Warning Shot Case

Today my coworker and I were talking about social issues and the injustices that go on in society. She told me about the Marissa Alexander case which really grabbed my attention. I know that this case might be old by now, but this was my first time hearing about it. Marissa Alexander is a Florida woman serving 20 years in prison for firing a shot at her estranged husband (Fineout, 2013). This warning shot as every news broadcaster and reporters are calling it, was a form of self-defense for Alexander. She tried to claim her action of self-defense under the Stand Your Ground Law, but it was unsuccessful in her defense and led to the jury’s verdict of 20 years in prison. The case has set off yet another controversy involving the states "stand your ground" law, which is under intense scrutiny after the shooting death of Trayvon Martin in February (Fineout, 2013). The 1st District Court of Appeal ruled that Alexander deserves a new trial because the trial judge handling her case did not properly instruct the jury regarding what is needed to prove self-defense (Fineout, 2013).

After I looked up more information about this case it was interesting to me that she was a victim of domestic violence by her husband. Alexander and her ex-husband have a baby with one another; could this have led to her still being trapped in this abusive relationship? Marissa said that her ex-husband Rico Gray beat her regularly, including while she was pregnant with their child (Liberation News.org, 2013). Reports also say that Gray has a history of physically abusing women (Liberation News.org, 2013).  I know that for victims of domestic violence it is hard for them to leave an abusive relationship due to the mental abuse they experience, and because they fear that leaving their significant other (the abuser) will have a bad ending. There are numerous reasons for why women may stay in abusive relationships, but when they defend themselves they are penalized for it. This reminds me of the book Provoked that I haven’t finished reading. This book is about the case of Kiranjit Ahluwalia in England of 1979 who killed the man that abused her for years. After reading numerous articles about this case, Marissa reported some incidents between her and her partner to the police but denied some of the acquisitions after she reported them, which is a thing I think that many victims of domestic violence do.

Looking at this case through a social worker lens and not through a racial lens (which I think that some people may be viewing it) it seems as though many pieces of the puzzles are missing this case. None of the articles I read about this case ever said anything her seeking help from a domestic violence agency in Florida or anything about a social worker in this case to advocate for her. However agencies that deal with victims of domestic abuse try to provide them with all the necessary resources that they need and safety, but the victims must be willing to seek help. I don’t know how this would connect on a macro level in social work, but I think that social workers could work with legislators to help change some the policies for domestic violence if possible or just try to advocate for them is some way.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/26/marissa-alexander-new-trial_n_3995869.html

Observation

I read a CNN news article about Nicholas Lowinger who is 15 years old stated a group that gives new shoes to homeless children after his visit at a homeless shelter with him mother who works in various homeless shelters in Rode Island (Klairmont, 2013).

Flaws (Blog Post # 3)

Child protective services, a division within state and local social services, is at the center of every community’s child protection efforts (DePanfilis, D. & Salus, M.K., 2003). Texas’s child protective services is responsible for investigating child abuse and neglect, providing services to children and their families, placing children in adoptive homes, placing children in foster care, and helping foster youth  make a smooth transition into adulthood ( Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, 2013).   http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/child_protection/.

If these are the goals of CPS, I wonder if child abuse and neglect continues to occur after  children are taken out of there abusive homes and placed into foster care. I recently came across an article that accuses Texas of poorly supervising children while in foster care. Meanwhile a class action lawsuit that was filed in 2011 on behalf of nine Texas children is now in pursuit for the poor supervision of foster children in Texas (Wilson, 2013). The New York-based Children’s Rights group is behind the push for justice for more than 12,000 abused and neglected Texas children that were permanently removed from their natural homes (Wilson, 2013). Executive Director Marcia Robinson Lowry said the child rights group has sued more than 15 states for “mistreatment of foster children” and lost just two of those cases (Wilson, 2013). Two-year old Alexandria Hill was killed under the care of Texas CPS by her foster mom sometime last month (Wilson, 2013). Texas mentor, the agency responsible for placing Alexandria with foster mom Small, is the third largest foster care contractor in the state, records show that one of its offices in Arlington has been under evaluation for the past six months(Wilson, 2013). http://www.infowars.com/lawsuit-accusing-texas-of-poorly-supervising-foster-children-moves-forward/\

If CPS aim is to reduce child abuse and neglect why are children still being harmed after they are taken out of homes where they are already experiencing such trauma. After reading this article I felt upset with the system mainly because it has taken 2 years for the government to do something about this situation. The child protective services system in Texas still has flaws in it and it seems as though they are failing at their mission. Just like any other state facility (CPS) has a lot of flaws within it and conditions that could be changed, especially when placing children in foster care, in this case. One thing that could change is the extensive background checks that they do on foster care and adoptive families before placing children into these families. State funding for CPS has been increased twice over the past eight years (Wilson, 2013) so why hasn’t the system been effective in reducing its flaws and improving its care for abused and neglected children?
                                                                         Observation
Research Brown Bag is putting on a presentation Tuesday, October 1 from 1-2pm. The presentation will feature investigators from the Child and Family Research Institute. They will provide an overview of their initiatives which will allow you to learn about their work and discuss your ideas.

A Cause to Stand

There has been a lot of uproar in the black community on the UT campus last year and in the past two weeks due to the bleach balloon attacks on west campus. Many of my peers have continued to protest against these attacks. This Tuesday the Black Student Alliance(BSA) held a rally on West Mall to challenge these attacks called “A Rally against Racism and Ignorance” in response to more attacks on students of color three days after their first protest on August 28. On Sat., August 31st 2013 University of Texas at Austin student Alex Watson was victim to a balloon attack at the corner of 24th and Nueces. In conjunction this incident, another student (visiting from Texas A&M) was also victim to a balloon attack between the 25th and Longview (A Rally against Racism and Ignorance. https://www.facebook.com/events/203984206438169/.

Are these assaults sincerely ignorance or discrimination amongst minorities? The reoccurrence of these actions makes me think of how people in dominant groups can still oppress people or make minorities feel discriminated upon. In this situation the individuals who are throwing these balloons are unaware of how their insensitivity can be taken indirectly and make minorities feel that they are the targets of their actions. I heard that the idea of these balloons are to “whiten on lighten people of color” so could these actions be intentional? If this is the case and looking at the oppression of black people in our society one may feel that this is an act of racism.

This controversy made me think about our class discussion on Wednesday about working in organizations and about wanting to change the flaws you see within. I feel that the BSA is trying to educate people about the problem and bring awareness to everyone and the UT community. Thinking about our discussion, I see BSA as being the social workers in this picture because they see a flaw in the community and want to do something about and UT/APD (technically West Campus isn’t under the jurisdiction of UT since it is off campus so its under APD jurisdiction) as the administrator in this organization because in order for change to occur the organization has to be willing to change and has to be behind you to help you implement change. I know that the black community has done many protests about these incidents and it seems as though nothing has been done, but no prospects have been accused and it takes time for things to change, especially in a scenario like this.

Observation

I recently read an op-ed in class this week about how republicans plan to cut $40 billion from the SNAP (food stamps) program. This article talked about how some of these benefits are not necessarily going to the people who really need them now and how this huge cut will affect people in society leaving the people who really need them out.

I read the op-ed in a newspaper in class so here is a link about this issue http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/08/02/19831109-republicans-to-propose-40-billion-cut-over-decade-to-food-stamps-program?lite

Blog Post 1

Hot Topic: Miley Cyrus
                                         

A role model is someone whose lifestyle and values a person wishes to imitate. Hannah Montana was a role model to young girls since the airing of her show in 2006 until 2011. However, Hannah Montana was not a real person it was just a character. Under this character was Miley Cyrus. Whether she likes it or not Miley has always been a role model. Many people in our society idolize celebrities but when they make mistakes just like any other person they receive more criticism. Because of this show people may have thought they knew the real Miley and expected a lot from her but where there is expectation there is also disappointment.

Extra! Extra! Read all about comes to mind when you now hear Miley’s name now. She is the hot topic in the media on YouTube, news shows, vines, and even memes. Is she a Disney Star gone wrong? After her provocative VMA performance with Robin Thicke she has received a lot of backlash. Many people have begun to question her as a role model. Parents of young girls and even people who work in the media are upset with her performance and ask what she was thinking. However expecting a 20 year old to be a role model and still live up to being Hannah Montana is a little peculiar to me. Although people idolize celebrities we have to realize that when people are in their twenties (celebrity or not) they are still going to make stupid mistakes and are still trying to figure out who they are.

 Her raunchy and vulgar performance has caused uproar in our society. This just goes to show how caught up our society can be in the lives of celebrities when there are many other issues going on in the world besides Miley’s twerking. There are a lot of different views about her concert at the VMA’s. Some see her behavior as inappropriate, some view it as her expressing her sexuality, while others see it as her exploiting/making fun of black women. Looking at her show over and over again and viewing it through the different lenses of others I can understand why her actions have led to such criticism. Being a celebrity automatically makes you a role model to some people which Miley has to recognize. As Miley continues to grow into the woman that she wants to be, she has to know that young girls still look up to her or even want to be her and that all publicity isn’t good.

Observation

Last night I read an article by Dr. Christine Smith who is a professor here at UT. In this article she talks about how horrified she was when she found out she was pregnant with a boy and why she was horrified of raising a black boy in our society today. I have attended many talks on campus where we talk about what it is like being black in society and how it is even harder to be a black man living in this society today.

Here’s the link to the article if you guys want to read: http://thefeministwire.com/2013/07/an-open-love-note-to-my-son-on-mourning-love-and-black-motherhood/