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.
Womanhood and Witchcraft
My town still bears the scars of its past. Tucked away in the form of plaques on walls and sculptures in parks, memorials record the names of those tried and executed here for the crime of witchcraft. Everyone who lives here knows the history of the area, but it’s not the only place with a bloodthirsty history.
By Anne Morley8 years ago in The Swamp
The True Face of American Terror
I don't know if it's the years and years of hard drinking and drugging... the mega-violent movies and video games consumed from early on... the wild and uncouth "bro" culture in our high schools and sporting events... the even wilder "frat boy" culture in our universities... the cantankerous labor and police unions, the brainwashing military... the fear of Blacks rising up and doing to them what their ancestors did to Black and indigenous American slaves... the fear of losing their privilege...
By Dre Joseph8 years ago in The Swamp
Dear Mr. President, Condemn The Alt-Right
Watching the events in Charlottesville unfold, I've been trying to collect my thoughts. To try and say something worthwhile about the whole mess, even before someone decided to use their car to ram through a crowd of protesters. That it's come to this, in 2017 America, simply boggled my mind.
By Matthew Kresal8 years ago in The Swamp
Trump Says Nation Must Rise Above Hatred Following Charlottesville Tragedy
"We must remember this truth: No matter our color, creed, religion or political party, we are ALL AMERICANS FIRST." These words, from President Donald J. Trump, were tweeted in the wake of the tragedy that continues to unfold in Charlottesville, Virginia. What the president fails to recognize — and continues to fail to see — is that he is encouraging, on an ongoing basis, the hatred that's happening and continues to happen across the nation.
By Christina St-Jean8 years ago in The Swamp
Is This American?
I will just go right to it. It is perplexing and therefore ultimately a shame that Colin Kaepernick is not on an NFL roster right now. The Miami Dolphins recently "kicked the tires" on him before deciding to dump $10 million plus on a dude, Jay Cutler, that recently retired and essentially said, "I'm done." The Baltimore Ravens are still mulling over signing Colin Kaepernick or not as well. Reportedly, the head coach and general manager are game, but the owner has to "pray" about it. What? What is going on here? Why is this story even important to you even though you may have absolutely no interest in sports aside from going to that local sports bar that drafts that really good beer or makes that deliciously awesome craft burger you like? I am going to explain that here. Basically, this is a story about human rights and American hypocrisy in how we decide to "defend" those rights placed in a real time unfolding story that is happening RIGHT NOW in sports. So, here goes.
By Howard Thomas8 years ago in The Swamp
When Your Skin is Seen as a Weapon...
I am a single mother of color, and my anxiety for my children grows at a rate that has left me physically ill daily and exhausted. Unable to lock my children away in a safety bubble and not expose them to this racially based society we live in keeps me in a state of panic and depression. They are not safe with police because what they see is black skin as a weapon. Shot first cover up afterward, their peers, who are ignorant and lost in the white haze, believing that other blacks are their enemy, or white people in general, due to their white privilege blindness.
By STACEY PATTERSON8 years ago in The Swamp
They Have You in Their Sights
Targets used to be something to aim at (see illustration). Nowadays they are (a) a means of control and (b) a sure fire way of screwing up the systems they are meant to regulate. Nominally introduced to ensure that certain services are being delivered or improved (sales, hospital care, student retention etc.), they have evolved into the main point of the exercise, whatever that may be. Want to cut hospital waiting lists? Then do as many ingrown toenails as possible and hey presto! You have met your target! Need to keep a tight hold on the hospital budget? Then avoid all those expensive life-saving therapies and operations, and concentrate on — well, toenails, obviously. Hand-in-hand with the tick-box, targets are the bureaucrats' dream, positive-performance indicating and cost-cutting everything in sight!
By Kevin McClintock8 years ago in The Swamp
The Dangers of the Inaccurate Feminist Within Western Cultures
Before I get copious amounts of furious women, spamming my inbox with hate mail, drooling out the mouth with a rage stronger than Mike Tyson's left hook, sharing this article on their social media and perpetuating an increased amount of distaste for the topic, first listen to the facts, and the statistics. Then, by all means, write to me an edgy email, full of hate and fury, and we can attempt to have an intelligent conversation.
By Christopher R8 years ago in The Swamp
Should Police Wear Body Cameras?
At the current time, where small cameras can be mass manufactured and weeks of video can be stored on Terabyte hard drives, I believe we should start using technology to bring justice to criminals. Today we should allow it to be done on the municipal level and only in the cities that can afford it. In New York, a program is starting where their police department is aiming to put body cameras on 23,000 police officers. (New York Times, 2017) The New York Times is calling this a very large experiment where we can see technology’s effect on the penal system. The costs for a three year program are estimated to be higher than $70 million dollars.
By Jesse Guerrero8 years ago in The Swamp
Stalin's American Spies
There is an old saying that truth is often stranger than fiction. Works of non-fiction can often prove that to be the case, revealing sometimes hidden or forgotten stories from our history. The Cold War, that epic conflict of ideologies fought largely in the shadows and still influencing the world we live in today, is just such an example. While so many great fictional spy stories were inspired by it ranging from Ian Fleming's James Bond novels to John le Carré's George Smiley, the real world of Cold War espionage can be just as fascinating as any thriller. The non-fiction work The Haunted Wood proves that to be the case with its exploration of the Americans who spied for the Russians in the 1930s and 1940s.
By Matthew Kresal8 years ago in The Swamp
How Do Democracies Become Dictatorships?
It's often been said that those who do not fight for freedom should expect to stop having it. In many points throughout history, democracies stopped being democratic — and started being the grounds that helped dictators rise to power.
By Cato Conroy8 years ago in The Swamp
