Ah HA! More statistics on the inequality here in America! Inequality goes beyond skin color to the extreme of differentiating body parts! Surprising? Of course not. Why must women be paid less than men? Statistics prove that women are substantially smarter then men. That reason alone is enough for women to be paid equally if not more then men. One male, one female working the exact same job, fulfilling the exact same duties but the woman is being paid less than the man. Who was the genius to come up with this?
I agree with my colleague Kayla. In her commentary, "Support Gap Jeans, Not Gender Pay Gaps" she states that all companies should adopt a transparent salary policy that will help monitor all the inequality going around. There's so much secrecy in our society. Our nation isn't practicing what it preaches, "equality and justice for all." This will be a way that will show the true colors of our diluted "equality." There should not be one person in this country who is treated differently or paid differently based off the color of their skin, their gender, religious beliefs or sexual preferences. How can you expect people to fulfill their duties at the best of their abilities if they aren't being treated fairly?
The history of equality in America is pretty sad. From women, African-Americans, immigrants and gays, the road to equality has been a struggle since our nation began. It will continue until our people stand up and demand a change. Our closed mouths will never get fed. The government will continue discrimination because we don't seem to care. It is time for a change.
Friday, October 30, 2015
Racial Injustice
Why is it that two people of different color can commit the same crime but receive two different sentences? It is no secret that our criminal justice system is racially biased. Our prison system is the modern day version of slavery. It is set up in a way to keep our minorities in repetitive bondage. According to a case study, "African Americans make up 30% of the population, but account for 60% of those in prison. Black defendants receive longer sentences than white defendants." There are many people who will argue that this isn't discriminatory. There's the belief that white people are more law-abiding than people of color and that they commit less serious crimes. True or false? I believe this isn't true. We've all witnessed cases of people of different color committing a crime and the white person will be granted probation while the person of color will receive a sentence of 15 years to life in prison. What sense does this make?
Racial bias is evident in almost all courtrooms across the country. People continue to say racial discrimination doesn't exist anymore. Believe it or not, statistics don't lie. It is time for reform. A serious change is needed in our criminal system. Equality is something that should be practiced in every way imaginable. Whether it be in the employment system, education system and everyday life. This could be dissected into many categories such as the current police brutality cases and the everyday law salary/wages. It is evident that equality and justice isn't dispersed equally. If you are a person of color, and prosecuted over a simple marijuana charge the chances of you getting sentenced to life in prison is substantially higher than a white persons sentence for committing the same crime. It's blasphemy! The judges who prosecute these cases will deny it, but they allow race to be a factor in how they will move forward with a case. Another case study about judges has proven that these judges are more likely to sentence an African-American to prison for a drug charge than they would a white person for the same charge.
Kind of makes you think, how far have we really come in racial discrimination? It still exist. African-Americans may not be working in cotton fields, being whipped by slave masters or refused to the right to vote. But we are still in slavery in a sense, it has just taken on a new modern face.
Please do not misunderstand my opinion for favoritism of people of color. I am a firm believer in, "If you do the crime, you should do the time," regardless of your color! However, let the time served behind the crime be equally dispersed to any person of whatever color you may be. Black, yellow, orange, white, brown, whatever! Our justice system ought to be color blind. That will be the only way for justice to be served fairly.
Racial bias is evident in almost all courtrooms across the country. People continue to say racial discrimination doesn't exist anymore. Believe it or not, statistics don't lie. It is time for reform. A serious change is needed in our criminal system. Equality is something that should be practiced in every way imaginable. Whether it be in the employment system, education system and everyday life. This could be dissected into many categories such as the current police brutality cases and the everyday law salary/wages. It is evident that equality and justice isn't dispersed equally. If you are a person of color, and prosecuted over a simple marijuana charge the chances of you getting sentenced to life in prison is substantially higher than a white persons sentence for committing the same crime. It's blasphemy! The judges who prosecute these cases will deny it, but they allow race to be a factor in how they will move forward with a case. Another case study about judges has proven that these judges are more likely to sentence an African-American to prison for a drug charge than they would a white person for the same charge.
Kind of makes you think, how far have we really come in racial discrimination? It still exist. African-Americans may not be working in cotton fields, being whipped by slave masters or refused to the right to vote. But we are still in slavery in a sense, it has just taken on a new modern face.
Please do not misunderstand my opinion for favoritism of people of color. I am a firm believer in, "If you do the crime, you should do the time," regardless of your color! However, let the time served behind the crime be equally dispersed to any person of whatever color you may be. Black, yellow, orange, white, brown, whatever! Our justice system ought to be color blind. That will be the only way for justice to be served fairly.
Friday, October 16, 2015
Well, Damn!
I knew I was not the only sane person in this world (I say that jokingly). Recognizing the Racialized Reality of the American Dream is by far what I hope the mindset of all Americans to one day possess. It is no secret that after years of fighting for equality, we still lack the very thing that our ancestors died for. In this case it is the ability to live a life of liberty and equal opportunity. This is nothing short of a cry out to our population as a whole. If a "Caucasian" woman born into wealth, blind to racism can come to the realization that it still exist, why not the rest of our society?
Madelynne Wager, the author of this article, came to this realization by living in South Africa for a couple months. She was astonished about how the paleness of her skin was the golden ticket to success. "I recognized Americans system of privilege. I understood that decades of policies allowed my family to acquire wealth, while largely excluding African Americans." Being in the segregated areas of South Africa, she could easily see the similarities that we have here in America. She worked no more than the average Joe (black) did but in a matter of months she had a corner office while "Joe" remained a gardener working from 6 in the morning to 7 in the evening. You would like to think that she could've had a better personality than Joe, or was more dedicated, or even it could've been her looks. Too bad that is so far from the truth. She came to the understanding that the color of her skin regardless of her work ethic was all it required.
The majority of our population may not think that racism still exists. However, there is a strong possibility that we are hindered by deception. There is a mirage of equality that our American society portrays. Underneath the "perfect", imperfect vision of the "American Dream" lies the historic and present injustices of inequality that continue to contaminate our society. Whether you choose to believe it or not, there are invisible barriers within our communities that we refuse to accept is there. White privilege has not ceased to exist, it has just taken on another, more subtle form.
The American Dream goes as such, "Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Happiness". According to Wager, this dream is severely deflated by moral contradiction. This dream is merely a broken promise to our general population. Similar to 40 acres and mule! *drops mic
Madelynne Wager, the author of this article, came to this realization by living in South Africa for a couple months. She was astonished about how the paleness of her skin was the golden ticket to success. "I recognized Americans system of privilege. I understood that decades of policies allowed my family to acquire wealth, while largely excluding African Americans." Being in the segregated areas of South Africa, she could easily see the similarities that we have here in America. She worked no more than the average Joe (black) did but in a matter of months she had a corner office while "Joe" remained a gardener working from 6 in the morning to 7 in the evening. You would like to think that she could've had a better personality than Joe, or was more dedicated, or even it could've been her looks. Too bad that is so far from the truth. She came to the understanding that the color of her skin regardless of her work ethic was all it required.
The majority of our population may not think that racism still exists. However, there is a strong possibility that we are hindered by deception. There is a mirage of equality that our American society portrays. Underneath the "perfect", imperfect vision of the "American Dream" lies the historic and present injustices of inequality that continue to contaminate our society. Whether you choose to believe it or not, there are invisible barriers within our communities that we refuse to accept is there. White privilege has not ceased to exist, it has just taken on another, more subtle form.
The American Dream goes as such, "Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Happiness". According to Wager, this dream is severely deflated by moral contradiction. This dream is merely a broken promise to our general population. Similar to 40 acres and mule! *drops mic
Friday, October 2, 2015
Another Tragedy
As we all know by now, there was another heartbreaking gun shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon. The author of this editorial is clearing screaming out to our public and to our government that a change needs to happen. How many more "tragedies" due to the lack of gun control is going to happen before our government sets down some serious laws?
The author did not exactly give us details about the shooting. However, he gave us a quick history lesson on the 294 mass-shootings that have occurred so far in 2015 alone. This is just a handful of incidences that have happened from the lack of gun control. Another handful of gun shootings come from murders, assaults, suicides and accidents according to the Mass Shooting Tracker. The author lets it be known that our congress has still refused to instate sensible gun control laws. Our own president made the comment, "I hope and pray that I don't have to come out again to offer my condolences to families under these circumstances. However, based on my experience as president, I can't guarantee that." This alone says a mouthful.
It is time for a change. It is time for our government to come up with a solution to these disasters. It is time for our government to protect its people! Congress needs to pass a law that makes it difficult to acquire weapons for those who wake up in a bad mood and feel the need to shoot up innocent people. There's one simple fact, the availability of guns for these kind of people is far too easy to come by. This author clearly states, he is sick of waiting for congress to enact laws that will combat this crisis of gun violence. He wants us Americans to come together and do something. In my opinion, it doesn't get much smarter than that.
Save our innocents and punish the guilty. Simple.
The author did not exactly give us details about the shooting. However, he gave us a quick history lesson on the 294 mass-shootings that have occurred so far in 2015 alone. This is just a handful of incidences that have happened from the lack of gun control. Another handful of gun shootings come from murders, assaults, suicides and accidents according to the Mass Shooting Tracker. The author lets it be known that our congress has still refused to instate sensible gun control laws. Our own president made the comment, "I hope and pray that I don't have to come out again to offer my condolences to families under these circumstances. However, based on my experience as president, I can't guarantee that." This alone says a mouthful.
It is time for a change. It is time for our government to come up with a solution to these disasters. It is time for our government to protect its people! Congress needs to pass a law that makes it difficult to acquire weapons for those who wake up in a bad mood and feel the need to shoot up innocent people. There's one simple fact, the availability of guns for these kind of people is far too easy to come by. This author clearly states, he is sick of waiting for congress to enact laws that will combat this crisis of gun violence. He wants us Americans to come together and do something. In my opinion, it doesn't get much smarter than that.
Save our innocents and punish the guilty. Simple.
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