# data[].attributes.body
Within the last several years, the United States has seen an increase in police shootings. The deaths of Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, and Breonna are only a few of the people whose lives have been lost as a result of police brutality. This past summer, the death of George Floyd sparked months of protests, some of which were the largest in the United States' history. These protests have left Americans with a profound question: who are 'we the people of these United States?' If today has been any indicator, Black Americans are not considered to be apart of 'the people' as their freedom and lives are under attack by their own government and fellow Americans.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/how-do-we-change-america
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/america-political-violence-risk/2020/09/11/be924628-f388-11ea-999c-67ff7bf6a9d2_story.html

# data[].attributes.body
Several days ago, an attack occurred in the French city of Nice where three were stabbed to death at a church. There has been an increase in religious tensions in France as this is the third attack within a month relating to religious violence. It has been interesting to see in both articles an attempt at answering the question of why these acts of violence were occurring? In both articles, the facts are stated to what has happened in the situations (how many people have been injured/ killed, where the attack occurred, and any first-hand accounts to what has been seen or heard), and most importantly what was the motive behind these attacks? It seems that when acts of violence occur people look to the attacker and their motive in order to make sense of the situations. For example, the attacks in France have been attributed to religious tensions as these attacks were carried out by Islamic extremists. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-54729957

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-54602171

# data[].attributes.body
Following this week’s theme on ‘Violence and Its Consequences,’ I decided to look at the everyday violence of the Jalisco cartel in Mexico. In the article In Mexico, a cartel is taking over: Jalisco New Generation, the people of Guanajuato are being terrorized by the Jalisco cartel with their forceful use of violence and intimidation. The article highlights how the cartel attempts to control the people of this state with false promises of peace and security by stating the cartel will not intervene in the everyday lives of the people; however, this is obviously untrue as a rise in deaths, rapes, and kidnappings have occurred. The article Mexico’s Cartel Wars: Living in a War Zone interviews residents of the Michoacan area about living in a area controlled by the cartel, and how that has affected their lives. Residents state that their everyday lives have become disrupted with the fear that they will be kidnapped for ransom or killed. With several gangs residing in the area, the amount of tension in even more increased as battles for turf ensue. Since there is an increasing amount of tensions between gangs, residents fear the suspicion of association with gangs as even that’s enough to get you killed. Both articles do an excellent job of articulating to their readers how violence from these cartels affect the everyday lives of people. Though not all of these people will have experienced some physical form of violence, they all share in another form which is mental violence. This kind of violence affects the everyday. It will decide when you go to buy your food, where you send your kids to school, where you got to work, etc. All these decisions are based around the fear and intimidation created by the cartel to rule the lives of the people they are trying to dominate. 

https://www.occrp.org/en/blog/11220-mexico-s-cartel-wars-living-in-a-war-zone

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/mexico-cartel-taking-jalisco-generation-69657724

# data[].attributes.body
https://act.represent.us/sign/electoral-college/

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/trump-biden-election-results-show-how-electoral-college-distorts-democracy-ncna1246663

Last week, most of the world was on edge waiting for the results of the 2020 presidential election in the United States. Days would pass, I would anxiously check my phone every half hour for any updates and perhaps results on the election. Finally, on Saturday, Joe Biden was declared winner of the election. Though I am both pleased and relieved with the results, this whole election has brought to question the Electoral College. In order to get a proper understanding, I read the article ‘The Electoral College and Popular Vote explained.’ The article explained the history of the Electoral College, and how its use fails to accurately represent ‘the people’ of the United States. Upon further research, the article ‘Trump-Biden election results show how the Electoral college distorts democracy’ highlighted why the Electoral College has come under fire with this particular election. The article pointed out that although there was an increase in voter turnout throughout the United States, swing states were more likely to have this increase than non-swing states. Since swing-states have the most Electoral College points to give to a candidate, it is insinuated that swing-states have the most power during an election although the population of swing states is significantly lower than the population in non-swing states. This causes an inaccurate representation of what the overall public may want. For example, although Hillary Clinton won the popular vote of 2016 election, Trump won the Electoral College vote. So, in this case we can see how ‘the people’ are not accurately represented and heard during the process of elections in the United States. Since this week’s topic revolved around the concept of ‘the people’ (who they are, and who they represent), the Electoral College in the United States is a prime example of democracy has become distorted whereby only a select portion of the population has a voice that counts.

# data[].attributes.headline
Week 4: Resistance in the form of Masks 

# data[].attributes.subject
Week 4: Resistance in the form of Masks 

# data[].attributes.body
Masks. To wear one, or not to wear one? Who would have thought a year ago today that masks would be used as a symbol of politics in the United States where the country stands divided on the issue of Coronavirus. According to the article ‘Coronavirus: Whey are American so angry about masks?’ Tara McKevely asks the question of why masks have come to represent a political catalyst taking hold in the United States. Not wearing a mask has become associated with supporting President Trump and his take on Coronavirus and with the much broader idea than an infringement of constitutional rights is taking place when being asked to coverup. The decision of not wearing mask has turned from a personal form of political resistance to a more collective form of protesting as health and the welfare of the people are a public issue. Masks have now become the symbol of an already divided nation pitting neighbour against neighbour in the battle over civic duty and public health.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-53477121
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/08/31/american-individualism-is-an-obstacle-to-wider-mask-wearing-in-the-us/

# data[].attributes.headline
Week 3: Borders Seperating Children from Parents 

# data[].attributes.subject
Week 3: Borders Seperating Children from Parents 

# data[].attributes.body
Immigration in the United States has been under hot debate the last decade, especially under the presidency of Donald Trump. President Trump has taken a hard stance against immigration promising voters on the campaign trail to provide more funding to ICE and the to build a wall which Mexico would (but never did) pay for. One controversial action which Trump has come under fire for was separating children from their parents as they attempted to cross the border illegally. This occurred between 2017- 2018 where over 2,700 children were separated from their parents, and as of 2020 there are still several hundred children who have not been able to reunite with their parents. This action by President Trump serves as an example of how the process of immigration can be a dehumanizing and traumatic event whereby the voices, needs, and wants of adults and children are ignored.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/21/us/migrant-children-separated.html
https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/07/11/us-family-separation-harming-children-families

# data[].attributes.headline
Week 2: Why Police Rarely Face Legal Consequences 

# data[].attributes.subject
Week 2: Why Police Rarely Face Legal Consequences 

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-54344379

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-its-still-so-rare-for-police-officers-to-face-legal-consequences-for-misconduct/

Since the topic of this week’s lecture centred on the inequality of punishment, I decided to provide a critique on two articles related to police violence in the United States. The first article, published by the BBC, explains the ruling over Breonna Taylor’s death, and how the officers involved faced no charging in connection to her death. While the article goes onto ensue that racial inequality played a factor in Ms. Taylor losing her life and her shooters being set free, the article fails to address the question of why her shooters got away with it. To understand this ruling, I read another article published by FiveThirtyEight detailing why police officers face little to no consequences for their actions. In summary, the article attributed a lack of conviction for officers due to the police culture which our society has manifested. This ‘culture’ includes protection from prosecutors, the sealing of police misconduct data, and the overarching note that officers are simply more believable than the victim. These two articles highlight how punishment is inequal due to standing prejudices and stigmatizations towards victims of colour, and how protection, support, and freedom are almost guaranteed for the officers committing violent acts in the name of justice.