Reader's InsightsMy mom turned to ask the experts (via text).
My mom: Is there a go to guide on how to fight these abortion laws? If so, send my way. Her friend*: Vote, support the ACLU, support voting rights efforts to undo gerrymandering and voting restrictions and give money to abortion funds! *Kirstin Sherk, Director of Global Communication at the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW)
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One by one; with one law at a time, the government is locking in control of half the population, that is to say, women. A lot of has happened very recently, very fast. Women in the “developed nation” I live in don’t have ownership of their own bodies. 25 white men just created the most restrictive (and ludicrous) law yet for banning abortions, even if the cause of pregnancy was through rape or incest. Women who have abortions or even miscarriages can go to jail for up to 10 years (and they are working on worse). Doctors can be penalized with up to 99 years in jail for performing an abortion, again, no matter the situation. Note: the governor of Alabama that passed the law is a women.
Rapists are still getting little no jail time, even when convicted of heinous acts. Instead of giving access to birth control, expanding healthcare, forcing comprehensive sex ed into schools, guaranteeing prenatal care, creating financial support towards labor and delivery costs, giving maternity leave, or anything towards free daycare, these “pro-lifers” are criminalizing women and doctors. I am pro-choice, no questions asked. There are two demographics who get the majority of abortions: teenagers (for obvious reasons) and women who are 40+, some with multiple children and/or in poverty. Some people bring up that women who were raped should be able to get abortions. Of course. But, so should the woman who just doesn’t want to have a kid at the moment. There are a million reasons women get abortions, some are tragic, some are practical, and all of them should be the woman’s choice alone. This isn’t going to stop abortions. Abortions are one of the safest medical procedures out there, that is what they are banning. This will only lead to more deaths in basements and alleys with bloody coat hangers and last hopes gone. I’m reading article after article, there seems to be an infinite amount, watching news reels, explanations, and hearing women’s personal stories. I don’t use the term “pro-life,” because it’s a lie. Those people don’t care about human life. Not if you’re a girl or a woman or a black baby or a disabled baby or as soon as you are not in a womb. You should be angry. You should be sad. And, quite frankly, we should all be ashamed of our country. But, what do we do with this emotion? I think of it, and in a second my heart is beating fast and my head hurts. What can I do with that? These pages are a personal search for answers that I want to share, to collaborate, and to cultivate a discussion. There is so much information out there, and it can be hard to take it all in. These pages are meant to be a bit of a dumping ground. I will post articles and videos that I find, and hope that you will help me learn more. If you have anything to add, please comment with the form on the page. If you would like, I will post it as a blog post, anonymously or not. Alternately, you can reach out on Facebook or email me. This comment can look like a link to an article or video, you can share your story, your opinion, or your questions (those I could leave for others to open as well). This situation is a tragedy, and women are going to die. We need to support one another. Join me. Yes, it is complicated, but some facts are simple: America is (ironically) afraid of immigrants and will do anything to stop them. Even if it means doing horrible things. As you may have heard from the news, once in office, Trump rushed to create a policy that would, not only detain undocumented passage from Mexico, but tear up families for reasons that don’t matter. The reasons really don’t; people will say it is a deterrent to future travelers or “what has to be done,” but there isn’t a thing you could tell me that could convince me this is necessary or humane. I.C.E. (Immigrants and Customs Enforcement) used to, as far as I know, mostly deal with undocumented immigrants breaking US laws and being generally harmful to their communities, no matter their origin country. Ideally, they are taking (actually) dangerous people off the streets, and ICE was the organization that specialized in dealing with people without verifiable documentation that would allow them to be on US soil. Police with bigger handcuffs. They have the ability to deport any non-US citizens. Since March 7th, 2017, and still continuing today(!) Trump’s “zero-tolerance” policy has been in effect. This separates children, starting with infants (those babies are really freaking tiny) until 17-years-old, from their parents. The parents may have court or adult detention centers while their children are left alone. These children are then held in detention centers with not enough shelter or food and a lot of fences. The treatment they receive, without having committed a single crime, is horrendous. Young children are emotionally and psychologically manipulated to think that their parents left them on purpose. Some guards taunt the kids with slurs, beat them, and now even cases of sexual abuse are coming to surface. Photos of these “camps” (said to be like boarding schools) that were taken from an aerial view have been visually compared to Auschwitz (Holocaust concentration camp, Nazi’s, 1933-1947). I often seen WWII as sort of the worst thing ever, like it’s the bottom line. If someone is comparing a horrible thing, that is what they use (and they probably shouldn’t) if it is so mind-blowing there is nothing else to say; alternatively, “Well, it’s not like it’s the Holocaust.” Unfortunately, I think they have a point worth mentioned. I also think the Japanese internment camps have sickening similarities (WWII 1942-1945). After the attack on Pearl Harbor (12.7.41) it was “[...] established [by] President Franklin Roosevelt through his Executive Order 9066 [...] the U.S. government that people of Japanese descent would be interred in isolated camps” (History.com). More than 177,000 people were affected and hundreds died, largely due to access to medical treatment. Comparing it to the Holocaust, no matter how true, can shut a person down due to fear. It just couldn’t come close, right? But, this next thing happened because of panic and hate all stemming from the same strains of super-racism. Most of those people were US citizens and plenty had never lived in Japan to begin with. Japanese descent, remember? Two MSNBC interviews with George Takei concerning this issue
LEFT: 11.18.16 with a quote written out below (left) and RIGHT:6.31.18 In the 1980s, Congress organized a commission to look into the reasons why the Japanese internment happened. I did testify at those hearings. They found three things brought it about: One was racial hysteria, one was war hysteria, and the third was failure of political leadership. And Donald Trump is a perfect example of that failure. It was because political leadership could not educate the hysteria that was sweeping across this country. ‘Get rid of the Japs’ was the most popular political issue at the time. And they didn’t recognize the fact that two-thirds of us were American citizens. They thought that we had an organic, genetic loyalty to the emperor, so we were all imprisoned with no charges. It was the most unconstitutional act and President Reagan apologized for that and pledged a $20,000 redress. What Donald Trump is talking about is going to make his logo, ‘America disgraced again.’ It’s all over again. We don’t know our history So, why am I saying this? We have the responsibility to take it upon ourselves and learn history, learn from our mistakes, and do better. With what's happenening, I've heard people say that we are "living through history." We have been this entire time! No war starts in a day. No tradegy flies past. These deaths matter. These people matter. I don't care about what's legal and why you want immigrants gone or not. No more excuses! This is wrong and you don't need to be a saint to know that, some of us are just trying a lot harder to hide it. Maybe you can't make much of a difference, as just one person (not true, but it can sure feel that way). But, start conversations because some people don't even know this is still going on. Join political groups in your area.. Go to that protest. Write letters to your local, state, and federal government. Donate (if/when you can) and get angry. Don't ignore it because "it's too depressing to think about." I hate that excuse. I know depression, and yeah this sucks. That's the entire reason we CAN'T afford to ignore it anymore. We gotta help these kids and these families and these innocent people. originally published 11/23/19 When I first saw a mention of this certain incident on social media, I didn’t believe it. I scrolled through a dozen different news outlets wishing it wasn’t true. I landed on an article on NBC News, Virginia school allegedly barred trans student from active-shooter drill (10.9.18). In Virginia public schools, active shooter drills occur every month or so. In Stafford County Middle School, last this September, some students were in gym class when the alarm sounded. The teachers divided the kids, putting the girls in the girl’s locker room and the boys in the boy’s locker room. Instead of noting that the spaces were for stimulating hiding from a potential deadly assailant and not changing, they alienating a single student because of her gender identity. They made a transgender student sit outside, in the hall, while the teachers spoke. They debated, openly in front of her, which space would be safest for the other students, for her to be in. Their transphobia is painfully evident with this evidence. The school board is taking the blame over the teacher, I believe. In response, I wrote this letter (displayed below) to the school. “[1] In Virginia, there are no statewide anti-bullying laws to protect students based on sexual orientation and gender identity. [2] There are statewide anti-discrimination laws, but they do not clearly include sexual orientation or gender identity.” (citation: sexetc.org) I'm having a hard time putting it into words, but school shootings are a very prevalent possibility. We are talking about a child in middle school, around 12 years old, being humiliated, belittled, and dehumanized by her own teachers. She spoke a bit to the press, just saying how scared she was. She was embarrassed because she had a panic attack in front of all her classmates. That afternoon with follow that girl for the rest of her life. I would like to think, not in a big way, but I don’t know that. She was humiliating in an already scary and nerve-racking (no matter how many drills you have) situation. I wrote a letter to her, the victim of all this. A short card, saying how strong she is. I also made this aesthetic board (left) with the colors of the trans* flag. It's easy to get lost in the big issues and feel like you are helpless. I wanted to be a supporter, however brief, to this girl. These big issues hurt people. In the bigness, sometimes you can only touch a single kid. But, to them and their loved ones, they an entire universe. We each are. By this, I'm reminded of a quote by Richard Price, which I saw in context of writing, but I think it applies here, as well. “The bigger the issue, the smaller you write. Remember that. You don't write about the horrors of war. No. You write about a kid's burnt socks lying on the road. You pick the smallest manageable part of the big think, and you work off the resonance.” A little later, I read an article by NY Magazine, that interviewed survivors of school shootings, “The Class of 1946-2018 - Twenty-sever school-shooting surivors bear their scars, and bear witness.” They were short quotes, and yet sometimes capturing something much larger than the day itself. Simply profound. Another recommended reading. originally published 10/31/18 A friend of mine recently started a Students Demand Action group in the area (based off of Mom's Demand Action) and asked me to write a letter to my state delegate and state senator about gun reform. This is what I wrote. State Delegate: Nicholas J. Freitas, district 30 (R) State Senator: Emmett W. Hanger Jr., district 24 (R) Dear ----- When I sat down to write this letter, I thought I would have a lot to say. And I do. I have so much to say that I don’t know how to say it. The arguments have all been said. There are smart people talking about gun control. I don’t think that I have anything to add that you haven’t already heard. It’s time for you to start listening. Why are we so afraid to talk about guns? We know they are the cause of millions of deaths. We know there are solutions. And yet, we refuse to even try to fix this very fatal problem. Don’t give my teacher a gun. It’s your job to protect your community. I am a student and I haven’t ever felt safe in school. My first lockdown was in kindergarten, and it was not a drill. I have little cousins. I don’t want them to grow up in a world where they aren’t safe in school. Because that is the truth about today. When I sat down to write this letter, I thought I would have a lot to say. And I do. I have so much to say that I don’t know how to say it. originally published 1/20/19 Joanna Hausmann is a comedian and popular Youtuber. Among other things, she covers topics and unravels myths about Latinos. She is Venezuelan and white which is something I can relate to. I love her videos so much, they are seriously hilarious. However, this video is not funny. She talks about the turmoil going on in her home country and points about things people seem to be getting wrong. This is not about the politics, it's about the effect this atrocity is having on the people, the ones on the ground who are starving and hurting. Worth the watch. originally published 1/31/19 Competition makes us better. It’s why monopolies are banned if they “are established or maintained through improper conduct, such as exclusionary or predatory acts.” Without a reason to get better… we don’t bother. It’s why so many people work better under pressure. Competition keeps us moving. So, no matter what the original intention, Democrats and Republicans are constantly competing. Ideally, it should keep one side from monopolizing politics in the US, which is a slippery slope (Want to live under a one-party state? Move to North Korea). This helps balance the variety of desires coming from a wide span of ideals and opinions. There shouldn’t ever be a winning team. These two parties should be pushing each other to make this country better. We don’t need petty fights and laws passed out of spite. We need people for what we elected them to do, which is to fight for us. To fight for the everydayers on the street, the people paying it forward and living whatever life we are living. Big issues are important, but small legislation can affect thousands so fast. The so-called “competition” in Congress should be there to make our legislators work harder, to motivate the growth of ever better ideas. It should not be the thing tearing our nation apart. If your only response is that, “This is how politics always is,” then, I don’t want to hear it. Politicians have a hard job because they chose it. And they work for us. Competition seems to be a common excuse, the reason behind mistakes. I still believe that healthy competition makes us better. If you keep having to remind the players that they playing for the same team, then something isn’t working. originally published 2/12/19 Do you know which word I’m talking about? It’s a word that can change the atmosphere in the room in a split-second. Let it leave your lips and nobody is listening anymore. Hear it and see disgust scatter across the group. Call yourself one and you might be hit rapid-fire with questions completely irrelevant to the conversation. Your very morality is vulnerable to be questioned. “When are you guys going to grow up and face the real world?” “So, you believe in killing innocent babies?” “Are you, like, vegan?” “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” Do you know the word? Are you ready? Oh, I can’t even say it…. *whispers* democrat originally published 2/5/19 If you’ve ever had a conversation with me -or read my blog- you might know that I’m not subtle. So many people and movies and news stories in my life have told me to be quiet. Or urged me not to “make a scene” or upset too many people because I still have to deal with them after the fact. Yeah, it hasn’t stuck, yet. I cannot walk through life with an armor made of lies. I’m not going to pretend that I’m okay with someone being homophobic or bullying or throwing our slurs they don’t understand. I have to call it out when I see it. It makes days tough sometimes, but ignoring the truth doesn’t make it go away. Note: it is not always safe for people to say everything they want to, and I want to nod my head to you guys. Take care of yourselves. This is for you. The other day I realized something that made me stop for a minute. My brain put this old thought into words for me. There is nothing that anyone can say to me that will break me. They will never come up with anything worse than what I already tell myself every day. I refuse to break because of hate. So, I don’t censor myself, but do I have to keep an eye on people’s reaction. I’ll mention a girl being cute and I watch their eyes. I roll my eyes at something in politics and I hold my breath. Half of my identity, uncontrollable factors making up who I am, is a political statement. I’m gay. I’m disabled. I’m loud. My dad is an immigrant. I have mental illnesses. I didn’t choose these things and I wouldn’t trade them out. I am who I am and I am finally learning to like me. Hate me because of what I do, not who I am. If I’m mean to you, I’m sorry, but feel free to never want to see me again. Those are reasons I have power over, and you don’t owe me anything. But, don’t decide you hate me before you meet me, you’ll be missing out. People will do crazy things out of fear. For anyone wondering (I’ve been asked), yes, I can be friends with people who have different opinions than me. It can be on big things, as soon as they show they devalue (or see no value in) other human beings because of race or sex or any of the uncontrollable factors, such as mentioned previously, we’re done. I have no reason to be around people who don’t see others as human or deserving basic human life. I can deal with you being obsessed with sci-fi (not my thing) or having a different faith than me, but I won’t stand by someone saying, “Well, I hate most gays and think they’re going to hell, but not you, don’t worry.” What does that even mean? I started thinking about this last night. I got the chance to meet Zyahna Bryant, teenage activist who is sparking change, before she gave a speech and it was amazing. She said something that I can’t get out of my head. She challenged us to “do what sets your soul on fire.” originally published 1/26/19 |
Posts up now were already posted on my "Little House" page. They have been updated.
My "Politics" page is a work in progress. What is this about?With the infamous new abortion ban in Alabama, a long since burning conversation is heating up.
2020 will be the first year I can vote. What a way to begin. ArchivesCategories
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