User:Zeenia13

== B.F.H.R.                      (Blog•For •Human •Rights) ==

A Hate Crime: (noun) Any crime committed, not for justice and fairness but simply because of “hate” or “dislike”. Ex. Tommy beat up the poor Spanish Exchange Student because he did not let him use his pencil.

Sounds childish? Read more.

SOMEWHERE IN AMERICA...

Every hour someone commits a hate crime. Every day at least eight blacks, three whites, three gays, three Jews and one Latino become hate crime victims. Every week a cross is burned. “Hate in America is a dreadful, daily constant. The dragging death of a black man in Jasper, Texas; the crucifixion of a gay man in Laramie, Wyo.; and post-9.11 hate crimes against hundreds of Arab Americans, Muslim Americans and Sikhs are not "isolated incidents." They are eruptions of a nation's intolerance. Bias is a human condition, and American history is rife with prejudice against groups and individuals because of their race, religion, disability, sexual orientation or other differences. The 20th century saw major progress in outlawing discrimination, and most Americans today support integrated schools and neighborhoods. But stereotypes and unequal treatment persist, an atmosphere often exploited by hate groups. When bias motivates an unlawful act, it is considered a hate crime. Race and religion inspire most hate crimes, but hate today wears many faces. Bias incidents (eruptions of hate where no crime is committed) also tear communities apart — and threaten to escalate into actual crimes. According to FBI statistics, the greatest growth in hate crimes in recent years is against Asian Americans and the gay and lesbian community. Once considered a Southern phenomenon, today most hate crimes are reported in the North and West. And these numbers are just the tip of the iceberg. Law enforcement officials acknowledge that hate crimes — similar to rape and family violence crimes — go under-reported, with many victims reluctant to go to the police, and some police agencies not fully trained in recognizing or investigating hate crimes.”

 My Response

Freedom of expression is one of the most fundamental rights that individuals enjoy. It is fundamental to the existence of democracy and the respect of human dignity. It is also one of the most dangerous rights, because freedom of expression means the freedom to express one's discontent with the status quo and the desire to change it. As such, it is one of the most threatened rights, with governments - and even human rights groups - all over the world constantly trying to curtail it. The United States, probably like no other nation, has recognized the importance of freedom of expression to safeguard democracy and grow as a nation. However, I think that not only the United States but the world needs to control the amount of “hate” spread. Hate is an emotion that we cannot live without and that is understood. However, to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, to soften the hard, dry texture of the peanut butter in our throats, we add fresh, cool jelly to help us digest. We need more good, (or more jelly) to help us digest our lives which carry our hate. I really felt satisfied with my conclusion after reading the last line. It simply states, that it is not that we do not have any Human Rights and not that we have a lot of Human Rights, but we need to train ourselves into recognizing these crimes. We need to start training and enforcing rules of decency into our world

 My Response to the information websites

(http://www.hrweb.org/intro.html) (http://web.amnesty.org/pages/deathpenalty-stats2005-eng)

After reading these two websites, I began thinking about how important Human Rights are and felt a giant urge to share this with you...what is Human Rights to me? When we started off our life-long journey, from the Cave-man age all the way to today we had always wanted the same thing. All of us strived to reach a “good or better life”. No human reaches out for this goal in the same way, but we all still do. Why should we have a good life? If we are going to be living on this earth any way, why not do the things that make us feel good and happy. We came to this judgment millions of years ago. It was not carved on stone, and neither was it said or heard. It was simply “clear” to all of us humans that we all wanted a ‘good life’. However, many people say that there are so many difficulties and problems stopping us from reaching our goals. This may be true and of course in many ways IS true. To reach the candy jar, one must get off their chair, walk a few steps, climb on the counter and then reach as high up as possible because nothing comes easily. You may be wondering what this has to do with Human Rights, but it is everything! Millions of years ago, when people called us “barbaric” we had all come to the conclusion that we all wanted a good life and because of this problems arose. People were different, and had different ideas. People had different views of what their version of a ‘good life” would be. However, humans put no limits on their minds. One man’s perfect life could be a life when all others were dead and tied to chains (such as people later on in time such as Hitler). This is why human rights were created. They HAD to be created in order for all other humans to maintain their LIVES. Questioning Human Rights is simply absurd! Many people confuse human rights with decency. Many normal human beings tend to treat these as one and the same, which is perfectly understandable. Out of one’s DECENCY they do not stop a person from doing what they want to do. However today we have such a lack of this decency in the minds of our people. People have LOST so much decency that it has come to the point that not only do they think that they can stop one from doing what they want, but they think that they can simply OWN human beings! Trafficking happens to children all over the world. Children and even young adults are being forced into labour and into sex slaves. However many of these people feel this way because they are afraid of being ‘different”.

I would like to share this quote with you: '' “In Germany, the Nazis first came for the communists, and I did not speak up, because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak up, because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak up, because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I did not speak up, because I was not a Catholic. Then they came for me... and by that time, there was no one to speak up for anyone.'' -- Martin Niemoeller, Pastor, German Evangelical (Lutheran) Church

Without Human Rights, being the boundry and limit for the safety of our people, we would simply be swallowed up by majority thoughts or other powers that could very well be against our opinion and our “rights”. Worst of all, now that our world is so multi-cultural, whole entire races get discriminated. After I read a few articles on the internet about how so many death penalties had happened to be given to certain races rather than others. Without Human Rights, this just shows that many people could even have unfair DEATHS.

''' The History of Human Rights (http://library.thinkquest.org/C0126065/hrhistory.html)'''

When I first realized that I probably should have one “Blog” entry on the History of Human Rights, I was not too happy. The subject of Human Rights is something that I am ever so passionate about, however the history of it did not seem to strike me as interesting. You could probably guess that I am going to say that I was mistaken, and you would be right. Human Rights never actually started off as Human rights, this is simply because people could not stand up and say “I deserve this” or “I have the right to do this” because they did not have any proof or reason. The only think that they these people could use was religion. “God made me do this” was one of the most popular phrases in Roman and Greek history. The reason one had a right to defend one’s self was because they were “told” by a religious figure. This was started as “Natural law” by the Romans and then carried on by the Greeks. One must be sure to know that “Natural Law”, even though it was the start of Human Rights, is not equal to our Human Rights today. An example of this is simply because even during the period of Natural Law, people did not feel it was wrong to own people! Later on, during the decline in power of the Church, there was now a lot of influence on the “individual” and individuality became to flourish. Now that we have discussed Natural law, later on came “Positive Law”. Thomas Hobbes, (1588-1679) saw Natural Law as being very vague and hollow and too open to vast differences of interpretation. Therefore under positive law, instead of human rights being absolute, they can be given, taken away, and modified by a society to suit its needs. Jeremy Bentham, another legal positivist sums up the essence of the positivist view: “Right is a child of law; from real laws come real rights, but from imaginary law, from "laws of nature," come imaginary rights….Natural rights is simple nonsense.” - (J.Bentham, Anarchichical Follies, quotes in N.Kinsella.

The switch then was from Positive Law to the “Human Rights” we have today. This switch occurred through many events such as British Magna Carta in 1215, The French Declaration of the Rights of Man in 1789, The American Bill of Rights in 1789 and lastly The Geneva Conference in 1864.

The Genocide in Darfur (http://www.phrusa.org/sudan/flash/sudan.html)

As I sit here, writing my fourth blog on Human Rights, I am speechless. We often hear of poverty in the world but never has it struck me like this. Never has it struck me like the Genocide in Sudan did…. They were normal, every day people like you and I who lived in Sudan. Their lives were no different from ours. Even though Darfur was never as rich of a place as where we are, things were still the same. One would see little children playing outside after school in the cool, evening air, parents working hard at their job to earn money, mothers preparing warm meals for the family, and old grandparents snoozing off in their chairs or telling stories to their grandchildren. hese people had lives worth living but it was all taken away and now they simply wish for death. Can you imagine a world, where every day you have to wake up and hope you do not get shot leaving the refugee camp you stay in? Can all you girls imagine a world, where at 2 am a man could come into your tent, in front of your children and rape you again and again and again and if you made any thing more than a sound you would be shot. Worst of all, can you imagine being anywhere in the world, where all these things could happen, and no one would think that it is wrong? You are imaging the year 2006, in Darfur and many other places. This is real, ladies and gentlemen. There are photographs of young boys carrying guns in their hands, in order to defend their mothers or other family incase someone decides to randomly beat them up (which they can since there are no Human Rights). In Darfur, almost every single woman gets raped every single night and it is rare that you will find a single woman a virgin for more than a week. These women are forced to go through horrible, painful labors time and time again without even the right medical facilities. They live in a world, where someone could be killed for no reason what-so-ever, and it would not be called a sin. “They came in Land Cruisers, and collected all our goods and we could not say anything against it. However, when the Government came, instead of helping us, they killed everyone. They killed EVERYONE, even my mother. Before it was attacked, our village was home to 13 000 or so people, who were intensely independent farms who relied on live stock. Almost everybody had a donkey, camel sheep and goats. There were shops and open market. Today it is a Ghost Town. There is absolutely nothing there. Between 8000 and 10 000 of the people who were in my village, are now in a Refugee Camp along the Chad Border.” – Refugee

Many reporters had asked these refugees what would enable them to resume to their former lives. This was the answer form a poor, 75 year old man:

“What would enable me to resume former lives? First the attacks would have to stop but that was not enough, I would have to have something to go home to, and I would not go unless all the other villagers did the same.”

Over 300 000 dead. Over 2 million homeless. The worst part is…no body thinks that they deserve help. This is out world, without Human Rights.