phanatic26

[phanatic26]

LGTBQ Hatred at U.S v. Mexico soccer match; Week 3 Post 3

Fans of team Mexico were chanting homophobic slurs against United States players during a soccer match between the two countries. LGTBQ human’s rights have been a forefront of human rights discussions in our country as of lately through the extreme influence of the governor of Florida’s anti-LGBTQ legislation. It is sad to see that derogatory terms are still used as an insult. The sentiment between the derogatory slur that team Mexico’s fans used is that people that are gay are weak, wimpy and less than those that are not. To express this sentiment so openly and proudly is scary for the members of the community. People that use derogatory terms are not champions of human rights. They are the ones that try to take them away. I think back to Rorty’s Sentimental Education theory and I truly wonder if reading fictional stories about the LGTBQ community would have an effect on people who are screaming their hatred at public events so openly and proudly. I know that in class we discussed that there was a political figure who was anti-LGBTQ until his son came out as gay. However, not everyone is going to have a child who is a member of the community. So how do we change the minds of those who are so openly arrogant, hateful, and against human rights? 

[phanatic26]

"Systematic Problems" Department of Justice Declares; Week 3 Post 2

It is big for the Department of Justice to admit to systematic problems at the police department that the murderer of George Floyd was employed under. Ever since the Black Lives Matter movement began, the leaders of the movement have told us over and over that there is a systematic problem in United States police departments. While the Department of Justice is not declaring that all police departments have systematic issues, this is still an acknowledgement towards a core belief of Black Lives Matter. Furthermore, the claim acknowledges that George Floyd’s human right of life was not taken just by one bad policeman, but also by the system that supported the murderer. I would not describe the acknowledgement as huge progress; however I do think that there is something to note about the Department of Justice declaring a sector of a state’s criminal institution has systematic problems. 

[phanatic26]

Supreme Court Protects Indian Child Welfare Act; Week 3 Post 1

It is a great win for Native Americans human rights for the Supreme Court to protect the Indian Child Welfare Act. The American government has historically and continuously infringed on the human rights of Native Americans. The act (created in the 70’s) was basically an apology from our government for displacing Native American children through the foster and adoption system. This act is important because before it was created, children were taken away from their families and communities. For an act that came in the 70’s, there has not been much progress for our government’s support of the Native American community. An interesting point made in the article made was that this act has been only part of what the American government can do to support the community that they committed violent and genocidal atrocities against. We have discussed a lot about human rights at home, and the Native American community is often overlooked. In our class the other day, each group made a list of human rights issues in America. I don’t recall any group including American Indian issues on their list. Our government has taken their land, displaced their people, and suppressed their culture which are all human rights violations. Native American reservations are underfunded land that leads to the people living on it with poor incomes. Also, there is a high alcoholism rate for the Native Americans living on reservations. Our government has ignored these issues and so has us.

[phanatic26]

Mining and Human Rights; Week 2 #3

Germany is experiencing an increase in the need for minerals for their country's energy transition into renewable energy. What stood out in this article is the articles report on countries who are linked to mining and human rights violations such as child exploitation and land. It appears to me that the sector that is most likely to have rights be violated is the blue -collar work force. Marx talks a lot of property owners taking advantage of those that work for them. In fields such as mining and railroads, there is a gap between the rights of workers compared to white-collar work. If I were to theorize on why this is, I would guess it is because railroads and mining companies are targeting poor to middle class towns and people to support their businesses. These people need the money more than they need to stand up for their rights. Therefore, liberal governments must intervene to support workers, rather than support the businesses that are not supporting their workers.

[phanatic26]

California Amendment Could Declare Housing a Human Right in State Constitution

There is an amendment for the right to housing to be added to California’s Constitution. This would declare housing as a fundamental human right in the state of California. While this would be a huge leap towards uplifting the human rights of all individuals including the homeless, I find it hard to be optimistic that this law could be passed in a place in our country due to how our political nature of a conservative approach to taxes. I believe that most Americans would not support the bill as they wouldn’t want their taxes paying for others' housing when nobody is helping them pay for their own. This is interesting to say the least, because ever since we were kids we were taught that the three things humans needed to survive were food, water, and shelter, so in theory our government should have accepted housing, food, and water as a right to have in our country. However, if we as a society put monetary value on food and water, I don’t think housing would be something that is different. 

https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article276187331.html

[phanatic26]

Zimbabwe's Patriotic Bill; Week 2 Post 1

If Zimbabwe’s Patriotic Bill passes, there is potential for the government to attack political activists and others who are openly opponents of the government. The problem with this bill is that not only does it limit the people of Zimbabwe’s right to assembly and freedom of speech, but it also does not set a parameter on the type of punishment political activists could receive if they were convicted under the law. Zimbabwe is a country that has corporal punishment, therefore, not only are political activists' rights in danger so are their lives. Furthermore, I find that the people who wrote this bill had a clear intent on the naming of the bill. To name a bill “Patriotic Bill”, is to insinuate that anyone convicted under the bill is unpatriotic, unloyal, and a traitor to the state. This has the dangerous potential to cause extreme reactions toward those who are arrested or convicted under the bill due to the politicization of what it means to be unpatriotic. 

[phanatic26]

Post 3

There was a quote in this article of a Hong Kong man who knows he will not be allowed to commemorate the massacre of Tiananmen as openly as he once did due to China employing harsh laws to those who are publicly in support of a democracy. This man told the source that he basically vowed to himself that he would dedicate his whole life to a democracy in China. This article made me think about our economic involvement in China and how we use it as a support of our economy. There are people willing to dedicate their whole lives to fighting their oppressors, yet we continue to support their government by outsourcing out manufacturing and other businesses to them.

[phanatic26]

The pictures of the protests that are given in this article shows a shocking reality of what is going on in Senegal. When looking at the people depicted in the pictures it is easy to recognize the passion and anger of the protestors. It is hard to draw the line of when countries such as the United States and other powerhouses should interfere in other countries ruling. However, when people are dying on the streets in opposition of their oppressors, it is hard to not wish that we as a country should do more to help the people of Senegal when we openly endorse human rights so outwardly.

[phanatic26]

Federal Trade Commission Sues Online Learning Company Edmodo

As we are currently using the video-calling platform Zoom and we all have experience with some version of online-learning, I thought this article would be an interesting article to add to the blog. The article speaks clearly on the right of children and having their privacy protected. I believe it is important for there to be protective measures of information we take from children. Parents are entrusting educational platforms with their children's learning. Since a child is not able to give consent of the use of their data, I don't think platforms like Edmodo should be using that data as a means to make money off of.

[phanatic26]

The reason I am taking this class is to fulfill part of the major requirement for the political science major. Another reason, I am taking this class is because I like to take classes that expand my viewpoint. It is easy to ignore international problems when our media outlets are focused on the millions of voices and opinions that make up our country. By taking an international human rights course I believe it will broad my view on the topic of human rights through an international lens. Furthermore, hope this class will make me a more well-rounded student and person.