The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

People love to talk about change. It is a natural occurrence for people that are enduring a similar situation to agree on the necessity of change and for them to agree on the things that need to change. However, people typically have conflicting ideas of how the change that is envisioned can actually be realized and what that change would look like. It is at the intersection of these two occurrences that is the ever present ingredient which threatens to halt any movement by a community of people who have deemed it necessary to affect a change in their accepted way of life.

This concept can be applied to even the simplest conflict. Let’s say two kids plop down on the couch at the exact same time and the TV is on a channel that neither of them wants to watch. They each have the same desire; a pleasurable viewing experience. However, each of them has a different perception of what a pleasurable viewing experience might be. What the two kids have is a conflict of interest although they have a similar objective. Although they agree on the necessity of change, they disagree on what that change should look like.

So now let’s say that these are two really bratty kids. Let’s say they are really stubborn and cannot agree on a single channel to watch. How can each of them get what they are in search of at the same time? How did they come to the conclusion that they cannot each have what they want at the same time? And furthermore, how did they become so dependent on the TV for stimulation….

… Continue Reading

Posted by:

Kwesi Low

Leave The Muslim Community Center Alone, People. Geez.

This is one of those things that’s just like. . .”Oh, god . . .really? No. Stop that. You can’t mean that”.

A big rally is being planned to protest the construction of a Mosque and Islamic Community Center near the site of Ground Zero.

One of the opponents is quoted as saying “‘If the Japanese decided to open a cultural centre across from Pearl Harbour, that would be insensitive. If the Germans opened a Bach choral society across from Auschwitz, even after all these years, that would be an insensitive setting.”

Considering that Bach died in 1750, I have a feeling that few Polish Jews are holding him personally responsible for World War II. But even that’s not the point.

Obviously, building a mosque near ground zero, as stated by the leader of the project, “sends the opposite statement to what happened on 9/11″. It shows that American Muslims are working as hard as they can to disprove the crazy stereotypes about Islam that have become rampant since 9/11. This protest is a depressing sign that they have a pretty big mountain to climb if that’s going to happen.

Posted by:

Rachel Bishop

Understanding Unequal Unemployment

The unemployment rates you hear on the news are misleading. The overall unemployment rate is currently at a shocking high of 9.6%–but the ethnic breakdown of this figure is still more disturbing.

According to a study released July 15 by The Economic Policy Institute, minorities are significantly more likely to be jobless than their white counterparts. Part of this can be attributed to the recession, which has taken its toll on non-white communities the worst.

Yet even this cannot account for the shocking unemployment gap that exists. African-Americans typically suffer unemployment rates that are twice as high as their white peers, while Hispanics come in at 1.5% more than Whites. For example, currently in Alabama there is a 5.8% unemployment rate for whites while for African-Americans it jumps to 15.1%! In Louisiana, African-Americans were three times more likely to be jobless. And the same is true for Hispanics, who’s unemployment rates are suspected to be higher than reported (it is thought that many illegal aliens would have feared taking part in this study).

The bad news is that the unemployment gap between whites and minorities is increasing. The good news, however, is that there are tentative plans to improve the situation by imposing a small tax on stocks to create extra resources for job creation in these hard hit communities.

Find out more about the inequalities of unemployment rates, and how you can GET INVOLVED at http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE56E83L20090716.

Posted by:

Yolanda Clatworthy

Killing Outreach Programs (Indirectly) Kills Kids

It’s unthinkable that a kid is killed in a drive-by while at an Anti-Violence Rally. Yet that’s precisely what happened to 13 year old Tamrah Leonard in Trenton, New Jersey last Sunday! Abomination! How is society not outraged at this heinous act?

Sadly, it was not an isolated incident.The economic recession has had an adverse affect on homicide rates, which are skyrocketing. Homicide is now the leading cause of death among young African American youth, and the number two cause of death for all other youth aged 10-24. Dire straits mean that desperate youth are becoming increasingly likely to resort to violence. At the same time, decreased funding means that many after-school programs–which have been proven to get youth off the streets and lower crime rates–are at risk of being reduced or eradicated entirely.

Thankfully, outreach programs provide hope that change is on the horizon. Find out more about these matters of life-or-death, and WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP, at http://www.campusprogress.org/fieldreport/4284/killing-the-programs-we-need-most.

Posted by:

Yolanda Clatworthy

Who’s at Fault with Youth Obesity?

We’ve all heard about the “childhood obesity epidemic,” but the truth is it’s not about kids who are too lazy to exercise or parents who are too lazy to cook healthy food. It’s about the ways that we’ve built our communities and designed our food system over the last fifty years. Why don’t our schools stay open after hours so that families have a safe place to hang out and play? Why don’t local stores offer anything besides liquor, cigarettes, and junk food? The 40 youth leaders who run werefedup.com get that obesity is a lot more complicated than people making bad choices, and they’re doing something about it.

Let’s tip the scales after the jump! … Continue Reading

Posted by:

Ali Uscilka