The good Samartin and the Baby
Current mood: thoughtful
Category: Blogging
............
The Good Samaritan the Baby and Stripper Shoes....
.. ..
I found myself needing to go in the complete opposite direction yesterday when I got to my first designation I realized I left my wallet at home. On the journey back I had a second appotiment that I needed to go to and thought well I could go back to my first location when I found out my wallet was missing or just go on and try to find a store I was looking for on a part of town I’m never really at. So I stopped at the Circle K in this new area for me but I had an appotiment over there I had to go to, still thinking I should turn back around and to what I was doing before I left my wallet. I walked into the Circle K and picked up a diet pepsi paid for it and there was a woman very skinny pulling a baby carriage with with a blanket of the baby, she told me she just had a one month year old and walking the distance from her home to the store was longer and a lot harder then she thought before she began her journey. I stopped for a min and was like well where do you live? She told me where she lived which was about 2 miles away but remember its 107 degree in the sun outside and not a second thought came into my mind well I’ll take you. Of course by doing so I knew I would be late for my appointment but I couldn’t see this little baby as she handed her to me (her name was savannah) why she put the baby stroller in the backseat. The girl got back into the car and as we took off the girl said to me, “I couldn’t help but notice your shoes I use to work at TENS (which is a strip club here in Tucson), I took a deep breath realizing that I had a pair of 9 inch stiletto heels in the backseat that I haven’t taken out of the car since I was in Cali on a short vacation and hit the clubs. I was like “ oh yes those and that place, well I’m from LA just moved here , trying to carefully get off this subject as the girl thought I was a stripper to. I got to her house and again held little Savannah as her mom got the stroller out of the back and my heart just melted (I always wanted to name my first child Savannah too) The baby was so small and her eyes shut with a smile on her face as I rocked her while her mom got the stroller and then said my goodbyes and the girl thanked me. ....
.. ..
I left there onto my appointment with tears coming to my eyes and I didn’t know why, then it hit me how I’ve always longed to have a baby of my own and its impossible for me to have one but through adoption of course. With all the hormones in my body, brain, and my heart I couldn’t help to hold these tears back any longer. .It almost felt like I was having a maternal moment and the only thing I could describe this feeling as it gasping for air like an anxiety attack which soon passed.....
.. ..
I got to my designation that happens to be my shrink , yes I go to one even though I’ll be one soon enough. I told him the story and he looked at me and said that could have been a scam, people use baby’s all the times to lure in victims, and he scolded me never to pick up a stranger again. I said to him but what if that was me, and that is the way I was raised, I couldn’t just leave her maybe but not that little baby in this intense heat it just wasn’t right. He said to me, well I would have. Then he goes on to tell me, that Mercedez the reason you have all these situation crisis in your life is that you bring people into them because you are so nice but then those people take advantage of you. I told of somethings that were going on now about my living situation and what not. He told me again, you let people that come from all sorts of backgrounds that you do not come from into your life , how do you know what these people are really after. As I told him that a few of them wanted sex from me and what not, he said again, of course they do they want to take advantage of you. ....
.. ..
The doc kept on going to say, “Mercedez you don’t need thousands of friends but just a handful that you know that you can trust”…. All of this does make perfect sense when I look back into my life and how much drama I have because of it because I was taught to be the good Samaritan, that if “what if it was me out there on the street” and God knows I have been in those situation and if it wasn’t for someone that helped me out I could be in worse situation. He made me promise that I wouldn’t pick up strangers again, but as I agreed that I need to remain at arms length with certain and most people that come into my life those handful of people is all I need, (and you all know who you are) ....
.. ..
.. ..
But if I saw another baby in that situation, I couldn’t say no , after all I thought it was God that brought me to her because I had never been to that store and would have never gone there if I hadn’t left my wallet. So that was God looking after the girl and her baby, just as HE has sent people in my life to me during times of need. ....
Even though the Doc said to me, this behavior is the kind that will get you killed, but as I told him if I didn't it would kill a part of my soul,
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Thesis Justice Has Been Served
Mercedez Love
Sociology/Psychology 215
Due Date 05/06/09
Justice Has Been Served
Thesis Statement
Justice has been served for the first successful conviction in US History of a hate crime of a transgender individual murdered in the United States.
In the summer of 2008, a transgender woman found dead in her home in Greeley
Colorado had been bulged to death with a fire extinguisher. The victim had known her
murderer but the facts leading up to the case pended the victim at fault for her own
demise, because of her gender status/orientation. Angie Zapata was 18 years old,
and had lived by herself in a small apartment complex in Colorado. Angie had lived her
life as a woman but was born genetic male. She had a loving and accepting family that
supported her transition from the physical appearance as male to female and for the most
part the victim had lived her life as any normal 18 year old girl her age. The victim
belonged to several online communities one in which was called “mocoplace”
Angie’s profile read as the person she saw that she was. In the profile section of the
headline of Gender and Orientation , Angie wrote Female/Straight. Later this
would be brought to the media attention and hate groups against the GLBT community
that Angie deceitfully lied about who she was and in turn was killed for not being honest
about who she was. As we will later see, Allen Andrade, 32 was convicted of the murder
and charged with the hate crime of Angie Zapata. Mr. Andrade had “dated” and
stayed with Angie in a sexual relationship for two days before he killed her and said on
record that he had to kill “it” because he did not know the Angie Zapata was transgender.
The charges of a Hate Crime by the Weld Country Prosecutor would be the first
successfully charged and conviction of a hate bias crime of a transgender murder victim.
This long awaited prosecution is long over due in the Transgender community.
The murder of Angie Zapata would soon be on public trial before even hitting the
court room. In the court of public opinion; Angie had lied about who she was and caused
herself to be murdered because of her genitalia. On the other hand, the information that
Angie had never divulged information about her genitalia came from the murderer of the
victim. Angie Zapata 18, had met Allen Andrade 32, through online community called
mocoplace. The two had exchanged email and agreed to meet. Angie had asked her sister
to borrow her car (later that car was stolen by the murderer and lead to the arrest of
Andrade) to pick up a friend that she was meeting. Angie had driven 80 miles south to
Thornton, Colorado and picked up Allen Andrade and drove 80 miles back to Angie’s
apartment in Greeley, Colorado. In court affidavits and in the confession of Andrade; that
night the victim had oral sexual contact on Andrade, and at this time states he did not
know Angie was transgender. The following day Angie left Andrade in her apartment to
run errands and had told her sister that she had to get back home that she had company.
During the time Angie was gone, Andrade stated that he started looking around her
apartment and saw photos of what looked like Angie as a boy. Angie later returned home
that afternoon and later that night Andrade stated that he asked her about this and she said
that she was a woman and then Andrade grabbed Angie crotch and felt a penis and then
hit her then grabbing a fire extinguisher hitting her in the head till she stopped moving..
He was looking around the apartment and saw that Angie was trying to get up and was moaning so he beat her
repeatedly until he says in his own words that he had to kill “it”. Andrade then stole the
victims car and drove to his home in Thornton, Colorado. Note that the only information
that we have that she did not tell the now convicted murderer that she had male gentiles is
from Andrade words not of any witnesses or Angie herself.
In America history we know about hate crimes against blacks, gays, women,
religions, and other ethnic origins. The last group of individuals portrayed in the U.S. is
the transgender community that is now the last to seek justice for crimes against them as
Hate Crimes. History will one day show the last culture in America’s history to be given
the same Judicial and equal rights is the transgender community. The precedence of hate
crimes charged in the past with murders the gay individuals, black people, and
woman in history has taken the last 100 years until the voices of past victims of hate
crimes were heard and justice prevailed. American people would not tolerate hate nor
discrimination for unjust murders of innocent people based on who they were in society.
Hundred and thousands of victims have had to die in vain to one day be
given laws to protect people against hate crime. I believe that this case with the murder of
Angie Zapata will be a center point and the foundation of any future hate crimes of
transgender individuals. Many transgender people have been murdered but none based in
the fact that they were not successfully charged as a hate crime. Though this crime is not
new by any means, but by the prosecuting attorney showing the intent of the crime was
based on hate because of Angie place in society.
The Verdict came swift and just in the murder and hate charges of this
Transgender Case in Colorado of Angie Zapata. Angie Zapata was brutally murdered in
Greeley, Colorado in July 2008. Angie was a transgender woman and she was murdered
because of anti-transgender bias. On April 14, 2009, her alleged killer Allen Andrade,
32, was found guilty on all counts in the July 16, 2008 murder of Angie Zapata, 18, a
transgender woman he met on a networking site and brutally killed after staying with her
for two days in Greeley, Colorado. He was sentenced to life in prison. A jury took just
two hours to find a Colorado man guilty of first-degree murder in the killing of an 18-
year-old transgender woman, and determined that the act was a hate crime. The trial
marks the first time that Colorado’s gender identity-inclusive hate crimes statute has been
applied in the investigation and prosecution of an anti-transgender murder case. The
tragic circumstances of Angie’s death gives Coloradans an opportunity to better
understand Angie’s life and the lives of transgender people.. And it highlights the need
to stop excluding people from the protections of a federal hate crimes law because of
their sexual orientation or gender identity. This ruling of the first transgender murder in
the United States charged and convicted as a Hate Crime will change future prosecutions
of transgender victims in assault and murder based of the bias of hate.
Bibliography/Reference
On a personal note, before any media
attention of this case was brought in to the light, I had read about this murder but at the
time the perpetrator had not been caught. I was actively involved in writing blogs and
getting the information out there on Angie Zapata and when the Andrade was found and
arrested for stealing the car of the victims sister I emailed the Weld County district
attorney, Kenneth R. Buck, emphasized to please charge this case as a hate crime before
any charges on Angie’s murder were charged. I applaud Kenneth R. Buck and thank him
for listing to my own personal stories and responding back to me in this case.
(Examiner.com April 29th 2009)Only six days after Allen Ray Andrade was found guilty of 1st Degree Murder for the death of transgender teen Angie Zapata, President Obama and the White House issued the following statement urging the passage of hate crimes legislation H.R. 1913:"This week, the House of Representatives is expected to consider H.R. 1913, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. I urge members on both sides of the aisle to act on this important civil rights issue by passing this legislation to protect all of our citizens from violent acts of intolerance – legislation that will enhance civil rights protections, while also protecting our freedom of speech and association. I also urge the Senate to work with my Administration to finalize this bill and to take swift action. "The Angie Zapata decision is considered to be the first-ever prosecution under Colorado's bias-crime statute for a crime involving a transgender person.
(Greeley Tribune July 2008-April 2009) Local coverage before national media attention that I had correct and accurate facts for this thesis.
(TranssexualRevolution.com/blogspot) Mercedez Love’s column regarding the case.
Sociology/Psychology 215
Due Date 05/06/09
Justice Has Been Served
Thesis Statement
Justice has been served for the first successful conviction in US History of a hate crime of a transgender individual murdered in the United States.
In the summer of 2008, a transgender woman found dead in her home in Greeley
Colorado had been bulged to death with a fire extinguisher. The victim had known her
murderer but the facts leading up to the case pended the victim at fault for her own
demise, because of her gender status/orientation. Angie Zapata was 18 years old,
and had lived by herself in a small apartment complex in Colorado. Angie had lived her
life as a woman but was born genetic male. She had a loving and accepting family that
supported her transition from the physical appearance as male to female and for the most
part the victim had lived her life as any normal 18 year old girl her age. The victim
belonged to several online communities one in which was called “mocoplace”
Angie’s profile read as the person she saw that she was. In the profile section of the
headline of Gender and Orientation , Angie wrote Female/Straight. Later this
would be brought to the media attention and hate groups against the GLBT community
that Angie deceitfully lied about who she was and in turn was killed for not being honest
about who she was. As we will later see, Allen Andrade, 32 was convicted of the murder
and charged with the hate crime of Angie Zapata. Mr. Andrade had “dated” and
stayed with Angie in a sexual relationship for two days before he killed her and said on
record that he had to kill “it” because he did not know the Angie Zapata was transgender.
The charges of a Hate Crime by the Weld Country Prosecutor would be the first
successfully charged and conviction of a hate bias crime of a transgender murder victim.
This long awaited prosecution is long over due in the Transgender community.
The murder of Angie Zapata would soon be on public trial before even hitting the
court room. In the court of public opinion; Angie had lied about who she was and caused
herself to be murdered because of her genitalia. On the other hand, the information that
Angie had never divulged information about her genitalia came from the murderer of the
victim. Angie Zapata 18, had met Allen Andrade 32, through online community called
mocoplace. The two had exchanged email and agreed to meet. Angie had asked her sister
to borrow her car (later that car was stolen by the murderer and lead to the arrest of
Andrade) to pick up a friend that she was meeting. Angie had driven 80 miles south to
Thornton, Colorado and picked up Allen Andrade and drove 80 miles back to Angie’s
apartment in Greeley, Colorado. In court affidavits and in the confession of Andrade; that
night the victim had oral sexual contact on Andrade, and at this time states he did not
know Angie was transgender. The following day Angie left Andrade in her apartment to
run errands and had told her sister that she had to get back home that she had company.
During the time Angie was gone, Andrade stated that he started looking around her
apartment and saw photos of what looked like Angie as a boy. Angie later returned home
that afternoon and later that night Andrade stated that he asked her about this and she said
that she was a woman and then Andrade grabbed Angie crotch and felt a penis and then
hit her then grabbing a fire extinguisher hitting her in the head till she stopped moving..
He was looking around the apartment and saw that Angie was trying to get up and was moaning so he beat her
repeatedly until he says in his own words that he had to kill “it”. Andrade then stole the
victims car and drove to his home in Thornton, Colorado. Note that the only information
that we have that she did not tell the now convicted murderer that she had male gentiles is
from Andrade words not of any witnesses or Angie herself.
In America history we know about hate crimes against blacks, gays, women,
religions, and other ethnic origins. The last group of individuals portrayed in the U.S. is
the transgender community that is now the last to seek justice for crimes against them as
Hate Crimes. History will one day show the last culture in America’s history to be given
the same Judicial and equal rights is the transgender community. The precedence of hate
crimes charged in the past with murders the gay individuals, black people, and
woman in history has taken the last 100 years until the voices of past victims of hate
crimes were heard and justice prevailed. American people would not tolerate hate nor
discrimination for unjust murders of innocent people based on who they were in society.
Hundred and thousands of victims have had to die in vain to one day be
given laws to protect people against hate crime. I believe that this case with the murder of
Angie Zapata will be a center point and the foundation of any future hate crimes of
transgender individuals. Many transgender people have been murdered but none based in
the fact that they were not successfully charged as a hate crime. Though this crime is not
new by any means, but by the prosecuting attorney showing the intent of the crime was
based on hate because of Angie place in society.
The Verdict came swift and just in the murder and hate charges of this
Transgender Case in Colorado of Angie Zapata. Angie Zapata was brutally murdered in
Greeley, Colorado in July 2008. Angie was a transgender woman and she was murdered
because of anti-transgender bias. On April 14, 2009, her alleged killer Allen Andrade,
32, was found guilty on all counts in the July 16, 2008 murder of Angie Zapata, 18, a
transgender woman he met on a networking site and brutally killed after staying with her
for two days in Greeley, Colorado. He was sentenced to life in prison. A jury took just
two hours to find a Colorado man guilty of first-degree murder in the killing of an 18-
year-old transgender woman, and determined that the act was a hate crime. The trial
marks the first time that Colorado’s gender identity-inclusive hate crimes statute has been
applied in the investigation and prosecution of an anti-transgender murder case. The
tragic circumstances of Angie’s death gives Coloradans an opportunity to better
understand Angie’s life and the lives of transgender people.. And it highlights the need
to stop excluding people from the protections of a federal hate crimes law because of
their sexual orientation or gender identity. This ruling of the first transgender murder in
the United States charged and convicted as a Hate Crime will change future prosecutions
of transgender victims in assault and murder based of the bias of hate.
Bibliography/Reference
On a personal note, before any media
attention of this case was brought in to the light, I had read about this murder but at the
time the perpetrator had not been caught. I was actively involved in writing blogs and
getting the information out there on Angie Zapata and when the Andrade was found and
arrested for stealing the car of the victims sister I emailed the Weld County district
attorney, Kenneth R. Buck, emphasized to please charge this case as a hate crime before
any charges on Angie’s murder were charged. I applaud Kenneth R. Buck and thank him
for listing to my own personal stories and responding back to me in this case.
(Examiner.com April 29th 2009)Only six days after Allen Ray Andrade was found guilty of 1st Degree Murder for the death of transgender teen Angie Zapata, President Obama and the White House issued the following statement urging the passage of hate crimes legislation H.R. 1913:"This week, the House of Representatives is expected to consider H.R. 1913, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. I urge members on both sides of the aisle to act on this important civil rights issue by passing this legislation to protect all of our citizens from violent acts of intolerance – legislation that will enhance civil rights protections, while also protecting our freedom of speech and association. I also urge the Senate to work with my Administration to finalize this bill and to take swift action. "The Angie Zapata decision is considered to be the first-ever prosecution under Colorado's bias-crime statute for a crime involving a transgender person.
(Greeley Tribune July 2008-April 2009) Local coverage before national media attention that I had correct and accurate facts for this thesis.
(TranssexualRevolution.com/blogspot) Mercedez Love’s column regarding the case.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Letters for Justice
Thanks for your message.
Kenneth R. Buck
Weld County District Attorney
915 10th Street, P.O. Box 1167
Greeley, CO 80632-1167
(970) 356-4010
Fax (970) 352-8023
-----Original Message-----
From: Mercedez Love [mailto:divamercedez@aol.com]
Sent: Wednesday, July 30, 2008 5:43 PM
To: Kenneth R. Buck
Subject: Angie Zapata
Dear Mr Buck,
I'm writing on behalf of a transgender individual on the murder of Angie Zapata. I pray that you will prosecute this as a hate crime, in order for public awareness about a crime such as this to save lives for the family of victims of the past and to prevent the sort of crime to be tolerated as anything but hate. I'm a transsexual from Colorado, I'm in my mid twenties and also on a very popular social network, however because my profile says female and straight is not to lie or deceit anyone, it is who I am. I have always tried to be forthcoming when I have had relationships with men in the past but for example, when I was
22 and living in a ski resort in Colorado, I dated a boy for a few days that I thought I had explained that I was not born this way, however because I did not say "I was born with genetic male parts", when he found out he had the reaction and even said "is there where I kill you", as if this is what is the standard and tolerated behavior.
However this was not the case, and I asked him after everything I told him how he could not know, that I had thought I had explained in not so blunt way that I was a transsexual but he only saw what he wanted to see. I have had recent times in Hollywood even though my profile explained that I was not born a woman that the men that wanted to date me and I had met some of them still did not read the info and had no idea. The point I'm getting to is that we do not know Angie's side of the story, we only have the murder who confessed his side to say he didn't know, and killed Angie and referenced her as "IT" because of who she was, not for the reason of a crime of passion, as by reading his statement that occurred the night before. There lies the hate crime by "IT" like as if the victim was a bug on the floor.
I know God will be with you in this prosecution and thank you everything that you will do to put this murder behind bars for the rest of life and send a message this is not a tolerated standard behavior but pure hate and ignorance for reasoning because somebody is different.
Sincerely,
Mercedez Love
Formally of Denver
Kenneth R. Buck
Weld County District Attorney
915 10th Street, P.O. Box 1167
Greeley, CO 80632-1167
(970) 356-4010
Fax (970) 352-8023
-----Original Message-----
From: Mercedez Love [mailto:divamercedez@aol.com]
Sent: Wednesday, July 30, 2008 5:43 PM
To: Kenneth R. Buck
Subject: Angie Zapata
Dear Mr Buck,
I'm writing on behalf of a transgender individual on the murder of Angie Zapata. I pray that you will prosecute this as a hate crime, in order for public awareness about a crime such as this to save lives for the family of victims of the past and to prevent the sort of crime to be tolerated as anything but hate. I'm a transsexual from Colorado, I'm in my mid twenties and also on a very popular social network, however because my profile says female and straight is not to lie or deceit anyone, it is who I am. I have always tried to be forthcoming when I have had relationships with men in the past but for example, when I was
22 and living in a ski resort in Colorado, I dated a boy for a few days that I thought I had explained that I was not born this way, however because I did not say "I was born with genetic male parts", when he found out he had the reaction and even said "is there where I kill you", as if this is what is the standard and tolerated behavior.
However this was not the case, and I asked him after everything I told him how he could not know, that I had thought I had explained in not so blunt way that I was a transsexual but he only saw what he wanted to see. I have had recent times in Hollywood even though my profile explained that I was not born a woman that the men that wanted to date me and I had met some of them still did not read the info and had no idea. The point I'm getting to is that we do not know Angie's side of the story, we only have the murder who confessed his side to say he didn't know, and killed Angie and referenced her as "IT" because of who she was, not for the reason of a crime of passion, as by reading his statement that occurred the night before. There lies the hate crime by "IT" like as if the victim was a bug on the floor.
I know God will be with you in this prosecution and thank you everything that you will do to put this murder behind bars for the rest of life and send a message this is not a tolerated standard behavior but pure hate and ignorance for reasoning because somebody is different.
Sincerely,
Mercedez Love
Formally of Denver
Justice for Angie Zapata
Murder and Hate Verdict in Transgender Case
Pool photo by Eric Bellamy
Monica Murguia, one of the victim’s sisters, choked back tears Wednesday as the prosecution showed crime-scene photos during closing arguments in the trial of Allen Andrade.
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By DAN FROSCH
Published: April 22, 2009
GREELEY, Colo. — A jury took just two hours Wednesday to find a Colorado man guilty of first-degree murder in the killing of an 18-year-old transgender woman, and determined that the act was a hate crime.
Skip to next paragraph
Enlarge This Image
Pool photo by Eric Bellamy
Mr. Andrade, right, in court Wednesday with a public defender, killed Angie Zapata last summer.
Angie Zapata
The defendant, Allen Andrade, 32, was convicted of murdering Angie Zapata in her Greeley apartment last summer and was sentenced to life in prison without parole, the mandatory penalty in Colorado for first-degree murder.
Mr. Andrade beat Ms. Zapata to death with his fists and a fire extinguisher, prosecutors said, once he realized that Ms. Zapata, whom he had met on the Internet not long before, had been born male.
The case drew national attention not only because of the killing’s grisly nature but also because it is believed to be among the first in which a hate crimes law was applied in a murder trial where the victim was transgender.
At the sentencing hearing shortly after the verdict, Ms. Zapata’s mother, Maria, spoke through tears.
“The one thing he can never take away,” Maria Zapata said of Mr. Andrade, “is the love and memories that me and my children will have of my baby, my beautiful, beautiful baby.”
Christina Cruz, Mr. Andrade’s sister, also spoke. Ms. Cruz, though apologizing, said that her brother was human and that his family loved him no matter the outcome.
Throughout the weeklong trial, prosecutors argued that because of a hatred for gay and transgender people, Mr. Andrade had plotted to kill Ms. Zapata after coming to realize that she was born male. They said he had waited in her apartment and ambushed her in a fit of rage when she returned home.
The case “is about an unreasonable and deep-seated anger that he unleashed on Angie Zapata because she was a transgender woman,” the chief deputy district attorney, Robb Miller, said in closing arguments Wednesday.
Mr. Andrade’s public defenders never denied that he was the killer but said there had been nothing premeditated in what he did. They contended that he had been fooled by Ms. Zapata, formerly named Justin Zapata, and simply snapped when he found that she had been born male.
“Justin Zapata lived like a female, looked like a female, sounded like a female,” said one defense lawyer, Annette Kundelius. “That’s what Mr. Andrade believed. And when he found it wasn’t Angie, it was actually Justin, he lost control.”
Conviction of a hate crime in Colorado carries a sentence of up to three years on top of the punishment for the underlying offense. Since first-degree murder means life without parole, the hate-crime conviction in this case has no immediate practical effect.
But at a news conference after the trial, Ms. Zapata’s family, along with the Weld County district attorney, Kenneth R. Buck, emphasized that it was nonetheless important.
“Only a monster can look at a beautiful 18-year-old and beat her to death,” said Ms. Zapata’s brother, Gonzalo. “The message was sent loud and clear that crimes targeting L.G.B.T. people will not be tolerated in Colorado.”
Pool photo by Eric Bellamy
Monica Murguia, one of the victim’s sisters, choked back tears Wednesday as the prosecution showed crime-scene photos during closing arguments in the trial of Allen Andrade.
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* Reprints
* ShareClose
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Article Tools Sponsored By
By DAN FROSCH
Published: April 22, 2009
GREELEY, Colo. — A jury took just two hours Wednesday to find a Colorado man guilty of first-degree murder in the killing of an 18-year-old transgender woman, and determined that the act was a hate crime.
Skip to next paragraph
Enlarge This Image
Pool photo by Eric Bellamy
Mr. Andrade, right, in court Wednesday with a public defender, killed Angie Zapata last summer.
Angie Zapata
The defendant, Allen Andrade, 32, was convicted of murdering Angie Zapata in her Greeley apartment last summer and was sentenced to life in prison without parole, the mandatory penalty in Colorado for first-degree murder.
Mr. Andrade beat Ms. Zapata to death with his fists and a fire extinguisher, prosecutors said, once he realized that Ms. Zapata, whom he had met on the Internet not long before, had been born male.
The case drew national attention not only because of the killing’s grisly nature but also because it is believed to be among the first in which a hate crimes law was applied in a murder trial where the victim was transgender.
At the sentencing hearing shortly after the verdict, Ms. Zapata’s mother, Maria, spoke through tears.
“The one thing he can never take away,” Maria Zapata said of Mr. Andrade, “is the love and memories that me and my children will have of my baby, my beautiful, beautiful baby.”
Christina Cruz, Mr. Andrade’s sister, also spoke. Ms. Cruz, though apologizing, said that her brother was human and that his family loved him no matter the outcome.
Throughout the weeklong trial, prosecutors argued that because of a hatred for gay and transgender people, Mr. Andrade had plotted to kill Ms. Zapata after coming to realize that she was born male. They said he had waited in her apartment and ambushed her in a fit of rage when she returned home.
The case “is about an unreasonable and deep-seated anger that he unleashed on Angie Zapata because she was a transgender woman,” the chief deputy district attorney, Robb Miller, said in closing arguments Wednesday.
Mr. Andrade’s public defenders never denied that he was the killer but said there had been nothing premeditated in what he did. They contended that he had been fooled by Ms. Zapata, formerly named Justin Zapata, and simply snapped when he found that she had been born male.
“Justin Zapata lived like a female, looked like a female, sounded like a female,” said one defense lawyer, Annette Kundelius. “That’s what Mr. Andrade believed. And when he found it wasn’t Angie, it was actually Justin, he lost control.”
Conviction of a hate crime in Colorado carries a sentence of up to three years on top of the punishment for the underlying offense. Since first-degree murder means life without parole, the hate-crime conviction in this case has no immediate practical effect.
But at a news conference after the trial, Ms. Zapata’s family, along with the Weld County district attorney, Kenneth R. Buck, emphasized that it was nonetheless important.
“Only a monster can look at a beautiful 18-year-old and beat her to death,” said Ms. Zapata’s brother, Gonzalo. “The message was sent loud and clear that crimes targeting L.G.B.T. people will not be tolerated in Colorado.”
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Psy 215 : Thesis Gender
Mercedez Love
Psy/Soc 215
Due Date 03-11-2009
Pages 7
Topic of Thesis
Is Gender influenced more from culture in which a person is exposed or is more biological determined and is sexual orientation a matter of choice or is biological.
Position: Gender and Sexual Orientation can not be pin-pointed by one side or the next, is it choice or is it biological is not the question that we should raise but to define these two subjects the following pages will go from actual accounts of personal experiences, cases of individuals, as well as static’s to relate that to some it up in a cliché in my own words “different strokes for different folks”.
Evidence: Supported documentation of Static’s and court documents of hate crimes.
Caught philandering or stealing? Instead of saying "the devil made me do it" I guess you can now argue that "it runs in the family." But what happens when people are no longer held accountable for their actions? Is society even possible if its rules cannot be observed? This issue underlies not only philosophical debates over free will and determinism but also the current trend toward our becoming a no-fault no-risk culture (Did you get caught shooting at the President? Argue temporary insanity.
I was reading just the other day that fathers that were older, "past 30- and on," although
you would think that 30-40 in this century of 2009 is realistically young, the statistics are
higher for their children to suffer from bi-polar or other mental probabilities in life. The
study showed that while men age, so does there sperm creating a distinction of patterns
for the off spring to be that to suffer a higher rate then fathers that were younger then 30s
for children to develop manic depression disorders. As for study’s of the “gay gene” that
has been popularized in the last year, with first coming to the worlds attention from NPR,
a news radio channel, in the mid 90s that said scientist discovered that homosexuals was
not a so called choice but that there was proof of a “gay gene”. In recent studies there has
been major controversy by Scientist, and then those that define there selves as gay that
there is a gay gene, and that gender identity is defined in the womb and that being gay is
not a choice as well as transgender individuals also suffer from this “gay gene” that
something happens early on before birth that determines rather someone is gay or straight
or that they are male or female born into the wrong body because of these uncontrollable
genetic impulses. My personal theory is, is this not the joke of psychiatry that it’s always
the “mothers fault”, but with new studies recently coming out that men that are older that
have children plays a role in mental development of their child greater then previous
research a few years earlier that related these behaviors to the mother pregnancy.
However, then we have to go deeper into the minds of those serial killers and ask
ourselves is there a killer gene that is also passed on to the offspring. It is never ending
battle that each individual that suffers from not only physical and mental defects relate to
genetics in which was passed down to them to create their behavior. I do believe genetics
play a greater role in behavior, but that also social culture and upbringing does not pre-
determine a define path in behavior. After all, when sperm banks in today’s culture were
the new alternative for women to have children without having to meet the father, the
qualifications of a donor determined if the child would also assume the intellect, personal
history of the father, and in women’s mind they wanted to have a child that the father was
smart, and didn’t have heredity illness, never would a man that stated on application of
questions that had previous history of violence, abuse, and didn’t go to college would
ever be a candidate for a “sperm donor”. Of course some Christian fanatics would beg to
differ and say there is no such thing as a “gay gene” or other genetic impulse that it’s a
moral and issue and a choice of a deviant that has chosen a path that he/she is ultimately
responsible for, and that saying its in the genetic makeup, that its in excuse to place
blame on someone other then themselves for the life and choices they lead. With personal
experience and many different cultures that I have personal lived with, as I’ve lived in
many different parts of the world, I would have to say my opinion is yes, genetic
impulses out rule social culture of each individual. We all come from different walks a
like but we also bring to that the generations that were passed down in DNA to create us
all very different and unique in our own way. The greatest example and most logical if
that two different races have children, that biracial child is a reflection on the outside of
the parents what makes us think that on the inside that should be any different.
Recently a hate crime that was not talked about on a nationwide scale until weeks later
after the murder of Angie Zapata; a 20 year old transgender individual in Greeley,
Colorado, was the first to be prosecuted as a hate crime against a transgender individual
in the state. Adding "transgender" people to the list of hate crimes was done three years
ago in a bill signed by then-Colorado Gov. Bill Owens. District Attorney Ken Buck said
his office has filed first-degree murder charges in the Angie Zapata case. The suspect,
Allen Ray Andrade, 32, of Thornton also will be charged with a bias or hate crime,
because Zapata was a transgender woman. Zapata, 20, was living as a woman although
she was born male. Andrade was first charged with second-degree murder, but Buck said
"circumstances of the case support the first-degree murder charge.” According to
affidavits in the case, Andrade attacked Zapata when he discovered she had male
genitalia. He first beat her with a fire extinguisher, stopped to clean up, then when Zapata
started to get up, he beat her again with the fire extinguisher, killing her. When
interviewed by the police, Andrade said he had to kill “it” referring to Angie as thing
rather than a person. This will be the first murder in Weld County charged as a hate
crime. Buck said the bias-connected charges have been filed before in other crimes in
Weld, but not a murder. The first week after the death of Angie Zapata, it hit home with
me for many different reasons.
I was also from Colorado and it also took me back in time
when Matthew Shepard was killed; I knew Matthew from a club in Denver called Tracks,
although I didn’t know him personally but just from acquaintances and seeing him at the
club, I will always remember how everyone gathered in Denver on capital hill, with a
candlelight vigil for Matthew who later died from blunt force beating and left for days on
a fence in a small town in Wyoming, later died at the hospital in Fort Collins Colorado.
Hate Crimes according to the FBI history, dates back to the 1920 with the Ku Klux Klan.
Although the most recent statistics; an analysis of data for victims of single-bias hate
crime incidents showed that:
• 52.1 percent of the victims were targeted because of the offender’s bias against a race.
• 18.1 percent were victimized because of a bias against a religious belief.
• 15.3 percent were targeted because of a bias against a particular sexual orientation.
• 13.5 percent were victimized because of a bias against an ethnicity/national origin.
• 1.0 percent were targeted because of a bias against a disability.
The 15.3 percent that were reported in these statistics however is only a small percentage
of transgender individuals that were victims of a hate crime. The staggering real statistics
as of this time has no contrast to the actual hate crimes committed against transgender
individuals as those cases were taboo and not charged as hate crimes because not even in
this modern century; the transgender community still does not have civil rights and is the
last minority group in America that suffers from inequality. The 2006 FBI Hate Crime
Statistics show an 18% increase in hate crimes against lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender people. LGBT people now make up 16% of hate crimes in
the United States. The following people and places have experienced violence based on
sexual orientation and gender identity between May, 2007 when H.R. 1592 was
introduced in the House and May, 2008.
Hundreds of murders have gone unpunished or not charged as a hate crime in a judiciary
system still in the United States in 2008; transgender individuals involved in criminal
cases including murder have the public conscious that the victim of the crime brought it
upon themselves. Many of these murders in the last few years are not even mention in the
press and although a few of the cases might make headlines such as when Hillary Swank
won an Oscar for the portrayal of “Boys don’t Cry”, did the media start to release the
murders of transgender individuals as motivations of hate but still many victims deaths
go unheard of especially in conservative areas in the nation. Although I can say without a
doubt that transgender individuals from past to present; are murdered every month on the
basis of hate. Over the years, I’ve heard so many stories and read many news reports but
also the underground transgender society that talks about who was killed, or gets beat up
goes on every week and many are not either filed with the police in fear, intolerable
treatment by the legal system, or just those that go unnoticed as “Jane or John Does”
brings a sadness that I cannot even put into words at this point because there is not just a
corrupt legal system when it comes to the transgender community, but at times there is
not a legal system that protects, guards, or punish the perpetrators in these crimes.
Two weeks after Angie’s murder, when the police found the murderer before he was
formally charged, I personal wrote an email to the District Attorney Ken Buck, I pleaded
with him to charge this as a hate crime that anything else would not be acceptable, that
crimes likes these can not keep going on and the defense of these murderers that get off
so easy because they say they either didn’t know their victim was a transsexual or that
because society has made it acceptable that the transperson brought it on themselves.
That in society we have the cliché "Is there where I kill you?" (For those that are
transgender and have been outed or found out by their assailant) as if this is what is the
standard and tolerated behavior.” Mr. Buck did email me back the day before charges
were pressed against Andrade and thanked me for the letter. The formal charges against
Angie’s murder were pursued and to the surprise of not only the GLBT community but to
the legal system and media outlets that the District Attorney would be prosecuting this case as a hate crime.
In 2006, of the 1,472 victims targeted due to a sexual-orientation bias:
• 62.0 percent were victims of an offender’s anti-male homosexual bias.
• 20.9 percent were victims of an anti-homosexual bias.
• 13.7 percent were victims of an anti-female homosexual bias.
• 2.0 percent were victims of an anti-heterosexual bias.
• 1.4 percent were victims of an anti-bisexual bias.
Although these statistics bare little relative facts when it comes to transgender victims, in
the cases that have been tried or those that caught media attention that later went on to
movies based on the real life cases of these victims; Gwen Araujo, Brandon Teena, or the
blockbuster movies of the Crying Game to Transamerica, brought to light these
individuals that were actually human beings not just mere stereotypes, taboo or circus
freak shows but that they were as real as anyone else, they had the same dreams and
desires, ambitions and goals and ordinary home life’s that finally started engaging the
public into an awareness and some acceptance to the trans community. That in 2008, a
contestant competing to be America’s next top model was transgender, prime time
television shows Dirty Sexy Money and Ugly Betty had a main character or emphasis of
a transgender individual. That in this historic election year that Americans keyword is
“Change” and for the first time in history a black man or a white woman would be the
next President/Vice President that now have equal rights where only a few decades
before blacks did not have civil rights and a few decades before that women did not have
rights as well. That in this changing society the last group of the minority that doesn’t
have civil rights, is not based on color, or sexual orientation; as gay rights have pushed
through the barrier of bureaucracy with gay marriages and equal employment opportunity
in a all inclusive workplace , but that the last group of individuals that have gone unheard
in a world filled to hate or despise or poke fun of, the transgender community that now
precedents are being set in motion for the laws and federal and moral rights but also to
the effect of notoriety among primetime television and Hollywood movies, hate crimes
against the group is now slowly adding into statistics. Silence is no longer an answer to
the cries for help from victims of the trans community persecuted by hate, and will be the
last to be included in the hate crime bill and statistics for the future generations to come.
Psy/Soc 215
Due Date 03-11-2009
Pages 7
Topic of Thesis
Is Gender influenced more from culture in which a person is exposed or is more biological determined and is sexual orientation a matter of choice or is biological.
Position: Gender and Sexual Orientation can not be pin-pointed by one side or the next, is it choice or is it biological is not the question that we should raise but to define these two subjects the following pages will go from actual accounts of personal experiences, cases of individuals, as well as static’s to relate that to some it up in a cliché in my own words “different strokes for different folks”.
Evidence: Supported documentation of Static’s and court documents of hate crimes.
Caught philandering or stealing? Instead of saying "the devil made me do it" I guess you can now argue that "it runs in the family." But what happens when people are no longer held accountable for their actions? Is society even possible if its rules cannot be observed? This issue underlies not only philosophical debates over free will and determinism but also the current trend toward our becoming a no-fault no-risk culture (Did you get caught shooting at the President? Argue temporary insanity.
I was reading just the other day that fathers that were older, "past 30- and on," although
you would think that 30-40 in this century of 2009 is realistically young, the statistics are
higher for their children to suffer from bi-polar or other mental probabilities in life. The
study showed that while men age, so does there sperm creating a distinction of patterns
for the off spring to be that to suffer a higher rate then fathers that were younger then 30s
for children to develop manic depression disorders. As for study’s of the “gay gene” that
has been popularized in the last year, with first coming to the worlds attention from NPR,
a news radio channel, in the mid 90s that said scientist discovered that homosexuals was
not a so called choice but that there was proof of a “gay gene”. In recent studies there has
been major controversy by Scientist, and then those that define there selves as gay that
there is a gay gene, and that gender identity is defined in the womb and that being gay is
not a choice as well as transgender individuals also suffer from this “gay gene” that
something happens early on before birth that determines rather someone is gay or straight
or that they are male or female born into the wrong body because of these uncontrollable
genetic impulses. My personal theory is, is this not the joke of psychiatry that it’s always
the “mothers fault”, but with new studies recently coming out that men that are older that
have children plays a role in mental development of their child greater then previous
research a few years earlier that related these behaviors to the mother pregnancy.
However, then we have to go deeper into the minds of those serial killers and ask
ourselves is there a killer gene that is also passed on to the offspring. It is never ending
battle that each individual that suffers from not only physical and mental defects relate to
genetics in which was passed down to them to create their behavior. I do believe genetics
play a greater role in behavior, but that also social culture and upbringing does not pre-
determine a define path in behavior. After all, when sperm banks in today’s culture were
the new alternative for women to have children without having to meet the father, the
qualifications of a donor determined if the child would also assume the intellect, personal
history of the father, and in women’s mind they wanted to have a child that the father was
smart, and didn’t have heredity illness, never would a man that stated on application of
questions that had previous history of violence, abuse, and didn’t go to college would
ever be a candidate for a “sperm donor”. Of course some Christian fanatics would beg to
differ and say there is no such thing as a “gay gene” or other genetic impulse that it’s a
moral and issue and a choice of a deviant that has chosen a path that he/she is ultimately
responsible for, and that saying its in the genetic makeup, that its in excuse to place
blame on someone other then themselves for the life and choices they lead. With personal
experience and many different cultures that I have personal lived with, as I’ve lived in
many different parts of the world, I would have to say my opinion is yes, genetic
impulses out rule social culture of each individual. We all come from different walks a
like but we also bring to that the generations that were passed down in DNA to create us
all very different and unique in our own way. The greatest example and most logical if
that two different races have children, that biracial child is a reflection on the outside of
the parents what makes us think that on the inside that should be any different.
Recently a hate crime that was not talked about on a nationwide scale until weeks later
after the murder of Angie Zapata; a 20 year old transgender individual in Greeley,
Colorado, was the first to be prosecuted as a hate crime against a transgender individual
in the state. Adding "transgender" people to the list of hate crimes was done three years
ago in a bill signed by then-Colorado Gov. Bill Owens. District Attorney Ken Buck said
his office has filed first-degree murder charges in the Angie Zapata case. The suspect,
Allen Ray Andrade, 32, of Thornton also will be charged with a bias or hate crime,
because Zapata was a transgender woman. Zapata, 20, was living as a woman although
she was born male. Andrade was first charged with second-degree murder, but Buck said
"circumstances of the case support the first-degree murder charge.” According to
affidavits in the case, Andrade attacked Zapata when he discovered she had male
genitalia. He first beat her with a fire extinguisher, stopped to clean up, then when Zapata
started to get up, he beat her again with the fire extinguisher, killing her. When
interviewed by the police, Andrade said he had to kill “it” referring to Angie as thing
rather than a person. This will be the first murder in Weld County charged as a hate
crime. Buck said the bias-connected charges have been filed before in other crimes in
Weld, but not a murder. The first week after the death of Angie Zapata, it hit home with
me for many different reasons.
I was also from Colorado and it also took me back in time
when Matthew Shepard was killed; I knew Matthew from a club in Denver called Tracks,
although I didn’t know him personally but just from acquaintances and seeing him at the
club, I will always remember how everyone gathered in Denver on capital hill, with a
candlelight vigil for Matthew who later died from blunt force beating and left for days on
a fence in a small town in Wyoming, later died at the hospital in Fort Collins Colorado.
Hate Crimes according to the FBI history, dates back to the 1920 with the Ku Klux Klan.
Although the most recent statistics; an analysis of data for victims of single-bias hate
crime incidents showed that:
• 52.1 percent of the victims were targeted because of the offender’s bias against a race.
• 18.1 percent were victimized because of a bias against a religious belief.
• 15.3 percent were targeted because of a bias against a particular sexual orientation.
• 13.5 percent were victimized because of a bias against an ethnicity/national origin.
• 1.0 percent were targeted because of a bias against a disability.
The 15.3 percent that were reported in these statistics however is only a small percentage
of transgender individuals that were victims of a hate crime. The staggering real statistics
as of this time has no contrast to the actual hate crimes committed against transgender
individuals as those cases were taboo and not charged as hate crimes because not even in
this modern century; the transgender community still does not have civil rights and is the
last minority group in America that suffers from inequality. The 2006 FBI Hate Crime
Statistics show an 18% increase in hate crimes against lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender people. LGBT people now make up 16% of hate crimes in
the United States. The following people and places have experienced violence based on
sexual orientation and gender identity between May, 2007 when H.R. 1592 was
introduced in the House and May, 2008.
Hundreds of murders have gone unpunished or not charged as a hate crime in a judiciary
system still in the United States in 2008; transgender individuals involved in criminal
cases including murder have the public conscious that the victim of the crime brought it
upon themselves. Many of these murders in the last few years are not even mention in the
press and although a few of the cases might make headlines such as when Hillary Swank
won an Oscar for the portrayal of “Boys don’t Cry”, did the media start to release the
murders of transgender individuals as motivations of hate but still many victims deaths
go unheard of especially in conservative areas in the nation. Although I can say without a
doubt that transgender individuals from past to present; are murdered every month on the
basis of hate. Over the years, I’ve heard so many stories and read many news reports but
also the underground transgender society that talks about who was killed, or gets beat up
goes on every week and many are not either filed with the police in fear, intolerable
treatment by the legal system, or just those that go unnoticed as “Jane or John Does”
brings a sadness that I cannot even put into words at this point because there is not just a
corrupt legal system when it comes to the transgender community, but at times there is
not a legal system that protects, guards, or punish the perpetrators in these crimes.
Two weeks after Angie’s murder, when the police found the murderer before he was
formally charged, I personal wrote an email to the District Attorney Ken Buck, I pleaded
with him to charge this as a hate crime that anything else would not be acceptable, that
crimes likes these can not keep going on and the defense of these murderers that get off
so easy because they say they either didn’t know their victim was a transsexual or that
because society has made it acceptable that the transperson brought it on themselves.
That in society we have the cliché "Is there where I kill you?" (For those that are
transgender and have been outed or found out by their assailant) as if this is what is the
standard and tolerated behavior.” Mr. Buck did email me back the day before charges
were pressed against Andrade and thanked me for the letter. The formal charges against
Angie’s murder were pursued and to the surprise of not only the GLBT community but to
the legal system and media outlets that the District Attorney would be prosecuting this case as a hate crime.
In 2006, of the 1,472 victims targeted due to a sexual-orientation bias:
• 62.0 percent were victims of an offender’s anti-male homosexual bias.
• 20.9 percent were victims of an anti-homosexual bias.
• 13.7 percent were victims of an anti-female homosexual bias.
• 2.0 percent were victims of an anti-heterosexual bias.
• 1.4 percent were victims of an anti-bisexual bias.
Although these statistics bare little relative facts when it comes to transgender victims, in
the cases that have been tried or those that caught media attention that later went on to
movies based on the real life cases of these victims; Gwen Araujo, Brandon Teena, or the
blockbuster movies of the Crying Game to Transamerica, brought to light these
individuals that were actually human beings not just mere stereotypes, taboo or circus
freak shows but that they were as real as anyone else, they had the same dreams and
desires, ambitions and goals and ordinary home life’s that finally started engaging the
public into an awareness and some acceptance to the trans community. That in 2008, a
contestant competing to be America’s next top model was transgender, prime time
television shows Dirty Sexy Money and Ugly Betty had a main character or emphasis of
a transgender individual. That in this historic election year that Americans keyword is
“Change” and for the first time in history a black man or a white woman would be the
next President/Vice President that now have equal rights where only a few decades
before blacks did not have civil rights and a few decades before that women did not have
rights as well. That in this changing society the last group of the minority that doesn’t
have civil rights, is not based on color, or sexual orientation; as gay rights have pushed
through the barrier of bureaucracy with gay marriages and equal employment opportunity
in a all inclusive workplace , but that the last group of individuals that have gone unheard
in a world filled to hate or despise or poke fun of, the transgender community that now
precedents are being set in motion for the laws and federal and moral rights but also to
the effect of notoriety among primetime television and Hollywood movies, hate crimes
against the group is now slowly adding into statistics. Silence is no longer an answer to
the cries for help from victims of the trans community persecuted by hate, and will be the
last to be included in the hate crime bill and statistics for the future generations to come.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Turner Syndrome - XXY
Psy/Soc 215
Mercedez Love
Essay questions # 1
Spring 2009
Due Date 03/09/09
1. The view that non-reproductive sex is sinful first arose with the basis of Christian
fundamentalist. From the time that Adam and Eve in Christian beliefs have been founded on but that in many religions these believes were derived from the (fore-parents) of all us (that believe that we came from Adam and Eve story). In the bible sexual acts that are not of the “norm” of marriage between one man and one woman is considered unholy, unethical and a deep hidden meaning of unmoral and evil portraits of acts that do not have the factor of procreation are tense in the sense that you are straying away from God therefore you hare sinning and if not asking for forgiveness or even think of these “immoral acts’ as justified that you are breaking Gods law, punishable by the theological images of Hell. The Factors that impact today is that to many that oral sex is not counted as sex hence there is no intercourse involved. Some of the factors may include when a person is asked how many sexual partners they have they base theses past experiences only count if actual intercourse was the cause and effect of their sexual act. On the religious side that only intercourse constitutes as sex, many can say they have not had pre-marital sex. The gay community is a perfect example of the pro-creation legacy. To many of the glbt community, some might answer this question differently. Not that the glbt community is alone with the idea of what the actual meaning of sex is but that in straight couples that woman that have not climaxed during intercourse do not count sex as sex as they have had no pleasure from the act . Margaret Cho; an Asian American comedian in pop culture tells a story of a straight couple that just had sex. The woman did not have an orgasm and had faked this for some of the acts and then when asked the woman started screaming “no I can’t cum when you fuck me” leading this to the common realization that you cannot tell if a woman is having an organism or faking it for the other persons satisfaction. (Reference when Harry met Sally) is a perfect example of this idea.
2. Turner’s syndrome and Klinefelter’s syndrome are two sex chromosome disorders that have become recently storylines in the last decade in many television shows. For example actress Jamie Lee Curtis has for years been the rumor that she was born hermaphrodite( It bears pointing out that Ms. Curtis was neither the first nor the last female celebrity accused of gender ambiguity. Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, and Mae West endured similar whisper campaigns during their respective heydays, according to Paul Young, author of L.A. Exposed: Strange Myths and Curious Legends in the City of Angels (St. Martin's Press, 2002).) The rumor of Jamie Lee Curtis being born with male chromosomes have never been proven but in many colleges and lectures , she has been a constant figure when talking about that in fact Jamie Lee Curtis is an example of someone who was born with an unusual chromosome structure (some variation of XXY . Turner’s syndrome is a relatively rare condition that affects a small percentage of women 1 in 1700-2500. The individual develop normal female gentiles but have no internal reproduction organs; ovaries and other child baring products. Where is Klinefelters syndrome is show that in 1 in ever 1000 male births that this XXY chromosome are product of gender-identity confusion . Basically these males that were born have a XX combination that is a female chromosome with the XY being a male chromosome have led to the debate that these individuals might be more violent , that may be child predators, that transgender people have this condition and even in some rare defense cases, if the client has Klinefelters syndrome in a court of law they are not responsible for the acts if criminally committed as a genetic defect. Although the research, findings, and speculations about men that are anatomical male support many theories of the outcome in life but further research is still in progress with this genetic trait but makes fascinating storylines and plots but for the males that have this condition are the victims of what only understood as a defect.
3. Bodily symptoms or changes that a man should look for in a doing a self-exam on their
genitals include, sores or unusual growths in the changes of the penis. Any mass while
placing he thumbs of both hands on top of a testi and index and middle finger on the
underside should regularly be check while apply a small amount of pressure and toll the
testi between the fingertips. The surface should be smooth and firm and just like in
women with breast size (woman may have one breast larger then the other is normal) the
same shape or size, is very rare in testicular size but any mass should be immediately
reported to a physician and discharges of penal fluids may be the cause of an std such as
gonahria and the patient must undergo antibiotic treatment before the std can get out of
hand or other rare instants of penile cancer.
4
The Kegel exercise is a series of exercise that strengthen the muscles underlying the
external female or male genitals. A few months ago I caught a recent episode of the THE
VIEW that had a plastic surgeon on that can recreate and tighten the female vagina. The
amusing part from the show was when Whoopie Goldberg and Elizabeth Hasslehoff were
telling how they were doing kegel exercise as they are sitting in front of the camera on
live television, and why on earth would a woman want to undergo such a intense surgery
if all could be done by doing the kegel exercise. The benefits for men may be stronger
and more pleasurable orgasms, better ejaculatory control and increased pelvic sensation
as well as the walls of the vagina tighten especially after child birth these exercise of
flexing the muscles of the areas and zones are encouraged to mothers that have given
birth and feel that they need to reshape the size of the vagina pre-birth size .
Posted by Mercedez Love at 10:28 AM 0 comments
Labels: christian fundamentalist, kegel exercise
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Psy 215 Human Sexuality
Mercedez Love
Media Review:
Soc/Psy 215 Human Sexuality
Due Date 02-18-2009
(30 Points)
Print Ads:
1-1 [Got 2B] “Creating Good Chemistry” [Pheromone Infused Hair Gel]
2-2 [Bud Light] “See How the Night Plays Out” [Beer]
3-3 [Testicular Cancer] “Fergie’s PSA proves very effective”
1. How is Human Sexuality related to the product?
1-1There is one man in the ad with 7 different girls that are either dressed in revealing clothes or in body positions of a sexual nature.
2-2 Yes there is a Woman in the ad leaning over the pool table about to take a shot at a ball with the pool stick, while a man is standing behind her with his eyes looking down on her body not the position of the actual shot she was taking.
3-3 The picture is of a rock star female with nothing on but a white shirt that is open with her bra pushing up her breast with her grabbing her crotch as if she had male sexual organs.
2. Was gender stereotyping used-if so in what manner?
1-1Yes, It shows that all the females it the ad from different looks from school girl to a Starbucks barista to construction woman with a sledge hammer however all the images are different types of stereotypes but all played to look of sex and seduction with the dramatic sexual looks, facial expressions and even the construction woman in the ad is crawling on the floor in a revealing position with her perfect cleavage open all leading to a sexual feel to the ad.
2-2 Yes as in the personal appearance of the female in the photo as a gothic look with short black hair , short bangs and dressed all in black instead of having a blond female in a white dress shooting the stick which would not be as believable as the current look Bud Light was going for.
3-3 It was on a reverse stereotypical level, Fergie does not have male testicular organs but the add is sexually posed to show a sexual effect in her pose for Testicular Cancer Awareness.
3. Who was the target audience and in your opinion was the ad effective?
1-1Teenagers and earlier twenties is my opinion on the target audience.
2-2 Men in their 30s and early 40s is my opinion of the target audience hence the male’s age look with a receding hair line the male looks about 30 with the caption of the add saying “See how the Night Plays out”
3-3 Males of all ages was the target audience and yes it was very effective.
Television Ads:
1-1 Absolute Vodka “Hugs” [primetime Grammy Commercial]
2-2 K-Y Jelly “Drunken Times” [primetime Valentines Commercials]
3-3 Milk “Got Milk” [Chris Brown and other celebs for the last decade]
1. How is human Sexuality related to the product?
1-1The Human Sexuality is by far not of hot bodies of models kissing or hugging but of hugs and kisses throughout every continent from Asia to Australia the North America to South America and everywhere in between in their cultures with kisses on the cheeks or hugs for payment of merchandise.
2-2 First this is ad that would usually run in the middle of the night for the last two decades but has now been primetimes commercials to with different couples and none-couples (extra martial affairs) to have sex with more intimate pleasure.
3-3 Since the first launch of the very first “Got milk Commercial” this ad has been a success from the start, has it shown sexuality , yes it has with either half naked bodies of beautiful people with a featured mouth mustache of milk insinuating a hidden sexual appeal (possible sexual hints of the “milk mustache”)to a food product yes this advertising is Sexual.
2. Was gender stereotyping used-if so in what manner?
1-1No In the sense that it was different stereotyping of different cultures not sexes all over the world. The hugs and kisses also were shown with both same sex and opposite sexes.
2-2 Yes, of course but not only did it gender stereotype , it portrayed a one-sided male and female stereotype because as daring as advertisings are, you still did see the number one consumers of all users of all spermicidal jellies portrayed in this commercial during prime-time and that is the gay and lesbian community.
3-3
Yes by showing both males and females in the last decade as sex objects either sexual poses of women and sport movements in the average “wife beater” shirt for the men it has constantly shown gender stereotyping .
3. Who was the target audience and in your opinion was the ad effective?
1-1Everyone.
2-2 Everyone but with an emphasis of straight people, I’m sure the ad was effective because during Valentines week and the weeks leading up to it, you have to acquaint sex with Valentines day so I believe it to be very effective.
3-3 Everyone can and would be effective, from young to old as these ads for “Got Milk” have gone on there is always one concept, milk is for everyone.
Posted by Mercedez Love at 12:34 AM 0 comments
Friday, November 14, 2008
Ch 12 Soc 101
Mercedez Love
Sociology 101
Internet Exercise Ch 12
11-14-2008
Title: Religious Diversity
Instructions: The Harvard Pluralism Project seeks "to help Americans engage with the realities of religious diversity through research, outreach, and the active dissemination of resources." There are several features on the site including Resources by Religious Tradition, Resources by State (with an interactive map), and Religious Diversity News Headlines. You can also browse through Religion and Politics 2004: Multifaith Resources and report on what they learned about the way religions sought to engage in and influence the 2004 elections.
Visit URL: The Harvard Pluralism Project
Questions and Answers
Answer the following questions in the fields below.
Question 1: Report on what they learned about the way religions sought to engage in and influence the 2004 elections.
Instructions: The Harvard Pluralism Project seeks "to help Americans engage with the realities of religious diversity through research, outreach, and the active dissemination of resources." There are several features on the site including Resources by Religious Tradition, Resources by State (with an interactive map), and Religious Diversity News Headlines. You can also browse through Religion and Politics 2004: Multifaith Resources and report on what they learned about the way religions sought to engage in and influence the 2004 elections.
Visit URL: The Harvard Pluralism Project
Questions and Answers
Answer the following questions in the fields below.
Question 1: Report on what they learned about the way religions sought to engage in and influence the 2004 elections. ‘
(The website has a lot of data but there are so many articles for 2004, I couldn’t find the specific one they wanted me to go to, so I’m jumping into Religion and the 2008 election.)
Mercedez Love
Sociology 101
Internet Exercise Ch 12
11-14-2008
Religion in America is not as traditional as the four fathers might have laid down hundreds of years ago in the new world. America has long been a new nation with Multi-religious society that has spawn and grown many beliefs to the people that live in the United States. Religion has played a vital role in politics since the dawn of times, but more recently there has been scandal, defamation of character and threats in the 2008 election…..well it has always been that way and will always remain constant as diverse as the United States is with religion, it will always be a center point with politics.
If you ask anyone that has been keeping up with this year’s election (which is everyone this election) if you say religion you will here the following key terms, Reverend Wright, Muslim, Catholic, and Mormon. President Elect Barack Obama might have a name that would be assumed and associated with a Muslim heritage, but he is not Muslim. You wouldn’t know that if you only kept up with a few tabloids and didn’t pay attention to the hard core facts; as the New Yorker, comedians, hate groups, and some very ordinary people would say that Obama is Muslim. The second thing that would most likely be brought up is Reverend Wright of Chicago who was the preacher in the church that Barack Obama had attended and been a parishioner of his church for over twenty years. Now you would think well that’s wonderful, and a candidate that I admire for going to the same church for twenty years, or even going to church at all in this age as more and more attendance in churches around the country are at an all time low but no you were told by the media that Reverend Wright preached ant semantics and hate to his congregation and said that on 9-11, that America got what we deserve. As soon as the press made a huge deal about the preaching’s of reverend Wright, senator Obama quickly left the church and the media went nuts. People started to argue how Obama and in his book said that his preacher was a mentor to him, and that someone that would say such things about THE most horrific attack on American soil. Americans are hit where it hurts remembering everyday with a hole in their heart that is cut out of them on that tragic day of September 11, 2008. Vice president elect, Joe Biden is catholic and does not believe in abortion and as a practicing catholic has differences with the president elect when it comes to things that are based on faith, now note that the last and first catholic president in the white house was John F. Kennedy. The media has blasted about the religious background on all the candidate as well as former republican candidate Mick Romney. The Mormon church is back in the news with protest because the Mormon church collecting and put together millions of dollars to stop gay marriages *prop 8* in California leaving this last week many to protest across the country for gay rights and the right to marry, but pointing out that the Mormon church was the largest contributor to overturning the law in California.
Religion has played a role in a society where multicultural beliefs have a fundamental purpose when it comes to the governing law. What really surprises me is the amount of people that do not believe in any orthodox of religion and beliefs, and do not even believe that there is a higher power or (God). It really bothers me more (which it should not) that people do not believe in God nor do they believe that there is anything after this life than any foundation that these leaders believe or partake in. I was raised as a protestant and also a catholic. I left the catholic church when I turned 18, and have established myself as a Christian in the Methodist church (it was the only church that had the values and beliefs that I take to heart that was a mix of my Pentecostal and catholic beliefs but also a liberal stance of understanding) So to me how religion has played a role in the 2008 election is not what the candidates religion is but the people in America who are voting or not voting is more of an issue to me. But then again, I respect everyone’s beliefs but when religion is a key term that is a hot topic and debate, I just take a deep breath and think, today a lot of Americans don’t even believe in anything, so why does it matter?
Posted by Mercedez Love at 7:31 PM 0 comments
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About Me
My Photo
Mercedez Love
I use to be one that said I hated labels, but over the years I found that within my journey if I was to write about all the struggles as a "transsexual" I have personal faced helped to save the lives of those that have despair or thoughts that they can't go on, I find my personal journey to be that of inspiration and HOPE. So my Personal Book and Journals will all be out to maybe help and guide from my life experience. Currently I have 3 different blogs that I'm working on. I'm currently away from Myspace as well as my personal website for the rest of the year. I decided to keep these few blogs going for my fans to check up on. Love to all XOXO Mercedez Note Piracy: All publications of the following blogs;Kruel Love,Transsexual Revolution, and College years, is solely written by Mercedez Love and is Copyright by KruelLove LLC . Any attempt to forge or piracy the works of Mercedez Love is strictly prohibited and protected by law.
View my complete profile
Mercedez Love
Essay questions # 1
Spring 2009
Due Date 03/09/09
1. The view that non-reproductive sex is sinful first arose with the basis of Christian
fundamentalist. From the time that Adam and Eve in Christian beliefs have been founded on but that in many religions these believes were derived from the (fore-parents) of all us (that believe that we came from Adam and Eve story). In the bible sexual acts that are not of the “norm” of marriage between one man and one woman is considered unholy, unethical and a deep hidden meaning of unmoral and evil portraits of acts that do not have the factor of procreation are tense in the sense that you are straying away from God therefore you hare sinning and if not asking for forgiveness or even think of these “immoral acts’ as justified that you are breaking Gods law, punishable by the theological images of Hell. The Factors that impact today is that to many that oral sex is not counted as sex hence there is no intercourse involved. Some of the factors may include when a person is asked how many sexual partners they have they base theses past experiences only count if actual intercourse was the cause and effect of their sexual act. On the religious side that only intercourse constitutes as sex, many can say they have not had pre-marital sex. The gay community is a perfect example of the pro-creation legacy. To many of the glbt community, some might answer this question differently. Not that the glbt community is alone with the idea of what the actual meaning of sex is but that in straight couples that woman that have not climaxed during intercourse do not count sex as sex as they have had no pleasure from the act . Margaret Cho; an Asian American comedian in pop culture tells a story of a straight couple that just had sex. The woman did not have an orgasm and had faked this for some of the acts and then when asked the woman started screaming “no I can’t cum when you fuck me” leading this to the common realization that you cannot tell if a woman is having an organism or faking it for the other persons satisfaction. (Reference when Harry met Sally) is a perfect example of this idea.
2. Turner’s syndrome and Klinefelter’s syndrome are two sex chromosome disorders that have become recently storylines in the last decade in many television shows. For example actress Jamie Lee Curtis has for years been the rumor that she was born hermaphrodite( It bears pointing out that Ms. Curtis was neither the first nor the last female celebrity accused of gender ambiguity. Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, and Mae West endured similar whisper campaigns during their respective heydays, according to Paul Young, author of L.A. Exposed: Strange Myths and Curious Legends in the City of Angels (St. Martin's Press, 2002).) The rumor of Jamie Lee Curtis being born with male chromosomes have never been proven but in many colleges and lectures , she has been a constant figure when talking about that in fact Jamie Lee Curtis is an example of someone who was born with an unusual chromosome structure (some variation of XXY . Turner’s syndrome is a relatively rare condition that affects a small percentage of women 1 in 1700-2500. The individual develop normal female gentiles but have no internal reproduction organs; ovaries and other child baring products. Where is Klinefelters syndrome is show that in 1 in ever 1000 male births that this XXY chromosome are product of gender-identity confusion . Basically these males that were born have a XX combination that is a female chromosome with the XY being a male chromosome have led to the debate that these individuals might be more violent , that may be child predators, that transgender people have this condition and even in some rare defense cases, if the client has Klinefelters syndrome in a court of law they are not responsible for the acts if criminally committed as a genetic defect. Although the research, findings, and speculations about men that are anatomical male support many theories of the outcome in life but further research is still in progress with this genetic trait but makes fascinating storylines and plots but for the males that have this condition are the victims of what only understood as a defect.
3. Bodily symptoms or changes that a man should look for in a doing a self-exam on their
genitals include, sores or unusual growths in the changes of the penis. Any mass while
placing he thumbs of both hands on top of a testi and index and middle finger on the
underside should regularly be check while apply a small amount of pressure and toll the
testi between the fingertips. The surface should be smooth and firm and just like in
women with breast size (woman may have one breast larger then the other is normal) the
same shape or size, is very rare in testicular size but any mass should be immediately
reported to a physician and discharges of penal fluids may be the cause of an std such as
gonahria and the patient must undergo antibiotic treatment before the std can get out of
hand or other rare instants of penile cancer.
4
The Kegel exercise is a series of exercise that strengthen the muscles underlying the
external female or male genitals. A few months ago I caught a recent episode of the THE
VIEW that had a plastic surgeon on that can recreate and tighten the female vagina. The
amusing part from the show was when Whoopie Goldberg and Elizabeth Hasslehoff were
telling how they were doing kegel exercise as they are sitting in front of the camera on
live television, and why on earth would a woman want to undergo such a intense surgery
if all could be done by doing the kegel exercise. The benefits for men may be stronger
and more pleasurable orgasms, better ejaculatory control and increased pelvic sensation
as well as the walls of the vagina tighten especially after child birth these exercise of
flexing the muscles of the areas and zones are encouraged to mothers that have given
birth and feel that they need to reshape the size of the vagina pre-birth size .
Posted by Mercedez Love at 10:28 AM 0 comments
Labels: christian fundamentalist, kegel exercise
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Psy 215 Human Sexuality
Mercedez Love
Media Review:
Soc/Psy 215 Human Sexuality
Due Date 02-18-2009
(30 Points)
Print Ads:
1-1 [Got 2B] “Creating Good Chemistry” [Pheromone Infused Hair Gel]
2-2 [Bud Light] “See How the Night Plays Out” [Beer]
3-3 [Testicular Cancer] “Fergie’s PSA proves very effective”
1. How is Human Sexuality related to the product?
1-1There is one man in the ad with 7 different girls that are either dressed in revealing clothes or in body positions of a sexual nature.
2-2 Yes there is a Woman in the ad leaning over the pool table about to take a shot at a ball with the pool stick, while a man is standing behind her with his eyes looking down on her body not the position of the actual shot she was taking.
3-3 The picture is of a rock star female with nothing on but a white shirt that is open with her bra pushing up her breast with her grabbing her crotch as if she had male sexual organs.
2. Was gender stereotyping used-if so in what manner?
1-1Yes, It shows that all the females it the ad from different looks from school girl to a Starbucks barista to construction woman with a sledge hammer however all the images are different types of stereotypes but all played to look of sex and seduction with the dramatic sexual looks, facial expressions and even the construction woman in the ad is crawling on the floor in a revealing position with her perfect cleavage open all leading to a sexual feel to the ad.
2-2 Yes as in the personal appearance of the female in the photo as a gothic look with short black hair , short bangs and dressed all in black instead of having a blond female in a white dress shooting the stick which would not be as believable as the current look Bud Light was going for.
3-3 It was on a reverse stereotypical level, Fergie does not have male testicular organs but the add is sexually posed to show a sexual effect in her pose for Testicular Cancer Awareness.
3. Who was the target audience and in your opinion was the ad effective?
1-1Teenagers and earlier twenties is my opinion on the target audience.
2-2 Men in their 30s and early 40s is my opinion of the target audience hence the male’s age look with a receding hair line the male looks about 30 with the caption of the add saying “See how the Night Plays out”
3-3 Males of all ages was the target audience and yes it was very effective.
Television Ads:
1-1 Absolute Vodka “Hugs” [primetime Grammy Commercial]
2-2 K-Y Jelly “Drunken Times” [primetime Valentines Commercials]
3-3 Milk “Got Milk” [Chris Brown and other celebs for the last decade]
1. How is human Sexuality related to the product?
1-1The Human Sexuality is by far not of hot bodies of models kissing or hugging but of hugs and kisses throughout every continent from Asia to Australia the North America to South America and everywhere in between in their cultures with kisses on the cheeks or hugs for payment of merchandise.
2-2 First this is ad that would usually run in the middle of the night for the last two decades but has now been primetimes commercials to with different couples and none-couples (extra martial affairs) to have sex with more intimate pleasure.
3-3 Since the first launch of the very first “Got milk Commercial” this ad has been a success from the start, has it shown sexuality , yes it has with either half naked bodies of beautiful people with a featured mouth mustache of milk insinuating a hidden sexual appeal (possible sexual hints of the “milk mustache”)to a food product yes this advertising is Sexual.
2. Was gender stereotyping used-if so in what manner?
1-1No In the sense that it was different stereotyping of different cultures not sexes all over the world. The hugs and kisses also were shown with both same sex and opposite sexes.
2-2 Yes, of course but not only did it gender stereotype , it portrayed a one-sided male and female stereotype because as daring as advertisings are, you still did see the number one consumers of all users of all spermicidal jellies portrayed in this commercial during prime-time and that is the gay and lesbian community.
3-3
Yes by showing both males and females in the last decade as sex objects either sexual poses of women and sport movements in the average “wife beater” shirt for the men it has constantly shown gender stereotyping .
3. Who was the target audience and in your opinion was the ad effective?
1-1Everyone.
2-2 Everyone but with an emphasis of straight people, I’m sure the ad was effective because during Valentines week and the weeks leading up to it, you have to acquaint sex with Valentines day so I believe it to be very effective.
3-3 Everyone can and would be effective, from young to old as these ads for “Got Milk” have gone on there is always one concept, milk is for everyone.
Posted by Mercedez Love at 12:34 AM 0 comments
Friday, November 14, 2008
Ch 12 Soc 101
Mercedez Love
Sociology 101
Internet Exercise Ch 12
11-14-2008
Title: Religious Diversity
Instructions: The Harvard Pluralism Project seeks "to help Americans engage with the realities of religious diversity through research, outreach, and the active dissemination of resources." There are several features on the site including Resources by Religious Tradition, Resources by State (with an interactive map), and Religious Diversity News Headlines. You can also browse through Religion and Politics 2004: Multifaith Resources and report on what they learned about the way religions sought to engage in and influence the 2004 elections.
Visit URL: The Harvard Pluralism Project
Questions and Answers
Answer the following questions in the fields below.
Question 1: Report on what they learned about the way religions sought to engage in and influence the 2004 elections.
Instructions: The Harvard Pluralism Project seeks "to help Americans engage with the realities of religious diversity through research, outreach, and the active dissemination of resources." There are several features on the site including Resources by Religious Tradition, Resources by State (with an interactive map), and Religious Diversity News Headlines. You can also browse through Religion and Politics 2004: Multifaith Resources and report on what they learned about the way religions sought to engage in and influence the 2004 elections.
Visit URL: The Harvard Pluralism Project
Questions and Answers
Answer the following questions in the fields below.
Question 1: Report on what they learned about the way religions sought to engage in and influence the 2004 elections. ‘
(The website has a lot of data but there are so many articles for 2004, I couldn’t find the specific one they wanted me to go to, so I’m jumping into Religion and the 2008 election.)
Mercedez Love
Sociology 101
Internet Exercise Ch 12
11-14-2008
Religion in America is not as traditional as the four fathers might have laid down hundreds of years ago in the new world. America has long been a new nation with Multi-religious society that has spawn and grown many beliefs to the people that live in the United States. Religion has played a vital role in politics since the dawn of times, but more recently there has been scandal, defamation of character and threats in the 2008 election…..well it has always been that way and will always remain constant as diverse as the United States is with religion, it will always be a center point with politics.
If you ask anyone that has been keeping up with this year’s election (which is everyone this election) if you say religion you will here the following key terms, Reverend Wright, Muslim, Catholic, and Mormon. President Elect Barack Obama might have a name that would be assumed and associated with a Muslim heritage, but he is not Muslim. You wouldn’t know that if you only kept up with a few tabloids and didn’t pay attention to the hard core facts; as the New Yorker, comedians, hate groups, and some very ordinary people would say that Obama is Muslim. The second thing that would most likely be brought up is Reverend Wright of Chicago who was the preacher in the church that Barack Obama had attended and been a parishioner of his church for over twenty years. Now you would think well that’s wonderful, and a candidate that I admire for going to the same church for twenty years, or even going to church at all in this age as more and more attendance in churches around the country are at an all time low but no you were told by the media that Reverend Wright preached ant semantics and hate to his congregation and said that on 9-11, that America got what we deserve. As soon as the press made a huge deal about the preaching’s of reverend Wright, senator Obama quickly left the church and the media went nuts. People started to argue how Obama and in his book said that his preacher was a mentor to him, and that someone that would say such things about THE most horrific attack on American soil. Americans are hit where it hurts remembering everyday with a hole in their heart that is cut out of them on that tragic day of September 11, 2008. Vice president elect, Joe Biden is catholic and does not believe in abortion and as a practicing catholic has differences with the president elect when it comes to things that are based on faith, now note that the last and first catholic president in the white house was John F. Kennedy. The media has blasted about the religious background on all the candidate as well as former republican candidate Mick Romney. The Mormon church is back in the news with protest because the Mormon church collecting and put together millions of dollars to stop gay marriages *prop 8* in California leaving this last week many to protest across the country for gay rights and the right to marry, but pointing out that the Mormon church was the largest contributor to overturning the law in California.
Religion has played a role in a society where multicultural beliefs have a fundamental purpose when it comes to the governing law. What really surprises me is the amount of people that do not believe in any orthodox of religion and beliefs, and do not even believe that there is a higher power or (God). It really bothers me more (which it should not) that people do not believe in God nor do they believe that there is anything after this life than any foundation that these leaders believe or partake in. I was raised as a protestant and also a catholic. I left the catholic church when I turned 18, and have established myself as a Christian in the Methodist church (it was the only church that had the values and beliefs that I take to heart that was a mix of my Pentecostal and catholic beliefs but also a liberal stance of understanding) So to me how religion has played a role in the 2008 election is not what the candidates religion is but the people in America who are voting or not voting is more of an issue to me. But then again, I respect everyone’s beliefs but when religion is a key term that is a hot topic and debate, I just take a deep breath and think, today a lot of Americans don’t even believe in anything, so why does it matter?
Posted by Mercedez Love at 7:31 PM 0 comments
Older Posts
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Followers
Blog Archive
* ▼ 2009 (6)
o ▼ May (3)
+ Psy 215 Abnormal Sexual Coercian, STDS
+ Psy 215 Orientation, Kaplan, Master and Johnson
+ Psy 215 Thesis
o ► March (2)
+ Psy 215 Thesis Gender
+ Psy 215 3/9/09
o ► February (1)
+ Psy 215 Human Sexuality
* ► 2008 (16)
o ► November (4)
+ Ch 12 Soc 101
+ Ch 11 Soc 101
+ Ch 10 Soc 101
+ Ch 9 Soc 101
o ► October (12)
+ Soc Ch8 Tolerance
+ Soc Ch 7 Welfare
+ Anthropology 112 Essay 2
+ Anthropology 112 Essay 1
+ Ch 6 Soc 101
+ Ch 5 Soc 101
+ Ch 4 Soc 101
+ Ch 3 Soc 101
+ Ch 2 Soc 101
+ Ch 1 Soc1o1
+ Unedited Rough Drafts Writing
+ Mercedez College Essays and Thesis
About Me
My Photo
Mercedez Love
I use to be one that said I hated labels, but over the years I found that within my journey if I was to write about all the struggles as a "transsexual" I have personal faced helped to save the lives of those that have despair or thoughts that they can't go on, I find my personal journey to be that of inspiration and HOPE. So my Personal Book and Journals will all be out to maybe help and guide from my life experience. Currently I have 3 different blogs that I'm working on. I'm currently away from Myspace as well as my personal website for the rest of the year. I decided to keep these few blogs going for my fans to check up on. Love to all XOXO Mercedez Note Piracy: All publications of the following blogs;Kruel Love,Transsexual Revolution, and College years, is solely written by Mercedez Love and is Copyright by KruelLove LLC . Any attempt to forge or piracy the works of Mercedez Love is strictly prohibited and protected by law.
View my complete profile
Friday, October 3, 2008
Silence is not an Option
Title: The Federal Bureau of Investigation
Instructions: The Federal Bureau of Investigation website is particularly useful for its crime statistics and reports information. This includes the Uniform Crime Reports, as well as reports on hate crimes, terrorism, family violence, corporate fraud, and initiatives like SafeStreets.
Visit URL: The Federal Bureau of Investigation
Questions and Answers
Answer the following questions in the fields below.
Question 1: Conduct research on one crime of interest to you, and write a brief analytic report on the dimensions and trends in this crime.
Mercedez Love
Sociology 101
Chapter 6 Internet Exercise
(FBI) Hate Crime 10-03-2008
Recently a hate crime that was not talked about on a nationwide scale until weeks later after the murder of Angie Zapata; a 20 year old transgender individual in Greeley, Colorado, was the first to be prosecuted as a hate crime against a transgender individual in the state. Adding "transgender" people to the list of hate crimes was done three years ago in a bill signed by then-Colorado Gov. Bill Owens.
District Attorney Ken Buck said his office has filed first-degree murder charges in the Angie Zapata case. The suspect, Allen Ray Andrade, 32, of Thornton also will be charged with a bias or hate crime, because Zapata was a transgender woman. Zapata, 20, was living as a woman although she was born male. Andrade was first charged with second-degree murder, but Buck said "circumstances of the case support the first-degree murder charge.” According to affidavits in the case, Andrade attacked Zapata when he discovered she had male genitalia. He first beat her with a fire extinguisher, stopped to clean up, then when Zapata started to get up, he beat her again with the fire extinguisher, killing her. When interviewed by the police, Andrade said he had to kill “it” referring to Angie as thing rather than a person. This will be the first murder in Weld County charged as a hate crime. Buck said the bias-connected charges have been filed before in other crimes in Weld, but not a murder.
The first week after the death of Angie Zapata, it hit home with me for many different reasons. I was also from Colorado and it also took me back in time when Matthew Shepard was killed; I knew Matthew from a club in Denver called Tracks, although I didn’t know him personally but just from acquaintances and seeing him at the club, I will always remember how everyone gathered in Denver on capital hill, with a candlelight vigil for Matthew who later died from blunt force beating and left for days on a fence in a small town in Wyoming, later died at the hospital in Fort Collins Colorado.
Hate Crimes according to the FBI history, dates back to the 1920 with the Ku Klux Klan. Although the most recent statistics; an analysis of data for victims of single-bias hate crime incidents showed that:
52.1 percent of the victims were targeted because of the offender’s bias against a race.
18.1 percent were victimized because of a bias against a religious belief.
15.3 percent were targeted because of a bias against a particular sexual orientation.
13.5 percent were victimized because of a bias against an ethnicity/national origin.
1.0 percent were targeted because of a bias against a disability.
The 15.3 percent that were reported in these statistics however is only a small percentage of transgender individuals that were victims of a hate crime. The staggering real statistics as of this time has no contrast to the actual hate crimes committed against transgender individuals as those cases were taboo and not charged as hate crimes because not even in this modern century; the transgender community still does not have civil rights and is the last minority group in America that suffers from inequality.
The 2006 FBI Hate Crime Statistics show an 18% increase in hate crimes against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. LGBT people now make up 16% of hate crimes in the United States. The following people and places have experienced violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity between May, 2007 when H.R. 1592 was introduced in the House and May, 2008.
Hundreds of murders have gone unpunished or not charged as a hate crime in a judiciary system still in the United States in 2008; transgender individuals involved in criminal cases including murder have the public conscious that the victim of the crime brought it upon themselves. Many of these murders in the last few years are not even mention in the press and although a few of the cases might make headlines such as when Hillary Swank won an Oscar for the portrayal of “Boys don’t Cry”, did the media start to release the murders of transgender individuals as motivations of hate but still many victims deaths go unheard of especially in conservative areas in the nation. Although I can say without a doubt that transgender individuals from past to present; are murdered every month on the basis of hate.
Over the years, I’ve heard so many stories and read many news reports but also the underground transgender society that talks about who was killed, or gets beat up goes on every week and many are not either filed with the police in fear, intolerable treatment by the legal system, or just those that go unnoticed as “Jane or John Does” brings a sadness that I cannot even put into words at this point because there is not just a corrupt legal system when it comes to the transgender community, but at times there is not a legal system that protects, guards, or punish the perpetrators in these crimes.
Two weeks after Angie’s murder, when the police found the murderer before he was formally charged, I personal wrote an email to the District Attorney Ken Buck, I pleaded with him to charge this as a hate crime that anything else would not be acceptable, that crimes likes these can not keep going on and the defense of these murderers that get off so easy because they say they either didn’t know their victim was a transsexual or that because society has made it acceptable that the transperson brought it on themselves. That in society we have the cliché "Is there where I kill you?" (For those that are transgender and have been outed or found out by their assailant) as if this is what is the standard and tolerated behavior.” Mr. Buck did email me back the day before charges were pressed against Andrade and thanked me for the letter. The formal charges against Angie’s murder were pursued and to the surprise of not only the GLBT community but to the legal system and media outlets that the District Attorney would be prosecuting this case as a hate crime.
In 2006, of the 1,472 victims targeted due to a sexual-orientation bias:
62.0 percent were victims of an offender’s anti-male homosexual bias.
20.9 percent were victims of an anti-homosexual bias.
13.7 percent were victims of an anti-female homosexual bias.
2.0 percent were victims of an anti-heterosexual bias.
1.4 percent were victims of an anti-bisexual bias.
Although these statistics bare little relative facts when it comes to transgender victims, in the cases that have been tried or those that caught media attention that later went on to movies based on the real life cases of these victims; Gwen Araujo, Brandon Teena, or the blockbuster movies of the Crying Game to Transamerica, brought to light these individuals that were actually human beings not just mere stereotypes, taboo or circus freak shows but that they were as real as anyone else, they had the same dreams and desires, ambitions and goals and ordinary home life’s that finally started engaging the public into an awareness and some acceptance to the trans community. That in 2008, a contestant competing to be America’s next top model was transgender, prime time television shows Dirty Sexy Money and Ugly Betty had a main character or emphasis of a transgender individual. That in this historic election year that Americans keyword is “Change” and for the first time in history a black man or a white woman would be the next President/Vice President that now have equal rights where only a few decades before blacks did not have civil rights and a few decades before that women did not have rights as well. That in this changing society the last group of the minority that doesn’t have civil rights, is not based on color, or sexual orientation; as gay rights have pushed through the barrier of bureaucracy with gay marriages and equal employment opportunity in a all inclusive workplace , but that the last group of individuals that have gone unheard in a world filled to hate or despise or poke fun of, the transgender community that now precedents are being set in motion for the laws and federal and moral rights but also to the effect of notoriety among primetime television and Hollywood movies, hate crimes against the group is now slowly adding into statistics. Silence is no longer an answer to the cries for help from victims of the trans community persecuted by hate, and will be the last to be included in the hate crime bill and statistics for the future generations to come.
Instructions: The Federal Bureau of Investigation website is particularly useful for its crime statistics and reports information. This includes the Uniform Crime Reports, as well as reports on hate crimes, terrorism, family violence, corporate fraud, and initiatives like SafeStreets.
Visit URL: The Federal Bureau of Investigation
Questions and Answers
Answer the following questions in the fields below.
Question 1: Conduct research on one crime of interest to you, and write a brief analytic report on the dimensions and trends in this crime.
Mercedez Love
Sociology 101
Chapter 6 Internet Exercise
(FBI) Hate Crime 10-03-2008
Recently a hate crime that was not talked about on a nationwide scale until weeks later after the murder of Angie Zapata; a 20 year old transgender individual in Greeley, Colorado, was the first to be prosecuted as a hate crime against a transgender individual in the state. Adding "transgender" people to the list of hate crimes was done three years ago in a bill signed by then-Colorado Gov. Bill Owens.
District Attorney Ken Buck said his office has filed first-degree murder charges in the Angie Zapata case. The suspect, Allen Ray Andrade, 32, of Thornton also will be charged with a bias or hate crime, because Zapata was a transgender woman. Zapata, 20, was living as a woman although she was born male. Andrade was first charged with second-degree murder, but Buck said "circumstances of the case support the first-degree murder charge.” According to affidavits in the case, Andrade attacked Zapata when he discovered she had male genitalia. He first beat her with a fire extinguisher, stopped to clean up, then when Zapata started to get up, he beat her again with the fire extinguisher, killing her. When interviewed by the police, Andrade said he had to kill “it” referring to Angie as thing rather than a person. This will be the first murder in Weld County charged as a hate crime. Buck said the bias-connected charges have been filed before in other crimes in Weld, but not a murder.
The first week after the death of Angie Zapata, it hit home with me for many different reasons. I was also from Colorado and it also took me back in time when Matthew Shepard was killed; I knew Matthew from a club in Denver called Tracks, although I didn’t know him personally but just from acquaintances and seeing him at the club, I will always remember how everyone gathered in Denver on capital hill, with a candlelight vigil for Matthew who later died from blunt force beating and left for days on a fence in a small town in Wyoming, later died at the hospital in Fort Collins Colorado.
Hate Crimes according to the FBI history, dates back to the 1920 with the Ku Klux Klan. Although the most recent statistics; an analysis of data for victims of single-bias hate crime incidents showed that:
52.1 percent of the victims were targeted because of the offender’s bias against a race.
18.1 percent were victimized because of a bias against a religious belief.
15.3 percent were targeted because of a bias against a particular sexual orientation.
13.5 percent were victimized because of a bias against an ethnicity/national origin.
1.0 percent were targeted because of a bias against a disability.
The 15.3 percent that were reported in these statistics however is only a small percentage of transgender individuals that were victims of a hate crime. The staggering real statistics as of this time has no contrast to the actual hate crimes committed against transgender individuals as those cases were taboo and not charged as hate crimes because not even in this modern century; the transgender community still does not have civil rights and is the last minority group in America that suffers from inequality.
The 2006 FBI Hate Crime Statistics show an 18% increase in hate crimes against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. LGBT people now make up 16% of hate crimes in the United States. The following people and places have experienced violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity between May, 2007 when H.R. 1592 was introduced in the House and May, 2008.
Hundreds of murders have gone unpunished or not charged as a hate crime in a judiciary system still in the United States in 2008; transgender individuals involved in criminal cases including murder have the public conscious that the victim of the crime brought it upon themselves. Many of these murders in the last few years are not even mention in the press and although a few of the cases might make headlines such as when Hillary Swank won an Oscar for the portrayal of “Boys don’t Cry”, did the media start to release the murders of transgender individuals as motivations of hate but still many victims deaths go unheard of especially in conservative areas in the nation. Although I can say without a doubt that transgender individuals from past to present; are murdered every month on the basis of hate.
Over the years, I’ve heard so many stories and read many news reports but also the underground transgender society that talks about who was killed, or gets beat up goes on every week and many are not either filed with the police in fear, intolerable treatment by the legal system, or just those that go unnoticed as “Jane or John Does” brings a sadness that I cannot even put into words at this point because there is not just a corrupt legal system when it comes to the transgender community, but at times there is not a legal system that protects, guards, or punish the perpetrators in these crimes.
Two weeks after Angie’s murder, when the police found the murderer before he was formally charged, I personal wrote an email to the District Attorney Ken Buck, I pleaded with him to charge this as a hate crime that anything else would not be acceptable, that crimes likes these can not keep going on and the defense of these murderers that get off so easy because they say they either didn’t know their victim was a transsexual or that because society has made it acceptable that the transperson brought it on themselves. That in society we have the cliché "Is there where I kill you?" (For those that are transgender and have been outed or found out by their assailant) as if this is what is the standard and tolerated behavior.” Mr. Buck did email me back the day before charges were pressed against Andrade and thanked me for the letter. The formal charges against Angie’s murder were pursued and to the surprise of not only the GLBT community but to the legal system and media outlets that the District Attorney would be prosecuting this case as a hate crime.
In 2006, of the 1,472 victims targeted due to a sexual-orientation bias:
62.0 percent were victims of an offender’s anti-male homosexual bias.
20.9 percent were victims of an anti-homosexual bias.
13.7 percent were victims of an anti-female homosexual bias.
2.0 percent were victims of an anti-heterosexual bias.
1.4 percent were victims of an anti-bisexual bias.
Although these statistics bare little relative facts when it comes to transgender victims, in the cases that have been tried or those that caught media attention that later went on to movies based on the real life cases of these victims; Gwen Araujo, Brandon Teena, or the blockbuster movies of the Crying Game to Transamerica, brought to light these individuals that were actually human beings not just mere stereotypes, taboo or circus freak shows but that they were as real as anyone else, they had the same dreams and desires, ambitions and goals and ordinary home life’s that finally started engaging the public into an awareness and some acceptance to the trans community. That in 2008, a contestant competing to be America’s next top model was transgender, prime time television shows Dirty Sexy Money and Ugly Betty had a main character or emphasis of a transgender individual. That in this historic election year that Americans keyword is “Change” and for the first time in history a black man or a white woman would be the next President/Vice President that now have equal rights where only a few decades before blacks did not have civil rights and a few decades before that women did not have rights as well. That in this changing society the last group of the minority that doesn’t have civil rights, is not based on color, or sexual orientation; as gay rights have pushed through the barrier of bureaucracy with gay marriages and equal employment opportunity in a all inclusive workplace , but that the last group of individuals that have gone unheard in a world filled to hate or despise or poke fun of, the transgender community that now precedents are being set in motion for the laws and federal and moral rights but also to the effect of notoriety among primetime television and Hollywood movies, hate crimes against the group is now slowly adding into statistics. Silence is no longer an answer to the cries for help from victims of the trans community persecuted by hate, and will be the last to be included in the hate crime bill and statistics for the future generations to come.
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