Silver Linings- Seeing Small Light in the Tragedy of Newtown

Today, while browsing the internet and coming across some good ol' Sunday morning politics, I came across a story that ended with a statement from some who represents the NRA that not only peaked my interest but seemed so immoral that it couldn't get passed up.

"The National Rifle Association distanced itself Tuesday from a comment made by a lobbyist for one of its “chartered organizations” in Wisconsin, who said recently that gun rights proponents need only to wait out the “Connecticut Effect” before passing laws loosening restrictions on guns." (full story here)

"The brush-off came three days after Welch was recorded telling an audience at a Wisconsin state NRA meeting that the group has 'a strong [lobbying] agenda coming up for next year, but of course a lot of that’s going to be delayed as the 'Connecticut effect' has to go through the process.'" (full story here)

And here is an audio of his comment.



Wisconsin lobbyist Bob Welch, shown here in this 2004 photo handing out literature during his Republican primary run for the U.S. Senate.


Now, before I talk more on what I think, I went and looked up information on Bob Welch. I couldn't find much, but here is what I found. According to his lobbying firm:

"A graduate of MATC and Ripon College, Bob is a land-surveyor by profession, and served in the State legislature for twenty years. Bob was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1984, quickly rising to leadership positions. After ten years of service, Bob was elected to the State Senate in 1995, serving until 2004. The eventual sale of the surveying business allowed Bob and Jeanne to expand and diversify the services of The Welch Group. An active member of national political organizations, Bob has expertise in both national and international policy and business." (Source)

That's about all I can find that speaks to his character from him officially. I am trying to stay unbiased on forming an opinion of him, outside of this comment, but cant seem to find much. If anyone knows more please email me at mlchrzan@outlook.com. But right now, seems like he is no different from those who would knowingly surrender what is best for everyone in place of personal gain. Not my type of person and not one I particularly care for either.
 
So, now onto what I think, after finding all of this...

I hate that this is what had to happen to make this a reality with all my heart and soul, but do you know what's the glimmering sparkle of hope for the Newtown shooting? It's outside of the talk on gun violence (and violence in general) that has been LONG overdue.
 
It's that, for the first time in this type of situation happening, and it has happened FAR too often, I don't know the name of the shooter. I know little to nothing about the shooter. Every time someone talks about it, they talk about the tragedy of almost 30 lives being lost, a number of those being children. They talk about the 2 administrators that immediately ran to protect their students after they heard the first shot. They talk about the teacher who hid her 30 students in cupboards and took the bullet for them. They talk about what should be talked about so that we can finally enact common sense, positive, change that we all so desperately need. I hate silver linings. But I understand how dark it would be without them. Don't let the "Connecticut Effect" pass. Especially not before we get some shred of future peace and justice for those children and educators. Silver linings. Got to hate 'em.
 
So no, Mr. Welch, the 'Connecticut Effect' will not pass so that you can continue lobbying. Because people, the people who those you lobby to, are tired of the games and the antics that halt progress and, eventually, hurt us all. We're tired and we want change and we will get it.
 
That's Where I Stand

Intolerant of Ignorance- A Beautiful Quote

Happy Friday Everybody! 

Saw this on the interwebs and found it so inspiring and relatable to what I am trying to accomplish with my blog. (picture from Google)  

Maya Angelou 

“My mother said I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy. That some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and more intelligent than college professors.”
— Maya Angelou

We must work to abolish ignorance, especially willful and stubborn ignorance, and be open to learning from others. Everyone has a story to tell, a history to learn from, and we all have something we can learn from one another. Our stories are our collective history. We should strive to make it one we can be proud of. 

Happy a safe and happy weekend! 

No Less for Yourself- My Stance on Israeli Democracy and Justice

Today, I saw something on Tumblr that really spiked my interest in a topic that I had not actually thought to ever discuss. However, as someone who wants to try to always do what's right, it can't mean just right to me, or even what is right to my part of the world. It's about that notion of what's right that so many scholars before me held up that I now take on as my own.

Being 'right' is made to be very subjective in today's world. However, I believe 'right' is not subjective but objective; it is not something we each define on our own but is a notion, a higher notion, of respect for life and humanity that should come as natural to us as breathing but at times leaves our minds as quickly as breath leaves our lungs. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere*, after all, and we should all be astounded and offended by injustice, NOT complacent because of it's prevalence. I hold true the fact that there are things 'right' for each of us as individuals. But I also challenge the idea that what we hold as unrighteousness in one domain should be considered okay in another. We should not be hypocrites to ourselves.

In light of that idea I quote Judith Butler, speaking at Brooklyn college 2 days ago on the topic of the Israeli democracy.


Judith Butler

“If Israel is to be considered a democracy, the non-Jewish population deserves equal rights under the law, as do the Mizrachim (Arab Jews) who represent over 30 percent of the population. Presently, there are at least twenty laws that privilege Jews over Arabs within the Israeli legal system. The 1950 Law of Return grants automatic citizenship rights to Jews from anywhere in the world upon request, while denying that same right to Palestinians who were forcibly dispossessed of their homes in 1948 or subsequently as the result of illegal settlements and redrawn borders. Human Rights Watch has compiled an extensive study of Israel’s policy of “separate, not equal” schools for Palestinian children. Moreover, as many as 100 Palestinian villages in Israel are still not recognized by the Israeli government, lacking basic services (water, electricity, sanitation, roads, etc.) from the government. Palestinians are barred from military service, and yet access to housing and education still largely depends on military status. Families are divided by the separation wall between the West Bank and Israel, with few forms of legal recourse to rights of visitation and reunification. The Knesset debates the “transfer” of the Palestinian population to the West Bank, and the new loyalty oath requires that anyone who wishes to become a citizen pledge allegiance to Israel as Jewish and democratic, thus eliding once again the non-Jewish population and binding the full population to a specific and controversial, if not contradictory, version of democracy.”
           

—

Judith Butler Butler, in addition to her rather impressive academic credentials, is a Jewish woman who has been criticized for supporting the BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) movement. She made the following response to her critics back in August: "I am a scholar who gained an introduction to philosophy through Jewish thought, and I understand myself as defending and continuing a Jewish ethical tradition that includes figures such as Martin Buber and Hannah Arendt. I received a Jewish education in Cleveland, Ohio at The Temple under the tutelage of Rabbi Daniel Silver where I developed strong ethical views on the basis of Jewish philosophical thought. I learned, and came to accept, that we are called upon by others, and by ourselves, to respond to suffering and to call for its alleviation. But to do this, we have to hear the call, find the resources by which to respond, and sometimes suffer the consequences for speaking out as we do. I was taught at every step in my Jewish education that it is not acceptable to stay silent in the face of injustice. Such an injunction is a difficult one, since it does not tell us exactly when and how to speak, or how to speak in a way that does not produce a new injustice, or how to speak in a way that will be heard and registered in the right way. My actual position is not heard by these detractors, and … [i]t is untrue, absurd, and painful for anyone to argue that those who formulate a criticism of the State of Israel is anti-Semitic or, if Jewish, self-hating."  Humanity, then, is not a subjective thought or a fleeting feeling. It is helping your fellow man and affording them those respects and rights you would expect no less of for yourself.     I would expect no less, then, for the Palestinians who are struggling against Israel.   If you have something you would like to add to try and change my opinion, please let me know! I do claim a lot of ignorance to of the history behind this struggle and even how it plays outs currently and would like to know more from both sides. You can comment here or email me at mlchrzan@outlook.com   But for now...   This is Where I Stand. *Quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

A Letter to Todd

Hi,

I know I have not uploaded much but I am working on what I think will be a powerful first major piece for this blog. Keep an eye out for it; "Responsibility."

In the mean time, I have decided to write smaller ideas on topics that come accross my attention such as with former exec. of SC GOP, Todd Kincannon's, defense of openly mocking people affected by Katrina and the death of Trayvon Martin on Twitter this past sunday. 

Todd Kincannon in his Twitter Profile Picture 

A quote from the former exec defending his remarks reads: 

"“I think it is funny to make jokes that enlighten people on political problems,” Kincannon said. He added the purpose of satire “sometimes is to offend people, to teach a lesson.”~Raw Story (http://s.tt/1znAR)

No. What The Daily Show and The Colbert Report do is political satire, that is comedy for the sake of enlightening people and offending people to get a point accross. What you did was completely insult the death of a young man who even if he was a "thug," as you so beautifully and stereotypically put it, did not deserve to be shot like he was and for something as trivial as skin color, an issue a lot of people think we are past but it becomes so apparent everyday that we have SO much more work to do, as incompetent politicians like you prove. 

If you can't understand why the death of Trayvon was political, you sir, are clearly no politician and if you can't understand the differnece between political satire and blatant disregard for the sanctity of life I doubt your humanity as well. 

That's where I stand.