Are you disgusted by Sexual Trafficking? Show your disgust by wearing a White Ribbon!

Do you know that the pornography industry in our modern society is responsible for the increase in sex trafficking? Pornography use is strongly linked to the purchase of sex, and therefore, to sex trafficking. This is why WISO is anti-human trafficking and therefore "against pornography"? Wear a Ribbon in commemoration of October 28-November 4^th as the wear a ribbon against porn week.

Often when we talk about sex trafficking, people think of foreign girls and women who are brought from other countries for sexual exploitation. While that is true in most cases, sex trafficking is an on-going activity even in our own neighborhood. Have you ever wondered about what happens to girls or young women who go missing and may not turn up for any reason at all? The odds are they are lured and sometimes kidnapped into sex-trafficking business. Sex trafficking is a serious form of abuse because it is perpetuated by powerful and rich men.  

We at WISO join everyone who feels, cares, worries and is disturbed by sex-trafficking abuse in our society to condemn the practice. We join the White Ribbon against Pornography (WRAP) Campaign to express disgust against sex trafficking and call for policies to be instituted to control and protect the rights of those who are sex-trafficked. 

WRAP began with one woman, Norma Norris, in Butler, PA in 1987 after she heard a sermon against pornography delivered by the pastor of her Catholic church. She lived in a community like ours where some may think that people don’t care about the hardcore porn being sold in our community. Norris believed she had to show that she cared. So, she gave herself the challenge to inspire her community and to send out the message: WE CARE! WE COUNT! The plan that Norma thought was too simple, inexpensive, and to catch the imagination of anyone soon became inspirational. Her idea of a simple white ribbon became a symbol of decency. As her movement caught momentum, a sense of morality became part of the discourse in her community. Consequently a call to the need for women to be respected was renewed. These are the basic human rights we should all stand for. Her movement culminated into the eviction and bulldozing of a porn bookstore. Today, millions of citizens as well as organizations around the country work daily to make WRAP a successful annual campaign.

In spite of this achievement, this fight is far from over. We have to keep reminding everyone that girls and women are human beings who should be respected and treated as humans. They are not slaves to be used and abused for sexual or other emotional or economic needs. The community has a larger role in ensuring that this mission is achieved. Talk to your children and friend about the role of porn in promoting sex trafficking. When you buy a porn movie or watch a porn movie, you encourage the abuse of women as sex objects.

We as a society have the obligation to make the right choices. We especially have the right to protect our young girls and women from sexual exploitation. As long as one promotes a form of enslavement, he or she is a slave owner, and a dehumanized being whose humanity has virtually vanished. We should reclaim our humanity and sense of worth and should treat everyone we encounter the same way. Doesn’t the golden rule tell us to ‘do unto others as we would like them to do unto us” This is a fundamental teaching of Jesus, Muhammad, the Buddha, Confucius, and all wise teachers who have always cared about treating others humanely.
Wear a ribbon to show that you prefer decency and that you are disgusted by continuous actions of human and sex trafficking. Together, we will make an impact, however small it may seem.

Why it is important to Vote!!

Hello everyone. I know that some of us are still making up our minds about whether we should vote at all and who we should vote for. The first question we should ask ourselves is: Why should we vote?  Yes, it is important that we vote. Any good and responsible citizen must participate in the electoral process. It is one way to demonstrate that you care about your government, your people and your culture. It is a time that we all come together as a society, community, government to elect leaders that will represent our welfare. Decisions we make by casting a vote affect our lives. If we don’t vote, we let the decisions of others to shape our own lives. Be a responsible citizen, we know you care about your community, your people, your friends and yourself. Make sure you vote in the coming elections.  

But, who should we vote for? This is the six million dollar question. There are many qualities that go into a good leader; character, likeability, ability to be productive, caring and empathetic of his/her community’s situation. Most importantly, a good leader should be one who is willing to acknowledge realities in his and her communities without dismissing any social group as irrelevant. Such a leader cares for the welfare of all and is willing and able to fight for his/her community.

On the other hand, we should watch out for leaders who say one thing and act differently. We should watch out for flip floppers, or those who are insensitive to the needs of those they purport to represent and protect. Well, if you are reading this blog and support our course, you probably know that our values of inclusiveness and compassion will steer us toward a leader who cares for the homeless, abused women, children, and even men. We will lean towards a leader who cares for minority communities including those who have special needs or may be described in society as “abnormal”. A true leader, we believe will stand with those who are vulnerable. He will try to fix situations of those who are struggling in society. He / she will work towards ensuring that jobs are available for all to alleviate poverty in their communities and ensure that all access healthcare as a basic human rights.

As elections take place in your various communities, all over the world, pose and consider seriously what kind of future you want to see your children inherit. Do you want to see a world where those who have specialized needs are ignored as non-entities? Do you want to see a world where women are unable to access healthcare thus increasing chances of all types of cancer and unplanned pregnancies because they could not access initial screenings and birth control methods? Do you want to see a future where your daughters are raped and no one apprehends assaulters because rape is as some potential leaders have claimed “not legitimate?” The latest claim that should send a chill to every women and man’s spine is the claims that “a life /pregnancy resulting from rape is god’s will.  The choice is yours.

As the representative of a non-profit organization, I work at being non-partisan. In our organization we care about everyone, and work for everyone. However, we care about certain basic issues. We care about the human worth of all therefore we care about human rights, women’s rights, homeless rights, all human rights. We support the welfare of women, and the rights of girls to education, and to health care. We care about freedom to worship and hope that some do not impose their beliefs on others. We care about ensuring that elderly members of our community are not left to abuse.

 Although the pundits may remind us again and again that elections are about the economy and jobs, we need to be smart in connecting the dots. Economy is connected to all these other issues. We need jobs to pay for healthcare. We need jobs to pay for education and so on. Well, think about it? We have health conditions that necessitate that we get jobs to pay for our bills. They are all connected. Do these potential leaders make the connections for us?  

Well, there are many issues to consider and so we must be smart in the decisions we make. One very important decision we should make this October and November month is to go out and vote.  Our world needs peace, social justice and morality. We need to cultivate care compassion and love for all irrespective of their lifestyle, race, color, conditions. Make the right choice during this election process. The world is counting on you.

Out of curiosity, we are interested in surveying your opinion on politics as a potential electorate.  Complete the survey below if you can by filling in the correct answer in your opinion. It will take less than 10 minutes to complete the survey.

Please click on this link to complete the survey: https://atrial.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_9sfekgmosmXGt3T