Friday, November 20, 2015

Monday, November 16, 2015

It's Okay To Be Gay

Ms. Berns' statistics
Americans' view of LGBT

26% of LGBT have been physically assaulted in their lifetime
44% have been threatened
80% have been verbally harrassed
79% of Americans approve of openly gay college professors

Definition

“Whom we are sexually attracted to and whom we have the potential to love”

Difficulty in determining numbers/best estimates

Some people still don't feel comfortable saying they are LGBT (location or family)
There is difficulty defining terms
Numbers consistently show more gays exist than lesbians or bisexuals
Most of recorded history shows homosexuality persisting across time
Probably 2% of men are exclusively homosexual
1% of women are exclusively lesbian

Past research

Before the 20th century, homosexuality was considered a sin
After the 20th century, homosexuality was considered an illness
The first research done came from gays who sought therapy and the conclusion was all gays are neurotic [Janessa's note: the sample was obviously skewered because healthy, functioning gays were not included]
Studies are now based on why we love the way we do; not why are some people homosexual

Conversion Therapy

Existed for several hundred years; stems from religious groups
Tries to change person from homosexual to heterosexual
Incredibly cruel
Doesn't work & makes person feel guilty

Biological Theories

**Genetic theory: sexual orientation is inherited
**Prenatal theory: something happens to fetus and molds orientation
Birth order theory: the more males a woman births, the more her antibodies affect the children (males only)
Brain factors: anatomical structure influences orientation (some studies are totally flawed, however)
Hormone imbalances

**most evidence

Learning Theory:

Rewards and punishment shape our behavior
Born without sexual orientation
Experience pushes us one way

Example: If a woman is raped or abused by a male, she might not find comfort and love in them

Mixed support

Interactionist Theory

Daryl Bem: exotic [different] becomes erotic [sexually interested]
Males have higher levels of both aggression and activity levels than females
As children, rowdy boys tend to play together while the doll-loving girls play together
Since boys interact with boys, the girl is exotic to them and likewise
Similarly, the sensitive, doll-loving boy who spends time playing with girls will find boys as exotic
Some support this theory, some criticize it

Sociological Theory

We become what we are labeled
Negative pathway to sexual orientation
Example: the sensitive, doll-loving boy will be bullied by peers and called a “fag”, causing him to accept the role society has given him

“What is the bottom line? Which theory is correct? The answer is, we don't know yet. We do not know what causes sexual orientation. Several theories have strong evidence supporting them, but no one theory accounts for all cases.”

“In sum, when we consider sexual orientation from a multicultural perspective, two main points emerge: (1) The very definition of homosexuality is set by culture... (2) Some ethnic groups are even more disapproving of homosexuality than are U.S. whites.”

“Sex refers to sexual behavior; gender is being male or female, gender identity is the psychological sense of maleness or femaleness, sexual orientation is being heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual [or asexual]; sexual identity is one's self-label or self-identification as heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual [or asexual].”

“There may be contradictions between people's sexual identity (which is subjective) and their actual choice of sexual partners viewed objectively.”

“Not everyone may reach their sexual orientation in the same way.”

⊶ ⊙ ⊷ ⊙ ⊶ ⊙ ⊶ ⊙ ⊷ ⊙ ⊶ ⊙ ⊷

Major Project 2

Homosexuality from Historical Viewpoint

“Sexual orientation and gender identity are integral aspects of our selves and should never lead to discrimination or abuse.” (6)

Ancient Greek attitudes: “In parts of Ionia there were general strictures against same-sex [while in Thebes] it was approved of and even celebrated.” (8)

“In Justinian’s Code, promulgated in 529, persons who engaged in homosexual sex were to be executed, although those who were repentant could be spared. Historians agree that the late Roman Empire saw a rise in intolerance towards sexuality, although there were again important regional variations.” (8)

“People around the world face violence and inequality—and sometimes torture, even execution— because of who they love…” (6)

Evelyn Hooker, PhD, conducted major research in 1953 and deduced there “was no association between homosexuality and psychological maladjustment.” (5)

Homosexuality was considered a mental illness well into the 20th century. “A variety of medical and psychological treatments to ‘cure’ homosexuality were employed, including ice pick lobotomies, electroshock, chemical castration with hormonal treatment or aversive conditioning.” It was removed from the DSM (diagnostic manual) in 1973. (5)

Stonewall Riots: “The uprising began at 1:30 in the morning on June 28th, 1969, when New York City police officers raided a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn, located on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village. As the police began dragging some of the patrons out, members of the gay community fought back, sparking three days of rioting.” (1)

A Stonewall protestor reflects on the era explaining: “Being gay before Stonewall was a very difficult proposition, because we felt that in order to survive, we had to try to look and act as rugged and manly as possible to get by in a society that was really much against us.” (1)

A year after the Stonewall Riots, the first gay pride march was organized and carried out. Its success led to an annual June tradition. Denver’s PrideFest is one of the biggest in the nation with 300,000 attendants.

In the 1980s United States, HIV and AIDS became a pandemic in the homosexual community. “By the end of [1981], there were 270 reported cases of severe immune deficiency among gay men—121 of them had died.” (4)

“In 2010, young gay and bisexual men (aged 13-24 years) accounted for 72% of new HIV infections among all persons aged 13 to 24, and 30% of new infections among all gay and bisexual men. At the end of 2011, an estimated 500,000 (57%) persons living with an HIV diagnosis in the United States were gay and bisexual men, or gay and bisexual men who also inject drugs.” (3)

“On October 7, 1998, Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old student at the University of Wyoming, was brutally attacked and tied to a fence in a field outside of Laramie, Wyo, and left to die…” Matthew’s story would “become one of the most notorious anti-gay hate crimes in American history and spawned an activist movement that, more than a decade later, would result in passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr Hate Crimes Prevention Act, a federal law against bias crimes directed at lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.” It was signed on October 28, 2009, by President Barack Obama.

“Corrective rape is a hate crime wielded to convert lesbians to heterosexuality—an attempt to ‘cure’ them of being gay. The term was first coined in South Africa in the early 2000s where charity workers first noticed an influx of such attacks.” (10)

The United States Supreme Court voted for the legalization of same-sex marriage on June 26, 2015, with a 5-4 win.

References

1.) Carter, D. (2009, June 26). Stonewall Riots 40th Anniversary: A Look Back at the Uprising that Launched the Modern Gay Rights Movement. Retrieved November 9, 2015.

2.) Chappell, B. (2015, June 26). Supreme Court Declares Same-Sex Marriage Legal In All 50 States. Retrieved November 9, 2015.

3.) HIV Among Gay and Bisexual Men. (2015, August 12). Retrieved November 9, 2015.

4.) History of HIV and AIDS Overview. (2015, May 1). Retrieved November 9, 2015.

5.) Katharine, M. (2011, February 1). The Myth Buster. Retrieved November 13, 2015.

6.) LGBT Rights. (n.d.). Retrieved November 13, 2015.

7.) Matthew's Story. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2015.

8.) Pickett, B. (2002, August 6). Homosexuality. Retrieved November 13, 2015.

9.) Sargeant, F. (2010, June 20). 1970: A First-Person Account of the First Gay Pride March. Retrieved November 9, 2015.

10.) Strudwick, P. (2014, January 6). Crisis in South Africa: The shocking practice of 'corrective rape' - aimed at 'curing' lesbians. Retrieved November 13, 2015.

11.) Hyde, J., & DeLamater, J. (2011). Understanding Human Sexuality (11th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill

Friday, September 4, 2015

History of Me

Assignment: In at least two paragraphs, describe how you would stage a story about your life that you want to pass down to future generations. [Hint: the story could be real or wishful thinking.]

To stage a story about my life, it would begin with a frame of a baby with big, brown eyes lying in an infant hospital bed. It would slowly pan out and Morgan Freeman would begin explaining, “The year is 1994, and on a cold January morning, a prodigal child fell onto the Earth.” He would proceed to inform the audience that my parents divorced when I was 11 months old and that our single mom raised me alongside my two older brothers in Colorado. Morgan would mention that my dad was a frequent alcohol drinker and became quite vocal about other peoples’ inadequacies when he was one too many shades to the wind. As scenes from my childhood flood the screen—playing Mortal Kombat with my brothers on a Super Nintendo, watching WWE and then practicing the wrestling moves on each other, the birth of my half sister when we were 7, 8, and 10—Morgan will tell the audience my mom moved us to three different towns, seven different houses, and five different schools before we settled down in permanently in 2004.

A caption that says four years later will show an adolescent me: mouth decorated with braces, sarcastic ideation, side-swept bangs that covered one eye, and dark clothing. It will show me playing volleyball for my high school, going to parties with my senior brother on the weekends, and finding a balance between wanting to be an academic slacker and the brainiac I was supposed to be. At 14, I loved Walt Whitman, ancient Greek and Roman politics, and Pink Floyd music. In a town of 200 that loved country music, worked with agriculture, and hosted events like the Barnyard Olympics, my approval ratings among the community were low. I’ll end my story with me scrolling the Internet for quotes and find one by Albert Einstein that says, “Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.” I will get inspired and realize my value does not rely on small-minded views, but on my resilience and tenacity. As the credits roll, “Stressed Out” by Twenty-One Pilots will play.

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

E & J

Emily

Janessa

Saturday, May 30, 2015

Humanities Projectz

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Allofit

The first thing I asked San when she asked me to move to Arizona was, "Does it have places I can go? You know, to get away?" I don't think theres anything strange about solitude at all, and I learned that from my mother. I learned that from mother.... Of course I did. Humans learn their most valuable lessons from their mothers; good or bad. I do not know why I, Lochnessie, of all people in history and on planet Earth was blessed with the most perfect mother. Sorry not sorry.

As I look up now on this slightly-breezy-but-Sun's-shining-nicely-and-birds-are-chirping-all-around-me Colorado day, I see my black-haired pregnant neighbor interacting with her 2-year-old son at the skatepark diagonal from our duplex. He has this light curly brown hair and he's riding a tricycle. She occasionally gives him a gentle push cooing, "Woooo!" It's funny, because that's exactly the sound that the birds are making around us at this very moment.

And that's what most people don't understand: nothing is a coincidence. I was just ranting in my head because I'm stoned and thinking about my mum, and what comes before me but a mother and her child for inspiration? Honestly, as soon as I thought about saying the mom cooed at her son, I stopped typing on this silver Apple iPhone 5s and I listened. I am listening.

I don't know what the different names of them are. Like Kurz says, "I don't know a lot about anything, but I know a little but abut everything." Everything he says is gold, though, so no surprise there.

Anyway, I am outside at ten in the morning across the street from my duplex in this clearing, kind of. I guess you could say it's the neighbor's backyard. Whatever's clever. In this clearing/backyard, there is a little wood garage standing ten feet high. It's white paint has deteriorated with time and this unpredictable weather, and there are tin trash cans stacked next a pile of wood boards. The grass is long and unkempt and just the way I like it. Long-stemmed flowers with small yellow petals are dispersed among it. Some people would consider the plant a weed, also known as an unwanted plant that must be killed instantly for vanity's sake... unless they're stickers, 'cause that's some real shit.

However, other people, like meself, find a happiness in flowers and grass that some of the most interesting humans I have met can compete with. I see a centimeter-long black ant climbing up a grass leaf that must seem like a mountain to that poor dude. I don't get frightened or hurt him. I just keep sitting here. And guess what? It keeps climbing. It's not hurting me & I'm not hurting it. We are just cohabitatin' and speculatin'.

I like to say that I'm Atheist just to get my point across that I don't associate with a white, male, omnipotent superior being. How can three dudes, one being a fuckin' ghost mind you, be one dude? The same people who wrote the Christian Bible are the same people who thought the Earth was flat.

If I had to claim any religion it would be pantheism, which Wikipedia says is "the belief that the Universe (or nature a totality of everything) is identical with divinity, or that everything composes an all-encompassing, immanent god. Pantheists thus do not believe in a distinct personal or anthropomorphic god." I'm inspired by Buddha, too. I like how Buddhism is more of an ideology and guidelines and meditations on how to find inner peace rather than an organized religion where people are taught what to think instead of being taught how to find the lifestyle that suits them best.

Here's what I'm thinking: I don't need to know what created the Universe. Knowing that information will not change the course of a hundred years ago or next week. What happens after we die is irrelevant, as well. No one truly knows what happens and no one can know. We'll cross that bridge when we get there.

The only thing humans need to know moral-wise is to be nice to one another and mind their own business. That's it! Two fuckin' things. If you're in a situation and you don't know if what you're doing is good or bad, judge it against those two things and if it violates one or both, don't fuckin' do it, jah feel?

Thursday, April 30, 2015

About All the Injustice

Sources:

“In Baltimore, peaceful protests shifts focus back to death of Freddie Gray”

Janessa Garvin

April 30, 2015

Summary

On Wednesday, April 29, 2015, hundreds of nonviolent protestors congregated in the streets of Baltimore, Maryland, to honor the 25-year-old African-American man that lost his life to police brutality a couple weeks prior. Freddie Gray was arrested on Sunday, April 12, 2015, after he fled from police and a switchblade was found in his pocket. Two citizens managed to record the event on their cell phones: two cops holding up a limp-legged, moaning Mr. Gray. He is then thrown into the back of a police van, where he was taken unconsciously to a hospital thirty minutes later. When he arrived at University of Maryland R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, Mr. Gray was in a coma, had three fractured vertebrae, injuries to his larynx, and his spine was "80% severed" at his neck. Angered African-American citizens began protesting on April 18^th, though by Sunday, April 25, 2015, the tension between police and African citizens had escalated and an all-out city riot was ensued. Stores were burnt, looted, and destroyed. Only until the United States National Guard was called in to help local police did the rioting simmer down. Even then, 16 adults and 2 juveniles were arrested on April 29^th. About 80 people were arrested April 19^th, but were released within 48 hours because police could not bring any charges against them. The city of Baltimore is slowly rebuilding its physical damage, though many still feel the lingering pain of the emotional damage done.

Analysis

Sadly enough, connecting this article to past current events is easier than it should be. African-Americans, men particularly, have been the target of United States police for decades now, or so that’s what evidence shows. Eric Garner (July 17, 2014/New York City, New York), Michael Brown (August 9, 2014/Ferguson, Missouri), and Tamir Rice (November 22, 2014/Cleveland, Ohio) are just a few examples of recent incidents where an African-American male has been killed at the hands of a white police officer. Moreover, these police were not charged with any sort of crime when there was witnesses or video coverage showing the victims being cooperative or unprovoking. Civil rights are “the rights of all people to be free from irrational discrimination such as that based on race, religion, sex, or ethnic origin.” The United States have had people trying to earn their civil rights essentially since it was founded, and even before. Native Americans tried to preserve their land, African-Americans got out of slavery to have the rights of the common white male, women had to fight to earn the right to vote, Mexicans had to have immigration reform to earn their rights, and now we have those of the lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender community trying to earn marriage rights. For a country founded on freedom, we sure have had to fight our own government for freedom.

African-Americans have been trying to establish their credibility in the United States for hundreds of years. Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, and Fredrick Douglass were among our early activists. A few years later, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, and Rosa Parks became popular names with the Civil Rights Movement. Now, we have President Barack Obama, comedian Chris Rock, and athlete Magic Johnson. The United States literally had to insert an equal protection clause that forbids any state to deny any citizen within its jurisdiction the equal protection of laws. In the early 20^th century, even though slavery was abolished, Southern states would disregard the law to lynch and mutilate any African-American they chose and were protected by their conservative local law enforcement. Hypothetically, the very First Amendment to the Constitution gives citizens the freedom of assembly: the right to hold public meetings and form associations without interference by the government. Though when police starting shutting down buses and subways for no reason, the African-American teens who gathered to protest the suspicious death of Freddie Gray, they weren’t going to just stand by any longer and let the police walk all over them. They did what anyone would do when threatened and started acting angry and violent.

Evaluation

This event is important because it’s actually a repeat of history. Rodney King, an African-American male, led police on a high-speed chase on March 3, 1991, in Los Angeles, California. When he finally pulled over, Mr. King and his three passengers were beaten mercilessly by five Los Angeles police members. The incident was caught on video. All officers were not indicted on any charges, which resulted in the 1992 Los Angeles Riots that lasted from April 29 to May 4, 1992. Stores were burnt, looted, and destroyed.

“Whether you wear a badge or not, if you commit a crime, you need to go to jail,” 30-year-old Baltimore native Eric Ellerbee told The Washington Post. Even if you think the police had a right to restrain any Black people who have died in their custody, consider this: On July 20, 2012, an armed white male by the name of James Holmes walked into a Colorado movie theater, “set off tear gas grenades, shot into the audience with multiple firearms, killing 12 people and injuring 70 others. (Wikipedia.org)” Three years later, he is alive and healthy and began his trial with a jury of his peers on April 30, 2015.

Opinion

In his speech regarding the Baltimore Riots, President Barack Obama stated, “We have seen too many instances of what appears to be police officers interacting with individuals, primarily African-American, often poor, in ways that raise troubling questions. This has been a slow-rolling crisis. This has been going on for a long time. This is not new, and we shouldn’t pretend that it’s new.” In the Washington Post, journalists John Woodrow Cox, Keith Alexander, and Ashley Halsey III report: “Unemployment in the blighted community is a staggering 50 percent, and the spectacle of politicians and reporters milling about brought out residents unaccustomed to their neighborhood receiving attention from anyone but the police.” It’s sad to state that in 2015 United States of America, we are still in a passionate battle against eradicating racism. Those who were born underprivileged are constantly being told they are just lazy, criminals, or worthless.

About Em's Scholarship Essay

     It was the cold bitter month of February 2013 when all I felt was the agony of my father’s absence and the piercing sound of my mother’s sobs down the hallway. Trying to blame these thoughts of self-hatred on my parents became impossible when I realized I was able to trace my sadness all the way back to 2011.

     Freshman year of high school is already filled with anxieties that creep up every second of the day, but my anxieties were endless. My fretfulness was something of a comfort. I would think about the seconds ahead and I could hardly breathe. I hated school. Not in a sense of hating class or getting up early, I just hated the idea of being seen. The walls at school would laugh, taunting me and reassuring me of my inferior nature. The authority knew something was wrong, but never had the courage to ask. My depression came not as a slap to the face, but as a hand to hold. A certain comfort of having something consistently stay with me. My depression was cloaked in secrets and in my inability to ignore my pride and seek help. It would come in shaking palms and cold sweats; in bad grades and angry outbursts. My family could feel it: walking on eggshells around me, afraid of how I would react to the simplest of situations. I felt like a ghost in my own household, like a monster: not to be trusted and surely not to be tested. I felt a huge weight of wretchedness follow me around throughout everything I did. I felt this black shadow cast itself above me when I attempted to rearrange the chemicals in my brain to a desperate positive thought. I was floating around feeling lifeless and numb, feeling as if I were in a constant state of sleep, as if I knew happiness was something impossible for me to obtain.

     It wasn’t until seven sleeping pills to the stomach and a dazed awakening in a hospital bed that I was forced to admit to myself that I needed help. It wasn’t until I admitted that I needed help that I realized the overpowering support of the community behind me. I remember the impact I felt when classmates genuinely asked my mother if I was alright. Teachers cried to me with regret in their voice, as if they knew they should have said something sooner. There was an endless amount of junior high girls who would come to me with similar problems, seeking advice and comfort. It was bitter-sweet knowing I could take all my struggles and use them to help someone avoid the path that I went down. I felt relief knowing that my small community was not blaming me for my depression; but they were truly understanding. The community of Fleming didn’t look at me as if I was alien; instead, they took me and showed me that mental illnesses are not something for which to be punished. My community went through my struggle with me and coaxed me with positive affirmations, keeping up on me, and making sure I was taking my medicines and eating food. This community, a little home of mine, sat with me in the office for hours through shaken short breaths and anxiety attacks that made my vision blur and my mind go blank with terror. My peers wrapped me in hugs, humor, and stories of similar tribulations.

     I used to believe that depression was my greatest ally, until I grasped that my true allies were my community. My comfort was not my sadness, it was my peers. My solace was not in my tears, it was in the endless amount of support from the public. Depression is not an easy battle, but it becomes easier when you have an army behind you.

www.allearthlingswelcome.tumblr.com

www.instagram.com/emily_n_10

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Buddhist Prayer for Peace

☯ ☸ ☮

May all beings everywhere plagued

with sufferings of body & mind

quickly be freed from their illnesses.

May those frightened cease to be afraid

and may those bound be free.

May the powerless find power

and may people think of befriending one another.

May those who find themselves in

trackless, fearful wilderness—

the children, the aged, the unprotected—

be guarded by beneficial celestials

and may they swiftly attain Buddhahood.

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

About LGBT 2k15

read article here

On February 9, 2015, federal law permitted Alabama to become the 37^th state to allow same-sex marriage, although some Republican officials are still blatantly advocating against it. Journalist Steve Benen reported, “Many same-sex couples have spent the morning getting legally married in the Heart of Dixie.” Roy Moore, conservative Alabama chief justice, tried to proclaim judges could not issue same-sex marriage licenses. Moore has been known to have written many probates on the constitutionality of same-sex marriage. “Moore has argued repeatedly in recent weeks that Alabama courts can feel free to ignore federal court rulings on marriage,” wrote Benen. At the same time, Alabama governor Robert Bentley (R) has honored ending the same-sex marriage ban and has taken no action to prevent the marriages from proceeding; upsetting some Alabaman citizens. Although Bentley is a staunch, conservative Republican who is against same-sex marriage, he stands by the supreme law of the land and believes states can’t simply ignore laws they don’t concur with.

This article, published in 2015, is still depicting a battle between the government and United States citizens for basic civil rights. We are still trying to live up to the United States Constitution preamble “We the people”; not “We, some of the people”. Our founding fathers promised to ensure a life of justice, domestic tranquility, and the promotion of the general welfare. It’s the twenty-first century, some Americans are being denied their fundamental rights, and there are still people saying, “But…” Gay/lesbian/transgender/bisexual Americans are being oppressed and discriminated against for the people they choose to love, which does not directly affect any other human.

Another issue to be addressed with this article is the deliberate neglect Alabama politicians are placing on the federal ruling to allow same-sex marriages. “I’m not worried about following the U.S. Constitution,” says Alabama county judge Nick Williams regarding his homosexual marriage views. Federalism, the distributed power between central government and states, has been a significant principle in our constitutional democracy, as has majority rule. One legally cannot state they disagree with federal law and magically be exempt from abiding by said law. The United States operates on a set of principles to establish peace and equality. The Alabama officials who are adamantly against same-sex marriage are beating on a wall trying to change it to a door.

The article “Alabama judge: ignore federal courts on marriage” by Steve Benen is important to know because every single United States citizen deserves the same respect and to be valued. We don’t authorize a law enforcing children to mandatory vaccinations, which increase the risk for fatalities otherwise, yet we authorize legal sanctions against the personal preference of who one can enjoy the rest of their life with. Also, this is a prime example to pay attention to your officials and be aware of what’s happening in the news. If one relies solely on their community leaders, they are more liable to be misled or fed biased information. Benen describes Governor Bentley’s inaction from stopping same-sex marriages like so: “On Sunday, in his own First Baptist Church of Tuscaloosa, Bentley heard his pastor to call on him to ‘do the right thing’ and take some kind of action to stop same-sex marriage… The appeal did not change Bentley’s mind. He was not going to stand in the courthouse door and defy the law.” The United States Constitution was published to set guidelines as to how our government works. Personal opinions cannot overrule federal laws. Go about it the proper way and write Congress a proposal as to why same-sex marriage should be illegal.

I think this current event is sad. Most conservatives don’t want to allow same-sex marriage because it violates the sacred Christian biblical value that marriage is between man and a woman, though 40% of Americans are not Christian. We established this nation to escape religious persecution and here Congress is trying to enforce their religious beliefs on the whole country. If you don’t want a gay marriage, don’t get married. It’s that simple. What a couple does in the privacy of their home has no effect on anyone else on the planet. We don’t like being told how we can or cannot run our lives; why would we try to prevent our fellow Americans from being happy and being with the one they love all because someone wrote it in a book over two thousand years ago? They also thought the earth was flat. Were they right about that too? Most importantly, inequality is a direct threat to the foundation of our democracy.