mid term

Spencer Bierschwale

COMM 339

Mid-Term

           The FBI has defined a hate crime as a “criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity.”  Political activism interests me, so this will be my main focus.  I believe that my future will be in politics because that is the way I see my existence.  I am an out, proud and vibrantly gay man in 20gayteen (2018 pun). I live in a world where one of the justices who helped to give me the right to marry is retiring. There is the possibility that the current president will be able to appoint someone who could take away my right to marry if he has the chance.  If Obergefell v Hodges is challenged, and the supreme court takes the case, this could be reality. However, that is the least of my worries. What worries me most is the possibility of hate crimes for openly gay individuals. Everyday I leave campus to travel in Seguin and the surrounding areas for my job.  It is still legal to discriminate against me and others like me based on our sexual orientation. At times, I can become anxious, nervous and worried that this is a real possibility for me. There could be people at any event I might attend that have homophobic ideas and this could create a situation that would might bring me harm.  Every single day, as I go about my daily life, I realize that I look, act, or talk “gay.” I look, act, and talk “gay” because it is who I am. Everyone should be able to be who they are and everyone should have the right to feel secure in being who they are. One in 12 trans people will be murdered for being transgender. This statistic and many more similar ones prompt me in my duty to be out, proud and visible, for those who can’t do it for themselves.  There are many people who aren’t able to be out proudly. They aren’t able to push those boundaries because they aren’t a white gay cisgender male. 

Hate crimes have increased by %11.7 from 2014 to 2016.  And yes, 2014 was the lowest since the FBI started tracking this data in 1992.  Should anyone ever live in fear of a hate crime being committed against them? Absolutely not.  Just to be clear, no one should have to live in fear of a crime committed against them. But hate crimes in my opinion, are especially heinous.  In 2017 hate crimes rose another %12.46 from 2016, so in 2 years they rose %24.16

Monday motivations can be inspiring, uplifting, positive, insightful and genuinely get your blood, brain, heart and desire to get going and have a great Monday.  I personally like these kinds of posts because I am a positive and excitable person. It doesn’t take much for me to have a great day. I love life and I love helping others enjoy it.   The ones I have found make me feel like I can solve problems, move those “mountains,” give positivity out to the world and get it back. I like to be reminded that what I’m doing in my job, how I can and do make a difference, even if I only register two new people to vote, that is two more votes.  Every vote makes a difference. What I do when sharing myself with others means something, not just to me, but to others out there who may not feel like they can be themselves. 

Me being me, not being afraid to show who I am every single day while registering new voters and getting our surveys filled out, could show someone else that it is okay.  I realize two votes won't make a difference alone, but when coupled with real political activism and extreme power at the polls, millennials make up the largest generation ever.  Millennials are 98 million people, the second largest is baby boomers, and at their peak they were only 78 million. One tweet I found is of someone doing hurdle drills. As a hurdler for our Bulldog Track Team, this tweet is super important to me because everyday I go run or lift I'm working towards the goal of winning a conference title.  It isn’t just a workout for me. It’s for my team and my school. I have to workout every day because someone else from Trinity, or another school will be doing the same thing and have the same goal. I have to work harder. I have to do the best I can to make a difference. It may just be hurdling to some, but to me, it’s making a difference for many.