 History. It is something that we as Americans like to think we have gone so far from. I would like to believe that too, but in my day to day life I realize more and more things happening that we think we have “left in the past.” I think that by writing this I can inform and educate on how we need to change as a city, state, country, and world.
1.Blood and Soil Blood and Soil is a concept that was constructed in the 19th century. What it means is that they would look at your blood to see where you came from and who your ancestors were. It also looks at the soil your ancestors were working on. They used that idea to make and influence you to go back to that place where your ancestors were. So basically it’s telling you to go back to your own country. Now obviously they don’t do ancestry test and blood test to determine this. And by they, I mean the racist people saying this. They assume this by looking at the color of your skin. Now that you have background knowledge you’ll be able to realize what I’m getting at. At the Charlottesville Riot, in Charlottesville VA, one of the MANY racist slurs they said was “Blood and Soil.” Like I stated earlier, this was a concept constructed in the 19th CENTURY. And the rioters went and rioted and said “Blood and Soil.” What they were implying here is telling all different people of all different ethnicities to go back to their “homeland.” The fact that people are bringing this back from the 19th CENTURY to say this to people in 2017 is heartbreaking. We want to think that we've come so far as Americans, but when we bring back horrible things like this, we can’t have gone that far. 2. Religious Persecution Religious Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of a person based on their preferred religion. An example of this was started in the 1640’s. When we look at it, religious persecution here started with Christians. This was at the hands of a small number of Jews and Romans because Romans owned a lot of the land that Christianity was spreading on, and the Romans were not ok with that. And now in our most recent American society, we are STILL prosecuting people for their religion. From the days January 27, 2017, to March 16, 2017, Donald Trump and Mike Pence put a travel ban (Executive Order 13769) on MUSLIMS, to prevent TERRORISTS from getting into America. Donald Trump stereotyped ALL MUSLIMS assuming they were all terrorist and did not let them travel to the United States. So many people couldn’t get home to their families because our president of the United States was so scared that we were going to be attacked. Because he assumed all Muslims are bad. Keep in mind this dates back to 1640 and before, and we’re doing it in 2017. 3. Sexual Harassment I am aware that sexual assault comes in many horrible shapes and forms and spans throughout history. Right now I am only going to focus on one case. The Anita Hill case. In 1991 Hill came out and accused Clarence Thomas of sexual assault. She said that he would make very vulgar and sexual remarks when they were working together. He also asked her out many, MANY times and she refused all of them. She spoke out and said she didn’t leave because “civil rights” was her ambition. So all and all she went to trial and she took the lie detector test and everything she was saying was true. But Thomas still got selected to be on the Supreme Court. 52-48 one of the most narrow margins. All of Thomas’ supporters supported and believed him. But soon after President George H.W. Bush put a law in place where harassment victims have the right to seek federal damage awards. After this rule was put into place 50% of the public's view shifted in Antia's favor. Today right now, a similar thing is happening with Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford. Brett Kavanaugh (Former White House Staff Secretary) was nominated for the supreme court, a nomination he was honored with. Everything was going right but then earlier in the summer Christine wrote a letter accusing Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault when they were in high school. Apparently what had happened was at a “drunken high school party” where Brett exposed himself and pushed her toward his private area. There has been a lot of controversy over this case. Is she lying? Why is she coming forward now? “But Brett is such a nice guy! He would never!” A lot of people are on different sides. But a lot of people are standing with Christine. All and all, the fact that this case is happening right now, and how similar it is to Anita Hill’s is insane to me. And I’m very curious as to what will happen next. Now I know all of these are nowhere near identical. In fact, there are key differences between every one of these different pieces. But, there are obvious similarities. Like I previously stated we want to believe that we’ve come so far but truth is, we have a long way to go as Americans. We also have a lot of learning to do. So we don’t go in this deadly cycle of repeating history over and over again. Story by Tia Irby Photo Credits  Hurricane Florence, one of the biggest storms to ever hit North Carolina has left millions without power, at least 37 dead, and devastating flooding. Scheduled to hit the Carolinas on September 13, Florence was the start to the new hurricane season. Dumping gallons of rain, Florence has caused disastrous flooding. Just recently, Florence has been downgraded from a category 1 to a tropical disaster but is still expected to do some flood damage to eastern parts of North Carolina and head up North afterward.
A hurricane is formed by water and air rising in a funnel-like motion. When the wind shear is high, the hurricane tilts and the storm becomes weaker. When the wind shear is low, the hurricane keeps a strong shape and the storm worsens. Florence had a high shear but still managed to keep its shape. Florence has caused a great deal of damage, mainly flooding. Some parts of North Carolina even claimed to have thirty inches worth of flooding, and if confirmed, it could be a new state record. A resident of Kennel Beach, North Carolina, Todd Willis, said "this is just the beginning. It hasn't even gotten here yet and there's already water in the bottom parts of people's houses." Another resident of North Carolina, Annazette Riley-Cromartie said, "You just keep hearing people yelling, and you can't do anything," she said. "It's the worst feeling in the world." Story by Iris Schreiner  The terrorist attacks of September 11, set a chain reaction of events that would change our lives in the US and around the world. One of the most immediate changes is air travel which took place in US airports. Architecture changed when the international code council released new building codes suggestions to make skyscrapers safer and able to endure more. Also, Anti-Islamic violence in America jumped after the attacks.
Air travel is one of the most obvious changes after 9/11. Only 5 percent of checked bags were screened before 9/11. Shortly after 9/11, Congress federalized airport security by passing the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, which created the Transportation Security Administration. The new TSA procedures included stricter guidelines on passengers and luggage screening. Airplanes also had major changes like secure cockpit doors and first class cabin curtains. In conclusion, air travel became a lot stricter after 9/11. Architecture changed when the international code council released new building codes suggestions to make skyscrapers safer and able to endure more, a least until everyone can evacuate. Changes include more stairways for buildings taller than about 42 stories, elevators that can be used during emergencies, higher fire resistance and impact resistant walls for elevator shafts and exit stairways. In conclusion, after 9/11 buildings became safer and are able to endure more. Half of US Muslims say they find it more difficult to live in this country since the 9/11, terrorist attacks. Violence against Muslims broke out instantly after 9/11, and have been continuing ever since. In 2001, the FBI recorded 93 anti-Muslim assaults. In conclusion, after 9/11 Muslims have found it difficult to live in the US. Overall, after 9/11 there were big changes including air travel, architecture, and anti- Islamic violence. “On that day, 2,996 people died in and around the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and on a commercial airplane that crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The nation’s response was swift.” (Laura Santhanam) Story by Ingrid Pehrson Works Cited Santhanam, Laura, and Larisa Epatko. “9/11 To Today: Ways We Have Changed.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 11 Sept. 2018, www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/9-11-to-today-ways-we-have-changed. Villemez, Jason. “9/11 To Now: Ways We Have Changed.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 14 Sept. 2011, www.pbs.org/newshour/world/911-to-now-ways-we-have-changed.  Hurricane Florence hitting NC Coast As you may know, many events have been rescheduled because of the hurricane. Some of these events (NC) include:
NC Pride events (Most if not all already rescheduled) Zac Brown band at PNC (Postponed) Trial By Fire at Fillmore (Cancelled) Pumpkin Fest at Sycamore Brewing (Postponed) Even though most Pride events (if not all) have already rescheduled, this may not be the case with many of the other events. Some events, such as the Trial By Fire event at Fillmore have been totally cancelled. Now (over) 22 events have been rescheduled into a 6-day window and this is just in NC. More have been rescheduled in into the next few weeks/months. NC Pride: Many people (including me) were looking forward to this and, thanks to the people who put it together people still are. It was postponed and most of the events within pride are still being held within Asheville and Charlotte. Zac Brown band at PNC: The band was going to bring a special guest, and now thanks to another great committee it's still going to happen. The special guest is Darrell Scott, who is a multi-instrumentalist, was going to play at the concert. Trial by Fire at Fillmore: Trial by fire is a band that was supposed to be at Fillmore but is cancelled now due to, you guessed it, the hurricane. Fillmore is a standing room venue only. There has not been (to my knowledge) a refund to people who bought tickets. Pumpkin Fest at Fillmore (at Sycamore Brewing): Due to the hurricane ,Pumpkin Fest has been postponed to the 30th. It is happening in Charlotte, the “Pumpking” and his family shall be there. So if you should desire join the Pumpking in his festivities. There are a lot more cases where things were sadly cancelled due to this terrible natural disaster. You can go to Charlotte Magazine (my source) for the events/ festivities being affected in mere Charlotte. As you could guess, there have most likely been more events affected, so go to my source to find out which ones in your area have been postponed. Story by Sky Robertson |
