All posts filed under: Politics

Lessons I Learned from #BlackLivesMatters

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Originally posted on Joshua Lawrence Lazard:
A Sunday morning Facebook post asked “Is Black Lives Matter still a thing?” and I immediately did an eye-roll. The technical answer is in the affirmative. They still are a thing. I still get emails from them. I also know that in many activist circles that Black Lives Matters functions as a real, almost tangible entity. But, I know that that’s not what the social media post really meant. The post was getting at the sentiment that most people are wondering or have finally stopped caring about: why haven’t we heard from Black Lives Matter the way we did before the election of Donald Trump? I read this post and proceeded to climb up the intellectual mountain from which that question was generated–for whatever reason, when I wake up sometimes my mind brings a piercing alacrity to a thought–and I realized that there was a marked shift in how I personally discussed things and in how I engaged in this subjects in and around Black Lives Matter. In fact, I…

Dear Kathy Griffin…

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BeautyBeyondBones Being a millennial New Yorker and actor, I’d like to think I’ve got pretty thick skin. Getting rejected is par for the course in the entertainment industry. The city doesn’t do you any favors — just try battling the check out lines at Whole Foods at 3pm on a Sunday.  Heck, even the squirrels seems to have a certain undeniable hutzpah on these streets. Really, nothing quite comes as a shock to me anymore, for better or for worse. However. Earlier this week, opening up my Buzzfeed app to find Kathy Griffin’s infamous photo of her, carrying the bloodied head of a decapitated President Donald Trump…I literally stopped in my tracks. Just. No. And I have a few words. This is not okay. I don’t care how much you hate the President or his policies, that went. too far. It’s no secret that Donald Trump is one of –… View original post 594 more words

Should Religion Have a Place in Government?

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Originally posted on Millennial:
Millennial writer Elizabeth Stoker Bruenig recently spoke at the Yale Political Union, arguing the negative position on the resolution: “religion has no place in government.” Here is a small segment of her speech: I’ll now turn to the idea that religion ought to have a place in government…. There are several reasons why. The first is that law both expresses and enforces certain moral truths which cannot be divorced from broader moral systems, and for the religious — those sharing communities of some overwhelming concern — it’s disingenuous nigh impossible to deliberate on what truths the law should express without citing their religious priors. And this, secondly, allows their co-religionists to hold them responsible for their claims. The tendency of liberal societies to bifurcate religion and politics into two separate spheres — one private, one public — encourages religious participants in political deliberation to equivocate somewhat about their motives and beliefs, as it’s not really possible in that political context to interrogate them. Yet it should be. As long as the religious…

Why I Must be a Better Citizen

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Originally posted on Travel Bugg :
? It happened. The thing we all laughed about, but no one took seriously. The thing that was too tinted by a surreal, orange haze to be considered a true threat. We elected a candidate whose rhetoric is openly misogynistic, racist and xenophobic, who is largely unfit to be president. What were we thinking? This isn’t the America we all know and love. Except it is. The current rhetoric is not new. It is not special to this election and it negatively affects millions of neighbors around the world in their day-to-day lives. We are all joking about moving to Canada to sing kumbaya with Justin Trudeau and the mounties, but the thing is, we can make those jokes. In most parts of the world, if your leader sucks, you can’t just leave. You don’t have a universal passport to get you to a safer, less stressful place. You have to go through miles of desert or years of legal paperwork. You have to get on an overcrowded boat, even…

10 Miles, Election Craziness and Weds Spin Playlist.

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Originally posted on thedancingrunner:
Well hello there! I was up early for 10 miles in the ‘hood. Definitely much needed run therapy after a wild election night. I have to admit I was still in bed just before 10 pm because I knew I’d wake up to find out who the winner was. My twitter feed was super hilarious last night though. Almost more interesting than the actual coverage. The election craziness had me feeling kind of like this though. Glad all of the back and forth is said and done. Without further ado let’s get straight to the spin playlist, shall we? Check out where I’ll be teaching next in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area here. Enjoy the ride! Setting Fires- The Chainsmokers: Warm up Gone- Afrojack: Jumps I Don’t Like it, I Love it- Flo Rida feat Robin Thicke: Standing run Love On Me- Gallants: Sprints In Common- Alicia Keys: Active recovery Somebody- Natalie La Rose: Tapbacks Applause- Lady Gaga: Climb 5/6/7 Time of Our Lives- Neyo & Pitbull: Climb 6/7/8 Arabian Nights (Melsen Edit)-…

What’s the Point of Nationalism?

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Originally posted on Painting On Scars:
  (Public Domain Image from Freestocks.org) ? The National Police Chiefs Council reports hate crimes in the United Kingdom have increased fivefold in the days following the vote for Brexit. A Polish waitress was asked by two customers, “Why do you look so happy? You’re going home.” A German woman found dog excrement thrown at the door to her home. Bilingual cards reading, “Leave the EU – No more Polish vermin” were distributed in Cambridgeshire. Some Central Europeans and non-white Britons have been harassed on the street, others have had to evacuate their residences after threats.  Paul Bagguley, a sociologist at the University of Leeds told The Guardian: There is a kind of celebration going on; it’s a celebratory racism…  People haven’t changed. I would argue the country splits into two-thirds to three-quarters of people being tolerant and a quarter to a third being intolerant. And a section of that third have become emboldened. At other times, people are polite and rub along. While politicians argue about whether or…

It’s Not Because I’m Young

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I’m a bleeding heart liberal in the heart of Texas. Typically I try to avoid serious political discussions, but sometimes they find me. Last week, I got much more combative than I normally do. Despite what the other person thinks, politics are not something I’ll “understand when I’m older.” I banter about political stuff with the older teacher next door to me all the time. It’s lighthearted, fun, and we are still friends despite being on polar opposite ends of the spectrum. The other day, another teacher joined in our banter. Within minutes, she had begun insulting me.

Pornography Is a Social Justice Issue

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Originally posted on Millennial:
Millennial Catholic Megan McCabe, who has written on hookup culture and rape culture at Millennial, has a new article at America. She writes: This process of desensitization and subsequent search for a new thrill is one way that male viewers find themselves aroused by acts of violence and degradation that they previously would have found horrifying. Through “Create in Me a Clean Heart,” the U.S.C.C.B. attempts to address these social concerns. But the statement mentions them only briefly and without much explanation. Despite addressing issues of violence, the overall framing of the document remains focused on lust and chastity. To take pornography seriously as a structure of sin would require moving violence to the fore, allowing it to frame how we ought to understand the ethical challenges posed by pornography. Through further exploration of the negative social effects of pornography, it becomes clear that the primary concern ought not be lustfulness. Rather, use of pornography entails complicity in a social structure that makes violence against women seem normal, even erotic. It…