In The Past Few Weeks, Turning On The News Every Day Is Another Sensation Of Yep. Been There, Done That.

In the past few weeks, turning on the news every day is another sensation of “Yep. Been there, done that. What else is new?” 

I’m talking about sexual assault. All the recent publicity and endless accusations from women - what do you think we’ve been putting up with since the beginning of time? I’m grateful for the actual acknowledgement - it’s about time women were heard, and our society started working toward a safer future. But I can’t help feeling bitter that it’s taken this long. No matter where she was, what she did, or what she looked like, every woman from every time period has had to fear the kind of behavior. Maybe there was less risk than in other places, but across centuries and miles and nations, it has been a collective fear. It isn’t our fault, our actions, our clothes, it’s because we live in a society where women have less of a worth. In a society that has made us have less of a worth.  

I often wonder what actually goes through the mind of the man assaulting or raping a woman. We say we don’t want it, we tell you no, but still you keep coming. It’s frightening. It’s disturbing. The behavior being broadcasted recently makes us feel unsafe and confused. Why would you do something to someone, when your actions are clearly having a negative impact on the person? Why is it so difficult to grasp the basic human indecency it takes to not heed other’s reactions, and therefore the severity of this problem? You wouldn’t hit a little kid when he clearly didn’t welcome the action. But you would do something much more intimate with a woman? 

And that’s just the thing: “with a woman.” Sexual assault and rape everywhere should be a no-no. It shouldn’t just be about women and our rights - but it is, and that makes the battle that much harder, hence my statement from earlier. Women and girls everywhere are told to change their behavior - their own, not that of their attacker! - to avoid being violated in such a way. We are taught that it is our fault - not that of a world where the wrong lessons are taught to children. Such societal messages are exactly why there are ignorant, arrogant men in power, and why they make the mistakes women are blamed for. A cycle that must be broken.   

We can blame men all we want - and some definitely deserve it. But what the most recent accusations show, the “newest” revelation is that our society is to blame. Women have less of a say, but men are also held to such low expectations. We must work together - men and women, assaulted and accused - to raise the next generation so that they’ll make the world safer and more equal for all. Let’s teach them to do better than we have.

I can officially say that my history class is everything I’ve ever wanted in life. For homework last night, we read an article about how hand-written notes enhance learning and help students analyze and remember content, verses the less helpful effects of note taking with a laptop. We split into groups of four and discussed things we noticed, disliked, and were intrigued over from the article, later writing observations on the board. Though I wasn’t able to talk, the whole time I was thinking about my own theories and observations about what technology has done to our generation. 

With the Internet, wifi, and the world of updates, social media, and handy gadgets upon us, today’s citizens are more connected, involved, and consumed with information than ever before. It definitely has it’s benefits - efficiency, safety, and knowledge among them. We can call, text, learn something new with the click of a button, have the world only a few types away. But today, studies are constantly popping up about how what you do on a screen effect you in negative ways. I often think about times before typing and Google existed: a time of writing, book research, correspondence and script, because the only options were pen and paper. And no distractions! How many more blog posts could I have finished during the hours I spent watching YouTube? Were the eras before the present day tech boom smarter and less cluttered? Obviously the world today has it’s beauty and benefits verses time of the past, but sometimes I still wonder.   

My history teacher was going through what we’d written on the board, briefly discussing each before she moved on to ask us: “In three words, tell me how you think our world is going right now?” I straight-up gave a thumbs down sign. Other classmates provided adjectives - “divided, angry, messy”. “Okay, why do you think so?” She called on me, and I said, “I think a big issue today is climate change and global warming in general. It is a very global issue that people aren’t doing enough about, when it comes to who gets what and who does what, and I think our generation is very much at the cusp of this issue. Because, going back to the technology topic, our generation has the most opportunities, but we also have the most responsibility, and that’s a very real thing in regard to this problem.” My teacher responded with a take-apart of what I’d said about “who gets what and who does what” adding on with “and who doesn’t get what.” She agreed with me, concluding with a statement about how humanity has been through rough patches and didn’t think they’d get through it, but they did. Sometimes I just need to hear something that hopeful.   

She went on to show us a slide show of covers from The Economist magazine. All the covers had pictures and titles about one of four countries: Russia, China, Great Britain, and the USA. Specifically, how Russia and China are becoming more powerful and economically prosperous, and how the contrasting Western countries are declining in strength. My history teacher said that everything with history has one bigger theme, a story, if you will. We told her that the story for these images was a rising East and falling West. She explained that for us, as Westerners, it comes as a moral crisis in our eyes, that these countries that don’t share all of our American values are becoming more powerful. How are these governments, without all our liberties of democracy, capitalism, free trade of goods and services, and freedom of speech, rising and supporting their people? Why are we, citizens of the greatest country on Earth, watching our government decline in contrast to more “corrupt” governments? What’s going wrong? 

I really love my history class. I know this didn’t tackle one set issue or topic, but I found these discussions to be very interesting. I hope something in this gives you a different outlook on the world today, sparks a discussion with you and another. Have a nice weekend, everyone.

Small Steps #2: Hygiene Edition

Turn off the water while brushing your teeth.

Use a washcloth for washing your face, rather than running the faucet.

In the shower, turn the water off while you wash yourself. Lather, then rinse at the end - more water saved in a shorter amount of bath time.

Rinse, lather, rinse, and you’re done. Little habits aren’t so hard to break, or make; just keep these details in your head, and you’ll remember more and more often when the time comes. That bit of extra effort will be good for your water bill and the environment. The effect of your actions isn’t as small as you think, so let’s make sure it’s a good one.

My English class has been exploring a unit on the Harlem Renaissance. And since Black History Month has been celebrating black achievement for the past few weeks, heres a report on one of my favorite artistic time periods. 

The Harlem Renaissance was a period of artistic and cultural revolution for the African-American community, originating in the NYC neighborhood of Harlem. In the early 20th century, African Americans mass-migrated to the North to escape poverty and racial segregation. They relocated in Northern cities such as Chicago, Detroit, and New York City, searching for jobs and housing. They found social and economic freedom where they came, especially in Harlem, a neighborhood of NYC. Harlem had previously housed rich white people, but low rent and open jobs allowed black migrants to fill the space instead. 

Harlem fostered a new sense of community and identity within the African-American community. During the 1920s, this manifested into a period of significant artistic and literary achievement. Black writers, musicians, and artists found pride in their identity, using their work to celebrate black identity and culture. Though these figures faced obstacles because of their color, and racial bias was common, Harlem of the 20s was a social hotspot for African-Americans. Writers such as Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston (my personal favorites) wrote extensively on the themes of racism and African-American identity. Musicians like Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Bessie Smith shot to fame, performing blues and jazz in Harlem and other cities. They performed in Harlem’s vibrant clubs, a common scene featured in paintings such as Archibad J. Motley’s iconic Nightlife. 

Though these icons, and many more, were able to have successful careers, most black Americans were treated poorly. Down South, Jim Crow laws segregated people based on race, leaving non-whites with fewer rights and opportunities. Northern cities weren’t legally segregated, but many African-Americans faced discrimination and lived in poverty. Change would come over long periods of time. But despite these challenges, African-American art and culture flourished for nearly a decade. Today, this inspiring and influential era would be known as the Harlem Renaissance.

Happy International Women’s Day! Every March 8, the world celebrates the social, economic, and political achievements of women everywhere. For centuries, women around the world have become heroines of all shapes and sizes, reshaping their communities and achieving their goals. For over a hundred years, international communities have recognized this day as a time to honor their accomplishments and fight for gender equality. Today is the day to fight for women’s rights, to global equity, education, and dignity. So what history will you make, on March 8, 2018?

“Words have the power to change the world, and that realization inspires me everyday.” ~Amanda Gorman