Hate with Meaning

 January 21, 1968 evening 31 men was coming down from the mountain name In-wang which placed 300m(984feet) away from Chung Wa Dae where the president stay. They were the soldier who was specially trained to kill the president of South Korea however they were not able to kill the president, the police know they were here before they arrive at Chung Wa Dae. To arrest them 19,200 soldiers from Soth were brought in and 26 of them were killed. This incident caused the president to pervade a meaning, revenge.

After 3 years 1971 in Ok-Cheon 7 men evaporate, a total of 31 men were gone in all over the country on the same day. Everyone has different jobs different ages but the one common thing was they were poor and not well educated, remember that they were poor and uneducated men. To make sure they were not forced to go, they choose to go but without knowing anything. What was the reason? The biggest reason was the money, as I said they were uneducated so it was hard to have an appropriate job with good pay. For doing the job they got a promise to pay a huge amount of money. For the same reason, 31 civilians were sent to the island name Shil-mi, no human being was living there the entire island was built only to train them. They were gathered for the operation called Badger and called badgers, which operated to kill the president of North Korea as they do to the South. Then let’s think about, to across the military demarcation line and go deep into an enemy wouldn't using well-trained solider will higher the percentage to success the operation? Everything was related to ‘responsibility’ if the government send soldiers and they across the military demarcation line then it is breaking the armistice agreement which can start the war so government chooses to send civilians who the government can avoid the responsibility for it.

    On the day, the operation was canceled and postponed indefinitely, the reason for it was also related to responsibility. The President of the US decided to decrease the number of US armies in South Korea means when the war happens there is no army that can protect. After the operation got canceled still the badgers were not allowed to go back to their family. After an extra one and a half years badgers execute an escape, only 22 men were able to step on
the mainland. They try to reveal what happened on the island by going to Chung Wa Dae however it was not easy. To stop them soldiers start shooting them and when the badgers though it is impossible to arrive where they want to they self-destructed inside the bus, only 4 out of 22 survived from the explosion. On the same day, news report them as a criminal who committed serious crimes in the military to people, not innocent civilians who were misused by the government for their hate. Four survivors were sentenced to death so in the end all of the badgers were dead. No one knows who was they, even their family doesn’t know. After 35 years badgers’ family knows what happen to their dad, son, or brother, and the body finally comes back to their family but the body of the 4 men who were sentenced to death is still not found yet.

    Hate with meaning involved cause this tragic event with more than 50 casualties happens include other civilians other than the badgers, it doesn’t only hurt the one who was dead it is still hurting their family. Before ending the post the hate-ness with meaning and authority cause much more effecte to much more people than without authority and meaning so the people with authority need to be extra careful with hate in mind, not for oneself but also others.

An Eye For An Eye And The World Goes Blind!!

Human rights are standards that recognize and protect the dignity of all human beings. HOWEVER, the death penalty is humanly wrong. The death penalty is VERY controversial. For those who don't know, the death penalty is a legal punishment in which the state kills someone due to a crime. The United States has executed more than 1,400 people since 1976 and currently executes over 3 people per week. Is this considered justice? Many countries have abolished Capital Punishment, however, more than 50 nations allow for execution. 

In a New York Times article, it states "continuing to put people to death should at least make the administration of the punishment as fair and humane as possible" There are different forms of execution which include those listed below. Yes, states still authorize all these methods of execution even though lethal injection is the most widely used method.

The death penalty fails to provide equal protection under the law. Many people are executed who are innocent of their crimes. These methods of execution are degrading for prisoners and can definitely take a mental toll on those who have families. The U.S death penalty system violates human rights law. These methods of execution and death row conditions have been condemned as cruel, inhumane degrading and some even say it is torture. This shows how the United States violates people's rights as humans!!

The United States is one of only a few countries that practice this sort of punishment. It has also been responsible for nearly half of all executions carried out worldwide since 2009.

Now let's get into Minorities and the death penalty. The death penalty has been found to violate the nondiscrimination requirements found in human rights law. In 2006, the UN human rights committee recommended that the U.S Assess the extent to which the death penalty is disproportionately imposed on ethnic and low-income population groups. They found this to be true. 

Some of the arguments that were brought up in the articles that I read were

Error in a capital case is inevitable. DNA evidence has demonstrated the innocence of at least 17- death row inmates since 1993.

It is discriminatory, It falls on poor people and people of color. Although blacks and Latinos make up about 35 percent of the U.S population. There is currently more than 55 percent on death row. In an article written by Aahil Rajpari he researches that As of October of 2002, 12 people have been executed where the defendants were white and the murder victim black, compared with 178 black defendants executed for murders with white victims. The death penalty has a system of racial bias in the application of the death penalty that exists at both state and federal levels. 

When is it justified to kill? Is it ever Jusstifable and is there hate involved. Lastly, these are the people who were executed by innocent.

• Ruben Cantu (Texas, convicted 1985, executed 1993)

• Larry Griffin (Missouri, convicted 1981, executed 1995)

• Joseph O’Dell (Virginia, convicted 1986, executed 1997)

• David Spence (Texas, convicted 1984, executed 1997)

• Leo Jones (Florida, convicted 1981, executed 1998)

• Gary Graham (Texas, convicted 1981, executed 2000)

• Claude Jones (Texas, convicted 1989, executed 2000)

• Cameron Todd Willingham (Texas, convicted 1992, executed 2004)

• Sedley Alley (Tennessee, convicted 1987, executed 2006)

• Troy Davis (Georiga, convicted 1991, executed 2011)

• Lester Bower (Texas, convicted 1984, executed 2015)

• Brian Terrell (Georgia, convicted 1995, executed 2015)

• Richard Masterson (Texas, convicted 2002, executed 2016)

• Robert Pruett (Texas, convicted 2002, executed 2017)

• Carlton Michael Gary (Georgia, convicted 1986, executed 2018)

• Dominique Ray (Alabama, convicted 1999; executed 2019)

• Larry Swearingen (Texas, convicted 2000, executed 2019)

• Walter Barton (Missouri, convicted 1993, executed 2020)

• Nathaniel Woods (Alabama, convicted 2005, executed 2020)

  These are the names of the people who were wrongly executed while being innocent. There are many more who were executed for their crimes which is the wrong way to punish someone. Punishment shouldn't come in the form of death.

  

  These are all the countries that retain the death penalty.

  Overall "Abolishing the death penalty in the United States can allow other countries to ensure the right to life for all people, while also ensuring that the absolute worst of punishments cannot be enforced differently based on a person’s status, color, race, or underlying distinctions."

  
  

  https://sites.uab.edu/humanrights/2021/03/25/the-death-penalty-is-inhumane/

  https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/death-penalty-states

  https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/executions/methods-of-execution

  https://ccrjustice.org/files/CCR%20Death%20Penalty%20Factsheet.pdf

The Power of the Hijab

By Molly Flanagan

First and foremost, a hijab is commonly known as a covering that Muslim women wear that covers their hair, face, neck, and/or body, depending on the style. But with the growing rise of Islamophobia, Muslim women, and their clothing choices, have faced tremendous scrutiny. In April of 2021, a conservative-backed movement to ban minors from wearing hijabs was pushed into the French Senate. The amendment was later passed as a heroic act of preventing “religious extremism” but in reality, it’s a simple xenophobic policy that would attract conservative French voters. Similar issues arose in Switzerland, where burqas (a full body and face covering) were completely banned by Swiss voters after a right-wing group formed a petition with one-hundred thousand signatures in support of the policy. The victory was viewed as “a strong symbol to fight against radical Islam.” And even here in the United States, hats and head covering are still banned in the House and the Senate. But Ilhan Omar has taken her own initiative on fighting this law by becoming the first woman in Congress to wear a hijab - and she continues to wear it proudly despite the rule.

But the question remains: why do women choose to wear hijabs? Is it a religious obligation? Is it a choice of their own free will? Or is it for a different reason entirely? I have read dozens of articles regarding this topic and the only conclusion I have come to is that every woman wears it for their reasons. And no one has any control over that other than themselves. If these far-right hate groups took the time to understand why these women choose to continually wear a hijab, perhaps their opinion on their culture and heritage would shift, even if it’s just slightly.

World Hijab Day is February 1st (in the United States)

           The common assumption is that Muslim women wear headscarves and coverings as a religious devotion. This is true, it is understood to be an act of devotion to God by preserving their modesty in dress and behavior. It also maintains privacy from the attention of unrelated males. Even though this manner is perceived as oppression, it’s never actually stated in the Quran (the central Islam religious text) that women don’t have to wear hijabs or other forms of coverings. But the choice to wear a covering does the exact opposite. It’s empowering to these women because it’s asserting their pride in their culture, religion, and identity. It gives them a pathway to truly devote themselves to their faith, which is challenging in a time period that’s ravaged by Islamophobia. For these women, hijabs aren’t just a part of who they are, it’s a way of being.

The modern-day choice to wear a hijab is so much more empowering than perceived. And even though hijabs are expected to be forms of modesty, it doesn’t mean that women can’t be fashionable. Nordstrom recently patterned with a Muslim-led company called “Henna and Hijabs” to start selling hijabs and supporting Muslim-backed businesses. The colors and patterns are meant to be beautiful and inspiring to women who may feel hesitant about wearing them. But there are still many women who wear their hijabs with pride. Olympic fencer and bronze medalist, Ibtihaj Muhammad, was the first American Olympian to compete while wearing a hijab. Her family was very supportive of her fencing career because it preserves her modesty and inspires other Muslim athletes to compete despite adversities. Another feminist hijab-wearing icon is Tahereh Mafi. She is a greatly accomplished young adult and fantasy author with a side talent for fashion and brick dancing. Her novel, A Very Large Expanse of Sea, revolves around a young girl who faces discrimination for wearing a hijab months after 9/11 (it’s a great book, I highly recommend it).

Tahereh Mafi, posing for a fashion blog with her hijab

Instead of banning and suppressing Muslim women and their right to express themselves, our world should take measures to educate themselves on their culture and religion beforehand. Because believe it or not, there are a lot more similarities between us than what meets the eye.

The Education of Queer and Trans Identities to be Restricted in Florida

School is an important place for people for many reasons. Pillars of education are for school to be a sanctuary for its students and staff to feel safe and to facilitate people having the opportunity to talk about their identities. Such  identities include the spectrum of genders and sexualities. Creating this environment is imperative for the wellbeing of students because learning things about yourself is an aspect of ones formative years that can be particularly disorienting. It is also a piece of education that often gets over shadowed by academics. What if the discussion of these identities becomes criminalized?  How will that criminalization affect students and teachers?

The possibility of educators teaching their students about queer and trans identities becoming criminalized is underway in Florida. From the Los Angeles Times, Anthony Izaguirre and Lindsay Whitehurst interviewed Kara Gross of the American Civil Liberties Union chapter in Florida who says that this bill, if passed, would “effectively silence students from speaking about their LGBTQ family members, friends, neighbors and icons.” This silencing that Gross mentions would directly cause erasure of these important people of students' lives. Gross does not mention the students themselves in her list of people who would be banned from conversation, but I think that this is the most important person. If students don't have an environment to talk about people who hold significance in their lives, then how would they feel comfortable talking about themselves? Imagine a student who has two moms whom the student loves. This student wants to mention them for a class project about family, but with this bill only their peers with  heterosexual parents would be fine presenting. Such a case happened in Utah where a student "was told he could not do a family-history project on an uncle who was gay." Having to navigate whether talking about someone is acceptable or not makes school even more emotionally complicated than it already is. These complications would lead to students feeling unsure about themselves and potentially even having self esteem issues. 

image https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/florida-gov-ron-desantis-don-t-say-gay-bill-will-n1288662

These self esteem issues are exacerbated when students who are LGBTQ get bullied for who they are. Before this "Don't Say Gay" bill was passed in Florida, a 2019 survey showed that "69% reported being verbally harassed based on sexual orientation." If these homophobic students are not to learn or hear about people different than themselves, how will statistics like these go down?

Not being able to talk about queer and trans people in school is the opposite of what school should be about. Talking about identities helps students learn no matter who they identify their sexuality or gender. How will cisgender and heterosexual students who come from conservative families be able to unlearn the prejudice their families have raised them on? This bill actually favors these conservative parents because "a parent could sue a district for violations." The power that these parents hold could easily sway the opinions of their friends, which could domino effect into even more hateful bills in states other than Florida. 

Education is one of the most powerful and important tools young people have, so erasing people's identities and  the history of those identities from the curriculum will harm this generation and generations to come. This erasure will facilitate hate to prosper within systems of power. 

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2022-01-31/florida-gop-aims-to-curtail-school-lessons-on-sexual-orientation-and-gender

Missing: Women's Rights Activists in Afghanistan

     Since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, the rights of women in Afghanistan have gradually been receding. Education for girls over the age of 12 has been severely restricted as well as many other restrictions on how women can live their lives. However, the most concerning issue lies in the recent abductions of Afghan women.

    Following many women's rights protests in Kabul, six women have been identified as missing. On the 19th of January, Parwana Ibrahim Khil, along with her brother-in-law, were abducted while traveling in Kabul. That same evening Tamana Paryani was abducted from her home along with her three sisters. Two other women, Ms. Khil and Ms. Paryani, have also been reported as missing. So far these are the only people who have been reported as missing, but there have been many reports that the homes of the women who attend the protests are being searched. 

Six women’s rights activists still missing in Afghanistan 

    Tamana Paryani was able to film part of her abduction. She posted the video on social media in which she is heard in which she is pleading for the soldiers to leave her and her sisters alone. Paryani and her sisters are still missing. Taliban officials made a statement that Paryani faked the video in an attempt to receive asylum abroad. There has been very little information about where these women might be and whether authorities are looking for the women. 

Afghan women taken from their homes after speaking out

    These women are all incredibly brave for speaking out against the Taliban and the news of their abductions should be receiving significantly more attention. The Taliban is currently trying to access $9 billion in frozen assets as well as trying to receive official recognition as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. The Taliban's need to accomplish this could be used as leverage to have the women returned to their home if it received enough attention. The fact that only six women have been named does not mean they are the only ones who have disappeared.  

The Taliban faces questions about missing women activists

    Regardless of these abductions women continue to hold protests. They demonstrate the strength and power that women hold. These women deserve support and recognition for continuing to protest in incredibly dangerous conditions. Their abductions need to be investigated properly and not swept under the rug. Women in Afghanistan should not have to live in fear.