I finally feel like I’m starting to get the hang of the whole blogging thing –  just in time for it to come to an end. Whenever I try to write a blog it always takes me a little while to get started. I never know what I should say or why anyone would be interested in what I do have to say. One thing we’ve talked about during class is when writing, know your audience. In this case it’s my fellow classmates so I think anything related to school or even life in general is an acceptable topic. Blogging to me feels somewhat personal though, because it’s based on my ideas and thoughts. I can’t hide behind a thesis statement or a topic I’ve chosen from a list. It’s really just about my opinions.

In journalism we’ve been learning about participatory or citizen journalism. A lot of this type of journalism is in the form of blogs. The idea behind this type of journalism is the general public taking part in the process of collecting and reporting news. I haven’t quite figured, however, out how I feel about citizen journalists. Is this type of journalism trustworthy and dependable when just about anyone can become a citizen journalist? For example, if I were to start reporting on news events, I don’t think I should be considered a reliable source. During a presentation by a guest speaker for journalism he said something regarding his views on citizen journalists that made a lot of sense to me. He said “would you let a citizen dentist work on your teeth?” The answer is no. You would go to a professional, which means….should you look to a citizen journalist for a reliable report on the news… no, you should go to the professionals. In today’s society it’s important that everyone is informed, and it’s always important for people to be informed correctly.

After finally handing in my research paper, I am incredibly relieved. It felt as if I had spent forever working on it, but I have to say I quite enjoyed writing it. The topic of my paper was whiteness, and more specifically whiteness in relation to power and privilege. After reading countless articles about this subject, I realized that this is something that is prevalent in society today. I guess for me growing up in Canada, I’ve never really experienced some of the horrors that many people have had to endure due to racial prejudice. Canada is known for being multicultural which I think is one of the great things about it, but while reading an article, I was met with the question, “is it significant that there has never been a non-white Canadian Supreme Court Judge or Prime Minister?” This got me thinking… is it significant? It’s hard for me to say because I have no idea how many non-white people have run for the position of Prime Minister. It’s an interesting question, and perhaps I’ll try to find the answer.

One of the articles I read that I used in my essay dealt with a woman who grew up in South Africa during the time of apartheid. Simply because she was white she automatically held a position of power. The privilege she received for this later led to feelings of guilt because of what many blacks in South Africa had to endure. When thinking about her guilt, I wonder how would I act in that same situation – if I were born in a place divided by the colour of skin would I accept that as an acceptable state of affairs? If that sort of thing is all one has ever known and experienced and that’s what the norm is, would I or anyone else question it? Luckily growing up in Canada I’ve never had to face such things, but after doing research for my paper it is evident that racial prejudice is still ongoing and probably always will be while so much power and privilege is attached to whiteness.