The systemic injustice I am going to talk about is the one from my most recent systemic post, the difference in weight rooms between the women that made the NCAA March Madness tournament and the men that made the tournament.  There is going to be a picture in this post comparing the two.  Just to touch base, and go over again what is going on.  There is a video that went viral from a women NCAA athlete showing the two weight rooms and showing the huge difference between them both, with the women just have a set of 12 dumbbells while the men had a full set gym to have a workout in.  I will go over both main arguments from both sides, the people on the side of women deserving more equipment are making the argument, that the women collegiate athletes or just women in general in any athletic scenario can compete with the same level male athletes.  The other side of the argument is that men bring in $800 million every season, while the women lose an estimated $14 million in revenue every season.  The morally right thing is to use some of the extra money the men bring in on the women so they can get more advanced things, but the argument that the women did not earn it is the argument mainly thrown out there, which is not right for the way we want society to head.

Something this can relate to in our class is Satrapi’s goals in Persepolis.  A quote that we went over in our class from Satrapi is, “The only thing I hope is that people will read my book and see that this abstract thing, this Axis of Evil, is made up of individuals with lives and hopes”.  They way I take this quote is that people form the “Axis of Evil” through their own individualist ideals and their personal hopes.  That is why the women get a lower grade weight room than the men, because they do not see any benefit in it for them, because they do not get national attention and bring in the same money as men, as a society it should be that we are trying to help one another out not bring one another down.  

The YouTube link I have attached is a more recent video going over the whole situation and showing the women’s new weight room.  It was nice for them to get a whole new weight room but it should have just been this way from the get go.  The NCAA directors try to act like a group of people that want to get rid of any systemic injustices in their system but then they go and let something like this happen, it is ridiculous and uncalled for.

Works Cited:

https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/sports/ncaaw/2021/03/27/march-madness-why-cant-ncaa-get-womens-basketball-right/7012017002/

Shown here is the very new Dublin Coffman Emerald Campus building. It is an incredible upgrade to the already large, up to date, and expensive campus Coffman boasts. I pass this building often on drives around I-270, and after many of our reading and systemic injustice assignments, and pondering on the idea of systemic injustices, this particular injustice hit me instantly. Integral to the fight for equal rights of whites and blacks in this country is the right to equal education, and this Emerald Campus, as compared to the insufficiently funded inner city schools, is a prime example of systemic injustice, on multiple levels, here in present day Columbus. The most apparent level being the income gap created by the system, and how this education gap only fans this flame. With the Civil Rights Act of 1964, blacks and whites were, for the most part, legally equal. But, white people had an 188 year advantage in education and ability to work and create generational wealth, meaning that though blacks and whites were legally equal and free, they were not on the same level of financial freedom. So, black people started to move to cities in order to find better jobs and education that whites had already taken advantage of. When this happened, the racist whites, and their wealth, who did not want to be associated with African Americans, fled to create the suburbs. With this greater wealth, as opposed to less in the cities, the suburbs were able to collect much more taxes and use that money to fund their schools, as is shown even today with the Emerald Campus.

This situation is a prime example and textbook definition of the term “white flight” in which white people view these outsiders as “Others” and flee the city so they didn’t have to associate with the new people moving into the cities. Attached below is an article from the Columbus Dispatch that explains the link between poverty and poor grades in Columbus Public Schools, a near direct result of the “white flight”.

https://www.dispatch.com/news/20190920/poverty-and-poor-performance-linked-in-school-report-cards

This education disparity over the years has caused people in the city to receive much worse education than those in the suburbs, providing much less of a chance to receive a well paying job and escape from generational poverty. Now I must say, “people in the city” does not necessarily refer to only African Americans, but, as a result of this white flight, they have been affected much more than any other race. In order for this to change, residents of the area need to allocate tax money for education equally, especially to the inner city, and not only to the suburbs leaving the city out to dry.

image citation: https://www.dublinschools.net/EmeraldCampus

Last week my diary was regarding the treatment of women in immigration detention centers, specifically issues with reproductive health. This week, keeping with the theme of mistreatment of immigrants in US detention centers and the novel The Leavers by Ko, I want to bring up the topic of undocumented minors. It has been a hot topic in the news since the Biden administration has taken office that the number of unaccompanied minors in US detention centers. In the novel, Deming, the young man was taken to child services and left by a friend after his mother left him with her. What the children are experiencing today is much different than Deming’s experience. These children are left unattended by their guardians at the Mexican and the US will not turn away an unaccompanied minor. There has been a huge influx of over 10,000 children left at the US and Mexico border in the past few months (bbc.com, 2021). In my opinion the US is doing the best they can with what they have but there are people that believe the US is doing these children an injustice because they are in confined buildings where they cannot social distance, they are not be fed properly, and they are not getting the care they deserve but these children’s families did them an injustice (bbc.com, 2021). They brought them to an unfamiliar place and left them. I understand that they brought them here for a better life, safety or more opportunity but there is no guarantee that any of this will happen. These children have had an injustice on both sides of the border.

The law is that unaccompanied minors are held by Customs and Border Control(CBP) for no more than 72 hours and then released to the refugee department for further processing and possibly being placed with a volunteer sponsor or family relatives here in the United States. (Montoya-Galvez, 2021). Since the influx of children started in January, the process has been delayed and children are being held by CBP longer than the law allows and to some, they are being treated unjustly.

“What Is Happening with Migrant Children at the Southern US Border?” BBC News, BBC, 17 Mar. 2021, www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56405009

Montoya-Galvez, Camilo. “The Facts about How the U.S. Processes Unaccompanied Migrant Children at the Border.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 2021, www.cbsnews.com/news/unaccompanied-migrant-children-united-states-processing-housing/

In week seven we took a look into the oppression of woman, after war time, having no option but to wear a vail, even if they did not want to. In this article we take a took at how Iranian officials reacted to the black lives matter movement that swept the United States and other places around the world. Immediately following the murdering of George Floyd it was observed that Iranian officials did not shy away from condemning him murder. Government officials did not focus on the idea of justice from the actions of the police, rather they use this opportunity as a way to further speak their narrative.

They more or less are condemning the years of brutality African Americans have faced, they will not advocate for the need for justice in America, they will not take responsibility to reflect on Irans past with racism and treatment. One survey that reflects the racism and segregation that Iran backs is that carried out by the Iranian students polling agency. It was discovered 43% of respondents support a ban on Afghan nationals living in the city. It also reports that 44% want Afghan residents to be forced to live in designated living.

One of the most hard hitting quotes from the article states, “Iranian officials have not spoken out to promote racial justice or free speech. They have spoken out to take advantage of the instability within the United States to distract from their own human rights violations and to attract sympathy and support for their narrative of being the victim of a global tyrant.”

With this narrative, the idea that countries outside the united states have responded to the black lives matter movement in a negative light, a course concept that becomes reflected is the idea of the one and the other. As seen by the statistics stated in the article many respondents see black Israelis as the other and themselves as the one. The black Israelis have become the outside group as many believe they should be sanctioned away from living in many large areas of the country, a blatant disregard for the group as people and as a whole.

In regard to this article it opened my eyes to the ways the movement have been seen in places other than the USA. Before researching and reading this article I had little to no knowledge on the effect the BLM movement had across the world. I now am in understanding that places did not respond in ways like the USA did, rather many middle eastern countries responded in the opposite manner that what occurred in other western countries.

Iranian officials’ hypocritical support of #BlackLivesMatter

Since early 2020 (and one could argue even earlier) there has been an increased focus in general on social justice, and in particular, the ability of governments, companies, and individuals to make positive change to address both current societal issues and issues stemming from the past with respect to the treatment, visibility, and rights of minorities in the United States. It is no coincidence that messages of these ideas spread like wildfire throughout social media, where sharing ideas, even with the threat of a minor controversy, is extremely convenient and easy. These messages and pro-social justice accounts are not new, and groups dedicated to maintaining these accounts and propagating their messages have always existed, but the ability to spread messages quickly for free is a new phenomenon, and the results of this newfound ability are not always positive. With any movement there comes a risk of that movement becoming little more than a vehicle for some to display their own virtue as a subtle form of bragging to others.

Many of us most likely witnessed the way in which this materialized, often from the same people, and sometimes from people whom we did not expect. Perhaps you even saw an example of such a post today. These posts are often from pages with questionable owners and ethically dubious business models often using stolen or reused content.

An example of the format of these popular consumable posts Source: https://thedesignofculture.com/instagram-activism/

The problems with these pages however is not that they come from ethically questionable sources. The fact that they are designed so well and have a simple, modern look makes them appeal to young people, who tend to be more interested in maintaining an “aesthetic,” or a consistent look that allows their pages to be more presentable.

The tragedy of such a trend is that the guides and posts often shared are widely accessible by many people, easy to read, and pleasant on the eyes, so they can be used as vehicles for spreading awareness, but the way in which people abuse a simple sharing of them for the selfish purpose of appearing “woke” or appearing to be compassionate or virtuous is narcissistic at best and nefarious at worst.

@feminist: a popular feminism-themed Instagram page promoting gender issues was recently discovered to be run exclusively by two white men as an online business. Source: https://therevivalzine.com/2020/10/26/the-truth-behind-instagram-account-feminist/

You may be tempted to share some of these posts on your social media page, but it is important to investigate the sources and determine whether they are truly attempting to spread awareness of a lesser-known issue or they are simply producing another consumable product to be sold.

Before sharing ask yourself, am I giving my friends valuable information, am I honestly sharing my enthusiasm for solving these social problems through action, am I providing material support (donations and physical aid), or am I simply using these quick messages to pad my social credit score?

Sharing without truly helping seems harmless, but without making any further attempts to contribute to a movement, you are doing little to support it; instead, you are unintentionally diluting a message through reckless repetition.

More information:

Vox: How social justice slideshows took over Instagram

The Do-Gooder Ploy: Social justice as a business model

This week, I found a news: “Eight people, most of them women of Asian descent, were killed Tuesday night in three shooting at Atlanta-area spas before police arrested a 21-year-old man suspected of being the lone gunman.” Besides, according to report, “The police said the suspect had previously been a customer of at least two of the businesses where eight people were killed. Also, the House held its first hearing on anti-Asian discrimination in three decades.”

Although the suspect denies he discriminates against Asians, a number of increasingly people think this case was race-related. After this murder case, it pushed Asians into a hate crime atmosphere. The Asian civil rights groups, current officials at all levels, and Chinese associations across United States came out with condemnation statements and emphasized that racial hate crime must be stopped. On the other hand, the hash “#StopAsianHate” topped Twitter and people of all races, genders and ages takes to the street in California, Pennsylvania, New York, Washington to protest against Asian hate. Meanwhile, all kinds of celebrities are the first time to stand out, attack the crime and support the Asian community. NBA officials twitted that “ Last night’s tragic events in Atlanta are part of a disturbing rise in violence and discrimination towards Asian Americans. Today and every day, we stand with the Asian community and condemn all acts of hate and racism.”

This is a classical example of systemic injustice. The Asian community is always easy to ignore. The essence of problem about injustice for Asian American is voice totally weak. As a saying goes from China, tolerate temporary calm the broader picture. However, the Asian community can no longer be silent. We should support each other and fight back when faced with threats and crimes. In recent years, accompanying with rise of Asians in America, an increasing number of Non-Asian Americans begins to hate and discriminate Asian Americans. This is largely because they see immigrant Asians as “one” from “others” described in our course. These Non-Asian Americans think Asians rob a number of job opportunities and fortune. For instance, Asians have remained a quite political and cultural force around Atlanta over the past few decades. In this situation, Asian Americans should unite to confront the racial discrimination.

Sources from: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/03/17/us/shooting-atlanta-acworth

Women are prone to face injustices in our society. Women had to fight for everything since the beginning of this country. Women fought for their basic rights such as voting rights; they face discrimination in almost every field such as access to education, wage structure in the workforce, representation in congress. A widespread issue is the rising wage gap between men and women. Women are discriminated in the workforce based on their gender and are paid less for their work than men for the same amount of work and effort. A prominent example of such incident was the lawsuit against the United States Soccer Federation by the USWNT members who sought a fair wage structure for women and men athletes. Their lawsuit argues that women athletes are being paid much less than the male athletes for the same game they play. The lawsuit states that “the USSF has never offered female WNT players pay at least equal to the pay afforded to male MNT players”(Kaplan 2019). According to ESPN, the issue of women being underpaid due to their gender has also spilled into Hockey which spurred a controversy in 2017, when the US women’s hockey team threatened a boycott as a protest to support fair wages. Not only in sports, but such discrimination exists in other occupations as well. According to Business Insider, “As of 2018, a woman on average earned 81.6 cents for every dollar a man earns, and women’s median annual earnings are $9,766 less than men’s”(Wolfe 2019). The article claims that on combination of identities such as African American women, Latino women make less than white women and almost half of what white males earn for the same job. The widening wage gap is a huge issue to tackle as it will have serious implications in the growing society. For example, “In Louisiana, for instance, the gender pay gap is 31%, the largest wage gap in the nation”(Wolfe 2019). Widening wage gap and discrimination against women in the workforce is a symbolic expression that portrays a negative image that men are more important and valuable than women. Such negative and unethical ideology has the tendency to pass through children since they observe these vivid differences between men and women in our society. Not only the wage gap in the workforce, but women are vulnerable to harassment from colleagues in the place of employment. According to the United States EEOC’s report, “Of these charges, women filed 19,605, or 74.4 percent. The issues most frequently alleged in these charges were discharge, harassment, and sexual harassment”( Women in the American Workforce). Such incidents damage the psychological well-being of women and strike fear of being part of the workforce. To help women who are part of the workforce, congress should take steps to provide a safe working environment for women which treats everyone equally, pays wages fairly with no discrimination based on race or gender.

Kaplan, Emily. “U.S. Women’s Soccer Equal Pay Fight: What’s the Latest, and What’s next?” ESPN, ESPN Internet Ventures, 9 Nov. 2019, www.espn.com/sports/soccer/story/_/id/27175927/us-women-soccer-equal-pay-fight-latest-next.

Wolfe, Lahle. Unequal Pay Is a Form Of Gender Discrimination. 27 Jan. 2019, www.thebalancecareers.com/gender-discrimination-in-the-workplace-3515145.

“Women in the American Workforce.” U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, www.eeoc.gov/special-report/women-american-workforce.

As someone who has had the valuable and fortunate opportunity to have grown up in a racially diverse community of friends, I have witnessed first-hand the racial discrimination and biases that come with being an adopted child here in America. This has occurred in many instances when children gather in groups pertaining to specific environments such as teams, classrooms, or general hangouts amongst friends. Now more than ever, I believe this topic has not been discussed as much as it has should be in American culture. In recent news, we have heard about the shooting at a local spa in Atlanta, GA. Appalling enough, this shooting has had many believe the motive was anti-Asian bias. This hatred towards many other races has evidently been a critical issue in our country for quite some time. This shows we have not done enough to combat the problem as much as we should. We must address this starting with educating our youth on racism and find ways to avoid biases in effort for racial inclusion.

As a child, I can remember my Asian friends being made fun of because they were not “good” in geometry and engineering compared to the racist stereotypes. Moreover, I can remember a specific instance when a fellow teammate made a comment towards my friend suggesting he was not to the athletic level compared to him because he was not American. This most certainly had an effect on how my diverse friends felt about their intelligence or athletic ability thinking they weren’t up to the standard that was held by their peers.

Many other minority children have faced the same challenges that my friends have undergone growing up. This, I believe, goes hand-in-hand in relation to the “One” to the “Other” concept. Whether one is discussing a child or an adult, this is clearly been seen as leaving minority groups (Other) left out of the whole because they are not racially the same as Caucasian Americans (One). Furthermore, I believe this poses the question of when the development of racism and the practice of thinking of minorities as subgroups become someone’s thought towards their reality. From a child’s perspective, I would like to share a heartbreaking video that will provide a real-life example of the “One” and “Other” concept being practiced as a black family moves into a predominantly white neighborhood:

Furthering this conversation, studies have been shown that even babies have biases. This is significantly caused by their environment in which they grow up. (Gjersoe).

My prayer is that someday our children will be the ones to entirely expel the revolting notion of discrimination. This is in hopes that when they meet anyone who is a minority, it won’t be “Other”, but rather so, “Us”.

Works Cited

“Black Family Tried to Move to All-White Neighborhood in Rosedale, Queens (1976) – HARD TO WATCH.” YouTube, 24 June 2019, youtu.be/4hfJ2WV6M0M.

Nathalia Gjersoe Senior Lecturer in Developmental Psychology. “How Young Children Can Develop Racial Biases – and What That Means.” The Conversation, 28 June 2019, theconversation.com/how-young-children-can-develop-racial-biases-and-what-that-means-93150.