A People of Protest: Hong Kong

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."                                                        -First Amendment 

Peaceful or otherwise, protest has been a part of the United States since before the nation actually began.

The Boston Tea Party.
The Greensboro Sit-Ins.
The Montgomery Bus Boycott.
The Anti-Vietnam War Protest.

The Million Woman March.
And the list goes on...

Hong Kong protesters brandish American flags through the streets

For both our nation and the world, anytime a major change is needed public dissent must grow into protest. In most cases, we Americans take pride in our right to protest how we choose...in some cases...See: Black Lives Matter, national anthem protest, etc. Nevertheless, freedom of expression and protest is known globally as a hallmark tenant of American ideology.

Over the past few months, I've scrolled past many headlines containing words such as "Hong Kong", "violence", "protesters", "police", "Chinese government", "tensions rise" and "teargas" among other things. It didn't take long for me to catch the gist of it all: Chinese citizens in Hong Kong are protesting the government, police, or both and things are getting pretty intense. Despite their repeated appearances on my timelines, I realized I don't actually know why these protests are happening and why they've garnered so much international attention.

So I decided to do some research and give you guys a rundown of what's been going on:

• The protests began in opposition to an extradition bill that would have allowed for criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China under circumstances.
• Critics argue that this bill would give China greater influence over Hong Kong, could be used to target activists and journalists, and could expose Hong Kong citizens to unfair trials and violent treatment.
• Hong Kong police have used tear gas, rubber bullets, water cannons, and other aggressive methods to control protesters.
• Many protesters adopted a motto: "Five demands, not one less!"
1. For the protests to not be characterized as a "riot"
2. Amnesty for arrested protesters
3. An independent inquiry into alleged police brutality
4. Implementation of complete universal suffrage
5. Withdrawal of the extradition bill
• Since the protests began, over 2000 protesters have suffered injuries and many more were arrested.

On October 23, Hong Kong authorities finally withdrew the controversial extradition bill that sparked the violence that has ensued for months. Although protests are still continuing in various forms, it is interesting to see how these events will progress and possibly extend into 2020.

“Every man of humane convictions must decide on the protest that best suits his convictions, but we must all protest.”  

 - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Build-A-Breaking News Story

Over the past couple of years, our nation has been subject to many rather, um...unfortunate political and pop culture headlines caused by our current Presidential administration. Most notably, the concept of "Fake News".

It is here.

It is there.

It is EVERYWHERE.

It sees us when we're sleeping. It knows when we're awake. You get the gist.

According to some individuals, fake news is an epidemic that has poisoned nearly every facet of modern mainstream news media. Others believe it be nothing more than a scare tactic towards journalism via national propaganda. Now, regardless of how the term began or what it has spiraled into, fake news and misinformation in the news has become a growing concern for many Americans. Especially considering the current state of our nation's leadership and the upcoming 2020 election.
Since many people (including myself) receive most, if not all, of their news through social media platforms, people have called upon these companies (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) to take vigilant action against the cyber-terrorists bent on deceiving the public...and Facebook has actually done it!!!!

Kinda. Sorta. Well...

Basically, back in 2017, Facebook made an announcement about a change they were implementing that would keep users from editing article headlines, pictures and other link data before posting the link on Facebook, thus limiting users from being able to post inaccurate and deceitful information under the guise of legitimate news.

Sounds pretty great, right? But, OF COURSE, some users have discovered a loophole around this, which is always a possibility in this sea of technology and innovation we live in. However, Facebook doesn't really seem to care too much. As evident in the article, Facebook has dealt with a lot of criticism since the 2016 presidential election regarding egregious amounts of misinformation on its platform- which has spurred all of their recent efforts towards integrity and honesty within their platform. However, the loophole mentioned in the article was reported multiple times to Facebook with no avail, so the question remains:

Is Facebook doing enough to curb fake news or enough to make it LOOK like it is???

From Twitter Fingers to Constitution Fingers

In 2019, we have embraced the plethora of social networking platforms and utilized them to their nearly limitless potential. We use them to connect to distant loved ones, meet new people, advertise our businesses, sell our products, promote our cousin's abysmal SoundCloud. 

However, with most things meant for good, there's always gonna be people who have nothing better to do than use their Cheeto™ dust-covered fingers to spread hate, lies and negativity. The great thing about about social media is that we have the option to block these internet trolls when we come across them and simply move on...well, most of us can.

According to several First Amendment groups, New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is violating the Constitution by choosing to block certain trolls and harassers on her personal Twitter account, @AOC. These groups claim that as a government official, Cortez's twitter is a public forum and blocking people infringes on their First Amendment right to free speech...

To me that sounds pretty unreasonable. The Twitter account in question is her PERSONAL account, not her official government account. Obviously public officials are allowed to be criticized publicly, however...having the right to do something doesn't mean it is without consequence. There's a difference between criticism and harassment and I don't blame her for wanting to clear a small portion of that weight from her life.

AOC Blocks Twitter Trolls