Brendan Birth

January 6, 2020January 5, 2020

A Few Words Heading into the 2020 United States Elections

This calendar year, we already know what one of the biggest stories will be: the elections for President of the United States. The first part of the year will focus on the Democratic Party primaries and caucuses, while much of the second half of the year will have campaigning for the election in November between the Democratic nominee and President Donald Trump.

For all my readers who live in the United States (which is most of my readers), I ask that you keep in mind issues such as economic justice, racial justice, women’s rights, LGBTQ+ issues, environmentalism, immigration, and more, as you consider which candidate to support. In other words, I hope my readers keep in mind the sorts of issues that I try to talk about here on a weekly basis.

Too often, these issues, and other issues relevant to those on the margins in American society, are not taken into consideration as much as they should be. The good news, however, is that every voting American has the power to change that in 2020.

December 26, 2019December 27, 2019

Blog Wrap-Up: Calendar Year 2019

Around this time of year, many of us are looking back at the year—what has gone well, and what didn’t go as well as intended. As such, I thought it was appropriate that I would do a blog wrap-up for 2019, the first time I’m doing such a thing on Blind Injustice.

It was a year when I made some changes to when, and how, I shared my content. I decided to start re-publishing old blog posts sometimes (an idea I got from some other blogs that did the same), decided to change my blog post schedule, and actively use Pinterest as a way to promote my blog. For a person who has, at times in the past, been scared of change, that’s a lot of change. However, these changes have been for the better—re-publishing old blog posts has given my newer readers an opportunity to read some of my older content, my changed blog post schedule works better for me (and many of my readers, I think) than the schedule I used to have, and my post on bisexual stereotypes has been shared around a lot on Pinterest. I was particularly hesitant about using Pinterest because I was afraid of not being able to find appropriate pictures to go with my blog posts, but I’m now very glad to use that social media platform to promote this blog! Sometimes, change is a good thing.

I was also nominated for two blog awards this year, both of which were Mystery Blogger Awards. I want to yet again thank Jordyn at The Chronically Unimaginable as well as Ospreyshire’s Realm for the nominations. Even though this is technically a personal blog, I tend not to talk that much about myself, so these award nominations are a cool opportunity to share parts of myself with my readers.

Another big surprise was that I was able to pull off my LGBTQ+ Stereotypes Series. Even at this time last year, if you asked me whether I felt I was capable of pulling off such a blog post series, my answer would almost certainly be “no.” However, I’m glad that I was able to do the series, as I felt like a learned a lot just by working on it (and, as far as I can tell, many of my readers also learned a lot).

The biggest surprise this year, however, was not my willingness to change some things around or the awards I won, but the fact that my post on men and mental health got so much attention! I don’t even primarily consider myself a mental health blogger (though I have published on some mental health topics), yet that post got more views, more likes, and more comments than anything else I published this calendar year! I didn’t even think that this post was really that much better than most of my other posts, yet my post on men and mental health got attention.

I guess the theme of this wrap-up (if there is one) is that you never know what you’ll learn or get yourself into with blogging. When I started blogging, I couldn’t have dreamt of winning awards, having the discipline to do a blog series, or get as much attention as I have with some of my posts. Yet, it happened, at times I would least expect it. Blogging can be full of surprises, and a lot of good surprises, at that.

Note that I will not publish a post next Monday because it’s the week of New Year’s Day.

December 16, 2019December 13, 2019

On Stereotypes of Homeless People

A little over two months ago, four homeless people were brutally beaten to death in New York City—Lower Manhattan, to be exact.[1] More recently, one of the local television stations in New York City, which is where I live, profiled these four victims of the brutal attacks.

One thing that became apparent to me, as I was listening to the profiles of these homeless individuals, is that we need to address some of the stereotypes about homeless people.

The National Coalition for the Homeless, which is one of the most prominent homelessness advocacy organizations in the United States, had a piece that succinctly mentioned three of the most prominent stereotypes about homeless individuals: that they are viewed as lazy, crazy, and/or drug addicts.[2]

Yet, Chuen Kwok, an 83-year-old man who was the oldest of the four victims beaten to death, was considered the “uncle” of the neighborhood, and only became homeless after falling on hard times during his sixties.[3]

Yet, Nazario Vazquez Villegas, who was also beaten to death in his sleep, worked a number of odd jobs over the years, and doesn’t exactly fit the stereotypical profile of a homeless person, either.[4]

Yet, Florencio Moran, the 39-year-old who was the youngest of the four who were killed, was someone who, at the time of my writing this, didn’t have much information to his name.[5] Therefore, there’s nothing to show that he fit the homeless stereotypes, either.

Yet, Anthony Mason, 49, was a blogger, just like me and just like some of my readers.[6] He founded nonprofit organizations in Mississippi to help the homeless and was a preacher too.[7] Mason’s story is actually quite extraordinary.

The only person involved in all of this who fits those homeless stereotypes (even when you include David Hernandez, the one person who was beat up but survived[8]) was the attacker: Randy Santos, a homeless man with a reported history of violence and mental illness.[9] That fact should be, by itself, a cause for reflection on the stereotypes our society often has about homeless people.

This story out of my hometown isn’t an anomaly, either. The people I know who’ve done work with homeless populations can often point to people they have encountered (sometimes, many people) who don’t, by any means, fit within the “lazy, crazy, drug addict” stereotype about being homeless. Personally, I can even say that I’ve encountered homeless individuals over the years who are every bit as talented as Anthony Mason, or every bit as well-regarded as Chuen Kwok, and that’s even though my work with homeless individuals has been much more limited than those who have dedicated their volunteer and/or professional lives to work with the homeless.

So, next time you see someone who you think is homeless on the street, the sidewalk, the bus, the train, don’t assume that the person is some lazy, crazy bum. That homeless individual you see may have more in common with you than you realize.

I dedicate this post to the memories of Chuen Kwok, Nazario Vazquez Villegas, Florencio Moran, and Anthony Mason.

[1] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/10/05/homeless-men-beaten-death-manhattan-police-say/3879039002/

[2] https://nationalhomeless.org/tag/stereotypes/

[3] https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2019/11/06/chuen-kwok–why-an-83-year-old-man-found-himself-homeless-in-the-twilight-of-his-life

[4] https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2019/11/04/homeless–not-nameless–a-look-at-the-lives-of-the-four-men-who-were-beaten-to-death-found-nazario-vazquez-villegas-chinatown-

[5] https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2019/11/07/murdered-while-sleeping-on-the-street–a-family-still-not-found

[6] His blog is here: http://anthonythepriestlyartist.us/?fbclid=IwAR2K985QbOxguzHc1AYfQuIP5lfQwnuqxIE_d49PTKo7twUVJQeLU_Kjhew.

[7] https://gothamist.com/news/wanderer-victim-homeless-attacks-kept-detailed-online-diary

[8] I’ve heard hardly any information on Hernandez, so I don’t have any information to confirm that he fits the homeless stereotypes.

[9] https://gothamist.com/news/wanderer-victim-homeless-attacks-kept-detailed-online-diary

December 12, 2019December 12, 2019

Shared Post: Looking After Your Well-Being During the Holidays

The holidays can be a busy and stressful time for some of us. Gift shopping, meeting with family you don’t get along with, changes in schedule, and much more, in addition to trying to keep up with the usual responsibilities, can be stressful. Thankfully, Jenny at Jenny in Neverland has some tips on how to look after your well-being during the holidays. I definitely benefit from following these tips, and so would many others, which is why I’m sharing her post today.

Also, if any readers have additional tips on looking after one’s well-being during the holidays, feel free to comment below!

Jenny’s post, titled “Looking After Your Well-Being During the Holidays”

You can find Jenny’s blog here.

Note: Since it is just to take care of yourself during the holidays, this is a ‘Blindly Just’ post/shared post.

December 9, 2019December 10, 2019

LGBTQ+ Stereotypes Series: A Conclusion

Over the past several months, I have written posts about stereotypes associated with some of the major identities in the LGBTQ+ community; namely, stereotypes associated with identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual.

When I started this series, I planned for it to coincide with a number of big events this calendar year, such as the 50^th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in June, but I had no idea quite how much this series would coincide with some other major events related to the LGBTQ+ community. For example, in July, Olympian Caster Semenya, an athlete born with intersex traits, was barred from defending her world title in the 800-meter race;[1] that was part of why my post on intersex stereotypes weighed in on whether Semenya was being unfairly treated. I was also unaware that, before the end of this series, the United States Supreme Court would start yet another term where LGBTQ+ issues were up for consideration. There were probably other things that came up between the beginning of this series and now, but those two developments come to my mind.

If anything, these events show that understanding yet rejecting these stereotypes associated with different groups in the LGBTQ+ community is as important as ever. The rights, livelihoods, and lives of many people in the LGBTQ+ community depend on our rejecting such stereotypes.

Previous Posts in this series:
Introducing a Series on LGBTQ+ Stereotypes
Stereotypes Associated with People with Same-Sex Relationships
Lesbian Stereotypes
Gay Stereotypes
Bisexual Stereotypes
Transgender Stereotypes
Queer Stereotypes
Intersex Stereotypes
Asexual Stereotypes

[1] https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2019/07/31/caster-semenya-barred-from-800-world-championships-by-swiss-court/1875957001/