaye Botkin, LPC A Divided Nation During the campaign leading up to Donald Trump’s election victory, I lost many friends along the way. I withdrew from family over my mother’s adoration of Donald Trump and my sister’s alt-right Facebook Posts. Throughout the election process, and after Trump won, I heard Fox News propaganda coming out of both of their mouths – and I was afraid they too, were becoming Trump Zombie-sycophants. Slowly but surely, my estrangement from loved ones grew into a larger circle – my mother, sister, cousin, peers, colleagues, and ultimately, I lost my best 45-year childhood friend. During the 2016 election, my whole world turned upside down. People whom I have known my whole life started becoming tribal. One group sided with Donald Trump, (A.K.A. the deplorables’), and the other side, was against him, (A.K.A nevertrumpers). I started noticing Trump seducing the minds of those in America who admired him for his wealth and also wanted to get rich quick. For those who want to be just like him – he is excellent at selling the fantasy with zero shame. He is the kind of snake oil salesman people talk about when they discuss dirty sales tricks. He made it acceptable to be greedy, selfish, and prejudice about anything and everyone not like him. He glorifies bullying and blackmail as everyday business tactics and allowed the white supremacists, sex addicts, and white-collar criminals to come out of the shadows.
By Dejaye Botkin6 years ago in The Swamp
The Power of Protest
George Floyd was killed by cops on a street corner in Minneapolis, America’s 46th-largest city. He was not famous, yet in death, he has galvanized Americans into action seeking social reform. More remarkably, Floyd has inspired protests abroad, from Brazil to Australia and Indonesia to France.
By Fathima S Meer6 years ago in The Swamp
