Lately I’m sure you have been hearing
a lot about the presidential debates and GOP candidates. The media has been
ruthlessly attacking them, calling their bluffs and not letting them get away
with lies or slander. I have to admit, it is refreshing to see the media have
more of a skeptical attitude towards the candidates. We tend to glorify the
leader (or potential leaders) of our country. They seem to be able to get away
with more, a prime example being that Richard Nixon was never charged and
eventually pardoned for his actions. Any normal, average citizen engaged in
such activities would probably have never
seen outside the inside of a jail cell.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Liberal Bias
Now, this isn’t to say that the media isn’t
at all biast. That is not true in the least. If anything, most news sources
take somewhat of a liberal bias. Right? Acually, no. According to Journal of Broadcasting &
Electronic Media. “Despite
research to the contrary, the general public and a significant number of
politicians are convinced the U.S. news media have a liberal and pro-Democratic
bias. Findings based on two large national
surveys suggest that audiences' ideologies and partisanships affect how they
view the media.”
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Why Contraceptives Should be Free
Birth Control Pills can cost up to $50 a month. $50 a month
to protect yourself from unwanted pregnancy. $50 a month to get one of the most
effective methods of contraception available.
$50 a month to lookout for your own wellbeing. Is this not outrageous?
The
fact that birth control pills, as well as other methods of control, are very
costly is no secret. In fact, a lot of
young women face tremendous financial stress when it comes to getting birth
control. Just look at this story from http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2007/10/11/the-pills-price-on-campus.
When Malia
Mason went into her university health center last December to refill her birth
control prescription, she got some shocking news: She'd soon be shelling out
$42 for each four-week pill pack of Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo, she was told, instead
of her usual $14. The 19-year-old sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh
filled the rest of her yearly prescription at the old price, but she finally
ran out this month and will have to come up with an additional $360 a year.
"That's the cost of my yearly electric bill or half my books for a
semester," she says. "I haven't yet figured out what I'm going to
do."
Is this what we want
young women to face? The choice between either having electricity or protecting
herself? Unfortunately, this is what we
face in modern day America; the war on sex. Conservatives are so determined to deter
people from having SAFE sex just because they aren’t married. In fact, birth
control JUST got covered by health care in August- a law that should have been
in place a long time ago, considering Viagra has been covered since its
introduction in 1998. This is the result of women’s sexuality not being viewed
as legitimate as men’s- men are sexual beings who can’t get enough, while women
have no sexual tendencies at all.
Ultimately, the decision
to protect one’s self from STD’s and pregnancy should be rewarded, NOT
punished. We should be encouraging women to learn how to protect themselves and
to understand the various methods that can be used to do so. By making these
methods free of charge, we can get more women to use them and ultimately make
ourselves less vulnerable to dieses and unwanted pregnancy.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Stop Sex Trafficking
What comes to mind when you think of
slavery? The Atlantic Slave trade that took place in Europe and the America?
The Ancient Greek and Roman societies that had slaves as the majority of their
populations? POW’s who often experience torture and are forced to work in labor
camps? What I bet you didn’t think of is women being forced into prostitution.
Sex slavery today is one of the BIGGEST realms of exploitation in human
history. In fact, there are more slaves today then there ever were in any other
period of time. The difference? Instead of being forced to do hard labor or
work the land modern day slaves are forced into sex.
The industry itself came about with
the rise of prostitution in the modern day era. Since the sex industry is often
legitimized, it is easier for thugs to take advantage of the harsh barriers
being broken down around this. Women and children in poor countries are often
coerced into the business with promises of a better life, a husband and wealth.
The amount of people trafficked every year ranges from 700,000 to 4 million (1)
With these promises in mind, they themselves
or their families often willingly take their control and give it to the pimps
trying to exploit them. Soon after they will usually find themselves forced to
work in a brothel for dozens of hours on end, with little to no food, clothing
or protection. They are forced to sell themselves
for sex, but they don’t keep any of the money; the pimps do.
The pimps are very clever, and find
many ways to keep the women in this system. They charge them for their supposed
care, as well as for their “program “itself; they then create a “debt” the
woman has to work off. She only makes pennies off her work though, and the debt
will grow even if they are “working it off”.
It is by these means that the industry survives- women are falsely lead
into it through slander and pimps will use these tactics to keep them in.
Now that we’ve explored how the
system itself works, the question is where does this happen? Certainly you
don’t hear stories like this on your local news. You may wonder why this is.
The fact is that sex itself is still taboo and isn’t talked about much in
Western culture. In this country, between 14-17 thousand women are trafficked
into our nation every single year. (2) People are often misinformed about
prostitution as well, thinking that the women involved in the business are
sex-crazed nymphs who will take it wherever they can get it. While there are
women prostituting themselves by free will, many out there are forced or
coerced into the business because of their poor financial situation, or by
pimps with promises of a better life. They are promised jobs, and then forced
to work as prostitutes, facing violence or possibly death if they refuse. No
nation is unaffected. The countries classified as “very high” in demand for
trafficking are Belgium, Greece, Israel, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands,
Thailand, Turkey and the US (3).
This industry generates around 7 billion
dollars annually (4). That is why it thrives; it is low risk, high profit. Most
in the sex trafficking industry are either working with a corrupt police force,
or if prosecuted do not face heavy sentencing. In fact, the average sentence in
the Netherlands for sex traffickers is 14-15 years (1). Also, many times the
victims will actually face jail time, and instances of coercion, violence or
force must be proven.
So, how can
you stop this? One thing you can do is educate, educate, EDUCATE! Talk about
these issues openly with your peers and create a platform to discuss the results
of trafficking. You could also join the Not for Sale Campaign which seeks to
end sex trafficking. They seek to end trafficking through a variety of
campaigns, resources, and tools for people to use/facilitate.
And remember,
the violence ends with YOU.
Sources:
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