What would you stand alone for?

     Something I feel very strongly about is inequality, especially among humans. Like racial in equality and gender inequality. One of the current issues is gay rights in america. I would stand alone for this because I think that humans are humans and just because your gay doesn't make you less than anyone else. Even when hearing arguments from people who are against gay rights confuses me. A lot of people talk about god and how its wrong. I'm just gonna say it... Bull Sh*t! This is the whole racial inequality all over again. We need to look back on our history so that it doesn't repeat itself. During class we watched a man arguing in favor of gay rights, however when he started his speech with arguments not in favor of gay rights. Towards the end he pretended that he had messed up. He was reading arguments from people who were not n favor of colored peoples rights. He made the same point I did in saying that we need to learn from what happened in he past. For this I would stand alone with no one by my side because I know it is right. Laws should not stand in the way of love. People deserve the freedom of choice and they deserve to decide who they marry just as much as a woman can chose to marry a man.

Jim Crow Laws

   Jim Crow laws are segregation laws between white people and colored people. These laws didn't all them to go to the bathroom in the same places, buy things in the same place, sit on the same benches, and sit on the same transportation like busses and trains. These laws started in about 1890 and didn't end till about 1965. 75 whole years! Can you just imagine not being able to look at white women if you were a boy without being afraid for your life? or having to keep your head down when walking in the streets so that a white person wouldn't get offended and miss treat you? Thats how black and colored people lived then, in constant oppression. Although not all white people agreed with these laws there were groups that strongly agreed with them and enforced them by lynching people and using fear.

   A one huge pro white supremacy organization in america was KKK also known as the Ku Klux Klan.  The Ku Klux Klan was first started in about 1865 by a group of confederate army veterans. It formed in Pulaski Tennessee. The group would murder blacks and supportive whites. Often Republicans or anyone in support of educating black children. When they went of ass a group to do something they would dress in robes and sheets to conceal their identity. Some even think that the whole get up was also to scare black people. They would dress up and go burn down churches and and drive people out of their homes. Overtime they became known as a terrorist organization but the government couldn't do anything about through the law. Finally the Force Bill was passed in 1871. It gave the government the power to prosecute the clan. They mostly served democrats. Overtime the organization grew until it was in multiple countries. Soon after that the Ku Klux Klan lost power due to conflicts over who was the leader around 1944. In the end however the government pretty much put an end to KKK. KKK was revived once again during the civil rights era. Then faded out some, however even today there are small groups of KKK still around.

     A modern day example of a similar group would be the Alliance Defending Freedom. This is an anti-gay group based in Arizona. Their motto is "For faith, For justice". This group was formed in 1994. They train lawyers to see cases from a cultural rights perspective based on christian ideas. It has been rumored that this specific anti-gay organization was supporting and influencing violence agains the LGBTQ in Berlin. There are many groups similar to this one who are more violent also. You can simply google anti-gay groups and find a gigantic list on wikipedia and tons of sites leading to their main website. Gay rights is similar to the struggle agains segregation and colored people rights.

   

Songs of Protest: Changes by 2Pac

The song that I looked at was Changes by 2Pac. This song referred to black poverty, the opportunities black people miss out on, how african american males are often targeted by the police and other subjects like that. I have heard this song before but I never really listened to the words until now. When going through the lyrics there was a few lines that really got me thinking about everything. One example is the line where it says "I'm tired of bein' poor and even worse I'm black. My stomach hurts so I'm lookin' for a purse to snatch". This line referred to how black people often live in poverty and I also see it as how people expect them to steal not just because they are poor but because they are black. It has to do with what race they are and the stereo types associated with it. Which leads me to my next line which i "Cops give a damn about a negro? pull the trigger, kill a n*gga, he's a hero". This line touches up on how if a black man is shot its not as big of a deal as when a white man is shot. It sort of shows racial rankings so to speak. In this rap 2pac blames the people and their jealousy or pride for society not changing. He raps about how there should be changes and how everyone should be responsible for themselves and how one black mans actions doesn't represent every black man just like if a white man commits a crime its not said that all white men are like that. Many of 2Pacs songs he refers to racism and oppression and I think that its very important and impressive.