We’ll be blogging 5 times over the semester. Posts are always due on a Friday at noon, but you can certainly post before that time. (Correct due dates: Sept 18, Oct 2, Oct 16, Nov 6, Nov 20). You will post your comments on the week’s blogs on this page (as a comment to my post for the week, see “Leave Comment” below)) and add links to the blogs you discuss. Plan to read 5-6 blogs each time, and make a comment at least 3 of the times we post.
I’ve posted the prompt for this week’s blog below, and look forward to reading what you write. But I also need you to go on to the “Our Blog List” page and enter the link to your blog, so we can find your posts!
Post #1
In 300-500 words, writing for our scholarly community (as the assignment describes in the “genre” description), write a post in which you a) introduce yourself (what do you want the blogosphere to know about you?) and b) articulate 1-2 questions or issues you’d like to pursue in the context of our course on life narratives. What makes those questions compelling for you? What is an example (a news story, YT video, meme, print memoir, whatever) that embodies the thing that you find so interesting? Provide a link to that example. If you need technical help, you can email Arts ISIT help desk (arts.helpdesk@ubc.ca) or check the UBC Blogs wiki. You might also ask each other for help (have you set up your “secret” Global Citizens Facebook page? Very handy for this sort of thing. 😉
Posts are due Fri noon or before. Have fun!
Comment by Chipo Chipaziwa
In response to Shaan’s blog: I agree with your observation of YouTube being a platform for people to freely express their opinions; they are able to do so because they can hide behind anonymity if they chose so. I recall watching the trailer for the film ‘Focus’ on YouTube and the comments below were filled with the discomfort over the fact the leading actor and actress, who later became romantic interests, were of a different race. Although the world has made progress with the issue of racism, racism is deeply embedded in society and will unfortunately exist with alongside mankind.
In response to Emily’s blog: I also find myself in awe of what our generation is accomplishing so far, and so early on as well. Steve Jobs summed it up well, he once said “the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones to do”. It’s fair enough to say that many people want to make an impact on this world; however, realistically speaking, only a few of us will be able to effect positive change. Change requires one thing, to be absolutely fearless. Change, or transformation, is inevitable for humans, instead of being hostile towards change, we should embrace and manipulate it to our benefit(s).
In response to Kaz’s blog: The pace of which ideas and aspects of cultures travel in today’s world is remarkably fast. It seems as if it is becoming increasingly difficult for there to be various cultures due to a rise of the new ‘global culture’. I remember reading Shaan’s blog in which he discusses YouTube and how people all over the world are able to freely share their views and opinions without having to worry much about consequences. The ability to voice your opinions, without a filter, on a worldwide platform has led to the world to become smaller, thus showing the connectivity of the Internet.
In response to Tanvi’s post:
I’m also curious about why some stories resonate better than others. I think it’s just whatever is more important to the most amount of people gets the most amount of support. I think the two particular groups that a lot of people can agree are important are kids and famous people, whether they may be politicians, musicians, or athletes. We can see this in your story about the Syrian boy who washed up on the beach and Lucia Vega Jimenez. Maybe it’s because kids are younger, they have so when they die people feel like they lost so much more of their life, while with normal adults, they already got to live at least a longer life than kids. On the less serious note, it could just be what more people are interested in. For example, is Kpop as it has grown in popularity all over the world. Before, we didn’t really know much about the scene, but now there’s a lot of gossip about it, there’s news articles on our websites, and people are sad whenever their favourite bands break up. Do you think there is another group that tends to get a lot of attention? Why do you think they are so important to us?
In response to Chipo’s post:
It’s so amazing that you lived in so many different places! Do you identify with one more than than another? Do you consider yourself a global citizen because you got to experience so much of the world and so many different cultures? It is interesting that one voice seems more significant than the other. I think part of the reason that Caitlyn Jenner’s and other famous people seem to get more attention is because, as you said they are famous so we hold them in high regard, but we also love to see scandal from them. Maybe because it’s because we want to take them down a notch, or maybe it’s because because so many more people know them, as bad as this may sound, more people care about them and what they have to say. Because we are their fans, we tend to keep an eye on their life anyways, but with other normal people, unless we know them as well, we aren’t as invested. Also, because they are in the public and publicized so much, they have more opportunity to share their story than people who are less in the spotlight. However, with social media more are getting to share their voices. Do you think that we, the general public, get to hear ,more voices and stories, or does it actually affect anything and we still remain focused on our favorite celebrities and nothing really has changed?
In response to Will’s photo:
I thought about your question about what distinguishes what’s important in life narratives and what’s not for a long time. I think that it really depends on the person. Some people do have major lire events and some have little, gradual events. I think, however, as readers we like to see big major events to spot our clues because I feel deep down we want it to be major events that point out what we’re interested in and what we want to major in because, maybe some of us are afraid that if it’s not big, major events, we might miss it in the present and only realize it when it’s too late. But even then, can’t some things that seem small to us, seem big to other people? Maybe if a person posted a beautiful picture of a cat, and while the poster might not think much of it, maybe another person realizes that they want to become a veterinarian from looking at the photo. Or maybe, do you think that can’t be so? Do you think that maybe everything is a small event that just builds secretly until another small event that seems to be major because of all the small events leading up to this? Because we can’t like the cat picture without realizing we like cats, right?
In response to Melissa’s post:
The rags to riches story is so interesting, especially as a first- or second-generation immigrant, because a lot of our families embody that story, my parents included. What I also find interesting is how recently there appears to have been a shift in storytelling and the rags to riches stories, stories about the underdog, are becoming less prominent. Instead of superheroes like Peter Parker (Spiderman), a middle class, unpopular kid, we see more and more narratives of people who started with privilege (e. g. Tony Stark as Iron Man, Harvey Specter in the popular TV series Suits) or have abused it (Wolf of Wall Street). Have we, as a society, stopped believing in the underdog? Definitely not completely, but perhaps somewhat.
In response to Shaan’s post:
I loved the video you posted, because it makes a valid point but still manages to entertain, which seems to be what youtube is all about. Personally, I’m a big fan of comedy, especially comedy that is socially aware, and your post made me think about varying approaches to race by different comedians. For example, the comedian Hari Kondabolu tends to points out incidents of racism and talk about racial inequality in the United States (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85fr6nbiMT4) from a social justice related perspective. Meanwhile, the more well-known Russel Peters is no stranger to race in his comedy, but approaches it in a different way – he makes fun of everyone: every person of every race, including his own (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2cpCrfXdag). Which approach are we more comfortable with and more drawn to, and why?
In response to Charlotte’s post:
It was great to read about Alan Turing in your post. It made me think about how many people’s actions are clouded by some perceived “flaw” in their identities. With Turing it was his sexuality, and only in 2013, so many years later, did the Queen grant him a royal pardon. Your post reminded me of Shaan’s, in which he draws attention to America’s poor reaction to the winner of the Miss America pageant being an Indian-American. Her “flaw” was not being white, or not being “American enough.” The difference is, in the age of social media thousands of supporters were able to reach out to her and fend off the hateful comments. Turing never had that advantage, or his story may have ended differently. I’m curious to see how new media plays into our perceptions of the stories we are told and how we react to them.
In Anna Kaveney’s blog post, she explores the impact global interest in ISIS has had in recognizing and helping the female victims of rape under the Islamic State. This makes me wonder about the stories that have not gotten adequate media coverage and what can be done in order to bring these untold stories to light. Stories regarding issues such as the human rights crisis in North Korea are often difficult to expose, as the victims’ voices continue to be oppressed by the government. It is essential that we find ways to expose more stories in order to bring help to these victims.
Tanvi Bhatia, in her blog post, raises a good question about the prominence of certain stories over others in our society. I think it is certainly the responsibility of major media outlets to focus on these critical stories. With so much voice and power, it is a waste for the media to focus on covering trivial matters. I would also like to know – as discussed in our CAP lecture last week – whether the media produces the stories they want to tell or the stories the general population would like to hear. If it is the latter, what can be done to spark interest in global issues among the general population?
Will Shelling, in his blog post, examines the impact of perspective on life narratives and questions whether or not some perspectives “skew the story in favor of the storyteller”. Undoubtedly, understanding the storyteller can be a crucial part of forming our own deductions. For example, this article investigates the shooting of Mike Brown, as told by three different people (http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2014/11/25/the_shooting_of_michael_brown_three_versions_of_how_it_unfolded.html). Thinking critically and attempting to understand the perspective of each individual can help us draw our own educated conclusions. The internet is a useful tool because it opens us up to a multitude of perspectives; however, it is the responsibility of the reader to be cautious about what he/she chooses to believe.
Comments by Shaan S. Lail
Will: In response to Will, I agree that perspective plays an extremely crucial role in the telling of narratives. More importantly however that those narratives can have different implications on the content being spoken of. Your observations between “Twelve Years a Slave” in both book and motion picture form indeed speak of this very well and it makes you wonder for what purpose was this done? Building on the idea of perspective in various form of media, I found your second question on how social media has “blurred” the lines of what is considered important in our lives very valid as social media seems to have exploded to the forefront of our individual lives. As a result of these various social networks now at our disposal, I do believe that we must work harder as a society to differentiate what is important and what isnt.
Tanvi: Tanvi, I completely know where you are coming from. When individuals watch the news, not all stories worldwide are shown. As I watched the Charlie Hebdo terror attack unfold in January of this year, I heard news after the fact that on the same day of that attack there was a much more sinister one unfolding a continent away. On the same day in January, militant group Boko Haram massacred two thousand innocent people in the town of Baga Nigeria. With this in mind, it is sad to see how badly we as society are brainwashed by mass media outlets into believing what story is more important than the other. I feel that we need to be more vigilant in these modern times because as you suggest in your posting, if we do not dig deeper, some narratives will otherwise be forever lost.
Mishal: I was moved by your blog posting. Evils within societies is a huge problem and as you say, there must be the ability to unite under a common cause to deal with these evils head on. I referred that statement in your blog posting to the common theory of “united we stand, divided we fall” which in society worldwide is becoming a norm when we in society face adversity in out everyday lives. Similar to your retelling of the terror attack in Peshawar about facing disaster and standing up for justice happened when I heard about the 1985 Air India bombing. After the bombing, the local Indian population went up in arms demanding justice for the deceased; one man was charged while the rest walked free. Although not all perpetrators were caught, I believe it was the first time I heard of the Indian population here in Canada uniting for a greater good. Personally speaking, it would be great if countries facing similar issues to Pakistan could all join together in a stand against terror and violence because it feel like we are not hearing the end of all these atrocities being committed and as a result, more lives are at risk.
In response to Jodie Fong, I agree that it is incredible how difficult it is for people to understand that a single ordinary person has the power to do the extraordinary. Imagine the possibilities if people understood this potential and really applied it to their own lives. It seems as if people spend so much time admiring those who have done the astonishing things that they lose their own aspirations and question their disappointment later. You mentioned Steve Jobs, and what an example this is. He really did do amazing things in revolutionizing the technological world. Even highly recognized people such as Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, Charles Darwin, or Leonardo da Vinci. Though a little (or a lot!) more dated than Steve Jobs, these people accomplished wild things that transformed theories and in regards to these examples, Science. Had things been different, we could’ve had a very different life surrounding us right now. Despite what we imagine, we could all do the same as these incredible but still unbelievably ordinary people.
In response to Blakely Browne, It is definitely a shame how many people go unrecognized in today’s world. Though I think that this is increasing in small increments due to the accessibility and diversity of social media (despite how media is so convoluted due to the unfathomable amount of useless mass media is out there.) I believe that it’s worth looking into how to assure that people get the recognition they deserve. You show an example, this being word of mouth, as you shared Borlaug’s success, but what can really be done with the media or otherwise to assure that these important happenings get acknowledged? And more efficiently? There must be a solution beyond trying to gain more hits than any fuzzy animal video/story. Could it be said that a lack of recognition negates the impact of the good that has been done in any way? These are some questions that came to me while reading your post.
In response to Kaz, most people don’t realize how much around us is a product of Globalization. It expands anywhere from the food we eat to products we use. It is absolutely a key thing to aspire to learn about it terms of how it effects life narratives and otherwise. Through education we learn nothing without comparing our knowledge to that of facts and history from all around the world. All of this is applicable to the modern and increasingly Globalized world in academics and everywhere accessible by society. It would definitely be interested to look at direct relations between Globalization and academia. As you mentioned, the effect on Globalization not just on teachings, but the basis of assignments whether it be writing or academic endeavors. This seems essential to the Global Citizens stream.
Emily: I found Emily’s perspective on the life narrative of Joshua Wong especially interesting because she connected it to her experience living in the same city. To me, it is unfathomable how much change people in our generation have produced. As Emily noted, it is especially impressive to examine the changes in our communities that have been stimulated by our peers. The geographical proximity of an event can make it seem foreign, unfamiliar and unachievable. When I explore examples of positive change close to home it encourages me to examine not only the qualities these leaders possess, but also the oppression or privilege they have experienced throughout their lives.
Zoey: Zoey’s comparison of two profoundly different figures in Nazi Germany and the WWII era demonstrated a compelling analysis of how life experience is connected to the impacts people have on the world. Her questions and examples reminded me of the theory of intersectionality, a theory that studies how all oppression is interconnected. Essentially, this theory contends that when analyzing our lives it is impossible to separate our experiences from characteristics intrinsic to our identity: race, ethnicity, gender, disability, etc. As we examine life narratives in further depth, I think it’s especially important to consider how the oppression or privilege a person has experienced has shaped them and their perspective on the world and that their experience is inherently unique.
Mishal: Mishal’s perspective on the tragedy in Peshawar, Pakistan struck me as especially moving because of her personal experience of the event. The event also made me question how life narratives of certain events affect the global perception of a country. If one’s only knowledge of Pakistan was of the tragedy in Peshawar, they could perceive the country to be exceedingly dangerous or brutal. The reality of any country is, of course, much more nuanced than any one news story could demonstrate. An artist who I really admire is Brandon, the photography for Humans of New York. In his recent travels to Pakistan, I appreciated the nuanced narrative he constructed with photojournalism. (http://www.humansofnewyork.com/) However, this approach still seems flawed. What, if any, authority does Brandon have the authority to tell the life narratives of these people? If he has authority, does it stem from the privilege society has afforded him? I hope to explore these questions further as we continue throughout the year.
Emma: You brought up a really good question that has lots of room for debate in your post when you asked, “How do peoples’ different cultural upbringings influence who they become?” It is a perfect question to analyze at this time because in ASTU, we will be studying life narratives, while in sociology, I’m sure we will cover some material regarding the nature vs. nurture debate. But I have never seen much information regarding the ways culture plays into this debate. In relation to your post, it seems that most Pakistani women are not being given the room to grow to their full potential, and I wonder if more changes will begin to be made in their society to give women more opportunity. It seems that eventually the nation would realize the massive economical benefits that would come from giving women more rights, and access to education. Some of the greatest leaders and minds in the country could be suppressed at the moment.
Will: You stated some very interesting questions in your blog post. Your second question is one that really provokes a lot of thinking. It leads me to wonder what will come of classically written life narratives, now that social media and other forms of digital literature are becoming more and more popular. People may no longer feel the need to read a life narrative, because the prevalence of social media and quantity of information regarding people’s personal lives on the internet is increasing. Will life narratives be nearly as prevalent as they have been in the past? Or will people begin to just use social media, blogs, and other forms of digital literature to write about and read about the lives of individuals?
Mishal: Let me start off by saying wow, you have a truly incredible story, and I am so happy that you pursued your dreams and are study here at UBC. The tragic incident you wrote of is so unbelievably sad. It is also sad that I never heard of the incident before reading this. This brings a new context to the question I asked in my blog, of why some people’s life narratives become more well recognized and heard than others. Instead, we could ask, “Why are some events more globally publicized while others are not?” The massacre that occurred is on a massive scale, yet it did not receive as much recognition in North America as we might have expected. It makes me wonder what other large scale global events have occurred that I never heard news of.
In response to Blakely:
The question of why some peoples’ stories get told and others are lost can be expanded to ask why some peoples’ struggles are recognized while the suffering of others goes unacknowledged. Anna Kaveneys’ blog post focused on narratives that expose human rights abuses, but as you have pointed out here, there might not be a platform for all of them. What if some get lost? What suffering are we unaware of because no one has taken the time to talk about it? It would be helpful to take a look at the stories being told on mainstream media and identify patterns of repetition and from that note where there might be oversight. If we are focusing all our attention on one story we could be allowing many others to fall through the cracks. We must ask ourselves how much responsibility we hold in un-earthing new suffering and working to solve it. How much responsibility does the individual hold? The larger collective whole?
In response to Melissa:
What drives someone to strive for success in their field? That is the question that caught my interest in your post. I have noticed a common theme of wanting to expand on our own narratives among the personal introductions of many of our classmates. People are still figuring out who they are and looking forward to personal growth in the coming years. Some people are driven toward academic excellence, such as yourself, while others are more interested in personal exploration. What part of our personal journey to expand our narratives helps to decide if we will become successful or not? You pointed out that Ursula Burns reached success through working hard and getting an education, but isn’t that what each one of us are doing right now? Everyone is looking to grow and is eager to find our own paths of success. What did Burns do that made her different? By answering that question we can look at what characteristics help to foster success. From there we can work to develop those characteristics during our own personal expansion.
In response to Shaan:
Social media opens up possibilities for regular people to be involved in national conversations. This has allowed for different perspectives to be heard on a lot of hot button issues. As you pointed out, Youtube serves as a platform for people to weigh in on race relations. Through this medium people feel empowered and involved in current affairs. However, viewers can loose sight of the fact that the people making these videos, for the most part, are not experts. Most of the video posts are made by regular people with an opinion to share. We must be careful to keep the conversation from straying from productive debate to angry rhetoric. Main stream media, while it can be heavily opinionated, still must be anchored in fact. Youtubers and social media commentators are not held to the same standards, no one will penalize them for being inaccurate or having unfounded claims. Thus, an issues true origins can get muddled. This is where the power of the individual comes into play. What is the individuals responsibility in identifying such inaccuracy’s? If we find an inaccuracy, is it acceptable to only keep it to ourselves or must we alert the public?
– Seana Bruff
Links to the blogs I read:
Shaan:
https://blogs.ubc.ca/shaanlail/2015/09/18/about-the-blogger/#respond
Blakelys:
https://blogs.ubc.ca/blakelybrowneblog/2015/09/17/introduction/#respond
Melissa:
https://blogs.ubc.ca/melissazapiola/
In response to Tanvi: It is certainly astonishing how some stories can get so much attention, when others in an equal situation do not. When I heard of the story of Madison Holleran just under a year ago I thought the exact same thing. She was a track and field athlete Penn State who had just committed suicide. What I questioned was why was it that her story garnered so much attention yet there are endless cases of suicide that go unheard of. I think when major media companies chose to share certain stories there is usually mixed motives behind doing so. At the end of the day, they get more money based on having more views, or hits online. So it is very possible that the reason media outlets publish some stories over others is based on what will get them more revenue.
In response to Jewel’s post: There is definitely difference in perspective in to how an individual would tell their personal narrative and to how someone else would share their story. How we see ourself as an individual is key into how we tell our story. When you give the example of Tori Spelling it is clear that something she has struggled with is her own image. Lack of confidence in oneself or overflowing amount of it could influence the way we see our accomplishments or our personal history. Going off what you stated, one may say that because self perception is not always accurate, personal narratives may be subjective.
In response to Nana’s blog post: It indeed is very unjust when we see the voice of only one being heard when it’s a two sided story. Especially if the individuals being given a voice are the affluent. As it has been mentioned in several of the class blog posts, we feel that the media outlets are not doing an adequate job in voicing those who must be heard. In the case of Caitlyn Jenner, her influence and success is without doubt cause of the undermining the severity of the case. It is similar to the case that professor Ericsson has mentioned about the Texas teen who was guilty of killing four people from a drunk driving accident but was released on bail based on the terms of “affluenza”. (http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/12/12/the-affluenza-defense-judge-rules-rich-kids-rich-kid-ness-makes-him-not-liable-for-deadly-drunk-driving-accident/ ) We may even say that money has the biggest voice of all. In these cases, media and justice system alike are shown to favour those of wealth.
Response to Chipo: I think your question addresses quite an important issue in modern media and society. Marginalization is a common sight now days, with certain groups’ voices being drowned out by popular figures and other less relevant people. Although this may be a problem in the modern age, I think that with the rise of social media platforms, different people’s voices are also being expressed widely. Social media gives the “common people” an opportunity to express their opinions over the massive global cyberspace where everyone and anyone with an internet connection can see what you have to say. Even if the mainstream media isn’t reporting a story, somewhere, someone is broadcasting information for the whole world to see.
Response to Jewel: I definitely agree with the fact that people tend to display the “best version” of themselves when interacting with others, not just in the physical world but also on social media as well. Your question touches on the topic of perspective, which relates closely to the concept of biases in personal narratives as you mentioned. I think these perspectives and biases influence the way others portray you as well. Even if you try to identify yourself as a certain person, others may look at this differently than you intended them to see you as. This brings me to wonder: should we take a step back and look at ourselves as others would?
Response to Colleen: I can relate to you when you said that where you lived shaped your identity. I myself moved around a lot, growing up in 3 different countries as well. Your question of “How does place and time shape a life” is an interesting one, and can be answered in so many ways. I too lived in a country where I had no cultural ties with (Thailand), but now identify as my “home”. Living internationally has definitely shaped who I am as a person. When a person lives in a certain location, they tend to absorb the culture and environment of that certain place, which in turn shape them as individuals. Location definitely does shape a life, but I’m curious about how time would effect us as a person. I’m not quite sure about that and I’m definitely interested in finding out too.
In response to Emma Elsner’s “Where Are Thou From”:
Welcome to Canada! Don’t worry, moving anywhere new is a little nerve-wracking. I lived an hour away and even I feel like UBC is an unfamiliar country filled with languages I don’t speak.
“How do peoples’ different cultural upbringings influence who they become?”
This is a great question because of its relevance not only in our CAP Global Citizens stream, but also in our current society. If you assume that surroundings do influence development it begs another question: Do certain cultures have a better influence on the development of children? If a mother sends one twin to be raised in a rural Chinese village and another to the Upper East Side of New York City, how will their morals differ? Malala is a true inspiration and has impacted the world with her voice, but would the success of her movement be as strong if she had grown up in Greece?
In response to Blakely Browne’s “Introduction”:
Wow, I can’t imagine living in a town the size of my high school. It must have been a massive culture shock to move here!
As for your question, “Why [do] some people’s stories and life experiences get heard, while others do not”, I have another example that immediately comes to mind. Although this man hasn’t affected a scope as wide as Norman Borlaug, he does make an impact in the local community and gives me personal incentive to persevere during hardship. I don’t know his name and have never spoken to him, I only saw him from a distance near my home on a daily basis. He’s an elderly man (reminds me of Santa Claus) who is handicapped in a motorized wheelchair and goes for regular ‘walks’ on a popular walkway with his little Yorkshire terrier. Always equipped with doggy bags, he picks up after his dog (and other dogs, too) without exception. Also on the chair is a plastic bag and garbage picker because he cleans the sidewalk and grass area. The majority of people using the walkway don’t notice that the area is pristine and well-kept, but I’m sure the city gardeners appreciate his work. I’d love to hear his story; I feel like it would be infinitely more interesting to listen to than an episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians. I hope in the future there’s a wider range of inspirational voices that can be heard like Borlaug or this small-town elderly man.
In response to Isana Pillai’s “Introduction + Life Narrative Interest”:
Although I love the view of skyscrapers towering in the landscape, there are few sights as gorgeous as Main Mall at sunset. It’s amazing how we can see this everyday! If you’re looking to see more of Vancouver I would definitely recommend checking out Lynn Canyon Park in the summer; the waterfalls are breathtaking.
Oprah’s history is much more complicated and traumatic than I knew; it’s astonishing how she managed to become the role model she is today. People who are able to take a bad situation and create good from it are uplifting. A lighter example I’m familiar with is the story of Frank Abagnale (played by Leonardo Dicaprio in Catch Me If You Can), a man with a criminal childhood that included check forging and imposing as professionals. He was to serve over a decade in jail when he was caught, but because of his skill and desire to make a change in the world his sentence was cut short when he began working for the FBI to catch criminals like him. He continued to consult the FBI with his own company dealing with financial fraud. Perhaps hardship can have a specific effect on certain people and help them to succeed. We can never get back up if we don’t fall.
Frank Abagnale’s website: http://www.abagnale.com/index2.asp
Jodie: I want to let you know that I share the same interest and curiosity as you do to know more about people and where they come. I have always wanted to learn about different cultures and different life styles people adopt based on their upbringing and I think UBC gives us a perfect platform to fulfil our thirst for exploring the unknown. And also to add to your point everyone may or may not have a happening ,fun filled and interesting life but there is definitely something interesting and intriguing about every individual’s life and once we realise that we know what sets one person apart from another, and the understanding of this phenomenon helps us to value other individuals based on who they are.
Blakely: I want to tell you that I strongly agree with your point of view that how some voices and some people are heardbetter than others. Pondering over this I was wondering why is it that some groups are better heard and some stories just die down in the hearts of those who lived it?Who gets to decide whose voice will be heard?who makes the rules here?? And does the social media show a true picture of what actually goes in a society or they just show us the perspective they think better and something they will benefit from?And also just because a group of people is loud and makes a lot of noise to attract attention with a bunch of people on the streets when displaying their cause in public doesn’t mean that they are supporting the interests of all because the interests and ideas of the minorities or ethnic groups or the poor workin class usually get over shadowed by the elites who just because they have the means to arrange better advertising facilities mange to get their word across. So to what extent have we achieved equality in terms of recognition and representation?This is an issue we have been discussing in our political science and our sociology course and it is something that troubles me and it’s something I’m looking forward to find answers to.
Emma: Being a girl who was born and raised in Pakistan her whole life and someone who has travelled across Pakistan I can tell you that yes there are still some remote areas where some girls never went to school after 5th grade. This is something that bothers me deeply because I feel like education is a basic human right for all which we should avail to our maximum. The life of ignorance which some might refer to as a bliss is what I see as a curse because we all have a purpose and sense of motivation that drives us. we all have our own hopes and aspirations and identities, and a major part of our identities is influenced and shaped by education. Jinnah also known as Quaid e Azam( father of the nation) was the leader of the Muslims who fought for independence for Pakistan and he once said that”no nation can rise to the rise to the heighg of glory unless your women are side by side with you” also he mentioned once that if you give me educated mothers I will give you a better nation. So if you focus on his words you can tell that this was one of the key issues our leader used to stress upon and hence even to this day the government has put a lot effort to increase awareness And to urge people go go to school and now finally they have made basic education compulsory for all children so even if some villager is tempted to send his kid to work on the farm,he can’t do that because the gorvernment made it into a strict policy. And as far as the cities are concerned there has been much progress in the education sector and now there are schools in every town so that it’s easily accessible to all.
The blogs I responded to were:
Mishal’s- https://blogs.ubc.ca/mishaltahir/2015/09/18/who-am-i/#comment-2
Emma’s- https://blogs.ubc.ca/emmaelsner/2015/09/17/wereibefrom/
Will’s- blog.ubc.ca/willshelling
To Rachel: Indeed, the power of one can be so strong that initiate changes in the world. Snowden’s act of risking himself to reveal US eavesdropping program reminds me of Chen Guangcheng , a “The Barefoot Lawyer” in China who was placed under house arrest after filing a lawsuit against the Chinese authority. While to them, it is worthwhile to sacrifice own freedom to raise the awareness of the world about human right, will the others feel the same too? They certainly prove to the world how influential one man can be, but at the same time reveal the horrible consequences brought about by their actions- to be put on the wanted list. Will their life narrative urge people to speak up and follow suit, or discourage others from fighting for justice by showing them the undesirable result?
(more on http://www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21646181-story-chen-guangcheng-illustrates-how-single-determined-dissident-chinese)
To Tanvi: Frankly speaking, if I hadn’t read your post, I wouldn’t have noticed the story of Lucia Vega Jimenez who suicided under CBSA custody. It is true that some narratives can grasp more public attention while others cannot. In this case, the preference of media plays an important role. Media tend to report narratives that are safe to discuss, and keep some information from going public to prevent dispute. The story of Lucia involves sensitive issues such as the problem in the immigration system in Canada. Either media wants to protect CBSA’s image, or there are confidential information about the immigration procedures that cannot be published, the coverage of this issue should be kept limited. On the other hand, Syrian refugee crisis is an external affair. It focuses more on the universal value of human right rather than loopholes in the system, which is relatively safer to report. No wonder this piece of news can reach a much larger population. Media can even manipulate people’s interpretation of an issue through censorship. Therefore, i believe media is one of the reasons why certain narratives are more prominent than others.
(http://alexanderhiggins.com/massive-censorship-as-media-pushes-false-narrative-on-mid-east-riots/)
To Emma: You’ve made a good point that culture can shape our ideal and mindset, thereby determining the perspective of a narrative. Take 9/11 as an example, it is obvious to most of the people that it was a terrorist attack and that the al-Qaeda should be condemned. However to those who have Muslims background, like Muhammad Al-Zawahiri, believed that US is their enemy and it is original crime of this attack. In their point of view, US should pay the price for oppressing Muslims.
Without doubt, culture differences can result in polarizing point of view. While we have to respect different cultures, it is equally important to make fair judgment when reading subjective narratives by people from various culture settings.
(http://www.timesofisrael.com/al-qaeda-leader-justifies-911-attack-says-it-would-strike-at-israel-if-it-could/)