Brendan is a young professional who is pursuing a career in advocacy. While much of his advocacy is in ageism, he is also passionate about other forms of discrimination and injustice. In his spare time, he likes to serve his home church, track major snowstorms and hurricanes, closely follow multiple sports, and make lots of puns.
As I said in a recent blog news post, I want to go back to sharing more content from other bloggers who wrote posts that I think should be shared.
One such post is Karly’s post on some massive expenses that disabled people are stuck with.
To be honest, before reading Karly’s post last autumn, I never really thought about the wide range of expenses that only people with disabilities have to pay for. Things that able-bodied people like me frequently take for granted, such as being able to access your own home or your own vehicle, are not accessible for people with limited or no mobility unless modifications are made. And modifications can cost lots of money.
I highly recommend that my readers read Karly’s post, titled “Four Massive Expenses That Disabled People Are Stuck With.” I also highly recommend her blog in general for anyone who wants to learn more about ableism, representation of people with disabilities, mental health, and much more.
For Karly’s post, titled “Four Massive Expenses That Disabled People Are Stuck With”, click here.
What if I were to tell people that there was a
state-supported, even state-funded, addiction in the United States?
Well, such is the case with gambling, at least in many
states in the United States.
One of the popular suggestions these days, as a means of
raising revenue, is to propose the building of casinos or other state-supported
gambling. “They will help pay for making our schools better,” some of our
politicians say. “They will pay for themselves and support the local economy.”[1]
So, how does state-supported gambling turn out? If you
guessed “not well at all,” then you’d be correct. I can provide many examples,
but I will highlight three in particular for the sake of brevity:
For
years, New York State has had off-track betting corporations (OTBs). They were
created with the promise of reducing illegal betting while bringing in revenue.
I don’t know if they reduced illegal betting, but OTBs failed so miserably at
the revenue part that their financial conditions have worsened significantly,
according to…the New York State Comptroller.[2] So
much for revenue.
Colorado
casinos were also created with the promise of bringing in revenue. Well, that’s
also not happening. Actually, Colorado casinos are reportedly “investing in themselves”
in order to try and bring revenue.[3]
On
numerous occasions, California has endured budgetary woes. On many of those
occasions, it was promised that some new revenue stream from gambling would
help pay for the budget woes. However, on numerous occasions, expansions in
gambling did not do what they promised to do—increase revenue.[4]
As a result of this state-supported gambling, we end up with
a bunch of broken promises. But it’s more than broken promises. We end up with
people, and entire families, broken because of the proliferation of gambling
addiction as a result of these casinos and other gaming mechanisms. We end up
with governments scrambling to find other means to raise revenue, since casinos
don’t do that job. And we end up with an oversaturation of the gaming industry,
which does nobody any favors and results in shuttered casinos.
Instead of state-supported gambling, I make two policy
propositions. First, states should curtail further support of gambling, because
the fiscal and social costs of gambling seem to outweigh any money it is
supposed to bring in.[5]
Second, states should support Gamblers Anonymous programs. Gambling is an
addiction that must be taken seriously, and all of us, including governments,
should act as such.
[1]
These are not the exact words of someone who has made a pro-casino argument,
but I’ve heard similar sentiments expressed by pro-casino politicians in the
past.
[5] I
don’t recommend making gambling illegal, because then gambling would be
unregulated and problematic in other ways. However, further heavy investment in
casinos and the like should stop.
United States Women’s Soccer Team star Megan Rapinoe has
become the most recognizable figure of that team, not just because of her play,
but because of her outspokenness on issues ranging from race to LGBTQ+ rights.
She was also the most controversial figure, because she knelt when the American
national anthem was played before games.
But one side of her that some people may not know is that
she has a brother—a brother she loves dearly, but a brother who has been on the
wrong side of the law numerous times, who has spent time in prison, and who
became a white supremacist for part of his time in prison.[1]
But here’s the thing—Megan Rapinoe’s brother, Brian, is far
from a microcosm. He’s far from a microcosm because white supremacy has become
increasingly widespread in prisons.
The Anti-Defamation League, back in 2016, observed the
spread of and increase in white supremacy in our prison system, to the point
that at least 35 states had at least one white supremacy prison gang at the
time. These supremacy gangs have perpetrated violence; most notably, the Aryan
Brotherhood of Texas, which is one of the most prominent prison gangs in the
United States, was responsible for 33 murders in Texas between 2000 and 2015.[2]
And the violence is not isolated to Texas, either—Aryan Brotherhood prison gang
people were also responsible for directing killings and drug smuggling from
prisons in California.[3]
And yet, in spite of all the white supremacy in the American
prison system, this is an issue that doesn’t seem to get that much attention.
There are some racial justice and criminal justice organizations attuned to the
realities of white supremacy in American prisons, such as the Anti-Defamation
League and the Vera Institute of Justice, but it’s an issue that I’ve never
heard come up in mainstream dialogues about criminal justice reform.
But that should change. And here is why this issue needs
more attention from all of us:
It
is a criminal justice reform issue, because if we want prisons to be a place
for people to reform, we should not have prisons full of white supremacy groups
that ruin lives instead of restoring them.
It
is a public safety issue, for white supremacist actions in prisons kill people.
It
is a national security issue, because violent white supremacists are terrorists,
too.
It
is an issue of use of taxpayer money, because having prisons that perpetrates
white supremacy (whether it be intentional or unintentional) is a dreadful use
of taxpayer money.
It
is a racial justice issue, for white supremacy is antithetical to racial
justice.
But how do we get this change, from a prison system where
white supremacy is allowed to thrive to a system which doesn’t allow for this? I
think that it needs to start with getting more knowledge about white supremacy
in prisons. For most readers of this piece, getting more knowledge means
knowing that white supremacy in prisons exists in the first place. For local
and state governments, getting more knowledge about white supremacy in prisons
means: a) figuring out what a prison gang is in the first place[4]
and then b) figuring out the nature of what white supremacy prison gangs are
like (and how much white supremacy in prisons is gang-related or not). For the
Anti-Defamation League and similar organizations devoted to religions, ethnic,
racial, and/or social justice issues, getting more knowledge about white supremacy
in prisons just means continuing their work and hopefully learning more.
As much as I have a desire to end pieces on this blog with big solutions to big problems, I can’t really do that here. Before talking about solutions,[5] governments in particular really need to gain a better understanding of this problem than what they currently seem to have.
[4] On
page two of the Anti-Defamation League report on white supremacy in prisons, it
is noted that “there is not even agreement among prison officials as to what
constitutes a prison gang.” Considering the fact that the problem with white
supremacy in prisons may be related to white supremacy gangs in prisons, it
seems like governments may not fully understand this problem, let alone have
solutions: https://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/documents/assets/pdf/combating-hate/CR_4499_WhiteSupremacist-Report_web_vff.pdf
[5]
The Anti-Defamation League talked about potential solutions. My personal
opinion is that, while they seem to have interesting ideas, not a single
suggestion seems to be preventative in nature (in other words, preventing people
behind bars from getting taken in by white supremacy ideology in the first
place): https://www.adl.org/resources/reports/white-supremacist-prison-gangs-in-the-united-states
After comedian Bill Maher made a call to bring back “fat-shaming”, or humiliating someone judged for being fat, I wanted to re-publish this post.
Anyone who looks at me for the first time will notice that my stomach…well…sticks out. I am overweight, and there is no doubt about that fact.
I will even admit that I’ve had my insecurities, at times, about the fact that I am overweight. Part of it is because of how I look, because honestly I often haven’t liked the look of my stomach sticking out. Part of it is the very legitimate concern that, because I’m overweight, I am at an increased risk for just about every health problem ranging from heart attacks to arthritis at an earlier age. And then part of it is that I feel like I’d be perceived of poorly because I look a little fat.
I think that these insecurities—insecurities which seem to be shared by many other people who’ve struggled with body image issues—need to be broken down for everyone’s sake:
The Idea that a Stomach Sticking Out (or Jiggly Arms or a Fat Neck) Looks Ugly
I could be wrong, but I think this message has been sent because the idealized bodies in our society are viewed as athletic men with six-pack bodies and women in fashion who wear size 0 clothing. As such, many of us strive for that size 0 or that six-pack body. And I can’t lie—at times before, I have been envious of guys with six-back bodies from a looks standpoint.
For people who feel this pressure, you ARE beautiful. And I mean that. Just by virtue of the ways you can help people by using the body you have, you are beautiful. Whether you are of a healthy weight, overweight, or underweight, you are beautiful because you have a body that you can use to give smiles, help others in various ways, and make the world a better place.
Concerns about Being Overweight and Having Health Problems
We hear all the time about how overweight people are at risk for everything from arthritis to heart disease. People of a healthy weight don’t need to tell those of us who aren’t about all of the potential health problems as if we’re ignorant; I, and many other overweight people, know and are aware of these issues.
At the same time, it’s also not healthy to be underweight. Being too underweight comes with health problems as well. Furthermore, taking measures too drastic to lose weight could result in anything from eating disorders to exercise addictions, which also are not healthy.
The bottom line is that, while it’s ideal for people like me to lose some weight, none of us should go to the other extreme and try so hard to lose weight that we create a new set of health issues.
Worries about Being Perceived of Poorly Because of Looking Overweight
Many of us, myself included, worry that, because we’re viewed as fat, we’ll be viewed as: a) lazy, b) not conscious of our health, c) couch potatoes, d) sloppy, e) not having the “right” kind of body to attract a significant other, or f) some or all of the above.
I do not belittle any of these insecurities because, quite frankly, I’ve experienced all of them! People who have no idea how many miles I like to walk when I relax in my free time have told me to “go to the gym,” and people who don’t know how hard I’ve worked to tweak my diet have questioned whether I care about my health, for example. And, as silly as this sounds, parts of me wondered at times in the past if my not having a girlfriend had to do with my not having the right physique.
If you experience any or all of these insecurities, too, my big encouragement is that we should not let ourselves be defined by how others view us, or how we think others view us. We should define ourselves in other ways, and hopefully ways that give us more fulfillment and happiness than stress and dismay.
While the individual insecurities are different, there’s one central theme with each insecurity. Namely, they all revolve around concerns that our bodies are not sufficient, that they are not “enough.” And that is a lie. Our bodies are enough. Believing anything short of that would be unjust to ourselves.
This was me at the International Young Leaders Assembly at the United Nations in Summer 2016. The body in the picture is capable of doing great things, and so are others’ bodies.
As I said a few months ago, I will be doing a series
addressing stereotypes for LGBTQ+ people—talking about people who identify
themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer, as well as people
who are intersex and asexual. I look forward to continuing through this series.
As I am going in order of the acronyms for LGBTQ (or
LGBTQIA), it is time for me to discuss stereotypes associated with being queer.
But before going into details about those stereotypes, I should start by
talking about what it means to be queer and stereotypes associated with
friends, fellow writers, celebrities and others who are queer.
Let me start by saying that the definition of “queer” is not
one that everyone uses in the same way. The term queer has a history of being
used in a derogatory way, and depending on the generation you come from, you
may still view queer as a derogatory term.[1]
However, more recently, queer has turned into a term that is often
used to either: a) describe all people who are not heterosexual and/or not
cisgender[2] or
b) describe non-heterosexual and/or non-cisgender people who feel that other
LGBTQ+ terms such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, etc. don’t
accurately describe who they are.
Given the multitude of definitions of what it means to
be queer, there are many stereotypes associated with being queer.
Here are a few such stereotypes:
If
you are queer, you must be lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or some
other identity. Not so. As I said in my previous paragraph, one major
reason that some people describe themselves as queer is that terms
such as lesbian or transgender may be too limiting to describe themselves and
their experiences.
All queer people
face the same struggles. Once again, not so. It seems like the people who
oftentimes battle the most for inclusion, even within the LGBTQ+ community,
are queer people of color and queer people with
disabilities. This is truly a case where it is important to understand the
concept of intersectionality, where different forms of
discrimination overlap, combine, and even intersect, with each other. In the
case of queer people of color or queer people with
disabilities, for example, it is important to understand how
being queer and being disabled can overlap and intersect with each
other to result in exclusion among other queer people (for being
disabled) or other disabled people (for being queer).
Queer
people are confused about their identity. This stereotype comes from the
fact that many queer people don’t view themselves as specifically any other
identity (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, etc.). Queer does not equal
confused. However, people who are uncertain about their gender or sexual
identity fit under a different “q” term that is sometimes used in the LGBTQ
acronym instead of “queer”: that term is “questioning.”
“But
you don’t look queer…” Even though certain “looks” are still associated with
being queer, the reality is that there is no single way that someone could
possibly “look” queer. Being queer has nothing to do with how one looks.
These, of course, are just a few of the harmful stereotypes associated with being queer. If there are other stereotypes about queer people that should be discussed and/or if anyone wants to expand upon the queer stereotypes mentioned here, please feel free to post a comment below!
Previous posts in my series on LGBTQ+ stereotypes:
Blind Injustice 