Reflective Essay: What I’ve learned and how I’ve changed…

              We truly don’t see what is out there in the real world, until someone or a course such as Social Justice, makes you stop and think and step out of the bubble that we all live in. It makes us explore the real world and come to terms with the inequalities that people face in certain societies. Coming into this class, I really didn’t know what to expect, but all I can say is it has made me become a more open-minded person and realize the real problems that certain people in our society face on a daily basis.  

              Every lecture in this class made me think about all the problems we face on a daily basis and how we tend to judge people or be a stereotypical person. Every class there was always something interesting which we learned, which makes you sit back and think “do I also act this way??” I do believe that there is an enormous amount of inequality in our world, no matter how modernized it is. We are ruled by the power elite, and if we go against their norms, we are stigmatized and out casted as being different. A very powerful message that was sent out in this class was not to judge anyone and to try to understand them and the underlying meaning behind that person. This was a very strong message that was relayed by Dr. Charles Quist-Adade in the first week of class. Of course, I had no real understanding of this because we are all human and we all judge and we only look at the surface. After this course ended, did I then realize what Dr.Charles Quist-Adade meant at the beginning of the semester. The only way our society is going to change is through us. We must not look at anyone and assume what is happening with them or stereotype them simply because we “heard” what they were like, but rather, get to know them, because by doing this we will all be surprised as to what we find.

              A tremendous part that opened up my eyes to the inequalities in this world was a fundraiser which we did for Under the Same Sun. We had a presentation in class from UTSS members and while listening to this presentation, I knew that this was the organization I wanted to help out. It was an honor to raise $910 dollars for such a wonderful organization and even more rewarding was when my group and I went to drop off the money and we got to meet and have a sit down meeting with the founder, Mr.Peter Ash. He was so thankful that we did such a thing and was very proud of us for beating out goal, which was to raise $750 dollars. We not only got to learn about what was going on in Tanzania to people who had albinism, but it made us realize how some societies still have not changed and have the mentality that killing someone with albinism will bring them luck and fortune.

             A quote which I read on the course syllabus, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world” by Mahatma Gandhi, is a very powerful quote. I do believe that for our society to change and become a more equal world, we must change. Overall, this was a great course and I have learned not only about the social problems in society but I have learned about myself and to be a better person in society.

 

Neelma Singh

Video: African Russians in Post-Communist Russia by: Dr. Charles Quist-Adade (Affective Method)

First off, I am extremely proud of Dr. Charles Quist-Adade for making such an informative video about the “African Russian” while he lived in Russia. This video was made not too long ago, and it showed how much discrimination there was against African people. Russian people were raising their children to discriminate against people of color and this video documented stories of women who were Russian, and had relationships with African Russians, and how they were looked down upon in society. This was just not acceptable and you could see it in the women’s face, how she was torn between her love and society. This video outlined the hatred they possessed for people who were black and how they would not acknowledge them as being Russians. I remember one part of this video, where an older white Russian male was asked would he accept his daughter being married to a black man. He laughed and said No, and how all African people should go back to Africa. Overall, just seeing the way that people would discriminate against African Russians is very disturbing to me and made me realize how much our world is changing on a daily basis. Though discrimination has a long way to go, it still happens in this world, but it seems to be less and less as the years go on, or is it?????

Video: Chimamanda Adichie: The Danger of a Single Story (Paraphrase Method)

This video is a short clip of novelist Chimananda Adichie, giving a lecture in a forum about how “impressionable and vulnerable we are in the face of a story” (YouTube clip, 1:51), when we are children.  She goes on to discuss when she was a little girl she read books and there were “foreigners” in them, and not until she was older, that she started discovering books which were written by African authors. She then realized her writing talent, and she said that this was a mental shift and she realized there was more to this world. While watching this video, you being to realize what she means by “single story”. This is where we don’t see anything beyond what we know and we are not open minded to see beyond that. An example is say if someone is poor, then they are poor and we don’t see anything beyond that.  She goes on to talk about how “stories matter” and stories can be empowering and can dehumanize. I strongly believe in her last quote that if we “reject” a single story, we gain our own paradise. This is very true, if we can only see this world with an open mind and step out of the bubble which we all live in, it will be a much easier place to live.

Video: Gacaca Justice System Video (Affective Method)

Gacaca, in Rwanda is a form of justice which was established due to the Rwanda genocide. This video showed us how the Gacaca justice system works, the simplicity behind the Gacaca system and how the Gacaca justice systems is a form of Restorative Justice. It brings the community together and the victims/victims’ families/offenders are able to share how they feel and what they have been going through. After watching this video, I don’t know how good of a justice system this is. I understand that they are trying to heal families and help people move forward from the Rwandan Genocide, but watching women cry out and scream, is very painful for me. Many people were killed due to this hate crime and there are many families who are suffering till this day. The video shows how people come forward, such as witnesses, and face the accused, but how safe do these witnesses feel after coming forth with such information? Through it all, this video was very informative because it shows us on the other side of the world, that “justice” is not just about locking up criminals and letting them live there and wait for court dates, the “Gacaca” system shows, that there doesn’t need to be a long wait, all you need is a community who is willing to come forward with information and work together and heal together.

Class Presentation: F.A.C.E (Affective Method)

This presentation was very moving and made me realize that we can all make a difference. We had a guest speaker from F.A.C.E , George Piprah, come to our class and speak to us about this organization. This organization is based on raising money to help children in Ghana go to school. With these fundings, F.A.C.E is able to provide children in Ghana with backpacks, various school supplies, uniforms and help them go to school. I found it amazing that this organization donates 100% of the money raised to the children in Ghana. Not many organizations do these now days, and tend to pocket half the money themselves. It was also very sad to know how children in Ghana are unable to attend school and to see their pictures in this presentation and to see how happy they are to receive their backpacks and attend school, made me so happy. Once again this presentation made me realize how fortunate we are to live in Canada. It also made me realize that we are so fortunate to be able to go to school. Overall, I was very pleased with this presentation and I believe that they are doing such a wonderful job at helping all those children in Ghana.

Class Presentation: Under the Same Sun (Affective Method)

                You hear of racism on a daily basis, but to actually kill people due to the fact they have a genetic disease which causes them to have white skin or on a more corrective term, have “albinism”, is horrifying. I didn’t realize that there was such a big problem in Tanzania about the killings and body mutilation of people with albinism until this presentation held by Under the Same Sun. This organization is based on trying to help stop the killings of people who have “albinism” in Tanzania and all over Africa.  I have only ever heard of people who are albino but I didn’t realize that it is such a big problem in Africa. Learning about the killings due to the simple fact that people with albinism were being killed for “voodoo” usage was and till this day, is very disturbing to me. It is astonishing at how people can put a price on another human beings body or body part. This presentation was very touching and I immediately decided with my group members that we should focus on doing a fundraiser for UTSS. This presentation also made me realize what a fortunate world we live in, where people with albinism can live safely and not fear for their safety. Overall, this presentation was very informative and I am glad that we got to fundraise for such a wonderful charity.

Class Presentation: Debbie Mellenger (Affective Method)

The presentation made by Debbie Mellenger was great. She spoke to us about all the different ways to fundraise money for our charity. She gave us various ideas such as pub nights, bake sales, movie night, etc.  She had also informed us not to be scared and to be more vocal and outgoing when trying to raise money. During this presentation, all I could do was panic and think about “how am I going to raise $750 dollars?” Would a pub night or bake sale work out for us? In the end, we did use some of her advice but some ideas she gave us, didn’t work out too well. We in turn did individual fundraising, and this turned out great for us and we raised more money than expected. Overall, Debbie Mellenger gave me great ideas and really helped me plan out my fundraising tactics and on how to approach people when asking for money.

 

Social Justice in Local and Global Contexts Chapter 4: The Sociology of Human Rights and Social Justice (Affective Method)

This chapter was very unique and very informative as to the different processes in human rights and social justice. When reading this chapter, I was on information overload with all the information provided in chapter 4. Just when you think you know and have been educated enough to know about society, you’re wrong again. Socialization is the main process in what makes us humans today. We must be socialized in order to be good individuals but this chapter states that we have a path which is good and evil; it just depends on how we have been socialized. I believe that socialization is very important because without it, you will go down the wrong path. Growing up I have seen how children who haven’t been socialized enough, have gone down the wrong paths in their lives and have ended up in jail. Another interesting fact to this chapter is Human Rights. We are very fortunate to live in such a country that gives us the freedom to do what we want, the freedom of speech and so forth. There are countries till this very day, which do not have this and therefore still live in such an oppressed country. Being born and raised in Canada, we have the freedom to speak our mind, even to our parents, and have discussions with them on certain issues which we as children and young adults face. As far for the divisions and types of justice in this chapter, I was surprised to see all the different types of justice there is and how till this day I don’t see all the justice systems being used. Overall, this chapter was extremely informative and I believe that all human should be treated equally no matter and social justice needs to take place because this will only make our world into a better one.

Social Justice in Local and Global Contexts Chapter 3: Social Justice and the Social Construction of Inequality and Difference (Dialectic Method)

What questions did the text raise?	How did the text answer this?	How does the answer match my own ideas and experiences?
Hypo-descent rule, also known as the One drop rule	The rule that automatically assigns the children of a mixed union or mating between members of different socioeconomic groups in the less privileged group	After reading this section I thought about my nieces and nephews who are of a mixed decent. They are of White decent (from my aunt) and Indian (from my uncle)….now does this mean that they are now labeled as being Indian children, even though they have blue eyes and light colored skin? My nephew told me that in school he told a boy he was white, and that boy told him…”no you’re not, because you’re too dark to be white”.
What is prejudice?	The book states on pg.51 that prejudice is a negative belief or feeling about a particular group of individuals. Prejudices are often passed on from one generation to the next.	I have seen it and experienced this for myself. Although prejudice is such a strong word for hate against another race, it still exists in our society. I was working one night and he asked me to send someone to help him, which I did. Unfortunately he didn’t like that associates service, so he came back to me and started swearing at me, calling me a dumb, brown b***** and how Indian  people should go back to their own country and how we should all be killed. I was shocked. So from my personal experience, there are some people out in this world of ours who are very prejudice against other races.
What is stigmatizing?	Stigmatizing means the attachment of a label of moral, inferiority on a person or group. It is the attachment of a badge of dishonor or disgrace on someone or a group.	I really do believe that we stigmatize people. I believe that we do not do it intentionally.  For example, there is someone at work who stole money and was fired. I understand this completely, but only as every natural human being would, I deleted this person off Facebook and don’t want to call this person over to my house or have anything to do with her, because I believe that she will steal something from me. So in general, I believe that we stigmatize people because we want to feel safe.

Social Justice in Local and Global Contexts Chapter 2: Social Reality Construction and Global Social Justice (Dialectic Method)

What questions did the text raise?	How did the text answer this?	How does the answer match my own ideas and experiences?
Social constructionism is based on assumptions?	On pg.29 the text states that Social Constructionism is based on the assumption that there is nothing natural or normal about the world we inhabit. Social reality is created by individuals to reflect certain interests in a world.	I absolutely agree with this statement. I believe that human beings make the decisions as to what “reality” really is. Due to this, different societies have different meaning to different words. Overall, reality on its own has multiple meanings.
Street crimes are more dangerous than corporate crimes?	Corporate crime is as harmful, if not more harmful to society. The power elite are able to present street crime as a harmful and dangerous, while sanitizing and invisibilizing corporate crime.	I believe this statement. I believe that street crime is just blown out of proportion in the media. Corporate crime is just as harmful because there is more money involved. It is done more discretely due to the fact that if they do get caught, they have money to pay out a judge.
There is nothing good or bad	Social construction of reality is that there is nothing inherently good or bad. People assign moral meaning to social occurrences. For instance, Polygamy is where a man has two or more wives. Some countries allow this, while others such as the USA is frowned upon.	Although this is a very touchy subject, in my opinion is do agree that this sort of practice is not right. Just by watching the TLC show “SISTER WIVES”, I see how some of the children are asked if they would live a life like their parents do (one man and four wives) and many of the children said no and how some feel uncomfortable telling other people about how their family really is. But mind you, who am I to judge. Let people live the way they want to live, as long as they don’t harm or force their practice upon others.