Happy First Birthday, Shaepable

As of today, I’ve been running Shaepable for one year.

I write about a lot of things; politics, poetry, makeup, stories, mental illness, travel, and so much more. More than anything, this blog tells my story.

I’d been thinking about starting a blog for a long time but held back because, frankly, it seemed like a lot of work. The push was that it would be something to add to my resume, and I did it with a groan. Little did I know how important to me Shaepable would become. It’s something I didn’t realize I needed until I had it.

In a strange way, this blog has been a sort of therapy for me. It’s given me a chance to get things off my mind, to share my feelings and opinions with the world. I’ve been able to release things I used to bottle up in a creative and positive outlet.

Of course, that’s been scary and incredibly nerve-wracking at times. While I have the chance to explore my feelings and put them out into the world, many of my posts have been incredibly personal and some very controversial. It’s not always easy to share things in such a public way, especially to so many people that I know in real life.

Most of my followers right now are my friends and family, and I wanted to thank you. You’ve been here to read my thoughts. You’ve offered me words of encouragement and tremendous support. You’ve watched me build this blog from the ground up, and you’ve stayed as it’s grown and changed. Thank you all.

Love, Shaepable

Love, Shaepable

Shaepable now has an Instagram account and a Facebook page! I’m so excited to learn more about social media management, and I thought that getting some more accounts up and running was the best way to learn! Make sure to follow them at:

https://www.facebook.com/Shaepable-176487436172776/

https://www.instagram.com/shaepable/?hl=en

We Have A New President, and I Wear Black

I tried to write a blog post. I tried. There are no words for this.

I cannot figure out how we got to this place, a place where the rich and the white are protected and everyone else falls in the dust. Is this even America anymore? How can we be land of the free or home of the brave with a new leader like this?

This election was a huge blow to my view of human nature. I’ve always wanted to believe in the goodness of man. I’ve always wanted to think that we naturally have characteristics like compassion, love, and intelligence. Now, I’m not so sure.

After Trump was elected I had a 30-second period of time where I tried to convince myself, “Maybe it won’t be as bad as I thought.” Then, Bannon was nominated.

Since November my blog has had relatively little to say on the matter of politics, and that is because I just don’t know what to say. Everything I thought I had figured out is gone.

We have a new president and I wear black.

I Stand With Standing Rock

Today is Thanksgiving, and I wanted to give everyone a reminder that while we are celebrating a holiday based on love and trust between pilgrims and Native Americans, we are currently waging a war against the very people who fed us and taught us so much as we colonized this country.

In North Dakota, preparation for the Dakota Pipeline continues.

For those who aren’t familiar with the pipeline, it is a 1,172 foot pipeline that will be built to transport crude oil. The biggest problem? The pipeline will disrupt the lives of thousands of Native Americans from the Sioux tribe, as it runs through land just outside the Standing Rock Reservation.

A section of the pipeline will run underneath the Missouri River, which is the main source of freshwater for the Sioux people who live in the reservation. If the pipeline should break, this puts access to clean water at risk for those who live on the reservation. A popular chant by protesters is “water is life,” an indisputable fact. Without access to clean water, no human population can continue to survive.

Furthermore, members of the Sioux tribe say that the construction of the pipeline will disrupt sacred burial grounds. I can say with confidence that if white Christian cemeteries were about to be unearthed for the sake of an oil pipeline there would be outrage. It is pure racism that dictates that the burial grounds of the Sioux tribes somehow hold a less sacred quality.

Protesters have been gathering to voice their anger for months. The situation has become progressively more violent; that is, from the side of the policemen guarding the pipeline. Reportedly, protesters have been pepper sprayed, shot at with rubber bullets, faced attack dogs, been injured by concussion grenades, blasted by water cannons, and more.

It is despicable that our government and police forces can stand for this kind of oppression, violence, and the violation of constitutional rights.

For a list of ways that you can help support the Standing Rock Reservation and the protesters, visit http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/help-standing-rock-sioux-dakota-access-pipeline_us_583480c9e4b000af95eca013

Sources:

http://www.daplpipelinefacts.com/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/dakota-access-pipeline-protests-water_us_57d85a51e4b0aa4b722d12b1

http://time.com/4548566/dakota-access-pipeline-standing-rock-sioux/

Student Walkout in Granite School District: Constructive or Destructive?

On November 11th, hundreds of students from Hunter High School, Kearns High School, and Taylorsville High School to protest the recent election of Donald Trump. The school district estimates that about 500 students participated. Granite District’s Facebook post reads:

“Dear Patrons,
Today at Hunter High School, Kearns High School, and Taylorsville High School groups of students initiated a walk out in protest over the recent election. The walk out started at Hunter High with approximately 200+ students who made their way to Kearns, then to Taylorsville High School. While this was not a majority of students by any means, it appears around 500 students participated.
As student safety and instruction is our primary goal, we wanted to ensure all students who remained in class had the opportunity to learn and were not disrupted. Additionally, we wanted to make sure students who did participate in the walk out remained safe. As such, Unified Police followed the group as they made their way to Taylorsville, where they were allowed on the football field to prevent them from being near busy streets and would not disrupt students in class.
This event was covered extensively by news media. If your student is under the age of 18, news media cannot legally interview your child without permission. If this is a concern for you, please contact the media outlet directly.
Attendance was taken as normal today. If you would like to check to see if your child was in class, you may contact your school’s attendance office or check the Parent Portal.
We appreciate the efforts of law enforcement and school administration to keep our students safe and keep instruction going in classrooms.”

These students have faced much criticism from parents, teachers, and others. Comments left on the above post could easily be described as condescending. A few that stood out to me, copied directly from the comments:

“Some of these kids probably didn’t even protest, they were just looking for a reason to skip class and create an unsafe mess!”

“They participated in a peaceful protest for what a fair election? They didnt get their way, boo hoo. This is the real world YOU WONT ALWAYS GET YOUR WAY!!!!”

“Really? They aren’t even old enough to vote.”

“And this is what happens when you give trophies to the losers/participants trophies. Not everybody needs to throw a fit when they don’t get their way. Grow up and face the fact that not everybody wins.”
I, personally, am very proud of the students who did this. They are paying attention to politics and utilizing their First Amendment rights to make their voices heard. This election affects them and they have the right to voice their opinions. Even if they can’t vote yet, they will be able to in a few years and I think it’s important that they start their own political education now.

Many people also complained about the fact that students skipped school to protest. They say that this disrupts education. I disagree. Missing a single day of school will not affect a student’s learning or their grade. In fact, I would argue that using their rights and learning about politics is much more educational than a day in school.

It is unacceptable for adults to discourage students for standing up for their beliefs, especially when it is done in such a derogatory and disdainful way. These students are taking a stand for themselves, their loved ones, and their lives. They should be respected for this.

Students, I stand with you.

Trump is President, Just Accept It!

On November 8th, I cried myself to sleep.

Since the results of the Presidential Election became official, I’ve been in a state of shock. Now that Trump is the President Elect of the United States, his rhetoric becomes somehow more “acceptable.” This is a scary time for marginalized populations as violence and hate crimes against them rise, and I am afraid.

I’ve been to two protests since the election. I can honestly say that I have never felt so much solidarity as we marched together through the streets. The protests were mainly peaceful. I’ve been told that there was some violence from protesters and for that, I am sorry. However, the only violence and hate I witnessed was from counter-protesters when a woman was hit intentionally by a car, a man attempted to rip a banner from the hands of protesters, and when another man jumped out of his car to yell at protesters crossing the street trying to go home after the protest.

Many people have come to me to tell me that Donald Trump is the future President, and there is nothing I can do about that. I know this and I have accepted it.

So what am I trying to accomplish?

I am trying to protect myself. For those of you who don’t know, I identify with a queer sexual orientation. For me, this is very personal. I am frightened that people will say words of hate against me, and even of physical violence. Since the election I’ve been told that my fear is selfish and invalid multiple times, despite accounts and evidence of the violence that is happening against marginalized populations right now.

I am trying to protect the people I love. Many of my friends are minorities. They are Muslim, international, women, LGBT+, black, latinx… These are groups that will be directly affected by a Trump presidency and his hateful supporters.

More than anything, I am trying to make change. This is twofold: change to the system and change to society.

Most of us, on both sides, will agree that a system which brought forth two of the most widely-hated candidates is not a system that works. The system now is overrun with corruption and big money. That needs to change. I believe that we need a multi-party system that allows for the diverse opinions of the people to be heard and accounted for. Additionally, rules need to be put in place to prevent the “buying” of political candidates and policies.

As for the second, a society that can vote a misogynistic, racist, Islamophobic, ableist, and nationalistic man into presidential office must undergo some serious change. A president who stands for such beliefs stems from a society in which many of these beliefs already prosper. Trump was not the cause for such sentiment, he was merely a vessel for it. I cannot stand for this.

I will continue to fight for human rights. I will continue to fight for freedom. I will continue to fight for acceptance for all. And I will not back down.

Photo by Cheryl Stout

Photo from the Salt Lake Tribune

Photo by Cheryl Stout

Photo by Janell Heck

*Edit: the two photos taken by Cheryl Stout were added on 11/14/16

Go Vote!

Many of you know that I am the director for RHA’s Diversity and Inclusion Board at the University of Utah. Each month, we hold an event for residents promoting some sort of social-justice or inclusion-based issue. This month, we paired up with the Social Justice Advocates to help students get registered to vote. We tabled four days this week at different residence halls.

We actually had a pretty large number of students register with us, which I think is wonderful! I was surprised by the amount of people who wanted to register, but even more surprised by how many people were already registered. In fact, almost everyone we talked to was registered (or at least claimed to be). I even talked to many people who had their absentee ballots in their room, and some who had voted already. I was so excited about this. Traditionally my age-group has had the lowest voter turn-out. I am thrilled to see so many people involved and and excited about voting.

On the flip-side, I talked to a few people who chose not to register or said they were abstaining from the vote.

I am of the belief that voting is more than just a right, it is a duty. I believe that if you are an eligible citizen there is no excuse not to vote, especially in the presidential elections.

Furthermore, this election is arguably the most important in modern US history. The sides are polar opposites, with different opinions on nearly everything. The nation must choose the direction they want us as a country to take because, undoubtedly, this future president elect will be influential in monumental ways.

We have the choice of progress or of backwards movement. I hope that we will continue to go forward to improve our country.

Do research. Educate yourselves on the issues. Then, go and vote on November 8th.

For Utah registration, visit https://secure.utah.gov/voterreg/index.html

To find your polling location, visit https://vote.utah.gov/vote/menu/index

Donald Drumpf’s Popularity: the How and Why

Primaries have been progressing steadily for the last two months or so. The leader in the race for the Republican Party nomination is Donald Trump (which is actually quite terrifying, but that’s a topic for a different blog post).

Donald Trump’s success comes as somewhat of a surprise. When he announced that he was running, the internet took off with joke after joke, laughing about it. But it’s not a joke anymore. No one expected him to get very far, and no one expected him to be taken seriously. However, he continues to advance forward in the races, with significantly more momentum than almost any of his fellow Republican candidates. It seems that Donald Trump may actually be the leading candidate for the Republican Party, giving him the chance to potentially hold the presidential office.

The question is… Why? Donald Trump has no political experience, a poor understanding of the international field, is blatantly disrespectful to women and minorities, and is essentially unqualified in every way to take over the presidency.

Why is he still so successful?

The answer, in my mind, is fairly simple: FEAR.

Donald Trump has pushed forward the fears of the American people and used them to his advantage. He is alarmingly good at utilizing scapegoats.

Americans fear ISIS and terrorist groups, so Donald Trump turns Muslims and the Middle East into our enemies, blaming them for all of the problems we face in America.

Americans fear the takeover of jobs by illegal immigrants, so Donald Trump turns the Mexican government into a group of villains who surreptitiously plot the downfall of the United States.

Americans fear the fall of the US economy, so Donald Trump emphasizes China’s success and turns them into a foe that must be taken down to protect our country.

Donald Trump’s entire campaign is based off of fear. Anything that can be demonized is, and the small fears of the American people are blown into massive proportions. The terror instilled by Donald Trump is taking over in the minds of many, earning him a herd of loyal followers.

However, the truth is this: Muslims are not terrorists. Mexicans are not criminals. The Chinese are not enemies.

Despite some (very real) fears, these groups of people are not bad. Terrorism lies in the hands of extremists, and drug lords are just as criminal to the Mexican government as they are to us.

I beg of you, do not allow these fears to take over. While they are valid, Donald Trump blows them out of proportion for the sole purpose of getting votes and increasing hostility. If he is put in place as the President of the United States it will have drastic and terrifying effects, not only for us, but for the world as a whole. The United States of America has more influence than any other country, and we must use this power wisely and elect a strong and competent leader.