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.
Another open letter
Dear Ms. America, Rumor has it that you can do no wrong and that you are the envy of the world. Fun fact: You are morbidly obese and an inmate running the asylum, to reference the latest project by the iconic Hip Hop duo Run The Jewels (2020).
By Nefarious Darrius5 years ago in The Swamp
Racism in Utah: “Racism in Utah. Its Roots and Impact.”
Introduction: "Utah is a Beautiful State. There are a lot of Great people that live here. There are also some that are just plain bad. I will try to explain the history of black people in Utah and the Mormon Church. Understand, the Church itself has changed greatly and openly condemns racism. Yet, there are those that can’t let go of the past or their prejudices.
By Paul Drockton5 years ago in The Swamp
The Week That Could Have Changed Irish History, But Didn't.
In a tumultuous week in Irish politics, Hozier, among others, criticised the Irish Government on Twitter in the days following the controversial vote which inadvertently ‘seals’ the archives detailing the abuse suffered by Women and Children “tantamount to human trafficking” at the hands of the Catholic Church and The State. The Bill which brought an end to the Commission Investigation has left a nation with whiplash, and as we try to pick up the pieces of what happened - it is probably easiest to start at the beginning.
By Sorcha Murphy 5 years ago in The Swamp
When The Oppressed Want To Become The Oppressor.
Being oppressed, no matter what demographic you fall within, is a dehumanizing experience. Like all traumas, we all process things differently. For some of us, when we experience being oppressed, we actively do everything within our power to stop it from happening to others. Because we understand what it does to you negatively as a person, we would never inflict that on another and actively engage in destroying systems of oppression. However, there are some of us that choose to take a different path; the path of actually wanting to become the oppressor.
By Whitney Smart5 years ago in The Swamp
Let's Continue This Conversation
I posted this on one of my social media channels on August twenty-nine of this year, and the reception it received was as expected during that time of evident political turmoil in North America. However, the momentum of such a significant movement seems to be lessening substantially.
By Peyton J. Dracco5 years ago in The Swamp
The Illusion Of Inclusion.
I was listening to an interview that Sean Combs a.k.a. Diddy recently did with Charlamagne Tha God, in which he was reflecting on how no matter how successful people like Jay-Z, Oprah and himself are, when they walk into the rooms of corporate companies, they are still treated like N*****. He referred to the few Black people that make it as “an illusion of inclusion,” that he was afraid that the Black community would potentially fall into because they see the Oprah’s and Tyler Perry’s, Dr. Dre’s and Jay-Z’s of the world and think we’ve made it as a people. This made me reflect on my time in the corporate world and how this definitely applied in that setting.
By Whitney Smart5 years ago in The Swamp
A Tale Of 3 Cops.
A few days ago, I witnessed a horrific car accident, where a bus ran into a car that turned into its lane while making a left hand turn at a major intersection. The bus spun the car completely around and then jumped a curb, rode a sidewalk and took out the main stop light pole. This all happened right in front of me while I was stopped at the red light. I immediately jumped out of my car with my phone, ran to the car that got hit, made sure the occupant was alive and then proceeded to call 911. A number of first responders, including police, ambulance and firefighters arrived on the scene within minutes.
By Whitney Smart5 years ago in The Swamp
Dear Black Men: Protect Black Women, Eh? Okay. Let’s Start With You.
Being a Black woman right now is one of the hardest things in the world, mentally and physically. Having to deal with the visual, physical, verbal, emotional and psychological trauma of seeing Black people’s lives continue to be taken with little to no accountability or justice is gut wrenching. Seeing Black women be put on the back burner time and time again while they continue to be murdered without thought or care for their life is mind numbing. But it’s not just that. It’s single mothers having to be both parents to their kids, while trying to stay sane and healthy themselves. It’s single women having to deal with sexual abuse by themselves because they feel there would be no point in reporting it or worse, little to no real consequence even when they do. It’s women in abusive relationships with men that don’t call the police because they know what the outcome would be. It’s trans women, specifically, being harassed, shamed and degraded in public…yet sought after in private messages on social media.
By Whitney Smart5 years ago in The Swamp
All Things Racist Aren’t Racism.
Chris Rock is one of my favourite humans. He is in my top 3 funniest comedians (Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy are my one and two, respectively). I was listening to an interview he did with The Breakfast Club in New York, where he was talking about a myriad of great topics, one of which was him being asked about his thoughts on Jimmy Fallon’s Black face incident 20 years ago. Chris said something that made me take pause. “All things racist aren’t racism.” At first, my initial gut reaction was confusion, to be honest. Then I repeated what he said, and there was something in me that knew I completely agreed with this statement. But to be sure, I wanted to have a full and complete definition of the word so I could carefully process my thought and belief that this was an accurate assertion.
By Whitney Smart5 years ago in The Swamp
