Social Justice Event: Public Symposium on UN Year for the People of African Descent.

During this social justice event, two specific parts struck as most moving and most enlightening, however, my initial thoughts going into this event were quite different. When I first went into the conference room only to see that there was a (and I was wrong about this) serious vibe, people were listening so intently to the guest speakers, I was quite shocked because I’ve never seen people be so focused on one person. Until, of course, I realized what these guest speakers were talking about. During the intermission for food, it was the most culturally enlightening experience ever, to be able to meet a variety of different people.

Scoff, who was a poet, was presenting a story, as well as poem, based his literary pieces on his experiences and linked it to a bigger picture involving cultural discrimination and acceptance of oneself. His first story was one of his childhoods; it depicted a story of him being bullied because of his particular hair type and style. He had an afro, and once being bullied and made fun of because of this, he shaved it and realized he “shaved” away a part of who he is. He later realized that it was crucial for him to accept his ethnic features despite being made fun of, and grew out his hair and decided to “let black shine”. The acceptance of his features, translated into the acceptance of his culture. I found this story to be very touching because I feel that many people from a diversity of ethnicities have experienced something similar to this, and the simple act of accepting one part of who they are, changes their perspectives on their surroundings and on themselves.

The second story by Scoff (the poet) was a story about Africa, and it’s richness as a continent before the injection of other nations currently known as “super powers”. The owl in the story symbolizes the Superpowers and the King represents the supply of knowledge to said superpowers. The king would tell the owl all the secrets about the riches of Africa, and the Owl used all the knowledge to plant “diseases of no cure” and invasions in order to greedily take the riches and claim them as their own. The owl represents the flourishing of the Superpower nations at the cost of the well-being of many countries in Africa.  These stories were very powerful because, to many people in modern times, we ignorantly neglect to look at history and understand the past and the present conditions of certain areas, in order to understand and prevent and maybe the future of certain places.

The reverend enlightened the crowd by telling u how African Canadians do not have identity crisis because they know what they are and who they are and they’re proud. Africans have been coming to Canada for a long time and Canadian society is not giving credit for this. The first African woman to live in Canada was in 1608. In order to diminish her “blackness”, historians sad she was not “fully” black. By 1785, because of high population of black people, who happened to come to Canada as free people and not a slaves, were not intimidated by any ‘white person’ and therefore, Canadian laws changed to prohibit black people from working and having freedom, these laws went on until 1870.

This symposium on African descent in America was very eye opening. The main point in all the personal stories, and historic stories was the diminishment of a certain ethnic minority in order to blend into mainstream society. The information shared with the audience was not only interesting, but also enlightening. It touched on our modern issue of racism and our inability to fully accept others despite the color of their skin, their hair, and superficial physical features. Although the racism today is discrete and rarely noticed, it is still perpetuated in the same manner. People are denied many things based solely on their ethnicity. The only way to overcome racism is through educating ourselves about other ethnicities, cultures and traditions in order to fully understand how similar we all our. Physical appearance is something that is not a definition of who an individual is or chooses to be. Who we are is based on something much deeper than our skin.

Final Reflective Essay: The Global Sociological Imagination & Racism.

Sociology is defined as the study of society. The study of how we as a population are able to function together based on collective thoughts and ideals that apply, in one way or another, to each and every individual. Throughout this course, we’ve covered a variety of theories and topics that branch from the idea that we as human beings are all connected. In modern times, the collective actions of a group of people at one corner of the globe affect populations on opposite ends. It’s important to note that by learning theories such as the global sociological imagination, that depict our interconnectedness we’re able to debunk and criticize issues that our world suffers from such as: racism, prejudice, and all other sorts of discrimination. By studying the global sociological imagination, we’re able to understand that we as a global population are all connected, and anything we do causes an inextricably linked chain reaction.

Having any initial thoughts going into this course was very interesting for reason that everything we think we know about people and culture was completely critiqued and debunked in order to truly understand others. The importance of understanding others is what both limits us and creates the perfect environment for ignorance to flourish or it creates a perfect environment where people are able to gain knowledge and expand their understanding of others. Throughout the course of this semester, I’ve learned that everything I originally had in mind was in need of criticizing and reanalyzing. I went into this course having a specific idea about my culture and other people’s cultures. Although I’m a very open person and I do avoid prejudice at all costs, once we covered the lessons on racism, it was easy for me to realize that at the end of the day, everyone has a level of prejudice and discrimination that stops us from prohibiting the growth of racism.

Before starting this course, I had a concept in mind involving the connectedness between people all around the world. It was interesting to have that confirmation that that is a true concept that is extremely relevant to our lives today (The Global Sociological Imagination). Connecting to people all over the world through the importation and exportation of foods and products is one way of connecting, however, in current modern times; individuals from all around the world are connected on a much more personal level. Technologies and the internet give us the ability to sympathize and empathize with people all around the world. That ability to connect to others around the world helps each and every one individual relate Global Issues, to Personal Problems. When people are capable of empathy because of the global sociological imagination, positive changes are much more probable. I had many preconceived notions in relation to the global sociological imagination. These ideas were mutual to the theory itself. Initially, of course, I was not aware of this theory and was simply hoping that people felt similarly to how I feel. It’s quite comforting to think how much connections to others all around the world can help us tackle global issues, simply because of the link forged between issues and personal problems. Empathy is a key concept in the Global Sociological Imagination.

One of the most destructive concepts of our modern world is racism. What’s most interesting and more powerful about the global sociological imagination in relation to racism is that, in our ability to empathize with others and attempt to understand the diversity of cultural lifestyles, racism can slowly, but surely diminish.

Video Entry (3): Coco Beans – Dialectic Reading Method

What question did the video raise?	How did the video answer this question?	How does the answer match our own ideas and experiences?
What is the global sociological imagination?	The global sociological imagination is based on the assumption that our individual biographies are not created by us as individuals but are a collective product of actions and reactions of legions of people around the world.	Similar to my thoughts on the global sociological imagination, I think it’s something that people usually neglect. We neglect to actually consider that everything we do is something that has been influenced by others that are located near us, or as far as other corners of the globe. The global sociological imagination is something that I would consider as being the most influential aspect of life. People in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Eurasia can be influenced by what we here, in north America portray in the media.
What does the global sociological imagination mean in modern western society?	In our society, we rarely consider how close of a connection with have with people on the other side of the world. Here we do not consider where we get the clothes we’re wearing or were for example, we get our “coco beans” for our chocolate bars etc.  Things we use or consume everyday are majorly products from outside our nation. Not only are these physical products, however also products forming ideals and traditions.	It’s amazing to consider how closely connected we are with people of all ethnicities, cultures and backgrounds. Although an indirect connection, it’s also considered very direct. The things we use every day and the things we watch and take part in are objects of other peoples work and sometimes vice versa. Never minder other types of direct communication, the global sociological imagination is the most influential connection we have between different parts of the world.

Video Entry (2): “The Dangers of a Single Story” – Dialectic Reading Method.

What question did the video raise?	How did the video answer this question?	How does the answer match our own ideas and experiences?
What are the dangers of a single story?	The dangers of a single story as depicted in the video are the following three things: When you portray a certain group of people or a culture in the media as being a certain way, those individuals begin to adopt those traits and it becomes who they are. The single story creates stereo types which are unfinished; it robs people of their dignity and emphasizes our cultural differences rather than our similarities. All of which are dangerous to the function of society. Especially when modern day society functions more as a global society than anything else.	The dangers of a single story are fairly obvious. When only one side of a story is told, people begin to question (negatively) the certain group or culture that that single story is “portraying”. It’s what creates stigmatization and marginalization of different groups of people whether determined by race, ethnicity or sexuality. When a stereotype is created, people are susceptible to believing it and not searching for a more realistic truth. Many people are quick to believe the easiest and more general statement about anything because of our intellectual laziness, however, if that’s not changed through the way people are telling stories through the variety of forms of media, the single story will simply reinforce ignorance.
How do we stop falling for the misconceptions of the single story?	One way the video states that we can conquer the misconceptions of falling for a single story is by critiquing what we’ve heard or seen. If we look at all sides of an issue then drawing a conclusion. If we have objective understanding then we can look at both the merits as well as the faults of anything.	The way society can conquer the dangers of a single story is simple. When an individual hears something about any given topic, group, or anything that has been categorized, look further into said aspect. If we go deeper into trying to understanding whatever it is we are hearing about, the expansion of knowledge will, in itself, get rid of the stereotyping created by the single stories.
What is the modern day way that our culture upholds single stories?	Western culture is what people around the globe strive to be like because of the way we are portrayed in the media. The media is a form of control in the sense that it gives people certain ideals as well as lifestyles that those individuals can chose to live by.  By western culture determining that idea of superiority of “white” , nations around the world began to adopt those ideas and the negative depictions of people who are outside that category began to be seen a normal. Similarly to what a man had told Chimamanda Adichie: “Her characters were not authentically African because they were middle-class”. Setting those limits through literature as well is what controls people’s ideas on certain groups and cultures.	The way our modern western culture upholds the stereotypes is through the particular depiction of cultures and groups in the media. My views are exactly that of which are represented in the video. The fact that people are constantly portrayed in a certain way is what gives others the idea that that is truly what said group of people is like.  Not only that, those people begin to believe the stereotypes that are supposedly a representation of them.

Video Entry (1): Canadian Culture – Dialectic Method.

What question did the video raise?	How did the video answer this question?	How does the answer match our own ideas and experiences?
What is Canadian culture?	This video represents Canadian culture in a very positive way. Our culture is depicted as one with a sense of humor and one that can accept a variety of different people. It’s represented in a way that shows how the Canadian culture is that of the variety of cultures that make it up. Although the video states that Canada is based on the variety of representative objects like “statues of Eskimos” the bigger picture being explained in this video is that our culture is very diverse and accepting.	The way the video describes the Canadian culture is exactly how I view it. Although when asked to describe what the culture here is like it is sometimes difficult because it is made up of so many subparts; it’s evident that all the qualities demonstrated in the video are directly reflective of the truth. Since our culture is made up so many subcultures, it demonstrates exactly that we are accepting of all people despite sexuality, ethnicity, background etc.
How does the world view Canada?	Because of our multiculturalism base that truly makes up our united culture, Canada is viewed as the peaceful, happy, innocent country. Our culture is viewed as polite and accepting and perhaps even a little too nice. Although, the people who make up our culture, including myself are not ashamed of this quality.	Evidently enough, the way the “rick blue” duet illustrates our Canadian cultural ideals is the way (as ranked on youtube) many other members of society agree with. Not just within our nation, however, throughout the world. Even when I travel to Lebanon and people ask me where I’m living and I say “Canada” an immediate, positive reputation is what comes to their minds. Although the reputation of our Canadian involvement in international issues has made minor changes, the overall ideal that we live by are those by which the video depicts.

The phantom of the race: The Myth of Race and the Reality of Racism (Affective reading methhod)

Social Structures and Processes:

 

The myth of race and the reality of racism are two things that if combined, create marginalization; stigmatization and can bring global society to a point of war and genocide.  The reason nations like the USA don’t hesitate very much before invading another country is for primary reasons of course, but the something that enforces that in the subconscious has a lot to do with the diversity of human beings and our inability to accept others in spite of their skin color. Sadly, each and every one of us has been born and raised in a society that disallows an individual to completely forget about the color of the people they interact with. That superficial aspect on a human being is something that will always be used as way to label others. As stated in the article, race is not something that is natural to human beings, rather, it is something we’ve socially created and has now gained control over many areas of our lives.

Throughout history more often than not it has been the case where human beings have figured out a way to organize themselves in a hierarchy based solely on superficial characteristics (Ira Berlin). This distorts the balance in society and creates inequality. It’s the idea that one man is a certain way because of his color, where as another man is better because of his color. It’s a concept based on irrational and mythical ideas that have been created in our imaginations. The fact that this “phantom” of a concept has gained so much control over societies on a global level makes me question how much we could fix by creating new positive concepts.

Race is the idea that cannot be based just on the color of one’s skin, although that is usually the case. Race is based on any sort of generalization about your “group” of people that has been assigned to you by the rest of society. Most times it may be a reflex in the subconscious to categorize another individual based on color or other superficial aspects however, catching yourself in the midst of passing a judgment on another person can be considered a preventative step. Another way to stop racism as well as the idea of “race” is to simply acknowledge that the realities of these two concepts. If people become educated about the variety of cultures present in the world and that we’re all created on an equilibrium race and racism would slowly disappear.

Who will Liberate Liberia? (Paraphrastic Reading Method)

Sociological structures and processes: 

In the title itself, the word “liberate” is used with dual meanings. In positive light, it means to set free people who have been oppressed by lack of resources, lack of government, too much government power etc. However, in realistic perspective the term “liberate” is popularly perceived as a super power nation of the world injecting itself into the “business” of another nation in order to free its people, or in more understandable terms, in order to take its natural resources. The main focus of this article is money as well as prioritization in relation to that money. Everything done in our society is done in a way that centralizes the idea of beneficial to us first, no matter who it harms. It’s a sad reality when you think about how much tax payer money is being spent on the “war on terror” rather than helping the world’s population who can’t even afford a bite to eat. The 4 billion dollars spent on the war against Saddam Hussein and his “potential weapons of mass destruction” could have been enough to “provide basic healthy and nutrition for HALF of the world’s population”. When that point is brought to late, that’s when any given individual can realize that it’s probably time to prioritize what’s most important in life. While doing that, it’s also crucial to realize that we are human beings, no matter where we live, function together and create a domino effect with any one of our actions whether big or small.

“Where is the ‘coalition of the willing’ to liberate Liberia? The Bush government contends that Liberia’s liberation can be carried out by Liberians and Africans themselves but Iraqis cannot liberate themselves. ‘Why?’ you ask. Because Iraq is awash in oil. Poor Liberia has no oil. Not even the historic link and blood ties between American and Liberia matter. All this is perfect logic in our Orwellian world. And so it makes perfect sense to spend $200 billion on one man and one natural resource- Saddam Hussein and Iraqi oil.”

This passage  brings up the important issue of “why”. It asks the reader why the USA felt so urged to “liberate” the Iraqi civilians from their Tyrant leader, when it is very much the last thing they want to do for Liberia. There’s always a correlation between where the current war is happening and what nations land is currently the richest in natural resources, more specifically; oil. That is the reason why the USA “helps” certain countries and not others. It will always be a matter of resources or some sort of economic gain. What’s most shocking however, is that this world was built for every man to have what he needs, but not for said man to have greed. Unfortunately, in Western modern society, this interpretation and these ideologies seem to be very popular and viewed as nomarl amongst the population.

My thoughts on this article are as follows: If anyone has ever asked the question “how will this ‘war on terror’ ever end?” the answer is it won’t. Not until all the resources are either used or control has been gained over them. Not until we as human beings evolve into a more generously sophisticated species. Not until we are able to accept that no matter how far some of us may be from each other, each and every action negative or positive, large scale or small, we will impact the rest of the globe on some level. We function as a global sociological environment and the only way we will ever reach the seemingly distant goal of having  peaceful coexistence is when the rulers and the leaders of our world realize that without  each other, we would our nations would wither away to nothing economically, politically and socially.

Negotiation, Not retribution: Paraphrastic reading method.

Social Structures and Processes: 

          It’s always interesting to analyze the social development of one’s society. What’s even more fascinating is analyzing the social development of the global sociological ideal. This article touches on the sad reality that although the victims of the September 11 attacks are being remembered every day, and every day we are reminded of that horrific event, the melancholic realities that are currently taking place on a consistent basis around the world are being ignored. To make matters worse, the reason some developing countries are unable to develop properly and without violence is because of the either direct or indirect involvement of the United States of America or another foreign country (more often than not, the USA).

What’s very accurately re-instated in this article is that Osama Bin Laden himself was trained by the CIA in order to carry out violent war tactics against the Afghans and the Russian soldiers. As ironic as it is, the one the Americans trained ended up planning the most horrific terrorist attack in recent history. However, the reason to point this out is simple, how is it possible that a Nation who trained this violent (to put it lightly) man ended up initiating a war on terror in a country that this man wasn’t even residing in. The point being is that there are always hidden intentions that the general public is not allowed to be, nor will we ever be aware of. What makes the intellect wonder is why did the Bush administration not resort to negotiation? Why did they instead, start a war killing millions of civilians and soldiers of their own nation for no “obvious” reason? At times, the most immediate answer is that this was retaliation and a revenge seeking mission aimed at the wrong nation.

“Only a few years ago, Nelson Mandela and his African National Congress were labeled ‘terrorists” by the United States and other western countries, yet today he is described as an ‘international icon.’ Canada has conferred honorary citizenship on Mandela and the United Kingdom plans to build a statue in his honor at Trafalgar Square! What history teaches, to paraphrase the German philosopher Georg Hegel, is that men do not learn from history. Hegel was right. Otherwise the Bush Administration would have resorted to negotiations even with the devils who committed the heinous crime on September 11, not retribution.”

To paraphrase this section in the simplest form is that human beings do not learn from history (Georg Hegel). This is exemplified in the statement that during Mandela’s time he was looked upon as a negative icon, however over the years it was realized that he in fact, was/is an icon. If people were in fact able to learn from the past, the United States would not have retaliated in a way of violence, rather, they would have negotiated and had some sort of peaceful resolution to the problem.

 

 

The German philosopher Georg Hegel stated one of the most powerful currently applicable statements in history; “Men do not learn from history”. This is especially relevant for a variety of reasons, however my main argument in agreement to his statement is this: If men learned from history would there be current racism based wars? Would it not be evident enough that the results of a tyrant such as Hitler himself caused so much damage among so many different cultures that it would be evidently wrong to repeat those actions? Well, ideally, yes. However, ironically by taking a look at the current situation in Palestine, Israel, Palestinian people have been forcefully removed from their nation and are living in what you could even call ghettos. Children are refused the right to an education and people are being evicted and moved away from their homes every day. If that isn’t enough, hundreds of people are being murdered, tortured, and kidnapped every day. Children are voluntarily fighting in support of Palestine because they no longer believe that they’ll even survive this genocide. If this situation is correctly debunked, it becomes quite apparent that this is a reiterate of the Holocaust. The people of Palestine are neglected the right of religion and worship, as well as every day necessities such as a home to sleep in or food for any meal of the day.

9/11: Forgiveness is not part of the lessons learned: Affective reading method

Social Structures and Processes: 

This article describes the events of September 11^th 2001 as well as President George. W Bush’s reaction to this heinous act. In this article, it is brought to light that the Presidents actions in rebuttal to this act of terror were in the end, considered just as much terrorism as the act itself. Invading Iraq based solely on the fact that a group of extremists decided to act for an entire nation, does not in fact, represent said nation. And for that very simple reason, those actions of killing hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians is considered terrorism, whether in the context of war, or not. This article also discusses the fact that of everything taken away from this terrible incident, the United States of America adopted the mindset neglecting to forgive, as well as remembering that it was not all Iraqi people, all Afghani people, or all Muslim people that committed this act. They learned to generalize, and not to forgive.

For me, this subject is very important because of the simple fact that it caused fear and terror on a global scale. In addition to that, the fear that was created in result of this, is now used an excuse if not, a reason to invade countries and kill innocent people, in order to gain something that those rich nations have to offer, such as oil. I think this reading is very accurate, one needs to value all human lives and not only (as stated in the article) the lives of Westerners. It’s easy for people to forget about all the civilians being murdered in the name of war all around the Middle East and Asia (past and present). I feel upset and disgusted when I think about how some people have adopted this mindset; however, it’s also simple for me to understand that some of these people may have been socialized into thinking/believing a certain idea without further exposure to “other” realities.

I think this article is very well written in the sense that it connects the actions of one Government system with their own personal religious beliefs (in the first paragraph) which is a very effective way of getting a point across. Not only that,  it connects to other religions and events that occurred in history based on the certain belief of that religion or culture, all of course, linked to the actions and decisions of President George Bush Jr. on the day of September 11^th 2001. Every point brought to light in this article is something that I can easily appreciate and believe, for reason that I have lived through this, not personally per say, however through the hate and the racism created in result of this. I believe, whether or not conspiracy theories are true or false, that this horrific act of terror resulted in the fear concept. Whenever there is fear, there is a way to create war and have the support of people. So long as there is fear within the nation’s people, there will be a funded war with the core reason for invasion being oil. Those are my true beliefs; however, not for one second do I forget or overlook, unlike many others, the innocent civilians that died during September 11^th, during the war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the civilians that passed away during American funded wars and “revolutions” in the Middle East such as Lebanon and Libya.

Affective Reading Method: Chapter 12 the myth of race and the reality of racism.

This chapter covers the socially constructed concepts of race and racism. It discusses how these two forms of stigmatization or marginalization are modern inventions. Race is described as something created by society in order to label and categorize people, it is only existent to create a link between, for example “whiteness”  or “blackness” and a geographical location, it’s about “assigning meaning to how you look” (Race 2003). It’s quite ironic to think that each and every individual on this planet is classified into a group of people based on superficial physical aspects of each person however, as brought to light in this chapter; each and every one of us is racially mixed to one extent or another. What supports the idea that “Race” is socially created concept is the simple fact that genetically speaking there are no markers on DNA to indicate where one race is distinguishable from another. Race is considered a very powerful social idea that would otherwise have no scientific evidence to support it; however, the racism that branches from it is very real and has negative consequences. When the word “race” or “racism” is brought up, I feel like it’s a safe bet to say that many people (especially here in Canada where there’s a large variety of cultures) can describe an experience they’ve had with racism. It’s something that cannot be overtaken by one individual, as stated in the text; racism is something that needs to be conquered by sides, the victimized and the victimizer.

The only way to completely abolish racism is through education. Individuals who are educated and have a high level of tolerance for cultural differences and cultural relativism are the one who are able to spark a change. By being culturally aware of others, it eases human beings’ immediate attempt at generalizing, stereotyping, and having prejudice towards a group of people. Although that may be a natural reaction to anything that is seemingly outside of our “ordinary”, it can be stopped by the individual and can help to diminish racism entirely. In addition, consider that racism is a form of control for society. By categorizing and organizing social classes based on superficial features, it allows the leaders of our systems to generalize and come to a conclusion about a group of people in a more “efficient” manner. I believe strongly in the idea that if everyone were to be educated about the cultural diversities of our world, and if they were able to truly understand why there even are differences and racism was completely abolished, that all global issues including wars, terrorism etc, would also disappear along with it. The way we view each other and each other’s actions and rituals is reflective upon the way we act and react in opposing situations. If one views another’s culture as “horrific” and “wrong” then the way that individual and their group reacts to the other culture will not be in a polite and subtle manner. I know that this is something that has an inevitably positive change coming it’s way for the reason that racism and categorizing by race are two concepts that strongly impact the lives of the every person of the human “race”. Considering the revolutionary changes in current global news, the transition to a culturally relativist world is just around the corner.