On Standing Up: 2014 in Review

Reviewing the year that was has become the major tradition on this blog. Last year I wrote about the fact that sexism and feminism had become a critical flashpoint in the West. In 2012 I highlighted the ubiquity of violence around the world. This year, my review deals again with similar threads: oppression and violence. However, the spin this time is more positive. This year I wanna talk about something that I'm seeing that is actually positive - standing up.

To set the definition here, I mean to say that there have been sustained efforts to hold perpetrators of the egregious accountable. 2014 was, without a doubt, full of horrible news - as we are about to recall. Sexism and racism were rampant this past year, but thankfully there has also been a mobilisation, both online and in person. I have selected three stories from 2014 that I feel really illustrate my argument.

I'll start with the most clear example: Ferguson. I've already written about the shooting of Michael Brown, pointing out that institutional racism in the United States is at the root of this, and numerous other, tragedies of late. It's unsurprising that this type of violence is occuring - we can think back to the Trayvon Martin shooting in 2012. However, what's really impressive is that the reaction to the shooting was so massive. Protests started in August and continued through the fall as the grand jury deliberated an indictment. There was support throughout the state as well as around the world. Campaigns online led to the creation of numerous successful hashtags like #blacklivesmatter, #handsupdontshoot, and #millionsmarch. While there was some violence, often prompted by the presence of militarised police, these protests highlighted a non-violent response to the institutional problem of police brutality and racism. Also, as I'm writing this today there are reports that citizens are peacefully taking over the police station in Missouri following another tragic shooting of a young black man.

The next issue is the recent Twitter explosion surrounding Iggy Azalea. Azalea is a hip-hop artist from Australia who has experienced incredible success in worldwide this year. She also happens to be white. Much of her success has come from co-opting black hip-hop culture (much in the same way the other forms of music like jazz, rock, and blues have been appropriated by whites). She is unapologetic about her success, seemingly unaware of her white privilege and the fact that she is making hip-hop more accessible on account of her race and class. Moreover, she's made uniformed comments about slavery and the history of black resistance. Azalia Banks, a black hip-hop artist has led the charge to expose this cultural appropriation as well as the incredible ignorance of Iggy Azalea. This, naturally, exploded on Twitter. Other artists and celebrities joined in, creating a chorus of voices promoting the reality of co-optation in hip hop music.


One of the other major items in the news this year was a series of high-profile rape and sexual assault allegations. I wrote about the case surrounding Jian Ghomeshi, but this is merely one of many stories. Most people have likely heard about victims coming forward with claims against Bill Cosby and . In a newly released video Rape in the Time of Celebrity a character exclaims: "they're impossible to touch, but they'll touch you". For numerous reasons, many of which I've articulated in my previous post about Ghomeshi, the victims, even when they are numerous, are not taken seriously. But the problem goes much beyond these sensational tabloid stories: rape on college campuses has reached a flashpoint. This has spilled over at Dalhousie in Halifax, York in Toronto, or the University of Virginia. With numerous clever social media campaigns, women in colleges around North America have stood up and fought back against university administrations that have pretended that sexual assault is not a campus issue. I'd argue, as many others have, that 2014 was a pivotal year in turning the tide against rape apologists.


It's nice to see that, even though hatred, oppression, and violence are seemingly alive and well, so too is the will to stand up against injustice. It's worthwhile, however, pointing out that our interest in solidarity only goes so far. Take for example the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which for the record is ongoing as I write this.  The international response was painfully slow and poorly organised. Media coverage was focused on the few westerners who contracted the virus or on spreading fear and paranoia. It's my hope that in 2015 people continue to stand up for themselves and others. Here's to the end of 2014.

The War on Christmas

It's that time of year again. The holidays. The end of the calendar year is so overwhelming that it's hard to really talk about it in a global sense. We're all so immersed in the world of festivities that it can be tricky to take a step back and talk about the season more generally. That is, of course, unless you are levying the charge that there is a "War on Christmas".

It's a term I remember distinctly arguing about during the holidays in 2008. So I performed a Google Trends search and discovered that the use of this term peaked in 2007. That said, it's made a marked appearance, of roughly the same intensity, every year since.

And why shouldn't it? It has all the elements to make for a great story. There's nothing black and white about it and everyone can weigh in. Depending on where your values are regarding religious expression, community, identity, or respect for diversity has a massive impact on how we approach this so-called controversy.

The notions of Christmas as ubiquitous or monolithic are pervasive and harmful. Christmas, and the holidays in general, are multi-faceted cultural institutions and they aren't going away. Despite the fact that I am not a Christian, Christmas has always been important to me. And this will continue because I can define it for myself. It's a cultural holiday that I associate with family, the celebration of winter, good food, taking a break from work, and giving. I also get a say in the traditions that I choose to support, critique, or reject. I won't force them on others, and in my position (teacher in a public board) I know that I need to be careful how I talk about the holidays. I've managed to get by without wishing anyone I don't know very well "Merry Christmas" and it hasn't been difficult. When people say "happy holidays", "seasons greetings", or anything else to me, I give them my best wishes in return. Shouldn't that goodwill be at the heart of the holidays?

When it comes down to it, I don't perceive Christmas as a holiday to be under attack. What I do notice, though, is how the meaning of Christmas has changed dramatically. The holidays have sadly become more about money, transforming the holiday season into a cultural festival revolving around economics. If there's a War on Christmas, it's my belief that it has manifested itself by way of co-opting the spirit of Christmas in order to advance the interests of the economy

To be fair, that's just my read of the holidays. But it's controversial and there's no right answer. However you slice it, the holidays will continue to be a great mixed bag: a time of love, hope, wonder, hostility, stress, and controversy. I wish everyone the best during the holidays, however you intend to spend them. Seasons greetings!

Chronicles of Sarnia - Pt I

It's December and despite my best intentions I haven't sat down to write about my experiences living in Sarnia. I'm going to take some time now to talk about what it's been like relocating again.

For one, this move marks the fifth time I've moved in the past two years. The nature of my work is such that steady employment is hard to find. Moreover, the school boards I've worked in have all been territorially extensive, necessitating a move every time I have a new post. Since March of last year I've been fortunate to have contracts in the French language public board, le Conseil scolaire Viamonde.

As difficult as I found the transition to teaching in French (both professionally and personally), I've been really proud of my achievements and I have only strengthened my resolve. I'm lucky to have employment as a teacher in Ontario, but I also know this was the result of a lot of hard work and some rather challenging decisions.

That brings me to moving to Sarnia. The decision that I had to make this spring was challenging, and in the spirit of the past few years it was nothing new. I had two offers in June: a semester-long position in Sarnia or a year-long position in Trois-Rivières. I contemplated and negotiated, hoping that I would end up with a clear plan and a good deal. When the end of August approached I was off to Sarnia.

I remember the day I had to move to Sarnia. I felt defeated. I had blogged only months before that I was coming to and end to transplanting. How little I knew. I had a lot of anxiety coming to Sarnia. I was afraid of the life transition and I also had my doubts about my abilities to be the great teacher I wanted to be if it meant teaching in French. Thankfully, in the time since I've only gone on to feel like an active member of the francophone community.

On Labour Day I set off to Sarnia. It took some time to settle into my new environment. It was very difficult at first. A new apartment, a new school, new students, new colleagues, new courses, new friends. I buried myself in my work and in building a robust social life around me, including taking up some new activities. I joined the bridge association, formed a games night group, and signed up for dodgeball. I kept my days and nights full so that I wouldn't have time to think about how miserable I was having to move to Sarnia.

Interestingly enough, despite my great unhappiness moving to Sarnia, I suddenly began to enjoy my new home. I've never, to clarify, moved somewhere that I didn't want to live. That is until Sarnia. I was deadset against it, for some obvious and not-so-obvious reasons. While it was difficult, I found that overcoming my mindset - my prejudice - was ultimately the true struggle.

I've never had a more enjoyable work environment in life. I have the best students I could ask for (and that's saying a lot given how amazing my students were in Shawinigan). I have great support from my coworkers. I love the courses that I'm teaching. I'm excited to be involved in the social activities I have here. I've loved going to United States. I enjoy biking in the region. I've gone to the beach every week.

That said, it hasn't all been rainbows. I moved to Sarnia during a period of great turmoil and personal change. Suffice to say, I wasn't feeling brave, but I had to forge on.

And I did. In the months since I've rebuilt. I'm feeling stronger, safer, and happier than I have in a very long time. It feels good to fluorish.

Ferguson and Institutional Racism

Since Monday there has been a lot of violence and talk. Darren Wilson, the white police officer who fatally shot unarmed black youth Michael Brown, was not indicted by a grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri. An indictment, which is effectively an order to bring criminal charges to someone, occurs in about 90 per cent of these cases in the United States. The decision, which was by all accounts hyped up and to some degree anticipated with much pessimism, tore across America in a flash. No charges for Wilson and a nation divided.

What has followed has been predictable but all the while still quite shocking. Protests have erupted around the country as well as in some localised areas globally. In the midst of these torrid demonstrations, violence has broken out with rioting and the predictable looting and smashing of store windows. In the midst of this action, white people have taken to television and social media to tell the rest of America to stop talking about racism.

Despite the fact that we often think of racism as a part of the distant past: slavery, apartheid, the holocaust, or residential schools, the reality is that racism frames all social relationships in modern America and around the world. Attempts to deny the power of race are deeply problematic. This means on a macro level, as well as in particular cases, such as the shooting of Michael Brown.

Racism exists in the media, on social networking sties, in law enforcement, in the business world, in education, and in the legal system. Racism is pervasive and multifaceted. It's also ingrained in American culture, what we call institutional racism. Institutional racism generally means that even those who are racially marginalised hold racist attitudes towards various others in order to prop up the dominant group (think of the film Crash). This is similarly expressed in sexism when women call each other bitches or sluts. They have internalised the dominant messages about hierarchy and they are acting them out. It is the privilege of the dominant class, according to Antonio Gramsci, to have their ideas and values taken on by various others. This is otherwise known as hegemony.

There are quite a few ways in which we can observe institutional racism in the west. Here are some categories to reflect on.

The first is xenophobia. I just wrote about this last week, but it comes down to a fear, mistrust, and misunderstanding of the "other". These sentiments can apply to race or any category of "other" that is subordinate to a dominant cultural group. Sometimes it's assumptive, expecting a voice over the phone to be white, for example. Sometimes it's a reaction, like crossing to the other side of the street if you see a young black male. Sadly, this sometimes includes taking the side of the white authority when a young black man is killed, seemingly with little or no justification. Our ideas of otherness come from years of exposure to generally xenophobic ideas and institutions. Think, for example, of the image of Michael Brown that was shared by the media after he was killed. He was presented in a way that othered him, as a young black male, against a white victim of crime. This played out brilliantly on twitter with a photo campaign. See the hashtag #IfTheyGunnedMeDown.

This points to a related phenomenon - differential treatment. A good example of this is to think about who can be seen challenging the authority of the government. Take for example the demonstrations in Ferguson compared with renegade Cliven Bundy. Or the right to protest or participate in a riot: the burning of police cars was seen by many in America as an act of terrorism, but what about those who take to the streets after sporting events, such as the Vancouver riots in 2011. Even the questoin of who can openly hold a gun is incediary. It's from an idea that democracy is there to serve the interests of the dominant cultural group. Anyone else seen challenging it's legitimacy should be put back in their place. There's a song on the radio currently that says we're slamming the doors of democracy on those who are not the same.

Another element is fear. Many people, particularly white, try to imagine themselves in the situation and sympathise with the white person was "just doing their job" or "serving". We don't have to look back very far to see another unfortunate example, the Trayvon Martin shooting in 2012. This shooting also evidences institutional racism because it was a hispanic man shooting a black man. Fear, propogated by racist propaganda, has a wide impact.

The last part I'd like to share is where we started: denying the existance of racism. This, in my view, is particulalry egregious because it shuts down anything progressive from happening. This takes many forms, most notably with things like saying that we've come a long way as a society or that racism goes both ways. These tactics are successful at derailing the types of progressive conversations that need to be happening in order to combat racism and other forms of marginalisation.

With all of these elements in mind, consider how Michael Brown was portrayed in the media since the event occured this summer. Now reflect on how Darren Wilson has been characterised. It doesn't take much googling to come up with some disturbing results, but I encourage you to try this as an exercise.

It can be difficult to think about next steps when we are so mired in current frustrations, but we must keep an eye out for what can be done. It won't be easy, but perserverence, hope, and compassion are really the only ways that we can transcend the violence and division. I will be watching this keenly as it continues to unfold.

Bullying: The Next Step

This past week my school board celebrated a week against bullying. I was excited that it was, in fact, at my school the students who put together the workshops every day that highlighted not only what bullying was, but who was targeted, why it was happening, and its effects. I had a really positive experience with this week until, during some professional development, I came across some material that tried to deny that bullying was in fact bullying. All this got me thinking about how we are all quick to rally behind bullying as a cause, but when bullying happens in the "real" world we forget the basic idea of it and have all sorts of really harmful ways of reacting to it.

So to start off, I thouht it'd be helpful to have a definition of bullying. There are many ways to go with this, but I'd note that most of the common definitions point out two key ideas: first, the power imbalance between the participants and, second, the fact that it is intended to cause harm. There is also a debate about whether or not it has to be sustained. More on this later.

I couldn't help but think that this sounds, to me, a lot like what adults face. Harrassment, intimidation, violence, exclusion, generally based on xenophobic sentiments. Perhaps, I thought, bullying is a manifestation of xenophobia.

To start, a lot of it comes down to the idea of inequality. In our modern world, the notion of inequality is a difficult one to have a rational discussion about, but ultimately it's the idea that two people don't have the same social, monetary, or physical capital. Whether that's based on a metric like race or religion; education or gender; sexual orientation or age. Look anywhere in the media, the political world, our personal lives, or the workplace, and you'll see manifestations of racism, sexism, or some other form of xenophobia. Sometimes it's egregious, sometimes it looks to be harmless. But it's there, always humming in the background.

As adults we get used to the fact that inequality is a "fact of life". If you don't like it you can either pretend to accept it or you can constantly try to agitate against it. There aren't a lot of choices. But what about for children?

Young people are trying to understand the world around them, and they pick up copious cues daily. They generally understand concepts like hierarchy and deference. They learn quickly whether or not authority is something to be followed or questioned. They also are learning how to relate to their peers. They learn from what they see modelled around them, which, unsurprisingly is the real world I alluded to before, full of people evaluating one another based on their differences: xenophobia.

Ultimately, students get bullied for the same reasons that adults experience xenophobia. Because they are different. It could come down to cultural differences like religious practices. It could come down to class like what kind of clothes you wear. It could come down to gender and whether or not you perform masculinity. It could aslo come down to size, race, ability, language, sexuality, or anything else. Rather unsurprisingly, these are all things that adults feel like they are targeted for.

So what about the aforemention question about bullying being sustained acts? Well, a xenophobic remark here and there may not look like sustained, but consider being the one to whom those marks are consistently addressed. That certainly feels like a threat, and perception is most certainly reality. Often I, or my colleagues in the teaching profession, don't intervene when bullying is occuring because we see it as a one-off. For the perpetrators or bystanders, it may be, but what about for the most important person implicated, the victim? It's my best guess that it's not the first time. And that's where I have some difficulty with official school board policies that discuss what is and is not bullying - it has to be sustained. There's no way to know if it is for sure, so why not treat all incidents as part of a social whole?

I write this because I see the week against bullying as a great starting point - a place to stop for a moment and reflect on inequality, belonging, fairness, justice, and participation. Let's consider talking about xenophobia more openly, thinking about how it manifests in our daily lives and what we can do to prevent its toxic influences.

On Sexting

Feminism is getting a lot of buzz these days, and among the hundreds of contemporary issues important to youth is the proliferation of private sexual images. It's becoming a common occurrance with the likes of Kirsten Dunst, Kate Upton, and Jennifer Lawrence as victims of cloud hacks in this year alone. Their images have been distributed widely over the internet and the damage has been done.Trying to sort out responsibility in this situation is challenging and has been the subject of debate.

Many contend that it's clearly the fault of the hackers. Others will blame Apple for the failure of their cloud services to protect against hacking. Others still have decided that it was the fault of the women for taking the pictures of themselves in "comprimising" situations or posting them online.

This conversation is not particularly new since it is a modification of the blame game that women face when they allege rape. It's no surprise that we're talking about this again given the ongoing discussion about Jian Ghomeshi (read my previous blog). People seem to have a difficult time understanding concepts like consent, which have much wider reaches than the physical - it also includes what happens in an online context.

Recently I watched a video produced by Action ontarienne contre la violence faite aux femmes. In the video, a young man named Philippe takes images of his girlfriend and then circulates them after an argument. The protaganist in the video is not the girlfriend, however. Another character, Philippe's friend, faces the moral dilemma of whether or not to talk to Philippe about whether or not sexting is appropriate. Initially, he chooses not to say anything, and the result is that the girlfriend is deemed a slut and is excluded by both her male and female peers. With the magic of public service announcements he rewinds to the moment before Philippe sends the image. This time he decides to mention that it's not cool to circulate these images. Disaster averted.

As much as I'd like to be happy about the damage being avoided, note that the protagonist is not the woman. Instead of insisting that the image not be shared, she is reliant on a man to do something about it. And of course it's not something for Philippe to do. It requires someone else - the White Night.

The hacking of the clouds this year was pretty disappointing, but this case highlights some other questions. Notably, it's important to mention that the image in question is child pornography. Before the federal government any image of that variety, regardless of who took it, is regarded as such. There has been a fair amount of attention to this with frequent television and online ad spots. This has attracted a lot of attention as it implicates people criminally who are not culpable.

As far as I can tell, these issues are really complex. Trying to manage them with legal interventions is part of the solution, but not if it criminalises the young women involved. Much like in prostitution why should the women be held accountable? It is the duty of the state to protect vulnerable members of society and to mitigate against malevolent pressures.

Moreover, the focus should be on education for young people that deals with the true complexity of the situation. Not that it's criminal or that these young girls have no morals, but instead that participants are aware of the implications of placing images of themselves where they can be proliferated so that they can participate in it consensually. In the event that consent isn't expressed, then complaints should be taken seriously. But that's another question altogether.

On Heroism

I wrote about remembrance last year in a piece I am particularly proud of. Given the acts of violence that occured last month in Ottawa and Montréal, there has been a lot of anxiety and hatred leading up to this Remembrance Day. Xenophobia has manifested itself quite publicly, including directly from our national leaders — this much to the dismay of many in Canada who would prefer to think we live in a harmonious society. It's been, at times, difficult to watch. There has also been a lot of talk about heroes, most notably Cpl Nathan Cirillo, the man killed at the Cenotaph in October.

Today is a day for reflection. A day for remembering. A day for sharing. Hopefully it's also a day for openness, respectfulness, and tolerance. Even more I hope it's a day for questioning not only the meaning of war, but also of the meaning of public memory. While I explored some of these themes last year, I'd like to focus now on the aforementioned talk of heroes.

This issue has been controversial for some time, but recently Andrew Dreschel of the Hamilton Spectator claimed that Cirillo was no hero. In the article Dreschel points out that hero was a title given posthumously to promote an "accidental" victim. Taking pains to note that the situation is tragic and that Cirillo is deserving of respect and attention, he questions the use of the word hero:

"The accolade traditionally isn't bestowed for simply wearing a uniform... The honour is accrued by performing brave deeds and daring feats — risking or sacrificing your life to save others. Cirillo may have possessed those heroic qualities and might even have had a chance to display them had he lived. But he didn't"

 

The point was not made to be disrepectful, but, like I mentioned above, in the vein of talking about the meaning of public memory.

 

Are members of the Canadian Forces heroes by default? 

 

What exactly constitutes heroism or a heroic act?

 

Is Remembrance Day for heroes, or is it more global in scope?

 

Who else in our society deserves to be remembered for their struggles? Should they get as much attention from the state, the media, and the public?

 

I don't actually have any answers — just more questions. After an intimate ceremony at my school, during which a Canadian soldier recounted his experience in Afghanistan, I asked my students to write a reflexion about the importance of remembering, and again more specifically, who to remember. I look forward to reading their responses as much as I look forward to reading yours.