Author: Syndicated

Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele proclaimed October 9, 2017 as Indigenous Peoples Day in Milwaukee County. Milwaukee County joins more than 20 communities nationwide, including the City of Madison and Dane County, which will now commemorate Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead on the same day as the federal Columbus Day holiday. “I’m incredibly proud that Milwaukee County is officially recognizing and appreciating the contributions of native thought, culture, and technology in our society,” County Executive Chris Abele said. “I’m also proud that the next generation of Milwaukeeans cares so deeply about learning our true history and using their voice to...

The United States has a gun violence epidemic. Headline after headline provide the evidence. But at what point does our staunch adherence to journalistic norms and routines become journalistic negligence in perpetuating this epidemic? A recent study showed that 30 percent of mass killings were potentially inspired by previous mass killings and singled out sensational, detailed news media coverage as a possible factor for this contagion. And as the late Steve Buttry wrote, “It’s undeniable that the limelight that journalism provides is an incentive that appeals to mass killers.” Initial evidence suggests the alleged perpetrator in the Freeman High...

The Gun Lobby’s interpretation of the Second Amendment is one of the greatest pieces of fraud, I repeat the word fraud, on the American People by special interest groups that I have ever seen in my lifetime. The real purpose of the Second Amendment was to ensure that state armies – the militia – would be maintained for the defense of the state. The very language of the Second Amendment refutes any argument that it was intended to guarantee every citizen an unfettered right to any kind of weapon he or she desires. – Warren Burger, Conservative Supreme Court...

The call for a boycott over black players in the NFL kneeling during the National Anthem is hypocritical and antithetical to American values. Over the past few days, I have seen grumblings from white men online that they plan to boycott the NFL over black players protesting. I am a white male, a lifelong NFL fan, and a military veteran, and I have a few things to say. I served this country specifically in defense of the rights enumerated in our Constitution. I served so that Americans like Kaepernick could take a knee during the National Anthem in protest...

Research from Harvard University suggests that children as young as three years old, when exposed to racism and prejudice, tend to embrace and accept it, even though they might not understand the feelings. By age 5, white children are strongly biased towards whiteness. To counter this bias, experts recommend acknowledging and naming race and racism with children as early and as often as possible. Children’s books are one of the most effective and practical tools for initiating these critical conversations, and they can also be used to model what it means to resist and dismantle oppression. Beyond addressing issues...

Milwaukee houses the region’s poor and enriches the pocketbooks of the region’s workers. Rather than being denigrated, Milwaukee should be celebrated for its generosity of spirit. Milwaukee is much maligned by politicians who are not from here, by pundits who think they can make a name for themselves denigrating the city, by suburban residents who fear and do not understand the city, and sometimes by the city’s own residents. Milwaukee is in some ways an enigma. It is a city that opens its arms and houses the vast majority of low income families from within the region and yet,...