Why does Racism exist?

Racism, by definition, is the belief that racial differences produce an inherited superiority between different cultures.[1] However, racism is not a biological issue, but a sociological one. Discrimination has been practiced as long as there have been cultural differences and it is mainly administered by the ‘white man.’ This prejudice has caused many wounds, physically and psychologically, that are still trying to heal. For numerous years, people’s ignorance made them believe that racial differences were in fact, a hereditary gene. The beliefs of racism comes from not know, which evidently scares many populations.
Slavery has been one of the biggest forms of racism to date and has affected all races. The most prominent form of slavery has been that of the African people. At the beginning of 20th century approximately 2.5 million people were sold as slaves. Women cost twice as much as men since during the day they would perform backbreaking labor, but as night fell they would raise children fathered by their masters. It wasn’t until the 1960’s that the civil rights movement, to provide equality for African Americans, occurred in North America. Martin Luther had a dream where his family, and other families like his, could live freely as they deserved to; however, racism still exists in some places today. Barack Obama, the President of the United States, was thought of as a terrorist, rapist, and murderer due to his race and skin color, but his victory in the election shows that the majority of citizens have evolved. Generations ago, people believed that being a color other than white was a genetic disorder. A genetic disorder is an illness caused by abnormalities in the forming of genes or chromosomes.[2] Diversity is not a disease and is proven by the fact that different cultures can reproduce offspring together. Everyone is the same species and should be treated as though. Sociology is the culprit for racism where the upper class citizens, mostly white Europeans, felt superior and used the lower castes as tools. Since many different races were not well educated, the European settlers thought differences meant they were not up to par. The principle of racism comes from people not having knowledge of how these distinctions occur. Fearing change and variation results in countless populations disowning and abusing other nationalities to the point of extermination. Stereotypes put on ethical groups leads to judging incorrectly which is one way racism is brought upon.
Racism is a medieval form of cruelty which still transpires in some parts of the world. Science has shown that it is not a genetic deformation, but merely a distorted idea brought upon by society. Although some are still affected by racism, it is not an immense dilemma where it brings upon violence. Panic has been the subject for the reason racism exists and will continue to be as long as ignorance survives. Every race has 46 chromosomes to help identify their shared species; every culture is made up of human beings. Since we are the same shouldn’t we be treated as though?

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_disorder

May 15, 2009. Uncategorized. Leave a comment.

Assignment #9- Silence Consent

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia — Vladimir Kirillov and Vitaly Sukhinin and their co-conspirators once had little interest in politics. They were rat-a-tat-tat salesmen here in Russia’s Far East who did a thriving trade in secondhand vehicles imported from Japan. But then the government reacted to the financial crisis by imposing steep tariffs on their industry.
And so was born a growing protest movement that might easily be dismissed as the Revolt of the Used Car Dealers, except for the fact that it seems to have unnerved the Kremlin like few other outbursts of public discontent in recent years.

The car dealers’ demonstrations in Vladivostok in the past two months have drawn thousands of people, more than events sponsored anywhere in Russia by liberal opponents of Vladimir V. Putin. The government grew so alarmed in late December that it took the extraordinary step of sending special riot police officers to Vladivostok from Moscow, nine hours away by plane, to break up one rally.

Some participants were beaten and briefly arrested, and others said that they had recently received menacing phone calls from the security services ordering them to stop criticizing the government.

Senior officials have portrayed the organizers as nefarious profiteers controlled by foreign agents who want this region to secede from Russia. Behind the scenes, though, it appears that the Kremlin is concerned that resentment over the tariffs will continue to spread from the car dealers to the general population — and turn into a bigger backlash over the government’s handling of the financial crisis.

“The political and the economic system of the government has to be changed,” said Mr. Kirillov, 37, who hawks used Japanese cars in an area of this hilly port city filled with vehicle lots. “Here in Russia, we don’t have a guarantee of the most important right, the right to make a living. Average, simple people will back us up on this.”

Mr. Kirillov said he was one of the organizers recently warned by security officials not to carry out more protests. Mr. Sukhinin, 36, who has a sales lot nearby, said he had not received such a phone call, but was expecting one. “If you speak out, you can get very hurt,” Mr. Sukhinin said. “Everyone is unhappy, without exception.”

When the economy was surging, Mr. Putin’s government had widespread support, and the opposition was marginalized. Now that times are tough, events in the Far East suggest broader rumblings. And senior officials are no doubt aware that this maritime region, which borders China and North Korea, has historically been prone to political instability because it is so far from Moscow.

The tension has shown no signs of diminishing, and in late January, another demonstration in Vladivostok drew more than 1,000 people. The Communist Party, seeking to capitalize on the tariff issue, joined in. Marchers chanted, “Resign, Putin!” and held up caricatures of Mr. Putin, the prime minister, and President Dmitri A. Medvedev.

Security officials, apparently chastened by publicity over violence at the rally in December, closely monitored the event but did not intervene.

Political analysts caution that it is too early to describe the protests as a potent threat to the Kremlin. The Far East has only about 5 percent of Russia’s population, and it is unclear how much these events will influence the rest of the country.

Still, even local legislators from Mr. Putin’s party have publicly opposed the tariff, an unusual example of dissent that underscores the depth of feeling here.

To wander through Vladivostok is to quickly understand why the tariffs are provocative. The people delight in driving used cars from Japan, which is only 500 miles away, saying that they are of far higher quality than Russia’s domestic models.

As a result, the streets offer a jarring sight: used Toyotas, Hondas and other Japanese vehicles, with steering wheels on the right side (in Japan, cars are driven on the left), being driven on the right side of the road. It is unusual to see a car with a Russian brand.

It is perhaps fitting that the widening rift centers on cars, which in post-Soviet Russia have become a prominent symbol of the kind of personal freedoms that were unattainable under Communism. Car ownership has surged, and both domestic production and imports have grown.

But the financial crisis has badly wounded Russia’s domestic manufacturers, which are based in the country’s more populous areas. To help them, the Kremlin sharply increased the tariff on imports of used vehicles — often by as much as 30 percent.

At Zelenyi Ugol, a sprawling zone of car lots in Vladivostok, dealers said the tariff, combined with a drop in the value of the ruble, had devastated sales.

Dealers noted that the region’s industrial base had deteriorated in recent years, and even the fishing fleet was faring poorly. They said the car industry was providing more than 100,000 jobs for people who import, maintain, transport and sell vehicles.

“The tariff is simply a catalyst,” said Vladimir M. Kurnosenko, 41, another auto dealer. “Here, there are no enterprises; all the factories have fallen apart. To feed ourselves — because here there are no other factories or enterprises and so forth — we had to go into the auto business.”

Sergei M. Darkin, the governor of the Vladivostok region, who was appointed by Mr. Putin, said he understood the hard feelings over the tariff, but pointed out that two million people were employed by domestic auto manufacturers.

“So of course, you have to protect the Russian auto industry,” Mr. Darkin said.

A vice governor, Yevgeny V. Khokholkov, accused auto dealers of trying to lure people to protests by spreading false rumors that cars with right-hand steering wheels would be banned. He said the Moscow riot police disrupted the rally on Dec. 21 because it was not authorized and because earlier protests had become disorderly.

“It was necessary to demonstrate that the authorities have leverage, that if an unauthorized protest is held, participants have to be punished,” Mr. Khokholkov said.

The organizers said that despite government pressure, they would press ahead. At the demonstration in late January, one of them, Maxim S. Vednyov, 33, predicted that the violence in December would become a decisive event in the fight against the Kremlin.

“The government now is simply trying to destroy the Far East,” Mr. Vednyov said. “Our government said the actions of the riot police were proper. So in fact, they were saying: ‘Far East, shut up. We don’t need you.’”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/16/world/europe/16russia.html

‘Silence is Consent’ means that not saying anything against the government is the proper way to handle yourself. In this article the Russian government put tariffs on the import and export of cars which made the market drastically decrease. When individuals stood up and spoke their mind the riot police was turned on them. The protest had been not violent until the police arrived.

May 13, 2009. Uncategorized. 1 comment.

Petition

For my Social Justice year end project I am trying to get the school board to put condom machines in Langley Highschools. This is not me promoting teenagers to have sex, but to practice safer sex. I first am starting out with a petition and so far have almost 30 signatures, but I need more. This attempt will go on after school, but it is something I find is necessary. Sex is going to happen with or without condoms so why not make them cheaper and more accessible. So if you agree with this please sign the petition since time is running out!!

www.ipetitions.com/petition/safersex

May 8, 2009. Uncategorized. Leave a comment.

Highway of Tears

The Highway of tears is a 720 km stretch of highway between Prince George and Prince Rupert. Many girls, mostly first nations, have gone missing or murdered while hitchhiking at night along this road. This has not gotten very much media coverage in the last few years even though the latest cases were only 3 years ago. I had never heard of these tragedies before so it shows how downplayed this fiasco is. Most girls who go missing get hours and hours of media coverage, but these several young women get close to none.

The RCMP on Thursday doubled the list of women who have gone missing on a notorious British Columbia road known as the “Highway of Tears.”

Until now police believed nine young women died or went missing along Highway 16, a road which stretches from Prince Rupert to Prince George.

But police now believe the number is actually 18.

The first name on the list is Gloria Moody. Moody was killed in Williams Lake in 1969. Over the next four decades, police say there have been 17 other victims on the highway.

The crimes have left residents who travel and live in towns along the highway fearing for their safety.

One resident told CTV News in Vancouver that “It’s very frightening that a predator could be out there for that length of time preying on these women without anyone standing in the way.”

There has long been fear and suspicion that a serial killer is behind the murders and missing women.

RCMP Sgt. Pierre Lemaitre doesn’t believe one person killed all of these women. But he said police are open to “any, any possibility.”

All of the victims were young and many of them were Aboriginal. Some were hitchhiking along the highway. Travellers along the highway say they’re afraid to pick up any hitchhikers, no matter how young. They say they’re torn between wanting to keep hitchhikers safe and their own safety because they don’t know who may be wanting a ride.

The investigation has long been criticized. Protests have been held accusing police of not doing enough, and aboriginal groups have complained more young women have gone missing on Highway 16 then investigators were admitting.

Police say they weren’t pressured to change the list because of criticism from the community. They note that the new names were added after more than 200 files were reviewed.

Police will not reveal if they have any suspects. They have said they are not releasing all of the information that they have.

“There are things we know that we don’t want the the persons or person responsible to know. I can tell you we know a lot more than we did a year ago,” said Lemaitre.

But 38 years after Moody’s body was found they have made no arrest.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071012/highway_oftears_071012/20071012/

Who are these young women who never got a chance?

• The first was Monica Ignas who was a 15 year old who went missing December 13 1974 and later found lying dead in a gravel pit.
• A 24 year old named Alberta Williams went missing in 1988 and was found dead a month after disappearing.
• Ramona Wilson, 15, was hitchhiking on June 11 1994 and her body was found near the Smither’s airport a year after.
• 5 months after Wilson went missing another 15 year old, Roxanne Thira, went missing and her body was found near Burns Lake.
• December 9 1994, Alisha Germaine, 15, was murdered.
• Six months later, Delphine Nikal, a 16 year old from Telkwa, disappears between her house and Smithers and has yet to be found.
• Lana Derrick, 19, went missing while walking down Terrace in October of 1995 and hasn’t been heard from since.
• Seven years went by incident free until Nicole Hoar, the first caucasian woman, disappeared on June 21, 2002 and was never seen again.
• September 22 2005, Tara Chipman, 22, went missing somewhere between Terrace and Prince Rupert.
• Crystal Lee Okimaw, 24, mysteriously vanished from Prince George on January 16 2006.
• 14 year old Aielah Saric-Auger was found dead just off of Prince George on February 2 2006.

http://www.bcnorth.ca/magazine/pages/Debi/tears/tears1.htm

These young women were someone’s daughters, friends, girlfriends, peers, employees, and students. In one split second someone made them just a memory. They never threatened or harmed this person, but still were reduced to nothing more then an adrenaline rush. These murders and disappearances should be put on high priority and the police should do everything in their power to bring these girls lives to justice. We owe it to them.

April 30, 2009. Uncategorized. 4 comments.

Assignment 7- Poverty

A group that lives under the poverty line is people who have been injured to the point of not being able to work. They have a lack of money due to unemployment, medical bills, and bills. Many times people can barely move since they were badly hurt at work. Extra material items such as a car, entertainment (tv, computer etc), and other new items are not thought of since their bills add up. If a family is involved it can be even harder since there are more mouths to feed and more bodies to buy clothes for. Any race, age, or gender can be in this group since no age is invincible from being hurt. Their poverty is caused by small disability checks that barely cover the basics. A way to overcome their poverty would to budget properly until they can return to work and try to stay as careful as possible until fully healed.

The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) disability benefit is available to people who have made enough

contributions to the CPP, and whose disability prevents them from working at any job on a regular basis. The disability must be long lasting or likely to result in death. People who qualify for disability benefits from other programs may not qualify for the CPP disability benefit.

You must apply for a disability benefit in writing. There are also benefits available to the children of a person who receives a CPP disability benefit. Please contact us for these applications.

The CPP disability benefit is administered by Service Canada on behalf of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC).

It may take as long as three months for you to find out if your application for a disability benefit has been accepted. This time frame is much shorter for terminally ill applicants.

If your application for a CPP disability benefit is not granted, there are three opportunities for you to have your application reviewed or reconsidered.

Once you qualify for and begin receiving a CPP disability benefit, you must contact Service Canada to keep us informed of certain specific events in your life. Some examples include: if you change your name or your address, or if you earn over $4,600 in 2009.

Service Canada will occasionally review the health and work status of people receiving a CPP disability benefit, to ensure that they continue to be eligible.

http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/isp/cpp/summary.shtml

April 9, 2009. Uncategorized. 2 comments.

Assignment 6- Children’s Rights.

It is important to to fight for children’s rights since they are virtually helpless. They are not as educated as adults and are not as strong. They cannot stand up for themselves and so that is why those who can help should do all they can. Free the children is an organization created by a child and has been successful for many years. They raise money to go build schools in developing countries so that young girls and boys can have an equal opportunity for education as children in other countries. Although the education would not be as good as in Canada it still gives the young kids a proper childhood, safety, and dreams. To find out what you can do to help go to: http://www.freethechildren.com/

April 9, 2009. Uncategorized. 1 comment.

Human Rights

Egypt Human Rights

Human Rights Concerns

The human rights situation in Egypt continues to be troublesome. Amnesty International has long-standing concerns on systematic torture, deaths of prisoners in custody, unfair trials, arrests of prisoners of conscience for their political and religious beliefs or for their sexual orientation, wide use of administrative detention and long-term detention without trial and use of the death penalty. In addition, AI is concerned that armed opposition groups have renewed attacks on civilians after several years of quiet.

Despite the difficult human rights environment, political reformers and human rights defenders in Egypt have made their voice heard. Bloggers in particular have been active in alerting the world to human rights abuses. The Egyptian government has responded by arresting two prominent bloggers, Karim Amer and Abdel Moneim Mahmoud who have been declared prisoners of conscience by Amnesty International

Amnesty International is also concerned that the war on terror is hindering human rights in Egypt. The country has been in a State of Emergency since 1981, and despite minor reforms, State of Emergency legislation continues to give the government significant powers to use special courts, detain political prisoners and limit speech. In at least two cases, American intelligence officials have allegedly been linked to illegal renditions of Egyptians back to the country, where they have been allegedly tortured. A new Amnesty report, “Egypt – Systematic abuses in the name of security” highlights the impact on human rights in Egypt of the government’s counter terrorism measures and the decades-long state of emergency.

This article is about the human rights violations in Egypt. Many people are being tortured, killed, and thrown in jail for no reason. These horrific events are occurring due to people’s choice of religion, political group, and for their sexual orientation. As well, there have been many armed attacks on innocent villages and many casualties were the cost. This is very wrong since I find this similar to genocide due to killing off people due to certain discriminations. To help this people have voiced their opinions to show the government that this needs to be stopped before more lives are lost. A solution that we are all doing right now has also been put into action. Many bloggers in Egypt have been posting things saying how this effects them and what is going on in their homes. Due to their efforts to better their situations, the government arrested two of them. These people were arrested because they unmasked the corrupt workings of the censored government. I am pretty sure it is morally wrong to arrest someone for telling the truth. No one was being  threatened or hurt, but people were still “breaking the law” and were unfairly arrested.

March 26, 2009. Uncategorized. Leave a comment.

Assignment #4 Beliefs and Values

Locally and globally I do not feel my values or beliefs impact many others. However, I could be completely wrong. It is important to know who you are or else others may not get to know the real person you are. That could be completely misleading even when your don’t mean to. I believe in equality of everyone no matter race, gender, or sexual orientation. My opinion has never been a problem with anyone else since they cannot change my mind and in that respect I do not try to change anyone else’s opinion. I may not always agree with everyone and vice versa with me, but thats what makes us individuals.

March 11, 2009. Uncategorized. Leave a comment.

Social Justice Conference

“Homophobia hurts everyone”

The meaning of this is how not only homosexuals are effected by people’s ignorance. No one can choose their gender, race, nor their sexual preference. Homphobia can make people say rash and cruel things to others in attempts to lessen their dignity. People who are gay or lesbian get treated as though they are not equal in everyday society. Once others found out about their sexual orientation homophobes discriminate to the point of some people commiting suicide. When this happens the family and friends of the deceased die a little inside. Even if not homosexual some people get bullied by others calling them degrading names which are sometimes not true, but the arrogance just becomes too much and the person simply cannot take it. As Alex Sanchez said, Homophobia hurts not only the target, but also their loved ones. At LSS we can solve this discrimination with starting a gay-straight alliance. Although it might not work to get everyone’s mind changed it shows how much some people actually do care.

February 27, 2009. Uncategorized. 3 comments.