Govt 6: My views on social justice (v1.0)

  I am a brown person of Indian origin. I lived in Hawaii and the California bay area and did not encounter any real discrimination. I know of stories of discrimination told in other states, especially the deep south, but I don't have personal experience of such. My focus is laws for social justice and not really changing people's beliefs or opinions or prejudices which is always a wide spectrum. Institutions have rules that can be focused on by law, but ultimately institutions are made up of people with their prejudices or beliefs. 

My focus in social justice is to get a more perfect union and realize the founding fathers promissory note of equality under the law for citizens that was never fully delivered to a number of groups. This includes in today's context, equality by race, national origin, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, age, and economic class. Supreme court decisions on these areas in specific boundary cases are a work in progress as cases bubble up to the supreme court.  More equality by economic class is not a constitutional right but in the control of congress to create programs. 

The following 10 points summarize my views on social justice. My view on social justice is simple and based on limited experience. 

1.     Blacks have come a long way since Jim Crow days. Affirmative action law helped a lot along with civil rights legislation and the right to vote. The supreme court very recently overturned affirmative action in education which might also have a potential impact on hiring by companies. Rather than race or religion, I would encourage universities to consider the financial means, geography and adversity an applicant has overcome as one of many criteria's they consider, to decide which students to accept. I also think colleges should factor “grit” and “determination” and "character building episodes" into admissions decisions. Whether this affects hiring is yet to be tested in court. It is unfortunate the 1965 voting rights act was diluted in 2013 by the supreme court. As a result, many areas continue to make it harder for blacks to vote or do racial gerrymandering. But the supreme court did rule that any election or redistricting related laws passed by state legislature could be reviewed by state and federal judiciary.

2.     Women have come a long way, but the ERA should finally be made part of the constitution. Have written a separate blog on my views on abortion and roe vs wade which was overturned. Taking contraceptives is an individual's choice and the state has no business in that. The 1965 Griswold ruling establishes that.

3.     Hate crime laws should remain against any minority.

4.     Fair employment and housing practices laws should remain to prevent discrimination of minorities or seniors or women. 

5.     Need judicial corrections on jury selection guidelines and sentencing guidelines to give less unfair verdicts to blacks who broke the law. Blacks should be equal under the law, but individual prejudices and beliefs will always be there. 

6.     Don't believe in reparations to blacks for slavery. The people really at fault (to contemporary eyes) are long dead. 

7.     Police do need reforms and training to handle racial and mental situations better. Should invest more in law enforcement not less. The right to peacefully protest wrongful killings is enshrined in the constitution. Also civil suits can be filed and states have in recent years launched criminal cases against law enforcement officers displaying egregious conduct. 

8.     LGBTQ+ people should live out their lives safely and peacefully and without harassment or discrimination at-least from the point of view of the law. They are humans and citizens first. I don't have to understand their choices/needs to empathize if they are unfairly put upon. The 2020 Bostock vs Clayton County ruling protects LTBTQ employment. The supreme court also ruled that LGBTQ are included in the civil rights law as written. But the supreme court also opened a door a crack to discrimination by ruling that creative businesses like web designers could deny service to them. But individual prejudices and beliefs will always be there. There is also a dispute over the legal definition of gender playing out that could impact trans people. The legal definition will evolve as societal attitudes and technology evolves. Lastly gender affirming care for minors is going through the judiciary right now. 

9.  You have the right to choose which person of any gender or race you want to marry, provided they are of age. I don't have to understand the same sex attraction to empathize. You should not be discriminated upon about that. The 1967 Loving’s ruling, and the 2003 Lawrence vs Texas ruling, and the 2015 Obergefell ruling establishes that. 

10. I would rather focus on other divides like improvements and opportunities for the poor people, the disabled, the unemployed, the old and the sick, than the racial divide at this stage in America's journey. Also support any reasonable steps that can be taken to reduce costs of essentials for struggling families. The economic inequality aspect in my view goes beyond the equality under the law the founding fathers conceived of and more an ill effect of the pure capitalistic economic system. But the limiting factor is always the availability of funds to fund such programs. Runaway deficits are not the answer since that is both inflationary (especially if the govt prints money to reduce it) and siphons off large portions of revenue for debt servicing (if money is borrowed). To fund, I favor tax increases, better enforcement, and a minimum tax for those who take undue advantage of loopholes to pay substantially lower or no tax.