One step in the right direction

Governor Cuomo signed legislation allowing same-sex marriage on June 24.  This is a HUGE step in the right direction.  Allowing thousands of couples to receive the same right many heterosexual couples takes for granted creates a more equal footing for everyone.  For decades, the LGBT community has fought for their rights- from being able to be recognized to rights of transgenders and beyond- and now it seems like their fight is coming to fruition.  It has been a long and tiresome journey, but it has paid off. 
I suspect that with New York passing this legislation, other states will follow suite.  This is a huge step in human rights progress. Not only does it give people a right that many took for granted, but it also allows these couples- who are just as in love and no different than their heterosexual counterparts- to have the 1000s of benefits attached to marriage. When people normally think of marriage benefits, they think of financial things.  However, marriage allows for much more than that.  How would you feel if your spouse was dying in the hospital, but you could not see him/her because you were not married?  Or if you could not jointly adopt because you were not married?  Or how would you feel if you loved someone more than anything, but no state would recognize that love because of who you were? Marriage is a sacred union, and now it is sacred for all.
Marriage has long been deemed a heterosexual act.  And in 1996, Clinton passed DOMA, which says marriage is the union between a male and a female.  However, America has progressed since then, especially since Obama has been in office.  Since Obama has been in office DOMA and DADT have been repealed.  And now with this legislation being passed I cannot help but smile. 
Maybe there is hope for America, after all.

the word feminist...

In this postmodern feminist era, is the word "feminist" outdated?  The word feminist was created during the suffrage and Women's Rights Movement, in the late 19th/ early 20th century.  During those days, feminists primarily constituted white, middle/upper class women who were fighting for women's rights.
Today, the feminist movement constitutes more than just "women's rights." It's purpose has been transformed to include not only women's issues, but men's issues, children issues, environmental issues, etc.
 Many people advocate at least one of these issues; however, few people would label themselves a feminist, including me.  The word feminist has so many connotations that are excluding and confining so many people have a hard time attaching the label to themselves.  To be a feminist people envision a female who is all about women, women rights and a person who takes drastic measures to advance their belief.  However, this constricting (but stereotypical) definition excludes men and those who are not radical. It essentially excludes most people. 
The Feminist Movement has evolved and transformed to be the contemporary movement we see today.  This movement is no longer solely about women's issues, but the word still is.  In order to keep up with the times, and allow for more people to join in and label themselves as such, I think the word needs to be changed.  I do not think the word feminist would ever be able to lose the connotations that are so heavily ingrained into the word.  If this could be done, then we should keep the word since it has so much history.  However, in order to do we must change the minds of millions of people (and we know how hard that is to do).  So it is my belief that the next best thing to do, is to change the word, since the original feminist's goals has been met (according to people). 
To change this word would allow inclusion and new possibilities.  And this word would be: humanist. The feminist movement has turned into human issues, regardless of gender and race.  And while I acknowledge that rage and gender, as well as able-bodiness, class, etc still exist, it should not be the deciding factor in what people choose to be labeled as.  This mode of thinking has created fragmentation, where people do not see how working with someone from a different background could help further the cause.  But we are all working towards the same goal: equality.  And humanist allows for equality.  It delineates "race," "class, "gender," etc. and allows for all to work as one, under one cause: saving the human race.

Who is to blame: government or the traffickers?

     The trafficking of humans will not end unless the government dedicates itself to eradicating the issue.  They have implemented acts such as the Trafficking Victims Prevention Act (TVPA) in 2000 and the Trafficking Victims Reauthorization Act in 2003; however, these acts are toothless tigers unless governments are willing to enforce the law.
     Now, this is not to say that governments are doing nothing because they are doing something.  However, they are not going about stopping the exploitation the right way.  Instead, of targeting those who are trafficking the victims, the governments are incarcerating the victims (though they are incarcerating the traffickers but to a much lesser degree).   For instance, when Sara Kruzan 11-years-old she met 31-years-old George Howard who molested her and began preparing her to become a prostitute.  Kruzan began prostituting at the age of 13.  When Kruzan was 16-year-old, she was convicted of killing her pimip.  Kruzan now serves a life sentence in prison.  Former Governor Arnold Schwarzenneger reduced her sentence to 25 years to life with the possibility to parole.
     It is cases like these that perpetuate the trafficking of humans. Instead of demeaning the traffickers, governments incarcerate the prostitutes (and forced laborers in general), even though they were held against their will.  By doing this, people believe prostitutes (and forced laborers) are the problem because they are in our country causing these problems.  Believing this does not help the cause and eliminate the problem.  It only perpetuates it.  It allows traffickers to believe what they are doing is okay.
     Traffickers are not the ones to look at if you want to end modern day slavery; it is the government.  Governments hold the authority to incarcerate and create stricter laws to curb this injustice.  And while governments are trying to curb it, they are putting their efforts in the wrong basket.  They should be focusing more on incarcerating and finding the traffickers and focusing less on the prostitutes and those held in bondage. 

Slavery does exist...

You walk into your favorite restaurant and sit at a table.  Your waiter is of South East Asian descent and so is the rest of the staff.  You do not think this is peculiar because many wait staff seem to be of minority descent.  Little did you know but these South East Asian people are modern day slaves working to pay off their bondage and lower-than minimum wage and in sub-human conditions.
This particular scenario is fictional; however, this situation is very real.
Slavery did not end with the 13th amendment, Slavery Abolition Act, or the end of the slave trade.  Instead, it just evolved and went "underground."  In America, well over 100,000 people live enslaved and more than 50,000 people are transported to the U.S. annually.  Over 700,000 people are transported, sold or forced across borders as slaves to work as manual laborers, domestic servants, prostitutes, etc.
These numbers are alarming, especially in this day and age when people, in America, are essentially "equal" and when institutions such as the U.N. and Human Rights Watch exist.  In 2000, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) was created to try and combat the trafficking of humans, especially in regards to sex, slavery and involuntary servitude. However, many countries who meet the minimum standards of TVPA are also in violation of its criteria.  
And, even the U.S. falls victim to violation of the TVPA.  But who is to blame?  The people who traffic the people or those who claim they will combat it, but in reality turn their head because this industry benefits the country as a whole?  In essence, the victims or the economy, which one is more valuable?  The world, or at least its governments, seems to have spoken: the world's economy is more valuable.  After all, it is a $7 billion industry!