Journal 4: Andrew Joseph

I didn't realize it was this long until I hit "Publish".  -_-

I read the link on Kaepernick, the Police Videos and the NCAA stripping NC of college championships because of un-equal rights. I found these three to intertwine just based off discrimination and oppression. Kaepernick’s refusal to stand for the National Anthem, the excessive brutality brought on by police, and the penalization of an association to a state because of a newly contested law. I, personally, believe in one unified body of the nation made up by all of its inhabitants (us, as human beings). I also believe that there is oppression everywhere we look. It can be found in race, gender, sexuality, religious beliefs, job rankings and so on. I can’t help but connect these topics to freedom of speech as well. For the sake of equal rights Kaepernick takes a knee or doesn’t stand for the National Anthem for the the people who lost their lives, because of the color of their skin. He has the right to use his voice and stand up, metaphorically in this case, for what he believes in. The NCAA revoked North Carolinas right to host championships because of their resistance to a law in regards to transgendered and gay rights. They are all NCAA championships the Association has the right to do what they wish with their own championships. As I said before I believe in a unified Nation where we all stand together regardless of our differences. I think something else could be done by Kaepernick rather than kneeling or sitting down. Maybe start a foundation for the lost lives of the people and their families. Instead of just kneeling. I believe that the National Anthem and our Nation is something that binds us all together with respect and honor. Even honoring the soldiers who have fallen to give us the freedoms we have. As someone who has sang the National Anthem for sporting events, it gives you a new perspective. I love to see everyone from all over rise from their seats, take off their hats, and take pride in the country they reside in. Our differences and actions may separate us, where we come from will bring us back together. To see everyone from opposing sides stand and actually do something as one, gives me hope that one day we can all stand side by side regardless of who we are inside and out. Linked below I put a version of the national anthem that I believe is powerful and full of pride. How can we kneel or not feel honor coming from USA while hearing something like this? (WARNING: She doesn't sing it "correctly", as my mother would say, but nonetheless its powerful.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5tRiz6gA_U

The activism issue I chose is a group of people, consisting of three women, who identities are unknown. They are known as the Guerrilla Girls. These three individuals go around and peacefully protest injustice for women around the world, while wearing Gorilla masks to protect their identities. What they do is they either make their own posters or billboards and put facts about the injustice that women face in art communities or creatively inclined communities to bring about awareness of the wrong doing. These women print off the posters in bulk and tag buildings around these communities where the artists are known to travel. In 2015 they did a huge movement in New York where they shined one of their posters on a jumbo-tron and the whole city saw. These women are diverse in their protesting, traveling all over the world and bringing about social change wherever they can. That means they print these posters off in many different languages. The Guggenheim Museum in New York City was having a huge exhibition that was crashed by these women. They tagged buildings all around where the perspective art viewers (some of them buyers) were waiting to see the new creations. The Guerrilla's posters gave statistics of the number of women artists in the mid 1980's as compared to the stats in 2015, needless to say nothing had changed. Leaving the Guggenheim's head count for the exhibition lower than what they had waiting in line earlier in that evening. Their hands are all over the fire of injustice when it comes to women. In the UK they are apart of the Amnesty International's Stop Violence Against Women campaign. They posted Anti-Film Industry billboards in Hollywood, right before the Oscars. They have been featured in the New York Times and on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. I chose these women as the activist issue because I believe in what they are doing. I can't help but think of the world telling my daughter she can't do something when she has more than the skills and the capabilities to do it, and maybe even more qualified than the people doing it already. The Guerrilla Girls have a website were they give you info on there previous protests and the interview with Stephen Colbert.

The Guerrilla Girls make posters like these to bring about change were they see discrimination. Their peaceful protesting has gained attention from all over the world. They travel city to city, country to country to help people of the oppressed nature with a focus on women.

The profile that I have chosen to respond about is the one from Dugout Dick Zimmereman I liked it because he had a "what do I have to lose." kind of attitude that resonated with me. My favorite part was his explanations of the "tourist attraction". He says "It's a pretty good deal if you want to rough it a little. I only charge two dollars a night for a room. No swimming pool but we got a hot springs over that hill. No TV but I play the guitar, and the people seem to like it." His place of rooms kind of reminds me of something straight out of a John Wayne movie, surrounded by nothing but sand and hills. Comparing it to today I find that we as people dive into our phones or computers and can't connect to anything or anyone else but wifi. I think that we might not be able to do that so easily because we're afraid of what we might see of our selves if we became alone and introverted. "I like the solitude, the reclusiveness. I'm away from town. Bars. Out here I have to become introverted, and thats a scary damn deal - looking at yourself. Really scary." One final note that I have is how happy his picture looks. Apparently what he found out there wasn't so bad.