Racism 101

The world has come a long way in terms of learning acceptance and racism exists in a degree far less devastating than it has in the past. The problem is though, that it still does exist and along with racism exists racial prejudice. People who do not know the difference between racial prejudice and racism often mix the two concepts up. It is important to note first that many of the actions and words accused of being full blown racist are actually just signs of prejudice with racial undertones. Racial prejudice is a prejudging of someone or a group of people before one even gets to know what they are like based on cultural backgrounds or physical attributes. 

It is composed of five parts: 

1. Antilocution (speaking against someone; ethnic jokes) 
2. Avoidance (self segregation)
3. Discrimination (taking deliberate step to deny people of their fundamental rights)
4. Physical attack (hate crimes, gang violence, desecration of property) 
5. Extermination (ethnic cleansing) 

RACISM occurs when that racial prejudice is taken and coupled with the power to oppress. RACISM is when one person thinks that they are essentially superior to others because of their skin color and traditions. 

All humans are unique. However, the same individualistic characteristics that have been sources of strength,inspiration and identity for many people throughout history have also set the basis from which discrimination and oppression have sprouted and spread their grubby roots. Sure, people are different in their social and cultural habits, and distinct backgrounds set groups of people apart. What's so wrong with that? Besides, today science shows that all humans share a common ancestor. We may all act and speak and eat and dance and play and sing and work and express ourselves differently, and believe in dissimilar things, but when it comes down to it we're all human. There are factors that set us apart from the beasts and fish and bugs and birds of the animal kingdom, the factors that we can all collectively claim to make us human. 

We aren't so wholly and completely disparate after all. However, cultures still retain their differences and I think that scares people. Racism exists because people are afraid to get to know something beyond what they are familiar with. They do not wish to embrace the things they did not grow up seeing and hearing and learning, and as a result we lash out at those "abnormalities," making a mockery of them, and stomping morales and personalities into the filthy ground  in a fit of ignorance and rotting fear. 

Here are some follow up questions on racism to consider (The question in bold my responses in regular font.): 

Is it racist for a person (of any color) to tell race-based jokes? (Is it worse if it’s a white man telling the joke? Is it less of a problem if it’s a black man?)
It depends on what the joke is, and the degree of vulgarity the joke possesses, but overall a race-base joke isn't exactly racism it falls more under the category of racial prejudice. No matter what the joke is, or what color the person is telling the joke, it is still hurtful and immoral to poke fun at another race.

Is it racist for anyone, regardless of color, to use the word “nigger”?
It is a derogatory term and shouldn't be used, by anyone, no matter the context. That word has been used by racist people in the past, what makes the meaning of the word any different now? 

Is it racist for a restaurant wait staff to let a Latino couple who arrive early for the dinner rush wait until everybody else has been served?
Yes, it is because the wait staff should have served the couple first, since they got there early. They wait staff had the obligation to seat and serve the couple but used their power to degrade the couple. 

Is it racist for a small-business loan officer to favor a loan to a Latino over a loan to an Asian person simply because the Latino is in greater need?
It is not racist if the only reason the Latino person got the loan is because he was in greater need of it, that is giving the loan to the person who requires its benefits to a greater extent. It does not suggest any malevolence towards people of Asian background. 

Is it racist for a white prospective police officer to be passed over in favor of an African-American because the city is trying to diversify its police force? 
I think that yes, to an extent it is racist. If the white candidate was more qualified and the person that was picking the officers used their power to pass him over, just because of his color.  

Blogging About the Holocaust

A Timeline of Events: 

1933: 

• Adolf Hitler is appointed Chancellor of Germany (a country with a population of over 566,000 Jewish people).  
• Nazis establish the Dachau concentration camps. 
• Jewish shops boycotted 
• Nazis issue a decree defining a non-Aryan 
• Laws are passed prohibiting Jews from many things, such as: owning land, participating in any type of art form, and being newspaper editors. 
• 'Undesirables' were sent to camps, these included: the homeless, alcoholics and the unemployed. 

1934: 

• Jews are not allowed national health insurance, are prohibited from getting legal qualifications, and are banned from the German Labor Front. 

1935: 

• Nazis ban Jews from serving in the military 
• The Nuremburg Race Laws are decreed against the Jews, depriving them of their citizenship. They also included laws that prohibited Jews from marrying non-Jews, and having sexual relations with non-Jews. 

1937: 

• Jews are banned from many professional occupations such as being teachers, accountants and dentists. 
• The travelling exhibition, "The External Jew," opens in Munich. This promoted stereotypes of Jews and Nazi perceptions of their danger to the world. 
• A new concentration camp, Buchenwald, is opened. 

1938: 

• The Anschluss unites Germany and Austria, and Austrian Jews are persecuted. 
• German and Austrian Jews must have passports marked with a big red "J." 
• Jews are prohibited from all legal and medical practices. 
• The Night of Broken Glass- Kristallnacht. This was a night of extreme violence, approximately 100 Jews were murdered and 20,000 were taken to concentration camps. The windows of Jewish shops were smashed. 
• Jews are fined 1 billion marks for the damage done during Kristallnacht. 
• Jewish children are expelled from school 
• New concentration camps, Ravensbrück and Sachsenhausen, are opened. 

1939: 

• Germany invades Poland
• Jews in Poland are required to wear a yellow star on their clothes to be easily identified. 
• Nazis begin euthanasia on the sick and disabled in Germany  

1940: 

• A new concentration camp, Auschwitz, is opened. 
• The Lodz, Krakow, and Warsaw Ghettos are sealed off from the outside world. Locked inside the three are over 700,000 Jews. 

1941: 

• A new concentration camp, Majdanek, is opened. 
• The first 'death camp' was opened in Chelmno. 

1942: 

• Mass-gassing of Jews begins at Auschwitz. Bodies are buried in mass graves. 
• The Belzec death camp becomes operational. 
• "Final Solution" is implemented in which Nazi resolve to attempt to exterminate all 11 million Jews in Europe. 
• Open pit burning of bodies at Auschwitz begins. 

1943: 

• The Warsaw Ghetto uprising is the first resistance by Jews. 
• Nazis order for all gypsies to be taken to concentration camps. 
• Liquidation of the Krakow Ghetto. 
• Exterminations at Chelmno and Treblinka cease. 

1944: 

• Gas chambers in Auschwitz used for the last time. 

1945: 

• Remaining camps are closed and all evidence of their existence is destroyed. Any survivors are sent on Death Marches. 
• Hitler commits suicide and Germany surrenders. 
• Surviving Nazi leaders are put on trial.           

Definitions: 

Antisemitism: The belief or behavior hostile toward Jews just because they are Jewish.  

Concentration camps: refers to a camp in which people are detained or confined, usually under harsh conditions and without regard to legal norms of arrest and imprisonment that are acceptable in a constitutional democracy.  


Deportation: the expulsion of a person or group of people from a certain place. 


Ghettos: have been used to separate Jews from the rest of society for centuries, the ones used during the Holocaust differed because of the fact that they were a preliminary step in the annihilation of the Jews. 


Holocaust: destruction or slaughter on a mass scale. 


Kristallnacht: an anti-Jewish pogrom used by Nazi Germans. Known as the Night of Broken Glass. 

Commandments: 

The Sixth Commandment: You shall not murder.  

People involved in creating the Holocaust violated this commandment on a ridiculously huge scale. There were over 11 million people killed during this horrible time. They gassed, starved, beat, shot, and worked victims to death.  They had absolutely no respect for any of those peoples' lives. 

The Eighth Commandment: You shall not steal. 

The Nazis took every possession from the Jews, and the other people that they persecuted, that they owned. They enacted laws that took their homes and businesses away from them, and even their personal rights and liberties.  

The Ninth Commandment: You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. 

The Nazis created propaganda newspapers and exhibitions that gave false stereotypes against Jews, just to get Germans fueled up against Jews, and to justify their cause.  

A Blog Concerning Issues Related to the 5th Commandment

 Abortion 

This subject is tough for me to explain my view on. 

I'm not sure if abortion should necessarily be outlawed. That's taking away personal rights of the woman, and man, if it is the parent's mutual decision. If it is her body, and she is willing to do it, then that is her choice to live with. 

However, I myself, would never choose to do that. Personally, I think that once a baby is conceived, it is a living being. It should be allowed to live, to grow, to learn. I would not be able to kill my own child. 

I may be against taking away someone's right to decide for themselves, but why would someone choose to kill their baby? What instances and/or circumstances would lead one to terminate a pregnancy, and scratch out human life?  

Maybe the excuse is that you feel that you are too young to be a parent, and you would not do a good job at raising a baby. Well if this is the case, then you should not be having sex. Why should an innocent being be punished for your irresponsible decision? 

Or perhaps, the excuse this time is that the baby has a birth defect or some kind of disability, and you don't want to have to make it live that way, or you don't want to have to deal with that. When you make the decision to have sex, you are also accepting the fact that a child could be a possible consequence of this action. You should be able to love and care for that child no matter what. God gave that child whatever "defect" it may have because he knew the child could handle it,  and that you could handle it as well.  

If the child is a result of a rape....it is an unfortunate thing to have happen to any woman, no matter what. But if a baby comes as a result of that, the woman could always give it up for adoption. The woman may not want the baby because it's the "spawn" from the monster that raped her, but by killing a human being, how does that make her any less of a monster? 

If, for whatever reason, you do not want a baby that you are the parent of. Let it live, you may not be able to or want to take care of it, but I'm sure someone out in the world would. Put it up for adoption. 

I guess what I'm getting at here is that people's right to choose should not be taken away, but it doesn't necessarily mean I am for abortion. 

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.  

Everyone deserves the chance to live. You still have your freedom, so make the right choice. 

Self defense 

If someone is coming at you with the blatant intention of harming you in any way, by all means, do whatever it takes to protect yourself. 

This doesn't mean that you should use excessive force in stopping your perpetrator. It should be just enough to stop their attack on you, and safe yourself.  

Embryonic Stem-Cell Research 

I agree with the Church on this issue. It should not be conducting using stem cells from human embryos. If there are other, and equally efficient ways to conduct this research, and there definitely are, then those should be used instead. 

In place of using stem cells from human embryos, and killing the embryo, scientists should try and use umbilical cord blood, adult skin cells, and bone marrow. These methods result in no harm at all to the donor, and the human embryos that would have been killed in the research otherwise, will be able to live. 

"Blatant Disregard For Justice" - The Trayvon Martin Case

It seems to me like that for every step forward we make in this country, we take a giant leap back.

 With the issue of gender, with the issue of sexual orientation , with the issue of race, with anything concerning the acceptance of others. For some reason we just don't like to include those that are different from us.
Maybe because this country was built upon the belief of someone always being superior. Even before the United States was a country. We're never just equal, equality has always been a lost cause because someone always thinks that they are better.

Instead, we like to blame and ridicule and stereotype one another by our beliefs, the way we sound, and most often just by each others appearances. We don't take the time to get to know one another, to look beyond those stereotypes and see that not everyone fits the same profile. There are so many good people out there that get dragged down with the bad just because of "what" people think they are, and not because someone took the time to see "who" they are.

What happened to Trayvon Martin is a tragedy on a national scale.
And it should be.

The country needs a wake up call. To see just how much it has been digressing.

I'm just sorry that it took something so horrible as the death of someone like Trayvon Martin, young, healthy, a good kid with a bright future, to make the difference in maybe fixing this problem.

Trayvon Martin really was a good kid, like I said. According to his English teacher Trayvon was "an A and B student who majored in cheerfulness." Trayvon was out to the store to buy a bag of skittles and a can of iced tea and was busy talking on his cell phone to a girl his was close to back home on the day that he was unjustly shot and killed by George Zimmerman.

Now some people are saying that this case is being blown out of proportion by the whole "race issue," but I beg to differ.

George Zimmerman was, well still is I guess because he is alive unlike Trayvon, so is 28 years old. Weighs 250 pounds. And is a grown white male.

He has been a self entitled member of a neighbor hood patrol in his gated neighborhood in Sanford, Florida and has been 'fighting crime' based mostly on racial profiling. In the past 14 months Zimmerman has made numerous phone calls, 46 to be exact, to 911 to report several "suspicious persons." They all just so happened to be black, like Trayvon.

It is not just Zimmerman who resorts to racial profiling to "keep the streets safe." Just last year, the New York City Police Department stopped over 700,000 people. Over half of which were black and nine percent were white. Doesn't seem to add up when one figures in that over half of New York City's population is white. It also turns out that over 90% of these "suspicious persons" were innocent.

How surprising.

"When the police target specific groups of people at such a disproportionate rate, less-informed individuals will conclude that those groups must be more dangerous, regardless of the fact that most are innocent. It forces the targeted groups to live in fear and contempt of authorities, which in turn makes them look suspicious." 

Just a look at the Trayvon Martin case is convincing enough of the validity of this statement.
Trayvon was walking back to  the house of his father's fiance and due to the rainy weather, had sensibly put his hood up.
That is when Zimmerman started following him because he "felt threatened."

No.

Because Trayvon had his hood up. And because he was black. And because of this he was a "danger."

Trayvon Martin, left, and his perpetrator George Zimmerman, right.

 They say that justice is blind, and until George Zimmerman- hiding behind the Stand Your Ground law- is put behind bars, nothing could be more true.


Sources: http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/19/justice/florida-teen-shooting/index.html?hpt=hp_bn2, http://www.thegrio.com/specials/trayvon-martin/trayvon-martin-15-facts-you-need-to-know-about-teen-shot-in-sanford-florida.php?page=2, http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/03/19/148905661/killing-of-fla-teen-trayvon-martin-becomes-national-story-about-race, http://www.thegrio.com/news/past-zimmerman-911-calls-war.php, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jess-coleman/if-i-were-trayvon-martin_b_1376095.html

The "R-Word"

The word "retard" is carelessly thrown around in everyday language, and is accepted as something 'okay' to say. However, the r-word carries with it the same weight as any other derogatory terms, like those used against people of different ethnic backgrounds or race or of different sexual orientation.It causesthe same hurt and damage to others.

How we speak and the language we use helps to form our perception of the world and others around us. Throwing around demeaning slurs like "retard" forms a negative perception of people with 'intellectual disabilities,' twisting them and turning them into something that they are not. It make others think that impaired people are stupid or losers.

When this happens, the way we treat these people who are cognitively impaired changes too.
I'm sure you can remember back to learning about the Civil Rights Movement in school?
The way that blacks were segregated from the "superior" whites before and during this time. They were treated as inferior and like they did not deserve better.

This is similar to how the problem is unfolding today with the way intellectually disabled citizens are treated in society.

The thought is, according to a worldwide survey of over 190 nations, because a person is "retarded" they should not be educated in the same schools, they should not be working in "mainstream" workplaces, and they should be pitied because they are not the same as us.

This view of people with intellectual disabilities is ridiculous, and it's all thanks to the everyday use of the r-word. Just because one person is different does not make them any less important than any other person. Once the world starts realizing this maybe there will be less hate and more respect and equality.

So next time you go to say the word "retard" to mean that something is "stupid," here's something clever, why not just try saying stupid? 

Sources: http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/07/living/end-r-word/index.html?iref=allsearch

My Teacher Won't Let Me Swear on the Internet

And I think I'll be just fine with that.


Mostly because it's a rare occasion when I actually do swear on the internet. I just don't find it necessary. Especially when there are so many other ways, better ways actually, that I can find to articulate myself. I don't have to reduce myself to using vulgar and unintelligent sounding words to get my point across or my opinion out.
I think that when someone posts anything using profanity it makes other people less inclined to hear them out or even to continue reading. At least that's the way it is for me. Because dropping an "f- bomb" instead of explaining why something is so horrible, or why you don't particularly like something, just makes you sound angry and uneducated.

Now that's a bad move. 

 In today's day and age reputation is everything (like it or not). What you post online can negatively effect any positive and critical opportunities that lay ahead in your future. Things like which colleges you're accepted into, what jobs you're hired for and any possible career moves.

When you post anything on a social networking site, be it twitter or Facebook or any of those newfangled internet sites, just make sure to be careful what you say. You can always delete it, sure. But it will be out there, and you don't have as much control over who can read it and who can't, than you think.

World Resolutions

With a whole new year in front of us, what time is better than now to try and positively change the way we are living?

10 Worldwide Resolutions for 2012:

1. Honesty.

• Ever heard of "honesty is the best policy?" Well, obviously most politicians have not. (Among many other people, too...) Secrecy is everywhere and scandals are breaking out, in such a fashions that it seems to be every other week. Now, I'm sure that these kinds of situations, of lying and deceit, have been around throughout all of history, so it can only be considered somewhat normal. But it's never too late to change, right?

2. Acceptance.

• Of every race and gender and lifestyle. I know that you may not exactly approve of a certain lifestyle of custom, but the least you can do is try and still respect everyone. Discrimination based on gender or race, however, is just plain inadmissible.

3. Help given to anyone who needs it. The poor, starving, and sickly in every country.

4. No conflict.

• This one is hard, but try and be open to listening to other opinions.
  

5. Healthier lifestyles.

• It's not just America, that is bashed for the fast food, that is unhealthy. There are things many people, everywhere, can do to enrich their life, with healthier choices. No smoking, no drinking, avoid eating unhealthy foods, and choose to exercise more often.The better you feel, the better you feel about yourself.

 6. Take care of the Earth.

• It is the only one we have, after all... 

7. Stop the greed.

• A more equal distribution of the world's wealth doesn't sound so bad. Do these over paid celebrities and business men really need so much power and wealth? 

8. A separation of Church and State.

• It's already supposed to be part of America's Constitution, but somehow one always ends up influencing the other. They should be kept apart from each other.

9. Have confidence.

• Sometimes it doesn't matter what other people think of you. It is your life to live, the way you want to. If they cannot accept that, it's their problem. 

10. Be supportive.

Invisible Children

      Some things really just make you stop and think.

  
  It can be such a humbling experience to be reminded of  just how insignificant my own day to day 'problems' are, especially compared to some of the real suffering going on in the world. One thing that helped me to really understand that was the group Invisible Children.

    This is the second year in a row that the organization Invisible Children has  come to visit my school, and it was also the first time I was actually able to see what they are all about (last year I was out of school sick). But when I came back in everyone had this excited buzz around them, and I knew something big had gone on. 

When I asked around to my friends about what had happened and who the Invisible  Children were, they tried to explain it to me. I felt empathy for the poor children that they told me about in Africa. The ones who were dragged off, out of their homes, and forced to become soldiers. Yet, I still didn't fully understand what it was all about. 


After seeing and listening to the Invisible Children myself now I do, and I feel empowered to make a change. 

O-kaayy, well that's very nice and all, you might be thinking, but are you going to tell us about them or not? 
Why of course, thank you for reminding me! 

 To start off it might help to get a little familiarized with some background information on the conflict:

    Many people aren't aware of the ongoing war that's happening in northern Africa, as we speak. It is actually the longest war in African history, and has been going on for more than 23 years. 


    It's 'roots' can be traced back to the country of Uganda in the 1980's, when Alice Lakwena claimed that the Holy Spirit ordered her to overthrow the government because they had been unjust to the Acholi people. This movement gained popularity with the Acholis and became known as the Holy Spirit Movement. But then, Alice Lakwena was exiled and no clear leader of the group was left standing. 

Joseph Kony

     That is when Joseph Kony took over and transformed the movement into the Lord's Resistance Army (otherwise known as the LRA). Ever since then, war has been waging between the LRA and Government of Uganda with millions of innocent people caught in the middle. 


However, the Acholi people have never given their support to the LRA like they did to the HSM. With approval and forces dwindling, the LRA resorted to the abduction of children.

     




Now it is estimated that up to 90% of LRA's troops were abducted as children. 

They are forced to do gruesome, unimaginable things that no one should ever be subjected to do, least of all mere children.  



(It makes me sick to just think about it.)

One of Joseh Kony's child soldiers

 

  



 The Ugandan government reacted in response to the LRA and its abductions by forcibly removing people from their homes and into overcrowded camps, in hopes of better protecting them. This has just ended in even great suffering in itself (with no means of earning a living or raising food these camps have resulted in poverty, disease and starvation). 

Despite such harsh conditions and circumstances, this conflict has been the most neglected humanitarian emergency in the world to date. 

Jason Russell, Bobby Bailey and Laren Poole; the co-founders of Invisible Children

Movement to Change: 

Outside responses to the LRA were lacking until fairly recently. It started out as an exciting spring trip in 2003 to Africa to find a story for three young filmmakers, but turned out to be a life changing experience for them when they discovered the horrors of the LRA. 

The extreme injuries this  person has suffered from are courtesy of Joseph Kony

After returning back to the U.S. they made their documentary "Invisible Children: Rough Cut" to help expose the LRA and create awareness in people like me and the other students in my school, except on a nationwide scale. 
Besides their documentary, these three visionaries have made other great strides to help the victims of the LRA. To learn more about what Invisible Children is and what it does, and also about what you can do, go to this site: http://www.invisiblechildren.com/homepage  

"Discover the unseen" and help make a change

So, all of this is why I feel inspired to make my mark on the world and its going to start by making a difference, a difference with something like this. 

Are You Seriously That Prejudiced?

    I know that sometimes certain members of Christianity can be a little....narrow minded, but seriously, this is ridiculous.

    

    The Westboro Baptist Church is a congregation that was started in Topeka, Kansas sometime in the late 1960's. Some of their hobbies include: picketing and protests. And what are these protests and pickets about, you may ask? Oh nothing much, just their Anti-Semetic, homophobic, and other cynical views. People who are of the Jewish faith or gay community aren't the only ones that they pick on from their "bully pulpit." (that is taken from an actual quote said Shirley Phelps Roper while she was on the Tyra Banks Show. However, she was referring to normal society as the bully and was trying to portray WBC as the victim.) They also enjoy condemning soldiers, alive and dead alike, for fighting for a country as corrupt of the U.S.

    At their protests, each member carries multiple signs that say things like "Thank God for Dead Soldiers," "Thank God for IEDs," "Thank God for 9/11," "Pray for More Dead Soldiers," "9-11 Gift From God," and even "God is Your Enemy." 

In addition to the signs, sometimes they even disrespectfully step on American flags.

  

    In their eyes, America is apparently doomed because it endorses and supports sodomy and abortion, among other sinful things. They think that our soldiers deserve to die because they are protecting such 'corrupt' country...

   

    I don't think that I have ever seen a view so prejudiced, so delusional as that of the people of the WBC. They use passages from the Bible to justify their message of hatred, but if I'm not mistaken, didn't Jesus teach that the greatest of commandments to follow was to love God and NEIGHBOR with all your heart? Clearly, they don't understand that concept and are suffering from extreme cases of moral ambiguity. They think that God is pleased with the things they are doing because they say they are following His will and rules. God would be more pleased, I think, if these people would start respecting the human dignity of their fellow mankind, instead of twisting and manipulating His word (the Bible) to fit their immoral outcries.They should be doing good deeds of charity, as well.

   Here are another few examples of some of the WBC's picket signs: "God Hates You," "God Hates Fags," "God is Your Enemy."

   It is true that the Lord was more of a vengeful God of wrath in the Old Testament, but it is also true that with the sending of the promised Messiah in the New Testament, He is portrayed more as a loving and forgiving God by Jesus. 

Maybe it's not from the New Testament, but it is still a good example of my point

    Now once again, if I'm not mistaken, going against what Jesus taught can be considered going against the word of God, right? And showing contempt for those teachings should very well be considered blasphemy. The very thing they so adamantly oppose in other groups.  (Just to clarify here is the definition for blasphemy by the Catholic Encyclopedia:  http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02595a.htm and from Merriam-Webster: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blasphemy?show=0&t=1319058493).

    These people are just walking contradictions. As you very well know by now, the WBC strongly opposes the ethics and beliefs of 'doomed America.' However, they have no problem hiding behinds its laws. While they are protesting against the evils of the  U.S.A they wield their right of freedom of speech to continue to do so. Now that makes complete sense to be doing, huh?

   

    -"Can we really be saying these things, Shirley?"

    -"Oh, no problem we'll just use one of the best and greatest of rights that America gives to its citizens to our advantage, then we can condemn it!"

(This is just a completely hypothetical conversation, by the way.)

   

Other people agree about the WBC's ignorance

    One thing that I found today that made me extremely angry with the WBC was their sign that said: "Thank God for Breast Cancer." It's not that all of the other horrible things they have been saying don't make me mad too, but I can really sympathize with the families of and the people who suffer from any form of cancer. Breast cancer especially, because someone very near to me in my family fought through it. Having to watch someone battle through cancer, and then seeing the WBC condemn those innocents just because they have a frightening illnesses that they have no control over, is just more proof of the ignorance of the overzealous Westboro members. I personally don't think that God would ever punish someone with something so bad, it's something that just happens, unfortunately. 

This is the sign that I was referring to above

    

    The way to deal with the WBC is not with reciprocating hate, like is the usual response. (Like sensible people with good morals, the typical response to the WBC is instant disapproval. Sometimes they argue with the WBC members or flick them off, but sometimes it goes a little too far, and they damage property and lash out to harm the WBC members themselves.)

    Instead, I think that a good tactic to use when broaching the subject is to use humor, like some anti-WBC protesters do. There is a video I found with a group of people that get together across the street from a WBC protest, and protest against them with witty jokes and logic. I would post it here, but a few people in the video felt it necessary to use a few choice swear words. Another way people often 'fight back' is by making funny signs to make fools of the WBC. 

Example of said signs. My favorite has to be the "God Hates Kittens"

   

    

    However, I think the best way to get rid of the WBC is to just ignore them. They are only attention hungry and are thriving on all the media attention and, just like elementary school bullies, their ego's thrive on making people feel negative. I believe that God will forgive them, if they ever truly repent for their hateful words, but He ultimately will decide their fate. So eventually, they will get what they deserve. And with this in mind I refuse to write another word about them. ;) 

Some links used in research:
 http://www.godhatesfags.com/
http://www.adl.org/learn/ext_us/WBC/default.asp?LEARN_Cat=Extremism&LEARN_SubCat=Extremism_in_America&xpicked=3&item=WBC
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1Ck4m9EXeo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50r0CnKq7_k&feature=related

Cyber Bullying

    My last post was primarily about bullying and its effects, but also about how it needs to be stopped. However, stopping bullying in today's world is much more hard than it can initially sound, and that is because of one thing. Cyber bullying.

     Cyber bullying is a relatively new form of bullying that previous generations didn't have because it incorporates today's technology. Anytime a hateful message is sent via text or the internet, that counts as bullying. But the one crucial difference that sets it apart from 'traditional' bullying is the fact that there really is no escaping it. Computers and cell phones and all of their assets have become such an incorporated part of people and their daily lives that once someone starts to become cyber bullied, they see it everywhere they go. At school, at home, at a friends house; the possibilities are endless and that person can keep going back and seeing it written there over and over and over again. Someone can send a hateful message just once and it  can have the same effect of face to face insults that are received daily.

    That is another problem with cyber bullying though, it isn't just a one time thing. Otherwise it wouldn't really count as bullying would it?

Maybe not the perfect example of how cyber bullying is just as hurtful as other forms of bullying, but it gets the point across

    It seems to me that a lot of kids today are being given too much free reign to do whatever they want online, and they really aren't ready to use it-or anything else for that matter-responsibly. Because their actions aren't being curtailed, they are starting to feel entitled and powerful. The wall that separates the bullier from the bullied (via cyber bullying) makes them more bold and empowered to say things that they would possibly not have the guts to say in person. In my humble opinion, these are the most cowardly and spineless kind of bully there is, not that all bullies aren't cowards. 

Everyone has the power to help and stop cyber bullying.

    The reason I oppose this bullying the most out of all other kinds of bullying is because the person who is being bullied, in every essence of the word, has no escape from it. And other kids are really starting to recognize this and either are trying to speak out against it are use this to their advantage. Now if only the adults would see this too and help us do something about it.

To Love Takes Courage, Hatred Is For Cowards

    Bullying has been a serious issue around the area recently with the death of Jamey Rodemeyer. Within the past week the Democrat and Chronicle has published numerous articles pertaining to bullying. 

   

    The first article deals with a girl in high school who goes out and does her own thing instead of following the other girls. That's right, that means that kids actually started bullying her for not conforming to their 'cult.'  But then again isn't that a common reason why kids start bullying in the first place; because other people aren't like them? For some sick reason people don't accept diversity and difference, probably out of fear and ignorance, but isn't it said that God has made everyone unique and in his image? Everyone is made to help better this world, but some people need help in understanding that so that bullying of every sort can come to an end.  

      

    Luckily, for this local girl it did, but only after she spoke up and got help and continued to fight through the bullying. 

    The second article that I read was about a boy who got bullied all of the time, until he was diagnosed with Asperger's. After that he found a peer group, his social skills were bettered, and he has stopped being bullied. The same logic works with this case as well as the first. It is understandable that maybe some kids would be a bit apprehensive about approaching him sure, but bullying him because they didn't understand is unacceptable. Children need to be taught how to treat others who have medical conditions, and that is to be nice just like they would be with anyone else. 

    The third and final article concerned a girl who didn't agree to go on a date because she wasn't allowed to. She didn't do anything wrong, and actually did the good thing by following her mother's rule, but after that other kids started physically abusing her. At one point her mother had to pull her out of school because it had escalated so much. It is sad to think that someone should be denied the right to go to school and receive a good education because some bratty pre-teens were threatening her well being. 

     Now as I mentioned earlier, the reason that bullying cases such as these have been in the media, is because of the recent suicide case of Jamey Rodemeyer. Jamey was relentlessly bullied by classmates on countless social networks. Although Jamey was tormented himself, he encouraged others on the It Gets Better project on Youtube to fight off bullies. Jamey's suicide makes it so much more hard to accept because of this fact. 

     From everything that I've seen about Jamey, he seemed like such a sweet and caring person, not one who deserved to be harassed at every turn. No body deserves that. So RIP Jamey, you have made more of an impact than you'll ever know.

    As for the connection between him and Lady Gaga, she was his idol. After his death, Lady Gaga dedicated a concert to him, and because of him Lady Gaga met and talked with President about anti-bullying with past weekend. Her hopes are to get a law passed against bullying in Jamey's honor. 

    For some other opinions about bullying I asked some of my friends what they thought on the subject. Alicia R. said, "Bullying kills. I think everyone should do whatever it takes to stop it." The second quote is from Melanie W. and she said, "If you bully a person, and that person commits suicide, you're basically a murderer." Lastly, my friend Danielle C. said, “Bullying is for losers, and it needs to be made illegal before more people commit suicide.”

    First of all, let me say that I agree wholeheartedly with every single one of those views. However, one thing that disturbed me that I observed to be a trend in all three of my friends' opinions was that they immediately related bullying to death and  suicide. Something does need to be done to stop bullies, and that first step is you. Help educate people between right and wrong and spread awareness. 

    In my opinion, bullies are just people who are insecure of themselves and are narrow minded. They are intolerant of views outside of their own, because they are learning that kind of thing is okay from politicians and other adults  around them, because that is who influences them. For a different future without bullying, these kids need to be taught that, as Americans they are entitled to their opinions, but they need to be open minded towards other people and their opinions, personalities and lifestyles.

    At Bishop Kearney, the hand book says about bullying, "The student will receive disciplinary consequences including but not limited to suspension or dismissal, depending on the severity of the incident." This means that Kearney has a zero bullying policy, which is great and the way it should be everywhere. The only trouble is that it is hard to tack down bullies and prove that they are bullying other kids, especially when it is cyberbullying. As soon as this is fixed, I think that the number of kids being bullied might not drop, but the number of bullies caught definately will improve. 

    As a final word about bullying-in case you haven't learned anything yet-don't do it. Because kids: "Bullying is for squares." -Mr. Miller 

Links used for information in this post:
 http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20110925/NEWS01/109250359/Hateful-texts-voicemails-end-after-visit-school-psychologist
 http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20110925/NEWS01/109250357/It-wasn-t-fear-kept-bullied-teen-from-talking
 http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20110925/NEWS01/109250354/Bullying-leaves-tormented-students-helpless-parents?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Home
 http://abcnews.go.com/Health/jamey-rodemeyer-suicide-ny-police-open-criminal-investigation/story?id=14580832
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/27/jamey-rodemeyer-bullied-after-death_n_983926.html