controversies
It seems every time one racially-charged incident ends, a gender or religious controversy takes its place; Ruminate on the issues dividing our nation and world.
July 7, 2016
The night of July 7, 2016, I sat in my bedroom feeling excited and slightly nervous about the fact that I would be heading off for my freshman college orientation in just a few hours. My excitement quickly turned into heartbreak and fear, however, when I scrolled through my social media feeds and saw that five police officers had been shot and killed during an originally peaceful protest in Dallas, just four hours from where I lived. The shootings were allegedly conducted in retaliation for the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, two Black men who were both shot by police officers just a few days earlier. This event struck deep because I had felt personally affected already by the murders of both men.
By C.R. Hughes5 years ago in The Swamp
For a Malignant Narcissist Defeat is Unacceptable
*Although I use the term narcissist to describe Donald Trump, I nor anyone else as far as I am aware, has formally assessed and diagnosed him with a personality disorder. The term narcissist is being used as a descriptor not a diagnosis. I am discussing the events that have taken place both before and since the election, based on his statements and his actions.
By Natalie Frank, Ph.D5 years ago in The Swamp
Save Our Youth, Don't Shoot!
Lori Lightfoot (Mayor of Chicago) Dear, Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Greetings, Mayor Lightfoot. My name is Leavie Scott. I am a 43 year old African American man who was born and raised in the city of Chicago, Illinois. I am a hard-working man and a father of six children and I love helping other people. I have a passion to help young boys and young men because I know what it's like growing up as a young black man in Chicago, as well as the state of Wisconsin. I have experienced many things in life that both changed me and molded me into the man I am today. I want to reach out to other young boys an men in the city of Chicago.
By Organic Products 5 years ago in The Swamp
Voter Fraud and Leading by Fear
People are questioning whether there is real evidence of voter fraud today. I think the notion of voter fraud is a conspiracy theory meant to promote Trump’s irrational claims that voter fraud interfered enough to cost him the election. The way I see it is that Trump held massive rallies telling his supporters not to vote by mail.
By Stacy Davenport5 years ago in The Swamp
What is True Alienation in Capitalism?
One of the hardest things to deal with when one first realizes the harm, the damage, the evil that capitalism embodies, promotes and waves away, is the social alienation. It is alienating to be a socialist, and this shouldn't be the case. Because the people we love, the liberals, centrists, and right wingers among our friends and families, whether they know it or not, there is a disconnect that goes on between us and them. And that disconnect comes from their inability or unwillingness to understand that capitalism is killing all of us. It's lonely sometimes to be a socialist, because it feels like being awake when everyone else is asleep.
By Johnny Ringo5 years ago in The Swamp
To What Standard Do We Hold Muslims in Our Society?
At 5 pm on March 24th, 2019, the Islamic Society of Frederick held a vigil for the 50+ victims of a white supremacist shooter who targeted multiple masjids (what we know as mosques) in Christchurch, New Zealand. The death toll could have been worse if this man’s co-conspirators had been successful in detonating a number of homemade IEDs. Thankfully they failed to detonate, but the death toll was still unacceptable. One life taken by a hate-filled white supremacist monster, whether because of the victim’s religion or their ethnicity, is unacceptable.
By Johnny Ringo5 years ago in The Swamp
Saudi Arabia and the US: Dirty Money?
An examination of Xiemen Ltd., a company based in Canada, may shed light on further foreign influence on American foreign policy from Saudi or Emirati donors to the Trump campaign. In a May 21, 2018 Associated Press article written by Desmond Butler and Tom LoBianco entitled “The Princes, the President, and the Fame Seekers”, Xiemen is stated to be connected to UAE-influenced legislation pushed through the US congress to declare Qatar, once an ally of the US in the Middle East, a state sponsor of terror. A second article by the same authors in the Lebanese Daily Star details that Xiemen Investments acted as a go-between for a $25 million investment into the Donald Trump campaign.
By Johnny Ringo5 years ago in The Swamp
American Police Brutality and its Impact on Society
One of the reasons I completed my studies in law enforcement is to empower citizens to protect themselves against any who violate or abuse the law for their own benefit. But first I have to explain legal details that the average American doesn’t always know or understand. The justification for my analysis here is based in both law and philosophy. You have to remember that police are regular citizens, just like you. They’re not legally distinct from citizens, they are merely citizens who have entered into public employment with their local, state, or federal authorities. They’re not military, even if formerly so. There’s a common saying, “once a soldier, always a soldier”. Maybe in mentality, but not legally. Soldiers are legally distinct from civilians, police are not. This difference is key, but even this legal distinction is temporary and conditional upon active duty service. Once the service is over, the distinction is gone.
By Johnny Ringo5 years ago in The Swamp
All Lives Matter is divisive racism?
“Tyranny is the deliberate removal of nuance.” ― Albert Maysles The framing of the name of the movement, and it’s insistence to speak to every single racist issue that has ever been an issue, from 1776 to 2020, makes it easy to dismiss the issue of police brutality altogether. And so black bodies, white bodies, latino and all other types of bodies continue to pile up, while the political movement claiming to work toward that end, continuously fails to force the people in power to wrestle with the issue. BLM continues to make it easy to deflect it by the obvious favoritism it pays to one marginalized community in the sea of hundreds of marginalized communities, ones that don’t have a twitter hashtag to unite around.
By Garrett Beylerian5 years ago in The Swamp
Feature Story Assignment
• Target Publication My target publication is the Oregonian, a local newspaper here in Oregon. It has a Mission Statement that covers three points of great importance to the paper. The three points it discusses are “Oregon’s Leading News Source,” “Serving Our Communities,” and “Embracing the Future.” The Oregonian has been serving their community “for more than 160 years.” The Oregonian is a defining source that also aids businesses, “reach their ideal customers through a robust mix of digital advertising, search marketing, SEO, social media strategy and other services.” In terms of “Embracing the Future,” the Oregonian is keeping their media up-to-date with the changing technologies to appeal to their readers. They are found online via OregonLive.com.
By W.S. Klass5 years ago in The Swamp
Reverse Racism is Not a Real Term
Reverse Racism’s True Meaning (If It Were a Real Term) I’ll confess, right from the start of this, that the most difficult part of writing this post, is going to be trying to meet the word count required for the platform. Why? That’s easy. It actually doesn’t take very many words to state the simple and obvious truth. The term, “reverse racism” is not an actual term and is a fictional excuse created by the victimhood mentality.
By Timothy A Rowland5 years ago in The Swamp
