Rants

It is again the time of the year when we start seeing food drive bins roll out to grocery stores, libraries, fire stations, and pretty much every other location with a roof. Of course it’s a nice idea to donate food to those in need, but I am always left wondering, “Why does the U.S. only encourage food donations during the holiday season???”

Well, obviously it is incorrect to say that Americans only donate food during the holiday season. Charitable contributions occur throughout the year. However, the sight of a food donation bin anywhere outside of the holiday season is remarkably rare. There are close to zero organizations which encourage food donations until October/November roll onto the calendar.

I understand that there is some logic to food donations in the Fall. The weather is getting colder and therefore the less fortunate who often have to spend considerable amounts of time in cold weather need an increased number of calories to survive.

However, the point of this rant is that it is wrong to limit charitable food donations to 2-3 months of the year. That idea is similar to limiting the study of black people in history to Black History Month or only learning about the contributions of women to society during Women’s History Month. Why not respect people with dark skin all year round? Why not learn about the historical contributions of women for all 12 months of the year? Why not provide support to the homeless and poor each and every month of the year?

Encouraging charitable food donations in November and charitable financial contributions in December enables people to check their personal “charity box” and forget about any further help. They can say, “Yep, I’ve done some good for the year and I don’t need to think about helping others until next year.” If our society is going to grow stronger, we cannot forget about people who are less fortunate than us for 10 to 11 months every year. We cannot simply buy several pounds of canned food and think that poverty has been alleviated by a meaningful degree. The idea that other people are suffering while we live comfortably should live in our minds like a rock in our shoe. We must remind ourselves every day that other people who live among us do not have the fundamentals necessary to ensure their wellbeing and happiness.

On the internet, it’s commonly stated that millennials are the most emotionally fragile group of Americans that exist. That argument is insubstantial when you consider the current actions of conservatives.

If you have not heard about what is happening down in Georgia, the state, which is run almost entirely by Republicans, is doing everything in their power to prevent black people from voting.

The state is rejecting absentee ballots, removing hundreds of thousands of people from the voter rolls, putting tens of thousands of voter applications on-hold ahead of the election, as well as physically stopping residents from voting. The majority (~70%) of those being prevented from voting are black. Simply put, Georgia’s Secretary of State Brian Kemp is systematically using his office to suppress votes and sway the November 2018 election.

This is a very, very dark time for democracy and representative government in the United States. There is no other way to put this: The Republican party is completely and wholly evil. The idea of minority voters participating in elections is anathema to Georgia Republicans.

Oh, and I nearly forgot to mention that Georgia votes entirely using digital machines which do not produce a paper voting record. The software used on Georgia’s voting machines is more than 10 years old. Additionally, after reports surfaced which showed that the Russians hacked state election systems around the country, Brian Kemp rejected federal offers to help secure Georgia’s voting systems. Since 2016, no actions have been performed in Georgia to increase the security of their voting systems.

The idea that we will be able to trust the results of Georgia’s 2018 midterm elections is laughable.

Nope!

In July 2015 a pregnant woman named Mara Mancini heard a commotion outside of her home in Indianapolis. She stepped out onto her front porch to investigate and that’s when a police dog from the Indianapolis Police Department ran up and severely mauled her.

The mauling left here with irreparable nerve damage to her arm which has seriously impaired its ability to function. The medical bills from multiple surgeries to fix the damage have forced Mancini into bankruptcy and the pain medications she took caused her son to be born with a drug dependency.

Instead of owning their actions, the Indianapolis Police Department denied all responsibility in the mauling. Mancini then sued the department for violating her Constitutional rights under the 4th Amendment, arguing that the attack violated her right against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Last week a judge ruled on the case that Mancini’s 4th Amendment rights were not violated because the police dog was not intentionally directed to attack her. Rather, she was considered an unintended bystander. Using this same line of reasoning, the police can legally shoot anyone as long as the shot was not intentionally directed at the person it hits.

This story is nothing less of disgusting and is an excellent example of how both the American judicial and law enforcement systems are broken. It is also one more example of how police are untouchable when it comes to legal accountability.

Judge: Police dog attack didn’t violate woman’s rights [AP News}