IHSS Blog 2020-2021

  Alice Korkin Mr. Roddy IHSS April 26, 2020 ED Interview With Nicole Kestenbaum Nicole Kestenbaum is a social media influencer. She posts blogs and different content on Instagram. She has a part-time job in marketing and loves photography. Nicole also has type one diabetes. During our interview she didn’t just answer my questions in one sentence, I knew that she loved the topic of body positivity and enjoys helping people out in that topic. My first question was how she first started getting involved in the topic of eating disorders and having a positive relationship with food. She said that when she was a teenager there were social media, like today, but it wasn’t advanced at all. The kids didn’t know that the models on tv and magazines could be photoshopped or edited. She thought this was the norm. When she became an adult she decided not to restrict herself from different activities or foods. Having a positive mentality lets her share her experiences with others. I asked he...

 Natalie Gross Mr. Roddy IHSS April 10, 2021 Disability Discrimination in the Workplace               When people think about discrimination, they usually think about discrimination based on gender or race, Most people don't think about disability. According to the unemployment rate of disabled Americans is 12.6%, compared to the 6% of all Americans. When the ADA, or Americans with Disabilities Act, was passed, many companies seemed like they were helping by adding ramps, automatic doors, and handicapped parking spots, but in reality, this only provided them ways to get in the building, not to get in the company. While the ADA says that you can't discriminate against people with disabilities, there is still a way to get around that today, it stated that private employers with at least 15 employees must follow it, leaving employers with less than that able to disregard the whole thing. The ADA also says that the employer must provide...

The hijab is something that has been gaining a lot of attention recently because France has put a ban on it. However, that was not the only thing that received a ban. The law that made hijabs illegal to wear was a law that banned face coverings; this law included hijabs. The law did make women who were over 18 able to wear them; this still doesn't allow many people the ability to follow their religion and what they believe in. But this is not the first time something like this has happened. In 2004 France had a law passed that banned all religious items that could not be worn in public schools this included crosses, kippah and even clothing one of those being the hijab. This law however gave the schools the jurisdiction to decide if the law was being broken or not. I can't imagine not being someone the teachers had a grudge towards. Five years after in 2009 the government of France passed a law that  made it illegal to wear any kind of religious veil anywhere. And 80% of all vo...

  The Anti-Trans Wave Washing Across Our Nation  In the past few years there has been a significant increase in anti-trans movements within the US Government and surrounding organizations. Two specific bills that have been circulating through more than 28 states have been the “Save Adolescents from Experimentation Act (SAFE Act)” and the “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act”.  The SAFE Act states that trans youth under the age of 18 cannot receive gender-confirming medical treatment. This includes, puberty blockers, hormone treatment, and gender confirming surgery. The problem with this act is that it prohibits life saving care from a community that is known to have an extremely high rate of suicide.  A large portion of these suicides are due to dysphoria. However, studies have been done that show that the use of these gender confirming treatments have provided great aid to people struggling with dysphoria. I can understand delaying the use of hormone therapy and gender...

     Up to two-thirds of transgender youth consider suicide, not because they are transgender but because they are shamed for being transgender. Often families will not understand their transgender child. Many transgender and other LGBTQ+ persons will even be kicked out of their house by their parents. In Alabama, both the Senate and the House of Representatives are considering a vote on the Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act . This act prohibits gender change therapy for minors as well as the withholding of certain related information from parents.       Alabama is the first state to pass a bill that would directly interfere with a transgender youth’s medical decisions — even in cases where they have the support and blessing of their parents.  It was really surprising to me when I found out that the Senate voted 23-4 to approve the bill and that the House has already passed a similar measure. The bill would make it a felony for medica...

 India Riley Mr.Roddy IHSS March 9, 2021 Arkansas' Anti-Trans Bill This Monday, Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson vetoed a bill banning healthcare to transgender minors. Not only is this new law going to hurt thousands, but it has significantly put back the trans-Americans currently fighting for their equality. Children who seek puberty blockers or hormone therapy are being declined and cannot change their appearance to be consistent with their gender identity. Asa claimes that "there is no going back once you make the decision to be on hormones that change your current gender." not only is this incorrect, but it's spread lots of misinformation. Anyone that receives these medications will discontinue them at any time, and the side effects are quickly reversed. That is why this is such a blatant human rights infringement since it denies people access to primary healthcare in an entire state. Declining puberty blockers can be highly irreversible. They would be going thro...

 North Korea is probably the most repressive country in the world. Their supreme leader, Kim Jong Un, uses threats of execution, arbitrary punishment of crimes, and detention and forced labor to maintain fearful obedience. He also tightly restricts travel out of the country and communication with the outside world. The government also strongly dislikes dissent. They ban independent media, civil society, and trade unions, and systemically denies basic rights, including freedom of expression, assembly, association, and religion. They also systemically extract forced, unpaid labor from its citizens to build infrastructure and implement public projects. Lastly, they also fail to protect or promote the rights of numerous at-risk groups, including women, children, and people with disabilities. During 2014, a report on human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea concluded that the government committed crimes against humanity, including extermination, murder, enslavement, tor...

  The hijab is something that has been gaining a lot of attention recently because France has put a ban on it. However, that was not the only thing that received a ban. The law that made hijabs illegal to wear was a law that banned face coverings; this law included hijabs. The law did make women who were over 18 able to wear them; this still doesn't allow many people the ability to follow their religion and what they believe in. But this is not the first time something like this has happened. In 2004 France had a law passed that banned all religious items that could not be worn in public schools this included crosses, kippah and even clothing one of those being the hijab. This law however gave the schools the jurisdiction to decide if the law was being broken or not. I can't imagine not being someone the teachers had a grudge towards. Five years after in 2009 the government of France passed a law that  made it illegal to wear any kind of religious veil anywhere. And 80% of all...

  Leon Hoan Mr. Roddy IHSS April 5, 2021 False Rape Allegations  Now I want to start by saying that rape in today’s world is unfortunately widespread and that it is a serious topic among people of all ages. The problem I want to address is the issue of false rape allegations. These allegations are mostly coming from females, as plenty of research specify that rape affects women in more significant numbers and with the majority of people convicted being men. However, since 2012, more awareness has been given to male rape, including females raping males. Now, these fake allegations can stem from several things; revenge, clout or attention, sympathy from others, or regret following a consensual session. In some cases, all of those reasons apply. The term “unfounded” is the most common name for these types of allegations. In the past 20 years, up to 10% of rape accusations have been proven false after not enough evidence was provided or law enforcement investigations unable to ...

 I would like to talk about Turkmenistan as it is rarely mentioned. You often hear about North Korea, a country that you don't visit or leave. But what if I told you there was another country with the exact same situation? Turkmenistan is a central Asian country known for its large gas reserves. They also have a horrible human rights record.  The situation for the people of Turkmenistan is so bad that it prompted Human Rights Watch to write, "Turkmenistan is one of the world’s most isolated and oppressively governed countries. All aspects of public life are controlled by President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov and his associates." No religious or political expression is allowed in the country whatsoever. Information is strictly controlled and no independent monitoring groups are allowed in the country. Those who fail to abide by those rules are allegedly in Turkmen prison. The OSCE (The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) said that the 2018 parliamentary el...

  Since the birth of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, women have had strict rules applied to them. Every woman in the state is controlled by a male figure; a father, husband, or son. Many rules are said to be justified by religion, however, in reality, many of these rules have no relation to religion and are fully cultural. One of the main rights that women did not have until recently is the right to drive. If women want to go to different places, they need a husband, father, or son to drive them. Another rule is the type of clothing women wear. Until 2017, women were only allowed to wear black clothing outside of their homes. To this day, they are also forced to wear a headscarf or a hijab. Also, women are not allowed to apply for a passport as they cannot travel out of the country without a male with them. This causes many women to hack into a male guardians’ phone to change their permission settings. Women are also not allowed to marry whoever they want. If a woman wants to get marr...

  Isa Pedersen  Mr. Roddy  IHSS 9 April 2021 Arkansas’ Anti-trans bill  For centuries the trans community was discriminated against. But recently Arkansas passed a bill that highly affects trans rights and healthcare. The bill states that trans individuals are not allowed to get gender affirming surgeries. This included hormones such as testosterone and androgen, as well as puberty blockers. This is said to be one of the most detrimental bills passed against the trans community in ages. Not only this but some states have already passed bills that don't allow trans kids to take part in sports or competitions. These states include Arkansas, Tennessee, and Mississippi. Tennessee and Alabama are already starting to get the same bill passed. Texas is on the list that is assumed to follow Arkansas and pass the bill as well. Certain cities were able to make bills that heavily discriminate against the trans community, but states have never passed bills this big before. The...

  Isabelle Saxon Mr. Roddy  IHSS April 10, 2021  Georgia Voting Restrictions  Right Now there is a large and controversial conversation surrounding the new voting laws that have been set up in georgia.In the last election Georgia went to President Biden, something which the Governor is clearly still not happy about, and it seem is trying to make sure it doesn't happen again. The new laws remove drop box, polling stations, automatically mailed absentee ballots applications, and dramatically cut voting windows.It will also add more steps and vetting to apsetity ballot applications, and make it illegal to hand out water to voters waiting in line to vote. After these new voting laws were announced many people were understandably outraged that the laws target demcratic voters, voters from low income communities, and minority voters. The reasoning behind the many new complications repuical legislators added to mail in voting seem to connect to the fact that statistics show...

  Jonah Mayral Boyle Mr. Roddy IHSS 9 April 2020 Racism in Criminal Justice and the War on Drugs Racism in criminal justice is a very relevant issue today, and the number of the imprisoned has increased, and the racial disparity grows more significant. For example, African Americans are incarcerated at alarmingly higher rates than white people. In many states Black people are incarcerated at a rate five times higher than white people. In others this number is twice as high. In addition, in twelve states, over half the prison population is Black, with Maryland taking the lead with about 72% of its population being African American.  Even in Hawaii, the state with the lowest racial disparity in imprisonment, still incarcerates Black people at a rate 2 times higher than White people.  A lot of these racial disparities showed themselves through the War on Drugs. People of color are highly more likely to be stopped, searched, arrested, and incarcerated than white people, e...

  Nikolas Cantu Mr.Roddy IHSS 6 April 2021 Pandemic Impact on People in Poverty While we have all experienced the effects of covid 19 and its effect on our economy, community, and family we have not paid as much attention to those that do not have the safe opportunities that we have. Poverty and homelessness are both very big issues that tie into civil rights. Since this pandemic has started back in 2019 tens of millions of people have lost their job to this pandemic and the numbers only seem to be growing. Losing jobs at a time like this only causes more issues as people then have to deal with possible eviction and more importantly food and water. While the stimulus checks do seem to help some people they do not seem to be of much assistance for those that have lost their jobs and are falling into poverty. The government's focus seems to be towards helping those in our community and across our nation yet they do not seem to have a focus or even an idea of how to help those in po...

 Wyatt Quillin Mr. Roddy IHSS 9 April 2021 The Multiple Offenses of North Korea     North Korea is known around the world as the totalitarian, almost dystopian state that rules through fear. This country is one of the only remaining isolated totalitarian states in the world, and basically the polar opposite of its neighbor South Korea. North Korea indulges in numerous inhumane acts like torture, execution, starvation, and more to keep its people complacent. The state rules through fear and ignorance, restricting access to the Web and strictly allowing only certain books and newspapers to be purchased. Pro-state propaganda floods the country, keeping a tight hold on its citizens. But one of the worst things about this country is its strict ban on freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Because the government has total control over the entire military and prisons, you could be thrown in jail for nearly anything that the government feels threatens or insults it. Even simp...

  Andres  Yengle Mr. Roddy IHSS 9 April 2021 Civil Rights Blog  Yemen has seen a whole world's worth of violence for the past 6 years. Ever since 2015 more than 175,000 civilians have been injured or killed in bomb raids. 20 million people are experiencing food insecurity and 10 million of them are at risk of famine. The start of the Yemen crisis dates back all the way to 2011 when a revolution was started against the president at the time. Many people were unhappy with the ways he led the country, so they decided to start a revolution. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have both led coalitions into Yemen to help the rebels fight the Houthi forces. Ever since the start of the war there have been many Unlawful Airstrikes. These airstrikes include ones where they specifically target civilians or civilian objects. These airstrikes are in violation of the laws of war. Houthi forces have repeatedly fired artillery attacks onto several Yemen cities as well as one airpor...

Oscar Rawson Mr. Roddy IHSS 4/9/21 On Tuesday, the state of Arkansas passed the "Save Adolescents from Experimentation Act" which banned essential healthcare for transgender individuals under the age of 18. This act bans hormone therapy, which allows trans people to change their appearances to match that of their actual gender. The bill was passed through an override, after Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson vetoed it on Monday.  Hutchinson has stated that the bill creates "new standards of legislative interference with physicians and parents as they deal with some of the most complex and sensitive matters involving young people." The governor has done even more to speak out against the bill. He also stated that the bill was "a result of the cultural war in America." Hutchinson's stance is basically that it should be up to the parents and doctors to decide what is best for trans youth. He has a point, too. The purpose in passing this bill is not to prote...

Sofi Savarese  Mr. Roddy IHSS 4/6/20      Venezuela is a country that has quite a few human rights violations. Legally, Venezuela is a constitutional republic as well as a multi-party. But recently over the past decade, the power has been reduced to one single party that has significant control over the citizen and judicial power of the country. Many human rights issues have arisen such as extrajudicial, unlawful, and arbitrary killings by security forces, torture by security forces, life-threatening prison conditions, political prisoners, forced disappearances, lack of judicial independence, and unlawful interference concerning privacy. The general public experiences routine blocking of radio television and other media signals. Venezuela also has incredibly high numbers of harassment, abuse, human trafficking, child labor, and violence towards indigenous people. along with all of these issues the government has no intent on fixing the problems or making any eff...

Freedom of Speech in China China has been a country that has some strict rules for its government and for the people that live in this country. Chinese authorities recognized in recent years that the limited freedom of speech enables the government to have a better monitor that could be potentially problematic for social issues. The government of China has begun to tolerate criticism but just only from certain categories of people, that could be known as a “free speech elite,” and only then in government-controlled forums because of the simple fact of still having control of the community but in a less visible way (I personally think).  The only people in China who can publish, criticize, and opinions contrary to those of the community party. An example of this situation is when someone publishes an article or any document in a magazine or on a website, the government won’t care if you had the right to criticize or to give a certain opinion if you were a member of the community par...

  Katie Vojvodic Mr. Roddy IHSS 8 April 2021 Anti-Asian Hate Crimes Spark a Demand for Reform            On March 16, 2021, eight people, six of them Asian women, were murdered at 3 different spas in Atlanta, Georgia. This recent tragedy on top of the immense discrimination that the Asian American community faces daily sparked a wave of activism in Atlanta and beyond. It's no secret that the numbers of reported Anti-Asian hate crimes have spiked in the last year due to the tense, divided climate created by the covid-19 pandemic. Following the Atlanta attacks, many Asian Americans and their supporters have called for changes to be made in the United States' legislative, education, and public justice systems.        Politicians and activists have emphasized the importance of having more people of Asian descent being appointed to high-ranking government positions. By doing this, the Biden Administration would be fulfilling it...

  Aiden  Cunningham Mr. Roddy IHSS 7 April 2021 The surge of eviction Before covid, tenants could be evicted by their landlords for any failure to pay their bills, and while some landlords were more lenient with this rule than others, it was a major problem for tenants living paycheck to paycheck. Especially in California, where tenants could be evicted just for failure to pay rent 3-4 days after receiving a notice, and tenants were expected to leave the building once evicted within four to six weeks. This meant that if there was an unexpected medical expense or a loss of work, tenants would essentially be greeted with an eviction notice. With the current pandemic that has taken over America, more people are losing their jobs and incurring medical expenses than ever, and that became a problem. To combat this, an order was released that basically says that tenants can not be evicted for any unexpected medical expense or job loss. Now, as you could imagine, this was huge for...

Alex Karni IHSS Roddy April 8, 2021 False Arrest and Obstruction of Justice   When most people think about false arrests committed by the police, they think about an arrest that was not supported by evidence. But this is not the case for measuring whether the police have falsely arrested someone. For police to be guilty of false arrest, the police must act without authority or beyond the scope of their privileges. S uppose a police officer arrests someone because that person insulted the officer or did something the officer didn’t like. Insulting an officer is not a crime, and unless that officer has another reason to make an arrest, he is acting illegally. If and when the defendant is brought to court and the court finds out the truth, they should set the defendant free. Although they are free from the accusations, the released defendant cant sue the police for unlawful arrests, but the officer making the false statements might be arrested for making false statements, swearing a f...

Sara Avalos Mr. Roddy IHSS Section A 4/8/2021 Women’s Rights in Mexico For my civil rights blog, I decided to learn more about Women’s rights in Mexico. In Mexico on average 10 women are killed daily, and 98% of gender killings are not prosecuted. In March 2020, women from different cities in Mexico went on strike with #ADayWithOutUs, which cost the Mexican government about $1.37 billion Pesos. By doing this they showed the Mexican government how valuable the women in the county truly are. The reason that women in Mexico are protesting this is because of the Machismo culture in Mexico. The Machismo culture promotes a large amount of masculine pride. To remedy this issue the Mexican government has added more women to the government. While the female representation is greatly appreciated by women’s support groups it is not enough to fix the widespread problem of gender killings. Women in Mexico not only have to experience gender killings but they also deal with unequal pay. There are als...

Kilali Latter Mr. Roddy IHSS 4/7/21 France’s Hijab Ban On Tuesday, March 30, The French Senate voted to ban Muslim girls under the age of 18 from wearing a hijab. They are also prohibiting women accompanying a school trip from wearing a hijab and the use of burkinis (swimsuit that covers the whole body) in public pools. These bans are part of the anti-separatism bill. This means that the bans are currently not a law but are working their way to becoming a law. Bruno Retailleau, a French senator, says this bill is justified by describing the hijab and burkini as sexist and supportive of the idea that women are less than men. In reality, this bill is attacking French people’s rights and freedoms, especially Muslims. Another thing the French Government says to support this bill is that banning Muslim women from wearing a hijab liberates them from Islam. This bill is one of many things the French government has done to make living in France harder for Muslim women. This is also not the f...

  Alice Korkin Mr. Roddy IHSS 7 April 2021 Unequal Workplace for LGBTQ+ Workers There are many workers benefits that LGBTQ workers do not receive that reach everyone’s basic needs. These needs include healthcare, bathrooms, and parental needs that are usually provided by the employer of a person. In the Civil Rights act of 1964, the Supreme Court ruled that everyone needs to be equal, and no one can be fired for their sexual orientation, but there are many tricks and gaps that an employer can find to treat their employees unequally. For example, if you own a small business and you have 15 or fewer employees you are not required to follow this law. An employer also can fire an employee on their religious beliefs. I think that this is completely absurd and this law needs to be fixed. LGBTQ+ employees also do not have the correct access to bathroom facilities. Transgender women/men are mostly not allowed in women/men restrooms and have to use other “facilities.” Uniform is also beco...