#i will advocate for your existence to be free of discrimination in areas you should be protected

[i-used-to-be-an-anti-feminist]

You can read one book and identify as a bookworm. You can see yourself as someone who loves books, and you can ask other people to refer to you as a bookworm. If someone who reads two books a day spends time with you and observes that you only watch movies, they may think you aren't a real lover of books, at least not in the same way they are. They may (out of courtesy to you) continue to affirm you are a bookworm by referring to you as one, but that does not change how they actually perceive you or what you actually are.

A female can dislike her breasts and identify as someone without breasts. She can have her breasts surgically removed, and have others participate in her identity as a breastless woman by observing that she does not have breasts and referring to her as such. However, she has not changed the material reality that she is someone who grows breasts, or she would not have needed to remove them in the first place.

A man can make observations about women's behavior and identify with them. He can then transition into the socially expected affectations of womanhood. He can wear clothes typically worn by women, he can adopt stereotypically feminine behaviors, and he can even alter his body such that external observers may not always identify that he is male. External observers may (out of courtesy for him or a genuine belief that he is female) refer to him as a woman. However, this does not change their genuine perception of his maleness, nor the material reality that he is male. While it is possible to identify with gender (which is a set of behaviors typically assigned to one's sex) it is physically impossible to identify out of one's actual sex. Males can become transwomen, but they can never become female, or they would be female and would not by definition have needed to transition.

This fact does not make transwomen less worthy of respect, human rights, bodily autonomy, adequate healthcare, or freedom from harassment. But it does not grant them the right to demand that others participate in a lie that they are female. It does not grant them universal access to spaces reserved for females, nor does it grant them the right to shame or police a female's personal observations and preferences. Transgender individuals deserve to be treated with kindness, courtesy, and human dignity, but they do not deserve to be treated like gods.

#i don't care if you're transgender #i'm not going to go out of my way to misgender you #i will advocate for your existence to be free of discrimination in areas you should be protected #by i will not happily welcome males #whether they identify as women or not #into spaced where my i am meant to protected from males #i am not going to be bullied into pretending sex is the same thing as gender #and that i have a special privilege because i chose to identify with my own oppression #if i could have identified out of it i would have #i had body dysmorphia #i tried #it doesn't work because you can't change your sex #and people who aren't delusional know that #wwnf #female #my post #trans rights #not a radfem #but terfs do interact #terf friendly #gender ideology #nonbinary

[swtsuitou]

Memorial action for a sex worker. ‘I don't want to end up dead in a love hotel’

1st of August 2021: Memorial action for a sex worker. ‘I don't want to end up dead in a love hotel’

On the 1st of June 2021, a sexworker was killed in a love hotel in Tachikawa, Tokyo.

 Every time a sex worker dies, people say things like “Who cares if a prostitute lives or dies?” - “Whore deserves anything anyway” or even “Whores just shouldn't live on this planet spreading throughout the whole society both by mass media and everyday people on the internet, and even by the killer .

 The suspect of this case also said “I thought it's better that sex workers don't exist anyway” and “Female sexworkers are a cause of aging and declining population of Japan.

  Right after the incident, the mass media reported the victim's real name. But tell me, why would you even like to know her real name?

 You! Yes, exactly you! You, who you wanted to know the victim's real name – didn't you simply flinch a moment while the scary truth of how she was brutally murdered? And then, didn’t you simply return to your everyday life? Aren’t you the one who is just a consumer of the sheer existence of us sex-workers? Aren’t you the one who didn’t do a damn thing against all the prejudices and discrimination we sex-workers are facing day in day out?

  We want to work cheerfully, with health and safety, without being insulted and getting hurt. We are not your free pornography.

  Thankfully, some of you may pity on us and want to save us.The “anti-poverty activist” Takanori Fujita claims that the sex industry as such should be eliminated and is advocating for the the complete abolition of sex industry. Business owners of sex industry should not be included in  the COVID-19 compensation payment , he says. But dude, go fuck yourself, we say. She didn't get killed because sex industry exists. She was killed because discriminatory claims like “The sex industry as such should be eliminated”exist.

To say it simply: There's no shortage of clients like you. Clients who want to hear sad miserable stories about our lives full of poverty and violence. If you're willing to pay the right price or offer some kind of oh-so splendid "help," we might be able to tell you some “Oh, you poor girl”-style personal stories that might be to your liking.

 But you know, things like this are part of our job. We are not your “poor girls”. Don't exploit our lives! If you really want to “help” those “poor girls” grudgingly working in bad circumstances, then please think again about what you really desire. If you think that women who undress and spread their legs outside by their own volition outside of romantic relationship or marriage are something that simply can't exist, if you see women who do this simply as “poor brainwashed girls”, if you want us to be just weak and unhappy, then you should think again about what it really is that you're trying to protect.

  Although one does not need a quolification nor specialised knowledge to start with sex work, that doesn't mean sex work is for everyone. We are not “selling our bodies”. Sex workers are specialists to fulfill the fantasies of the clients, ultimate emotional labourers, and also care workers. Disrespecing and exploiting sex work is almost like being complicit in a discourse that seeks to keep domestic labour unpaid or extremely underpiad job. All we want is the same kind of respect and safe working conditions that clinical counselors, spa workers and other health professionals enjoy.

  As always, nobody is grieving about the death of a sex worker. Nobody is celebrating the life of a sex worker. We are only being watched by curious eyes, we are the target of insults and they are being consumed. That's why we want to grieve her death. We want to show the society that there are people who grieve the death of every sex worker who died. And we want to expose this patriarchal society.  All of your prejudices like “Who cares when a woman dies who spreads their legs for money” have killed her. They are killing us, too. We will never ever accept such a society.

  On Sunday, August 1, at 1:00 p.m., we will hold a memorial for the sex worker, the victim in front of Tachikawa Station and some of the bigger Tokyo train stations that have red light district nearby.

  We will spend half a day going around Tokyo, standing at several stations for about an hour each, and finally make an appeal in front of Tachikawa Station before breaking up. We will not do it in a hotel area or any other place where it would interfere with the business of stores.

 1:00pm Ueno -> Ikebukuro -> Shinjuku -> 7:00pm Tachikawa

  We will be collecting eulogies from everyone, posting them on our blog, and reading them on our behalf during the day's activities. Anonymous messages are welcome. Please write in Japanese or English.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdvxieudLPo-1aVDxQ1sR3TLUI7xeJD1nmRQzyJrZPesp35mw/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0

#Idontwanttoendupdeadinalovehotel #ラブホで死にたくない #sex worker #sexworkiswork

[roseriphilum]

Dear Ableists,

Why do you defend greed with such ardor, yet cast compassion aside as too costly?

Humanity, just what should we attribute to it? Care and support for all, aspects which are required for our survival as both a species and society, or advancement of production for the elite few, which harms the very environment we depend on?

Those recycled electronics being shipped overseas, and burned by the less fortunate for their parts, emitting dangerous fumes that a cause a variety of breathing problems, and pollution. Those overzealous pesticides which destory soils, kill people, cause serious illnesses, and fertility issues. The dumping of toxic waste in impoverished, poc communities, and sensitive habitats.

The willingness to permit these actions shows your disregard for life. So, do not dare to defend yourself by saying we are not affordable.

You replace jobs we may have taken with machines, digital programs, and outsourced, underpaid labor, then deem us useless, worthless, unsupportable. Are we the ones deciding how this economy is functioning? I think not, you would not dream of allowing us to participate in efforts to aid our own conditions, let alone determine the system which affects our ability to participate with you, and actively prevents us from doing so.

You make education a privilege, with the pricetag it carries, while assigning, and allowing teaching methods that prove unfeasible, and damaging for many. The attendance, and due date requirements keep a lot of us from earning the credits we may be otherwise able to score.

Professors are free to indulge contested theories of us based on stereotypes, and present them as facts. Should you find yourself in the hospital during an exam, you may be denied from taking it later, having missed your one opportunity. We are punished, and branded as lazy or lesser for not overcoming the insurmountable barriers you helped place in front of us.

You would see value in an artist, in a cook, in a maid, in a support team, yet you would refrain from calling us an asset, for providing those same services, without payment. Your eyes are not on benefit, sustainability, or wellbeing, but preventing change, and keeping money in areas of your interests.

Your acceptance, and encouragement of our perils in the name of excess luxury, profit, and convenience can be compared to those who would sacrifice humans to please gods. Except, your worship is of personal comfort, and gain.

Your narrow bias festers fear of us in the public eye, stripping dignity, respect, and basic human rights. You perceive our unique way of being as so inherently flawed, you pathologize any abnormal behaviors, constructing toxic ideas that come to harm those innocently expressing themselves.

How many have lost children due to a diagnosis, when parenting was well within their capabilities?How many disabled LGBTQ+ will be questioned as unable to determine their own state of being, and therefore alienated from their identity, or prevented from transitioning? How many have been legally kept from speaking about the way they are being treated? How many are abused, exploited, and killed by the very people trusted to take care of them?

Too many.

Silenced, isolated, and robbed of agency.

Part of America is a great hypocrite, who broadcasts her ideals of freedom, liberty, and justice, while enforcing the opposite. She is not alone in her practices, yet lies with such malicious pride, I can not help but put her in the spotlight she so enjoys.

That gleaming, red and white smile has cavities rotting beneath the surface. Contorted conflict sits behind her sparkling, blue mask. Even when it slips, she will deny the obvious scars dealt by her own hand, and continue the act, until that strategic gaslighting of hers makes you question the very nature of sanity.

You will accomodate and provide for a "competent, productive" killer before you do an innocent individual with severe symptoms from an emotional, developmental, or intellectual disability. Why? You still relate to the killer, more than you do us, and see them as more valuable to you. You can empathize with violence, more than you can be patient with a different code of existence, and learn how to work with it.

Your aversion, disgust, and distrust of the unknown reveals a deadly deal of discrimination, and misinformation, which has haunted us since you have first learned to wield these perceptions to your advantage.

You poison the world, and blame it on whatever marginalized group proves most convenient to turn a scapegoat.

My existence is not the threat, your selfishness is.

Sincerely,

A disabled, former mental health worker, and psychology student, who is fed up with normalized practices, and theories which advocate eugenics, and balanced oppression.

#tw ableism #ableism #tw eugenics #eugenics #tw killing #killer #tw abuse #abuse #tw discrimination #discrimination #tw homophobia #tw transphobia #homophobia #transphobia #tw maltreatment #maltreatment #disability #this was therapeutic #but seriously #we need change

[armouredgoblin]

Moderation In Everything

This is the post that I mentioned earlier today and I spent my time working thinking about how to articulate these thoughts. A good number of these thoughts will be UK centric so if you dont understand or want to discuss specifics, feel free to ask.

SO In life we are taught to try to enjoy things in moderation with stuff such as sweets, alchohol, partys and whatnot. That way we would enjoy those small treats more. BUT we can also apply these ideas to almost everything in life. What I mean by that is that without moderation or telling ones self that these are the limits set which keep everything from entering chaos.

These days in some areas of society the idea of moderation of things is seen as an extreme idea because they are directly impacted by their lack of moderation and are unwilling to accept it or want to push for it to be the normal.

For example: On an individual level you should control how much you should eat compared to how much you move and do things throughout the day. Without moderation (and something I am extremly guilty of) you may indulge in more and more until your body is directly affected by this and you gain weight. Thus directly impacting your health.

Now looking beyond just this one thing. It can be applied to a good number of subjects including: Laws, Media, Politics in general, Education and much more. I will be going through a number of ideas including a thought of what moderation is and one without moderation. Please note that some of these are directly influenced by my own opinions due to recent or not so recent ideas floating about.

To begin, lets start with some subjects in education.

With moderation a teacher will focus on teaching the subjects they are trained in . Teaching the students the nessecery information to get through life easier. There is also in some cases room for discussion of ideas for a healthy mindset where the student will not blindly just take everything in and not question it. In this the students are encourage to think. Parents should be able to talk to a teacher on the grounds that they are going to be respected (providing they are actually respectful of course, no one gets respect for free). Without moderation a teacher will push their own ideas onto the students and not allow them to discuss it. This has been seen thanks to Libs of Tiktok showing off how they push unnessecery and innappropriate ideas over sticking to actual subjects that should be taught in school.

With moderation sexual education is taught in a manner that is not only age appropriate but allows the students to have a healthy understanding of actions and the concequences that could occur. The students will often be of the age where these ideas will start to pop up thanks to hormones (age of 12 plus). Included in the teachings should be some of the concequences of sending nudes when underage (Ill advised as its illegal) or sex without a condom (which can make someone pregnent or leave you open to STD's).

Without moderation sexual education is for some reason starting earlier and earlier in schools (Thank you LOTT for highlighting this). There is an advocation of pushing trans kids as normal rather letting kids be kids. Following that is that the idea of biology is completely made up and you can be whatever you want to be at any moment. Creating an unhealthy atmosphere which can cause major confusion to children.

Lets move on to sociatel things

Starting with Racism/ race relations and such and such

With moderation people understand that discriminating another person due to their skin colour is not acceptable in modern life. Its widely accepted that other skin colours exist other languages exist. Its also accepted that people can enjoy other cultures/food/art and share it with their own culture. (I am a huge fan of sushi)

Without moderation racism is met with more racism. Things such as CRT (Critical Race Theory) are forced into every aspect of life, creating a major divide into people relations with each other. Segregation of people based on race is being accepted as the only way to keep people of particular backgrounds safe (For example: Black only spaces) while not allowing others to have the same because its Racist if they do it. Activly teaching a group of people who have nothing to do with the actions of the past that they are a terrible person for simply being the same colour as them. Activly defending a specific group of people even though they are the perpertrators of a hienous crime (Rotheram Rape Gangs) and then telling the victims that they deserved it or that they should shut up for the sake of diversity (MP Naseem ‘Naz’ Shah).

Lets use the last word of the last paragraph: Diversity

With Moderation diversity is the inclusion of all people/ideas ect in all discussions/media without actually focusing on a persons immutable or mutable characteristics. Media will have its own section.

Without moderation there is only one idea and diversity only means less white people. No difference in opinion becuase the correct opinion is the most diverse.

Next is media. I will focus on a couple of things including TV/ Film/ Video games.

With Moderation video games have a wide veriaty of choice in which do not cater to everyone. There are a number of genres/ ranges in difficulty/ both political and Apolitical ideas/ have a wide veriaty of characters, stories, styles, gameplay. They allow themselves to hit a niche only found in a small audience and are built with love rather than focus on forcing as much money out of people. Games can have some challenege for players to overcome when it makes sense to do so (darksouls obviously) but in other games there are the options to lower the difficulty or increase it. (there is no shame in lowering the difficulty but dont try to force it on everyone)

Without moderation video games are all created to such a wide audience that it doesnt appeal to anyone. They all contain content that is hidden behind a paywall of random chance. Games that are seen as challanging will be made easier to accomodate lowest dinominator of skill levels. (Ok that is me for definatly being annoyed by every fake journalist who cannot play actual videogames). With the accomodation of absolutly everyone there has to be the characters that represent everyone at all times or else a media backlash.

Moving on to TV/film

With moderation people make shows that the audience enjoys. Picks actors who suit the characters and can play them well. When adapting from a different medium they try to create a story that follows faithfully or creates a new story in the universe while keeping characters accurate.

Without moderation tv/film is more focused on pandering a message or forcing people into roles that arnt suited that they turn away from the media (Looking at you Netflix, although you are starting to gain some sense). Forcing change on the medium in order to satisfy this weird obsession to see less of a particular group instead of creating new characters (Race swapping eastern euroupean characters in Witcher). Creating characters within a well established franchise and making them the least likable person but an obviuos Mary Sue (StarWars the Rey cannot do wrong saga).

Religeon is going to be the next hot topic

With moderation you practice your religeon in the privecy of your own home or visit the local place of whorship on particular days/times. Outside of those times you live life as normal as it does not intrude on the land and dominate your entire being. Your religeon does not force you to treat others differently for different ideas/ life choices.

Without moderation you have religeon be the law of the land. Everything you do is for it and you must force it on others. If your religeon is not the predominant one you must force it upon them or take over small areas proclaming that your laws overcome those of the land. At worse you use your religeon to commit atrocities upon others becuase of your beliefs (Terrorism).

Finally for now Sex and Gender

With Moderation Sex and Gender are the same thing and there are only 2. Trans people do exsist but they do not have any more rights than everyone else.

Without moderation you have no biological sex only what you feel like. There are so many pronouns now that people cannot keep up with it and eventually just start turning on themselves. The small but extremly loud minority of T's start to bully the rest of the LGB trying to force them into their way of life. People who are only attracted to the same sex are forced into sexual relations with those who are biologically different sex's (Lesbains forced into sex with "Trans Women").

There are many other areas I could go over but these ones will do for now. Im ready for you all to hate me in the asks but this just is what I think. I am a Moderate person. I try to think moderatly

#moderation #common sense #education #Laws #Media #uk politics #tiktok #libs of tiktok #critical race theory #Rape Gangs

[i-will-not-be-caged]

Social Contract Theory and Fandom Libertarianism

An essay in which I finally get to put my political science degree to work

So I was out walking my dog this morning and ruminating over why I have such a hard time with the conversations in fandom that seem to assume that the only two options when it comes to content are “all fan works must be pure vanilla innocence” and “all criticism is policing and evil.” To be clear, I think both extremes are, well, extreme and lacking nuance. But since I don’t actually see a whole lot of “no one can write characters doing anything wrong” in my corner of fandom (although I’m aware that plenty of it exists other places), I was much more interested in trying to figure out what bugs me so much about the “policing is the greatest evil in fandom” side of things.

Here’s the epiphany I had — people on that extreme end of things bother me because they sound so much like libertarians, much like a lot of us see echoes of fundamentalist purity culture on the other end. And then I got excited because once upon a time I was a political science major and now I get to take my epiphany and my degree and talk about social contract theory like the giant nerd I am :)

Strap in, folks; this got crazy long.

(This is, obviously, going to be pretty U.S.-centric. I’m assuming libertarianism exists in various forms in other countries, but I’m most familiar with the U.S. version, being an American and all, so that’s the lens I’m working with.)

The Libertarian Party in the US is all about “minimum government, maximum freedom.” Their website claims that they are the “the only political organization which respects you as a unique and responsible individual.” They “seek a world of liberty — a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her values.”*

Sounds pretty good on the surface, but when you start to look at the practical implications, well, there are a lot of problems.

Libertarians believe that people should only pay taxes if they want to, which sounds nice if you don’t like paying taxes, but also means there would be no government-provided social programs to help people in need. No WIC, no EBT, no unemployment assistance, no libraries (at least none that weren’t privately owned).

They believe that an unbridled market, free of government interference, will lead to greater prosperity and equality for everyone. Except their version of government interference includes things like child labor laws and environmental protections and product safety regulations.

They support civil liberties for everyone, claiming that “other political parties prioritize the rights of some, but not others.”* Again, sounds good, but when combined with their emphasis the free market, in practice this means that most libertarians end up supporting business owners’ right to discriminate rather than protecting customers from being discriminated against.

And don’t even get me started on school choice.

From the many conversations I’ve had with libertarians over the years, I’ve learned that what it boils down to is basically libertarians wanting all the benefits of living in a society without any sort of responsibility for their fellow community members. They don’t understand just how much of their life is a benefit that comes from the work other community members have done. They believe that everyone should just take care of themselves and leave everyone else alone, which can sound appealing, but breaks down as soon as you add in the existence of history, inequality, and injustice.

“Responsible individuals” who are “sovereign over the own lives” thinking everything would be best if we all just did our own thing and ignored everyone else…starting to sound familiar?

Fandom libertarians, then, would be the people who insist that if everyone just did the fannish things they wanted to do and stayed out of everyone else’s business, we would all have a great time in fandom. And just like with political libertarianism, that sounds pretty good on the surface.

And here’s where we get to social contract theory. Because in addition to thinking libertarian politics would be ineffective, I also believe they violate the social contract underpinning American society.

Social contract theory has existed for basically as long as Western civilization has existed (and probably arguably even predates that, although that’s out of my realm of expertise). There is a lot of nuance and a lot of variation, but for the purposes of this essay, I’m mostly concerned with Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s version.

Rousseau interpreted the social contract not just as an agreement between individuals and a ruler for the sake of protecting oneself from the State of Nature and death (the more Hobbesian view), but rather as a form of reciprocity between individuals and a ruler as well as between each individual. Rousseau believed that people could not both determine for themselves whether to fulfill their obligations to society based on their own interests and be allowed to reap the benefits of belonging to that society. This is basically the argument a lot of people use with libertarians — you don’t get to use roads, fire trucks, and other municipal services and refuse to pay your taxes.

One thing I (and many political theorists) would add to Rousseau is that in the 21st century, the social contract is not an opt-in contract. Unlike legal contracts, which you can choose to enter into or not, as soon as you are born into a society, you are part of that contract. As much as we might like to erase what we’ve got and start from scratch building society, we’ve got to start with where we are now (Even Rousseau talks about the impossibility of returning to the State of Nature in his work).

You can want it to be voluntary, you can argue that it should be voluntary, but ultimately, it’s not. Even if you have the ability to relocate and join a different society, you will then be a part of that society’s contract. We are all part of human society and that comes with certain responsibilities and requirements. There’s a lot of debate about what those responsibilities and requirements are, but only libertarians seem to think they shouldn’t actually exist.**

Fandom, on the other hand, is an opt-in community. You can choose whether or not you want to participate. Which is awesome! We all like having choices! And as many fandom libertarians will tell you, if you don’t like what’s happening in fandom, you can leave. Which is true.

However.

I would argue that if we choose to participate in fandom, we are also choosing to have some measure of responsibility for our fellow community members. If we don’t want that, we can opt out - we can make our blogs private, we can create a private subscription list for our fan works, etc. But by posting our fanworks in a public forum, by engaging in fandom activity openly online, we are agreeing to be a part of a community and all communities have guidelines and responsibilities.

Of course, we have a hard time determining what those responsibilities are even when we have laws and constitutions and things, so it’s not like something as fluid and unwieldy as fandom is going to have a codified list of rules and responsibilities outside of the terms and conditions of the platforms we use. But it boggles my mind that some people would then argue that they have no responsibility for the well-being of other community members at all.

And this is what bothers me about so much of the “Do whatever you want! People are responsible for their own experience!” side of fan culture. Yes, we can write/draw/do whatever we want. Yes, people should do what they can on their end to protect themselves. But we should also do what we can to help our community members protect themselves.

When someone claims they shouldn’t have to do that, all I can hear are the people who complain about paying taxes that they don’t benefit from or whine about having to include wheelchair ramps in their building plans or say that poor people should just work hard and get a good education. When fanwork creators call any and all criticism “policing,” all I can hear is people screaming “taxation is theft!”

And just like those people, when we refuse to make reasonable accommodations for our fellow fans — like tagging posts and fanworks accurately, avoiding racist/homophobic/transphobic tropes in our writing/art, listening when marginalized groups say something is harmful, etc. — we are actually harming our community. No one is advocating that we require people to have every single thing they create approved by a panel of judges, just like no one who wants single-payer healthcare is advocating for “death panels”. We just want to be a part of a fandom community that prioritizes minimizing harm to its members and freedom of expression.

I can already hear people screaming, “But who gets to decide???” And you know what? I don’t know the best answer to that. Here’s where that nuance that I talked about in the very first paragraph comes in. I believe that fandom communities have the capacity to navigate these gray areas respectfully and usefully without resorting to attacks or falling into the trap of fundamentalism. Maybe that’s overly idealistic of me, but well, my idealism is hard-won and refuse to give it up.

But I would also encourage us to remember that when it comes to issues of racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism — anything outside the realm of personal preference — fandom is not immune from the power differentials that exist in the broader world. Which means that the burden is on those with more power — white fans, straight fans, cis fans, abled fans, etc. — to work to make their own positions more nuanced before demanding it of fans with marginalized identities (and to remember that people exist at the intersections of all of those identities as well, so that I don’t use my queer, mentally ill identity to excuse myself from doing the work my whiteness requires).

Of course, this post assumes that most of the people in fandom agree with me that libertarianism generally turns people into arrogant assholes who don’t give a shit about others. I might be wrong about that; maybe fandom is full of libertarians and think it’s absolutely right and good to bring libertarianism into fandom as well. I just wish libertarians, both in fandom and outside of it, would stop insisting that people should have complete freedom without any acknowledgement that 1) that freedom has the ability to hurt someone else and 2) not everyone has the same access to that freedom.

*Quotes are pulled directly from the Libertarian Party’s website

**Note: there are a lot of criticisms of social contract theory, often through a feminist and/or race-conscious lens, that believe the idea of a social contract is inherently flawed; those criticisms, however, have more to do with acknowledging the ways in which people other than straight white men have been excluded from these contracts, and actually argue for greater responsibility for other individuals in society.

#fandom #fan culture #i tried to bold some of the main ideas #just in case you don't have time for 1800 words of political theory today

[nerdygaymormon]

My message to fellow Church members

Some of the words are borrowed from others, but this is what I’d like to say to other Mormons to help them understand my situation. And to be clear, these thoughts don’t represent all gay Mormons, there’s no unanimity of thought or experiences. Think back to going thru puberty and the embarrassment when you start having explicit dreams. Many teenagers feel ashamed and wonder if they’re evil for having such thoughts. Some also wonder if they’re broken because the people in their imaginings are of their same gender. They didn’t choose these images and desires and it can be confusing. Imagine being taught that the truest form of joy and fulfillment comes from being married in the temple and having a family–but being told this is not meant for YOU. It can be disconcerting to be in a Church whose vision of the afterlife focuses on husbands & wives in eternal families. Would you wonder if there’s something wrong with you or what the eternities will mean for you? It’s difficult to reconcile same-sex orientation with this Church. While messages of hope and joy can be heard, so are words that hurt. Compared to my teenage years, the Church has moved forward and the language has softened, but there’s still things taught that wound. Fellow members have said unkind things when they didn’t know I was included in the group they were disparaging. Like any other member, I want to be understood and loved, to be included. I don’t want to be merely tolerated. I want to be embraced, want to be respected as a peer and a fellow child of God, accepted for being on the path of discipleship with you. God created me as a glorious, eternal being. Same is true for the person who is trangender, asexual, panromantic or any other person in a queer category. I don’t know how we fit into God’s plan, but God knows. Our situations are part of the natural variations of the human condition. I can’t believe we’re set up to fail. I am a son of God. I am gay. I am known and loved by Him. He is rooting for me. When LGBT topics arise in church, they’re always linked with restrictions. Gay members don’t often hear messages of love and hope regarding their situation. Sometimes I’m told the same church standards apply to me as to any other member, but is that true? Single members of our church are to refrain from sex until married, but they’re free to engage in a myriad of behaviors that would make my church leaders uncomfortable were I to do them. In some important ways, I’m not sure I can reach my full potential as a human being inside the Church. When people learn I’m gay, sometimes it feels like people automatically discount my faith and things I share about being gay & Mormon, like answers to my prayers or thoughts on the subject. For people who swim with the current, can they appreciate the struggle of members who have to swim upstream in this Church? It feels like some members’ compassion for gays is really just sorrow that the person is gay, not genuine sympathy for the challenges that gays face in our culture, let alone a desire to help lessen the challenges. Think of someone in a wheelchair, while they can’t walk, they’re not disabled in a society that is thoroughly wheelchair accessible. The discrimination of not accommodating and not making things accessible is the real impairment. You can follow the prophet by advocating for the rights of same-sex couples. Also, invite gay friends to your home and gay members should know there is a place for them on the pew next to you. The language used when talking about LGBT issues matters. Words like “struggle” and “suffer” are the way we talk about diseases, temptations, and addictions. “I struggle with depression,” or “he suffers from cancer.” Imagine if the Church routinely spoke of you as “someone suffers with opposite-sex attraction.” Homosexuality is not like being a smoker or an addict. My sexual orientation isn’t a spiritual disability. I know the Church uses the phrase “same-sex attraction” as a way to not have it be part of my identity, it’s merely something I "have" not something I “am”. The thing is being gay goes beyond sexual attraction, it’s an orientation, which means it’s a way of thinking, feeling and responding. Being gay affects how I view and understand the world in many areas: romantic, aesthetic, emotional, mental, and spiritual. I can’t turn off my heart or my thoughts. LGBT individuals experience the world in wonderful and holy ways, have the ability to perceive grace and connect with others, and have insight on what it means to be divine. Our experiences can be expansive and uplifting. Here’s an interesting thing, many prayers with the pleading of “Please take this away from me,” have been answered by silence. But “God, do you love me as I am? Do you accept me? Do you love all of me?” those prayers get a strong, loving “YES!” I don’t need mending, I am not broken. I’m a whole person, like you, as my Heavenly Father made me. He already knows and loves us, knows our orientation. I’ve been asked by parents, “Is there a place in church for my child?” “Church and family have brought happiness & purpose in my life and my child can’t have both?“ I can’t tell them what the future holds, but I can promise that as long as their child wants to be here, there’s a place for them, and there are people who’re willing to walk this hard path with them. As the Primary song says, “I’ll walk with you, I’ll talk with you, that’s how I’ll show my love for you.” LDS Family Services estimates there are, on average, four or five members in a typical North American ward with same-sex attraction. Does that surprise you? It did me. Some may keep a low profile, and others may be inactive. Being LGBT & LDS can be lonely and feel isolating. Our situation isn’t reflected in videos or the lessons, there’s not really any role models at church, we’re absent from any discussion on exaltation and Eternal Life. It feels like me and my existence aren’t acknowledged and certainly not valued, which is a shame, young people especially deserve to know that people like them matter. People always felt Jesus’ love, even if he’d told them hard things. People were seen and heard, they were touched. They left Jesus with more dignity than when they started. I’m not sure LGBT people can say the same about their encounters with Mormons. My country and my church both have sins in their pasts. In our church we teach that prophets and apostles are not infallible, however a lot of Mormons act as if they are and that the leaders won’t ever teach incorrect things. I don’t think that’s true of our history with members of African descent. It’s also not true in the area of homosexuality. Jesus would not ask me to stay away from him, yet it feels like, as a church, we’ve been letting the gay lambs go. I am a Mormon and I am a gay man. I love this church and how it’s taught me to feel the Spirit and gets me to serve others and the sense of community, but if I’m forced to choose between the two, I can’t change my orientation. Statistically about 70-90% of all LGBT members will leave the Church. Many view the choice of remaining as choosing to be miserable for Christ. Is this what He asks of us? Please be gentle and compassionate with LGBT members who leave or come back to Church. Being active in this Church for LGBT people usually equates with a lower quality of life, greater depression, more distress over their sexual orientation, lower self-esteem and higher suicide rates. Sometimes a person needs a break from the Church in order to maintain or reclaim better mental health. Your gay friends aren’t weak for seeking love & intimacy, they aren’t being led astray by the adversary. It’s a biologic drive that is natural to pursue and to deny & repress it comes at a great price. Today I may sound like a confident, mature person, but for a long time it was hard to love myself. It took a long time for me to accept and embrace my sexual orientation. It’s been a long journey for me to understand that being gay is neither good nor evil, it just is. In my life it has turned from a curse into a blessing. I know what it feels to be on the margins. I can empathize with people in their struggles. I’ve been used by God to build His kingdom, to befriend the friendless and comfort the comfortless, He guides me to people who need to feel His love. My being here means I survived and triumphed in a world that didn’t protect, validate, or encourage me as a gay individual. I’ve had to become strong & patient. I’ve had to gain some spiritual independence and be brave enough to say that I am staking a claim to the blessings of the gospel in spite of what others say. I recognize that many members would prefer to not have to hear about these things. That LGBT people don’t seem to “fit in” with the plan of creation as it’s generally understood, and yet, we exist. Sometimes I feel like the bothersome data point that doesn’t fit the hypothesis, that my existence is an inconvenient truth. The thing is, in society and especially at church, you are in the privileged position. If nothing changes, it doesn’t really affect you and so it’s easy to say let’s not stir things up or that I just need to be patient. For me, though, it means everything. He already knows and loves people in my situation, but for us to be honest with Him, we need to be honest with ourselves. Spiritual maturity includes coming out of the closet with God. The path forward is unclear for queer Mormons, we each have to navigate a path forward. I wish my church and my orientation were more compatible, because I don’t believe it’s incompatible with God.

#sorry it's so long #but it's important #tl;dr--love & accept me #queerstake #tumblrstake

[mfmagazine]

Nazanin Boniadi

Article by Star Noor

Photo by Sean Costello

Charismatic and beautiful Nazanin Boniadi is the epitome of a collective awareness, the poster child of what today' artist should be, and a damned good actor to boot.  More than just a captivating beauty with attention grabbing tricks up her sleeve, Nazanin is an award winning performer and honor role brainiac.  The epitomy of a modern woman with a broad spectrum of artistic talents she is both a reliable and relatable voice we all need in those who drive our popular culture. With roles in blockbuster films like Charlie Wilson's War and Iron Man, and in TV shows such as 24 Season 8, The Deep End, and Hawthorne- Nazanin is rapidly becoming a shining star in Hollywood Land.  She was born in Tehran, Iran at the climax of the Iranian Revolution causing her family to relocate to London where she grew up.  From an early age her passion for the arts was apparent receiving a merit from the Royal College of Music for playing the violin, a certificate in ballet from the Vaccani School of Dance, and winning the British "Yamaha Electone Festival" for her proficiency on the electric organ.  But, in her college years Nazanin decided to forgo the arts for the more "stable and secure" lifestyle of a physician and so she relocated to the U.S. to attend the University of California, Irvine.  During her years at the university Nazanin not only graduated with Honors but also won the competitive "Chang Pin Chun" Undergraduate Research Award for her work in heart-transplant rejection and cancer research.  Suffice it to say, being satisfied in her abilities, Nazanin felt free to put down the microscope and pursue her first and truest calling- the performing arts. Since then she has become the first actor in a contract role to portray a Middle Eastern character in U.S. daytime history, a role that won her the 2008 NAACP Image Award Nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series.  But, perhaps more impressive than her collegial and performing resumes are her global humanitarian efforts.  Lending her voice as an Official Spokesperson for Amnesty International Nazanin has been working both at the grassroots level and appearing on numerous international TV and radio programs to campaign for human rights.  Her most current and perhaps effective efforts have been to bring attention to the unjust conviction and treatment of Iranian youth, women, and prisoners who have been targeted maliciously in the past decades.  In her outreach she has worked to create and support acts which will help ensure the end to the injustices of this world meeting globally with political leaders, prominent human rights attorneys, and addressing the United Nations while continuing to create an impressive body of work as a groundbreaking artist. With Amnesty International turning 50 next year, a mega mix of sadness for the continuance of tragic human rights violations and a celebratory year for the many good works the organization has been able to accomplish, the time has come to get to know what being a tireless activist with a face of celebrity is all about and for that we turned to one of the most determined and talented artists striving for those freedoms we all should possess.   You are an Amnesty International Spokesperson, why did you choose this organization to work with as opposed to others? Growing up in London, I remember watching entertainers I admired like John Cleese, Rowan Atkinson and the guys of Monty Python, Bob Geldof and Sting perform in the Secret Policeman’s Ball, an annual televised   benefit concert that raised money for Amnesty International so I was very aware of this great organization. When personally considering a philanthropic partner who could use my voice most effectively, I was inspired by the way they educate and engage millions of individuals to advocate those in need, and because of their strong history of support from musicians such as Sting, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Nicolas Cage, and Jennifer Hudson I knew they are able to work within the entertainment industry to appropriately utilize artists to rally the widest group of people possible to affect positive change, that is really what being a spokesperson is all about.  Artists and entertainers were the first group of people to make me aware of what human rights are. Now, if I can have just a fraction of the impact on future generations through my human rights advocacy that the artists I grew up watching and admiring had on me, I would be thrilled. In the broad spectrum of Amnesty's reach which issues have you tried to advocate personally and why? Over the past two years I have focused my attention on 3 main areas.  The first has been general human rights advocacy, using my platform to help educate new generations on the 30 articles of the UN Declaration of Human Rights, and how we are all compromised when human rights are violated.  It is my dream to have human rights education be part of every high school curriculum across the world, because knowledge is power and you cannot defend what you do not know.  The Second has been lending my support to the International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA), the only piece of legislation I have read that provides an effective solution to the global epidemic of violence toward women and girls. I believe it is a vital step toward world peace. I am pleased to say that this important bill was re-introduced in the 111th Congress by bipartisan teams in the House and the Senate on February 4th, 2010.  The third and most intense area of focus has been campaigning for human rights in my homeland of Iran.  Most recently, I had the pleasure of partnering with the wonderful rock band The Airborne Toxic Event on ‘The Neda Project’ respectfully named after a young Iranian woman Neda Agha-Soltan who was brutally shot while peacefully protesting the election results in the streets of Tehran.  This was a series of events held in conjunction with the one year anniversary of the disputed presidential election, and in support of the human rights movement in Iran. Neda has become the face of the resistance and symbolizes the struggle for freedom in that country. The Neda Project culminated on June 20th, 2010, the anniversary of Neda’s death, in one massive online demonstration at nedaspeaks.org, in solidarity with the people of Iran. Numerous celebrities from Academy Award winning writer/director Paul Haggis, to recording artists such as Sting, Ne-Yo, Jay Z, and the Dixie Chicks, and actors such as Alyssa Milano and Cary Elwes supported the campaign.   Tell me about any one issue you wish the world knew more about and focused more on. There is a growing child prostitution and sex slavery crisis in Iran that has been exasperated by its discriminatory treatment of women.  Since sex is such a taboo subject in much of the Middle East, there is no room for public discourse on how women and girls can protect themselves against sexual predators, unwanted pregnancies, and infectious disease. Unfortunately, one of the tragic consequences has been a spike in HIV/AIDS infection in recent years. Education and awareness would go a long way in helping solve this devastating problem worldwide. As a woman what would you say to the Iranian women fighting for their rights in the country today? Women in Iran have proven their tenacity and steadfast devotion to human rights. Not only have they been at the forefront of the protests against the disputed presidential election of 2009, but for years they have been the driving force in campaigns for democracy, equality, and freedom.  That’s why they have been dubbed “Shir-Zan” or “lioness”, because of their incredible fearlessness in the face of tyranny. I am in awe of these women. They are true heroines, each and every one. And when the women of a country are this brave, they set an incredible example for their children to follow, and there can only be optimism for the future of that society. The majority of rapes in Iran go unreported to the authorities because of the lack of public knowledge in victim advocacy and the government's inability to adopt laws which protect women instead of wrongfully persecuting them for allowing themselves to get caught in a situation where they might lose their chastity.  As an ambassador for human rights, would you agree with this statement and what are your thoughts on the matter? The accusation of rape is a very sensitive subject for public discussion in Iran for several reasons: Firstly, the Islamic Republic’s penal system views the testimony of women as having half the value of a man’s. Such discrimination has had terrible repercussions on how women are perceived and treated by society.  Secondly, rape does not constitute a separate criminal offense in the Iranian Penal Code and the rape of women is dealt with by the Judiciary under the zena provisions of the Code, or “penetrative sexual relations outside marriage”. Under Islamic law, such offenses are considered crimes against God, rather than crimes against a person, and are thus punishable by the death penalty. So, even if a woman can prove that penetration did in fact occur, she would be in danger of being executed due to the loss of chastity and a “crime against God”.  The cumulative effect of these oppressive laws, make it almost impossible for women to speak out and seek justice when raped. Any kind of meaningful victim advocacy can only exist once these unjust laws have been rewritten to protect rape victims, rather than to punish them. What do you think about Hollywood as a place for Iranian performers? When I first started auditioning in 2006, Hollywood had a post-9/11 mentality toward Middle Eastern actors.  There was an abundance of casting calls for terrorists, battered wives and store clerks. However, with the unfortunate political climate also came an ever increasing demand for Iranian actors, which seems to have encouraged more of our youth to study the performing arts and join the auditioning pool. So, over time the number of Iranian actors working in Hollywood has increased, which I count as a blessing. Fortunately, the roles are becoming far more mainstream, and less stereotypical. For example, ABC recently shot a pilot episode for Funny in Farsi, based on the book by Firoozeh Dumas, so it seems we are being more accepted in the social consciousness of the industry.  I look forward to the day when an Iranian actor can open a movie in the U.S. and across the world.  I don’t think we are too far away from that day. What can you tell us about your latest film? I had the good fortune of working on a wonderfully smart and witty short film last year, called Diplomacy, which is currently playing in the international film festival circuit. Diplomacy was written and directed by Jon Goldman, who last directed Grey’s Anatomy’s Sandra Oh, in the 2005 short film Kind of a Blur. It is a political comedy that examines the possibility of diplomatic relations between the United States and Iran, and how subtle changes in rhetoric can potentially change the course of history, for better or worse.  It was a blessing to work with my co-stars: Michelle Forbes, Omid Abtahi and Navid Negahban, all extremely talented actors. The film won The Audience Award at The Paris International Film Festival in 2009, and received Special Jury Awards at Aspen Shorts Fest, and the USA Film Festival in Dallas in 2010. I also feel humbled to have received a Best Actress Nomination for my portrayal of Azar, the Persian Interpreter in this film, from the 2010 Short Shorts Film Festival in Tokyo, Japan. It’s been a fun ride! If you could play the lead in any film based on any Persian fable which story would it be and why this one? I would love to play the role of Manijeh in the love story Bijan and Manijeh, from Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh. It is an Iranian Romeo and Juliet story, except for there is a happy ending: Bijan falls in love with Manijeh, daughter of the king of Turan and enemy of Iran, Afrasiyab. After Afrasiyab punishes Bijan by ordering him to be imprisoned in a deep well in the desert, and banishes Manijeh to that same dessert, Manijeh digs a tunnel to Bijan’s prison, begs for food every day and takes it to him to keep him alive. She later helps the great Iranian hero, Rostam rescue Bijan from the pit. Her strength, determination, loyalty and love for Bijan are unwavering throughout.  It would make a beautiful epic feature film. What do you think about the state of Iranian cinema today? The excellent caliber of Iranian filmmaking over the last few decades at the hands of such incredible directors as Abbas Kiarostami, Jafar Panahi, and Bahman Ghobadi, has secured Iranian cinema as one of the most respected and critically acclaimed artistic cinemas. It is amazing that such artistic excellence can exist under Iran’s severe censorship rules. Imagine how much more they could flourish if they were afforded the same artistic freedom of self-expression that we enjoy, and often take for granted. It would be a dream and an honor to work with these esteemed Iranian directors, in an environment where they face no governmental interference or restrictions on the stories they wish to tell. Which performers do you admire the most who have influenced you as an actor? I fell in love with the idea of acting when I first watched Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday. Her on-screen charm is simply unparalleled. What is your dream role? I love playing powerful women with an underlying frailty and a complex inner conflict to resolve. I’m particularly drawn to period pieces. There’s something very magical about being able to transport an audience to another era, whether it is Biblical, set during the Persian or Roman Empires, or the Renaissance.  I am also passionate about taking on a role in a film with a strong human rights theme, such as Rachel Weisz’s character in The Constant Gardner. It would be an exceptionally fulfilling way to fuse my work as an activist with my craft as a performer.  If Azar Nafisi’s memoir, Reading Lolita in Tehran, should ever be turned into a feature film, it would be a dream to play any one of Ms. Nafisi’s students, each of whom possesses the type of free-thinking bravado and inner conviction needed to challenge an oppressive society and eventually break the chains of tyranny. Any upcoming projects we should be looking out for? I will be appearing in Paul Haggis’s upcoming movie, The Next Three Days, which is scheduled to hit theaters in November 2010.  It is a remake of the 2008 French film, Pour Elle.  It was such an honor working with Paul. He is incredibly nurturing and supportive of his actors. He is also a devoted human rights activist whom I have a ton of respect for. And the experience of acting opposite Russell Crowe was incredibly powerful.

[alexyar]

I know that 'diversity in STEM' post of yours was forever ago and I highly doubt no one since then has genuinely asked you why you thought that way, but I'd like to bite. Do you think diversity in STEM really isn't a big problem, or if you do, do you think it's handled/approached the wrong way? What were your experiences like? If you've already answered this before, hopefully you can just point me to that direction. If you haven't and don't want to, that's also okay. Have a good day.

UPDATE: Since some people apparently struggle with reading comprehension, i’ll put this right on top: no, i am not against women in stem events. I, as a person (and not supreme authority on things that should or should not happen) don’t particularly like or enjoy them, for reasons that are explained in the post. However, my feelings on the matter doesn’t in any way decide whether events should (or should not) take place. Many people can and do consider them valuable, and I’m happy that those people found a space for themselves. The fact that I am not one of those people has absolutely nothing to do with whether these events should exist or what value do they have, and I have never (in this post or others) claimed otherwise. 

Thank you for asking!

I don’t think I’m qualified to answer whether diversity in STEM is a problem. Too many questions : how do you define diversity? How do you define a problem? Should there should be more women, black people, neurodivergent people in STEM? I don’t know! “Should” for what?…

Should those people not be discouraged for pursuing whatever area they want to pursue? Absolutely. Should we make sure that hiring/admission committees, professors, administrators, etc don’t discriminate against those people? Absolutely! Should we convey to children and youth that “girls can be engineers too”? Yes! Should there be more women in STEM? I don’t know! I feel like this is a decision that women should make for themselves! 

Some context. The post “every time someone says diversity in stem i want to vomit” was when someone I know invited me to a workshop, and in the same message asked me how do I think we can encourage women participation. 

I was invited to workshops that I was wildly unqualified to participate in…just because I was a woman. I was invited to give talks that I was wildly unqualified to give.. just because I was a woman. “But this is an opportunity for you!”, you might say, but is it really? Imagine you are sitting among 30 people (some of them women by the way) who are significantly, by a lot, better than you. You are lost to the point where you can’t even ask an intelligent question because you don’t even understand the premise of what’s going on. You show up to a talk after a talk after a talk, and you get absolutely nothing from them. You can’t do much networking because you are on an entirely different wavelength with literally everyone else around you – on a “3 years in reading material behind” wavelength. And don’t get me wrong, everyone is very nice and helpful, and literally no one holds you in contempt, but this is completely useless for you. This could’ve been actually useful for someone whose spot you’re taking. It might’ve even been another woman! How is that an opportunity for professional development? It’s an opportunity to make me feel terrible about myself and make me doubt ever coming out to any of these events again.

So I guess I do have personal problems with how “diversity outreach” is handled, it makes me, personally, very uncomfortable. There is an implicit assumption that there is a Shared Women Experience, and from what I could gather, I never had of the experiences or thoughts or perceptions that I was supposed to have. Whenever someone starts talking about women in math I feel like I’m womaning wrong – and the only thing that this gives me is Yet Another community where I don’t belong. The only time I felt like I am being singled out for being a woman was at specifically gendered events that are supposed to be “outreach”. The panel discussion and women-only dinner at MSRI’s “Connections for women” and the women-only tea time with Kathryn Hess at 2015 Talbot were probably the most uncomfortable experiences in my academic life.I am not a “woman in math”, but i am also not a “nonbinary in math” or “agender in math” or any other “ in math”. My gender identity or perception has nothing to do with math. My gender is not important for me, why is it so important to someone else so as to make it the main focus of some event? Attending those events, listening to speakers and discussions, it seems like “being a woman” completely and absolutely defines, informs, and shapes the way I should perceive every single experience in my life, and that’s just…not the case?.. I tend to feel uncomfortable around “women in STEM” advocates sometimes because according to them my gender identity is more central to who I am than it actually is. Ironically, the only people who provided me with a “gender-free” experience have been cis men. 

And like…I understand the value of such forced diversification regardless – when someone who is new to the field would look at the participants and see that half of them are women and think “I am not unwelcome here”, and that is important! It’s great for the future, not so great for the actual human tokens currently involved in that process.

#i wrote a big post on my complaining blog but there's no search on private blogs so you have only the part that i saved #Anonymous

[traceecatherine-blog]

Some Thoughts

I decided it’s about that time again for me to use my gift of writing to express what I’m sure a lot of people are thinking and feeling right now. You’re not to worry, this isn’t another post about who you voted for and why and what have you. This is, however, a post about politics and what has recently been happening in America and I urge you to read this entire thing despite the fact that you may be “sick of hearing about it” or “tired of seeing it”. Please don’t immediately denounce this post just because politics “aren’t your thing” or you just simply don’t care. Now is not the time to shut off the news and write off every post about some very real and very wrong things that are happening in our world. And you need to realize that your ability to ignore it and decide that it’s not your thing and to turn it off is entirely and irrefutably a PRIVILEGE. For some, particularly those that this post is about, there is no turning it off. There is no ignoring it. There is no choice of whether or not they want to know. For some, politics becomes life or death. Now is the time to listen and become educated and become involved, and I hope that this post can provide some sort of value to those effects. 

The reality of living in this world, right here in 2017, is scary. The reality of living in the US is horrifying. We are part of a country that is being run by someone who does not advocate for equality, who does not believe that everyone is deserving of all the same rights and freedoms, who does not believe that every human being deserves to live a happy and free life. This country is being run by someone who openly and happily dehumanizes other people because of their race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, where they’re from, and the list goes on. This country is being run by someone who has put a BAN--”an official legal action to prohibit” by definition--on other human beings. A ban. On human. Beings. As if these human beings are dangerous chemicals that shouldn’t be put into food, all because they come from countries with Muslim populations. If you’re still reading this I want you to seriously consider what I just said and what the very real fact is: the president of the United States of America, the supposed land of the free and the land of opportunity and the promise land, has banned HUMAN BEINGS with Muslim religious backgrounds from 7 different countries from entering the United States. Human beings who are under attack and fleeing war torn areas and are dying every single day at the hands of the people America is also supposedly worried about. These human beings know the violence and destruction and loss that real terrorists cause better than any of us could ever fathom. They are FLEEING those terrorists. They ARE NOT terrorists themselves. Being Muslim does not make you guilty by association and it is inhumane and unjust to punish BILLIONS of human beings that practice a peaceful religion just because the actions of less than 0.01% of that group. Muslim refugees and immigrants not only need our help and compassion, they DESERVE it. 

Please imagine if the situation were reversed, if you and your family were to be in their shoes. While we cannot pretend to know the real gravity of their struggle and their oppression, the least we can do is try to understand by putting ourselves in their spot. Imagine living in a country where every single day, your life is in danger of people who claim to be just like you. Every city is ruined by violence and death and you have to worry every single day about your children and your parents and your brothers and sisters and your significant others getting home alive. You have to hope and pray that everyone is sitting down to dinner each night. Imagine wanting to get out, needing to get out for the safety of you and all of your loved ones and imagine going through an extensive and drawn out process of background checks and interviews and applications in order TO get out. Imagine finally having the opportunity to secure the safety of everyone you love, only to be told you’re not allowed. Only to be turned away and sent back towards war and death and living every day like you might not see any of your family again because you were killed in another bombing or you were shot to death for one reason or another, all because the nation you were trying to seek refuge in has decided that people like you are dangerous. Imagine being labeled and grouped together with the people who have been trying to kill you. Imagine how it must feel to know that those in power of that nation do not care about you as a living breathing human being simply because you follow a certain religion. 

There was a young man on Twitter who posted something along the lines of, “I remember being in history class and thinking, ‘if I had been there, I would have _____’.” Well, you are here. You’re here right now and it’s happening right in front of your eyes and you can choose to sit by and do nothing and let some high school Sophomore learn about it in their history books years from now and think about how they would’ve done it differently, or you can choose to do what the younger you thought should’ve been done in a similar situation. Regardless of what side of the election you were on, regardless of where you come from and what color your skin is and who you love, at the end of the day we are all human beings. And human beings should not EVER sit idly by and watch other human beings suffer and be discriminated against and be treated as “less than” for whatever reason, for ANY reason. No human being is illegal. No human being is wrong. No human being is less than a human being for any reason at all. And if you find that you can state a “reason” then you, sir or ma’am, need to admit to yourself that something is very wrong with you. You need to sit down and take responsibility for the way that you think and you need to realize that it is no one else’s fault--not even those you claim are dangerous or less than--but your own that you feel this way about other people. Every person on the planet has the right to choose how they treat other human beings; every single person no matter how you were raised or where you come from. There is no excuse, here in 2017, to not understand what is right and what is wrong. I know children as young as 4, 5, 6 years old who understand that it’s not okay to treat other human beings without respect and decency, and yet there are full grown adults who still maintain the rhetoric that people of color and the LGBTQ+ community and people of different religious backgrounds are wrong and that they need to be changed or just “exterminated” all together. Those people CHOOSE to think that way and they CHOOSE to treat others that way and do not let them convince you of anything different. 

Bottom line is that America was built on immigration. America was built on the idea of freedom. NONE of us, aside from the Natives who were already here and the African Americans who were forcibly brought here, would be in this country today if our ancestors had not immigrated here from the rest of the world. The original 13 colonies would have never existed as they did if the British people had not immigrated here in the first place. More likely than not YOU, the very person reading this right now, are a descendant of immigrants whether you know it or not and whether you want that to be case or not. You are. You would not live the life you do today had it not been for your family’s immigration to the United States at some point in the past, no matter how long ago or how recent. You need to understand, right now, that these Muslim refugees and immigrants are looking for the same thing that your family was--freedom and a better life filled with opportunity. They are not fleeing their countries just because they feel like it. They are not seeking asylum in the United States because they want to harm its existing citizens. They are coming here because they see no other option, they have no other choice besides living in the wake of more danger than any of us will ever experience in our lives. The absolute last thing we should be doing is turning those people away and turning our back on humanity just because some guy in a suit tells you to believe that they’re dangerous for this country. The last thing we should be doing is ignoring the hurt and the suffering these men, women, and children are enduring in their home countries just because some guy in a suit tells you they’re not people who are deserving of being treated like a human being.

If you’re still with me and you find that you agree with anything that I’ve said, I encourage you not to remain silent about it. Speak up, and make sure it’s loud and clear. Vocalize the way you feel. Do your research and become an educated person and use that knowledge to teach others, use that knowledge to get involved. Get out on the streets and join the protests, stand with the crowds and let those in positions of power know that you are not complacent. Show them that we the people are united and strong and that we will not back down and we will not stand with them if they choose to treat other human beings as anything but exactly that--human beings. Use your voice because it matters so much more than you think it does, whether you’re 10 or 50. Donate to organizations that fight the good fight and seek justice and equal treatment of everyone (the ACLU is currently a huge one) and utilize companies that openly oppose the wrongful treatment of other human beings (Lyft has promised to donate $1 million over 4 years to the ACLU), and know which companies not to use and support. Call, email, fax, write to your representatives and congressmen and women and let them hear your discontent and your outrage and do not stop. The best thing we can do is be loud and be relentless and be unified and be strong, especially in the light of our differences. Diversity, in all walks of life, is what makes us beautiful and what makes us human and we need to stand up and show everyone that we will not tolerate anything less than acceptance of every single person on the planet. We need to show everyone that racism, xenophobia, sexism, religious intolerance, and a complete and utter disregard for another human’s life will not stand. America will not, and can not, be “great” (there is no “again”) if our idea of “great” is keeping people out of our country and more or less condemning them to die because there’s a 1/1.6 billion chance that that particular Muslim could be a terrorist. America will not, and can not, be “great” if we choose to construct physical borders and divide ourselves from the rest of the world and isolate ourselves just because we’ve been given the illusion that those people are the problem. 

#no ban no wall #immigration #immigrants are welcome here #people are people #no matter what

[erickanobble]

How to be an LGBTQIA+ ally in trying times

During Pride Month, we recognize the strides that the LGBTQIA+ community has made, the adversities we have overcome and the struggles that still remain in our fight for equality. Just a few years ago in many states across the nation, it was still illegal to marry someone of the same sex, and if you worked for someone with more than 15 employees, you could be fired from your job for being gay or transgender. Now, thanks to the Supreme Court, gay and trans folks can marry and have protections in the workplace.

However, not all aspects in the fight for sexual and gender equality have been a continuous progression. The Obama-era brought sweeping change for transgender individuals, allowing them to openly serve in the armed forces and granting them protection from discrimination in obtaining health care. However, the current administration has reversed both of these rights, turning away trans folks from being able to serve in the military and now, just a few days ago, revoking the protections against discrimination in obtaining health care based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

As family, friends, colleagues and fellow citizens to our LGBTQIA+ community, this news should be upsetting. As dental students and, more importantly, health care providers, you owe it to your patients to understand how these decisions might impact their care.

According to the non-profit health care news group, the Kaiser Family Foundation, the revoking of this rule means that unless a state has its own laws, an insurance company can ask about an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, and use either for the purposes of underwriting or determining insurability. This means that issuers of health insurance can legally procure and use information on sexuality and gender identity to charge higher premiums, charge other fees, or even cancel or deny coverage for those who are LGBTQIA+. Yet the Obama-era rule in the Affordable Care Act about protecting patients with pre-existing conditions that affect a wider range of people still stands today.

These policies will particularly impact patients with Medicaid plans. According to UCLA’s Williams Institute, over 1.1 million LGBTQIA+ individuals ages 18–64 have Medicaid as their primary source of health insurance. Why is there such a disparity? A 2015 survey by the National Center for Transgender Equality says, “Transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming people are three times as likely to have a household income under $10,000 and three times as likely to be unemployed as the typical person in the U.S.”

With statistics like these, it’s incumbent upon us as current and future health care providers to be the best advocates for our patients as possible. When you take the Hippocratic Oath to serve as a dentist and when you practice under a code of ethics as every dentist must, you pledge your support for beneficence, non-maleficence and justice, to do good, refrain from harm, and to be fair and just. Part of this oath and the ethics by which we practice means providing an environment free of judgment, whereby you care for your patients no matter their race, religion, color, creed, sexual orientation or gender identity. 

I urge you to go beyond just knowing this information, though, and to live it in your everyday lives and future practices. Don’t allow injustices such as the ones we see in the news fade into the distance. Speak up, especially if you’re an ally, and fight for the rights of those who are oppressed. Help make sure your patients will be able to obtain insurance to afford your care without having to worry about being charged more or denied coverage just because of their identity.

As ASDA members, we commit to the E-8 policy, our ASDA Student Code of Ethics. We also should all should be aware of the E-4 Sensitivity to Diversity policy, which states that “sexist, discriminatory or insensitive language and practices are unacceptable.” As a community and a group of young professionals, we are part of the present and future voice that will guide health care into the next century.

This Pride Month, before you hang up your rainbow flag or post something to your social media about your support for the community, take stock in the current situation of our country. Are we doing everything we can and electing the people we believe will fight on behalf of all our colleagues and patients? I then implore you to remember that feeling, to act on it in becoming a better, more educated supporter and ally of communities that continue to struggle and have their rights infringed upon, whether they’re gay, bi, trans, people of color, Latinx, Muslim, etc. 

Lastly, if we want to bring about change in our country, we must participate in the democratic process, so I encourage you all to vote in your local primaries if they haven’t happened yet, and vote this November for candidates at every level of government — not just the president — based on who you believe will best uphold the same ethical principles you hold yourself to. You can even use ASDA’s newest advocacy tool, ASDA Action, to register to vote and find out more about candidates in your area.

Together, let’s make a brighter, more equal and just future for ourselves, our profession and the patients we serve.

~Joseph A. Manzella Jr., Stony Brook ’21, Chapter Immediate Past President, ASDA Speaker of the House

from Dental https://www.asdablog.com/how-to-be-an-lgbtqia-ally-in-trying-times/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[rickymanguson]

How to be an LGBTQIA+ ally in trying times

During Pride Month, we recognize the strides that the LGBTQIA+ community has made, the adversities we have overcome and the struggles that still remain in our fight for equality. Just a few years ago in many states across the nation, it was still illegal to marry someone of the same sex, and if you worked for someone with more than 15 employees, you could be fired from your job for being gay or transgender. Now, thanks to the Supreme Court, gay and trans folks can marry and have protections in the workplace.

However, not all aspects in the fight for sexual and gender equality have been a continuous progression. The Obama-era brought sweeping change for transgender individuals, allowing them to openly serve in the armed forces and granting them protection from discrimination in obtaining health care. However, the current administration has reversed both of these rights, turning away trans folks from being able to serve in the military and now, just a few days ago, revoking the protections against discrimination in obtaining health care based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

As family, friends, colleagues and fellow citizens to our LGBTQIA+ community, this news should be upsetting. As dental students and, more importantly, health care providers, you owe it to your patients to understand how these decisions might impact their care.

According to the non-profit health care news group, the Kaiser Family Foundation, the revoking of this rule means that unless a state has its own laws, an insurance company can ask about an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, and use either for the purposes of underwriting or determining insurability. This means that issuers of health insurance can legally procure and use information on sexuality and gender identity to charge higher premiums, charge other fees, or even cancel or deny coverage for those who are LGBTQIA+. Yet the Obama-era rule in the Affordable Care Act about protecting patients with pre-existing conditions that affect a wider range of people still stands today.

These policies will particularly impact patients with Medicaid plans. According to UCLA’s Williams Institute, over 1.1 million LGBTQIA+ individuals ages 18–64 have Medicaid as their primary source of health insurance. Why is there such a disparity? A 2015 survey by the National Center for Transgender Equality says, “Transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming people are three times as likely to have a household income under $10,000 and three times as likely to be unemployed as the typical person in the U.S.”

With statistics like these, it’s incumbent upon us as current and future health care providers to be the best advocates for our patients as possible. When you take the Hippocratic Oath to serve as a dentist and when you practice under a code of ethics as every dentist must, you pledge your support for beneficence, non-maleficence and justice, to do good, refrain from harm, and to be fair and just. Part of this oath and the ethics by which we practice means providing an environment free of judgment, whereby you care for your patients no matter their race, religion, color, creed, sexual orientation or gender identity. 

I urge you to go beyond just knowing this information, though, and to live it in your everyday lives and future practices. Don’t allow injustices such as the ones we see in the news fade into the distance. Speak up, especially if you’re an ally, and fight for the rights of those who are oppressed. Help make sure your patients will be able to obtain insurance to afford your care without having to worry about being charged more or denied coverage just because of their identity.

As ASDA members, we commit to the E-8 policy, our ASDA Student Code of Ethics. We also should all should be aware of the E-4 Sensitivity to Diversity policy, which states that “sexist, discriminatory or insensitive language and practices are unacceptable.” As a community and a group of young professionals, we are part of the present and future voice that will guide health care into the next century.

This Pride Month, before you hang up your rainbow flag or post something to your social media about your support for the community, take stock in the current situation of our country. Are we doing everything we can and electing the people we believe will fight on behalf of all our colleagues and patients? I then implore you to remember that feeling, to act on it in becoming a better, more educated supporter and ally of communities that continue to struggle and have their rights infringed upon, whether they’re gay, bi, trans, people of color, Latinx, Muslim, etc. 

Lastly, if we want to bring about change in our country, we must participate in the democratic process, so I encourage you all to vote in your local primaries if they haven’t happened yet, and vote this November for candidates at every level of government — not just the president — based on who you believe will best uphold the same ethical principles you hold yourself to. You can even use ASDA’s newest advocacy tool, ASDA Action, to register to vote and find out more about candidates in your area.

Together, let’s make a brighter, more equal and just future for ourselves, our profession and the patients we serve.

~Joseph A. Manzella Jr., Stony Brook ’21, Chapter Immediate Past President, ASDA Speaker of the House

from Dental Tips https://www.asdablog.com/how-to-be-an-lgbtqia-ally-in-trying-times/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

#Dental Tips

[whittlebaggett8]

Even China’s ‘Model’ Uyghurs Aren’t Safe

When she received news very last November that her mother has been despatched to a detention camp, Uyghur refugee Zulhumar Isaac was at a decline for phrases. Soon soon after, her father disappeared far too.

Initial came disbelief, then anger – that even a household like hers, which had taken pains to assimilate into the Han Chinese lifestyle, was not spared by the authorities’ Xinjiang marketing campaign.

“All our lives we have lived as ‘model Chinese citizens.’ We analyzed Mandarin, my mother was a civil servant for decades, and I’d fallen in like with and got married to a Han Chinese person,” lamented Isaac, who is now dwelling in exile in Sweden. “And still it has occurred to us. Why?”

Experiencing this article? Simply click here to subscribe for total access. Just $5 a month.

Some 1 million Muslims have been detained in China’s far western area of Xinjiang, in what the authorities simply call “preventive counterterrorism and de-extremism perform.”

Detainees are created to review Mandarin, recite Chinese propaganda, and mirror on earlier “political errors,” among the other matters.

In a issue of months, Beijing’s rhetoric has shifted sharply, from outright denial that the detention centers exist, to normalizing them as camps that provide free vocational schooling. In a visit hosted for international diplomats previous month, Chinese officials mentioned its efforts in Xinjiang should be applauded.

Above 45 per cent of folks residing in Xinjiang – which was declared an autonomous location in 1955 – are Uyghurs.

The crackdown on Xinjiang has collected tempo in the previous a few yrs, major also to a spike in protection spending, the destruction of mosques, and a ban on the Uyghur language at colleges.

Accounts like Zulhumar Isaac’s, however, complicates the Chinese government’s “re-education” narrative.

“Although ethnically Uyghur, we have under no circumstances rather recognized as regular Uyghurs, nor followed the cultural tactics,” reported Isaac, 31. “But mainly because of that, we grew up like misfits each ways,” she added, recalling how an elementary faculty classmate was recommended by her mother to refrain from speaking to Uyghurs.

Halmurat Mari Uyghur’s dad and mom faced a comparable predicament – “detained even while they really should be the most honest men,” in the phrases of the 33-12 months-old. Uyghur’s mom was a journalist for a newspaper supported by the Chinese Communist Occasion, though his father labored for the nearby govt.

“I really do not know what the state is seriously making an attempt to do, but I believe that they truly feel threatened from inside China, and ethnic minorities are a single of these threats,” reported Uyghur, who life in Finland with his spouse and two kids.

“It doesn’t subject if you are Uyghur and American, Uyghur and a public servant, or a Uyghur [who] speaks Mandarin as your very first language. As very long as you a Uyghur, you will be targeted.”

Uyghur’s mom and father have been released in December, following remaining detained for 11 and 18 months, respectively. Uyghur currently spends the bulk of his time advocating for the group through Uyghur Assist, a non-govt firm he established in July 2018.

Alfred Uyghur, whose parents were robust proponents of a Mandarin-medium schooling, also wound up as targets in the crackdown. Alfred misplaced make contact with with them 3 yrs back, shortly following he began university schooling in the United States. He not too long ago identified out that his mom had been detained in a camp in 2017, even though his father was sentenced to 11 several years in jail for unexplained causes.

“Both my parents ended up school graduates. My father, specifically, saw the relevance of finding out Mandarin and employed a Mandarin tutor for us,” mentioned the 21-year-previous.

Dr. Timothy Grose, who researches Uyghur ethno-national identification, reported participation in the “Xinjiang Class” – a system that resources middle faculty-aged students from Xinjiang, primarily ethnic Uyghurs, to show up at college in predominantly Han populated metropolitan areas – does not ensure that the university student or his family will be spared “re-schooling.”

“In truth, a handful of of my informants and close friends have been detained. But yes, this condition raises serious issues about the plan as very well as doubts about the Chinese Communist Party’s rationalization, or justification, for the camps,” explained Grose, an assistant professor of China Experiments at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technological know-how in Terre Haute, Indiana. “In other text, in any other case upstanding citizens who have been successful in ‘Chinese’ modern society are getting detained simply just since of their ethno-spiritual identities,” he claimed.

The Xinjiang Class software, present through jap China, presently enrolls pretty much 10,000 college students every 12 months, most of whom are Uyghurs. These students spend 4 decades discovering and perfecting the Mandarin language and using lessons on political ideology.

An additional Uyghur, who participated in the Xinjiang Class, recalled how complicated it was – ironically, he reported – for Uyghurs to enroll into a Mandarin-medium school. In 2017, authorities banned the use of the Uyghur language at all education stages, warning that these who violate the purchase will be seriously punished.

Check out as the Uyghurs might to assimilate into the mainstream, nonetheless, their presence was not usually embraced by the Han Chinese.

“Whoever our instructors named as a achievement tale to encourage us was usually an individual excellent at math and fluent in Chinese. So currently being fluent in Chinese was practically all my classmates’ aspiration,” stated the Uyghur gentleman, who wanted to remain nameless. He is at this time residing in exile in the Netherlands.

“When I was picked for Xinjiang Course, my parents were being so very pleased and I was psyched as perfectly. But even although I mastered Mandarin, integrating into the mainstream has been hard owing to numerous kinds of discrimination,” he additional.

A 27-12 months-old Uyghur who preferred only to be known as Nigar recalls becoming singled out by professors in the course of her school many years in Shanghai’s Fudan College – several many years right after the July 2009 riots in Urumqi, Xinjiang’s funds town – because she appeared various from the normal Han student.

“I remember a finance professor discussing how to deal with Xinjiang, referring it to a location with undeveloped men and women, and suggesting that it be turned into a on line casino centre,” reported Nigar, who is now doing the job in Washington D.C. “Often when instructors make inappropriate or discriminatory remarks, pupils can report these to the school’s administration. But when I make these experiences, no one appeared to care.”

Nigar, who pursued graduate research in political science in the United States, now maintains small get hold of with her mother and brother back in Xinjiang for anxiety of having them into issues. “One of my best mates in faculty went property and we lost contact. I assume my presence here in the U.S. might be influencing her do the job,” she stated.

Anthropologist Darren Byler, whose study focuses on Uyghur dispossession, claimed the present-day crackdown may possibly have solid a sense of unity among the Mandarin-speaking Uyghurs – who frequently considered them selves “upper class” – and the functioning-class Uyghur neighborhood.

“The Uyghurs who spoke Mandarin normally had better enterprise connections and far more prosperity, and therefore regarded as the other Uyghurs ‘backward.’ Now the resentment is beginning to shift since Mandarin-speaking Uyghurs too are being targeted by the marketing campaign,” he stated. “But most likely this has took place also late.”

Byler, who lectures at the University of Washington’s anthropology department, sees the crackdown as the Chinese government’s attempt to eradicate all exceptional aspects of the Uyghur identity. “I am not hopeful that the identity will proceed to survive. I believe children of the long term generations, particularly, may possibly shed contact with their Uyghur heritage or just see it as backward, or lacking,” he claimed.

Kelly Ng is a freelance journalist learning documentary in New York Metropolis.

The post Even China’s ‘Model’ Uyghurs Aren’t Safe appeared first on Defence Online.

from WordPress https://defenceonline.com/2019/03/14/even-chinas-model-uyghurs-arent-safe/

#China Uyghur crackdown #China Uyghur policy #Features #Uyghur culture #Uyghur diaspora #Uyghurs in C

[marcusssanderson]

50 Malcolm X Quotes about Life, Justice and Freedom

Looking for powerful Malcolm X Quotes about Life, Justice and Freedom? Here you go!

These Malcom X quotes will inspire you to take control of your life and live up to your full potential.

Malcolm X was an African-American Muslim leader and human rights activist who’s widely admired for his courageousness in advocating for the rights of blacks.

Born on May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska, Malcolm was only 6 years old when he lost his father, and thirteen when his mother was placed in a mental hospital. Thereafter, Malcolm and his siblings were sent to foster homes or to live with family members.

At age 20, he was sent to prison, where he underwent a conversion and became a member of the Nation of Islam. He changed his birth name Malcolm Little to Malcolm X because he considered the name “Little” to have originated with white slaveholders.

After his release from prison, Malcolm became one of the Nation of Islam’s most influential leaders and helped make many of social achievements. In his final years, he continued to emphasize black self-determination, Pan-Africanism, and black-self defense. He was assassinated on February 21, 1965, at the age of 39.

Malcolm X was an advocate for universal freedom. People of all colors and religions can draw inspiration from his words of wisdom.

In his honor, below are some powerful Malcolm X quotes and sayings about life, love, equality and freedom.

Powerful Malcolm X quotes about Life, Justice and Freedom

1.) A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything.” – Malcolm X 

2.) “Don’t be in a hurry to condemn because he doesn’t do what you do or think as you think or as fast. There was a time when you didn’t know what you know today.”  – Malcolm X 

3.) We are nonviolent with people who are nonviolent with us.”  – Malcolm X 

4.) My alma mater was books, a good library… I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity. – Malcolm X 

5.) “Stumbling is not falling.” – Malcolm X 

6.) “There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance next time.”  – Malcolm X 

7.) “They put your mind right in a bag, and take it wherever they want.”  – Malcolm X 

8.) “Concerning nonviolence, it is criminal to teach a man not to defend himself when he is the constant victim of brutal attacks.” – Malcolm X 

9.) “We didn’t land on Plymouth Rock, Plymouth Rock landed on us.” – Malcolm X 

10.) “A race of people is like an individual man; until it uses its own talent, takes pride in its own history, expresses its own culture, affirms its own self hood, it can never fulfill itself.”  – Malcolm X 

11.) “If you’re not ready to die for it, put the word ‘freedom’ out of your vocabulary.” – Malcolm X 

12.) “I for one believe that if you give people a thorough understanding of what confronts them and the basic causes that produce it, they’ll create their own program, and when the people create a program, you get action.”  – Malcolm X 

13.) “I feel like a man who has been asleep somewhat and under someone else’s control. I feel that what I’m thinking and saying is now for myself.”  – Malcolm X 

14.) “The thing that you have to understand about those of us in the Black Muslim movement was that all of us believed 100 percent in the divinity of Elijah Muhammad. We believed in him. We actually believed that God, in Detroit by the way, that God had taught him and all of that. I always believed that he believed in himself. And I was shocked when I found out that he himself didn’t believe it.”  – Malcolm X 

Malcolm X Quotes on The Future

15.) “I believe that there will ultimately be a clash between the oppressed and those that do the oppressing. I believe that there will be a clash between those who want freedom, justice and equality for everyone and those who want to continue the systems of exploitation.” – Malcolm X 

16.) “Without education, you’re not going anywhere in this world. – Malcolm X 

17.) “You don’t have to be a man to fight for freedom. All you have to do is to be an intelligent human being.”  – Malcolm X 

18.) “When a person places the proper value on freedom, there is nothing under the sun that he will not do to acquire that freedom. Whenever you hear a man saying he wants freedom, but in the next breath he is going to tell you what he won’t do to get it, or what he doesn’t believe in doing in order to get it, he doesn’t believe in freedom. A man who believes in freedom will do anything under the sun to acquire . . . or preserve his freedom.” – Malcolm X 

19.) “Dr. King wants the same thing I want. Freedom.” – Malcolm X 

20.) “I want Dr. King to know that I didn’t come to Selma to make his job difficult. I really did come thinking I could make it easier. If people realize what the alternative is, perhaps they will be more willing to hear Dr. King. – Malcolm X 

21.) “I am not a racist. I am against every form of racism and segregation, every form of discrimination. I believe in human beings, and that all human beings should be respected as such, regardless of their color.”  – Malcolm X 

22.) It is impossible for capitalism to survive, primarily because the system of capitalism needs some blood to suck. Capitalism used to be like an eagle, but now it’s more like a vulture. It used to be strong enough to go and suck anybody’s blood whether they were strong or not. But now it has become more cowardly, like the vulture, and it can only suck the blood of the helpless. As the nations of the world free themselves, the capitalism has less victims, less to suck, and it becomes weaker and weaker. It’s only a matter of time in my opinion before it will collapse completely. – Malcolm X 

23.) We declare our right on this earth to be a human being, to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human being in this society, on this earth, in this day, which we intend to bring into existence by any means necessary. – Malcolm X 

24.) Power never takes a step back except in the face of more power. – Malcolm X 

Malcolm X Quotes on Doing the Right Thing

25.) My alma mater was books, a good library. I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity. – Malcolm X 

26.) “In all our deeds, the proper value and respect for time determines success or failure.” – Malcolm X 

27.) You show me a capitalist, and I’ll show you a bloodsucker. – Malcolm X 

28.) I believe in a religion that believes in freedom. Any time I have to accept a religion that won’t let me fight a battle for my people, I say to hell with that religion. – Malcolm X 

29.) The only way we’ll get freedom for ourselves is to identify ourselves with every oppressed people in the world. We are blood brothers to the people of Brazil, Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba — yes Cuba too. – Malcolm X 

30.) Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you’re a man, you take it. – Malcolm X 

31.) Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it or who says it. – Malcolm X 

32.) If violence is wrong in America, violence is wrong abroad. If it is wrong to be violent defending black women and black children and black babies and black men, then it is wrong for America to draft us, and make us violent abroad in defense of her. And if it is right for America to draft us, and teach us how to be violent in defense of her, then it is right for you and me to do whatever is necessary to defend our own people right here in this country. – Malcolm X

Malcom X quotes about change and freedom 

33.) Usually when people are sad, they don’t do anything. They just cry over their condition. But when they get angry, they bring about a change. – Malcolm X 

34.) Speaking like this doesn’t mean that we’re anti-white, but it does mean we’re anti-exploitation, we’re anti-degradation, we’re anti-oppression. – Malcolm X 

35.) I believe in the brotherhood of man, all men, but I don’t believe in brotherhood with anybody who doesn’t want brotherhood with me. I believe in treating people right, but I’m not going to waste my time trying to treat somebody right who doesn’t know how to return the treatment. – Malcolm X 

36.) Nonviolence is fine as long as it works. – Malcolm X 

37.) Change Is Only a Good Thing If You Change in a Good Way. – Malcolm X 

38.) You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom. – Malcolm X 

Malcolm X quotes about education and reading

39.) Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today. – Malcolm X

40.) Education is an important element in the struggle for human rights. It is the means to help our children and thereby increase self-respect. – Malcolm X 

41.) When you live in a poor neighborhood, you are living in an area where you have poor schools. When you have poor schools, you have poor teachers. When you have poor teachers, you get a poor education. When you get a poor education, you can only work in a poor-paying job. And that poor-paying job enables you to live again in a poor neighborhood. So, it’s a very vicious cycle. – Malcolm X 

42.) Only a fool would let his enemy teach his children.– Malcolm X 

43.) Read absolutely everything you get your hands on because you never know where you’ll get an idea from. – Malcolm X 

44.) I have often reflected upon the new vistas that reading opened to me. I knew right there in prison that reading had changed forever the course of my life. As I see it today, the ability to read awoke in me some long dormant craving to be mentally alive. – Malcolm X 

45.) Early in life I had learned that if you want something, you had better make some noise. – Malcolm X 

46.) You can’t legislate good will – that comes through education. – Malcolm X 

Other Powerful Malcolm X quotes

47.) I have more respect for a man who lets me know where he stands, even if he’s wrong, than the one who comes up like an angel and is nothing but a devil. – Malcolm X 

48.) The greatest mistake of the movement has been trying to organize a sleeping people around specific goals. You have to wake the people up first, then you’ll get action.– Malcolm X 

49.) If you turn the other cheek, you can be enslaved for 1,000 years. – Malcolm X 

50.) Anytime you see someone more successful than you are, they are doing something you aren’t. – Malcolm X 

What’s your favorite Malcolm X quote?

Malcolm X accomplished a lot in his life. He changed his mindset and turned his life around to become a role model. He stood up for himself and set an example of courage.

And no matter how controversial, he got a lot of people thinking about the race problem and alternative ways to address it.

Hopefully, these Malcolm X quotes have motivated you to conquer your weaknesses and reach your full potential.

Did you enjoy these Malcolm X quotes? What other quotes by Malcolm X would you add to the list? Tell us in the comment section below.

The post 50 Malcolm X Quotes about Life, Justice and Freedom appeared first on Everyday Power.

[chestnutpost]

Omar says it's 'exciting' her views on Israel are sparking debate

“It’s not surprising. I think it is actually exciting because we are finally able to have conversations that we weren’t really willing to,” Omar told CNN on Tuesday. “It is really important for us to get a different lens about what peace in that region could look like and the kind of difficult conversations we need to have about allies.”

Omar along with Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, the first two Muslim women to serve in Congress, are indeed changing the conversation on Capitol Hill over the United States’ long-standing relationship with Israel by speaking out critically against the Israeli government over its treatment of Palestinians.

As they challenge the political status quo over Israel in Washington, Omar and Tlaib are facing intense scrutiny and criticism, in particular from Republicans eager to exploit divisions in the Democratic Party.

Tlaib and Omar have also broken the mold on Capitol Hill by supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. The movement is a non-violent activist campaign that aims to put economic and political pressure on Israel over its actions toward Palestinians, including calling for an end to Israeli occupation of the West Bank.

Omar told CNN that Israel should be held accountable for living up to “the same values that we push for” in the United States as one of its allies.

“Israel is an ally of the United States and I think as much as you would look to your neighbor to your friends to live out the same values as you are, we want to make sure that our allies are living out the same values that we push for here,” she said.

Republicans react critically

In her first month in Congress, Republicans have been quick to criticize Omar, a Somali immigrant who came to the US as a refugee more than two decades ago, for statements she has made regarding Israel.

Rep. Lee Zeldin, a Republican from New York, pointed out in a tweet last month that Omar supports the BDS movement and in 2012 made a statement saying that “Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.” Highlighting that statement, Zeldin argued that rather than supporting Israel and countering anti-Semitism, Democrats “are now empowering it.”

The 2012 statement from Omar came in the midst of an eight-day war between Israel and Hamas. Israel said it had to counter attack because of consistent rocket fire from Gaza into civilian areas of Israel.

The Israel Defense Forces said Israel launched at least 1,500 airstrikes on Gaza. The Gaza Ministry of Health said 163 Palestinians were killed and more than 1,000 wounded. Hamas’ military wing, the al Qassam brigade, said it fired 1,573 rockets toward Israel during the hostilities. Six Israelis were killed, and at least 200 wounded.

Omar has since expressed regret for her choice of words, saying that she had “unknowingly” used an “anti-Semitic trope” and that her statement “came in the context of the Gaza War.”

Zeldin also posted an anti-Semitic voicemail he received to Twitter last month and tagged Omar, asking the congresswoman, “Would love to know what part of this hate filled, anti-Semitic rant you disagree with? I disagree with all of it. Do you?”

Omar responded by saying, “This is heinous and hateful. I too am flooded with bigoted voicemails and calls every day. Maybe we could meet and share notes on how to fight religious discrimination of all kinds?”

In an interview with Yahoo News, Omar was asked how the US can work toward peace between Israelis and Palestinians and answered that “an equal approach to dealing with both” is necessary.

She elaborated on that by saying, “Most of the things that have always been aggravating to me is that we have had a policy that makes one superior to the other.”

“When I see Israel institute law that recognizes it as a Jewish state and does not recognize the other religions that are living in it and we still uphold it as a democracy in the Middle East, I almost chuckle because I know that if we see that in any other society we would criticize it, we would call it out — we do that to Iran, we do that to any other place that sort of upholds its religion.”

Omar appears to have been referencing Israel passing into law last year a controversial bill that declares that the Jewish people have an exclusive right to national self-determination in Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had advocated for the nation-state bill, hailed its passage and called it a “defining moment” in Israel’s history, but critics, including some strong supporters of Israel, expressed concern that it would weaken and undermine Israeli democracy.

The National Republican Congressional Committee highlighted Omar’s remarks to Yahoo News by saying on its website that the congresswoman’s “latest anti-Semitic attack included comparing Israel to Iran.”

Omar and Tlaib argue they’re not attacking a faith

Both Omar and Tlaib have made a point to argue that their criticism of actions by the Israeli government should not be viewed as an attack on a faith.

“When I talk about places like Saudi Arabia or Israel or even now with Venezuela, I’m not criticizing the people. I’m not criticizing their faith, I’m not criticizing their way of life,” Omar said in a recent appearance on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.”

“What I’m criticizing is what’s happening at the moment, and I want for there to be accountability so that the government, that administration, that regime can do better,” she said.

Tlaib, who is the first Palestinian-American woman to serve in Congress, explained her support for the BDS movement by invoking freedom of speech in an interview with CNN prior to her swearing in — and made a point to say that the movement is not an attack on a faith.

“I don’t like the criminalization of freedom of speech and so much of my principles around BDS to me are — I know for so many it might trigger these other thoughts about it, for me though, it is very much tied to core values around freedom of expression and freedom of speech. So to be able to do economic boycotts is connected,” she said.

She added, “for those that think this is some sort of attack on a faith, I just want to push back and say no this is really about racism, about inequality and about human rights.”

House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy was asked at a news conference Friday about GOP criticism of Tlaib and Omar over their comments on Israel and whether he believes it’s possible to be critical of the Israeli government and its policies without being anti-Semitic.

“It’s possible,” McCarthy responded, “but I think the language they are using is wrong,” though he did not point to any specific examples.

Speaking at a Center for American Progress event on Tuesday, Omar said that people should be able to practice all religions freely.

“I know how it feels to be hated because of my religious beliefs. I am proof that as Americans we can embrace our differences,” she said.

Omar added, “The core of Islam, just like Christianity and Judaism, is the radical message of human equality in the eyes of God. We also must recognize that religious hate of all kind, whether it is against Muslims, Jews, Christians or atheists, are linked.”

Omar’s office initially declined an interview, but CNN was able to speak with her as she was leaving the event. Omar did not respond to questions, however, about why she supports the BDS movement. Tlaib declined to answer questions from CNN in the halls of the Capitol on Wednesday.

Tlaib hopes to lead congressional delegation to the West Bank

Polling does show shifting sentiment among Democrats in their views of Israel and Palestinians. A Pew poll last year found that support for Israel among Democrats and independents has fallen and support has risen among Republicans and that Democrats are divided over which side in the conflict they sympathize more with.

Tlaib, however, has faced public push back from within the ranks of House Democrats for saying that she plans to lead a congressional delegation to the West Bank, where her grandmother still lives. Member of Congress regularly take congressional delegation trips to Israel.

Democratic chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Eliot Engel of New York told the Al-Monitor that “instead of her talking about things, she’s new here, she ought to listen and learn and open her mind and then come to some conclusions,” in reference to the idea of a West Bank delegation.

The next day, Tlaib tagged Engel in a tweet, saying, “how are we ever going to obtain peace? I hope you’ll come with me on the trip to listen and learn. My sity (grandmother) will welcome you with an embrace & love. Please feel free to call me if you have anything to say. I am your colleague now.”

Tlaib told CNN in the interview prior to her swearing in that she believes “we’ll get closer to peace” when “we start addressing the humanitarian needs of both Israelis and Palestinians … when we’re not thinking the other person is less than or less deserving.”

Tlaib faces scrutiny over a photograph

Tlaib has also faced controversy after a man named Abbas Hamideh posted a photo with her to Twitter last month with the caption, “I was honored to be at Congresswoman @RashidaTlaib swearing in ceremony in #Detroit and private dinner afterward with the entire family, friends and activists across the country.”

Hamideh is an activist who has said in social media posts that Israel “does not have a right to exist” and that “Nazis and Zionists are similar.”

Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO and national director of the Anti-Defamation League, drew attention to the photograph several days later on Twitter, saying that Hamideh has “equated Zionists with Nazis” and calling on Tlaib to “denounce his anti-Semitism.” The ADL is also critical of the BDS movement and argues on its website that the movement “is the most prominent effort to undermine Israel’s existence.”

In late January, Zeldin introduced a House resolution that calls for a rejection of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic hatred in the US and around the world. The text of the resolution mentions Tlaib and Omar by name, citing, among other things, the controversy over Hamideh as well as Omar’s statement that “Israel has hypnotized the world.”

Asked for comment on the photo, Tlaib told CNN through a spokesman, “I oppose hate and violence in all forms and will continue to work for peace. It is also important to note, I’ve taken thousands of photos over the course of my campaign and now during my tenure. A photo does not mean I agree with anything someone says. It is obvious this man thrives on media attention from his recent posts. It’s unfortunate that he was successful. I do not agree with the statements brought to my attention.”

The congresswoman also recently gave a lengthy statement to The New York Times in which she said, “It is unfair to be held responsible for the statements of others, especially when my actions … make clear that I oppose all forms of hate and condemn those who dehumanize others.”

She added, “It is disappointing that some of my colleagues are feeding into the hate and division and mislabeling me to ignite fear.”

CNN’s Ray Sanchez, Andrew Carey, Ben Wedeman contributed to this report.

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[fitnesshealthyoga-blog]

New Post has been published on https://fitnesshealthyoga.com/chinas-aids-history-explains-part-of-the-crispr-babies-story/

China's AIDS history explains part of the 'CRISPR babies' story

The first time I met someone in China dying from complications of AIDS, he had never heard of the illness that had already killed thousands of his fellow citizens.

This was not the early 1980s, when the world was still stunned and stumped by the mystery virus that causes AIDS and its swift and deadly spread around the globe. It was 2007, barely more than a decade ago, in a rural village on the Chinese border with Myanmar, ground zero of China’s first AIDS epidemic. HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, first entered China from Myanmar, borne by the needles that accompanied a persistent regional heroin addiction.

That ignorance among sufferers, in parts of the country where people were most likely to have it, reflected China’s unique and complex history with AIDS, one that involved a litany of scandals and government cover-ups that have left a lasting imprint of stigma and fear about HIV and AIDS — and discrimination.

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That history helps explain a puzzling aspect of the news last month that a Chinese scientist claimed to have altered the genes of twin girls: Why had He Jiankui, a researcher with Southern University of Science and Technology, chosen to edit a gene in embryos that might protect the babies from AIDS? Other simpler and far safer procedures like sperm washing already exist to protect children from the virus when their fathers carry it, as in the twin’s case.

Wan Yanhai, a former officer with China’s Ministry of Health who later became an advocate for people with HIV and AIDS in China, said it’s important to recall that in the beginning of the crisis years, China deliberately framed AIDS as a disease of foreigners.

“HIV/AIDS was used as a political weapon in the 1980s and ’90s, especially after the failure of China’s democratic movement in 1989,” Wan said in an interview. “They used all these type of issues to attack Western cultures.”

Wan, who fled China under extreme government pressure for his advocacy work, like nearly every high-profile Chinese AIDS activist, now lives in the U.S.

He points to the particular peril of a homegrown AIDS epidemic in China’s heartland, Henan province, which began with a pay-for-plasma scheme run by local governments in the 1990s. HIV got into the donor pool and the virus spread like wildfire, leading eventually to crisis-level infection rates in parts of the region. According to Wang Shuping, the doctor who exposed the crisis, the central government in Beijing knew about the problem for several months before it shut down the system. Afterward, rather than contacting and educating potential victims, the government silenced whistleblowers like Wang and tried to quiet most information about AIDS. At the same time, on the other side of the country, the epidemic spread just as quietly among drug users and sex workers.

Said Wan: “On one hand, when people first heard they were infected, they [the government] used the stigma about AIDS to silence people with AIDS. They asked people not to tell. They said if you tell, there’s a negative outcome against your family.”

Back then, China was just beginning to roll out an ambitious plan to offer free government-sponsored antiretroviral medication to everyone infected with HIV, but the biggest stumbling block proved to be a sheer lack of knowledge about the virus and syndrome among the people who needed the drugs.

Today, the Chinese government estimates that around 500,000 people in the country, 1/100th of 1 percent of the population, live with HIV, roughly 300,000 of whom receive antiretroviral therapy. Some global health organizations put the number higher, however, and there’s never been a full accounting by China of people infected during the height of the crisis two decades ago. In his talk in Hong Kong, He Jiankui said he had personal experience with villages in China that have 30 percent infection rates.

It’s unclear whether He was speaking to HIV rates from the 1990s and 2000s, when this number was not unheard of in southern villages of Henan province.

“Today you can still see some high infection rates among certain migratory populations,” said Wan. “There are some areas where more than 10 percent of the population might be infected. It’s still a serious problem.”

In a China that’s much more mobile than 20 years ago, infection rates tend to cling to certain segments of the population — such as an increase in HIV among men who have sex with men — rather than geographic areas.

In other words, suspicion and mistrust remain around China’s official statistics about AIDS decades after the crisis peaked.

China does have anti-discrimination laws on the books, but it was only last year that a court found it unlawful for a company to discriminate against an employee for infectious disease carrier status. Workplace health screenings routinely test for HIV. And social taboos about the virus remain strong, linking it to poverty and poor choices.

A 2016 report from the International Labor Organization found that despite promises from the government, China still lagged in terms of ending discrimination based on HIV status by ending measures like mandatory testing for public servants.

“China’s great progress in HIV testing is enabling people to become aware of their HIV status and access appropriate antiretroviral treatment,” the report said. “Testing, however, can also lead to unwarranted discrimination against people living with HIV/ AIDS and be counterproductive in the protection of public health.”

Xi Chen, a public health researcher at Yale School of Public Health who studies China, said, “Discrimination happens in key dimensions of life, such as employment, health care, social networking and marriage.”

In the midst of this climate, it’s perhaps easier to understand how a concerned couple, with the male infected with HIV, might be inclined to sign a consent form for what was described as an AIDS-vaccine trial. He’s offer of free IVF, in a country where the procedure costs double a monthly average salary in large cities, might also have been enticing.

Right now, because the family’s identity is concealed and He is barely talking, it’s entirely unclear just how informed the parents were and why they chose to engage in such a radical experiment.

“This is possible, that stigma and implicit discrimination may make this process easier for parents who are really uninformed,” said Xi. “However, at least informed parents should know there are alternative (also much safer and more effective) ways that we can prevent parent-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS.”

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[michaelfallcon]

Worker’s Rights In The Coffee Space: A Case Study

In cities large and small across the US, workers’ rights violations have long been so commonplace within the service industry that they frequently go unchallenged. Service employees often lack the time, energy, knowledge, or money to fight violations. But as more and more workers find a permanent or semi-permanent home within the service industry, more workers are learning that they do have rights in the workplace, including the ability to organize and fight for fair treatment free of retaliation. When Julia Baker and Lou Kramer, baristas and labor organizers in Pittsburgh, PA, were terminated from their positions at specialty coffee shop Tazza D’Oro (full disclosure: my former employer five years ago) for reasons they believed to be unlawful, they researched their options and pursued fair treatment, ultimately winning a lawsuit against the company with the help of restaurant worker rights advocacy group Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC).

Baker joined Tazza D’Oro in the early summer of 2017, adding barista work to her roster of work as an organizer, which includes running an organization called Open House PGH and working as a member of both Socialist Alternative and ROC. At a staff meeting about six months into her tenure, Baker tells Sprudge, she and several other staff members brought up issues they were experiencing in the workplace, including lack of clear raise schedules and job descriptions, concerns around reduced management hours, and questions about promotion to management positions. “The day after the meeting,” Baker claims via email, “I started experiencing retaliation in the form of harassment and intimidation by management at work.” Baker claims this retaliation came in the form of “false claims” in their personnel file regarding workplace performance. Following another staff meeting in December of 2017, “they fired me out of the blue” claims Baker. Another coworker who was vocal about similar issues, Lou Kramer, was fired on the same day, as per Baker.

When Baker was fired, she drew on her background as a labor organizer in formulating next steps. “As an experienced organizer who has worked on several labor rights issues in the past,” she tells Sprudge, “I knew there was something very wrong about what we had experienced and wanted to learn more about our rights.” This fell under the purview of ROC, whose work includes taking on individual cases of worker violations, fighting for better wages across the board, and fighting discrimination in the industry. Baker reached out to a local ROC representative, who felt their claim fell under a protected right to speak with coworkers about workplace issues and to discuss those issues openly at work. The local Pittsburgh ROC representative encouraged Baker and Kramer to file an Unfair Labor Practice claim with the National Labor Relations Board, a federal agency that exists to examine cases of worker violations, including retaliation.

In the six months that followed, Baker and Kramer went through the process of pursuing legal action with their NLRB caseworker. ROC national lead organizer and caseworker Jordan Romanus described cases like what Kramer and Baker experienced to be “as common as potholes in Pittsburgh.” Seeing cases like this all the time, he was prepared to help and thought the case was a great example of why it’s important to fight workers’ rights violations. “It’s important to exercise your rights in the workplace,” Romanus tells Sprudge. “You’d be surprised how much power you have when you organize collectively.” Fellow ROC organizer Bobbi Linskens, who got into ROC after winning a similar case against restaurant chain Eat’N Park with Romanus’s help, agrees that these cases are painfully common. “But I don’t see as many cases as I should, because most people don’t realize that they have rights and can stand up for themselves in the workplace,” she said.

After several months of investigation, the NLRB found merit in the charges Baker and Kramer brought against Tazza D’Oro. “At that point, Tazza could either choose to settle with us out of court or we could bring the issue to federal court with the NLRB representing us for free,” said Baker. “The NLRB was extremely helpful with the suit. We also had the advice and assistance of our ROC representatives throughout. If we won the case, Tazza would be required to pay us back-pay from the day we were fired until the day we found equal employment and also offer us reinstatement to our positions,” adds Baker. “We ended up settling with out of court with the same conditions, totaling about $10,000 each for Lou and me.” Both Baker and Kramer have found new jobs since their termination.

In addition to paying out back-pay, Tazza D’Oro was also required to put up a poster visible to employees for 60 days, explaining employees’ federal rights to advocate for workplace needs, bargain collectively, and specifically to “form, join, or assist a union.”

Tazza D’Oro owner and founder Amy Enrico agreed to comment on this story, in the form of a written statement. We’re publishing that statement in full below.

For 19 years, Tazza D’Oro has been a leader in creating community and providing all of our employees with decent paying jobs, opportunities within and outside of the company and in other parts of the coffee industry. We provide many hours of professional barista training with the goal of developing skills so baristas can be proud of their craft and connection to coffee. We have always strongly believed in and provided a diverse, inclusive work environment. We have been committed to all fair labor practices; while constantly striving to provide and move toward a living wage and professional training for all our employees – these practices we hold dear and abide by according to the law.

Also, in our 19 years of operation, with hundreds of employees through the years, we have never had a complaint or charge filed against us about an employment issue or unfair labor practice. Termination of employees is always difficult and sometimes complicated; something that we have never taken lightly and only done when serious infractions were found. Thus, we were disappointed that NLRB charges were filed by two former employees and that this investigation occurred. And, as much as we would have wanted to present our full defenses to the investigation, the costs attendant to fully presenting our side were just too high. Staggering legal costs, time and emotional energy required us to make the very hard business decision to resolve the matter before heading to litigation.

We have worked diligently and in 100% compliance to resolve all matters with all parties so that we could move forward in a positive way. At Tazza D’Oro, we will continue to follow our passion in building community, provide opportunities for our baristas and commit each and every day to do our best by respecting the coffees, respecting the craft and trying to brew the best cup possible for our customers.

This story is bigger than just one suit, or any one labor dispute at a single coffee company. Indeed, it speaks to much larger issues in the service industry related to worker’s rights and the role of workplace advocacy resources. Baker wants her story to encourage others to stand up for their rights in the workplace and to become active workers’ rights advocates. “Everyone who has worked in the restaurant industry knows how common it is to hear stories of violations at work or unacceptable working conditions,” Baker tells Sprudge. “If we build a strong national movement of restaurant workers, we can revolutionize the industry. We can address the rampant racism and sexism in the industry, we can fight for better wages, and we can raise the standard of expected working conditions.” The official homepage for ROC is here, and it includes local and national resources for those looking to learn more. ROC is also a non-profit, and you can learn more about donating here.

“I want workers to realize that they do have rights and ROC is here to help them,” says ROC organizer Linskens. “If they exercise their rights in the workplace, they’d be surprised by how much power they have when they organize collectively. Reach out to us immediately. As the watchdog of the restaurant industry, we will do everything we can to help.”

The more that workers know and share, the more power they have. The work of Baker, Kramer, Romanus, and Linskens offers service workers a powerful hospitality industry example of what it looks like to recognize your rights, organize collectively, and pursue justice for yourself and others.

RJ Joseph (@RJ_Sproseph) is a Sprudge staff writer, publisher of Queer Cup, and coffee professional based in the Bay Area. Read more RJ Joseph on Sprudge Media Network.

The post Worker’s Rights In The Coffee Space: A Case Study appeared first on Sprudge.

Worker’s Rights In The Coffee Space: A Case Study published first on https://medium.com/@LinLinCoffee