Dear Society, Please stop body shaming.

Dear Society,

       Spending my summer on what I would argue to be one of the most outdoor - oriented places in the state of Georgia, if not in the United States, I've managed to notice a few things here and there that stick out.  The main one is the fact that we are objectifying women in the form of body shaming. It's an odd form of body shaming; it's a quiet form of body shaming. No one is pointing at girls and calling out or gossiping about their weight. No one is performing acts of cyberbullying to body shame. Its occurring at a sub-conscience level and it needs to stop.
       Working at the pool, many camps of various organizations and ages come through to enjoy the cool water and exciting diving board. However, one trend continues with many of the camps; girls come in wearing either a one piece or wearing a t-shirt over a bikini in order to cover their midsection and follow the rules of modesty. The cause is usually argued that it's done for modesty. There's nothing wrong with being modest. If someone doesn't feel comfortable showing their stomach, it's alright. Often it's preferred to wear a one piece the majority of the time just because it's less of a hassle to worry about how well the top and bottoms will stay on when one dives in. However, why is it that it is considered immodest for a female to expose her stomach while males are allowed to walk around without shirts and still be considered modest? Is it because guys will judge girls and become excited over a stomach? It turns out, girls also judge guys by their stomach. Let's face it, which girl hasn't seen a picture of a movie star, musician, or just an ordinary guy in general and judged him and admired his body for having rock hard abs? My point. So I say, if you wish to argue the modesty point for why girls are forced to cover up their stomachs, make guys do it as well.
       However, it's not just a poolside issue. Drive anywhere in the United States on a hot day and guys of all shapes and sizes will be out without wearing a shirt. Women  are usually found outside wearing something that will cover up their upper bodies. If they are wearing a sports bra, they are usually pretty skinny and could pass for a lingerie model. Why is this? Why can't a size 10 woman wear a sports bra out to go for a run without feeling the slightest bit uncomfortable and feel as if people would judge her? Why is this the case when men, with or without a six pack, can seemingly go out without any worry that they might the target of body shaming?
       This issue goes deeper than just a few layers of skin and adipose tissue, it's an issue that, despite women being considered equal to men, establishes that women are not equal to men. We are still upheld to standards of physical perfection that are almost unrealistic and often only attainable if life-threatening measures are taken. We are taught through these subtle rules that you, Society, have put in place that modesty is defined as something that should only apply to women and not men. Your rules allow for men to go shirtless without judgement while women feel as if they must be a size 0, 1, or 2 to go comfortable out exposing their midriff. You're rules are treating us, women, as pieces of skin covering only fat. You're rules of modesty are doing the exact opposite of what they were put in place for.
       Society, change can be a very daunting daunting, however, objectifying women through sub conscience body shaming is something that needs to end right now. Either apply the same rules of modesty that you have set up for women to follow to the male population or get rid of these despicable standards of modesty that only women must follow.

Sincerely,
     Running Without a Shirt and Swimming in a Two Piece.

The Other Red, White, and Blue

      July 4th is the day many Americans spend beside a pool, beach, and/or a BBQ attempting to get the perfect hamburger grilling technique down and shooting off fireworks. Red, white, and blue stars and stripes were pretty much everywhere. In Rome, Georgia, however, there was a different Red, White, and Blue that managed to be pulled up into the United State's Independence Day festivities. The flag contained red and white stripes along with white stars up against blue. It was once a symbol of a union of 13 states that had a culture unlike anywhere else in the world. The flag is the now greatly debated Battle Flag of the Confederate States of America (which no longer exists; and ceased to exist in 1865).
       After the Charleston church shooting this summer, a photograph of the shooter with the confederate battle flag was found. The correlation was made that, since previous photographs and knowledge signaled that the shooter was a white supremacist, the confederate battle flag also correlates to white supremacy. That correlation can be deemed as a safe comparison or a faulty comparison based on how the 1860s and years leading up to the 1860s is interpreted.
       If making the claim that the confederate battle flag is a symbol for white supremacy, take into account that there's a lot of people who own a confederate flag. There's also a lot of people who support white supremacy. However, just because one owns a confederate flag does not mean one is in support of white supremacy. In the same sense, just because one person is a white supremacist doesn't mean he or she has a confederate flag hanging out the back of a large pickup truck parading through town on Independence Day.
       The confederate battle flag is a huge part of southern history and the history of the United States. (I've even picked up on this being Belgian.) It's a constant reminder of the Civil War, the struggle between states rights and national rights. It's a reminder that our great nation fell apart at one time and through the blood of many it was brought back together.
       Alas, not to long after the Charleston shooting South Carolina removed the Confederate Battle Flag from it's State Capital Building. Honestly; fine. The flag belongs in a museum; not on a government building (I hate to break the bad news, but the South is not rising again anytime soon).
      As vehicles with the Confederate Battle Flags still drive through the streets of Rome, Georgia, it's hard not to notice the similarities and differences between not only the flags, but the groups of people backing stance of the great flag debate. In the end, slavery was part of the Union and the Confederacy, it just stuck around longer in the South. Revolutions and the fight for rights were a part of both the Union and the Confederacy; the United States gained it's independence through revolting against the British Monarchy because of unfair and unequal representation with the government.
      So next time someone wants to declare that the Confederate Battle Flag is just for white supremacy or just for states rights, realize in the end, whether with good or bad intentions, it initially stood for a country of 13 states that left a National government because they felt as if they were not given equal rights as the rest of the nation.

African American Music Artists' Call to End Racism and Police Brutality

In 1995 Michael Jackson released the song “They Don’t Care About Us” and recorded two music videos for it. One of them taking place inside a prison. The lyrics and video attack the issue of police brutality and racism in the late 20th century. However, the issue has spread into the 21st century and Michael Jackson hasn’t been the only artist to bring to light these issues. Recent cases such as the Travon Martin case, the Ferguson case with Michael Brown, the Walter Scott shooting in NYC, and the Eric Garner choke-hold case have brought to light that the police brutality and racial tensions against African Americans are far from resolved. In fact, a new case just recently occurred, the Freddie Gray case. For the community against police brutality this was the final straw as Baltimore, Maryland, the city where the incident took place, erupted into a riot-filled hell. However, the music industry is far from staying silent on the issue. In less than a year African-American music artists, specifically Rihanna, Common, and John Legend, have followed Michael Jackson’s footsteps to release music targeting racism and the need for a revolution against police brutality at a faster than ever pace thanks to social media and the internet.. As the United States of America holds its breath to see what will happen following the Baltimore Riots, African American music artists are not; African American music artists are using their talent to vocalize the need for an end to police brutality and racism. 

The Baltimore Riots started just as schools were let out on April 27, 2015. Facebook messages had started off to initiate a “purge” in Baltimore. These Facebook messages were sent by a few students who strongly disagreed with the police actions against Mr. Gray. However, it wasn’t until schools were let out and police blocked off ways for students to disperse home that the events truly started to unfold.  A scene very similar to the eyewitness accounts published in the “Mother Jones” is portrayed in the lyrics of “Beat it” by Michael Jackson. While the song was released in 1982, it is an accurate description for how the riots of Baltimore started.  Eyewitnesses claimed that the police were waiting for the students in full riot gear before anything happened.  There was no room for the students to “beat it” despite the heavy police presence sending a message that they didn’t want anyone out after school. In fact, the eyewitnesses also said that the students were all peaceful in nature when school was dismissed (Brodey and McLaughlin).  

John legend and Common’s music video published has also featured police attacking peaceful demonstrations during several marches led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. along with the march in Selma. In the music video for the Academy Award wining song “Glory”, by Common and John Legend, it shows clips of the movie “Selma” and the run in with police during Dr. Martin Luther King’s peaceful march across the Selma bridge. It’s key to note that also the lyrics of the song declare that their only weapon is to remain peaceful. While the Baltimore riots were not depicted by the news media as peaceful, there were efforts to keep the peace. One video leaked depicted an African American man standing between a line of police and angry protestors yelling out “Don’t touch them; Don’t give them a reason.” Another image showed an entire line of people standing between the rioters and the policemen. Staying peaceful is the best weapon at hand because it breaks the stereotype and image surrounding African Americans.  

In colonial Spain paintings of the Casta system depicted African’s as very violent and savages. That image didn’t go away; it hasn’t yet.  One reason the stigma hasn’t gone away is because of the socioeconomic conditions where a lot of African American’s live. Take New York’s Bronx and Brooklyn neighborhoods for example. According to the 2011 NYPD Annual Firearms Discharge Report, the highest amount of criminal shootings took place in the Bronx and in Brooklyn; the two areas in New York with the highest African American Population (U.S. Census Bureau) and cities in the top 25 for poverty (citytoplists). The amount of African Americans struck by police gunfire was 43% of all suspects. 56% of all subjects armed with firearms however, were African Americans. Crime rates are higher across the United States, generally, where there is an increased amount of poverty. These impoverished areas are often ignored by city officials and their citizens are usually limited in opportunities. Without the opportunities to be successful  or to even find means to be successful outside of the neighborhood, some of the people see that violence is the only opportunity and way to become heard and noticed by city officials. The fact however that African Americans are present in the poverty filled areas and in an environment that almost seems to encourage crime fuels the stereotype that African American’s are violent. 

The music industry is trying to change that. For Rihanna’s single “American Oxygen”, an image of tension is depicted in the opening scene. It’s the shadows of peaceful protestors projected onto a city hall, yet upon further examination silhouettes of policemen are standing by. The imagery is making an assumption that where ever there are demonstrations, the demonstrators will become violent. The police are waiting to take action. Just like eyewitnesses claim happened in Baltimore.  

After a collage of peaceful and violent protests that have occurred during the United State’s modern history, the last scene of Rihanna’s video goes along with her lyrics. The “New America” that she sings about is one where people of different races are no longer living with tensions. White’s are shown helping African American’s after a crisis and African American’s are shown helping white’s after a crisis. Hopefully, as the nation watches for what lies ahead in the wake of the Baltimore Riots, people will hear and see the message that African American music artists are conveying and will realize that the United States has seen enough of racism and police brutality; America needs to reform it’s ideas, break its stereotypes, and end racism and police brutality.

Under the American Flag

Earlier today I watched a news report about an apparent new social media challenge called the "Eric Sheppard Challenge", named after a VSU student who is now the subject of a man hunt after carrying a weapon on campus during an anti-American flag protest. I understand that many of the people currently stomping on the flag are frustrated with things going on inside our country. However, I also believe we as American's should focus more on reforming and building our country up instead of tearing it completely apart. (we've had our own share of human rights violations as the rest of the world has.... slavery, WWII internment camps, etc.). Here's my letter, me writing as the devil's advocate of the logic of flag stomping, to those who wish to follow up on the "Eric Sheppard Challenge".




Dear "Flag-Stompers",

For 13 years of my life I stood up in a classroom with people of multiple socioeconomic and ethical backgrounds to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, stand at attention during the Star Spangled Banner, and even memorize the lyrics for our National Anthem. For five of those years I performed the Star Spangled Banner with people of multiple ethnic backgrounds before every Friday night football game. During my senior year of High School back in 2012, I helped raise the American Flag with the help of 8 fellow Cedartown High School Marching Band seniors. All of us from different ethnic and racial backgrounds.

America is far from perfect, however it's imperfections are what allows it to grow and become as close to perfect as possible. America's imperfections allow her to grow and change, sometimes more quickly than others, to adapt to what her citizens need. For without the ability to change, we would stay stagnant as the rest of the world move's forward.

Yes, America still faces racial tensions as we've all seen tighten in the past year. Yes, all American presidents, except President Obama, are/were white. However, was it not under the American flag that President Abraham Lincoln emancipated slavery? Was it not under the American Flag that Dr. Martin Luther King was able to give one of the most famous speeches, the "I Have a Dream Speech?" Was it not under the American Flag that we saw the civil rights act put in place? Is it not the American Flag by which President Obama stands?

It is no lie, racism has plagued the earth for at least the history from early colonization up to today. However, whether you realize it or not, racism is not because of the United States. It was an issue during the colonization of latin America in which Casta paintings portrayed a gradient that basically stated the darker the skin, the more savage the person. Also, did you know during the late 1880s that the phrase "White Man's Burden" was coined to describe how white Europeans had the burden of making African's "white" and "less savage'? Soap was even sold through advertisements that claimed it could turn an African's dark skin white. In fact, the country holding the colony suffering the most from white supremacy, the Congo, was Belgium. Hands were severed from people if a rubber quota was not met. Africans had no voice in what was happening to their land. The United States did not have a colony in Africa.

Again, I am not saying that America is completely white supremacist free. In fact, I never wrote that. During WWII, almost everyone on the west coast feared anyone who looked remotely Japanese. In fact, Japanese Americans were sent to interment camps. Before, during, and even after the civil war slavery was an issue that then turned to an issue of race after the Jim Crow laws took place.

However, despite looking at America's flaws that have happened under her flag, look at what has changed under her flag. Under the American flag we have the ability to stand up for our opinions. We have the ability to vocalize our opinions. We have the ability to see something that needs fixing, point it out, and stand up and fight for it.We have the ability to take same flag which represents our freedoms and comes off as a sign of hope to many, and stomp on it.

So, if you sincerely wish to display your anger towards America's "white supremacy", by all means, you have the freedom to do so. However, realize that you have the freedom to do so under the American Flag.

Sincerely,
The devil's advocate

Same Sex Marriage: The 21st Century Human Right Debate

            Same sex marriage has been a controversy in the United States and a cause for social movements across the country. State Legislatures and Courts have split views on the issue. Many have raised the moral question and argue marriage has been traditionally between a man and a woman. The increasing amount of legislative repeals, reviews, and numerous court cases has finally led to the Supreme Court to announce it will review the issue in April and deem if the US Constitution allows same sex marriage. However, the decision that the Supreme Court will be making is very heavy; the Supreme Court is going to be making a decision about a human right, marriage.

            After World War II, the Declaration of Human Rights was written. It opens stating that everyone has human rights despite any conditions that could cause discrimination. Further in the document, in article 16, the declaration of Human Rights states “men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality, or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family.” The articles never say a person cannot marry another person of the same sex; it only states that men and women have the right to marry. 

One of the main arguments of people against same sex marriage is that same sex marriage is morally wrong and violates traditional practices. However, denying same sex marriage might be a moral wrong as well. Article 16 of the Declaration of Human Rights continues with two more statements. One of those statements states that marriage is to be entered into only with the full consent of the two people seeking marriage. If two of the same sex people wish to wed, the question of someone, who is not engaged to either person in the wedding party, to decide that two people cannot be wed arises. If two people wish to be wed, no one should have the ability to stop it. In today’s society, government is trying to put a halt to some weddings. The same weddings that the two brides or two grooms fully consented with.

The Supreme Court will also be making a decision on the final point in article 16 of the Declaration of Human Rights which declares that the state is responsible for the protection and recognition of a family unit because it’s fundamental to society. When same sex marriage occurs, some states will recognize the marriage and some won’t. This becomes an issue when birth certificates are made. If a same sex couple has a child, there are two parents and a child. Technically, that’s a family. If same sex marriage is deemed unconstitutional, society might decide not to recognize same sex families. Already, gays face bullying and personal attacks. There is no denying that children of same sex couples will also face personal attacks. If government does not recognize and protect these families through legislation to minimize the attacks, it’s a clear violation of human rights.

The United States Supreme Court is faced with a heavy decision. A modern 21^st century social concept is challenging not just the United States Constitution, but to what extent will the United States uphold itself to the Declaration of Human Rights. In just a few short weeks, the Supreme Court Justices will decide. Not everyone will be pleased with the decision, but in a country where human rights and human freedoms are preached from town halls to national televised events, the decision is more than just an issue of marriage. It’s a decision concerning the moral obligation for everyone to have human rights.

The Battle of Algiers: Nationalism vs. Morality.

            The Battle of Algiers, an Italian produced film about an Islamic based colony in Africa seeking freedom from French control, highlights many of the struggles faced by both the Algerians and the French during decolonization.  The Algerians are faced with discrimination and segregation due to racial and ethnic stereotypes set by white Europeans. The French are faced with loosing a colony and trying to control the shootings, bombings, and rebellions occurring inside the colony. However, the award-winning movie uses the characters Colonel Mathieu and Ali la pointe to illustrate the Battle of Algiers not as a battle for Algerian independence. The Battle of Algiers uses Colonel Mathieu and Ali La Pointe’s FLN to portray a battle between choosing actions based on nationalistic goals and actions based on human rights, morality, and a good conscience.

            Ali La Pointe is one of the first characters introduced to the audience. He’s an Islamic Algerian, former boxer, gambler, and violent in nature with a criminal record. While in prison he witnesses a martyr being executed. It triggers something deep inside him to help the cause of the Algerians; he decides it’s his life’s purpose to help free Algeria from French control even if it kills him.

            After being recruited by the FLN, he joins in willingly with their violent actions. He assists in police killings and sneaking weapons across the French-Islamic quarter border. Ali and the FLN fight against the French because the French promises of freedom weren’t all what they cut out to be. Separate quarters for the French population ended up being more modernized with boulevards, automobiles, electricity, and well lit shops and cafes. The French quarters also provided jobs. The Islamic quarters, however, provided housing and narrow streets that resembled alleyways without much lighting. Electricity was sparse and jobs were barely present.

The native Algerians already had the short end of the stick and that end continued to get shorter as tensions increased with the violence. Eventually, barricades were set up and curfew hours were put in place in an attempt to stop the terroristic actions of the FLN. People who wore traditional Islamic clothing were held back and often retained for extra screening before being allowed into the French quarter. Ali and the FLN had to encourage the women to cut their hair and wear European dresses in order to pass through security without being checked. The plan itself worked flawlessly. Each woman managed to pass through the guarded checkpoints with guards never questioning the bomb-loaded baskets. The biggest concern of one of the guards was getting to go to the beach with one of the European dressed FLN bombers. The French were so set on a stereotypical image of an FLN assassin, men wearing traditional Arabic clothing, that they let the enemy walk right through the barricade without screening.

When the French police signaled to France that they needed help to control the Algerians, they called on a French World War II hero named Colonel Mathieu and a band of French Paratroopers. Entering the streets of Algeria with their heads held high with national pride, dark aviators sunglasses covered the colonel’s eyes; his face showed no emotion as the French population cheered for him.

            Colonel Mathieu had the task of putting down rebellions led by the FLN. As he completed his job of finding out about the organization and ending it’s rule over the native Algerians, two faces of the colonel were present. As he gave orders and spoke about the nature of interrogations used on Algerians, he wore his dark aviator sunglasses. Wearing the dark sunglasses allowed for the Colonel to represent the French Government. The sunglasses covered up most of his face, hiding any emotion that might suggest he has the ability to feel remotely human. He made all his military decisions so France being could hold on to Algeria, including decisions about torture.

            One of the opening scenes in the movie is a scene in which prisoners were being tortured to get answers about the FLN’s leaders. Waterboarding and electrocution were just two of the ways paratroopers sought to get answers. None of the French paratroopers paused to consider their actions for it was all for France. It wasn’t until a press conference that a reporter brought up torture and the actual need for it. It was one of the few times that Colonel Mathieu removed his glasses. Instead of giving a straight answer, the colonel responded with a question for not only the reporters in the press conference but for the entire country of France and the world.

The questions asked by Colonel Mathieu targeted exactly how the public of both the French and Muslim quarters of Algiers felt. The first question he asked after being told that torture was against the law concerned how the public was justifying the bombing and killing of innocent French civilians. He did this to prove that everything was different in times of war; their were no considerations of the enemy being humans. The second concerned how much the people of France were willing to sacrifice for their nation’s control of Algeria. If France truly wanted to remain in Algeria, the torture was a necessary cost and would be continued.

The questions caused a stir within the press conference, the same way that news reports of conditions in other European colonies caused a stir throughout other nations. In the end, the people colonized might have dressed differently and had strange religious beliefs in comparison to the Christian religions of the Europeans. They might have started violent rebellions. However, people usually don’t rebel unless they have a just reason and cause to. For the FLN, the Algerians had a cause; freedom from being pushed into a corner and attempts to change their culture. They wanted to be able to walk down the streets of the French quarter without the entire city pointing out and accusing them falsely of being a crimminal.

In the final scene, Colonel Mathieu located Ali La Pointe and three of the remaining FLN conspirators. After threating to bomb their hideout unless they surrendered, the colonel walked away only to return with the dark glasses off and offerings for a peaceful surrender. He offered them multiple second chances. However, Ali and his companions did not accept any of them. Instead, they chose to die as Martyrs. The colonel walked away with his head hanging down; his glasses in a hand dropped to his side. His thoughts focused not on how foolish it would be to die for independence, but rather on how foolish it is that people have to die in order to prove that despite skin color, ethnicity, and culture, everyone is human.