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awong_smack
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Name: Alan
Country: United States
State: California
Metro: Los Angeles
Birthday: 5/8/1981
Gender: Male
Interests: SOCIAL WORK, professional wrestling, sports, movies, hanging out with friends, traveling, NewSong, and of course USC
Expertise: Social Work - My calling and my passion.
WWE - I have been a hardcore wrestling fan since I was eight years old.
Sports - I am a sports nut, more like a geek. But that's okay. I am passionate about the LA Lakers, LA Dodgers, LA Kings, and I can't forget about my beloved USC Trojans.
NewSong - I love this church. I've been calling it home since 2000.
Occupation: USC MSW Grad Student
Industry: Social Work
Message: message meEmail: email me
AIM:  awong smack
Member Since:
4/16/2003
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| As November 4 comes around, I've been thinking about this proposition
in California. Prop 8 eliminates the rights of same-sex couples to
marry. As a Christ follower, I am opposed to this proposition and I am
voting NO on Prop 8. Some of my fellow believers may disagree with me
stating that marriage has been defined by God between a man and a woman
and you may be voting yes on Prop 8 because of our religious beliefs
and you want to "protect marriage." However, God is also a God of
justice and I truly believe He believes in equal rights of ALL people.
Therefore, this proposition is NOT a morality issue and it IS an issue
of human rights. So, I am still voting NO on Prop 8.
For those that are saying yes to Prop 8 to protect marriages, how are
same-sex couples wanting to get married doing harm to marriages? I
don't see it. Same-sex couples are the ones who WANT to get married.
They understand what it means to be committed to each other. When you
think about the issue of divorce, it is the heterosexual couples (about
50%) that are getting divorced.
This proposition is eliminating the fundamental rights of same-sex couples and would relegate them to second class status.
Domestic partnerships are NOT the same as marriage. If this prop is
passed, then that means same-sex couples are not going to have the same
fundamental rights as heterosexual couples. Here are a few basic rights
that same-sex couples have been denied:
- Denied hospital visits.
- Denied the privilege to file joint tax returns
- Denied social security benefits
Same-sex couples pay taxes just like heterosexual couples therefore
should have the same rights as everyone else. They should not have
ambulances telling them that they cannot be with their partner even in
a life or death situation due to not being recognized as a spouse.
One MAJOR problem with marriage right now is that the government is
involved with marrying people. Marriage is a sacred institution. Many
religions in this country have very stong, personal beliefs about what
marriage is. So why is the government involved with defining what a
marriage is? Do you really want the government to tell couples who have
been together for years that they are not allowed to marry?
My ultimate HOPE is that government (local, state, and federal) would
stay out of the business of defining what a marriage is. You can call
BOTH heterosexual and same-sex couples civil unions or domestic
partners and the government should just be responsible for giving legal
status to these civil unions or domestic partners. This would give the
people the freedom to define what a marriage is. Then, ALL religions in
the U.S. would have the freedom to determine what a marriage is based
on their own beliefs WITHOUT government interference.
This is another reason why I am voting NO on Prop 8, I DO NOT want the
state government defining what marriage is regardless if it is in line
with my own personal beliefs. And yes, the majority of my take on Prop
8 was inspired by Tony Campolo.
I am open to hearing your perspective on this issue. Do you agree or disagree? | | |
| As a social worker, I am offended by Sarah Palin's remarks on community organizers not having real responsibilities. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kp-ClbnrEs
Read this article:
National Association of Black Social Workers Challenges Palin’s Mockery of Community Organizers
The National Association of Black Social Workers (NABSW) is saddened
that the meaningful and life-changing work carried out by community
organizers across America was denigrated during the recent Republican
National Convention.
The mocking insults – particularly the inference from Alaska Gov. Sarah
Palin that community organizers have no “real responsibilities” –
clearly show that the she is out of touch with the people who work in
the communities she seeks to serve, said Dr. Gloria Batiste-Roberts,
president of NABSW.
Social workers are community organizers, said Dr. Batiste-Roberts, and
deserve more respect for the challenging yet rewarding work that they
do, often without loud praise and large paychecks. Colleges and
universities across America are training the next generations of
community organizers and social workers who excitedly train to serve a
cause bigger than themselves – improving, in part, the whole of
humanity.
“From the Founding Fathers of this country, to those of the
Abolitionist and Women’s Suffrage movements, to the men, women and
children who courageously marched for Civil Rights, it has always been
community organizers who have borne the responsibility and been the
catalysts for change when history called upon them to overturn grave
injustices to disenfranchised groups and empower them, from the
grassroots level, with the skills for self-improvement and effective
problem-solving,” she said.
The National Association of Black Social Workers strongly urges
candidates to keep the campaign about the issues, not a mocking of
one’s life work.
“It’s sad and outrageous that we have a potential Vice President of the
United States of America with no real concept that community organizers
have real responsibilities in real communities facing real problems
that affect real people across this nation,” said Dr. Batiste-Roberts.
“Gov. Palin owes a debt of gratitude to community organizers who were
integral to the Women’s Suffrage Movement, for if they did not have
responsibilities, she would not be able to vote, nor be a candidate for
Vice President of the United States of America.”
NABSW was established in 1968 to advocate and address important social
issues that impact the health and welfare of the Black community. Our
affiliate chapters, including student chapters, are spread throughout
the United States. Additionally, we have chapters and affiliate groups
in Africa, Canada and the Caribbean. | | |
| Hello to my loyal xanga readers,
This is a late entry but last Thursday (May 8), I finished my finals and celebrated my 27th birthday. The school year has been a wild but fun rollercoaster year. Though I did not win the president position, I'm know that I am going to enjoy my final school year. As I am now 27, I reflect on the past year I think about how much I have grown as a social worker and as a leader in this profession. I think about how I have become more assertive as an individual and how much I hold more strongly the beliefs that I hold. As I look forward to my 27th year, I think about May 2009 where I will be graduating with my MSW degree. This upcoming year, I will take one step closer to my calling in life by entering my final year of graduate school. Here are some pictures from the past week:
Me and the birthday crew at Dave 'N Busters. We were also celebrating the end of finals, an engagement, and a farewell to a faculty member.
Here is the engagement we celebrated. And NO the girl with the stick is not the fiance (the fiance had to work). The girl with the stick is just pretending to be the fiance. Anyway, I'll stop there before you all get the wrong idea.
Me and Brent. Brent was my seminar teacher, faculty liaison, and academic advisor. He also is a mentor and a friend to me. I can't say enough about how much his encouragement has meant to me and my journey through grad school. I am truly going to miss him.
On Saturday night, I got to hang out with more of my friends at the Minx in Glendale. Though, we were celebrating another friend's birthday; it was still good times with good friends. If some of were wondering why have so many school friends that are girls, it's because our program is comprised of 90% women. The social work profession is extremely dominated by women. Hmmm, I think I chose the right profession.
This past Tuesday, the graduates celebrated Grad Night on this phat yacht.
This is me before entering the yacht. Yes even though I'm not graduating this year, I was still able to party with them on the yacht.
Me and the few men in the MSW program. See, I have made some guy friends in the program also.
Me and the other two who are not graduating but were able to attend Grad Night. We can't wait til our Grad Night next year. Class of 2009, here we come!
Ever since I finished finals, it's been all end of the year partying. What can I say, we all deserve it for working our butts off for the entire school year. When you're in grad school, you gotta work hard and play hard.
As for the summer, I don't know what I'm doing. Being the spontaneous person that I am, I do not have any summer plans. So if any of y'all are free, holla at me. I do know that by the end of this month, I will be moving back home with my parents in Arcadia so I can be closer to the main USC campus, where I will be finishing up my last school year. For those that I haven't touched base with in a while, I'm sorry. School has been hectic and I hope we can still keep in touch.
Now for a random transition. Since I am endorsing and supporting Barack Obama for President, I am soooooo excited to hear the news that John Edwards is endorsing Obama. That should definitely seal up the Democratic race if it is not over yet. And though I must confess that I am an idiot for voting for George Bush, back then I have to admit that I was very ignorant about politics and did not really think about what my beliefs are. Ever since I started the MSW program, my political views have changed. And so now I endorse Obama because he supports many changes that I believe in: universal healthcare and sending the troops back home. I also believe that he is a voice for the voiceless who believes our tax dollars need to be spent on programs for affordable housing to house the 37 million Americans living in poverty and NOT on weapons of mass destruction for a war that does not need to be fought. So I say Obama for President. It is about "change we can believe in"
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