Blog Archives

3/27/2019 0 Comments

Green and Global: March 12-27 2019

Hello Teen Resisters!
We hope you've had a good week. There's lots to cover this week. A couple things that you should be aware of:
- The results of the Mueller probe into Trump/Russia relations came in this week and the report was summarized in a 4-page letter by Trump's Attorney General, William Barr. Barr's summary reported that Mueller charged Trump with no crimes but also did not "exonerate" him from possible obstruction of justice. Trump has been shouting victory since, while Congress has demanded that the entire report be released to at least Congress, and ultimately the American public, by April 2nd.
- News also came in today that the Trump admin is cutting funds to numerous programs, including that DeVos wants to defund Special Olympics programs and Trump is once again cutting aid to Puerto Rico. The news came in too late for us to cover it in this week's list, but we'll cover it next time. Also coming up: a full-length feature about understanding the White Nationalist movement and what it means.
Sending you lots of light in these first wonderful weeks of Spring!
xx

What Went Down

Islamophobic Attack in New Zealand:
This past week has been incredibly difficult for New Zealanders, and the rest of the world. Just over a week ago, a white nationalist gunman opened fire on two mosques, resulting in the death and injury of over 50 people. The shooter, a 28-year-old Australian, attacked two mosques on Friday, March 15th. This day is now dubbed “one of the darkest days in New Zealand’s history” by Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s Prime Minister. The Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Mosques, where the acts of terror took place, were just miles apart.
This shooting took place on a Friday, which is considered a Muslim holy day, during morning prayer. The perpetrator was found to have posted a manifesto online of ramblings that spouted racist, white-nationalistic views; specifically against Muslims and immigrants. The manifesto refers to the likes of Dylann Roof (who targeted Black people attending worship in a predominantly Black church), and Anders Breivik, who attacked and killed a multitude of people at a summer camp just years ago. He cited President Trump and the American white nationalist movement as his inspiration. Besides just publishing his ramblings online, the shooter also live-streamed the attack on social media.
The attacks, a result of Islamophobia and the rise of the white nationalist movement, claimed the lives of over 50 people and injured about just as many, including children. Many people worldwide are standing in solidarity with their Muslim neighbors, including teams of people who are volunteering to watch and stand guard while they worship and pray. And, just 3 days following the attack, Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s Prime Minister, announced that the government has agreed to reform the country’s gun laws. Ardern was quoted, saying the following: "Within 10 days of this horrific act of terrorism we will have announced reforms which will, I believe, make our community safer," New Zealand’s gun laws, although considered more relaxed than other western countries (besides the US), will reportedly face rigorous reform. Currently, gun owners require a license but are not required to register their guns. It is also estimated that about 1.2 million people in New Zealand are in possession of a firearm, which is roughly one gun for every three people.
It took three days, just 72 hours, for New Zealand officials to ban assault rifles and high-capacity magazines. Ardern also vowed not to use the shooter’s name, committed to fighting white nationalism and Nazism, and New Zealand gun owners have been turning in their guns. The US, in stark comparison, has not yet acted in the need for universal background checks, despite being called for, for over half a decade. And our president has refused to strongly condemn or fight against the rising violence of the white nationalist movement that began in the 1960s. This travesty has rocked the world and it is important to take action in its wake.
What You Can Do:

Fight Islamophobia wherever you are. Dispel negative stereotypes about your Muslim siblings and fight back when people target Muslims simply for being Muslim.
Advocate for gun control legislation! We all know too well that although this happened across the world, the potential is ripe in the US. We must pass gun reform- we’ve already seen how white nationalist ideology is weaponized by guns in this country, in Pittsburgh, Charleston, etc. We highlight the Background Check Expansion Act in this list- go check it out!
Fight against white nationalism. One very important thing we can do is understand the white nationalist movement and how it differs from other forms of white supremacy. We must understand its roots and ideology in order to defeat it. And we must demand that our representatives in government fight against it, as it is a movement dangerously infiltrating our government and mainstream culture. For some good reading, start here and here and in general, read the work of Eric Ward.

New Zealand students perform a haka in memoriam of the lives lost. Photo via The Atlantic.

A mourner prays at a memorial site. Photo via The Atlantic.

A vigil with candles in New Zealand. Photo via The Atlantic.

Mourners across the street from one of the mosques that was attacked. Photo via The Atlantic.

Climate Walkout: Youth Climate Strike
On Friday, March 15, students around the world walked out of school to protest the government’s lack of action on the imminent issue of climate change. Millions of people, including adults, took to the streets in order with a set of demands that included a reduction in Greenhouse gas emissions and that U.S. leaders implement the Green New Deal. Read the full platform here. Climate change is an increasingly dire issue, with a deadline fast approaching: in 2030, the effects of climate change will become irreversible. Effects include but are not limited to: a climate refugee crisis with a population of refugees equivalent to the population of North and South America combined, the depletion of natural resources, extinction of species including our own, and vastly different lifestyles. There may even be a new kind of war: some climate experts think that foreign governments will wage eventually wage war on countries that are not making energy adjustments and putting other countries in jeopardy. We need fighting climate change to be a priority for our government. We’ll keep updating you with legislation to support.

Green New Deal- What is it?
The Green New Deal (sometimes referred to as the New New Deal) is a proposed plan that aims to combat growing issues of Financial as well as Environmental Crisis/Climate change. It’s named after the Roosevelt-era New Deal that was implemented in the face of the Great Depression and radically changed US social and economic policies. The Green New Deal aims to do the same thing in the face of the climate crisis. The Green New Deal has been a point of controversy, throughout the country and within the Democratic Party. The initiative is headed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the powerhouse freshman representative from New York. In general, the proposal aims to wean the US off of fossil fuels and convert to 100% renewable energy by 2030. It’s a big task, but we can do it, and thus, we should. As teens, we know all too well that we will bear the brunt of this crisis. We’re taking the time here to officially endorse the Green New Deal and its principles. We believe that this is a necessary action that comes in a time of emergency.
The Green New Deal generally is supported by most people; the disagreement is just about what the action plan should look like.
Need to know more? Watch AOC break it down in the House this week.
More Understanding:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/20/opinion/green-new-deal-carbon-taxes.html

Climate strike in Munich, Germany. Photo via New York Times.

Climate strike in Hyderabad, India. Photo via New York Times.

Background Check Expansion Act: In late February, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would require background checks for almost all private gun sales. Representatives voted 240-190 to extend the background checks requirement to sales made at gun shows or over the internet. If passed in the Senate, the law will become one of the most significant gun safety measures to go through Congress in decades - and a long-past-overdue national legislative response to the rampant gun violence in the U.S.’ schools and streets.
While eight Republicans in the House voted to pass the bill - and popular opinion on universal background checks is positive across the board, at 97% - Republican Senators refuse to bring the bill to the floor for a vote. While passage of the bill, even if brought to the floor, is unlikely, floor votes are important - they set precedent for future debate and action, and they force our representatives to go on record for supporting or opposing an issue, allowing us to hold them accountable at the ballot box. We need to fight for a vote on this bill.

What You Can Do:

One of the ways we can pressure Mitch McConnell -- ultimately the one in charge of deciding whether the bill comes to the floor for a vote -- is by ensuring more cosponsors on the bill, both Democrat and Republican. Especially if you have Republican Senators - although not exclusively - call them, if not, reach out to friends and family members with Republican Senators to ask them to make the call. Check to see if your Senator cosponsors the bill here.
- Script: Hello, my name is ____ and I’m a constituent of Senator ______’s. I’m calling to ask Senator _______ to cosponsor S. 42, the Universal Background Check bill. Gun violence claims the lives of 40,000 people every year, and it’s only getting worse; it’s long past time for Congress to pass substantive gun safety legislation. 97% of Americans support background checks. There is no excuse for opposing this measure. I urge Senator ______ to do their part in ensuring the bill comes to the floor for a vote by cosponsoring S. 42. Thank you.
Sign this petition urging Senators to cosponsor the bill.
If you can, support organizations advocating for gun safety measures like Everytown.

NYC School Segregation: Last week, as thousands of New York City 8th graders received letters regarding which high schools they were accepted into, the New York Times reported that only 7 Black students were accepted into Stuyvesant High School, an elite public school in Manhattan. This means that although Black and Hispanic students make up 67 percent of the NYC public school population, they only make up 10 percent of the specialized school population. NYC's public schools are the most segregated in the nation.
Stuyvesant High School along with seven other specialized high schools require the SHSAT, an annual standardized test to be taken in the fall of students’ eighth-grade year, as the sole means of admission. This is not the first time the test and its biased results have come into question. In 2013, Mayor Bill De Blasio's campaign platform included scrapping the SHSAT, but it wasn’t until June of 2018 that he proposed an alternative to the test. His proposal consisted of two main parts: to expand the Discovery program, as well as to eventually replace the test with a program that offers seats in specialized high schools to the top seven percent of every middle school. The expansion of the Discovery program would aim to reserve 20% of seats in specialized schools to low-income students whose scores were just below the cutoff for admission. This proposal would need to pass in Albany and has already received pushback from many specialized high school alumni. This issue of systemic racial segregation in schools is far bigger than this test and the eight associated schools. So despite what many politicians would hope, it’s not an issue that can be solved with one bill or in a year. As representative Ocasio-Cortez pointed out during an education town hall a few weeks ago, “why isn’t every public school in New York City a Brooklyn Tech-caliber school?”

If this issue interests you, here are a few ways to get involved.

Support and get involved with organizations such as Integrate NYC; “a youth-led organization that stands for integration and equity in New York City schools”
- If you’re a student, you can sign their constitution to end school segregation.
- To learn more about the history of this unjust system, listen to this virtual teach in.
Pressure your state representative to support SHSAT reform and if you’re interested in this issue, stay educated on what kind of legislation might be happening!

See you soon!
Peace and Power,
Teens Resist

0 Comments

3/12/2019 0 Comments

Striking, Saving, Speaking, Sparking: Feb. 28th-March 12th

Hey Teen Resisters!
We are back on our cycle of lists after a quick break for our Black History Month List (which you should all go read!)--we know that the past few weeks have been beyond crazy, and so we tried to boil everything down to what we believe are some of the key happenings. Get ready to dive into a list full of youth protest, Trump trying to attack women's repro rights (again.), net neutrality, vaccines, and more!! (Also, happy late International Women's Day and current Women's History Month <33; more on that soon.) Sending all our love!
peace&power,
TR

what went (&is going) down

Worldwide Youth Climate Strikes This Friday!
Over the last couple of years, scientists and environmental activists across the world have made it clear that human-caused climate change is escalating at a previously underestimated and entirely destructive rate; its effects will be irreversible in a matter of years. Most global leaders have refrained from fully (if at all) addressing the significance of climate change, causing not only climate inaction but also disproportionately harsh impacts on racially and socioeconomically marginalized communities. Read more of our coverage of climate change by going to our Index by Issue and scrolling down to our section entitled Environmental Justice (near the top; the index is alphabetized!), where you’ll find bullets of all the past lists where we’ve mentioned it; alternatively, you can learn more about it on the NASA website.

This Friday, March 15th, students across the world will be walking out of school and protesting climate change inaction in their local communities. Goals and logistics vary depending on the school/community, but most strikes advocate for the support of the Green New Deal in Congress, a bill pushed by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (among others), which aims to stimulate the U.S. economy in an environmentally sustainable and socially equitable way—an emphasis is placed on communities of color and low income communities that are disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change.

In order to find your community’s walkout and/or protest, check out the following link: https://www.youthclimatestrikeus.org/strikes

If your school doesn’t have a walkout yet, we encourage you to strike with some of your friends anyway, and empower/organize your school peers to do so, as well! Follow the US Youth Climate Strike’s Guide to organizing a strike in your school community at this link.

And if you can’t participate this Friday, there are still other ways to get involved! Go to this link to find a script and series of steps to follow to call your representatives and demand that they support the Green New Deal in their legislative house.

Domestic Gag Rule
On Monday, March 4th, Donald Trump and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar unveiled a new, newly outrageous policy known as the domestic gag rule. The rule would deny any clinic that provides abortion access any Title X federal funding, meaning that it would effectively defund Planned Parenthood and the numerous other smaller providers who work similarly.

Title X currently serves about 4 million individuals and functions as the nation’s program for affordable birth control and reproductive care. According to Planned Parenthood, two thirds of those served by Title X live under the federal poverty line, and almost half lack insurance access. Currently, reproductive health care clinics can receive Title X funding for services other than abortion (they just have to pay for abortion procedures with separate funding).

That means that those served by Title X rely on the government for access to birth control, cancer screenings, STD testing and treatment, and even simple women’s health exams. Planned Parenthood serves approximately 41 percent of those benefited by Title X funding; although 4,000 other Title X-funded health care providers across the country also provide abortion, if Planned Parenthood specifically were to be defunded, other providers would have to increase their caseloads by an average of 70 percent to service PP’s patients.

So what do all of those numbers mean? The domestic gag rule would take away funding from thousands of health care providers who service millions--many in poverty and without insurance—preventing them from accessing not only abortion but also basic, vital reproductive health care services.

The second key component of the gag rule is that it would prevent doctors and service providers from referring patients who want or need an abortion to a place where they can get one. If a woman found out she was pregnant after being diagnosed with cancer, for example, her doctor would not be allowed to inform her that abortion was even an option. What the gag rule does is just what its name suggests: forcibly prevents service providers from giving women the comprehensive, accurate information about their health care options that they deserve.

It’s clear that this rule is unethical, irrational, dangerous, and unconstitutional.

So: what can you do?

Sign PP’s open letter pledging to protect Title X and oppose the gag rule here.
Leave a comment for HHS and demand that it drop the domestic gag rule through NARAL Pro-Choice America’s petition here.
Call HHS at 1-877-696-6775 to voice your disgust at the rule. (We’ll give you a chance to create your own script here; check out our Basics section for a template and advice!)

Bringing Back Net Neutrality: Save the Internet Act
You may remember that in December of 2017, the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) voted to repeal net neutrality, a piece of Obama-era legislation requiring internet providers to adhere to a set of regulations about keeping the internet a safe and fair place for all consumers. They passed legislation called the Restoring Internet Freedom bill, which reversed the effects of net neutrality. Activists and public servants alike were outraged— repealing net neutrality had the potential to further inequality between those who would be able to afford potentially more expensive internet service and those who would not, among a variety of other problems. Read more about what net neutrality is and why it matters in our net neut feature, published in December 2017.

Recently, House and Senate Democrats proposed legislation–– the Save the Internet Act–– which would combat the impact of the Restoring Internet Freedom bill. It would establish guidelines that reflect what net neutrality served to protect. According to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, “The Save the Internet Act enacts the three legacy net neutrality principles – no blocking, no throttling and no paid prioritization – and empowers the FCC to prohibit unjust, unreasonable and discriminatory practices.”

What can you do?

Contact your Representatives and Senators and ask them to support the Save the Internet Act and/or any future legislation working against net neutrality.
- You can use this script: Hi, my name is ___________ and I’m calling to urge [name of your congressperson] to support the Save the Internet Act and any future legislation combating the FCC’s repeal of net neutrality. Net neutrality is an extremely important issue that should not be swept aside, and it is imperative that it is protected in any and all ways possible. Thank you.

Border Update
This year we’ve born witness to a grueling succession of the Trump Administration’s attacks on immigrant communities. The crisis is ongoing:

In February, Trump declared a national state of emergency to forcibly reallocate funding (that Congress voted not to give him) to his border wall. The House of Representatives has voted to reject the emergency declaration, but the decision cannot be overturned without a majority in the Senate as well. Declaring a national emergency in this situation is an abuse of executive power—Congress is the only entity responsible for deciding government funding, and in making this declaration, Trump is attempting to circumvent its will and undermine the checks and balances that make our government democratic.

This power abuse aside, the wall is a huge waste of money, will likely not work to prevent the majority of drug trafficking across the border (most of which occurs at official ports of entry), and in general is just an awful plan with overtly racist motivations.
The family separation crisis is not over:
- The New York Times reported that since the official end of the administration’s family separation policy in June of 2018, at least 200 more children have been separated from their family members. As was the case with separations while the zero-tolerance policy was technically in effect, the government did little to track the whereabouts of these children and their parents.
- Many of the children separated from their parents over the summer have yet to be reunited with them. Some have even been deported without their children, as CNN reports in this heartbreaking story.
- Even as more and more evidence of the Trump Administration’s malicious negligence comes to light, DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen continues to stand by the Administration’s decisions and refuses to acknowledge their responsibility in the harm done to these families. She testified for Congress last Wednesday (read her testimony here). Our main takeaway from this all? The administration isn’t budging on its disgusting treatment of immigrants and disregard of its rights. It’s up to us—and Congress—to fight back.

What can you do?

The House has already passed a resolution opposing Trump’s declaration of a National Emergency. If you have a Republican senator, call them and ask them to vote for a similar resolution in the Senate! If you don’t, remind friends and family to do so.
- Direct them to this link for Indivisible’s guide to calling your senators in support of the resolution. Their script focuses exclusively on the National Emergency, but if you want to address the long list of ways that the Trump Administration has attacked immigrants, definitely go ahead—placing the Emergency Declaration within the context of the rest of these outrageous acts could bring your call to action more gravity.
Call your representatives and demand that they put ending the inhumane situation at the border at the top of their list of priorities. Even if you have a Democratic senator, your call will remind them that you, as a constituent, care deeply about this issue, and that will make them more likely to act assertively to address it.
Sign this “Separating Families is Inhumane” ACLU petition (and help get it to 250k signatures!)

State Assembly Spotlight: On Vaccines
As of March 12, 2019, there have been 228 confirmed cases of measles in the US, caused by refusal on the part of some parents to vaccinate their kids. Because of the various outbreaks of a disease once thought to be eradicated, some states want to make it harder for parents to opt out of vaccinations. In at least 20 other states, however, bills have been proposed to make vaccine exemption even easier.

Washington State, home to one of the first measles outbreaks of the year, is considering two vaccine bills to curb “personal belief” exemptions, which are most often cited by parents who exempt their kids from vaccinations. H.B. 1638, which passed the House and is being introduced into the Senate, would outlaw these exemptions for the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Another bill in the Senate, which was just approved by its committee, would outlaw personal belief exemptions for all vaccines.

Arizona is going in the opposite direction, advancing three anti-vaccine bills. H.B. 2470 would legalize religious exemptions for vaccines, as well as allow parents to exempt their kids without having to fill out a form informing them of the risks of not vaccinating (which would make the exemption process even easier and faster). HB.. 2471 requires medical providers to explain all the ingredients and risks of vaccines, which doctors say could confuse or overwhelm patients and make them less likely to get vaccinated. H.B. 2472 allows doctors to give an antibody titer test to patients to see if they are already immune to a disease that the vaccine would prevent. Doctors point out that the antibody titer test is sometimes unreliable—it can say that someone is immune to a disease when they really aren’t. The test is also expensive.

While many states like Washington are focusing on eliminating vaccine exemptions, enough states are focusing on expanding these exemptions to concern the federal government. Head of the FDA Scott Gottlieb has not released any specific plans, but said in an interview with CNN that “certain states” could “force the hand of federal health agencies” to act.

What You Can Do:

The websites of all state assemblies can be found here: https://www.congress.gov/state-legislature-websites. The National Conference of State Legislatures is also a valuable resource.
Work with pro-vaccine groups like The Immunization Partnership and Voices for Vaccines.
If reps in your state are considering an anti-vaccine bill, call them and urge them to block it using this script:
- Hi, my name is _____, I'm from _____, and I'm calling to ask you to oppose [name or number of bill] regarding vaccination laws in [your state]. Vaccines save lives, and refusal to vaccinate puts everyone at risk of contracting potentially deadly diseases. I urge you to use your conscience in making your decisions on this topic. Thank you.

0 Comments

YOUR CART

LISTS

Green and Global: March 12-27 2019

What Went Down

Striking, Saving, Speaking, Sparking: Feb. 28th-March 12th

what went (&is going) down

UPdates

Archives

Categories

About

Content

Support