OPINION & EDITORIAL
Los Angeles Collegian — Wednesday, April May 11, 2016
Student Says Goodbye to Uncle, Expelled from Plane
Drop Stitch
BY LAVIELLE HIBBERT
ILLUSTRATION BY JIMMY MARTINEZ/COLLEGIAN
U.S. Currency Reflects 20/20 Vision
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BY ANDE RICHARDS
p until now white men of privilege have dominated the images on U.S currency. Paper money is the form we use most often, we even reference certain bills in song, but now it is not only about the “Benjamins.” There is a new face on the twenty-dollar bill and her name is Harriet Tubman. If you have not had the opportunity to study American history, or African American history, you may not be familiar with one of the great heroines of the Underground Railroad. Harriet Tubman was born a slave in a complicated situation where some of her relatives were free, and others were not. She escaped from her enslavers when she was in her 20’s. However, she returned to slave territory time and again using an elaborate secret network of safe houses known as the Underground Railroad, to usher relatives and other slaves to freedom. When the Fugitive Slave Law was enacted, Tubman rerouted the Railroad to Canada so that escaped slaves could not be hunted and returned to slave plantations. In addition to helping slaves gain their freedom, Tubman was active in the Civil War. She worked as a Union Army cook and nurse, but quickly became an armed scout and spy. She was the first woman to lead an armed expedition in the war, and was integral to the liberation of more than 700 slaves in South Carolina. That is the resume of the face on the new twenty-dollar bill. Other figures on our currency displayed attributes that were not as honorable. The one-dollar bill appropriately features George Washington the first president of the United States. There is much myth associated with Washington such as he never told a lie, he cut down a cherry tree, and the legend of his infamous wooden teeth. You may know that our first president was a slaveholder with upwards of 375 slaves on his estate. However, you probably weren’t aware that during the American Revolution when Washington was fighting for freedom from the British, his slaves, ironically, were escaping to the HMS Savage a British warship.
Furthermore, Washington’s slave, William Lee has the dubious distinction of fighting for his master’s freedom only to remain a slave until the death of Washington. Our third president was one of the largest slaveholders in Virginia. He has also been the subject of romantic lore over the ages. The widowed president fell in love with his wife’s half-sister, Sally Hemings (a slave), who strongly resembled his late wife Martha. What gets little attention is the fact that Hemings’ mother was a slave, and her father the plantation master. Sally was a slave because the mother determined a child’s legal status. Even more interesting, or perverse, is that at the time Jefferson took up with Hemings she was his property. According to his records she was only around 13 years old while Jefferson was in his early ‘40s. Let’s take a look at the man Tubman will share billing with on the twenty-dollar bill. Our seventh president, Andrew Jackson had several distasteful vices. Jackson lived with his first wife for a period of time while she was still married to her first husband. He was a chronic gambler, and had a reputation as a hothead. One of his many duels, he was involved in over100, resulted in the death of a rival horse breeder Charles Dickinson. Jackson belongs to the list of eight presidents who were slaveholders. Furthermore, he supported legislation that would extend slavery into the new western territories. While president, Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, which gave the federal government the power to exchange Native-held for land to the west. During his presidency thousands of Native Americans would be illegally pushed off their land and relocated in the west to what is now Oklahoma. These tribes would travel on foot to the new territories and were subject to disease and attacks, which resulted in the death of thousands of men, women and children. Their path west is disgracefully known as the Trail of Tears. On the new twenty-dollar bill Tubman is featured on one side, Jackson on the other. In her day Tubman was an outlaw with a price on her head. Today she would be viewed as an insurgent, maybe even a terrorist. While our forefathers bore a dignified status when they were alive and remain in a positive light today. Given the disparate histories of both figures its seems fitting they should share the bill since they perfectly reflect the duality of our American society.
Drop stitch is a knitting term. It happens when a stitch falls from the needle and creates a run in the fabric – it’s a mistake. However, sometimes stitches are dropped on purpose to create a new design. Ande Richards is an L.A.-based artist who does not know how to knit, but knows a lot about mistakes and reinvention.
Bieber, Kardashian Pictures Prove Double Standard BY BRENDA ROMERO Similar, but not equal describes the world in which we live. Misogynistic male domination and a lack of equality among the sexes is our reality. When a woman goes on dates with several male companions she is condemned by society and perceived as promiscuous. If a man does the same he is seen as being popular with the ladies. In a recent Huffington Post article, it was pointed out that women are judged harshly for having a messy home, being blunt, assertive, or for
being overweight. It is time to cut the brainless idea that women have to act a certain way to meet old societal expectations and standards. Not long ago, Kim Kardashian posted a nude picture of herself on Instagram. She placed black bars on her intimate parts, but people went crazy, she received backlash from the public, including many celebrities. CNN talk show host Piers Morgan offered to buy her clothes and Bette Midler told her “she will have to swallow her phone if she wants us to see something we haven’t.” Kardashian received criticism for being a bad role model, for making it seem like women are only good for getting naked. Late last year, Justin Bieber posted similar photos to social media and got two million likes. The public fawned over the photos and did not consider it degrading or narcissistic.
Many of his fans posted on Twitter and made it a joke. People had a laugh and moved on. Society over-sexualizes women. Women are more than just their bodies and what they post on social media. Women are powerful beings and have the right to express this empowerment however they see fit. Some women choose a sexy photo to exude their empowerment, for others it is demonstrated by being independent, going to school and working. If you have young girls in your life, and you don’t want them to emulate Kim Kardashian, then you have to become their role model. A woman can do whatever she wishes. Just as Bieber’s photo was perceived to be harmless, so was Kardashian’s. Women should be equal to men, so don’t judge when you see a women just being herself.
People are proud to show off their culture by the way they cook, dress or even speak. Khairuldeen Makhzoomi spoke in his native tongue but had a different experience. Makhzoomi, a 26 year-old political science and Eastern literature major at UC B e r k e l e y, talks about an incident that happened on an airplane April 6. “I was seated on a flight going from Los Angeles to Oakland and speaking Arabic on the phone with my uncle before takeoff when a nearby passenger made eye contact with me and got up from her seat,” Makhzoomi said. A Southwest Airline employee approached Makhzoomi and escorted him off the plane and back into the airport. He was detained and questioned by multiple security guards with police dogs, and FBI officers about his phone call and his luggage in front of dozens of onlookers. For Makhzoomi, simply saying goodbye to his uncle in Arabic was enough to cause fear in those around him.
This is a case of Xenophobia. The intense or irrational dislike or fear of people from other countries. Xenophobia is a reaction to paranoia, resentment and hatred for anyone from abroad. Anyone who is nonwhite, is a target as long as the person is a newcomer (a foreigner). In my experience, I have been criticized by the way I talk because I come from Jamaica. I speak patois, which is the informal speech used in Jamaica. Society makes fun, or is afraid of, what they don’t understand. Forcing an immigrant to suppress the language they were raised to speak is unfair. America is the land of immigrants. This unique quality is both a blessing and a source of ongoing problems. The blessing is that many different immigrants bring their talent and expertise to our country. The problem is racism. It gives birth to another form of hate and discrimination where people automatically assume that something different is harmful. Like speaking a language other than English in public. It should not matter if you speak a language other than English. We live in a country that is culturally diverse. We shouldn’t be profiled just because we are of a different nationality, and we speak differently. We all have a goal but it doesn’t mean we should bring each other down. The more we help each other and stop discriminating, the better this great country will be for us all.
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Collegian Media Arts Department Chemistry 207 Los Angeles City College 855 N. Vermont Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90029
Editors-in-Chief Sorina Szakacs Tomas Rodriguez Opinion/Editorial Ande Richards Sports Hector Lopez Cheyenne Finch Layout Editor Richard Martinez Graphic Designers Jimmy Martinez Photographers Curtis Sabir Erika Almanza Reporters Jason Piskopus Clinton Cameron Beatrice Anoh Naomi L. Johnson Emmanuella Durogene Rebecca Klinesmith Multimedia Producers Dave Martin Frank Vidrio Advertising Staff Mike Frenes Adviser Rhonda Guess
Look at Me, Looking at Me BY LEEZA RAY FOUAD On average we check our phones 46 times a day. According to a recent Gallup Poll, at least 52 percent of smartphone owners check their cellphones hourly. It must have something to do with the fact that most Americans have a smartphone by them all day and many all night. In our society, we are not simply limited to the abilities of what a traditional cell phone can do. We have apps like Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Social media has taken over our lives to the point that we are shackled to our phones. Taking photos and blogging about a life we wish to live is addicting. When we enjoy an aspect of our day, we want to remember those moments by taking pictures. We may want to show off a new hairstyle, or the way we applied our makeup that day. We also take photos to capture an emotion that we are feeling in the moment. In our society, when we take photos we try our very best to accentuate fea-
tures that are most commonly praised, or recognized in Western culture. Blonde hair, blue eyes, light-toned skin, a thin and tall body and high cheekbones are the most desired. We rate our beauty on the praise of others. We take photos of ourselves and by posting them online, we want to show others that we are beautiful. We present ourselves the way that we write in our blog and elevate ourselves on the beauty scale. The sole purpose of social media is to give false perception of a better version of ourselves, or to top others. This vanity game is played back and forth with friends, family, celebrities, fashion icons and musicians. In a subverted way, this behavior convinces a person that being unique is not an option. Being unique is a rare sight in social media, because everyone is trying to one-up each other to the point where everyone begins to look alike. Greek mythology has a reoccurring theme of gods and goddesses tormenting mere mortals. I believe that this is also very true in the social media world. People put themselves on a pedestal by showing off their looks, and they intimidate society with the things they say. We truly have no need to bind ourselves to our cell phones, not even for social media. I propose we go free of our cell phones for 24 hours. Then, we can experience the bountiful amount of time we are given daily.
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