Month: December 2019

Aboubacar Kone 

 

  Police brutality against African Americans is a societal problem that affects many states,neighborhoods,and communities across the country. It shows the use of aggressiveness and Force , regardless if they are breaking the law or not. The issue has been recognized in recent years due to the numerous killings of young black people that have been harassed by police officers. The issue has gone so far that it has created movements, such as ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement. One of the problems the police forces across the Country has been that they unfairly discriminate against people of color, while being generally more lenient towards white people. My research topic is does police brutality affects society? My position on this is yes it does because people of color are targeted more than Caucasians and treated with less respect.

 

 

 

-The People 

 

The problem with police brutality in the United States is that it seems to be tied to racism. This is based on the fact that there is a growing body of evidence suggesting that police officers are more likely to target and arrest innocent people that are black or hispanic more than Caucasian . Another issue is the large number of killings that have taken place, involving young black people and police officers. In less than three years between 2014 and 2016, there were multiple murder cases.Statistics show in 2016, four out of five killings by police were of a young black male . These statistics show the greater risks that young African American people face. Unequal treatment of citizens by police officers is not right in a “free” country. Police officers get away with acts of brutality’s day cruelty, especially racial prejudice ones they are illegal and also dangerous for the people. People in power that are abusing the law, are creating the first step to an even  more corrupt system. Police brutality should have all citizens on the lookout. As the people who live in this country we need a voice and we shouldn’t stand around tolerating police brutality.

 

Sincerely, Aboubacar

 

-Police Officers

 

      The knowledge and sight of police brutality and discrimination towards black people can cause problems for society, even if they are criminals or innocent. It means that millions of Americans are forced to fear of being an “accident” in police shootings. The problem has gone so far that many psychologists suggest that it can leave significant psychological and emotional trauma on many people of color , even if they don’t participate in any crime but read and hear about it on the streets and news . People can develop anxiety and antisocial behavior, simply by knowing that they are categorized as more of a target by police.Many officers believe that black people are bigger threats especially when its compared to incidents with white people. This may be because some police officers have toxic personal world-views, or because that’s what they were taught due to America’s history of racial oppression. Police should interact with the communities more and actually try to understand what people are and what they do instead of just going after them unjustified.

 

From, Aboubacar 

 

Garner, Eric. “After 9 High-Profile Police-Involved Deaths Of African-Americans, What Happened To The Officers?”. WBUR, 2014, http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2016/07/11/america-police-shooting-timeline.

Lowery, Wesley. “Aren’T More White People Than Black People Killed By Police? Yes, But No.”. Washington Post, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/news/post-nation/wp/2016/07/11/arent-more-white-people-than-black-people-killed-by-police-yes-but-no/.

 

Owen, Tess. “Black And Hispanic People More Likely To Be Victims Of Police Brutality, Study Says”. VICE News, 2016, https://news.vice.com/article/black-and-hispanic-people-more-likely-to-be-victims-of-police-brutality-study-says

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Richards, Jenniger et al. “92 Deaths, 2,623 Bullets: Tracking Every Chicago Police Shooting Over 6 Years”. Chicago Tribune, 2016, http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/watchdog/ct-chicago-police-shooting-database-met-20160826-story.html.

 

Conversations about the incarceration system has been growing rapidly due to the massive increase of people of color being incarcerated in the United States. My research topic is “ Does the increasing rates of incarceration lead to the oppression of people of color.” The communities that I am trying to reach are the oppressed people of color, social activists and the department of justice. The position that I want to persuade is that the increasing rates of incarceration does in fact lead to oppression of people of color due to the fact that black inmates make up nearly 40 percent  of the prison population and make up 13.4 percent of the total U.S population, also once the accused is out of jail they lose some of their rights and this also has an impact on their mental health, and with the increasing rates of incarceration of people of color the rates for white people incarcerated are significantly lower than those who are latino and black.

When the accused come out of jail they lose majority of their rights such as the right to bear arms, the right to vote, and sometimes they aren’t able to apply to certain jobs due to being a felon even if they were wrongfully incarcerated. This can impact their lives due to the fact that after being in jail it is hard to find a job or  make a living which indirectly forces felons to break the law to either feed themselves or their family. That isnt always the case, because some states have believe in incarceration but believe in rehabilitation which gives the accused another chance at life, and a better chance than once they would have received if they were incarcerated for their crimes or wrongfully incarcerated. My issue is something with real consequences today because the incarceration rates for blacks are still higher than whites in every state, and there is a major gap considering the population. This also goes into the factor of mental health because while being incarcerated your mental health takes a big hit. Prison is known as an unsafe and unhealthy environment, according to Good Therapy,”The Effects of Incarceration on Mental Health” an article posted by Zawn Villines, Villnes said “The DOJ reports that 70,000 prisoners are sexually abused every year, and assaults, fights, and other acts of violence are common in a prison setting……This ongoing climate of trauma can create anxiety, depression, phobias, and PTSD in prisoners who previously had no serious mental health issues.” This goes to show that someone who has a history of mental health issues or someone who has/had no past  health issues is now in the environment that can create mental trauma that can lead to mental health issues.This is why I feel the increasing rates of incarceration lead to the oppression of people of color.

I find it crazy that in the United States alone people of color are found to be incarcerated alot more than those who are white. There has been a lot of studies showing the major difference in population in the prison system when it comes to incarceration. One of these studies have been done by the NAACP where they have stated, “Though African Americans and Hispanics make up approximately 32% of the US population, they comprised 56% of all incarcerated people in 2015.” The study taken by the NAACP has shown that there is a major difference in race for the amount of incarcerated persons in 2015 in the United States alone. With the rapid increase of incarceration of hispanics and blacks, tons of social activist groups have came out of the dark, or has had the spotlight shone on them to address and inform people such as other social activist groups and the Department of Justice about the increasing rates of incarceration of blacks and hispanics that can further lead to the oppression of people of color. This is another reason why I am addressing the rapid increase of incarceration of hispanics and blacks to further the conclusion that the increasing rates of incarceration can lead to the oppression of people of color.

And at last, the last message that I am trying to inform my audience is that with the increasing rates of incarceration of people of color the rates for white people incarcerated are significantly lower than those who are latino and black. This is the major factor on oppression of people of color due to incarceration. The United States of America is viewed as the country with the most incarcerated rate, with African Americans leading the rates of incarceration in America. There have been books and movies such as “The Other Wes Moore” which talks about incarceration of black people and the effects on their social life and mental health due and why this is more of the reason why the Department of Justice should use rehabilitation as much as they use incarceration, and a movie that also goes hand to hand with this topic is the Netflix movie called “13th” which informs the audience about the prison system and how the 13th amendment allows people to be used as slaves, doing labor  due to the fact that the 13th amendment says that any acts of slavery was abolished unless when it is punishment for a crime. There are also studies showing the major difference in race when it comes to incarceration, according to prisonpolicy.org they made a graph of the amount of people incarcerated per race in the 2010s and with the race with the lowest amount of 380 was white, and the race with the highest amount standing at 2,207 was blacks. This study goes to show that there is a significant difference in race for incarceration of whites and blacks with further adds on to my belief that incarceration can lead to the oppression of people of color. 

I find it shameful that a country wouldn’t take this opportunity to use rehabilitation more than incarceration due to the massive difference in race when it comes to incarceration in the United States, Social activists fighting for the lives of those who were wrongfully incarcerated ad for those who are incarcerated, and how the Prison environment isn’t  for anyone and can lead to mental issues even when you had no past history of it. This enforming essay was made to inform anyone of the audiences that incarceration does in fact lead to oppression of people of color.

Knowledge is an aspect of life everyone should have the freedom to pursue and all should be able to attain knowledge through the use of educational institutes, programs, and libraries. The access to education should never be taken away.

 

Education is a right

Education

12/4/19

Venue: United Nations General Assembly

 

          The access to education should be a right that all Children, men and women should be able to take advantage of. Though this is my belief and the belief of many others, The situation we have here today is a display of the opposite, where more than 72 million children in the world who are at primary school age aren’t enrolled and approximately 759 million adults are classed as illiterate. People drone on about how we are in the “age of information” and how any information we need is at our fingertips though they forget to include those whose access to information is limited or next to none. Education should not be a privilege given to those only in first world countries but something every country employs to educate their youth those considered the future of every country. Education is directly linked to many aspects of quality of life such as health, technology, and employment. Third world countries are afflicted with significantly higher rates of disease due to the fact that the populace of these nations are denied education on topics such as hygiene that would seem common knowledge to any individual from a first world country. Technology that helps fight off diseases and helps production in these countries are almost non existent because the public is denied access to the resources their country has in abundance and don’t have the knowledge to use them. Most citizens of  third world countries are denied the opportunity for a good job and wages that keep them out of poverty due to almost all men having the same level of education or lack thereof and women either receiving worse or no formal education at all keeping unemployment at a high rate in a majority of these countries. Ultimately the lack of education leads to High crime rates, Corruption, disease and poverty and can all be resolved by the addition of formal/free education. Education as a whole can be improved in all countries yet widespread access to some form of education or knowledge should be of utmost importance for most if not all countries on this globe we all inhabit together. Right after Climate change I truly believe the UN should focus on improving education in countries that have almost no form of institution to help increase global IQ and bringing unity in the world through the connection of knowledge. UNICEF is hard at work trying to bring some form of access to education to children in need and do a great job though we want to know just how we can help how can the public of both first world and third world countries help tackle this issue?

 

12/4/19

 

The Washington Post 

 1301 K Street NW; Washington, D.C. 20071

 

Dear editor

  

      Children are being kept in the slums and poverty yet no one is reporting it. This is the product of what happens to children that aren’t given tools or more importantly education to learn a multitude of subjects that may help them advance theirs and their families position in life. How sad is it when a family of two adults and three children live a life where none of them know how to read and write. This may have been the case many generations ago where only royalty were taught to read and write but it should not be the case now in 2019 all children should be able to go to school to soak up as much knowledge as they can and frankly it is abhorrent that education is taken away by corrupt governments who want to keep the public ignorant of certain conspiracies or certain plots going on underfoot. Millions of children old enough to be in primary school are not enrolled due to many factors and even more millions of adults are considered illiterate and this is problematic that in the 21st century children and adults alike are being refused an education which is why i believe all children should have access to some sort of education. The importance of education is usually understated due to all if not most children in first world countries being required to be in some form of school at certain ages in their life so we tend to take the prospect of education or school for granted yet we never stop to think just how bad the lack of education in a country is. A lack of education can lead to bad hygiene, high STD rates, lack of infrastructure, and no systems in place such as laws or even basic sewer systems. This is a sort of life only seen during the dark ages where the previous generations and societies were so sophisticated yet future generations regressed so far that the common practice of reading was lost and they lead simple lives and were taken advantage of. There is no reason to keep the population of a country ignorant or uneducated unless you want to take advantage of them which i refuse to believe is the only problem standing in the way of building educational institutions in countries that need them due to this being a very corrupt and evil reason to keep the masses unschooled. The world is changing with problems we all as humans have to face and I believe all hands need to be on deck or we are doomed so educating the population of the planet is critical.

 

Sincerely

Luis  Vasquez

 

        

 

Works Cited

chris.drew.98031506. “Lack of Education: 11 Lifelong Effects (2019).” The Helpful Professor, 14 Nov. 2019, https://helpfulprofessor.com/lack-of-education/.

 

PhineasJFR. “10 Barriers to Education Around the World.” Global Citizen, https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/10-barriers-to-education-around-the-world-2/.

 

“Right to Education : Situation around the World.” Humanium, https://www.humanium.org/en/right-to-education/.

 

“The Education Crisis: Being in School Is Not the Same as Learning.” World Bank, https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/immersive-story/2019/01/22/pass-or-fail-how-can-the-world-do-its-homework.

“The Right to Education.” Save the Children, https://www.savethechildren.org.nz/what-we-do/the-issues/education/.