FIGHT BACK!
By Holly Near
By day I live in terror
By night I live in fright
For as long as I can remember
A lady don't go out alone at night, no no
A lady don't go out alone at night
But I don't accept the verdict
It's a wrong one anyway
‘Cause nowadays a woman
Can't even go out in the middle of the day, safely
Can't go out in the middle of the day
And so we've got to fight back
In large numbers
Fight back, I can't make it alone
Fight back, in large numbers
Together we can make a safe home
Together we can make a safe home
Women all around the world
Every color, religion and age
One thing we’ve got in common
We can all be battered and raped
We can all be battered and raped
Some have an easy answer
They buy a lock and they live in a cage
But my fear is turning to anger
And my anger's turning to rage
And I won't live my life in a cage—no!
By day I live in terror
By night I live in fright
For as long as I can remember
A lady don't go out at night--fight back!
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Sunday, August 12, 2012
You know...
Now that Mr. "I'm not concerned about the very poor" Romney has picked Mr. Ryan as his veep pick, I am
(a) Looking forward to the debates
(b) Looking forward to not voting for them
(c) Looking forward to watching them lose
(d) All of the above!
Please pick one. This will be graded.
(a) Looking forward to the debates
(b) Looking forward to not voting for them
(c) Looking forward to watching them lose
(d) All of the above!
Please pick one. This will be graded.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
I stand with Oak Creek
By now, I'm sure you've heard about the truly atrocious shooting at the gurdwara (Sikh temple) in Wisconsin yesterday. I've been following that story all day today, and it still makes my blood run cold. It just horrifies me that someone could be so heartless and so hateful as to enter a house of worship and open fire on its congregants. In particular, my heart goes out to my Sikh brothers and sisters tonight. They're already a very marginalized group as it is. Since they are often mistaken for Muslims in this very Islamophobic climate, they've been victimized by violent crime and discrimination. A culture that sees non-Christian, non-white Americans as less than has become the breeding ground for these horrific acts to happen.
While many of us, I'm sure, are definitely shocked by the violent acts in Wisconsin, I think it's important for us to be mindful of what created this. I read a very poignant article by journalist Valarie Kaur called "Today We are All American Sikhs," in which she called upon all of us to work towards healing the divisions between religious and ethnic groups in order to prevent another incident like this. I definitely can understand the sentiment, and while I'm certainly on board with her message of solidarity, I'm not sure that the headline is the best entreaty for her audience. The fact is, we are not all American Sikhs. As a member of a fairly small religion that is not often targeted for hate crimes in the United States, I don't have a clue as to what it's like to be a Sikh. I've never been discriminated against on the basis of my religion or targeted with hate crimes. In short, we don't all have that experience. If anything, I'd say we are more like Wade Page, the murderer. I'm not saying that we would all commit the murders that he did. However, news reports are showing that he belonged to several white supremacist hate groups, ones that believed that non-whites are inferior (I'm not going to write any of their beliefs in much detail). Now where did those beliefs come from? They don't happen in a void. Consider that in this day and age, there's still a lot of prejudice against non-white individuals. Latinos are often considered to be here illegally and are treated with suspicion. News outlets overrepresent blacks as criminals or welfare recipients, even though most crime is intraracial and most families on welfare happen to be white. Muslims have been victimized by numerous hate crimes, in particular following hte September 11 attacks, and they still face discrimination in terms of employment (like not being able to wear veils at work) or assembly (see the outcry over the Park 51 cultural center, also erroneously called a "Ground Zero Mosque"). How many of us have internalized those beliefs? A culture like this is the environment actions like Page's came from. We're all affected by that. We've all been fed that steady stream of racism and religious intolerance.
The choice is whether we act on it or not. The choice is whether or not we accept it. We can decide that enough is enough. We can say "That's not fair" when we see a community being unfairly targeted, for starters. We can raise awareness and consciousness and refuse to stop talking until the problem is solved. It's going to take a lot more than saying you are a part of a group you have never been associated with. As much as I favor gun control, it's going to take a lot more than harsher gun laws (I believe Page got his weapons legally). We need a deep-seated cultural change, one that values us all, to prevent another Wade Page and to keep all of us safe. I'm going to stand with the people of Oak Creek, Wisconsin, by doing my part for just that. We can't afford to do any less.
While many of us, I'm sure, are definitely shocked by the violent acts in Wisconsin, I think it's important for us to be mindful of what created this. I read a very poignant article by journalist Valarie Kaur called "Today We are All American Sikhs," in which she called upon all of us to work towards healing the divisions between religious and ethnic groups in order to prevent another incident like this. I definitely can understand the sentiment, and while I'm certainly on board with her message of solidarity, I'm not sure that the headline is the best entreaty for her audience. The fact is, we are not all American Sikhs. As a member of a fairly small religion that is not often targeted for hate crimes in the United States, I don't have a clue as to what it's like to be a Sikh. I've never been discriminated against on the basis of my religion or targeted with hate crimes. In short, we don't all have that experience. If anything, I'd say we are more like Wade Page, the murderer. I'm not saying that we would all commit the murders that he did. However, news reports are showing that he belonged to several white supremacist hate groups, ones that believed that non-whites are inferior (I'm not going to write any of their beliefs in much detail). Now where did those beliefs come from? They don't happen in a void. Consider that in this day and age, there's still a lot of prejudice against non-white individuals. Latinos are often considered to be here illegally and are treated with suspicion. News outlets overrepresent blacks as criminals or welfare recipients, even though most crime is intraracial and most families on welfare happen to be white. Muslims have been victimized by numerous hate crimes, in particular following hte September 11 attacks, and they still face discrimination in terms of employment (like not being able to wear veils at work) or assembly (see the outcry over the Park 51 cultural center, also erroneously called a "Ground Zero Mosque"). How many of us have internalized those beliefs? A culture like this is the environment actions like Page's came from. We're all affected by that. We've all been fed that steady stream of racism and religious intolerance.
The choice is whether we act on it or not. The choice is whether or not we accept it. We can decide that enough is enough. We can say "That's not fair" when we see a community being unfairly targeted, for starters. We can raise awareness and consciousness and refuse to stop talking until the problem is solved. It's going to take a lot more than saying you are a part of a group you have never been associated with. As much as I favor gun control, it's going to take a lot more than harsher gun laws (I believe Page got his weapons legally). We need a deep-seated cultural change, one that values us all, to prevent another Wade Page and to keep all of us safe. I'm going to stand with the people of Oak Creek, Wisconsin, by doing my part for just that. We can't afford to do any less.
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