Affirmative Action

The only thing worse than discrimination is affirmative action, which is essentially oposite discrimination. Affirmative action upholds quotas and undermines motivation and hard work.
Instead of a company (or school) hiring (or accepting for admission from) the most qualified person, they hire a minority, who may or maynot be qualified. Not to say that minorities can't be qualified (because of course they are), but without affirmative action, if they were the most qualified, they would get the job (or into the school) anyways.
Affirmative action isn't all bad though. For companies (or schools) that do discriminate - only accepting a certain race and/or certain sex - this puts them in a small check. It seems that the people hired in this way may not always feels comfortable in the environment they are hired (accepted). Most people don't want to be hired (accepted) because of the color of their skin or their gender.
Affirmative action can be abused and become discrimination, which is what it is, at it's core, fighting. Instead of the minority being overlooked, the majority is. As long as discrimination is here (which it unfortunately always will), affirmative action will be here to keep it in check.

Mexican Immigrants

I have never understood why so many Americans are so irrationaly upset about the Mexican immigration "crisis."
This weekend, I drove down a street and 50 or so Mexican men stood along the edge, waiting for work. These men escaped the horrible conditions that reign in most of Mexico, to try and create a better life for themselves and their families. Can you blame them? America is "the Land of Opportunity," and was created around immigration. I'm not sure if the anti-Mexican-immigration issue is big because I'm in Texas, which borders Mexico, or because they are immigrants. Immigrants have always been looked down on by people who have been here longer. The Irish were looked down upon when groups of them migrated here in the time of the Potatoe Famine. People think they have a right to keep "undesirable" people out of "their" country, but their ancesters got here the same way. It doesn't even go to mention that there is no reason for borders and citizenship except for the government to know where everyone is.
American's should be honored that our country is such a "melting pot" and that people from all over the world come to live here.

Women in Power

If Hillary Clinton wasn't a fence straddler and countless other things, I believe she would still be heavily attacked by the men because of her gender. Women in positions of power are scrutinized more than men in the same position. What's seen as a strength for a man, is not necessarily so for a woman. Big business people, like politicians, sometimes have to be cut throat. A man may be called a leader and strong where as a woman may be called more or less a bitch.
I'm glad it isn't really a "man's world," but many times it feels this way. Argentina has just elected their first woman president and many other countries have had women elected as leaders (Ireland, Finland, the Philippines, Liberia, Chile, Switzerland, etc.). The United States is completely behind the times and backwards if a woman running for President is a big deal. It is a step, but not a huge one. 1 woman is running, at least 15 old men are running!! A young girl (or any minority, for that matter) shouldn't be raised with the "you could be the first woman/black/hispanic/asian president," there should already be a president that more wholly represents the people they lead. White men cannot rule this country forever, despite the push for that to happen by so many unfortunately ignorant people.

No tears shed

New Orleans' Sheriff Harry Lee died a month ago, but undoubtedly few tears were shed. He was extremely racist, but was somehow in his seventh term in a city many minority citizens. He was apparently unfair in his policing, by punishing black people who crossed a jurisdiction line. After reading a quote in the newspaper about pulling over black people driving through a predominantly white area, it makes me wonder if the song "Riding Dirty" wasn't written, at least in some part, about him.
There are racist, sexist and ageist people in every walk of life, but it's always saddening when they are in a position of power.

Gay Vague

It's amazing how much advertising around us goes unnoticed. It's part of our world, yet we don't always recognize the placement: schools, movies, down the street, a T-shirt, and of course on TV and in magazines/newspapers. When we don't even pay attention to what is right in front of our face, it doen't surprise me that there are underlying messages such as the gay vague idea.
I think gay vague advertising is brilliant. A certain demographic sees one thing and another sees something completely different. This is amazing to me. Our brains see the same exact thing, but process it entirely different. It does saden me that the gay aspect has to be hidden for the more mainstream audience to accept it. Gay people are now a demographic, whereas years back they wouldn't even be considered. This is a step in the right direction, if only a small one.

Hypocrites

I couldn't believe when it was brought up in class that Dove and Axe are the same company.
Dove's "campaign for beauty" was really inspiring, showing what real women look like and that you should be comfortable in your skin. When the campaign began I remember some of the model's on Oprah, and it seemed like such a big step in the right direction. Dove made me naively believe that they might be sympathetic with the feminist cause. I was sad to find out how wrong I was.
Axe commercials are on the whole are usually more funny than sexy, but at the price of degrading women. I don't disagree with Axe's advertising tactic. The product is aimed at young men, and of course most of these men want women to find them attractive, if not irresistible. The commercials do what they're supposed to and making men smell better in the process. I think it's sad that women are objectified and seen as something to obtain, but these women did choose to do the commercial and we can choose not to support it. I for one don't support it, but I really don't count since I'm not their demographic.
Apart, the products aren't anything to really get upset about. However when you look at the entire picture, you see that the company feeding you "love how you are" is also telling you curvaceous horny women will love you if you use their product. It's sickening. This was an eye opener and I will definitely be a more contentious consumer in the future.

When Gender Doesn't Matter

I was upset lately reading an article in the New York Times. A woman was kicked out of a women's restroom at a New York restaurant because someone had mistaken her for a man. A male bouncer came into the restroom and told her to leave. When she tried to show him her identification, he refused to look at it and proceeded to throw her and her companions out of the restaurant altogether. She is suing the restaurant, thank god.
The whole situation is unsettling. Even if she were a man, she wasn't causing any problems using the restroom. The male bouncer made more of a problem barging into the restroom than someone using it. The fact that he would not even glance at her id shows that even if it had said female, he wouldn't of cared or possibly even believed it. The problem didn't stop there. He followed her back to her table and made a scene so that her table left. This prejudice or snap judgment may have been from just one person, and not the restaurant, but I'm glad that this story is getting the publicity it deserves. No one should be treated this way regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, dress, status, you name it.