The Woodward Post

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Another Month, Another Cause

Indian Springs

It just seems like everything gets a tiny bit worse every day, especially considering how the Covid pandemic is a key driving factor in increased human rights violations, so if you’re looking for a way to contribute within your capacity as a student, I’d encourage you to check out the petitions below. These are causes that are especially pressing right now but are definitely not all-encompassing. Feel free to drop me an email (carina.lim@indiansprings.org)  if you’d like for other petitions to be included in the next issue or if you have any thoughts on these matters. 

Be Informed

Before you sign a petition, it is important you know the context around the issue. Here is an amazing resource card that is divided up by region of the world and issues. Always do your research before putting your name on anything to ensure that what you’re signing is truthful and legitimate.

Why Petitions?

You may feel like there’s nothing you can do in the shadow of so many pressing, disheartening issues going on in the world right now, but your voice is still a powerful tool. Petitions not only help to spread awareness but they demonstrate the importance of coverage to the media, to lawmakers and elected officials for action, and to the public for donations. At the very least, you’re showing that you stand among others in light of mistreatment, which helps to unite us against a common villain. Petitions are only the beginning, but they are the necessary first step to inspire real, physical change.

*It should be noted that petitions through the White House must be responded to if they reach 100,000 signatures within 30 days.

All-Encompassing

While we divided some of the current issues into sections below, here are some resources that cover a more expansive range of issues. 

https://dotherightthing.carrd.co/

https://currentintissues.carrd.co/

https://trans--rights.carrd.co/

GLOBAL:

  • YEMEN: Yemen has been facing a humanitarian crisis since 2015. Now, with the addition of the Covid-19 pandemic, people need help more than ever. The displaced are at extremely high risk for contracting Covid-19.

  • PALESTINE: While you may think the conflict between Israel and Palestine is solely rooted in religion, this is not the case, and spreading such ideas could perpetuate ideas of islamophobia and antisemitism. Rather than a religious conflict, calling this an ideological conflict is more fitting. The issue at hand here is rooted in Zionism, which is a political movement to establish a Jewish ethnostate. In order for this Jewish ethnostate to exist, which would occupy Palestinian lands, there cannot be a Palestinian ethnic majority, meaning that Palestinians will not be given the right to return. Furthermore, full equality can never be attained in this Jewish ethnostate, which is a driving factor in the push for liberations by Palestinians.

  • UYGHURS: Uyghurs, a Turkic-speaking minority group mainly located in Northwest China, are undergoing ethnic cleansing in Xinjiang. They are being put into what essentially are concentration camps and brainwashed to reject Islam to become “normal citizens” of China. This means that they are forced to consume pork, reject their own language and culture, and leaked documents even show further human rights violations like being the subject of medical experimentation. 

BLM: While media coverage may be minimal, the BLM movement is far from over. Below are some petitions that range from calls for justice for victims to requests for the removal of Confederate monuments. We have a long way to go, so let’s continue to inspire change.


COVID-19 in the US: Unsurprisingly, Covid-19 cases in the United States continue to rise due to a multitude of reasons, including poor oversight, public misinformation, and a refusal to wear masks. I feel it is important to emphasize that wearing a mask in public protects the people around you more so than yourself. When you wear a mask but someone who is Covid-19 positive does not, you have a 70% chance of contracting the virus. If you don’t wear a mask but the person who is Covid-19 positive does, your chances decrease to 5%. Below are a few petitions to encourage mandatory mask-wearing and halting reopening until the case numbers cease to increase so rapidly.

Indian mascots: While many argue that the use of Indian mascots and names in sports is intended to honor, the argument is flawed in that these mascots are heavily caricatured and that most names contain blatantly racist ideas and sometimes even slurs. In addition, to minimize complex Native cultures into athletic settings is insulting and derogatory, and accepting this as norm creates a culture of casual racism. However, it is important to note that several universities such as Florida State possess genuine ties to the natives they claim to represent, the Seminoles. FSU has worked side by side with the Seminole Tribe for approximately 70 years and shares a relationship based on mutual respect and understanding. You can read up on Florida State’s relationship with the Seminole tribe here. 

Rename the Washington Redskins, Cleveland Indians, and Chicago Blackhawks here