Racism

When someone thinks of racism, they usually think of the past. Not the present. Racism is still a huge part of every day life and not every one realizes it. The Democrat & Chronicle recently published a blog on several different issues of racism and it has caused many different reactions and opinions...

Is it racist for a restaurant wait staff to let a Latino couple who arrive early for the dinner rush wait until everybody else has been served? 

I think this is extremely racist. If the couple arrived early for the rush, they should be served first. It is disrespectful to make them wait until everyone else is served just because of their race. Everyone deserves equal treatment and it is not right to make them wait for everyone else to be  served just because they are Latino. 

Is it racist for a white man to forbid African-American nurses from holding his newborn baby?

When such a miracle has just happened, the only thing that should be important at that moment, is the fact that a child has been brought into the world. Every new baby that is born is a blessing and a miracle and the important thing should be the new baby, not who is holding it. No one should focus on the color of the skin of the nurse holding your baby. You should focus on your baby. 

Is it racist for a high school homecoming parade to feature a float with a tepee and an "Indian maid" with a feather in her hair to celebrate the school's athletic teams that are known as the Braves?

This can be a difficult one, but I do not think this particular example is racist. The Native Americans were a very important part of United States history and if the girl is just showing school spirit and supporting her school in a respectful manner, I don't think it's racist. 

Is it racist for the Border Patrol to target populations that are clearly Latino in its search for immigrants without proper documentation?

I feel that this is racist because they are judging based just on appearance and jumping to conclusions as to who is an illegal immigrant. This is due to stereotyping in society. Race should not play a factor in what people are and what they are capable of. There are Latino immigrants that don't have proper documentation but there are also many other races that may not have proper documentation. So why only focus on one race?

Is is racist for anyone, regardless of color, to use the word "nigger"?

In my opinion, this word should never be used, regardless of race or color. I think it is disrespectful. Some people may say that it depends who is around and who says it but I think it is always offensive and should never be used. 

The Holocaust & The Ten Commandments

A Timeline of Events During the Holocaust:


January 30, 1933- Adolf Hitler is elected Chancellor of Germany.
March 22, 1933- The first concentration camp was opened in Dachau in Germany.
May 17, 1934- Jewish persecution becomes prominent with an issue stating that Jewish people could not have health insurance.
September 15, 1935- The Nuremberg Laws were introduced, which were designated to take away Jewish rights of citizenship and discriminated them more.
November 9, 1938- Kristallnacht which was a night of major violence throughout Austria and Germany, more than 100 Jews were murdered and 20,000 Jews were arrested and sent to concentration camps and many of their synagogues were burned.
May 20, 1940- Auschwitz concentration camp opens in Poland.
November 15, 1940- The Warsaw ghetto is sealed off with at least 400,000 people inside and from this point on, no Jews can get in or out.
December 8, 1941- The first Death Camp was opened in Chelmno to start mass killing of Jews.
Late 1943- The Death Camps were closed for good and evidence destroyed by Germans with the Russians advancing from the East to start liberation.
October 30, 1944- The gas chambers at Auschwitz were used for the final time.
April 30, 1945- Hitler realizes that he cannot escape what he has gotten himself into. He ends up committing suicide.
May 7, 1945- Germany surrenders and World War II officially ends in Europe.
November 20, 1945- The Nuremberg trials begin and surviving Nazi leaders are tried and convicted.

Explanation of Terms:

Anti-Semitism-Discrimination against or prejudice or hostility toward Jews. 
Concentration Camp- A guarded compound for the detention or imprisonment of aliens, members of ethnic minorities, political opponents, etc., especially any of the camps established by the Nazis prior to and during World War II for the confinement and persecution of prisoners. 

Deportation- The lawful expulsion of an undesired alien or other person from a state. 

Genocide- The deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group. 

Ghetto- A section of a city, especially a thickly populated slum area, inhabited predominantly by members of an ethnic or other minority group, often as a result of social or economic restrictions, pressures, or hardships. 

Holocaust- A great or complete devastation or destruction, especially by fire. 

Kristallnacht- A Nazi pogrom throughout Germany and Austria on the night of November 9-10, 1938, during which Jews were killed and their property destroyed. 

The Ten Commandments: 


Many of the Ten Commandments were violated during the Holocaust. The first commandment they violated is the commandment "Thou shall not kill." The Nazi's killed millions of innocent Jews to solve their problems. They had absolutely no reason to kill the Jews and the commandment says that lethal force should only be used when necessary and in a time where a severe danger or threat is present, and this does not apply to the situation of the Nazis. The next commandment they violated is the commandment "Thou shall not steal." The Nazi's took many of the innocent Jews possessions, homes, businesses, and synagogues, and took the Jews away from society.  They stole peoples lives from them and then killed them for no reason which took away their human rights. The third commandment they violated was the commandment "Thou shall have no other god's before me." The Nazi's treated their weapons and Hitler as their god and kept their focus on killing Jews. Their main focus was to wipe out the Jews, and then praise themselves as they did get rid of them, instead of focusing on God and praising Him.

The Fifth Commandment

The Fifth Commandment is "you shall not kill." This is easily one of the most important commandments in the Ten Commandments. Within the Fifth Commandment there are many moral issues discussed such as abortion, euthanasia, and racism. These moral issues are looked at by the Catholic Church and discussed by many people. 

Abortion is a violation of the Fifth Commandment because one becomes a human person at the moment of conception. Any intentional killing of unborn life is murder. Abortion is a choice and many people look at it as an escape from a bad decision. If you were mature enough to have sex and get pregnant, you should be mature enough to take care of your child, or give it up for adoption. I do not agree with people who have abortions because it is selfish and not giving a human a chance to live. 

I feel that euthanasia is a personal choice. If a loved one has been suffering for a long time or terminally ill, it should be their choice on what they want to do with their life. I understand why it is looked at as morally wrong in the Fifth Commandment, but this is a free world and it should be the choice of the ill what they want to do with their life and no one else's choice.

Racism is another sin against the Fifth Commandment because it is a hatred or lack of respect for other persons because of their skin color, ethnicity, or national origin. This attitude has led to problems and injustices for many years and it is very wrong. Every person was made in the image and likeness of God and we are all equal in God's eyes. No one person is better than the next. We are all the same no matter where we come from.

Hoods Up for Trayvon

As each day passes since the murder of Trayvon Martin, more and more people are finding out about this horrific case. It is spreading throughout the nation and people all around the country are demanding justice for Trayvon and his family.  There have been songs written, rallies, marches, prayers, and love coming from many people in the United States. There have been many "million hoodie" marches around the nation where people come together wearing hoodies, many of them carrying skittles and ice tea, and walk around a city for Trayvon saying he deserves justice. 

Millions of people now know about this case and want justice for Trayvon and his family. This story has been getting the spotlight for weeks now and many people are standing behind Trayvon and his family praying that Zimmerman gets what he deserves. To be put into jail. 

Miami Heat basketball team with their hoods up for Trayvon Martin 

Trayvon Martin

On February 26, 2012, a 17 year old African American named Trayvon Martin was shot and killed in Sanford, Florida. The shooter was George Zimmerman, a 28 year old white man. Zimmerman admits killing Martin, but claims he was acting in self-defense. Almost a month after Martin's death, no arrests have been made and Zimmerman remains free.

The day Trayvon was killed, he was walking home from a convenience store with a bag of skittles for his little brother and a can of iced tea. Zimmerman called the police to report Martin's "suspicious" behavior, which he described as "just walking around looking about." Zimmerman was in his car when he saw Martin walking on the street. He called the police and said: "There's a real suspicious guy. This guy looks like he's up to no good, on drugs or something. It's raining and he's just walking around looking about." Zimmerman kept complaining about the suspicious behavior and even after the police told him to stop following Trayvon, he continued to.

Zimmeran was not even a registered member of the Neighborhood Watch group but he violated basic Neigborhood Watch guidlines by carrying a 9 millimeter handgun. The sound of the gunshot that killed Trayvon was on the 911 tapes and it is clear George Zimmerman murdered an innocent young man. Zimmerman claims he killed him for self-defense however he cannot prove that Trayvon was doing anything suspicious. On top of that, Trayvon was unarmed and had no criminal record.

I think that George Zimmerman is a racist and was racial profiling. Trayvon was wearing jeans, white tennis shoes, and a hoodie. Zimmerman saw him and said he looked odd and suspicious. If a white person was wearing the exact same thing I don't think Zimmerman would have thought twice about the guy. I think that if the shooter was black and the victim was white the case would be handled differently and the shooter would already be in jail. 

It is really upsetting to think that Trayvon's parents have to live their lives thinking about how the murderer of thier son is walking around free. Zimmerman needs to be put in jail for the horrible deed he did and justice needs to be served. Rest in peace Trayvon.

Ending the "R" Word

Many times, either in school or outside of school, you hear someone say the word "retarded." This word can be very hurtful to those with mental disabilities or special needs. It is not a word you should just throw around and say all the time because it can cause a person with special needs or someone who knows someone with special needs to feel horrible about themselves or the person they know. 

I know people who have mental disabilities or special needs and they are some of the kindest, most loving people I have ever met. Just because they don't look or sound like you, does not mean that they are any different than you. I can imagine life is already hard with a disability and by saying they are retarded, just makes them feel worse and makes life harder. They did not choose to be born the way they were and people should not judge them for something they cannot control. 

I do not think that the "R" word should be banned however I do think that people need to be more conscious of what they say. People should stop judging others and start worrying about more important things. Those with mental disabilities can accomplish just as much as you or I can and they are no different than we are.

My Teacher Won't Let Me Swear On the Internet

At the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year, my religion teacher asked all students to make a twitter account for educational purposes to make it easier for him to grade the blogs that we have to post for the class.  In just a few short months many of the students started using twitter more and more for recreational purposes and not for school.  Students started using profanity and became careless with what they were posting on twitter. 

Our teacher had a conversation with us about not swearing on twitter and if we want to use profanity, we need to make two accounts, one for school, and one for fun. Some people are upset with this because they say that their twitter is theirs and they should be allowed to say whatever they want on their twitter. I think that since our twitter accounts are for school we should not swear on our twitter until we are done with the class that requires us to have a twitter.  We should respect the teacher and stop using profanity on the internet because once you say it, it is on the internet forever. 

I personally started using profanity on twitter, however now I will stop swearing on the internet and I will try to help others stop using profanity on twitter as well. It is important to respect the teacher and even though the twitter accounts are ours, we got them because of religion class and we should not be using them to swear or say anything inappropriate.