activism
Grassroots campaigns have proven instrumental in bringing about political, social or environmental change; you've got to start somewhere-might as well start here.
Of Course a Sitting POTUS Can Be Indicted!
If I hear one more talking head, so-called expert, or congressperson say "Of course you can’t indict a sitting US President," my head is going to explode—the complacent leading the apathetic! For fuck's sake Americans, we are fast becoming the generation that Ben Franklin (one of the founders of this country) feared.
By The Disruptors8 years ago in The Swamp
Shut It Down!
I am not sure why is has taken me almost two years to tell this story. My first story got deleted. That's life. But this story is too important not to document. I want to take this time to write an open letter to the 45th President of the United States and his administration. I have so much anger against them. These are not just my feelings! I have black folks saying that they feel that white folks seem to carry themselves with an ego towards black folks, and even our elders! It has never felt tighter or more difficult to land a job as a Black women. Even if I am pursuing my college degree, the education system continues to teach in the format that benefits white and Asian folks at the expense of black student understanding. The administration seems to be getting passes for hate-speech on social media, stripping away immigrants' safety, the right to be able to serve in the military, our access to voting, and to safe homes to live in. This is such a violent culture!
By SAYHERNAME Morgan Sankofa8 years ago in The Swamp
Plastic Straw Bans
The plastic straw ban has everybody in frenzy mode because some of us need straws. California is closer to a ban on plastic straws at full-service restaurants. Some scientists hope the idea will spread across the United States just like the plastic bag ban. That particular ban caught on in a very fundamental way. The vote passed 45-20. California is a major trendsetter as history has proven. The plastic bag ban happened in 2014 from Governor Jerry Brown. The plastic bag ban has succeeded somewhat since cloth bags are an easy replacement but straws are more difficult to just phase out.
By Iria Vasquez-Paez8 years ago in The Swamp
Our Duty to the Environment
I hear a lot of people telling us that we have to protect the environment. We hear sayings like, "It's our duty since it's our home," and, "Our children will suffer the consequences of the actions we make today." I agree that humans are the central cause of pollution in the world but we have almost eight billion people on this earth and this number is still growing. One of the obstacles we have to overcome is that we all have the same goal in life. We want to survive in the most comfortable way we can. How do we live comfortably and not hurt the environment? Almost all of the things that allow us to live comfortably hurt the environment. We understand that the environment is a concern and we're constantly trying to find a remedy for this problem. One option is to consume less and reuse as much as we can to reduce our carbon footprint. With our world population continuing to grow how effective is this option? One of the more drastic measures currently being explored is colonization of foreign planets such as Mars. I wonder if it's even something that is possible? If that doesn't work, there is a simple solution that I'm sure will be the most unpopular of the three and that would be to let nature run its course. Stop prolonging human life and let diseases and human evolution do their thing. What if it wipes all of us out? There are a lot of unknowns with this one but you can see why this is the least popular idea.
By Brian Anonymous8 years ago in The Swamp
The Age of Complacency
Every once in a while, there's an event that everyone thinks will shake things up. Whether it's reports of things like concentration camps for illegal immigrants, the leak of the Panama and the Paradise Papers, or even the revelation that the government was spying on all of us, something that conspiracy theorists had been saying (and getting ridiculed for it) for years.
By Nicola Vanzetti8 years ago in The Swamp
Why Homeless People Stay Homeless
The homeless problem in California will get worse before it gets better. Our high cost of living doesn’t help homeless people. They often choose the streets, despite the fact that 700 people die from hypothermia every year because of homelessness, according to NPR, Talk of the Nation, and the National Coalition for the Homeless.
By Iria Vasquez-Paez8 years ago in The Swamp
Better Ways of Protesting the Alt-Right
I can’t go to protests since I get very stressed around violence, then you can figure out a way to protest with writing, song, poetry, fiction, journalism, and more. I want to give rise to my fiction again for starters, fiction about how fascism is overcome. Staying home, rather than counter protesting, is easier to deal with for some people because we do not have to face the negativity on the street. We don’t come home with injuries, fear, or anxiety from having to stare down the violence. I protest in my own way.
By Iria Vasquez-Paez8 years ago in The Swamp
Why Plastic Straws Are Being Banned
Plastic straws have been in many headlines recently. Popular celebrities like Kim Kardashian-West have made public announcements that they have completely cut out plastic straws from their homes and refuse to use them otherwise. Major cities like Calabasas, California, have banned them from their cities and big-time companies like Starbucks have also started making moves to eliminate them.
By Bria Elizabeth8 years ago in The Swamp
The Homeless Problem in the United States
Throughout the world, the homeless exist. They do not have steady jobs or homes. They are usually on illegal substances, like marijuana, and often alcohol as well. They have to exist outside all the time while those of us with homes exist indoors. Working people resent the homeless population and look at them with disdain. Even low-income people who have living arrangements, or pay low rent as part of their situation, can’t often give the homeless their “spare any change.” Many of us tell them no. Homeless bums have no other options other than being a bum when the shelters are full.
By Iria Vasquez-Paez8 years ago in The Swamp
The Audacity of Leadership
For some time now, there has and continues to be such audacity of our leaders to presume that they have done no harm to the American way of life. In sharp contrast to their rhetoric, the United States is no longer the embodiment of the land of milk and honey and land of opportunity where anyone can pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Today, too many don't even have bootstraps. The livelihoods and freedoms we once knew have been silenced by the political whims of the powers that be.
By Dr. Williams8 years ago in The Swamp
