“The crimes targeted in the bill are particularly pernicious crimes that affect more than just their victims and their victim’s families. They inspire fear in those who have no connection to the victim other than a shared characteristic such as race or sexual orientation” (Statement of Sen. Patrick Leahy).
The article we were assigned was all about hate crime legislation with arguments both for and against the passing of such bills. Personally, I applauded Senator Leahy’s statement on The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crime Prevention Act of 2007. The quote above is such a powerful statement, and is why I completely agree with the passing of this bill. Hate crimes do no only affect the victim, but anyone with shared characteristics to said victim. When a gay man or a black man or a Middle Eastern man is killed or beaten because of nothing but their race or sexual orientation it instills fear in anyone who shares those characteristics. Hate motivated crime should be punished further than general violent crimes, if only to try and stop them by setting an example.
What really appalled me was the “gay conservative” and others who opposed hate crime legislation. Although I can see this view I cannot understand supporting it. First, many people are worried that the passing of this bill is a violation of our Bill of Rights, such as our first amendment freedom of speech. This infuriates me. Hate crime legislation is working to erase hate, and I really don’t see how anyone can oppose it, especially when referring to their rights as a citizen. Don’t all minorities and victims or hate crimes have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? Not likely to happen when they are being victimized. Secondly, many people, the conservative in particular, think that making violent crimes worse when they are hate crimes will only create more groups and more gaps in our community. I can understand this view as well, but I don’t agree with it. I really believe that hate crime legislation needs to pass in order for hate crimes to be eliminated; ignoring the problem won’t change anything. I did like how this article had both viewpoints. It made the arguments more valid, and it made me feel more secure in my opinion.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Monday, November 12, 2007
Observation Journal #5
I am currently enrolled in legacy of world civ and in that class we recently watched a film entitled "Reel Bad Arabs". The movie was about how Arabs and Muslims are constantly portrayed in Hollywood films as villains. The film went through countless examples of films that make Arabs either terrorists whose only purpose is to kill and maim, or as comic relief where they play the ignorant Arab, whose only purpose is to make mistakes. In either case the films put Arabs and Muslims in a bad light. Even the Disney movie Aladin was used as an example, where in the opening scene they refer to their land as "barbaric, but hey it's home". We are even discussing this film with other colleges around the world, on a blog network similar to this one.
This film is really significant because it proves that many people today really only associate Muslims and Arabs with terrorism, and our media is only making that issue worse. It is deffinatlely a good sign that a film like this was made to make it known to everyone that there is an issue with racism against Arabs, and it is not ok. This phenomenon is not recent however. there were films from the 40's and 50s as well that were blatanty racist toward Muslims and Arabs. I just really hope that a film like this will have some impact on others, the same way it impacted me, and that eventually people will not associate arabs with terrorism. Unfortunately i think we may be a long way off, especially becuase of 9/11, I think more poeple than ever hold hostilities toward people who are middle eastern.
This film is really significant because it proves that many people today really only associate Muslims and Arabs with terrorism, and our media is only making that issue worse. It is deffinatlely a good sign that a film like this was made to make it known to everyone that there is an issue with racism against Arabs, and it is not ok. This phenomenon is not recent however. there were films from the 40's and 50s as well that were blatanty racist toward Muslims and Arabs. I just really hope that a film like this will have some impact on others, the same way it impacted me, and that eventually people will not associate arabs with terrorism. Unfortunately i think we may be a long way off, especially becuase of 9/11, I think more poeple than ever hold hostilities toward people who are middle eastern.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Reading Reflection Nine
“Today’s American families bear little resemblance to the cultural ideal that existed just a generation ago.” (Newman 322)
The section that caught my attention in chapter nine was the section titled “The Futures of Gender and the Sexual Dichotomy”. This section examined what will happen in regards to the future and how gender roles that have been the norm for so long are becoming more and more obsolete and it is possible that in the future men and women will share domestic responsibilities and both parents will probably work as well. It went further to explain that both parents splitting household duties, which includes child rearing is beneficial to the child. As good as these changes sound, Newman finishes the section by saying that even with all of these liberating possibilities discrimination on the basis of gender is unlikely to disappear completely. He finishes by saying that it is likely that these changes in the family will not completely affect changes in the workplace and employers are more likely to choose employees who are work oriented over workers who are more family-oriented.
I was glad to see that a sociologist like Newman feels that the sexist family dynamic is changing for the better. I have always felt it was unfair that nowadays women are expected to work and take care of the family, while male roles have changed very little. I agree with him as well when he says that men of my generation are more ready to take on family life and split domestic duties then men of past generations. I wish he had included the future of other cultures gender roles, because I am curious how they may be changing for cultures that are even more male dominant than ours. I hope to see in the future evidence of what Newman says. I would really like to see that when my generation gets married and starts family that the duties and responsibilities are more evenly dispersed. I know I don’t want to have to take care of my kids and work without any help from my husband.
The section that caught my attention in chapter nine was the section titled “The Futures of Gender and the Sexual Dichotomy”. This section examined what will happen in regards to the future and how gender roles that have been the norm for so long are becoming more and more obsolete and it is possible that in the future men and women will share domestic responsibilities and both parents will probably work as well. It went further to explain that both parents splitting household duties, which includes child rearing is beneficial to the child. As good as these changes sound, Newman finishes the section by saying that even with all of these liberating possibilities discrimination on the basis of gender is unlikely to disappear completely. He finishes by saying that it is likely that these changes in the family will not completely affect changes in the workplace and employers are more likely to choose employees who are work oriented over workers who are more family-oriented.
I was glad to see that a sociologist like Newman feels that the sexist family dynamic is changing for the better. I have always felt it was unfair that nowadays women are expected to work and take care of the family, while male roles have changed very little. I agree with him as well when he says that men of my generation are more ready to take on family life and split domestic duties then men of past generations. I wish he had included the future of other cultures gender roles, because I am curious how they may be changing for cultures that are even more male dominant than ours. I hope to see in the future evidence of what Newman says. I would really like to see that when my generation gets married and starts family that the duties and responsibilities are more evenly dispersed. I know I don’t want to have to take care of my kids and work without any help from my husband.
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