You're sounding very defensive. I was talking to Mo, I was explaining the cultural differences between Western Europe and America. I wasn't having a go at America. Both Spain and Britain had marriage equality before America and the infamous bathroom debate is a non issue over here.
Some parts of Europe were dictatorships 30 years ago. Is that who you want to compare yourselves to?
We don't have an ideal society over here, not by any means.
Overall, though America is more right wing, your Democrats are very much like our Conservatives. Republican values are only shared with the far right.
Some would say that was a good thing, that Americans are freer and have less government intrusion into their lives.
0 Replies
reasoning logic
2
Mon 4 Jul, 2016 11:40 am
In America we seem to have a problem with black people and white people not realizing that the slave master mentality did not go away after the civil war. People who do not study politics, are not able to see that they are still owned by the slave master.
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momoends
2
Mon 4 Jul, 2016 01:51 pm
@izzythepush,
I just wanted to know what other people thought about that particular «
Issue, cause i dont know whats the conflict making people agaisnt the idea. We all have things to be proud of about our country and things we'd kike to change or even we feel ashamed of (im still struggling to accept the gact Spain voted PP to rule us four more years)
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bobsal u1553115
1
Tue 5 Jul, 2016 06:27 am
@momoends,
You said it right, and I thank you for your concern.
My mother lived a long and charmed life, loved very much and loving largely and widely. She went very quickly and in little pain. She is missed and remembered fondly.
I should have a small portion of her grace.
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bobsal u1553115
1
Tue 5 Jul, 2016 06:29 am
@izzythepush,
Izzy
Quote:
Quote:
If Americans are so happy, then why do we consume 80 percent of the entire global supply of prescription painkillers? Less than 5 percent of the world’s population lives in this country, and yet we buy four-fifths of these highly addictive drugs.
There's a good topic for an OP right there. Why, indeed.
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bobsal u1553115
3
Tue 5 Jul, 2016 06:54 am
New Evidence the Stanford Rape Trial Sentencing Had a Racial Subtext
New evidence suggests that whiteness played a part.
By Kylie Cheung / The Frisky
July 4, 2016
Judge Aaron Persky disgusted feminists around the world earlier this month after sentencing a convicted rapist with just six months, not even in prison, but in county jail. To many, Persky’s decision not only sent the message that rape isn’t a serious offense, but also that rape is less severe if the victim isn’t conscious to say “no,” and ultimately, that victims are second-class citizens undeserving of justice. Additionally, some pointed out racial undertones in the case, suggesting that white privilege played a role in making convicted rapist Brock Turner appear less dangerous, criminal-like, and deserving of a harsher sentence. New evidence suggests this was probably the case: in a nearly identical rape case, Persky gave a Latino man three years of state prison time. Note that he sentenced Turner to six months… in county jail.
In this latest case, Raul Ramirez, a 32-year-old immigrant from El Salvador, reportedly gave his female roommate a “love letter” and then entered her room and fingered her for five to 10 minutes without her consent until she started crying.
There are obviously a lot of factors to be considered in sentencing anyone, but it’s worth noting neither Turner nor Ramirez had prior criminal records of convictions for violent felonies, and where Turner fled the scene of his crime and tried to deny that it was nonconsensual, Ramirez stayed until police arrived and told police “he knew what he did was wrong,” according to The Guardian.
The point here isn’t that Ramirez, who has been charged with sexual assault, is deserving of a lighter sentence: it’s that Turner is deserving of a much, much harsher one. Ramirez’s defense attorneys aren’t contesting the three-year sentence, which is the minimum the judge could order. As Drew Salisbury at Death and Taxes points out, it’s “troublesome” enough that Persky is “giving out the minimal sentence for sexually violent crimes as is in his power to do.” It’s even more troublesome that Persky’s “treating the perpetrators of those crimes differently because of their backgrounds,” having graduated from Stanford like Turner.
While sympathy for Turner because of their shared educational roots might have played some role in Persky’s decision, racism and white privilege have long played a role in the dialogue around rape and our treatment of it in the U.S. criminal justice system. Rhetoric about foreign barbarians coming in and raping “our women” has long been a rallying cry that either mobilized men to go to war or justified violence against communities of color, whether it was the 14-year-old Emmett Till being murdered for whistling at a white woman, or the false conviction of the Scottsboro boys. It doesn’t help that relatively recently, presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump identified Mexican immigrants as “rapists” in his June 2015 presidential announcement speech.
Just as racist portrayals of black women and Latinas as promiscuous and American Indian and Asian women as submissive in popular culture tend to undermine or downplay any sexual abuse experienced by these women, portrayals of black and Latino men as sexually aggressive in popular culture, as well as perceptions of them as inherently more dangerous than white men, arguably make them fit the perceived mold of “rapist” better than white men like Turner do to the authorities.
Ex-football player Brian Banks was tried as an adult despite being a minor at the time of his trial, and served five years in prison for a rape he didn’t commit. Banks’ situation is frequently compared with Turner’s as evidence of a racial disparity, although it’s worth noting that his charges of forcible rape and kidnapping are more severe than Turner’s. Just in general, Nazgol Ghandnoosh, a research analyst with the Sentencing Project, told Broadly, “Prosecutors are likely to charge people more harshly if they’re black than if they’re white,” but this arguably rings true of people of color in general who are popularly portrayed as more dangerous than white people.
Michele Landis Dauber, a Stanford professor leading the recall against Perksy, offered similar insights in light of Persky’s decision regarding Ramirez, telling The Guardian: “[Ramirez’s sentence] shows that Turner got consideration not available to other defendants who aren’t as privileged.”
Both trials, as well as Persky’s blatant bias and abuse of power, show that as complicated as it is for victims just to be respected and believed despite favorable statistics about their credibility, the process of getting justice even when they are believed is equally complicated.
Kylie Cheung writes about news, politics, and pop culture for The Frisky.
An entry in Sheridan's (Indiana) Independence Day Parade included what many are calling a racist depiction of President Obama in a toilet and the words "Lying African."
"The parade, it's for kids. This is Independence Day," said Darryl Brownie, 31. "It was just wrong."
Brownie was at the parade with his wife and four children, ages 2 through 9, when he saw the golf cart and started taking photos. He posted the pictures on Facebook because he wanted to let the public know "how disrespectful it was."
The golf cart displayed signs for presidential candidate Donald Trump on the roof. The driver wore an orange prison suit and a blond wig.
Don Christy, 73, Sheridan, told IndyStar that he drove the golf cart in the parade. He said he didn't fill out an entry form. He said he lined up with other floats at the high school parking lot and was waved along when the parade started.
"I'm not a Democrat. I'm not a Republican," Christy said. "I'm a patriot."
Christy said he is tired of political correctness and was just trying to be funny. The display was not intended to be racist, he said. Christy agreed that others have a right to be offended, just as he has the right to express his views.
"I apologize to anyone I offended, which would be a total liberal. I have my right to say things," Christy said. "Isn't that what the Fourth of July's about? Freedom."
Sheridan Police Chief Robert Shock said Tuesday morning that he had not yet heard any complaints about the golf cart.
I agree but do you find Hillary as having extremely questionable ethics? You do notice the word extremely? Do you think Hillary could possibly have similar interest that is inline with that of our old testament god? Well sure she may disagree with men raping the concurred woman but who knows? I have been told by a couple of men that some women like being raped.
As wrong as I see it, 'who am I to say what is wrong to some women and men?
