Then, Now, Next
The UN has worked tirelessly to end wars and prevent conflicts. COVID-19 could make it harder.
09.15.20
True
In 1945, the world had just endured the bloodiest war in history. World leaders were determined to not repeat the mistakes of the past. They wanted to build a better future, one free from the "scourge of war" so they signed the UN Charter — creating a global organization of nations that could deter and repel aggressors, mediate conflicts and broker armistices, and ensure collective progress.
Over the following 75 years, the UN played an essential role in preventing, mitigating or resolving conflicts all over the world. It faced new challenges and new threats — including the spread of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, a Cold War and brutal civil wars, transnational terrorism and genocides. Today, the UN faces new tensions: shifting and more hostile geopolitics, digital weaponization, a global pandemic, and more.
This slideshow shows how the UN has worked to build peace and security around the world:
1
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12
Malians wait in line at a free clinic run by the UN Multidimensional Integrated Mission in Mali in 2014. Over their 75 year history, UN peacekeepers have deployed around the world in military and nonmilitary roles as they work towards human security and peace. Here's a look back at their history.
Photo credit: UN Photo/Marco Dormino
Who would have thought that giving the world access to all human knowledge via the internet, the ability to follow and hear from experts on any subject via social media, and the ability to see what's happening anywhere in the world via smartphones with cameras would result in a terrifying percentage of the population believing and spouting nothing but falsehoods day in and day out?
Those of us who value facts, reason, and rational thought have found ourselves at some of our fellow citizens and thinking, "Really? THIS is how you choose to use the greatest tool humanity has ever created? To spew unfounded conspiracy theories?"
It's a marvel, truly.
Between Coronavirus/Bill Gates/5G conspiracies and QAnon/Evil Cabal/Pedophile conspiracies, I thought we were pretty much full up on kooky for 2020. But apparently not. The massive fires up and down the West Coast have ignited even more conspiracy theories, some of which local law enforcement and even the FBI have had to debunk.
<p>Can we please get off this timeline of insanity?</p><p>Thankfully, there are voices of reason out there. Pretty much any rumor you hear or see gets fact checked pretty quickly, so unless you're so far gone that you think every single fact checking website is "in on it," it's not too hard to find the truth. </p><p>And sometimes, the truth comes in brief, refreshing, not-unattractive packages.</p><p>A firefighter who goes by the TikTok handle @wildlandmike shared a quick response video to a young woman's ridiculous conspiracy-laden video about the Western fires. His delivery is perfect, and Twitter users are going gaga over it. </p><div id="6b3ac" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d5b948fb687ca6519db9831a1bef2c2e"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1306358947364839424" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Firefighters: literally fight fire
Also firefighters: fighting conspiracy theories on TikTok https://t.co/Mf97S0tNrS</div> — Cres (@Cres)<a href="https://twitter.com/cres_guez/statuses/1306358947364839424">1600295218.0</a></blockquote></div><p>It doesn't hurt that Wildland Mike fits the "hot firefighter" stereotype, and many of the responses were...well...thirsty. (As a colleague asked this morning, "Do they not let ugly people become firefighters or something?") Good-looking experts spewing facts is a double whammy of attractiveness in the disinformation age. It is what it is.</p><p>But the comments also highlighted the unfortunate fact that this girl making the conspiracy video has an actual reach. </p><div id="a1526" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ec224e18ae7279acb97b8cf6650a5590"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1306395241209982976" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">@cres_guez Wait... is she trying to say she doesn’t believe there actually are fires? Like we just made them up bec… https://t.co/NXjkAdUg81</div> — Emily Kralj (@Emily Kralj)<a href="https://twitter.com/em_kat30/statuses/1306395241209982976">1600303871.0</a></blockquote></div><p><br></p><div id="888f3" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="bae7a5a408ab10d24d12967ba1afe843"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1306574826170200066" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">@cres_guez She’s from my hometown 😅 she’s also posted George Floyd conspiracies. All of her followers are children.… https://t.co/faYHPddCjz</div> — Shelby (@Shelby)<a href="https://twitter.com/Shelby_Delaine/statuses/1306574826170200066">1600346688.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Just for funsies, I looked her up on TikTok. She has 2.6 million followers, SO THAT'S NEAT. Most of her content doesn't appear to be this off the wall crazy, which actually makes it worse. Kids are going to follow her to see her talk about her dog or her having lived in an amusement park and then get hit with a conspiracy theory video. It's also entirely possible that she makes conspiracy theory videos for a joke or as satire or something, but DON'T YOU KNOW SATIRE IS DEAD AND PEOPLE BELIEVE BATSH*T CRAZY THINGS IN 2020, @cierra_mistt??? </p><p>Seriously, is there some kind of humanity reset button somewhere? Has anyone looked for one in earnest? Maybe it's hidden under the edge of Flat Earth or on the belly button of Sasquatch or something. </p><p>At any rate, more firefighters fighting fiction with facts, please. It's the content we all need right now. </p>
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Then, Now, Next
The UN has worked tirelessly to end wars and prevent conflicts. COVID-19 could make it harder.
09.15.20
True
In 1945, the world had just endured the bloodiest war in history. World leaders were determined to not repeat the mistakes of the past. They wanted to build a better future, one free from the "scourge of war" so they signed the UN Charter — creating a global organization of nations that could deter and repel aggressors, mediate conflicts and broker armistices, and ensure collective progress.
Over the following 75 years, the UN played an essential role in preventing, mitigating or resolving conflicts all over the world. It faced new challenges and new threats — including the spread of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, a Cold War and brutal civil wars, transnational terrorism and genocides. Today, the UN faces new tensions: shifting and more hostile geopolitics, digital weaponization, a global pandemic, and more.
This slideshow shows how the UN has worked to build peace and security around the world:
1
/
12
Malians wait in line at a free clinic run by the UN Multidimensional Integrated Mission in Mali in 2014. Over their 75 year history, UN peacekeepers have deployed around the world in military and nonmilitary roles as they work towards human security and peace. Here's a look back at their history.
Photo credit: UN Photo/Marco Dormino
It sounds like a ridiculous, sensationalist headline, but it's real. In Cheshire County, New Hampshire, a transsexual, anarchist Satanist has won the GOP nomination for county sheriff. Aria DiMezzo, who refers to herself as a "She-Male" and whose campaign motto was "F*** the Police," ran as a Republican in the primary. Though she ran unopposed on the ballot, according to Fox News, she anticipated that she would lose to a write-in candidate. Instead, 4,211 voters filled in the bubble next to her name, making her the official Republican candidate for county sheriff.
DiMezzo is clear about why she ran—to show how "clueless the average voter is" and to prove that "the system is utterly and hopelessly broken"—stances that her win only serves to reinforce.
In a blog post published on Friday, DiMezzo explained how she had never tried to hide who she was and that anyone could have looked her up to see what she was about, in addition to pointing out that those who are angry with her have no one to blame but themselves:
<p><em>"None of it is a secret. I couldn't possibly have been more upfront about who I am, or my position on things. Did none of you pay attention to the election two years ago, when I criticized Eli Rivera for not going far enough with his sanctuary policy? Did none of you remember the <strong>six foot tall tranny who ran for sheriff and then city council</strong>?</em></p><p><em>You could have easily looked at a sample ballot prior to the election, and you could have simply looked up the candidates in a search engine. By doing so, you, like the good citizen in Rindge, would probably have been appalled, and probably wouldn't have voted for me. I wouldn't have begrudged you for that. I was, after all, rather upfront about it. I went into it expecting that I would lose the primary to a write-in candidate, because I didn't think that so many voters were just… <strong>completely and totally oblivious </strong>about who they are voting for.</em></p><p><em>Because the fact is that you didn't bother. You trusted the system. You trusted the establishment. You trusted the party. You felt safe. You were sure that there must be some mechanisms in place to prevent from occurring <strong>exactly </strong>what just occurred. Your anger is misplaced if you direct it at me. Please listen. Your anger is with the system that has lied to you. Your anger is with the system that convinced you to believe in it, trust in it, and have faith in it, when it is completely and utterly broken.</em></p><p><em>More than 4,000 people went into the voting booth on September 8 this week, and they all filled in the circle by my name despite knowing <strong>absolutely nothing </strong>about the person they were nominating to the <strong>most powerful law enforcement position in the county</strong>. That's a level of recklessness of which any decent human being should be ashamed."</em></p><div id="0de94" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c6a32446b27ab6bce737466b362d3e65"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1305330277527572485" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">#AriaDiMezzo, a “polyamorous transgender Mississippian lesbian anarchist atheist,” running on a Liberterian "F*** t… https://t.co/eZFkq5eUkk</div> — Frank Smyth (@Frank Smyth)<a href="https://twitter.com/SmythFrank/statuses/1305330277527572485">1600049964.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Regardless of how you feel about DiMezzo, her message, or her methods, she's absolutely right about one thing—voters too often go to the polls woefully uninformed, especially when it comes to local politics. Local elected officials are the ones who generally have the most direct impact on our daily lives, and it's our responsibility as citizens to learn about the people running for these positions. <br></p><p>DiMezzo isn't lying when she says her stance wasn't a secret. Six days before the election, she posted <a href="https://twitter.com/Aria_DiMezzo/status/1301284328098455554" target="_blank">a horribly offensive meme </a>about the police on her Twitter account, reminding people to vote for her. </p><p>And interestingly, people did. Here's the breakdown of votes by town in the county. </p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="43f4c1ba86d12141766e8bad110c6341"><div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/aria.the.writer/photos/a.245906769094033/1247577458926954/"></div></div><p>There was apparently one person who did realize that DiMezzo was not exactly what the Republican party had in mind for county sheriff, and who organized a write-in campaign. It still wasn't enough even in that one town to outnumber the votes DiMezzo received, but she praised that person for trying to spread the word. <br></p><p><em><span></span>"For those of you who actually did research, <strong>thank you</strong>. I'm not being snide. I'm glad that <strong>someone </strong>bothered to actually look at to whom they were handing <strong>power over theirs and other people's lives</strong>. Sadly, you number in the minority. The write-in campaign in Rindge was exceedingly well done–a testament to the power of grassroots, decentralized communication–yet it saddens me that it was even necessary. <strong>One person </strong>did their research prior to the election, and he spread what he found everywhere. Good on him. That is a person I respect. But those people who learned of me because of this person should have <strong>already known</strong>. They didn't, though. Because they trusted the party. They trusted the system. The system, they thought, surely would <strong>never </strong>let them down.</em></p><p><em>I'm running for sheriff because I oppose that very system, and the sheriff has the most hands-on ability in Cheshire County to oppose that system. The system that let you down by allowing me–the freaking transsexual Satanist anarchist–be your sheriff candidate is the same system I'm attacking. I'm sorry, and I know it hurts to hear, but that system is a lie. The entire thing is a lie. It's broken from beginning to end, and my existence as your sheriff candidate is merely how this reality was thrown into your face."</em></p><div id="6e7e5" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a2a5f426feb84a5e05c2f85ba1ec0305"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1305160169261801473" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Aria DiMezzo ran for Sheriff with the slogan "Fuck The Police"
People just voted (R) for the GOP nomination and di… https://t.co/ducoRQxnV2</div> — Tim Pool (@Tim Pool)<a href="https://twitter.com/Timcast/statuses/1305160169261801473">1600009407.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Even though this was a local election, it should be a wake-up call for all of us to really examine the system. Even if we're not anarchists opposing the system like DiMezzo, we should at least understand it and invest in it fully if we agree with it. The passive approach to civic engagement has real consequences. DiMezzo made her point with the Republican ticket, but an unopposed candidate on a Democraft primary ticket doesn't automatically make them an ideal candidate.<br></p><p>We often focus on getting out the vote, but people also need to know who and what they are voting for. That's the whole point of DiMezzo's run for sheriff, and even if we don't agree with her on everything, we should all humbly heed the red flag she has raised. </p>
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Katie Neeves (L) photo by Jayne Walsh, JK Rowling (R) photo by Sjhill, CC BY-SA 3.0
Dear JK Rowling,
I am writing this letter to say a big thank you to you. You may think it strange that a gobby trans woman such as me would wish to thank you after all your recent transphobic outpourings, but let me explain…
I certainly don't thank you for your lengthy essay last month where you describe the abuse you have suffered (for which you have my sympathy) and in which you stated that you do not hate trans people, while at the same time peddling even more anti-trans mis-information. Sadly, your diatribe directly caused some trans children to self-harm and other to attempt suicide.
<p>I certainly don't thank you for your latest book in which I am told (as I have no intention of buying a copy) that a central character is a man who dresses up as a woman in order to abuse women. Apparently, at one point he talks about being "pre-op", a term that would be used for transgender people, not crossdressers.Either way, your key message in the story is that crossdressers or trans people are dangerous people, which in reality, couldn't be further from the truth!We are not a threat to anyone.We just want to live our best lives in peace.</p><p>What I do thank you for is for the inspiration that you give me, as every time I see a transphobic message from you, it spurs me on with my mission to reach out to other trans people to let them know that it's OK to be trans and also to educate as many non-trans people as I can to show them that trans people are just ordinary people who want to be safe, loved and happy – just like everyone else. </p><p>Happiness and peace can only come from within and I found both 2.5 years ago when I admitted to myself that I am a transgender woman, after living for 48 years as a man and living with gender dysphoria since the age of 3.I only hope that you may one day find the same inner peace and happiness that I have found by finally being able to live my truth and that you will no longer feel the need to cause harm to a group of people who you clearly do not understand.Even though there is a small minority of very noisy anti-trans campaigners who feel the same way as you, thankfully, the vast majority of people in the UK are hugely supportive of trans people and for that, I am extremely grateful.</p><p>Love from,</p><p>Katie x</p><p><br></p><p><em>This article originally appeared on Cool2bTrans. You can read it <a href="https://cool2btrans.co.uk/dear-jk-rowling-an-open-letter/" target="_blank">here.</a> </em><em>Katie Neeves is a writer and activist. <a href="https://cool2btrans.co.uk/about-katie/" target="_blank">You can read her full bio here.</a> You can find more from Katie via the links below:</em></p><p><em></em>Website: <a href="http://www.cool2btrans.co.uk/" target="_blank">www.cool2btrans.co.uk</a></p><p><a href="http://www.cool2btrans.co.uk/" target="_blank"></a>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-neeves-trans-ambassador-43626814/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-neeves-trans-ambassador-43626814/</a></p><p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-neeves-trans-ambassador-43626814/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a>Facebook: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/cool2btrans" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/cool2btrans</a>Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/cool2btrans" target="_blank">@cool2btrans</a></p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/cool2btrans" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a>Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/cool2btrans/" target="_blank">cool2btrans</a></p><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/cool2btrans/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a>TikTok: <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@cool2btrans" target="_blank">@cool2btrans</a></p><p>https://www.youtube.com/c/Cool2BTrans</p>
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