11 minute read
Opinion & Editorial
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What We Must Do When Freedom Comes
by PauLette meza
What will we do with newfound information?
Time has lost all meaning. If you’re reading this, it means you followed protocol and reached freedom, finally!
A moment of silence for all those who perished because of the incompetence of one president, the inefficiency of an entire government, and the greed of corporations. But, at least, we are here together.
We endured weeks of self-isolation in the name of our loved ones and neighbors. We learned community comes before anything else. That good people can be found in the face of crisis, people who would risk their own lives to save others.
We learned that we are all interconnected with the planet and each other.
We learned that without kindness and empathy, this could have been so much worse. We also learned that some of our lowest paid workers are essential to our survival.
Perhaps now, we can discuss an actual living wage. We learned that corporations cannot run America. In fact, they need our tax dollars to bail them out — many times over.
They will also continue to abuse and exploit their workers, as long as there is money to be made. We learned that we can cancel rent and mortgage payments and essential utilities, including internet access. Who knew?
Paid leave is necessary and accessible for any job. Sick hours can be cashed in whenever the employee chooses — without a doctor’s note. We learned that many industries are precariously built and collapsed at the beginning of the quarantine — namely, the restaurant industry.
We learned schools can provide free computers and internet providers can provide free internet access to students. EBooks can be accessed freely, instead of paying $100-plus for one textbook.
In fact, the list of what we have learned during this quarantine can continue on and on, but the important thing now, is to discuss what we will do with this information.
Above all, we cannot let ourselves fall back into life before the quarantine. We cannot go back and we should not want to.
Our best days, individually and as a nation, are not in the past, they are ahead of us. Armed with this new knowledge, gathered over hours upon hours of scrolling and #SaferAtHome, we can forge a better society. One that takes into account our most vulnerable citizens. We have been given a do-over, at an impossibly high cost and body count. Let’s make it worth something more. *Paulette Meza won the Columbia University Scholastic Press Association second place Gold Circle Award opinion piece. We reprint it here because of its illuminating and timely message.
Texas Heartbeat Law Creates Death Penalty for Women
by KeLiyah WiLLiams
As of today, it has been 28 days since the Texas “ Heartbeat Act “ (TX S.B. 8) was implemented.
The “Heartbeat Act” allows any person to sue someone who performs or induces an abortion, or aids and abets one, once “cardiac activity” in an embryo can be detected via transvaginal ultrasound, which is usually possible beginning at around six weeks of pregnancy.
That is 28 days that a woman who has just found out she is six weeks pregnant after one week of a missed period is being forced to keep a baby with no further decision of her own.
Twenty-eight days since a little girl or young woman is forced to miss out on her childhood and become a mother instead.
Twenty-eight days since a rape victim is forced to keep her baby despite her mental or physical well-being.
Twenty-eight days since a brave mother of two finally has enough money to flee her abusive partner and start over, but now is faced with another mouth to feed.
Twenty-eight days since the woman who just did not want to be a mother is forced to be one anyway.
Twenty-eight days since Texas chose to police women’s bodies but not the threats of gun violence.
Twenty-eight days that women’s rights have been threatened.
Those in support of the “heartbeat law” are actively killing and endangering women everywhere. This law is not helpful to women or fetuses. Texans may think they are saving a life by being against abortions. But really, anyone in support of the Texas “heartbeat bill” has openly congratulated women and girls on the death of their childhood, adulthood, freedom, safety, security and in some cases themselves.
Parents Lose Choice with Mandatory Vaccines
by ronnisha gunn
Forcing anyone, especially a child as young as 12 years old, to get vaccinated is wrong. As the mother, I feel I deserve the right to choose what goes into my child’s body. The largest public school district in California apparently disagrees with me.
The L.A. Unified School District announced on Sept. 9 that mandatory vaccinations are required in efforts to decrease the number of COVID-19 cases. Students who are 12 years and older must be fully vaccinated by Jan. 10, 2022, in order to continue in-person learning.
While many health care providers and teachers can argue that they know what is best for all children because they are around them every day, I stand strong on my statement that every child is different and may be affected differently by these vaccines. What about children who have underlying health conditions? They are not exempt from going to school or getting the vaccine.
Bethel Ford is the mother of 12-year-old Christopher Ford who attends Animo Legacy Charter Middle School. She says she feels uneasy about the mandatory vaccine.
“It was hard enough to do online learning because of my work schedule and not being able to take off,” she said. “And now he can be back on campus but is being forced to get shots by January, which again will interfere with my work schedule. I don’t know what side effects he might have and pass to his little brother who is only nine years old. It’s always something.”
Some individuals have religious views that compel them to avoid vaccination. Some fear they do not know how their body will react upon getting the shot, and they may have a severe allergic reaction.
The fears parents have of vaccinations for their children are not uncommon.
A Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that 50% of parents of children 12-17 years old say they are still opposed to their child receiving the vaccine or would rather “wait and see.” The poll also found that major reasons for concern are fear of side effects (88%) and concern for their child’s fertility (79%).
Ultimately, I feel being vaccinated should be a choice not forced upon anyone.
The Los Angeles Unified School District has resources available for vaccine hesitant parents on the District website at https://achieve. lausd.net/resources. The Student and Family Wellness Helpdesk can also be reached at (213) 241-3840.
Freedom Texas Style: a whole lotta preyin’ goin’ on
by John Johns
The Texas abortion law, known officially as Senate Bill 8, amounts to a nearly complete ban on abortion in the state. It prohibits most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy and makes no exceptions for pregnancies resulting from incest or rape. For the moment, it is the most restrictive law in the
country.
The law that the good ole boys and a few gals in the Texas legislature passed amounts to an end run around of normal governance. It prohibits government agencies, such as police, from enforcing the law. Instead, it deputizes “right thinkin’” citizens to take matters into their own hands by snitching or suing anyone who had knowledge of someone who has had an abortion past the six-week deadline. The law offers bounties of $10,000 with each successful civil prosecution.
Hey, that’s better than a Christmas bonus, unless you are a CEO.
In a state where the brainless worship guns even more than Jesus, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor brought bounty hunting into focus in her dissenting opinion of the 5-4 decision that let the Texas law stand.
“In effect, the Texas Legislature has deputized the State’s citizens as bounty hunters, offering them cash prizes for civilly prosecuting their neighbors’ medical procedures,” Sotomayor wrote in her opinion.
So, for a group of people who have been diametrically opposed to social engineering, such as racial equality, this law does just that. The law’s enforcement invokes the good old days of traditional Texas mob justice, when “he had it coming to him” was the accepted legal norm for lynching any Black man. These social events were always nicer when held just after Sunday services and along with a picnic. Family fun for everyone.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott was asked why the state would force a victim of rape or incest to carry a pregnancy to term? To which he gave a response worthy of his “norm.” “Rape is a crime, and Texas will work tirelessly to make sure we eliminate all rapists from the streets of Texas by aggressively going out and arresting them and prosecuting them and getting them off the streets. So, goal No. 1 in the state of Texas is to eliminate rape so that no woman, no person, will be a victim of rape.”
Never mind that most rape victims know their rapist.
The law’s author, Joseph F. Mitchell, is a former Texas solicitor general and law clerk for former Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Mitchell was best known for litigation to limit the power of unions.
According to the New York Times, Mitchell was raised in a religious home and is the oldest of seven brothers. He attended Wheaton College, a small school in Illinois that “prepares students to make an impact for Christ,” and whose most famous alumnus is Billy Graham.
Rest assured Mitchell, 45, would never have been selected as Scalia’s clerk without having a total lack of understanding of the problems of the poor, of women and of people of color, and least of all for expanding the notion of freedom through civil rights.
Understanding the hypocrisy of the right wing is central to understanding where we are as a country. The Texas law undermines government authority. In the spirit of the Jan. 6 putsch, it legalizes government sanctioned vigilantism. It is a method used effectively by dictatorships to turn citizens against one another. Make no mistake. Texas is a fascist state, and the Eyes of Texas are upon you!
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city Views
ComPiLed by mattheW rodriguez
AngelICA heRReRA, sOPhOmORe “I feel on the fence about going back to campus. On the one hand, I wouldn’t want to spread COVID to anyone’s family. But also, online learning can’t continue forever.” AngelIkA YuDAkOVA, FReshmAn “Although I really miss in person classes and being on campus, I think the best time to go back fully would be when we know for certain that it is safe for everyone. This would be when everyone is vaccinated and the risk of someone being sick is minimal.” lAuRA lOPez, sOPhOmORe “I don’t know if it’s realistic to think that COVID can be eradicated completely. And online learning isn’t sustainable in the long term, at least for myself, so I’m prepared to get vaccinated and back on campus next semester.” sTORmY meYeRs, sOPhOmORe “I’m vaccinated, so I don’t see a reason why I shouldn’t feel comfortable going back to campus given everything we know about the nature of COVID and the protocols in place. It’s time.”
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Georgia, Florida Consider Similar Legislation to Texas Abortion Law
iLLustration by miChaeL sitar
