Is it Racist?

America is free right? Wrong. Every single day people are oppressed or held down because they are different or seen as inferior to others. Racism is the root of the problem. Even through equal rights legislation and through the huge strives we have taken to become a close knit and united race, racism still dwells in our culture more than many of us even understand. Racism is the racial prejudice coped with the power to keep those of a certain race down. Unfortunatelty, much of racist remarks and actiona may fall in grey area. Some people think that it is racist while others beg to differ.Where do you draw the line?We can ask ourselves a number of difficult questions to understand our stance on the topic.

                                        


       1. Is it racist for the Border Patrol to target populations that are clearly Latino in its search for immigrants without proper documentation?

I think this is not racist. Statistically, the Latino population is the most likely to be illegal aliens to this country, therefore it only makes sense to target them. It's like targeting children for sneaking into rated R movies. Personally i see how it could be found offensive, but it makes sense to me.

        2. Is it racist for a police officer to pull over a black family out for a Sunday drive simply because they happen to be in a “white” neighborhood?

Absolutely. There is no justification for the police to stop somebody becasue they are driving in a white residential area. That is as clear of a racist action as possible.

        3. Is it racist for a white prospective police officer to be passed over in favor of an African-American because the city is trying to diversify its police force?

This one is a little tricky. I would like to say no becasue of the appeasement and unity to the entire community and the staff through the seeking of a diverse staff, but at the same time it seems completely unfair to those who may be more qualified for the job of a different race. In that way, it is definitely racist. I guess it really depends on the situation and how the boss/captain handles the situation.

        4. Is it racist for a white man to forbid African-American nurses from holding his newborn baby?

YES. That is attrocious that someone could be that racist, it disgusts me. The nurses are there to do their job and help your new born, they are people too under God and made in his image. Why would yoyu treat them so differently as an unequal?

       5. Is it racist for a school district’s staff to not reflect the diversity of its student body?

I don't think it is racist. Whatever teacher is qualified for the job will justly earn the job in that school. Reguardless of the students in the body, everyone including the teachers should see eachother as equals rather than as people of different races.




These are my persoonal views, please visit http://blogs.democratandchronicle.com/unite/2013/02/27/ok-so-what-do-you-think-racism-is/?sf10012221=1 to see more questions and develop your own stand on racism.

Holocaust

Holocaust timeline

• January 30, 1933- Hitler comes to power
• March 22, 1933- Dachau, the first concentration camp, is opened
• September 15, 1935- Nuremberg laws were passed to take away Jewish rights
• July 8, 1938- Jewish synagogue in Munich is destroyed
• November 9, 1938- Kristallnacht
• October 12, 1939- Jews in Austria and Czechoslovakia sent to Poland
• May 20, 1940- Auschwitz opens
• July 1, 1941- the 'final solution' is decided on and takes action
• October 30, 1944- Gas chambers in Auschwitz used for the last time
• May 7, 1945- Nazis surrender, the war is over
• November 20, 1945- Nuremberg war trials begin

Anti-semitism is the hatred of all Jews. The concentration camps were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime, but soon turned into death camps, or extermination camps. Jews, political prisoners, criminals, homosexuals, gypsies, the mentally ill and others were incarcerated, usually without judicial process. The Nazis exterminated tens of millions of people in the Holocaust with these concentration camps. These peoples were deported from their homes and shipped in box cars to the camp to be used for physical labor then be killed. Ghettos are bad places where the Jews stayed. Kristallnacht, which means the night of the broken glass, was a night of widespread attacks on Jewish property in Nazi Germany. This left Jewish homes and businesses destroyed and littered the streets with broken glass.

The people involved in the Holocaust broke many commandments. Here are just a few of the ways they happened:

• Commandment 5: Thou shall not kill

The Nazis purged the greatest mass murder and genocide of all times in the holocaust. Not only did they exterminate hundreds of thousands of people with labor, gas chambers, and bullets, they killed all Jewish lifestyle, pride, and peace. They killed innocent people just because the Nazi regime ordered them to because they were seen as "undesirable" and needed to be "cleansed from this planet". All of this was harsh violation to the 5th commandment

• Commandment 7: Thou shall not steal

The Nazis stole everything from the Jews persecuted. They stole their lives, their homes, their families, their friends, their possessions, their wealth, their happiness and safety, and their religion. None of it was rightfully theirs and taking all of it away was an absolute atrocity.

• Commandment 8: Thou shall not bear false witness against your neighbor

The Nazis unjustfully placed millions of "undesireables" in concentration/death camps. Hitler and his regime viewed them as inferrior and blamed them for all the problems in the world. He ruined their reputation and attempted to wipe them off of the entire planet through propaganda and force. They lost all rights through the Nuremberg Laws and soon after they lost their lives in concentration camps.

Fifth Commandment Concern

The fifth Commandment deals with a great deal of topics regarding that "thou shall not kill". Assisted suicide, racism, and self defense are just three aspects of which human dignity, of human lives are killed and/or mistreated.

Assisted suicide is morally wrong and gravely sinful. It occurs when the person suffering illnesses or disabilities asks a doctor, friend, relative, or neighbor to help in ending his or her own life. I strongly side with the Church on this issue. Human life is sacred and given to us graciously by God and because of that no one human can take his creation away from Him. Also, Jesus suffered immensely to save us from our sins, and we are required to endure whatever is thrown our way for Him. No suffering could ever be as great as His, therefore there is no moral truth to helping someone kill thyself. It is cold murder.

Another issue relating to the 5th Commandment is the racism problem. In our world today and since the beginnings of history, people have despised and separated themselves due to race and the color of their skin. We forget that we are all made in the image and likeness of God and that every being should be treated equally well. Human dignity cannot be tainted by social stature of the race of a person. Treat everyone as we want to be treated and love your brothers and sisters. The world would be a much greater place without racism.

The Fifth Commandment also deals with self defense methods and how it must be preformed. The guidlines are very similar to those applied by the Church in declaring a just war. Self defense must be a last resort effort, must have a reasonable chance of victory, must be proportional to the agressor's attack, and must not aim to harm innocent bystandards. Self defense does not aim to kill or to get revenge from someone, it is merely used to keep the peace and ones own life at the point of last resort. We all are familiar with the Trayvon Martin case, an african american boy who was stereotyped as dangerous and killed by George Zimmerman, which is a prime example of how self defence isn't moral. Zimmerman claimed he killed him in self defense, but his actions werent last resort, he didnt use proportional force, and most importantly it was aimed at the innicent boy jus twalking down the street.

I believe the Fifth Commandment is one of the most important that God has given us. If we revere to it and obey it, the world would be an immensily better place. Promote peace, not war. Preserve life and prevent death.

Love one another.

People are talking about Trayvon Martin

The rallies for Trayvon's justice are popping up in major cities all across America. Almost everyone now has heard of his story and want Zimmerman to be persecuted for murdering this innocent child. They are marching millions strong to display their efforts and determination to bring about justice to the Trayvon case.

President Obama spoke out about the incident: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Csa9fnVc1VU&ob=av3e He knows how hard these times have to be on the Martin family and speaks his regards. He goes on to make a comment about how if he had a son he would look just like Trayvon. That angered many Americans. They interpreted it as it was like Obama was saying that if he was white then this accident would have never happened to him. He is now taking a lot of heat from the Republican candidates in the presidential debates.


The Maimi Heat have also joined the cause by publicising their support for Trayvon and his family through "hooded protests". Lebron James and Dywane Wade decided to extend their hands out to the Martin family and they were absolutely grateful. Tracy Martin replied to the heat's actions: "To see all these athletes put Trayvon in the same sentence with them, it feels real good. Trayvon was an excellent athlete and if he could hear them saying his name, he would be so moved by it."

Trayvon Martin

Have you heard his name lately in the news? The innocent death of this innocent African American 17 year-old has become the headlines of news sources nationwide. It all started on February 26th in Sanford, Florida. It was a rainy day, and Trayvon was on his way back from a convenience store with skittles for his brother and an iced tea. He was on the phone with his girlfriend with his hood up to shield himself from the rain when he noticed he was being followed by a slowly moving car. He started walking faster to get away from this suspicious character by returning to his step father's house.

This man following him is a 28 year-old white man George Zimmerman. He is the volunteer neighborhood watch of Trayvon's gated community and saw Trayvon as a suspicious character in a particularly "hot" part of the neighborhood for crime. He dialed 911 to report his suspicions and continued to follow Trayvon despite the receptionist’s plea for him to stop. The 911 call tape revealed him saying that these ones always get away and some racial/prejudice slurs towards Trayvon. He then got out of the car, confronted, shot, and killed Trayvon for he thought his life was “threatened”.

Other 911 calls from neighbors revealed that the two were wrestling a bit and that during one of the calls, blatant cries for help from Trayvon were heard were called in by multiple neighbors as well as a gunshot. Please listen to all the 911 calls http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8rws30uASw and hear what happened for yourself, because then you will find the real truth: They all saw Trayvon, lying innocently on the ground. Dead.

What caused this brutal murder? Some say it was racial profiling because of Zimmerman’s harsh racial slurs and derogative explanation of the color of Trayvon’s skin. There’s no other reason, because a boy that size with skittles and an iced tea walking home from a convenience store is in no way threatening. He was completely scared of Zimmerman, and he ran to try to get away from him. He ran screaming and begging for help and for his life, but Zimmerman took it away too quick. It’s absolutely terrible that an incident like that should ever happen, just due to racism and suspicion that the skittles were a weapon. Seriously?

Now Trayvon and his family and friends mourn while Zimmerman walks the streets as a free man. He used the “Stand Your Ground Law” to his side because it allows deadly force to be used if you feel your life is threatened. The law states that one must take any action possible to avoid the danger and Zimmerman obviously didn’t. He’s not a cop. He went after an innocent Trayvon and killed him. Please join in the petition for Zimmerman to be caught and bring

JUSTICE FOR TRAYVON

http://www.change.org/petitions/george-zimmerman-arrest-him-for-shooting-a-unarmed-teenager

#HoodsUp

Invisible Children become Visible

2003 is when it all started. Three young and adventurous filmmakers took a trip to Africa for fun, excitement, and a story. What they found changed their lives forever.

Jason Russell, Bobby Bailey, and Laren Poole grew up together in California as charismatic kids. They lived for fun, excitement, and the embellishment of their film-making skills. They surfed, played games, and lived life to the fullest as boys do. Upon leaving for Africa, they were pumped to go explore and have a good time. They soon realized that they were there for another reason. They saw the atrocity of children being victims of kidnapping and forced to work for the rebel army. They were unwillingly whipped into vicious and emotionless killers. They made a documentary of the debacle, publicly spread the truths about Uganda and other neighboring Central African countries, and began the Invisible Children.

After talking to locals and hundreds of people who knew about the conflict, they found that this brutal war has been raging on for over 23 years. It all began with a woman named Alice Lakwena. She claimed to have been spoken to by the Holy Spirit to overthrow the Ugandan government for being unruly to the Alcoli. Once she was exiled for her rebelliousness, Joseph Kony took over her rebel forces and turned them into the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army). His movement did not gain nearly as many supporters as Lakwena's Holy Spirit Movement did, so he turned to drastic measures. He and his followers began gaining members by abducting innocent children and brain-washing them into performing terrible deeds as Kony ordered. They were taken from their families, forced to witness the slaughter and destruction of entire towns, and trained to kill. These children are completely traumatized from their life-changing experiences in the LRA. If they cried or tried to escape, they were told they will be killed. They long their parents, families, and friends, but reuniting seems hopeless to them.

After seeing the film, the three young men overwhelmingly were asked "How can I help?" and so the non-profit Invisible Children agency was created. Those who devote their times to the cause travel the Western Hemisphere to gain their unique voices for change. Oh and did I mention that a good majority of these visionary story tellers are teens? Well they are, and they have been touched by the lives of the these abducted children. They spend their time by telling people about the war and the terrible rebel LRA. through transforming apathy into activism, the people and children are being helped and the amounts of deaths and abductions in the war are decreasing.
  

The Invisible Children also do an immense amount of work in the war-torn countries. The team strives to improve the individuals and the institutions to create better leaders for the future to put an end to this brutal war. Also, they have established radio towers to alert towns if the LRA is near to prevent abductions, become close to the members of even the most secluded  towns and learned their most prominent needs, and much much more. Check out their website www.invisiblechildren.com  to learn more of what they are about, the conflict, how they are helping the cause, and how to contribute. Remember, every little bit counts. Please return the lives of those affected, especially of the children, back to them. Thank you.

Demotivational Church?

 

Westboro Baptist Church, ever heard of it? Trust me you'd remember. The WBC began in Topeka, Kansas with Pastor Fred Phelps that claims to be of Christian denomination. This most bizarre religious organization consider themselves to be the "Old School Baptists". They follow the teachings of the Bible, publicly preach the sovereignty of God, and protest against all forms of sin. This doesn't sound all that bad does it? Just following their own interpretation of the Bible message? Unfortunately, this group is far worse than it seems.

The people of Westboro Baptist Church travel the country to protest and picket against a long list of hated groups.They are especially unfriendly to homosexuals, jews, other religions, and the American government and its soldiers. These hatreds are publically displayed, usually on large, colorful signs containing hateful and unfriendly words, including: GOD HATES FAGS, AIDS CURES FAGS, FAGS BURN IN HELL, FAGS ARE NATURE FREAKS, GOD GAVE FAGS UP, NO SPECIAL LAWS FOR FAGS, FAGS DOOM NATIONS, THANK GOD FOR DEAD SOLDIERS, FAG TROOPS, GOD BLEW UP THE TROOPS, GOD HATES AMERICA, AMERICA IS DOOMED, and on and on. They their imense and numerous hatreds from their literal interpretations from the Bible passages. The problem is that they interpret it all wrong. They read it and think that God didn't like war or gays and Jewish people crucified Jesus, so we should avange God's 'hatred' for them by publically denouncing their culture, actions, or beliefs. This contradicts the most important message from the Bible. That is charity and love. In every single Scripture passage, God reminds us to always love your neighbor and do unto them as you would wish to be done unto yourself. The members may be right about what they take out of the Bible, but they are painstakingly missing the big picture.

I respect them for having their personal views and beliefs, but taking their anger out on all of the rest is just immortal. They picket at many major sporting events or gatherings, in front of important buildings, and even at funerals of dead soldiers because they fought for a country who supports gays and abortion! Whats moral about that? Absolutely nothing is correct. The WBC is viewed by many people as the most disturbing and rude 'religious organization' that has ever existed. The values they have strip all of their opposition of human dignity and attract immense ammounts of media attention. I hope that they may soon realize the evil they are imposing onto others, for their sake, for the victums' sake, and for their children's sake. Attached is a video showing of how parents are brainwashing their kids early to follow WBC beliefs. It is truely a dibocle. I am in awe that there are actually people that do thesse types of things. Total shock.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDoljZQr370