Youth Radio - Topic: abuse

They're All I Have

rgee — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 17:58:21 -0500

This story was originally published on LA Youth.

Author's name withheld.

When I was 6, my brothers and sister and I went to live with my aunt because my mom used drugs. I was happy when my aunt took us all in because we could be together. There are five of us and we always took care of each other because our mom couldn’t.

At first Aunt Charlotte was nice to us all—my older brothers Tyler and Roland, my little sister Alicia, my little brother Christopher and me. For our first Christmas and birthdays with her, she bought me and my sister Barbie dolls and my brothers a basketball and all of us bikes and scooters.

But after about six months, for some reason that I still don’t know, she stopped being nice. If things didn’t go Aunt Charlotte’s way, she would yell at us and hit us. We’d get whoopings if she thought our facial expressions were disrespectful (even if we weren’t trying to be), if we didn’t eat all of our food or if we didn’t flush the toilet. She’d say, “Who didn’t flush the toilet?” None of us would say anything, but my big brother Tyler, who is three years older than me, would say, “I did it.” Even though he hadn’t, he’d take the whooping for us.

Tyler was always taking care of us. No matter whose turn it was to clean the bathroom or the kitchen, Tyler would help and most of the time he’d even clean for us.

I tried to be like Tyler and keep an eye on my younger siblings. Christopher struggled with his grades. I protected him by sometimes lying to Aunt Charlotte and telling her he was doing OK in school. This kept him from having to stand in the corner for hours by himself and getting another whooping. If Alicia got hit I would try to cheer her up by doing a silly dance in our bedroom just to make her laugh. I didn’t want her to feel sad, because whenever she was sad, I felt sad with her. I wanted her to know that she has someone who loves and cares about her.

When I was around my brothers and sisters, I could joke around without worrying about getting in trouble, but I was quiet around Aunt Charlotte to save myself from the abuse. Aunt Charlotte would call me ugly and talk about my dark skin and short hair. I was almost always scared.

She would threaten us, “If any of you tell on me they will split you all up.” She made it seem like we wouldn’t see each other again until we were grown. She told us no one would want to take in five foster kids. I believed her because raising five kids is hard work. My siblings and I were too afraid to tell anyone about the abuse.

On weekends, we got away from the abuse

But on weekends we could just be kids and have fun. We’d go to a church member’s house and we would play tag and jump rope together. One game we’d play was “Sir, yes sir!” One of my older brothers would be in charge and tell the rest of us what to do. He would say, “Give me a lap!” We’d say, “Sir, yes sir!” and run around the front yard. You weren’t allowed to laugh, and if you did, you’d get penalized with an extra lap or push-ups. It was hard not to laugh because he’d deepen his voice to try to sound older.

When I was 11 years old, our church mom wanted to take all of us in and told us to ask Aunt Charlotte if we could live with her instead. People at church knew my Aunt Charlotte was very strict, and looking back, I think our church mom suspected something was wrong. My sister and I were afraid to ask Aunt Charlotte because we knew she’d get mad and say no. But we thought that if our church mom knew about the abuse we wouldn’t need to get Aunt Charlotte’s permission to move. So a few weeks later my sister and I told our church mom about the abuse. After we finished telling her she started crying and hugged us. It felt good that there was someone who wanted us to be happy and safe.

My church mom called the Department of Children and Family Services and reported the abuse, but when the social workers asked us if Aunt Charlotte hit us, we lied and said that she didn’t. We were so scared about how Aunt Charlotte might react and that we would be separated that we couldn’t tell the truth.

One day during school a few months later, Alicia, Christopher and I were called out of class. When we got to the office our social worker was there and said, “You’re coming with me.” I was happy that we would finally be moving but I was crying because I didn’t know where I was going to go. I had no idea why our social worker came that day, but looking back, my guess is that our church mom called the foster care system again.

The social worker brought us to her office. My brother Roland had packed up clothes for all of us and the social worker brought him and Tyler to the office. We lived in a temporary foster home for three months while the system looked for family members who would let us live with them.

My Uncle George took my three brothers in and my Auntie Tanya took me and Alicia in. It was good that we were with family but it sucked that I wasn’t going to be able see my brothers all the time. They lived in South L.A. and we lived about an hour away in North Hollywood. The system separated us because they wanted the girls to live with a woman and the boys to live with a man.

I’d see my brothers when my uncle would come and get my sister and me for the weekend. I didn’t feel as close to them seeing them only twice a month. I missed talking to them about what was going on in our lives. I missed walking to school with Christopher. I didn’t know what they were doing or if they had friends or girlfriends. Most days I didn’t even know if they were happy.

I didn’t get along with Aunt Tanya because she’s a neat freak. My sister and I shared a closet and would stack our folded clothes on the floor. That would make Aunt Tanya mad. She didn’t want to see any clothes on the floor ever. She would say, “If you guys want to stay with me you’re going to have to clean up after yourselves. I can’t live in a dirty home.” But my sister and I thought our room was clean.

I called my brothers when I needed them

When I’d get into a fight with my aunt and needed someone to cheer me up I would call Tyler or Roland. Roland would say, “Don’t talk back to her and do what she says.” I thought it was good advice because it would stop the argument.

She decided to give us up a year later because she said we were giving her a hard time. I was kind of glad to leave, but I didn’t know where Alicia and I would go. I wanted to move in with my uncle but I didn’t know if that was possible. I also worried that Alicia and I would be moved farther away and see our brothers even less.

Alicia and I moved in with Uncle George temporarily while the foster care system tried to find us another woman to live with. I was happy that I would be able to spend more time with my brothers, but sad that it wasn’t going to last long.

While we were living with Uncle George, he took us to Hawaii. It was amazing. I got on a plane for the first time. I’m scared of heights, but it was super cool to see the clouds up close. It was fun to spend time with my siblings away from everybody else. Hawaii has the clearest and bluest water and the beach is so clean. We went snorkeling. That was scary because we were in the ocean and I’m not a good swimmer. But it was fun and I felt safe because Alicia let me hold on to her and I was wearing a life jacket. We also went to a luau (a traditional Hawaiian feast on the beach). Every day we would tell Uncle George, “Thank you for taking us on this trip.”

When we got back to California my social worker found a wonderful lady, Shonda, for me and my sister to live with. Shonda lived in Watts, about a 10-minute drive from my uncle’s house, so we got to see my brothers almost every weekend.

After about nine months with Shonda, when I was 14 years old, my uncle told me and Alicia that he was getting a room ready for us to move in soon, but he didn’t know exactly when. I was so excited that I would finally get to live with my brothers again.

A couple months later when he picked us up for a weekend visit he surprised me by saying, “You’re moving in with me.” I said, “Oh my god, for real?!” I was super happy. I smiled while I packed that night and kept thinking about getting to talk with my brothers every day and finding out who they’re dating and how they’re doing in school—stuff a sister should know.

We share rap battles and road trips

Living with my uncle has been amazing. My brothers and sister and I have been able to share the important moments. When my boyfriend in eighth grade cheated on me and dumped me, my brothers said not to cry over that guy, because I would find someone better. And Christopher and I have dance and rap battles during the holidays with Alicia as judge.

My uncle likes to travel and he took us to the Grand Canyon our first summer with him. He takes us to San Diego and in 2009 we visited San Francisco when we took my brother Roland to college in northern California. Everyone tried not to be the first one to fall asleep during car rides, because whoever did would get a wet willie, which is when someone licks their finger and sticks it in your ear while you’re sleeping. Christopher got the first one on the way to San Francisco, and I got one, too. It was disgusting, but I’ll always remember those wet willies.

We also go to church and the movies and lots of family events with our uncle. My uncle’s family meets up on Thanksgiving and Christmas and Easter. We all go to Aunt Lena’s house and she cooks a lot of the food. In the morning or the night before, Alicia and I help my uncle make enchiladas or sweet macaroni and cheese so we can bring it to the gathering. The family eats, plays cards and dominoes, and catches up. I’m happy because I’m around people who show my siblings and me love.

I understand why the foster care system separated my brothers from me and Alicia. They were trying to place us with adult family members. But they didn’t realize that staying together was even more important to us than staying with relatives. Ever since we were young and lived with our mom, we’ve been the only ones we could count on to take care of each other. I feel blessed that I was reunited with my brothers. We’ve been living together for four years in a loving home. I finally have what I’ve always wanted.

State Of The World's Children Report Focuses On Teens

rgee — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 13:19:06 -0600

UNICEF released its State of the World’s Children 2011 report today, entirely focused on the teenage period of transition. According to the report, this focal switch is urgent because while the world has seen drastic improvements in the quality of life and survival rates of children under the age of 10, teenagers still face overwhelming hardships.

The introduction of the report demonstrates this imbalance. “In Brazil for example, the lives of 26,000 children under one were saved between 1998 and 2008, leading to a sharp decrease in infant mortality. In the same decade 81,000 Brazilian adolescents aged 15-19 were murdered.”

In addition, the report states that after primary school, education for teenagers in developing countries is absent, which makes teenagers more vulnerable to exploitation, abuse, and violence.

Statistics about the teenage pregnancy rate demonstrate another barrier that adolescent girls face as they try to advance out of poverty in developing countries. For example, the study reports that complications due to pregnancy and childbirth are within the leading causes of death for girls between 15 - 19 years old.

The report talks about a study done in Orellana, an Ecuadorian province in the Amazon Basin, "Where nearly 40 per cent of girls aged 15–19 are or have been pregnant, found that the pregnancies had much less to do with choices made by the girls themselves than with structural factors such as sexual abuse, parental absence and poverty.”

Cyber Bullying

randrews — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:38:55 -0600

Cyber bullying is often something that is overlooked. It is the act of verbally abusing someone through comments, blogs, or messages on the internet. Admittedly, much of the time, simple teasing on Facebook or other social messaging websites is not a big deal. It’s something that I do all the time, but there is definitely a range of cyber bullying. It’s one thing to tease a friend, but a completely different thing to post racial insults on somebody’s blog. Many of the comments on the web fall into the latter category. In fact, if you ever want to feel depressed over humanity, go to any YouTube video and I guarantee that you will find at least one nasty comment. What these “web terrorists” as I like to call them don’t realize is that just because you have a keyboard and a computer doesn’t mean you can say whatever you like. As a rule of thumb, if you don’t have the courage to say something in person, then you shouldn’t be saying it online. This subject is very personal to me. This past year, one of my best friends passed away for mysterious reasons. In an online news article, it mentioned how he passed away at a party for mysterious reasons. Many of the comments following the article read similar to “finally that party town gets what it deserves” and “it served that stupid kid right for drinking under-age.”

Of course these comments have been sugarcoated. It angers me to think that somebody who doesn’t even know who this person judges them just because they can. Web terrorists don’t really know the issue, but target vulnerable audiences. This was a perfect example of people not knowing the issue at hand. My friend did not die due to alcohol; in fact he had almost none in his system. For weeks after the article was posted, my friends came to school with printouts of what the web terrorists said and remarked about how disgusting their comments were. It was then that I realized that we were giving them what they wanted. These people crave attention and thrive off of people’s reactions. They remind me of my dog. He often steals things out of my room and runs around with them. If you run after him, he’ll fight you to the death over a dirty sock. But if you simply ignore him, he will drop the sock and walk away because he’s not getting any attention. As long as you don’t acknowledge these web terrorists, they cannot hurt you and they will give up and drop the subject. When you respond and are hurt by their comments, you give them what they want.

Investigation: Sailors' Abuse Kept Silent in Navy Canine Unit

noah — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:39:48 -0500

By Rachel Krantz

In the Persian Gulf, on the island of Bahrain, the U.S. Navy has a special division made up of bomb-sniffing dogs and the sailors who handle them. The Bahrain Military Working Dogs Division was featured in a Navy News spot highlighting the work involved in deploying these highly trained canines to sniff out narcotics and explosives coming through the Persian Gulf and into the war zones of Afghanistan and Iraq.

(See a Navy video of the dogs that can detect small amounts of explosives with a sense of smell "10 times greater" than their trainers'.)

Developing trust between the dog and the handler is at the core of what makes canine detection work, as together, their job is to step into situations that can be deadly at any moment. However, that trust between the individual sailor and dog does not necessarily extend to the overall culture of the unit.

A Youth Radio investigation has found that between 2004 and 2006, sailors in the U.S. Navy’s Bahrain Military Working Dogs Division, or "The Kennel," were subjected to an atmosphere of sexual harassment, psychological humiliation, and physical assaults.

Joseph Christopher Rocha with an MWD in Bahrain.

It was inside that Bahrain kennel in July 2005 that Petty Officer Joseph Christopher Rocha, then 19 years old, says he was being terrorized by other members of his own division. "I was hog-tied to a chair, rolled around the base, left in a dog kennel that had feces spread in it."

Rocha says that beginning six weeks into his deployment, he was singled out for abuse by his chief master-at-arms, Michael Toussaint, and others on the base, once Rocha made it clear he was not interested in prostitutes. "I was in a very small testosterone-driven unit of men," Rocha says. "I think that's what began the questioning-you know-‘Why don't you want to have sex with her? Are you a faggot?’"

Youth Radio has conducted interviews and obtained documents released under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) showing that the hog-tying episode was not the first or only case of harassment and abuse during Rocha's deployment. In another incident cited in the documents, Rocha was forced to appear in a twisted "training video." A member of the Working Dogs Division, Petty Officer Shaun Hogan, recalls the scene.

Petty Officer Shaun Hogan

"Petty Officer Rocha and another junior sailor…were instructed to go into a classroom by Chief Michael Toussaint, who orchestrated the entire training. And Chief Toussaint asked them to simulate homosexual sex on a couch," Hogan says.

Next in the simulation, Hogan says a handler and his dog barged onto the scene, and that's when "one person…would sit up, kind of wipe off their mouth, the other would get up, and they would be fixing their fly."

Rocha says Toussaint bullied him, "telling me I needed to be more believable, act more queer, have a higher pitched voice, make the sounds and gestures more realistic...I didn't think I had a choice…It made me feel that I wasn't a human being, that I was an animal, rather."

Rocha says at the time, he had no gay friends, no male lovers, and wasn’t even fully out to himself about his sexuality. "The fact that I was starting to figure out that I was a homosexual, it was the most degrading thing I've ever experienced in my life." Still, eight thousand miles away from home, he was afraid to report the constant hazing. And Rocha was not the only one.

[PAGE TWO: THE DOCUMENTATION]

[NOTE: We've disabled the comments section on this page in order to keep the discussion on this topic in one place. Please use the comments section on Page Three of the story. We apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.]

Sailors' Abuse Kept Silent in Navy Canine Unit: THE FALLOUT

noah — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:44:01 -0500

[Click here for Page Two]

As for the sailors from the Military Working Dogs unit, those Youth Radio interviewed who took the risk of participating in the investigation have seen no public accountability within their military leadership. “I would like to see the people responsible for allowing this to go unpunished be held accountable,” says Rocha, “and in doing so setting an example throughout the armed forces that the values of honor, courage and commitment and are more than just a tagline.”

An undetermined number of sailors from the unit are struggling with the after-effects of the hazing and abuse they suffered or witnessed.

Joseph Christopher Rocha (at left) has been diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder by Veterans Affairs.

Shaun Hogan (at right) says he is haunted by personal guilt.

"I was duty bound to protect those under my command; Petty Officer Rocha [and] several others. I have a lot of regret for not having spoken up at the time and intervening... and the reason I didn't was because I felt threatened myself. Chief Toussaint had shown he will throw people out of the kennel. The last thing he did when he left was threaten me, that if he hears anything that doesn't agree with him, he knows people, and he'll seek to have my certification to handle dogs removed."

A female member of the unit, who asked not to be named, says after her “horrible” deployment in Bahrain, she was ready to quit the military. Then she was transferred to a new base and decided to stay, determined to become a different kind of leader.

"How can we sit there and try to promote honor, courage and commitment when we have people like that in the military?” she said, “That's why I hope I can make rank and make a difference somehow, in a small way, hopefully."

As for Rocha, after his assignment in Bahrain, he chose a path towards officer training. But the hardest moment came when he decided to walk away from that, and with it, his lifelong dream of a military career. He says there are lots of reasons behind that painful choice: the lack of public accountability for the abuse he suffered in Bahrain; the fear that the abuse at his next deployment could be as bad or worse; and the vision of a life where he'd be lying to himself everyday about his sexuality and who he is, just to keep his job.

In the end, it only took three words.

"I am homosexual."

Rocha's official statement went on:

"I am proud of my service and had hoped that I'd be able to serve the navy and country for my entire career. However…I must be honest with myself, courageous in my beliefs and committed to my course of action. I understand this statement will be used to end my naval career."

(Read the full statement.)

On the basis of that statement, Rocha was officially discharged by the U.S. Navy.

Sailors' Abuse Kept Silent in Navy Canine Unit: THE DOCUMENTATION

noah — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:40:44 -0500

[Click here for Page One]

Allegations of abuse across the unit escalated to a point that Navy officials enlisted Marine Corps Captain Brooks Braden to carry out an independent investigation. When Youth Radio reached Braden by phone, he said he didn’t have authorization to discuss “any investigations that may or may not have occurred.” There are a variety of opinions as to what specifically triggered the investigation of the Working Dogs Division. What’s not in question are the Findings of Fact highlighted in the Navy’s report.

Youth Radio has obtained a copy of both Braden’s investigation and the Navy’s Findings of Fact, which detail what happened to Rocha, in addition to incidents involving other service members. The FOIA documents have been redacted, so names are blocked out, but the actions listed include: throwing hard balls at the groin, spraying down uniformed personnel with multiple hoses, and a dog attacking a sex worker on base to the point of hospitalization.

(See the redacted investigation report.)

Youth Radio’s investigation includes interviewing four members of the Bahrain Working Dogs Division who served between 2004 and 2006. All say the tone was set by Chief Toussaint. Some sailors participated in the culture of hazing as victims, others as perpetrators, or in some cases both. They say the hazing continued because of a series of threats that were also integral to the culture of the unit, which not only tolerated abuse, but also invited it. To prevent them from speaking out, sailors Youth Radio interviewed say Toussaint would threaten to revoke their handlers’ licenses--taking away their dogs and their specialty in the Navy.

Another incident cited in the investigation found that two female service members were ordered to simulate sex with each other on video. According to the Findings of Fact, the women were handcuffed to a bed and appeared to be naked under a sheet.

(See the redacted Findings of Fact.)

For response from the Navy, investigator Brooks Braden and Naval officials in Bahrain pointed Youth Radio to Regional Public Affairs Officer Wendy Snyder. Though stationed in Naples, Italy, Lieutenant Commander Snyder confirmed that she is the official spokesperson for the base. She said in a phone call that she did not possess records for the investigation of the Military Working Dogs unit.

"Because it's been more than two years, they are no longer available,” Snyder said. “Whether they're shredded or destroyed, I don't know."

In response to the fact that Youth Radio has obtained a copy of the official findings of the investigation, Snyder said, "I know an investigation was held in 2007 regarding several instances that took place within the Military Working Dog Division of the Naval Security Force in Bahrain. I believe there were at least 16 individuals involved in allegations."

Youth Radio asked what disciplinary actions Navy officials have taken against those responsible for the abuses against sailors at the Bahrain Working Dogs Division. "As far as I know,” Snyder said, “the investigation was completed, and the outcomes I don't know of those individuals involved." In a subsequent email, Snyder wrote that “personnel were held accountable” on the basis of the investigation, but she could not report specific disciplinary actions for the chief or his superiors.

Seeking a more specific answer, Youth Radio contacted the Navy’s Judge Advocate General, its Commander of Naval Installations and public affairs offices in Bahrain and state-side. All either weren’t available or refused to identify repercussions for those in the chain of command responsible for the Working Dogs Division abuse.

Youth Radio has obtained a copy of an email addressed to commanders distributed by Vice Admiral Bob Conway, who at the time of the investigation oversaw the management of Navy bases around the world, including Bahrain. In it, Conway states that hazing activities cited in the investigation “were encouraged, and in some cases instigated, by the senior enlisted leadership of the M.W.D. Division.” The email goes on to say the Navy “must hold those who engage in or enable hazing accountable.” While Conway continues that he might be “beating a dead horse,” he says “incidents” continue to occur, and that the Navy needs to identify those responsible “before something bad happens.” Service members who “don’t get it,” he says, “have no place in a leadership position.”

And yet, the Navy’s actions in the case of the Bahrain Working Dogs unit don’t line up with that directive. Since the investigation, Michael Toussaint, Chief over the unit during the abuse, was promoted to Senior Chief with the elite Naval Special Warfare Development Group in Dam Neck, Virginia.

Youth Radio made several attempts to contact Toussaint directly and was told by Special Warfare Command spokesman Major Sonny Leggett that Toussaint is in “austere locations” and unable to be reached.

[PAGE THREE: THE FALLOUT]

Crossing the Species Line

skhan — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 18:36:05 -0500

Recent horrific incidents of animal abuse have abounded in the media, and they're obviously very troubling to me. There's the story of Cheyenne Cherry, who broke into a home, stole things, and put the owner's kitten in a 500 degree oven, leaving it to die and an Ohio firefighter who shot his dogs in his basement to avoid paying kennel costs while he went on vacation. Then there's the suspended NFL star Michael Vick, who recently was released from his three year federal sentence for dogfighting. And then there are the rumors of abuse that spread virally through web video, one particularly heinous one depicting two Marines stationed in Iraq throwing a puppy off of a cliff. I used to think that showing kindness to animals was a given for everyone; but with all these examples, now I wonder whether people need some direct instruction in the matter of relating to animals.

In a way, these extreme examples should be enough to teach people that it's wrong to harm innocent creatures that are dependent on us. And perhaps they are more the exception than the rule. But, what puzzles me is how passively so-called innocent bystanders react when they witness such acts. As a child, I would see total strangers throw rocks at dogs and cats that would appear frail and scared. It didn't stop there: cars would attempt to run over squirrels that were simply running across the street to climb into a desired tree. When I would attempt to ask older people, related or not, why people would even want to do such things to an animal that wasn't even bothering them, no one would ever answer my question directly. All of them, however, used a method that they felt allowed them to escape explanation of their animal attacks: the Bible. The verse of choice was Genesis 1:26: "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." I can see where this power being granted to man would be a good thing; after all, the meat and skin of animals provided food and clothing for early humans' survival, or were used to aid people in work purposes. In present times, people no longer have to eat meat if they don't want to, like in the practices of vegetarianism or veganism; cotton, silk, and other synthetic materials can be used for clothing and other accessories; and today, the work that horses have traditionally performed in farmer's fields for years have been replaced by machinery. Throughout all of these changes, animals have been there at human's beck-and-call, even when humans have done some extremely unsavory things to these creatures. Where do we draw the distinction between man's real need for animals versus straight animal cruelty?

Although I will say that in recent years there has been more focus on animal rights than concern over the treatment of fellow human beings, that doesn’t take away from the fact that animals are special creations that humanity should respect. I’ve spent my entire life around dogs, and can’t imagine the world without them: sweet faces with tails wagging, with stomachs always ready to consume the next meal, giant balls of energy that protect their human families with their hearts. Consider this little tidbit: there are service animals that help people who are blind or physically handicapped who handle tasks that those of us who have full physical capabilities take advantage of every day, like walking, shopping, or taking care of home-oriented tasks; others work to help save people’s lives in natural disasters or perform law enforcement duties. What pet owner doesn't love the idea of being jumped on, licked, and kissed by their animal when they come home from work or a long trip?

Fortunately, there are others that work tirelessly to eradicate animal abuses like ASPCA, an organization that has been influential in rescuing abused animals and serving as a haven from abuse until the animal has been adopted by a loving owner. I find the list of things that the ASPCA do for animals to be nothing short of outstanding: they have their own police force, assist police departments in tracking down information that is relevant to situations where abuse is suspected, and lobby for laws that focus on the humane treatment of animals.

There are some animal rights groups, however, that want to fight for the rights of animals so hard that they violate natural human rights. Even though I love what PETA is trying to do when it comes to making the public aware of serious abuses, certain methods that they use are classified as no-no's to me. Many people are aware of PETA members appearing at red carpet events, and throwing paint all over the clothing of people who are wearing anything involving fur. Spinning off of PETA's anti-fur campaign,although I won't wear fur, I certainly wouldn't want to go around naked. While I personally would never be caught dead in authentic animal fur, I can't condone those kinds of tactics because people still need to be respected. I often wonder if it is these type of tactics that cause people to avoid anything to do with animal welfare causes, while they might be active supporters under usual circumstances.

If one is not killing an animal for the sole purpose of food (something that many groups of people have to do for survival), then I can’t truly understand the pleasure of sport hunting, dog-fighting, and elephants being whipped by their circus trainers. As it is, the distinction definition of animal cruelty becomes very complicated when the topic of animal usage in medical research is discussed, and I will admit honestly that I am stuck on the fence about this practice. On one hand, there are certain medications that can be harsh on a human body; at the same time, it leaves questions as to how each animal feels during those procedures. Certainly, it makes me wish that animals could talk: people can only speculate on animal's experiences, but they never really know how it feels.

In the past, animals (dogs especially) were bred to be hard workers, good hunters, and loyal protectors, while still being subjected to the animal fighting rings where participants could make heavy money from the violence. Today's treatment of animals is certainly much better than it has been (organizations designed for protection, pet adoption services, loving owners who treat their pets like family, etc.), but I think we still have a little ways to go. In the future, I would love to see senseless animal abuse become a thing of the past. I figure that if the animal is not seeking to harm you or kill you, why harm and kill that animal? Most animals may not be able to walk upright, drive, pay bills, or cheer for a winning football team, but they are living beings that deserve to live in a world where they abused just for the sake of it. Not only do I think that animals are here to help us, I believe that God created animals for people to love. So, why not step back and let them do what they were made to do?

Previously:

Women Exploitation Major Issue In Oakland

patrick — Mon, 04 May 2009 19:01:29 -0500

By Lanaya Lewis

A woman being exploited is a major factor on the streets. Especially in the city of Oakland. Young women ages 13 and up are being abused and exploited. Prostitution, abuse, and language play a big role in this situation. Through prostitution, women are being exploited every night in Oakland. High street and International blvd are top spots for prostitution. You would be amazed by the things you see after midnight. In other cases, media plays a big role in women exploitation. Majority of the music videos you see, they have half-naked women. Why is that? Most women don’t realize how they can abuse their bodies this way. It’s not just in videos but media as a whole lifestyle. Some women exploit their bodies because they believe it’s just the way to make a living. They also get caught up in wanting to be in the spot light and wanting to fit in. Why do most women accept the being called a female dog? The language used against most women is used by some as a joke, but to many its disrespectful. Some women take the language towards them as being funny, but what it really means is they don’t care about themselves. Having someone speak to you disrespectfully is not cool, and I know having women being exploited this way, gives a wrong impression to everyone.