The F-Bomb

Recently, a for-profit social justice shirt company called "fckh8.com" has released a series of videos raising shock value and conversation. The company carries a message of pro-gay rights, anti-racism, and anti-sexism. Let me preface by saying that I am personally for all of these issues, but the way that this company has gone about promoting them is absolutely sickening. Their commercials for the shirts mostly contain young children using alarming, attention catching language and statements. 
 If I belonged to any of these respective groups, I would be ashamed of this negative attention the company has brought. 

The shirt company first caught the public's attention when it released a commercial for it's "Racism Is Not Over, But I'm Over Racism" shirt by using black kids from the town of Ferguson, just weeks after Michael Brown was shot and killed by a white police officer. The video starts off by saying, "Hey white people!" and then continues to chastise the entire white race for Michael Brown's death. NEWS FLASH. People of all races contribute to racism, and people from all races help to end it!

The latest video has become most popular. It contains six young girls dressed up like pretty princesses defending feminism by dropping the F-word dozens of times. These girls, some as young as six, are preaching a message they cannot possibly understand or believe in given their age. I believe that this feminist and anti-sexist video is actually creating the opposite of what it stands for! It's odd that in this video they talking about ending abuse, when the children they use themselves are being props used to sell a t-shirt. These videos are scripted. These children are reading lines or, for those to young to read, are copying what an adult tells them to say. The video's goal is to prove that terms such a "rape" and "pay inequality" are worse than standard "bad words". But here's the problem: having little girls spew explicit language does nothing but catch attention and corrupt their young malleable minds. I get that it's not language that is wrong, it is the intent of it, but these young ladies aren't mature enough to distinguish that. 

If you look beyond the insane amount of F-words these little girls are reading off their cue cards, you will find even more offense. This line said my the youngest girl especially caught my attention: "Here's a hot tip: stop trying to tell girls how to dress and start teaching boys how to not f-ing rape." That statement completely destroys any last shred of credibility the video might have still possessed because it is completely sexist toward men! Men face descrimination and pressure because of the gender ALL. THE. TIME. How dare this company imply that every man is a twisted, villainous, rapist?! This comment on the video summed up most of my feelings: "In what world do you tell a six-year-old child that she's going to be raped or sexually assaulted when she's older? That is incredibly offensive to me. And you know what else is offensive? The logic behind this video, and the IDEA that women in the United States are oppressed. Go to Saudi Arabia, come back, and then whine to me about how oppressed women are in the United States." That is not to say that sexism doesn't exist in the US, it does. But women are being stoned by ISIS for not being fertile, wanting an education, or refusing to let their husbands rape them. I believe that instead of hyper focussing on what's wrong, our society should be hyper focussed on not focussing on gender! Isn't that the issue? By not judging someone based on gender, I believe the issue would completely resolve itself. 

This video has received 50% positive feedback and 50% negative feedback, so technically it can't be called a success. BUT what it has done is create conversation, debate, and brought attention to gender equality. Whether you agree with the content of the video, that fact can't be denied. My question is: is it worth sacrificing little girls innocence in order to do that? Little girls should not be exposed or cohersed into saying bad words, thinking about rape and gender violence, and raised with the expectation of discrimination. Regardless of the language, by having these girls say these things,  If you think like a victim, you become the victim. 

Another question I have: If you're really promoting equality across your brand, then why are 99% of your t-shirt models white and stick thin? If you truly believe in what your promoting then wouldn't your own models be diverse in shape, size, and color?

Death with Dignity

Brain cancer is scary. Death is scary. Fighting for your life is scary. Having a choice in when you die may seem like the only sane part of one's life. This is how I interpreted Brittany Maynard's reasoning for taking her own life with a physician's assistance.

Brittany Maynard had a form of cancer that was especially scary. Malignant brain tumor's more often than not completely destroy their patient's lives before taking them completely. As a control freak, I completely understand why Brittany was terrified by this and wanted control of this last part of her life. What I can't understand is how she didn't have hope. If not hope that she might live, then hope that she might use her time on earth to make a huge impact. How can you be certain that there is absolutely nothing else for you on this earth?

Another aspect of this case that I can't begin to comprehend is Oregon's death with dignity policy. To me, it simply translates as a pretty word for euthanasia. It may seem extreme, but once the floodgates are open for one patient, the lines of right and wrong begin to become blurred and unclear. If not controlled, this death with dignity law could become an inhumane, financial, managing, and immoral issue across the nation.

As a Christian, I especially find deep moral issue with this. Up to our deaths, we are here in this earth for a purpose. God might have planned for Brittany Maynard to make a huge impact in this life on her last day. Instead, she took control of her own fate.

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/cancer/brittany-maynards-death-why-brain-cancer-so-lethal-n240841

Color Blind Society

Story time. At my work, my boss (and close friend) happens to white and her boss happens to be black. The two young women were talking about a work related topic, and my boss described something as "ghetto" to her boss. Her boss responded with a formal six paragraph email chastising her for using the term which she took as a direct insult to the black community. In the email, her boss accused her of being unprofessional, insensitive, and uneducated. I became aware of this because my boss (and close friend) called me crying. This email ruined her night. She didn't know if her position with the company would be threatened, if her professional relationship with this person had been destroyed, or if the respect of her colleagues had been lost. One simple word created a terrible situation. My friend had never associated being black with being ghetto. Instead the black girl assumed and took quick insult. Is this being conscious to your culture's history or oversensitive?

I think there is a fine line between remembering your background and culture and, in a way, using it as a crutch. No matter what race, it is a commonality for one to assume something occurred because they are that specific race. For instance, as a white person, it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you didn't get into a certain college because you're white. It is true that university's have a ethnicity quota to fill, but a student shouldn't use that policy as an excuse for not getting in. As far past racism as we have come in our nation's recent history, you would think it would be to a point of not falling into this trap.

The term "colorblind society" has raised questions and concerns. Many think that this is the white person's excuse for not acknowledging the disadvantages that the non-white population faces. Although I am white and can't speak for an African-American person, or any person of color for that matter, I feel this mindset is poison. A colorblind society simply disregards the color of a person's skin as a factor of decision or judgement. As much of a no-brainer like this seems, one should be judged "by the content of their character" instead of "the color of their skin," as Martin Luther King Jr. said. This instance that between my coworkers really struck deep reflection about racism and equality in our culture today. It seems as if in such an effort to fight racism, our culture has set impossible standards and created an assumptive and hyper sensitive culture.

http://www.pbs.org/race/000_About/002_04-experts-03-01.htm