I hope you all have a wonderful summer! I hope that once exams (and for Professor Nyblade and Aim, once grading papers/blog posts) are over, that you each feel, at some point, like these animals.
You should really check it out, it is worthwhile.
Here is my favourite:
HAPPY SUMMER =)
I applied to the Burning Man Low Income Lottery in February and to be honest I basically blocked it out of my head/suppressed the memory because I was so doubtful I would get a ticket. WELL. TODAY I GOT AN EMAIL THAT TOLD ME I AM GOING TO BURNING MAN! This will be my first time and I am ecstatic. I would try to tell you all about it (or what I know of it) but according to their website: “Trying to explain what Burning Man is to someone who has never been to the event is a bit like trying to explain what a particular color looks like to someone who is blind […] to truly understand this event, one must participate.” (Burning Man)
Basically, Burning Man is a yearly festival in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada; “an annual experiment in temporary community dedicated to radical self-expression and radical self-reliance.” (Burning Man) No one who goes leaves unchanged (read more here).
ANYWAYS, I could not be more excited! And here are some pictures for you to stare at so you can be jealous 😉
A couple of months ago my friends and I were out to dinner and we somehow got onto the topic of the cost of living in Vancouver which, as I am sure we all know, is not that low. We were lamenting the fact that in all likelihood it is going to be very difficult for us to stay in Vancouver as 20-somethings without the help of our parents. The reality is: the real estate is too high, the cost of living (in general) is too high– one of the most expensive cities in the world! And the reality is, we will be in situations, most likely, where we are starting our careers and probably not getting paid 6 figures a year. This being said, how are we supposed to purchase homes in good neighbourhoods when they are so expensive and when our incomes will not match up? There is a very fundamental problem here. One that needs to be addressed and one that needs more attention from us. This is our problem. This is our generation that is not going to be able to afford to live in Vancouver if something is not done.
To be perfectly honest, I will most likely not be staying in Vancouver. If my parents don’t help me with a down payment on a property, I will not be able to afford a home in Vancouver. That’s that. So what is to be done here? One huge problem in the real estate market in Vancouver is that there are no limitations on foreign property owners/investors. The reality is that many homes, lots, condos, etc. are sitting empty because the owners are somewhere else in the world and simply invested in property in Vancouver because they wanted a slice of the housing market. There needs to be more limitations put in place. That is for sure. But I think the most important place to start is for us to raise our voices and to bring attention to these issues.
My friend recently worked for Sandy Garossino, who recently ran for Vancouver City Council, on her campaign and she asked us to:
Briefly outline your experience and that of your family & friends re: staying in Vancouver and building careers here for the future? Pete McMartin is looking at this problem and some of us are gathering stories. I’d like to focus on the impact on our best young talent–are they staying or going, and why.
Sandy has asked for our perspective on these issues. For our reasons for staying, or going. If you have any thoughts on this, I encourage you to send Sandy an email [sgarossino@gmail.com] and share your opinions. Like I said, this is our future. Apathy is killing us more than ever, and we need to stand up and demand that changes be made.
I am not sure how I feel that Santorum has dropped out of the race for President. On one hand, of course, I am glad because there was such a severe divide between his political philosophy and my own. On the other hand, however, part of me was hoping he would be the Republican candidate because I felt Obama would have a much easier time beating him than the rest of the Republican alternatives. This notion provided me with some comfort. But now I am not sure exactly who to root for. I saw this hilarious photo and I had to share (A lot of the reasons I had problems with Santorum stemmed from his anti-LGBT mentality and also from his puritanical views on contraception):
At the end of the day (and I find it extremely hard to do this) I need to remember that politicians, no matter how much I disagree with their opinions, are people. And I shouldn’t hate people. Even people like Rick Santorum. It is, ultimately, his philosophy and political/social views that I hate. So on that note, I wish him and his family the best. And I hope his little girl gets better.
We live in a culture where joking about rape, often in a sickeningly nonchalant fashion, has somehow become ‘okay.’ A culture where the perverted view of rape as a ‘fact of life’ has gradually become acceptable. Over time, rape and other forms of sexual violence have become trivialized. This trivialization has resulted in a society that is now able to regard violent, sexual acts as inevitable norms and behaviours that are deeply embedded into the fabric of our culture and therefore impossible to eradicate. Actions and rhetoric that normalize rape are rampant both in the media and in personal interactions and discourse and have bred widespread apathy and complacency among individuals who have been led to believe that change is unrealistic and unattainable. Rape culture is dangerous in and of itself, however it becomes exponentially more menacing when you realize just how discreetly it has been woven into the fabric of our lives.
The context surrounding rape culture is complicated and complex; a web of deeply entrenched cultural beliefs that are surprisingly resilient and difficult to break down. For the sake of clarity, I will refer to rape culture as a set of beliefs that “encourage male sexual aggression and supports violence against women … Where violence is seen as sexy and sexuality as violent. [A culture in which] women perceive a continuum of threatened violence that ranges from sexual remarks to sexual touching to rape itself … A rape culture condones physical and emotional terrorism against women.” (iix) Yet encouragement and support exist in many different forms, and it is for this reason that it has become so difficult to accurately demarcate the causes. Perhaps the most dangerous aspect of rape culture is not merely what it suggests (that violence against women is ‘okay’), but is instead the terrifying reality that rape has come to be viewed as a norm; as something that is fixed and therefore impossible to change. However, what our society has come to see as something inevitable is, in actuality, something that is entirely contingent upon our current set of values and beliefs; a set of norms that can be changed.
While reading an article the other day, I came across a metaphor that likened rape culture to something called the boiling frog syndrome. I had seen this metaphor applied to a wide variety of circumstances before, however seeing it applied to rape culture fit so perfectly that I didn’t know whether my shocked reaction was due to appreciation or horror. Perhaps it was a bit of both. In any case, the boiling frog syndrome—used to illustrate the inability for individuals to recognize slow, gradual change, no matter how significant the overall change—suggests that if a frog is placed in a pot of lukewarm water that is then heated gradually, the frog will not be able to perceive the danger and will slowly be cooked to death. Whether or not this a biologically accurate phenomenon, it exposes how contemporary norms surrounding rape have come to be viewed as ‘normal’ and ‘commonplace’: very slowly and discreetly. What originally seemed to be benign, ‘lukewarm’ circumstances have nearly come to a boil, right under our noses. The time has now come for us to deal with, what undeniably is, a very complex problem. To suggest that this is an easy feat would be ignorant and naïve, so I will not try to dilute the intensity of this undertaking. But if we do not mobilize our society and take collective action, we too will be met with the same fate as the boiling frog.
While reading this article (which you should all read) I couldn’t help but think about the hypocrisy behind the Kony movement. Especially when I got to thinking about the treatment of African Americans and other (visible) minorities on our own continent. “it was only two weeks ago when almost every white person I knew was tweeting about stopping a brutal African warlord from killing more innocent children. And they even took thirty minutes out of their busy schedules to watch a movie about dude. They bought t-shirts. Some bracelets. Even tweeted at Rihanna to take a stance. But, a 17 year old American kid is followed and then ultimately killed by a neighborhood vigilante who happens to be carrying a semi-automatic weapon and my white friends are quiet. Eerily quiet. Not even a trending topic for the young man.” It is sometimes so easy for us to sweep these issues under the rug and pretend that racism no longer exists, but it is as real and pervasive as ever and the denial that surrounds it only works to further hinder widespread progress from being made. This doesn’t mean we should only care about ourselves and our own country, but this is something that needs to serve as a solemn reminder of just how very alive racism is. Perhaps in addition to spreading news of Joseph Kony in hopes of saving Africa, individuals should also strive to acknowledge and challenge the racism and discrimination that is undoubtedly very much alive in their own communities.
“So, I fight for Trayvon Martin. I fight for Amadou Diallo. I fight for Rodney King. I fight for every young black man who looks “suspicious” to someone who thinks they have the right to take away their freedom to walk through their own neighborhood. I fight against my own stereotypes and my own suspicions. I fight for people whose ancestors built this country, literally, and who are still treated like second class citizens. Being quiet is not an option, for we have been too quiet for too long.”
Since Joseph Kony took over the internet a few days ago, I have stumbled upon a number of blogs and websites that have given me a lot to think about in terms of Invisible Children and the organizers of the Kony 2012 movement. I do not want to make it seem as if I am a supporter of child soldiers. Because I absolutely am not. This is a very serious and important issue that needs international attention. This much I agree with. However, there a variety of things represented in this project that are a bit problematic. Firstly, the term ‘Invisible Children’ … what does this mean? Invisible to whom? Do these children only become legitimate, “visible,” once they are acknowledged by Westerners? This I have a problem with. The situation insinuated by this name suggests a western-centric power dynamic that does not sit well with me. This entire video is perpetuating the notion of the Western saviour which to a certain extent is hard to escape, but the way that it is represented, both in the film and in the rhetoric surrounding this project, makes me a bit uneasy.
I don’t want to suggest that this cause is illegitimate because it is not. However it is important that we educate ourselves on the issue, outside of what the video and Kony 2012 suggest. Kony 2012 is only one way of approaching a huge web of related issues. Kony is only one man. This has been going on for years and it is not just one person who is responsible. While it is undoubtedly significant that we do all we can to remove Kony and bring some justice to the children and families that have been directly affected by the atrocities he has orchestrated, Kony and his actions are only the tip of the ice burg. There are atrocities being committed every minute of every day around the world, and the majority of us in the Western world live our lives in complete denial that it is even happening. We are citizens of the world. Our accountability is not only to members of our own nation, or own race, or those who share the same beliefs of us. It is to everyone. Every single individual with whom we share our Earth.
Below are some sites that offer interesting opinions. You don’t have to agree with all of it, or any of it for that matter. But there are so many other factors involved and people ought to educate themselves more before throwing themselves on a bandwagon supporting something they are not fully knowledgeable about. I find it so hypocritical that people think they can excuse years of apathy and inaction just by sharing a video on YouTube. If you really want to help make a difference, you need to involve yourself more than that. You may have to, god forbid, leave your house and your computer and do something. In the meantime, I suppose viral spread of the video is better than nothing. But activism is and must be much more than that.
Terrible things are happening, in Africa and all around the world. But before you blindly join the Kony 2012 movement, educate yourself on other circumstances that surround this cause. And don’t stop asking questions.
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http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/
I’m going to see the Lorax this week (see trailer here) and I am really looking forward to it. I think the ability for the film industry to produce a movie that is appealing and accessible to today’s youth while also addressing significant environmental and social issues is incredibly admirable. The movie, based on Dr. Suess’ children’s book with the same title, addresses the ways in which contemporary industrialized society continuously neglects the environment. I am very excited to see this ‘cautionary tale.’ We all need to play an active participatory role in taking care of the environment. It is so easy to forget little things that collectively make a huge difference. That one extra moment that it takes to toss a can into the recycling rather than into the garbage. Or buying a reusable bag to go grocery shopping with. Or a tumbler for coffee or a glass water bottle. Everyone, no matter their age, should heed the Lorax’s warning: if we do not collectively take responsibility for our environment and be careful to resist being further sucked in by commercialism at expense of nature, we will slowly but surely destroy our beautiful world.
Sigh. Here’s my rough draft. Lacking a working definition of Democracy, needs way more analysis, and a conclusion. As well as better graphs. Basically it’s pretty bad. I have a lot of work to do on it. Feedback greatly appreciated.
