fandomhigh | Lawyering Up, Week 3: Wed, Period 2 (1/23)

"'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.'" Nathan said as he handed out that week's information packets. If he gave a studied, inscruitible look in Wyatt's direction as he did... well that was probably a coincidence. "Thomas Jefferson, in the Declaration of Independence. Not a law, but certainly a statement that acted as strong guidelines for the laws that followed.

"We're discussing Civil Rights." Nathan leaned against the front of his desk. "In plain language, laws that say what you are allowed to have and do as a citizen. For though the truths may be self-evident, they're not supported unless the written law says so. Of course, there's always a catch."

Nathan looked around at each student in turn. "All men are created equal. Men. Not women. Also not anyone of color or anyone who didn't own land. This isn't a traffic dispute. This isn't how you pay for your favorite music. This is about people in power deciding who else gets to have power. People in power deciding who is powerless."

Why yes, Nathan had been affected by a weekend spent finding out that people had been turned into second-class citizens in his name. Thanks for asking.

"This nation's history is littered with laws that have been used to take rights away. Now we do learn. We have removed some of them. But we have not removed all, nor have we created enough laws which offer protection. And that's just for the categories we know about - race, religion, gender, sexuality. What about the ones you now know about because of this school? Those from different planets, those who are a different species, those who have a special ability and those who do not? What about the law then?

"In honor of this Monday, and because I never rewrite anything that was perfect to begin with, I'm going to give this over to Martin Luther King. In his Letter from a Birmingham Jail he says:

One may well ask: 'How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?' The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that 'an unjust law is no law at all.'

"Let's talk about this," Nathan said. "What are the civil rights laws you have dealt with that you feel were unjust? What, if anything, did you do about them? What, if anything, do you think should be done? And for any of you who might be doubting your ability to make a difference, I point you back to Dr. King, who says that one day the list of heroes:

...will be the young high school and college students, the young ministers of the gospel and a host of their elders, courageously and nonviolently sitting in at lunch counters and willingly going to jail for conscience' sake. One day the South will know that when these disinherited children of God sat down at lunch counters, they were in reality standing up for what is best in the American dream and for the most sacred values in our Judaeo-Christian heritage, thereby bringing our nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in their formulation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

"So let's get talking," Nathan said. "And if anyone would like extra credit beyond the usual lawyer jokes, try taking the Civil Rights Mythbuster quiz. I have the answers up here when you're done. Also Wyatt? Stay after if you have a chance."

[ooc: ~~Wait for OCD~~ OCD is up! I'm off to bed, will be around tomorrow.]

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Discrimination via unjust civil rights laws. I can't imagine anyone in this class who could talk about that kind of thing. Oh wait...

Hermione's hand shot up. Anyone who's heard this before could feel free to take a nap.

"Where I come from, there are creatures called house elves, where the blantant disregard for their welfare is even in their name. They're put to work, taking care of people, doing all of the cooking and cleaning and staying out of the way so it was three years before I even knew they were there. They can be employed by horrible people who abuse and mistreat them and the poor house elves will continue to work and never say a word because they're that loyal. They work without pay and get absolutely nothing in return, and their entire lives are service, and the think it's perfectly all right just because they don't know any better. Meanwhile, we wouldn't dream of treating a human this way without it getting media coverage due to it being a civil rights violation, so I don't see why it's all right to do it to anyone, no matter what their size and species," Hermione went on, seemingly not taking a breath. "I even created an organization called S.P.E.W., the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare, designed to raise awareness. I have pamphlets in my room if anyone's interested."

And now would be a good time to wake up.

Nathan actually listened. Because in addition to being ~~hot~~ driven, he was also a huge nerd.

(Nathan would've called it "Taking pride in his schoolwork." Peter called it being a nerd.)

"If I'm understanding you correctly," Nathan said, "there are sentient beings - elves - who are essentially treated like animals."

"Yes!" she said, a little too enthusiastically, but that may have been because someone was actually listening. "They have names, personalities, and feelings, and their own thoughts. They're just bound by their employers to behave the way they're expected to and never get so much as a thank you for it."

"What made you decide to do something about it instead of sitting and letting it happen?" Nathan asked.

"I just... couldn't," Hermione said, not sure exactly how to explain that. "I've known a few house elves and saw that one is capable of taking care of himself having been freed. But just because they've been told not to fight for themselves doesn't mean no one should fight for them."

"That's a very good point," Nathan said. "How's it going so far? Have you had any luck?"

"Not as much as I'd like," she admitted. "But all a house elf needs to be freed is to be given clothing, and I've organized a few successful clothing drives that were sent back home for them."

Not that her friends actually gave out the clothing. Sure, they said they did, but that was their way of shutting her up.

"That's excellent work," Nathan said. "It's important to recognize that even if a global change can't be made, change can still be made on a smaller level. It may just be a drop in the ocean, but it will create a ripple effect.

"Do you have any future plans for trying to help?"

"I haven't entirely decided what yet, but I'd like to find some way to take it to the next level after school," Hermione said, trying not to beam at the praise.

"You know some who want to try to bring about change in the world go into politics," Nathan said. "That might be something for you to consider."

Lawyering Up, Week 3: Wed, Period 2 (1/23)

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