Ask questions!!

Something that I have been struggling with is dealing with people who are clueless; people who are so comfortable in their bubble that they don’t stop and question ANYTHING. They don’t stop and READ beyond what they need too and they don’t understand the correlations that can be made between the past and present, between Capitalism and Colonial rule, and how EVERYTHING we do AFFECTS someone else, somewhere out there.

In class today, one of my professors said “Americans know the price of everything, but the value of nothing”. This is completely true. We, and yes, I am speaking of myself as well, are not aware of what it means to be a consumer. How being a mass consumer affects workers in factories overseas, affects the environment of our nation as well as other nations, how demanding has caused so much poverty across the world. We don’t stop to ASK, because we have been conditioned to NOT question. And that is a huge problem.

We don’t stop and question, why are nations of Africa so poor? I read a comment today from an article I read that someone stated that “we” as in the United States, need to help the Mexican government control their people especially their drug policies, because drugs are always being smuggled into the US and consequently affecting the economy and human life. Yet, no one is aware that the drug smuggling comes from all nations in South and Central America, as well as Mexico. That some farmers in the global south find it more beneficial to plant drug crops in order to SURVIVE. The trade market has made it impossible for farmers to get enough money to eat, send their kids to school, and maintain a healthy life.

I’m just saying, before we judge, let’s just take a step back and become more aware of the situations that other countries have to face. And another important thing to keep in mind, the US is not GOD and the US is not GREAT. We are a capitalist country that strives on making profit for ourselves…individually. And because of this, and COLONIALISM, GLOBALIZATION, and other factors, most nations across the world are dramatically suffering.

Also, my friend Sean just brought to my attention that I shouldn’t say global south, but instead countries ready for takeoff!! Which I think it is awesome, and which I think does represent many of the countries.

Just take this in consideration, before the invasion of the US Army into the Dominican Republic because of fear that DR will not pay in debts, the country was doing pretty well on its own. Yet here comes the US army and puts Trujillo in power and down the drain the development of DR goes. And why did America feel the need to “colonize” Puerto Rico? Just keep in mind to NOT ACCEPT situations the way they are, QUESTION them, READ as much as you can, and be MORE AWARE in being a GLOBAL CITIZEN and knowing how you are involved in this structure.

FYI...the photo is not mine, I got it from http://tivate.com/articles/why

Getting away with hateful speech

This blog is dedicated to the young men of DKE fraternity at Yale University. Not saying they are the only ones with this mind set and saying this harmful things, but they recently have gotten caught.

Now for these young men to go around saying hateful speech, words that can lead to crime, such as the rape of a woman and the degrading factors that concern that language, it is despicable.

Now what I am most upset about is the fact that the fraternity "apologized" for their words. So by apologizing it makes it ok to say "No mean yes, and yes means anal" and "My name is Jack, I'm a necrophiliac, I f--- dead women."? I definitely don't think it makes it OK or justifiable. What were they thinking when they said it? And lets not mention, this was said publicly, lets not think about what goes on behind close doors in that fraternity and others.

Fraternities don't have a very good reputation when it comes to sexual assaults, date rape, and rape. These is a large stigma with most frats and sometimes it is not far off. Not to say that all frats are this way, but I have personally seen and heard things about various frats and know people who have experienced sexual assaults at frat parties.

This is absurd. The fraternity should be held to a higher standard, and they should be able to realize that what was said, is unacceptable. The school should have taken serious measures and made DKE along with all the frats on their campus take sexual assaults seminars, and be exposed to the consequences of sexual assault, rape, and violence. These students go to one of the "best" schools in the country, now I know this wasn't a lapse in judgment. They knew what they were saying and had no problem expressing it publicly. They apologized solely because they got caught. Because they apologize, does it mean that they will stop thinking this way? No, they need to be taught better. They need to feel the connection they have as being perpetrators of sexual violence.

I honestly don't know if educating these young men, the future of our country will get them to think any differently. I would like to think it would. But where in our society did we go wrong when these men felt it acceptable the chant these words? And what message is Yale University sending out to the broader audience, especially women when they let these students go with a slap on the wrist?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/15/yale-fraternitys-hate-spe_n_763878.html

Starting New

Haven't written a blog in about two years. I started writing the blog (2 posts) as a way of trying to gather my feelings, express myself and my opinions and slowly started forgetting that I had one; sophomore year and junior passed by more in a hazed with so many problems and losing a lot of who I am. But now I am a senior and I have started finally finding where I fit in this world and my purpose. Even though my purpose might change, but right now I think it is to make a difference. Whether this difference is in form of giving someone a new form of thinking by exposing them to new ideas or concepts they have never explored or by helping someone through a difficult time. I feel no task is too small and sometimes, regardless of what others say, is the small things that count.

I have been struggling a lot this semester with my ideas, with my opinions, where I stand within feminism, where I stand with certain issues and what I’m going to do about them. It hasn’t been easy exposing myself to criticism, to the opinions and viewpoints of others and accepting them even though I may not agree with their view point. What I am planning with this blog is to use it as a form of expressing myself on important issues I come across, and hopefully with this I can find my way in this maze I’ve been put in. Hope it helps!