I’m a little appalled at the apathy I’m seeing towards the invasion of Ukraine today. Whether or not you are a citizen of Ukraine, or know someone who is, this should matter to you. We are watching history happen in real time. And if this doesn’t scare you, you need a reality check. It should.

Do I believe that this attack signifies the beginning of a third world war? No, not until more time passes and we have more information. I do still believe that it’s naive to pretend that the only people who are affected by this are citizens of Ukraine. It’s dangerous for us to keep minimizing how dangerous Vladimir Putin is. People are losing their lives right now. The people in Ukraine are sitting in their homes right now, scared, hoping that it’s not their city that’s bombed next. The President of Ukraine has pleaded with the people of Russia, not as a leader but as a citizen, to truly consider whether or not they want war. And the fact of the matter is, most people in Russia do not want this.

We have to face the reality. Vladimir Putin has had time to prepare for something of this magnitude. He has enough power, enough money, and enough ego to bring everything down in a matter of minutes. This isn’t new, it’s been ignored. Whether it’s for our false sense of security, or because it’s distant enough that we allow ourselves to forget, we don’t pay attention to the facts. This ignorance isn’t just our own. It is also the responsibility of our leaders, who have chosen to wait until the 11th hour to decide this is serious enough to act upon. It’s the responsibility of everyone who watched Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping form an alliance and didn’t stop to think: maybe this could lead to bad things.

None of us should be surprised this is happening. Between Russian cyber attacks, and influence on the U.S. election of 2016, Putin has long ago established himself as a threatening force. Now, he has promised unprecedented consequences to any nation, or government who dares to intervene. While these may very well be empty threats, and we shouldn’t force ourselves to live in anxiety because of them, we should still take them seriously; perhaps even at face value. At this moment, Russia has the second most powerful military in the world. It is ten times that of the military that Ukraine has. Not to mention, Russia also has the support of China and Belarus. If this invasion goes in Putin’s favor, how do we know that he’ll stop? If anything, the sheer unpredictability of this conflict is daunting.

Forget the politics, forget the headlines. This isn’t just the news; this is a nation of 44 million people and their homeland has just been turned into a battleground. They’re using bombs. 40 people have died in just the first few hours of the invasion. These are all real people who are losing their lives, and in the Digital Age, we are more connected than we ever have been. Apathy is the most dangerous stance we can take right now. Minimizing the reality of this will only hurt us in the long run. This isn’t a call to action, and this isn’t about politics. It’s a plea for people to look inside of their heart. War has no winners. The only people whom it benefits are the ones sitting in the big chairs and making all the decisions. So, ask yourself: What is the cost of a human life? How many have to die before we truly care about what’s happening right now? The destruction doesn’t cease to exist simply because people have chosen to turn a blind eye to it.

Image credit: UP9, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Growing up, it never occurred to me that I might have it easier than other people because of how I look or where I grew up. I live in a mostly white neighborhood, in a family that had more money than most other kids in this town, I never thought about it. My childhood felt no different than anyone else’s.

It wasn’t until high school that I ran into the word privilege. I was 14 and becoming aware of politics thanks to social media, and the more I read, the more the word made sense. Black men were more likely to be harmed by police than white men. Muslim people were more likely to be randomly stopped in airports than Christian people. White people have inherent privilege.

As I now go into my senior year of high school, I have become much more aware of my own privilege. I am a white girl in an upper middle class family, growing up in a mostly poor town in America. In my current place in life, with education at the forefront, this gives me a significant amount of privilege. Looking at my high school career, I can note where my privilege comes into play:

• I’ve never had troubling affording school supplies.
• I’ve never gone to class on an empty stomach.
• I have a family structure that provides support so I can excel in my studies.
• My family can afford a yearbook, my family can afford to send me on school trips and to summer camps.

Born into my family, the education odds have always been in my favor.

High school is also a place for white privilege to show. I will never be dress-coded for my natural hair. I will never have to deal with classmates sharing racist remarks about me when they think I can’t hear. Teachers will look at me and may assume I am above another student just because of the color of my skin. White privilege will play a role in my life, whether it be education or after.

I recognize this. I have to. If white people, rich people, cis people, straight people, and men don’t recognize their privilege, then they are ignoring reality and thereby fueling oppression.

To say that privilege doesn’t exist is ignorant, and in a society where ignorance is prevalent, we need to accept our reality and fight to change it.

I have privilege. I know this. I accept this. And I will use it to change our reality for the better, for everyone.

Will you?

I don’t like bullies. Many people feel the same, especially when it comes to school bullies and cyber bullies. We are capable of recognizing that bullying has a direct impact on the victims, and by extension, on society. Yet somehow, bullying has become just another national pastime in the US, one that is accepted and, in many ways, encouraged. That this social transformation has occurred over the past 20 months is not a coincidence.

Our country (with Russia’s help) has elected a President whose entire campaign was littered with verbal abuses against a variety of minorities and professional adversaries. Disparaging remarks regarding women, people of Muslim faith, immigrants, the LGBTQ community, the disabled, and virtually any other demographic were and are commonplace. Now his days are spent name calling and tweeting verifiable lies – all of this accomplished under the pretext of being someone who does not believe in being politically correct, but rather, speaks his mind.

Merriam-Webster defines politically correct as “conforming to a belief that language and practices which could offend political sensibilities (as in matters of sex or race) should be eliminated.” At one point in time, to be politically correct meant sewing together a string of euphemisms that masked the speakers true meaning and intent. While this practice could prevent hurt  feelings, it also became a means of masking the truth. In our current political and social climate, however, being politically correct isn’t done with the motivation of playing nice; thanks to our “President” political correctness has been traded for mockery and cruelty.

[tweetshare tweet=”Thanks to our “President” political correctness has been traded for mockery and cruelty.” username=”e_revolutionist”]

Following the success of Trump’s campaign, many people have become very comfortable airing their personal biases and speaking their minds. Newscasters and entertainers publicly vomit vile commentary towards people who still see our current administration as one that has a direct negative impact on our nation and our standing in the global community. Hateful, ignorant comments are publicly shared without shame or fear of reprisal. Muslims, immigrants, and poor people are fundamentally blamed for any ails our country may suffer. Yet there is nothing to substantiate that these groups of people are a drain on our society. Time and again we see memes or comments from strangers, friends, and family members that disparage others for being criminal or committing fraud, when in fact, the opposite is true.

I am often stunned that friends and family – people I know to be good and kind – find humor in sharing comments that poke fun at, or treat lightly, the plight of others. Instead of empathizing with others or offering some words or gestures of hope, they take to heart the filth and lies that are spread regarding victims of crime or circumstance. How much time are we taking to truly educate ourselves? Very little. Instead, we voice an opinion or share a comment that best fits our view of the world.

Students who speak out in support of gun control have been publicly condemned. Folks on welfare are treated as if they are solely to blame for their lot in life. And don’t forget those people who dare dream for a better way of life for everyone: they’re considered to be a “special kind of stupid.” Shame on us all.

Trump is a bully. He brings shame to the office of the President, and he brings shame to the United States. And unfortunately, many folks have decided that this is the nation that they want and one in which they are comfortable living. But their opinions of Trump, of our nation as it is and how it should be, and their opinion of those societal demographics they scorn are not the opinions of the majority. Opinions are not facts. The world as one person sees it is not necessarily the way another person sees it.

[tweetshare tweet=”Trump is a bully. He brings shame to the office of the President, and he brings shame to the United States.” username=”e_revolutionist”]

The time has come to walk away from the hate and when possible, silence the hate. As a society, we can respond to the hate and the bullying with positive, well-informed messages. Perhaps one of the most politically correct things we can do is to keep our mouths shut. The 14^th Dalai Lama tells us to “[b]e kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” Our country is turning into a nation of bullies. Maybe now is the time to step back and, short of coming to any sort of consensus regarding the direction our country should be taking, become a bit more empathetic to how others might feel.

I and many of a similar mindset are often branded as liberals and perhaps “a special kind of stupid” for believing that we can save lives by eliminating assault rifles. Yet, this goes beyond matters of partisan debate. The launching of verbal barbs at those branded as liberals (and those branded as conservatives, for that matter) is beyond old and serves no purpose. Those opposed to gun legislation are not warmongers; those in favor are not snowflakes. This is not a problem that affects only one political demographic. This is an American problem; this is human problem.

And this is not merely an issue that affects schools, as has been evident in Las Vegas, Orlando, and Sutherland Springs. I have recently reread Robert Fulghum’s All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. The book is an enjoyable read, and one that helps center me when the world goes a wee-bit sideways. I reflect on how we have been taught to behave as a society, and the reality of how we behave when we are at odds with our ideologies. What I find striking is how poorly we treat one another when it comes to discussing how to deal with mass shootings and gun control. We treat each other as somehow dimwitted and uninformed. And rather than look within ourselves and closely examine our society, we tend to point fingers at immigrants or people who struggle with their mental health.

If indeed we have a mental-health problem in this country, it certainly has little to do with the proliferation and availability of assault weapons. And the abuse of such weapons can largely be attributed to the lobbying of the NRA and a variety of affluent and vocal supporters, this demographic that still believes a sound reason exists for the ownership of weapons that were not created for sport or for home defense but were instead manufactured for the purpose of warfare. And while I probably shouldn’t speak for our founding fathers with respect to what they may have intended when penning the 2^nd Amendment, suggesting that they wrote the amendment with the possibility of semi-automatic and automatic weapons in mind as a means of protecting citizens from the government is indeed ludicrous. Such a notion is akin to suggesting that each home in 18^th-century America should have had a cannon at the ready. Just in case.

Numerous arguments are made in support of assault weapons, some advocates suggesting that the AR-15 is no different than any other rifle or shotgun. I suppose with that mindset, we could argue that a machete would be no different than a pocket knife. What amazes me is that regardless of the relevant data underscoring the problem we have with gun violence in the United States, as well as data supporting the effectiveness of gun-control legislation, opponents of such legislation in general continue to place the blame somewhere else – anywhere else – for deaths associated with the misuse of firearms.

Somehow, the mass shooting at Parkland touched a nerve like no other incident before. We now have a dialogue that may affect change, and by change, I don’t mean arming teachers. Some teachers may be comfortable with the idea, but I suspect the majority are not. Teachers have enough on their plates without being placed in a situation where they must square off on potential shooters. Adding more guns to the mix is certainly not the answer.

Honestly, the time has come for our country to let go of this perversion for assault rifles. We don’t need them. We don’t have a “right” to own them. The time has come for owners of assault rifles to surrender these weapons. The number of deaths due to firearms is at least on par with deaths resulting from automobile accidents, and the number of citizens who own firearms are far less than those who own automobiles. No one has a right to lobby – either by bribery or other forms of persuasion – for the wholesale massacre of innocent citizens. We regularly reinterpret religious texts, classic literature, and history to suit our ends. It’s time to reinterpret the 2^nd Amendment to fit the 21^st century in such a way that we feel safe to leave our homes and go about our day-to-day business, without fear of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s time for us to grow up.

If you are not a person of color, and you are judging the #TakeAKnee protests for being an insult to our anthem, our flag, or our country, I urge you to:

1. Recognize that the protest is not about the flag or the anthem (or football).
2. Understand that there is no possible way you or I could ever even come close to understanding what it’s like to grow up black or brown in this country – and that so recognizing is only the beginning of becoming an informed person when it comes to race, equality, and justice in this country. The disparity is real.
3. Educate yourself. You can gain empathy and compassion for the experience of others, even if you can never actually comprehend the true terror of the atrocities they have endured.
4. Stop placing judgment on where protests happen or when they are happening or why you think they’re happening, and instead of offering your opinion about alternative means of protest you find less offensive, recognize that this has happened because no one is listening and nothing is changing. So LISTEN. Hear the concerns and fears.
5. Acknowledge the injustice. Acknowledge that when you get pulled over by an officer, the risk you face is far less than what it is for people of color – even when they are 100-% compliant and innocent.
6. Recognize that a person can be against police brutality and still support the police, that a person can want police officers who have committed crimes to be removed from their jobs (just as we would teachers, priests, and politicians who violate our trust and don’t uphold their promises), without disparaging all the great officers who put their lives on the line every day.
7. Acknowledge that this country has always had a problem with race and that it is a very powerful basis for the inequality that still exists today – that sometimes you can’t just pull yourself up by your own bootstraps and make a better life for yourself, that some people do start out with an advantage that others have no access to.
8. Question your own motives. If you were supportive of Tim Tebow taking a knee after every touchdown to thank Jesus Christ because that was something about which he felt strongly; if you were supportive of Kim Davis protesting gay marriage by refusing to issue marriage licenses because that was her belief; it’s important to examine why those incidents were okay – why them and not Colin Kaepernick.
9. Start learning about the racist history of this country. Read Race by Studs Terkel; White Like Me and Dear White America by Tim Wise; Race Matters by Cornel West and Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison.
10. Start listening to people of color – without passing judgment. Listen to their stories, their concerns, their first-hand experiences. Hear them. Imagine how you would feel if your child had endured the same experiences, if you had.

Open your heart and your mind.

It is the only way forward.

On July 28, English punk band Peter and the Test Tube Babies was flying out to California, planning on performing at the Punk Invasion festival the next day. Peter never made it to Santa Ana to do that, as he got stopped at the border to be questioned about a previous performance that took place in Germany. During this performance, lead singer Peter Bywaters was dressed as Donald Trump and mocking him onstage. Bywaters claims that border patrol took him in for six hours of questioning before forcibly escorting him to the plane back home.

Peter Bywaters was deported for making fun of Trump.

This sort of behavior that we see here is an exhibition of someone restricting freedom of speech. Of course, there is a line to draw when it comes to freedom of speech in order to ensure national security, but is that line really being drawn at mocking the president? Surely people are allowed their individual opinions in this matter. This is something never seen before in the United States of America. Even under the power of some of America’s most infamous presidents, nothing like this has happened. Let’s be clear. Peter Bywaters is a white Englishman. He’s not even at the top of Trump’s priorities. He still got deported. 

[tweetshare tweet=”Peter Bywaters @TestTubes is a white Englishman. He’s not even the top of Trump’s priorities. He still got deported.” username=”e_revolutionist”]

What does this mean? It means that the United States of America is diving deeper into the fascist state many had feared it would become. It means no one is safe. You could come from any background, but if you make fun of the man in the oval office, people will notice and there will be repercussions. Is it helpful that Bywaters has some notoriety? Probably, but that brings up the next question: Where will they go from here? What does this mean for the future of America?

No one can predict what Trump is going to do next, and that is frightening.

by David T. Bruce

You know, I don’t often speak out in regards to what are often perceived as social injustices, but this seems like a proper time to do so, maybe because I feel so passionately about the direction I see our country taking in regards to foreign and domestic policies.

The argument of gun control – either too much or the lack thereof – has taken center stage once again in the societal and political arenas, as a result of the murders near the University of California, Santa Barbara. The debate remains predictable and heated. Victims want additional gun control or at least the enforcement of gun control measures. Gun advocates argue that we do not have a gun problem in the United States; we have a people problem. Three of the victims in Santa Barbara were murdered with a knife, so gun advocates argue that we don’t have a knife problem; we have a people problem. When people are injured or killed due to the poor choices of a driver, we don’t have a vehicle problem; we have a people problem.

But is it really that simple? Do we turn a blind eye to tragedy merely to maintain a lifestyle we have become accustomed to, clinging to an ideal that has outlived its usefulness?

The first line of defense for those that advocate for the proliferation of firearms is the Second Amendment, which maintains that “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” The prefacing text that suggests the necessity of “a well regulated militia” is often overlooked. We could certainly launch an argument that, other than our armed services, including the National Guard, a militia is not in place in our country, and that if there is one, it is certainly not well regulated. Yet the NRA continues to advance the sentiment of this “right” that has little bearing on today’s society.

With each murder or accidental death resulting from the use of firearms, the NRA launches a barrage of theories and pointed arguments that demonizes everyone and everything except guns. The notion that we have the “right” to bear arms wherever and whenever we please is taking on a new dimension, as recently demonstrated by the actions of Open Carry Texas members. Indeed, while this is suggestive of a “people problem,” the problem manifests itself as a direct result of guns. Would these same people become as incensed about losing the right to carry knives (also, considered “arms” by the way)?

And for those who argue that we don’t have laws prohibiting knives, such legislation is not out of the realm of possibility. In addition to the variety of firearms prohibited in the United Kingdom, knives are likewise legislated. Many of us might find this inconceivable. But if indeed we do have a “people problem” in the United States, then it stands to reason that certain temptations should be legislated.

Automobiles are, in fact, legislated or controlled. Before you purchase a car, a license is required. Prior to receiving your license, you must past a written test and a driving test. Prior to testing, you must complete a driving course. Prior to taking the course, you must obtain a learner’s permit. Of course, these requirements vary from state to state, but the point is that you cannot go to a dealership and buy a car without some proof that you have a minimal understanding of what it takes to operate a motor vehicle. You can’t even test drive a car without filling out paperwork and providing the dealership with a copy of your license – a license you must obtain prior to having the right to drive. Such oversights and controls do not exist for firearms.

In most (if not all) states, bar owners and bartenders may be held liable for serving a person who is intoxicated. They may also be liable for accidents or injuries that occur outside of the establishment as a result of intoxication. Does this eliminate drunk driving? Does this mean that a vehicle could not potentially kill someone? Of course not, but the issue is addressed and someone is being held accountable. Such is not the case for gun owners and gun dealers. Any effort to hold gun dealers accountable has been effectively derailed by the NRA.

And in terms of gun control, we not only have a people problem, we have an accountability problem. Very few people are being held accountable by local or federal governments. Ironically, those who hold strongest to their “right” to bear arms often claim that they fear that the government is duplicitous, trying to take away our rights.

Our government is certainly not above reproach. Our elected representatives – all of them, of every party – are certainly suspect to a menagerie of shady dealings, legislating as a means to line their pockets and serve their own needs, hence the close-knit relationship our government has with the NRA. That being the case, if our government were indeed hell-bent on creating a police state in this country, there is little any of us could do. And besides, who would vote for them then? Edward Snowden has shown us that we have much more to worry about in regards to our government and our rights in general than the repealing of the Second Amendment.

Every citizen has the right to live without fear of being shot because someone thought they were in danger or because someone was irresponsible with their gun. And I don’t care if the perpetrator is a hardened criminal or my next door neighbor! Does it matter who discharges the weapon?

United States Representative Jim Moran recently bemoaned that the members of Congress are underpaid. His argument is that the current annual salary of $174,000 is insufficient to maintain a decent lifestyle in Washington D.C. (Finally, the working classes of America may have something in common with their representatives.) Yet, government data shows that the typical household in Washington earns in excess of $60,000, which is more than any other metropolitan area in the country. Given that, we can safely argue that our nation’s representatives seem to be doing relatively well then compared to the majority of the nation. As well, the impact of serving as a representative has not been overlooked by the government.

The Members’ Representational Allowance (MRA) is provided to each representative. This one-time allowance is intended to offset personal and official expenses that occur as a result of fulfilling his or her obligations. This is in addition to the salary and benefits provided to the politician.

The average MRA is $1,446,009. 

Representative Moran further received campaign contributions in excess of $424,000 for the 2014 election campaign cycle. This figure does not factor in fundraising events on his behalf. Someone should also point out to Moran that approximately half of all congressional members are millionaires.

Serving the United States as a representative or a senator is intended to be a privilege, not a right of birth or a benefit of being independently wealthy.

For a man who works 115 days a year on the average, $174,000 is not too bad. That averages out to approximately $189 an hour, assuming an 8-hour work day. I would like to volunteer for an opportunity to do that job. But I can’t afford to play, because in our government, you have to have money to make money.

The government by the people no longer exists. Jim Moran’s statement further illustrates how tearfully, shamefully out of touch our elected representatives are with their constituency.

Schools across the United States have adopted anti-bullying programs, and many school districts have reported varying degrees of success in minimizing bullying in their schools. Virtually all of us have been witness to, victims of or perpetrators of bullying. And even if all schools have not found success implementing programs that curb bullying, at least awareness about bullying has been raised across the nation. For those students who may look or behave differently than their peers, there is support. This is a good thing.

However . . .

If a student happens to be gay or lesbian (or even perceived as such), that student is still more likely to be bullied than another student, with almost two thirds of students expressing concern for their safety in school as a result of their sexual orientation. And three fourths of teens in the LGBT community have acknowledged being bullied as a result of their sexual orientation, with little or no intervention from teachers or school districts. And while the verbal and physical bullying cited in these reports is most obvious, perhaps the most prevalent bullying is of an indirect nature.

Indirect bullying – a more covert type of bullying that often goes unseen and includes excluding people from social groups – not only prevails in our schools but in our society as well, and if we are going to eradicate bullying in our schools, we have to eliminate bullying in our society as well, starting with our government leaders.

A civil rights battle is currently being waged throughout the United States, as state governments wrestle with the social, ethical and religious implications associated with allowing LGBT couples to wed. While some government leaders have opted to bring down the barriers that prevent couples marrying regardless of sexual orientation, others choose to discriminate against gay and lesbian couples, thereby excluding them from a particular social group. To be blunt: this is bullying.

Most recently Utah Governor Gary Herbert has announced that he will not recognize same-sex marriages recently married in the state, even thought the U.S. Constitution affords gay couples equal protection under the law. This is not the example we should be setting for those students whom we are telling that bullying is unacceptable. How can we hope that bullying will be eliminated from schools and that students will grow to see the worth in all people, while a governor indirectly bullies a group of people because they do not fit his social, ethical and religious schema? There are enough bullies on the playground. We don’t need them in our government.