Religious Terrorism...where is your war?

Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. The United States has been locked in the battle against terrorism since Sept. 11. But, what about the terrorist conditions some Americans are living under? Can we not send the military in to root out these terrorist cells and destroy them?

What sort of terrorism could I be speaking of on American soil? The religious terrorism practiced by the religious right and some conservatives. Last week, as I strolled on campus on my day off of all days, my ears were assaulted with the rambling words of so called "street prophets." Since the founding of this nation, religious rhetoric and theories have shaped public discourse and public policy. The Christian fundamentalists have kept this country cowering in fear of a fiery hell with their terrorist tactics.

The religious right and their greatest champion, the founder of the Moral Majority, the late Jerry Falwell, along with his band of minions, angry housewives and Republican conservatives, would have us believe that these fundamentalists are preaching the word of God and bringing us poor sinners to Christ. They wouldn't call them terrorists. They tell us that theirs is the only brand of Christianity that will get us into heaven. Well, I am here to tell you that my Bible says that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. This is an assault on the terror they were spreading. Their first attack was on women. Women seem to be the scapegoats of history all the time: anything wrong in history, blame women. They told us our proper place was either one of two places: behind a vacuum or behind a stove. Well ladies, I am going to school you on what my Bible says about women. In Proverbs 10, it says that a man is highly respected in his community because of his wife. Her value is far above rubies; and last time I checked you didn't hide your rubies away in the house. You brought it out for the world to see. Our savior was born of a woman, not a man. He called that the woman be blessed and highly favored. God has always loved women and throughout history he has used us to spread his message of salvation and love. The street preachers warned us that our smart mouths and desires to carve a life for ourselves would send us to hell as lonely old maids. How heartbreaking would it be to an 18-year-old freshman to hear that she is doomed to a lonely place in hell for just wanting to be a CPA? Is this not terror?

Aren't these men just as fundamentalist as the terrorists we're fighting a war against in the Middle East? Is not their brand of hate just as much a terrorist attack as a suicide bomber? Is a spiritual death less important than a physical death? The faces of some of the students that were outside of the library that day looked the same as the faces of those stumbling out of a café after a bombing. Are we not granted life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Regardless of whether you happen to find that happiness as a Wiccan, or in the arms of a person of the same sex? Do we not cry out about gross human rights abuses when we hear that Christians are being persecuted in North Korea? I say it's time for our troops to come home and fight this War on Terror on American soil.

Where is the National Guard to protect me from the religious terror of the religious right? Is my terror not enough? Are the hundreds of deaths caused by gay bashing not news enough to garner a Security Council resolution? What will it take to get help to fight the terror we live under?

Sex as A Weapon

1994's feel good movie, House Party, starred the women of the popular TLC, as the fictional female group, Sex as a Weapon. How fitting to have a girl group called Sex as a Weapon. Sure it was funny and the movie was mildly amusing, but it seems that the mantra of sex as a weapon is taking hold around the world. This country sat stunned as CNN reported the brutal gang rape of a 15-year-old girl at her homecoming at Richmond High School in California. The girl was raped for almost two and a half hours by as many as ten assailants while at least another ten looked on. Some witnesses even claimed that some people heard what was going on and went over to see and participate. The police in Richmond posted a $20,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest. Since that grim day last week, we have all sat captivated as the story unfolded, and soon after we got a glimpse of two of the young men as they were arraigned in a California court.

As horrific as this crime was and as traumatizing as this girl's experience, she is not the only one. She is hardly the first either. Women are in danger from every corner of the globe. Across the world and even in our own backyards, these crimes are becoming more frequent and more violent. Acts of violence against women have gone unnoticed and unchallenged in many ways. In some of the conflicts around the world rape is even seen as a perk; par for the course for a soldier. Some claim it's just boys being boys, especially following a tiring day of carrying a gun and committing mass murder. Recent history and documentaries have shown that organized patterns of rape are a component of deliberate ethnic cleansing. Even the slave masters of old used rape to control their female slaves as their reproductive rights. These aren't just crimes of passion or boys being boys, this is torture; systematic and deliberate torture. 3,500 women and girls have been raped just this last month in the Congo, some as young as four-years-old.

Rape has always been considered a crime against customary international law, and Peter von Hagenbach was convicted and executed in the first ever recorded international criminal tribunal held in 1474. The Leiber Code listed rape as a capital offense. The Hague Conventions, World War II prosecutions, and the Geneva Conventions all reinforced the ban on rape and other sexual violence.
Some evidence of sexual violence was presented before the International Military Tribunals, after World War II before the International Military Tribunal for the Far East where rape was first specifically referenced in the judgments. But, in the Tokyo Trials sexual violence and rape weren't put on the same level as other crimes, and as such they couldn't stand alone. They were throwaway crimes. The Tribunal lumped the acts of sexual violence under the residual umbrella of crimes against humanity.

Thus, rape was lost in the shuffle of other crimes against humanity. It became just a cautionary tale of horror. As a result no one knew if rape could stand alone as a prosecutable offense in international criminal courts. However in 1993 and 1994 after rape, and sexual violence, was specifically codified for the first time as a recognizable and independent crime within the statutes of the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and for Rwanda (ICTR). These two historic international instruments are now the foundation upon which crimes of rape and sexual violence are punished.

Now there is solid case law holding that rape and sexual violence are a form of genocide. It started in the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. In the case of Jean-Paul Akayesu, for the first time, rape and acts of sexual violence were put on equal footing with all other offenses. The Tribunal captured the grave nature of the crime finding that just like torture, rape is used as intimidation, degradation, humiliation, discrimination, punishment, control or destruction of the person. The Rome Statue said it best, "Like torture, rape is a violation of personal dignity."

Clinton's First Report Card

The U.S. secretary of state is the head of the Department of State, which concerns itself with foreign affairs, such as diplomacy and international development. The secretary of state is the highest ranking Cabinet member, both in terms of succession and precedence. If by some accident of birth you have been living in a cave and do not know this, Hillary Clinton is the U.S. secretary of state. She is one of three women that have held that position. Now since his inauguration as the first black president, President Obama has come under fire for his so-called poor job performance, but is he the only one sleeping on the job?

What has Secretary Clinton been able to accomplish on the world's stage? There isn't much glamour in being the secretary of state, this is universally understood - just look at Condoleezza Rice. If we turn back the hands of time, many of Clinton's predecessors got their jobs done. The Reagan administration had the strong policy voice of George Shultz, and President George H.W. Bush's administration had the world-class power broker James Baker on the job. Most others have been just irritating or utterly useless and forgettable at the job. Condoleezza Rice only made headlines when she decided on a new lipstick color to wear, or she was being picked on by the heads of states of our Middle Eastern brothers. Colin Powell got more accomplished in the military than he did as secretary of state.
Secretary Clinton on the other hand almost became the first female president, so surely her name alone would bring clout and glamour back to the job. Surely, Secretary Clinton would attack the job like she did the campaign trail on her way to the White House. That just hasn't happened. It's like the light has gone out of Clinton's eyes because she wasn't able to beat Obama for the presidency.

To me, she seems like a sore loser and America's foreign policies are paying the price. Clinton's presence, so brazen in her historic presidential candidacy against Barack Obama, has proven hard to find the first few months she's served as the "supposed" voice of U.S. foreign policy. President Obama's passport has more stamps than hers, powerhouse White House envoys have been dispatched to the hotspots around the world, Vice President Biden has been taking on assignments overseas, and even former President Clinton has thrown his hat in the mix, freeing some jailed journalists in North Korea.

I wondered why President Obama would even name her as the secretary of state. One side of the argument could be that Obama was keeping his friends close and his enemies closer. That by appointing Hillary Clinton, he could keep an eye on her ambitions and pacify her bruised ego. The other side would be that Obama wanted to keep her under wraps and essentially neutralize the incredible power she held as a senator. The latter seems to be true, as Clinton hasn't done anything in her first nine months in office; instead letting others like special envoy Richard Holbrooke do her job.
The most newsworthy thing Secretary Clinton has done was to verbally and viciously attack a Congolese student at a press conference. It would seem that she should spend more time doing her job and making her mark that way, instead of jumping on students who ask what her husband thinks about a situation - when he can clearly get the job done and she hasn't even clocked in for her shift.

In the past we would pass or fail the secretary of state on their ability to formulate policy. I mean, that's part of their job. Secretary Clinton has no such track record. During the 2008 Democratic Primary, she did prove to be a bit more conservative than President Obama, being more of a foreign policy realist than an idealist. Is she a good state manager or negotiator? She has never been a global strategist, and thankfully she has never claimed to be. Is it too early to judge her? I think not. She was very vocal in her campaign about the things she wanted to get done about foreign policy. Now that she didn't get the job she was applying for, she seems to be shuffling around trying to find her bearings as if this is the first time she has heard of Afghanistan. Her dismal performance in Jerusalem has proven one thing however: she needs to get a few more lessons in Middle Eastern haggling.

Church sins

While the holidays are generally known for being family-oriented, research has concluded that there seems to be an apparent spike in suicide rates during this time. We pity them, the people without families to share the holidays with. Or at least families they want to see and who want to see them. Well, as we all sat down for the holiday with our families - marveling at the genius that flowed from the kitchen, or simply enjoying being with our families, many of whom we don't get to see outside of the holiday season - Patricia Halbach was kneeling at the bed of her son Nathan as he lay still and silent in his coma. A coma he had fallen into the day before Thanksgiving. Nathan had been battling brain cancer for some months now, and the doctors didn't give him long to live. When the turkey was sliced and the thanks made, Nathan took his last breath. Nathan Halbach died one month before his 23rd birthday, peacefully in his home, in his bed.

Let's turn back the clock a few weeks, to a time before we knew who Nathan Halbach was, when this story first broke into the national news scene. Patricia Halbach, married at the time, had an affair with a Franciscan priest. Who would have thought that priests had sexual urges like the rest of us? However, priests take vows of celibacy and we trust them to follow through on those vows. Father Henry Willenborg had an affair with Patricia for five years while she lived a few doors away from the church where he pastored and she worshipped.

The church, being the moral compass, didn't reprimand the wayward priest. He was allowed to remain at his post and he even baptized the son he denied as his own. Instead of holding up the moral standards they hold the rest of the world accountable to - by forcing this priest to take responsibility, to stand up and be the father he should have been - the church struck a deal with the mother. They agreed to pay all the expenses of the child in exchange for her vow of silence about the true lineage of Nathan. The sacred place of worship, the holy pew that we kneel at to quietly reflect on God and to feel his awesome presence, now seemed tainted with the stench of a back alley deal worthy of a hostage takeover.

Over the course of young Nathan's life, the church gave over $200,000 to keep the woman and her child silent. No guidance, only money and silence. Silence, such a simple thing coming from any other place, but what seems to be such a funny request from a church. The church, who shouts at us from our television screens and from our street corners the virtues of the righteous. The church, always vocal about abortion, liberal women trying to break into a man's world, the war in Iraq and anything else the church feels it needs to speak out against bought the silence of a fatherless child and his wayward mother. Instead of making the priest do what was right according to the Bible, which the church is always shoving down our throats; they bought the silence of the mother and allowed the father to roam free.

Where was the fire, hell and brimstone many churches call down upon those who step out of line? I didn't see the eternal damnation they shout from the top of their lungs when a gay couple wants the civil right to marry. Nothing came from the church but a wall of silence. How dare the church not hold one of their own to the same moral yardstick they hold the rest of us to? Where have the morals of the church gone? Has the church just become a den of iniquity like our city streets? We are supposed to be following their example? It seems the church is grabbing more and more of the headlines these days; the kind you would expect from a Jerry Springer guest. Are we still expected to follow their lead when they are allowing fathers to be deadbeat dads? As these church escapades continue to gain national attention, is it any wonder why church attendance continues to decline?

The Great White Hope in a post-racism era?

Post-racism was the buzz word of the century as we went into the 2008 elections; it was then trumpeted throughout the country when Barack Obama took the highest office an African American has ever held in this country. Well the idiot that coined the term, "post-racism" has to be the same idiot that told The Rock that pretending to be a tooth fairy was a good career move. Taking stock of the of the smash hit and Oscar hopeful, Avatar and the recent headlines with Senate majority leader Harry Reid D-NV, any sane person would draw the conclusion that racism is as rampant as it was when the pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. 

In The Washington Post last year, a psychology professor, Richard Eibach theorized that white and black people use different yardsticks to measure racial equality. With this theory, maybe we can explain why there is an overwhelming majority of white Americans who live in la-la land and think that just because a black president was elected we are living in a post-racial America. Eiback claimed that whites use the yardstick of how far we have come from the nation we used to be. Blacks use the yardstick of how far we have yet to go to be the nation we ought to be. Let's see how far we really have to go.

There are a shocking number of white people in this country who are quick to cry out that this is the era of post racism. According to a 2008 gallup poll, as much as 46 percent of white Americans hold that sentiment. This past week it was revealed that Senator Harry Reid, while behind closed doors, voiced the undercurrent of racism that few white people are even aware they have. He is quoted as saying, "Obama would have an easier time of winning the election because he is ‘light-skinned' and does not speak with a Negro dialect."

Reid thought he was paying President Obama, who he ardently supports, and black people a compliment. However, Senator Reid took us all the way back to slavery where black slaves were separated, treated different, and given different jobs based on their degree of "blackness." In general, the lighter the slave, the easier the life. Perhaps, like many, he is utterly shocked when a person of color opens their mouth and is able to converse in the English language. I mean after all we should throwing around the "foshizzle my nizzle," everywhere we go. Right? 

The new James Cameron film, Avatar was sure to brighten up my holidays, and like millions of other around the country I crowded into the warm theater, popcorn in one hand and 3D glasses in the other, and settled down for what was sure to be a great movie. What I got was a great white hope movie filled with racial slurs and undertones. We've seen this before in the films Dangerous Minds, The Last Samurai and Oscar-favorite, Dances with Wolves.  But all we, as black people get, is Lean on Me; and most important thing that we were supposed to take away from that movie was that through it all us blacks can still come up with a great song to capture the moment. After all, if we can't even colonize ourselves why would we be able to protect and rescue ourselves?

Back to Avatar, I know I wasn't the only person of color that cringed when the character played by the talented Giovanni Ribisi called the Na'Vi a bunch of blue monkeys. That was the icing on the cake for me.  

Am I pulling my Negro card right now? Yes, I am. Am I being overly sensitive? Maybe to a non person of color, but as a person of color who is bombarded by "White America" everywhere I turn I think I am being highly tamed and civilized. Do I honestly believe we will ever reach that utopia of a post racism America? No, I do not think so, but are there steps we can take to bring this country as close to Shangri-La as possible? Yes, but both sides have to be willing to come to the table and realize that yes, we have come a long way and that is a great thing, but we aren't there yet.

When is enough, enough?

In recent news there have been reports after reports of suicides of gay teens and young adults. Millions of facebook users gathered together to remember these lost children. Statues were dedicated, profile pictures changed with users wearing the chosen color purple. In show of support for gays teens around the country. And recently the Village Voice asked journalist around the world to recount their bullying experiences.

It just seems that somewhere along the way children got the idea that its better to just check out of life.

Bullies don't only pick on the gays. Bullies target anyone who doesn't confirm.

I was the first girl in middle school to come back after summer break with a C cup. So of course I was bullied, and then I put on a few extra pounds and I was bullied because of that. There were days I cried myself to sleep because of the torment. And I did sit and wonder if I should just end it all. Call it quits and end my suffering at the hands of a few jerks. But something always stopped me.

I wondered, is this it? Is there more to life than middle school, Tiger Beat and my bullies? And now I will admit I took the road less traveled and I started to fight back with my bullies. Verbally and physically. Now I am not condoning violence here, but I will say it was damn empowering to send my tormentors scurrying about under my verbal assault and well placed punches. It even brought a smile to my face when the mother of one of my bullies called my mother to rant about the beatdown I had laid on her daughter.

But that little shred of confidence gained when I stood up to my bullies changed my life. No longer did I have to suffer while others laughed at my expense. No longer did I have to hid in the library during lunch just so I didn't have to stand in the middle of the cafeteria pleading with my eyes for someone to let me sit at their table. I could walk into that school with my nose in the air and my C cups bouncing and my thick thighs swaying knowing I had just as much of a right to liberty as anyone else.

Now back to the matter at hand.

There have been developments in the political sphere to curb the practice of bullying,specially because of sexual orientation. In Oct of 2009 President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard Act into law. This Act is an expansion of the federal hate crime law. It included acts of hate motivated because of a victims perceived or actual sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or their disability. This is the first act to actually extend protection to transgendered individuals.

And many school systems across the country have adopted a below zero tolerance for bullying. But this is as far as I beleive politics and the law can take it.

There needs to be a shift in society for bullying to really be curbed. The federal government and the school system can't police thoughts and notions. And they certainly can't do anything if the victims don't report it. Often children feel ashamed because of their bullying or they think it will intensify if they speak out. So how can these wonderful laws that we worked so hard to bring to pass work if no one takes advantage of them? Or if instead of bringing the issues to light the child just jumps off a bridge? This journey is not just one lane. Victims have to speak out and stand up. We as adults and mentors have to foster open communication and safe environments with our youth. They have to know they can come to us about being bullied and something will be done and their tormentor will be swiftly dealt with.

We can not allow this trend to continue. How many more children have to take their own lives before something is done? When is enough enough?

What are we doing America?

The Pentagon announced today that Guantanamo Bay detainee, Omar Khadr, has plead guilty. He is the youngest prisoner in the controversial facility. Khadr was accused of throwing a hand grenade during a firefight back in 2002 and killing an American citizen, Army Sgt. 1st cClass Christopher Speer in Afghanistan. This is the first trial for the military commission since President Obama took office.

The Canadian citizen plead guilty to "murder in violation of the laws of war, attempted murder in violation of the laws of war, conspiracy, two counts of providing material support for terrorism and spying in the United States, a Canadian diplomat said," as reported by CNN.

Khadr was a 15 year old child solider when he was involved in that firefight in 2002. 

And as of yet the United States sign hasn't signed the Optional Protocol to the Rights of the Child. We still allow children under the age of 18 to join the military with parental consent. Though the Pentagon has assured Human Rights NGOs that these children aren't used as combatants.

But in 2008, President Bush, in a rare moment of intelligence signed into law the Child Soldiers Accountability Act. This Act allows the United States to prosecute any person who knowingly and willfully recruited children under 15 even if they were recruited and served outside of the United States.

And just two short years after vowing to protect children around the world and bring their tortures to justice we are sending a child solider to jail.

What message are sending to the rest of the world? We care about people who use children as combatants as long as that child doesn't kill an American? Then we prosecute the child, after we detain them for years in a facility where they are housed with adults. Is rehabilitation of criminals only good for American citizen. Khadr spent more time behind bars for being a child solider than most rapists in the United States.

This is not a bright day in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave......