How do you measure, a year in the life?

The argument that really ingrained itself in me is that of age-based discrimination having a focus on biological status… I recently lost a dear and cherished friend of mine, Jasmine, to an array of complications from Lupus. On September 30, 2013, just two days past her 19th birthday and after 14 years of grueling bi, sometimes even tri, weekly dialysis treatments, Jasmine passed away. I know this seems a bit off-topic, but a preface is pivotal to the comprehension of my thoughts. I was fortunate enough for Jasmine to come into my life in 2010. Stunted by her kidney failure, Jasmine was a mere 4 feet, 7 inches tall, yet, she had the personality and life of a giant. Throughout the three short years that Jasmine and I spent together she, time after time again, taught me some of the most amazing, insightful, remarkable lessons. When out in public or just sitting around school, Jazz would often receive comments of “apathy,” but really they were more like pity. It was always the same, unspoken message, “I am so sorry that you have this disease. You're life expectancy is much shorter now, so take more advantage of your time here.” Jazz would politely smile and extend her appreciation, but as soon as we were alone once again she would always turn to me and emanate the same frustration. She would always tell me that she finds it so difficult to understand where people are coming from when speaking to her (in the manner above). She would always say, “Rach, I don’t get it. I am not dead yet. My kidneys are at this moment still filtering. Why is everyone always so eager to talk about my death, when at this point in time, my death is as uncertain as theirs?” Then Jazz, with every opportunity she got, would remind me (what she called, “refresh” my memory) that “we always have to be thankful for what we’ve got, no matter how much or how little,” and that “nobody is broken, just blessed to be different.” These two rudimentary life-lessons are two of the most influential ones. At Jasmine’s funeral, a family member stood in front of the congregation and claimed that Jazz’s life was unjustly taken from her before she was able to accomplish all that she could. While I appreciate Jasmine’s aunt’s sentiment, I also find it to be extremely inaccurate and misleading. On her 19th birthday, two days before her passing, Jasmine told her mom that she “was done.” She said that she could not find her body anymore. I would say that Jazz’s aunt’s tribute was in reality the opposite of the truth. Jasmine might have only breathed for 19 years, but she lived for much more than that. Jasmine encapsulated the wisdom, perception, and tenacity of, what some might say, an “elder.” In the hours before leaving us, Jasmine told her mom it’s “ok to be sad because you miss me. That is alright, I will miss you too. But after [you come to] terms with me not coming back, please do not ever cry for me again. Just smile. You have to smile mom and remember that I am free from my body and that my soul is now your angel.” If Jasmine was just a “naïve child” when she died, then the rest of us have no hope. I did not realize until right now that Jasmine left me with one final moral: age is something from within, and by no means does it have to amount to our physical existence on earth. Observation: An elderly woman in a wheelchair was having a hard time crossing the street. Rather than helping her, the cars only honked...

Homo-what?

I have been privileged enough to grow up and evolve in a very close, very open-mined community and was never really exposed to homophobic conditions for any notable amount of time. It is not to say that there were, of course, those isolated incidents that were so happenstance that I am unable to recall them. Due to this bittersweet situation, I have always struggled to build a deep personal connection to this subject. 

About six weeks ago was the night that my roommates finally convinced me to go with them to Spider House for a poetry slam (something they beg me to attend every week). The third poet took the stage. “I am the new and improved Scott, that will now go by the name: Ebony,” she said. Ebony gave a slam that sent chills down my spine. Her poem was directed at “homophobic haters,” something that I am not, yet somehow made me feel shame. Her poem revolved around “love” and there were two particular quotes that instilled themselves in my mind. The first one, “Experience will slaughter ignorance,” is referencing falling in love. The second, “We all have a reason to be here but its better to be someone else’s reason to stay,” references how when the entire world seemingly rejected her, enough for Ebony to want to take her own life, another woman’s love and need for her (Ebony) gave her the strength and courage to “rise above the hatred.”

I do not know if attending the poetry slam that night was an act of fate, fluke, or nothing of the sort, but any way you cut it, it somehow gave me that personal connection that I was so desperately searching for.

The Heart of Whiteness

When reading “The Heart of Whiteness,” I came across new, eye-opening expositions regarding racism and white supremacy on almost every page. However, even upon reading the book in its entirety, I found the most divine revelation to be in the introduction. Jensen recounts a joke that a friend once told him: “Why did they have to cancel the Miss Ebonics Pageant? Because no one wanted to be Miss I-da-ho,” (Jenson, pg. xiv). Jensen’s friend then inquired on whether or not he (Jensen) believed the joke to be racist. Jensen states that his friend, in an attempt to defend the joke and himself, claimed that “he understands the ugly politics of the joke…. but still appreciates the clever word play,” (Jenson, pg. xvi) Jensen’s response to this defense is possibly (in my eyes) the most powerful statement in the entire book: “Jokes are funny only in context. There is no such thing as abstract clever word play. Words have meaning in the world in which we live, not in the abstract. Take away the politics, and there is no joke. The joke wouldn’t make any sense. If the joke is funny, its funny precisely because its racist and sexist,” (Jensen, pg. xvi). This declaration sunk in my mind more than any other testimony Jensen gives. These few lines perfectly capture how our society, both consciously and unconsciously, facilitates and encourages racism. By providing ourselves with a scene of racially specific qualities and attributes, we are acting as catalysts to prejudicial stereotypes and racism. If we eliminate the boundaries and divisions society places on people based on superficial factors, then we will inherently be eliminating the fundamental basis of racism created by our society. This book was extremely enlightening and I have already recommended it to my parents, aunts and uncles, and will definitely continue to further endorse it.

Nelson [the Man]dela

I would like to start off with an out right tribute to Mr. Nelson Mandela for his overwhelming influence that he left throughout the world. I am beginning with this because the focus of this entry, while somewhat on Nelson Mandela, is more on the failing education system within our nation. What I am about to say is by no means meant with pride, but rather embarrassment and shame -- to date, my parents have spent somewhere near $250,000 on my education. While it has definitely paid off in certain areas and aspects, there are many where it has not, such as the topic of Apartheid and Nelson Mandela.
Everything that I know about those two, Apartheid and Nelson Mandela, is because of either my family or the news and media... absolutely NONE of it is from my school. Even during my time in public school, the names Apartheid and Nelson Mandela were almost never, if even ever, brought up. It has recently come to my attention that this is a fairly common trend in both public and private schools around the nation. It has also been made known to me that in other countries, such as South American ones and European ones, Apartheid and Nelson Mandela are the center of an entire class's curriculum. If this in itself does not encompass the giant gaps in our education system, then I don't know what will.

PROstitution

I think it's about time we put the pro back into prostitution. Known to many as “the oldest profession in the world,” prostitution is a line of work that has been both in demand and in supply for as long as history has been preserved. In America today, where the majority of sex work is criminalized, if not flat out illegal, prostitution is still as prevalent and rampant as ever before.With the outlawed sex industry/prostitution, come many predicaments: meager (sexual) health for both the johns and sex providers, unfair earnings for the sex workers, physical and emotional abuse (force, fraud, and coercion), the unwarranted stigma, and the discriminatory, unjust regulations imposed on women in regards to their bodily liberties. Legalizing prostitution would facilitate a much safer and equitable environment for the women, and sometimes men, in this profession. On the most basic grounds, the legalization of prostitution would remove self-proclaimed “pimps” from the overwhelming power that they, more than often than not, hold, and subsequently, removing the abusers from the abusive situation. By removing the independent pimps, we would create room for the government to step in and implement necessary regulations, as well as ensuring the reasonable allocation of earnings to the workers. With the government monitoring and regulating a legitimized prostitution enterprise, we would be paving the way for all sorts of positive advancements. The government needs to establish some means of general regulation. Such regulations should ensure that no person be discriminated against due to their health (ex: HIV/AIDS), but would allow for the johns to make informed decisions about who to engage in sexual acts with, while facilitating a safe, low-risk environment. Everyone involved would be awarded his or her civil liberties with a safeguard against deception. The legalization of prostitution would not only allow the prostitutes to be able to participate in a legally recognized profession, but also the johns would no longer have to seek out secret, underground brothels. Brothels where, while there are definitely are exceptions, the mass amount of the sex workers suffer mental, emotional, and physical abuse by their pimps, and are, more often than not, victims of the human trafficking epidemic. On an economic note, prostitution, if legalized, would be a recognized profession, thus subjecting the workers to income taxes. Prostitution could, and would, then be a means of financial revenue for our country, the great U.S. of A. Now, all of this sounds great on paper, but what about implementation? Unionize it! Lets devise a plan to institute a Union for the oversight of the legalization of prostitution. With such a union in place, the industry of legal prostitution could be closely regulated and managed – ensuring all taxes are paid and all rules and requirements are abided by, as well that all participating professionals are doing so willingly, with out any force, fraud, or coercion. With various legal options, there is no logical reason for the continued employment of the illegal organizations and providers. Lastly, what I find to be the most obvious argument of all, is that of the arbitrary laws currently in place. Why is it illegal for a person to charge for an act that is otherwise freely, and overly, dispensed? The laws currently enacted restrict peoples’ employment, profession, and occupation opportunities based on personal, and arguably religious, beliefs. I, personally, would never go into the profession of prostitution, solely based on my own ethics and morals. However, I would not, and do not, reduce anyone who chooses to participate in such acts to a lower or lesser level of morale. I do not always agree with rest of the world, but I do always try to remain as unbiased and accepting as I possibly can. With this open-minded mentality and the comprehension that every person is indeed human and has a soul, I find myself longing for security for all within the profession. While I have no plans of entering this workforce, I want to ensure that incase I changed my mind, all avenues are covered. If a doctor has all such legal and civil protections while cutting people open and distributing controversial pharmaceuticals, it is only fair that the same protections and liberties be awarded to people who are engaging in consensual, arguably harmless, sexual acts. Please, try to keep an open mind. Imagine if you perceived sex to be a casual, impersonal act and found yourself struggling to find a job that finically supports you, while at the same time intrigues you. If a legal system is set up to ensure your overall safety, security, and well being, (and assuming your beliefs and ethics do not go against it) then why not participate in this industry? The social stigma that accompanies prostitution? Well, overtime, the stigma associated with the prostitution line of work would dwindle and eventually completely subside. This would happen due to society’s inherent willingness, by its legalization, to accept prostitution into our culture, assuming we implement the appropriate measures. Things of this magnitude take time, but the clock cannot begin to countdown until we hit start – something that we are yet to do.