Stepping Forward

As this blog series has progressed, we've seen just how important identity can be to our lives. The most common theme as I've looked into what is taking place in our world today in regard to people, is prejudice. This blog has spoke about the targeting of POC, fight for LGBT, and yet the most important thing here is: regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation, we are all people. People who bleed the same and in ways can be more common than we think. 

As I bring this series to a close, not only would I like to end on the good note of uniting humanity, but talk about a very recent event that was able to do this. About a week ago, on March 24th, all around our country, people gathered to march in a fight for gun control and as the event was named, march for their lives. 

March for our lives became the slogan of the young students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas that were the victims of a school shooting by Nicholas Cruz. Immediately after this tragedy, the students mobilized and created a movement. Since the shooting, these students organized this event, a national school walk out, and various other campaigns. It is incredible the work that is being done by these students. 

Although the march was a student lead event, it brought together people from all places, age groups, and races. In an article written in The Washington Post, Pulse shooting survivor Brandon Wolf is quoted saying "'It's about: the current generation [being] fed up with lawmakers who have done nothing on this issue regardless of which community has been affected. Students, LGBT people, people of color. This issue is intersectional.'" The march wasn't just about students from Parkland but any individuals who have been a part of a mass shooting, have lost their friends and families in mass shootings, and those who are in support of more gun control. 

Photo Provided by Salwan Georges 

The march in Washington D.C. had speakers who were all under the age of 18. Many of these included the students of Parkland along with Naomi Walder at age 11 and nine year old Yolanda King, granddaughter of Martin Luther King. The young child recited part of her grandfather's legendary I have a dream speech saying "I have a dream that enough is enough, and that this should be a gun-free world."  At the age of nineteen, I can barely get through a small speech in a class of 25 nonetheless speak to a crowd of thousands at the young age of nine. I was truly astonished and commend the courage and bravery of Yolanda King.

Another young brave soul that was inspiring is that of Naomi Walder. At eleven years old, she spoke with such power that within the last week, she was reached out by both George Clooney and Ellen DiGeneres. In her speech, she spoke to the lives of African American victims whose names have been left out during shooting tragedies. Walder not only wanted to give acknowledgement to the forgotten girls but encourage protesters to do the same. It is a beautiful thing to see even the voices of young children be heard.


Despite the fact that some have criticized all the student action and gone as far to denounce their efforts by saying that kids don't understand, Walder made it a point to say that they do. Regardless of what people choose to believe, there's no denying the power in the youth as they have made more progress on this issue than what has been done in the past 10 years. There is so much potential in this generation that I for one am excited to see what can be done in the future when the youth are then adults.

The march was most definitely a success. According to CBS news, in D.C alone, there was a crowd of an estimated 200,000. Given that were an estimated number of 830 rallies that took place that day, it's hard to say just how many people participated in this event in some way.

It's amazing to watch such a beautiful movement take place and one that was able to bring together all people. This event showcases that in times of scrutiny and turmoil, there is a way for us to come together and make a difference. Despite all the separation, isolation, and prejudice I have explored in the past 10 weeks, there is still hope that we can be a country united regardless of our differences.

Texas Terrorist

Beginning March 2nd of 2018, a new tragedy would take place in my home state of Texas. On this day, a 39 year old black male, Anthony House was the first of several victims to die after receiving a package that included a bomb. Ten days later, a young black male of 17 years, Draylen Mason along with a 75 year old Hispanic women would be the next two victims of another set of bombs. Mason's mother was also injured in this event. However, it would not stop here. Two more males would be injured with a fourth bomb Sunday just before the fifth would go off in the FedEx facility Tuesday March 20th.

Most of the explosions took place in the city of Austin, just 100 miles from my home, with another taking place in Schertz, TX. Given that this area is home to my family and friends and I still receive news coverage in this general area, it did not take long for me to learn about this. I was deeply saddened to hear about the lives that were being lost.

When I heard about the death of Draylen Mason, my heart just shattered given that he shared a passion for music and played the bass just as I had played the violin in high school. He was a bright young mind with so much potential. This young man was getting ready to begin a new life in college just as I had this fall and his death just hit way too close to home for me. Of course I am also deeply saddened by the loss of Anthony House who was husband and father to two young children and all others injured and affected.

After learning about the bombings, I just wanted to understand why. Why would someone do this? Given that the first three victims were all POC, there is reason to believe that these were possibly
the targets. Many individuals and community members did their best to warn their friends and families to be skeptical of any received packages, but this could only do so much. Lives were being lost, families, were being destroyed, and the only preventative measures were individual awareness. These bombing got little to no media coverage and no words from our president as events unfolded.

We may no longer live in a time of slavery and mandated segregation but it's clear racism still prevails. To think that it could've easily been my family that was targeted is gut wrenching. I cannot believe I still live in a time when something I cannot change, my heritage, my skin color, and my race matters more than the person that I am. It didn't matter that House had a family to provide for or that Mason could've easily been another intellectual, the perpetrator felt that they had to die.

I could never understand why people still feel this hatred against POC's and this sense of superiority for being a white male. Racism is something that is taught and instilled and all I can hope is that people will no longer pass down this cruel and insensitive mindset to others.

I was not only disappoint to see just another display of racism take place so close to home, but disappointed in the disregard for the events. I can't help but wonder that just maybe if there were stories and national coverage taking place from the start of these chain of events, some of the other victims might not have been victims.

The news and media is such a powerful tool that can be so effective with the right timing. Although Trump did not address these bombings as they took place. He did finally decide to tweet about these bombing saying "AUSTIN BOMBING SUSPECT IS DEAD. Great job by law enforcement and all concerned." Not only is this response about 20 days late from the start of this tragedy, but it can't possibly have the same effect now that the perpetrator is deceased. I'm happy to know that another bomb will not be created by this individual to harm another POC, but if there had been sooner acknowledgement perhaps this could've ended sooner. Regardless, I'm glad that there is now a sense of relief for the community of Austin.

It's terrifying to live in a world were tragedies as such take place over something ridiculous as race and skin color. I can only hope that as we continue to progress as a society, we can one day eradicate the hatred and demise for people of other races.

Cracking the Code on Criminals

As young minds and leaders, we were constantly told "you are our future." When it comes to big issues such a climate change, we are the ones that will hopefully make a difference to save our planet. As the future of this world, there's a lot weighing on our shoulders. Can we be as brilliant as the young minds of the industrial revolution? As powerful as those of the Civil Rights era? Yes, my answer is yes.

If you've been keeping up with big news, you've definitely seen "#NeverAgain" or "#MarchforOurLives". These circulating hashtags are those of brave, strong, and incredible survivor students of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting in Parkland Florida. It's so sad to see another tragic school shooting take place in our country and we can only wish for peace and comfort in the friends and families of those we've lost.

Despite the tragedy, students have been working hard to create change. Their hashtags, campaigns, and events have created a spiral of support as well as action beginning with company withdrawal from the NRA as well as Trump's push for newer gun laws.  In just two weeks, these students have already made progress that we could not have imagined for our nation in such a short time. They are the prime example of just how powerful we young people can be.

While these students are pushing change for a better world, one without guns, others simply want justice. Isn't that what this country is all about? Yet, what is justice for a young man who has murdered 17 individuals? For supporters of the death penalty, that is justice. Considering that Florida is a state that would allow for such capital punishment, there is lots of debate circulating about whether or not this is justice.

As a student currently enrolled in a criminology course, we've touched a lot on this subject. It seems that humans are incapable of rationing such a violent crime as murder. Those who favor the death penalty simply feel that this would be sufficient punishment, and to see this been done would actually stimulate the reward pleasure center in the brain.

We want criminals off the streets and locked away so they could never harm or commit another crime again, which is why there has been an epidemic of mass incarceration in our country. We believe criminals to be such awful individuals. They are disturbed, heartless, and cold, but are they really?

Perhaps, we've been socialized to view these individuals in a light that is not reality. Don't get me wrong, I'm not justifying any crimes or defending murders. Instead, I'd like to share some of the knowledge I have gathered and provide a new perspective on crime and criminals. At the end of the day, criminals were once people of society like you and I, and the people in your life right now, could easily be a criminal one day.

Most crime is consequence of three things: money, sex, and dispute. Therefore, much crime falls on the smaller scale in contrast to murder. So why do we believe murder is such a big deal? I for one have always assumed that murder was a popular thing and thought the likelihood of being murdered was pretty high. However, that is simply a consequence of our media and the ways it seems to romanticize murder with shows such as cold cases files, how to get away with murder, and Dexter . If you don't believe me, check out this video of other myths about crime.


Going past crime itself, there are many theories that explain why people commit crime. I will explain only three: strain theory, rational-choice, and control theory.

Strain theory asserts the idea that people face problems that can create strain taking the form of stress, anger, or even depression. When this happens, individuals can be more vulnerable and inclined to commit crime as their logic goes out the window and this strain(emotions) takes over.

In contrast, rational choice views criminals as more calculated and in control. Crime takes place when the criminal sees an opportunity and weighs the benefits and costs to make a decision about whether or not they should commit this crime. If you leave your wallet in your unlocked car with little to no witnesses around, you've set the perfect opportunity for someone to cash in with little chance of being caught; you've made the perfect criminal.

Lastly, control theory considers that anyone of us could be criminals. In fact, we are very inclined to commit crime but it is a sense of control that holds us back. There are formal controls such as police, parents, and other authority figures as well as informal controls such as gossip, self-image, and investment in society. Without such controls, there would be little to stop anyone from committing a crime.

We are all criminals to some degree. Remember when you jaywalked across the street to get to your class, snuck in that candy bar as a young child, or went out for a night of drinking as a 18 year old. These are very minor crimes but that's where most serious criminals start. While we might feel an immense dissociation from those locked behind bars, some of them aren't much different from you and I.

Taking this course has really opened my eyes to a new perspective on crime and the individuals who commit crime. I find it to be very interesting and I hope you did too.

(L)et (G)o of (B)ias (T)o (Q)uit (A)lienation

When considering identity, some of the first associations that come to mind are race, class, gender, or even ethnicity. However, did it ever occur to you just how much who you choose to love, your sexual preference, or even sexual orientation could play such a large role in how you're viewed or treated? This is something the LGBTQA community has been struggling with for a long time.

Although the movement from the rights of LGBTQA community began in the late 1960's with the Stonewall riots, only years ago did we see big change with the legalization of marriage for this group of individuals.

A more recent issue that has been circulating for some time now deals with the push for gender neutral or unisex bathrooms in institutions and public places. This initiation would mean a lot to the LGBTQA community simply for the fact that allows for the opportunity for transgender people to use a bathroom in which they identify with rather than the one in which their sexual orientation suggests.

Like any other issue, this has a large base of resistance as well as support. Companies like Starbucks were quick to feature their own gender neutral bathrooms and last year, Yelp decided that as part of it's app features, it can provide you with the knowledge of whether or not your place of interest contained gender neutral bathrooms.



Last year, a transgender woman in Los Angeles was headed to the Pride festival and stopped in Walgreens. As she headed to the women's restroom, an employee redirected her to the men's room considering that she was dressed as a male. The store manager at this location also decided to back up her employee and redirected the woman to the men's room. This incident created a lot of buzz when the woman decides to released this video to YouTube in response. Now, just a week ago, Walgreens has implemented gender neutral bathroom policy after coming to the consensus that "all individuals have the right to use restroom facilities that correspond to the individuals gender identity, regardless of the individuals sex assigned at birth" back in November of 2017.

This has been a big issue for companies and institutions all over that have faced backlash from the LGBTQA community as well as its supporters about incidences in which they were denied the ability to use the bathroom that felt appropriate. To deny this community their own discretion of bathroom use is a from of discrimination and sadly, the fight for this issue continues.

Just yesterday, the U.S. Department of Education decided it would no longer consider complaints about the absence of gender neutral bathrooms. Although during the Obama administration, it was said that students should be allowed to use the bathroom they preferred to use, Trump has revoked this and felt that the decision should be left to the individual states.

In regard to education, implementing gender neutral bathrooms is crucial as many young transgender students who prefer using a bathroom that does not align with their birth sex are often targeted, bullied, and can face violence. With this, these students are also more susceptible to mental health issues as well as an increased likelihood of suicide. According to Jody Herman, a scholar of Williams Institute, "there are no accurate statistics about transgender youth and adults in the U.S," and so a study was done for students in the 9th, 10th, and 11th grade all over the state of Minnesota that found 62.1% of transgender youth report negative responses toward their health. This article also states that these youth are more likely to be "at an elevated risk for harassment and victimization' which can lead to depression, self-harm, post-traumatic stress, eating disorders, and suicidal thoughts."

It's upsetting to think about all the implication of denying something as small as gender neutral bathrooms and personal discretion for an entire community of people. It's no help that such powerful leaders like out president speak against a matter that not only reinforces discrimination but has adverse effects on youth. How can LGBTQA community win in their fight for gender neutral bathrooms when our government doesn't recognize this to be a matter of importance?

2018: Where Women Stand

Congratulations! You have made it into the 4th week of the New Year! We are one month in and off to a great start. Just this past week, the Women's March took place all around our country for its second annual rally. Men, women, children, and so many other groups came out in support for the fight to equality. While it may be 2018, there id much work to be done in the employment sector
concerning equal treatment of women and the gender gap.

While we might not always consider gender equity in the workplace to be a pressing issue due to it's lack of coverage in mainstream media, this is an issue that is always relevant. Title IX might have been the most significant legislation passed to address discrimination along with the Equal Pay Act of 1963 but women today are still battling discrimination when it comes to employment. More often than not, a woman with a job is more vulnerable to discrimination in terms of treatment, status, and pay but as well as harassment (mostly sexual). Men too can face similar instances of gender bias and discrimination but the odds are not as high as it is for women.

In fact, according to a study done by Pew Research Center in 2017, "Half (50%) of women in STEM jobs say they have experienced any of eight forms of discrimination in the workplace because of their gender – more than women in non-STEM jobs (41%) and far more than men in STEM occupations (19%) "( Funk and Parker 2018). Instances of discrimination vary from less pay for the same job as a man, treatment as less competent, and being denied a promotion. These numbers are huge and in a field has progressive as STEM, it is disappointing to learn this. What other employment jobs are we likely to see numbers this high against women? What kind of positions would be better about inclusion?

While it's hard to know the answers to these questions, perhaps we should consider not just the blatant discrimination but what Hernán Galperin calls the "invisible advantage" in his article for The Conversation. The invisible advantage refers to male privilege and while this can be seen in employment through the management and higher staff, this is also noticeable in clientele. In this piece,he shares a story about two workers named Martin and Nicole who had shared an inbox for clientele and noticed a distinct difference in treatment.

Inbox for Nicole was often considered to be "rude", "dismissive", and "impossible". Clients were quick to question the work of Nicole (as a woman) with no knowledge that behind their screen was a man (for some time).

Michelle Gorman, writer for Law360, also writes this same concept as she explains the male clientele is more willing to choose male lead attorneys for their case due to a blind bias against women. They fail to recognize females as capable of representing them enough to win their case. Their study showed "Only 15 percent of male-nominated stars were women. This compared with 29 percent of female-nominated stars being women". (Gorman 2018).

Why is it that even customers and consumers carry this belief that employed women are not as competent as their male counterparts? That women don't know as well? That we lack the skills that men have? Where is this mindset rooted?

While I believe gender gaps and employment equity are crucial, one of the most current and pressing issue for the field of employment today regarding women is the #Metoo movement. Following the case against Harvey Weinstein, #Metoo has become a platform for women to open up and speak out against instances of abuse, violence, and sexual harassment. Not all these incidents will take place at work but many do. This movement has given women the chance to speak against wrongful treatment in the workplace and this is something they might not have done previously. With so many brave souls sharing their stories, women get the chance to realize that they are not alone in this battle.

Regardless, the bias against women continues at many levels of employment. Whether bias occurs from within, trickling down from superiors or outside with clientele, it is an issue that can be worked on this year.

Women who attended the Women's March just earlier this week would also agree with that. They understand that we must continue to stand up and resist both bias and discrimination at all times. Which is why many stood to close the gender gap, to talk about sexual harassment in the workplace that is all too common today during the #Metoo movement, and demand equality.