By: Farida Morcos
You might be wondering what SJ means, but before I tell you, why don't you guess?
Smart? No.
Joyful? No.
It must be strong then... unfortunately it's not the word I'm looking for.
The two words I mean are superficial and judgmental.
Showing posts with label editorial. Show all posts
Showing posts with label editorial. Show all posts
Tuesday, 26 May 2015
Friday, 1 May 2015
Thou Shall Not... Skip
By: Farida Morcos
Photo Credit: Maddi McNevitts
As I was leaving school Wednesday, I saw what I would call "the skippers" entering the gym one by one. A question popped into my mind; "Aren't you ashamed of skipping Mass?" Then, I realized I wasn't any less guilty. Let me explain- I would be telling a huge lie if I said that I have always wanted to attend Mass. A lot of times I was too lazy, too bored...
Photo Credit: Maddi McNevitts
As I was leaving school Wednesday, I saw what I would call "the skippers" entering the gym one by one. A question popped into my mind; "Aren't you ashamed of skipping Mass?" Then, I realized I wasn't any less guilty. Let me explain- I would be telling a huge lie if I said that I have always wanted to attend Mass. A lot of times I was too lazy, too bored...
Friday, 10 April 2015
Qui est le vrai terroriste au Canada?
Par: D’Arcy Murphy et Kristyn Farrell
Les médias sont très efficaces pour faire une image d’horreur quand ils décrivent « ISIS ». Et ce n’est pas un problème parce que c’est la vérité. Quand cette image est construite pour victimiser les personnes innocentes, c’est ça qui crée un problème.
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| http://www.macleans.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/120216_Harper_smiling_wide.jpg |
Les médias sont très efficaces pour faire une image d’horreur quand ils décrivent « ISIS ». Et ce n’est pas un problème parce que c’est la vérité. Quand cette image est construite pour victimiser les personnes innocentes, c’est ça qui crée un problème.
Wednesday, 1 April 2015
What's Going on with Indiana's Religious Freedom Law?
By: Ema Brazdeikyte
All of the attention this week is focused on the state of Indiana and its governor, Mike Pence. Organizations like the NCAA want to pull March Madness and its Final Four round out of Indiana all because of their new religious freedom law, SB 101. There’s nothing new about religion-based freedom laws in the US, but Indiana’s law is different because, thanks to the wording, it sounds like the state of Indiana may be legally allowing discrimination.
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| https://timedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/mike-pence-indiana.jpg?quality=65&strip=color&w=1100 |
Monday, 9 March 2015
International Women's Day: One Day Later
By: Ema Brazdeikyte
Here’s to the women who are told they need to change to fit into society’s narrow-minded view of femininity. Here’s to the women who face discrimination because of their skin colour – you are beautiful. Here’s to the women who never stop studying and those who want to stop – proving you are capable of making your own decisions. Here’s to all the women: you are strong and capable of many great things.
Friday, 27 February 2015
The Snake Under The Grass: Why Black History Month?
By: Ben Kwashigah
As Black History Month draws to a close, you may wonder why we even honour this annual observance. I mean, black people aren’t slaves anymore, we can vote, one of us is even a president! Yes, our society has progressed a lot since the 1960’s and does (most of the time) reject blatant racism, but what about when it’s hidden behind subtlety? In Ghana, there’s a saying that the snake under the grass is more threatening than the snake on the tree. You can see the snake on the tree and deal with it accordingly (fight it, or run away), but, you can’t escape from the snake under the grass. It kills you before you even see it. Modern day racism
exists similarly to this.
For most of our lives, we’ve been taught that racism is prejudice and discrimination based on one’s race. It is. But it’s much more complex than that. The expanded definition of racism recognizes that it is systemic, institutional, and normalized within our culture. It’s covert, and like the snake under the grass, it can be more sinister. In the form of profiling, racism can become deadly, as seen by the tragic and unnecessary deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, and countless other black men and women. But don’t fool yourself into thinking covert racism is just an American problem - it’s a Canadian one as well. In 2009, researchers doctored 6000 fake resumés, all with the same experience, to 2000 job postings in the GTA. They found that resumés with English names such as “John Smith” were 40 percent more likely to be offered an interview than names such as “Sana Khan”. In a study done in 2012, it was found that a Canadian man who was a part of a visible minority earns 18 percent less than a Canadian white man. In a report done by the Correctional Investigator of Canada, black inmates were discovered to be “over-represented in maximum security and segregation, incur a disproportionate number of institutional charges, and are more likely to be involved in use of force incidents.” Racism is alive, well, and existing in our own backyards.
Racism also creeps its way into our entertainment. For example, the movie Exodus: Gods and Kings, which takes place in Egypt (in Africa), is made up of a primarily white cast (except for the slaves, of course). Even the Great Sphinx of Giza was altered to have more “European” features. At the Oscars, all 20 of the acting nominations were white, with 94 percent of the Academy being white. Looking through other movies and TV shows, it becomes hard to find adequate minority representation. Why is that?
All in all, racism is an issue that still exists today. There are multitudes of issues that affect black people, and other people of colour, right here Canada. That’s why Black History Month is important. We must recognize that certain groups of people are oppressed, while other groups benefit from this oppression. After all, the snake under the grass is more dangerous than the snake on the tree.
As Black History Month draws to a close, you may wonder why we even honour this annual observance. I mean, black people aren’t slaves anymore, we can vote, one of us is even a president! Yes, our society has progressed a lot since the 1960’s and does (most of the time) reject blatant racism, but what about when it’s hidden behind subtlety? In Ghana, there’s a saying that the snake under the grass is more threatening than the snake on the tree. You can see the snake on the tree and deal with it accordingly (fight it, or run away), but, you can’t escape from the snake under the grass. It kills you before you even see it. Modern day racism
exists similarly to this.
For most of our lives, we’ve been taught that racism is prejudice and discrimination based on one’s race. It is. But it’s much more complex than that. The expanded definition of racism recognizes that it is systemic, institutional, and normalized within our culture. It’s covert, and like the snake under the grass, it can be more sinister. In the form of profiling, racism can become deadly, as seen by the tragic and unnecessary deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, and countless other black men and women. But don’t fool yourself into thinking covert racism is just an American problem - it’s a Canadian one as well. In 2009, researchers doctored 6000 fake resumés, all with the same experience, to 2000 job postings in the GTA. They found that resumés with English names such as “John Smith” were 40 percent more likely to be offered an interview than names such as “Sana Khan”. In a study done in 2012, it was found that a Canadian man who was a part of a visible minority earns 18 percent less than a Canadian white man. In a report done by the Correctional Investigator of Canada, black inmates were discovered to be “over-represented in maximum security and segregation, incur a disproportionate number of institutional charges, and are more likely to be involved in use of force incidents.” Racism is alive, well, and existing in our own backyards.
Racism also creeps its way into our entertainment. For example, the movie Exodus: Gods and Kings, which takes place in Egypt (in Africa), is made up of a primarily white cast (except for the slaves, of course). Even the Great Sphinx of Giza was altered to have more “European” features. At the Oscars, all 20 of the acting nominations were white, with 94 percent of the Academy being white. Looking through other movies and TV shows, it becomes hard to find adequate minority representation. Why is that?
All in all, racism is an issue that still exists today. There are multitudes of issues that affect black people, and other people of colour, right here Canada. That’s why Black History Month is important. We must recognize that certain groups of people are oppressed, while other groups benefit from this oppression. After all, the snake under the grass is more dangerous than the snake on the tree.
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