Gacaca Rawanda Justice- Video Clip 3

Gacaca Justice-Rwanda Video Clip

Affective Reading Method

 

This video clip was interesting to see as courts here are not the same as the  Gacaca Justice Courts. These courts have helped communities with their 1994 genocide, an ongoing problem that killed more than half a million people. “Gacaca meant grass and this was symbolic to where the communities got to together to resolve disputes. The Gacaca proceedings encouraged participation from people of the community and want people to tell the courts what they have seen. It is mandatory for the people to confess what crimes they saw and if they did not they had to face consequences If these witnesses made false claims they themselves were prosecuted. I was shocked to see that wives sat in the Gacaca Court and when their husbands would be punished they were not allowed to cry or yell or make a sound, if they did start crying they were taken away from the courts and were not allowed to see their husbands court session. In the courts here, the wives are allowed to break down, show emotion and they were never kicked out of the courtroom like that. It was also interesting to see that even around the world people are taking responsibility to maintain order and justice. These laws and regulations were not maintained properly back in the days but now everyone is getting further knowledge on these laws and regulations and things are being done the way that they are supposed to.

Story of Stuff- Video Clip 2

Story of Stuff-Video Clip

Affective Reading Method

 

In this video clip many issues of recycling were mentioned. One of the issues were that we rely on the government to watch out for problems and protect us but somehow corporations grow and somewhat overtake the government in some ways. If you do not own or buy stuff it is not your means of production. Basically when you produce goods you are bringing “toxins in and toxins out.” The stuff is produced is made from dangerous toxins and when you are fed up of that stuff it returns back into a dangerous toxin which affects us in many ways. We inhale those toxins and it harms babies the most. When women breastfeed babies and they have inhaled the toxins it impacts babies. Even people that work in factories get exposed to toxins and many die each year because of it. The problem is that people have no other option. People often look for work because they are desperate and this desperation causes them to look for work even though it meant facing harm in the process. We are exposed to 4 billion toxin pounds per year. Golden arrow of consumption/production aimed at making people buy more products. The more products bought benefited corporations. There were two ways in which the corporations got people to buy more stuff. One way is the planned obsolesce. The planned obsolesce were things that were basically designed for the dump such mops, cameras, computers and coffee mugs. These things were made poorly to begin with so people would have to throw away these things fast and buy new things more frequently. Another way is the perceived obsolesce. The perceived obsolesce convinces us to change a perfectly good product (fashion, advertisements) new computers, clothes. Every month corporations come up with new ideas to sell more products such as better clothes, or things that Britney Spears would wear. Someone that idolizes Britney Spears would feel the need to buy her line of clothes just to feel special and throws away her old clothes

Jessica Jackley-Video clip 1

Video Clip: Jessica Jackley

Poverty, Money
Paraphrase Method

 

Jessica Jackley shares some stories of her life as she grew up

hearing stories of people in parts of the world that grow up poor

or lack some sort of financial or moral support. She explains

how we grow up listening to these stories about poor people

and how they are always going to come up to us and try to

harass us for money and every time she faced these individuals

she always expected something like that to happen. To her

surprise nothing like that happened. In fact the opposite

happened. She went to go to Africa to volunteer her time and to

make a difference and no one came up to her asking for

donations but actually offered her what they had. Being able to

be at her service people were happy that they could offer

something that was useful to her. Jessica also said that it is good

if we as a community raise enough money that we could start

microlending which meant that people could be given a tiny

loan to get people started and achieve success therefore they

would be set for life so they can help someone else. They money

that we raise can make little life changes for people in need of

financial support. Little changes include being able to put sugar

in tea, getting a lock for their door (security). Although we may

think that these charity organizations need money, they may

not. They may need something else and sadly we may not know

what they actually need because we are not there to witness

their problems and difficulties but in the end investing in each

other, having love and money shows that we care.

 

In-Class Assignment (Rebecca Mellet)

In-Class Assignment- Rebecca Mellet CIDA

Affective Reading Method

Rebecca Mellet visited the class from the Canadian International Development Agency. She provided us with lots of information regarding what countries need help and what countries actually get help. The mission of this organization is to help countries who are in poverty. Help is also given to countries who decide to move forward and make a progress for their country to end poverty. The only way the organization chooses to give the funding to is up to both governments.

The Millennium Development Goals are long term goals. These goals could not be fixed in a short amount of time and therefore they predicted that maybe in 2015 the goals would be completed. The goals were aimed to help fix poverty in countries around the world. It is interesting how Rebecca mentioned that individuals who did not have social insurance numbers were people with “no identity.” These people often do not come in the numbers and therefore harder to track. If these individuals are harder to track, then they hard to help and that’s why some of the poverty still remains around the world.

Organizations such as the CIDA get together for a positive experience to help those countries in need. It sets an example which shows that while working together they can get so much more done and is a faster process in helping people that face poverty. It also shows team work in that it is better to work together rather than hate and judge on people’s ideas before giving them a chance. It Is nice to see that organizations such as CIDA belongs to Canada and it shows that Canada is putting its hand forward to lend a hand to anyone who needs it. Others should consider it too considering how much it has helped towards people in poverty.

In-Class Assignment – Race (Power of Illusion)

In- Class Assignment – Race (Power of Illusion)

Affective Reading Method

 

 

In our class discussion we discussed a movie that related to race and how it impacts us as a group of people or just us individuals. The movie had many interesting points. One is that race assumes external factions relate to internal factors and impact our physical ability, our smartness and our health.  Basically it is assumed that judging by the external factors of a race will determine if the group of individuals are smart or not so smart, attractive or non attractive.

The students in the class engaged in a workshop by swapping DNAs, blood samples, different skin samples, colors of skin. The students found out that the different samples that were collected related to skin were similar with other races rather than someone with their own race. For example, it is assumed that a white man would be more similar to white man and a black man would be similar to a black man however, in this case the white man was more similar to the black man. This shows that race is not based on biology but rather it is only described as biology because we look different. Inside we are all just the same. What makes us difference is genetics and how the environment and individuals perceive those differences.

An argument that was brought up was that “if a Chinese man was talented at something, wouldn’t all Chinese men be talented at the same thing”? This is not the case because not everyone in a particular race has the same talents. Race as a social construct can always impact on how what jobs you get, what school you go to and how you are treated. Another question that was brought up in class was the question of whether we could get rid of the idea of race or not? The class concluded that you cannot get rid of the idea of race unless you change people’s thinking completely. As long as people can associate color with race, there is the possibility of discrimination however if you took away color people would see people and the idea of race would not really exist.

In-Class Assignment: Under the Same Sun

In – class assignment:  Under the Same Sun

Affective Reading Method

 

 

In this class discussion we had two speakers from the non-profit organization ‘Under the Same Sun.’ This organization’s major goal is to promote the wellbeing of persons with albinism in Tanzania by education scholarships to children. They discussed how it is important for their organization to reach person with albinism and placing them in the best and safest environments.  The organization also focuses on those who are often disadvantaged by disability and poverty.

The way in which individuals of society can help this organization is sponsoring students with basic and personal supplies. For each student with albinism, it costs approximately $25.00 per month. What I really found shocking was the stories that were told. A lot of injustice is done to people of albinism in Tanzania. A lot of people were attacked and killed and their body parts were sold to many parts of the world for money and other kind of goods.

Some people of society think that individuals with albinism are not actually human beings and that they have no use in society therefore it was easier for people in Tanzania to kill and sell the body parts. People with albinism are characterized by the complete or partial absence of pigment in the skin, hair and eyes. Their skin is really pale so it is easier for them to get sun burn. Albinism is genetic and is passed down by both parents and not just one parent. It is so hard for people with albinism to get jobs these days because it is seen as a disability and that is where the injustice comes in. As long as there are organizations such as the “Under the Same Sun” these people have an equal opportunity to get jobs and they are more accepted in society because these organizations actually support the differences that people have within themselves.

Chapter 4: Sociology of Human Rights and Social Justice

     Social Justice in Local and Global Contexts

Chapter 4: The Sociology of Human Rights and Social Justice

Charles Quist-Adade

Dialectic Reading Method

What questions did the text raise?	How did the text answer this?	How does the answer match my own ideas and experiences?
What is the Human Rights Approach? Why is it so important?	“The Human Rights Approach focuses on social inequality and social injustice of subordinate populations throughout the world. It interrogates the sources, nature and dimensions of oppression and injustices and illuminates the hopes and struggles of subordinate groups to end their oppression.”	Usually the group or individual with the most power dominates while others fall under. The Human Rights Approach basically helps in a way that if the group or individual is in fact over powered by a dominant group, they cannot go overboard. If individuals know their rights, and the dominant group is taking advantage of their power, the individuals oppressed could take a stand saying that my rights were violated. Although that is what you can do these days, but back in the day this was not possible because some individuals were not educated enough and others just did not have enough courage to stand up to other dominant groups.
What is Social Justice?	“Social justice must address both political and economic needs of all members of society at the local, regional, national and global levels. It must also ensure that citizens understand the dialectical link between their entitlements or rights and their obligations or responsibilities. Rights without responsibilities is meaningless and dangerous”	Social justice is a concept that needs to cover all the needs of society. Individuals need to make sure they understand social justice and what it has to offer to them. Individuals are given human rights and if you do not understand them it can become dangerous for you because dominant groups could take advantage of you and if you understand your rights you have to make sure you do not abuse those rights or else it lands you into trouble also.
What is meant by the human process?	“A person becomes fully human only within the structure of human relations. All forms of human expression occur within social relationships. It is therefore important to look at what kinds of relationships are possible within a society”	All individuals cannot be something without the other. The only reason why a mother is called a mother is because she has a child otherwise she would be known as a woman. We eventually are called the roles we adapt in society. For example, a teacher teaches therefore he/she is called a teacher.  In the end relationships are based on what we all mean to each other.

 

Chapter 3: Social Justice and the Social Construction of Inequality and Difference

  Social Justice in Local and Global Contexts

Chapter 3: Social Justice and the Social Construction of Inequality and Differences

Charles Quist-Adade / Affective Reading Method
          

In chapter 3 the reader is introduced to many concepts of stereotyping, prejudicing, and framing of individuals which leads to hate crime and other forms of discrimination. When it comes to the idea of stereotyping a lot of individuals think that they cannot do something dreadful like that even if they tried, but reality is that sometimes we do it so often that we do not even know we are doing it and we do it unintentionally. The author defines stereotyping as “pictures in our head. They are faulty and inflexible generalizations and they are not based on actual experience” The problem with prejudice is that even if we a single person from a different race do something that is not agreed by society, the person observing that single person may think that people of that race overall are like that and that is how prejudice comes into play. Someone’s opinion on another race impacts everyone too. Individuals tend to listen to opinions and automatically assume that’s the way things are. I feel that the idea of stereotyping can hurt people and give them a type of stigma or label that is really hard to get away from. Once a group gets an opinion about a certain group of individuals it gets passed on from one generation to the next even if it may not be true and the group gets treated unfair because of that reason. I also feel that if a group is labeled something and they cannot get away from the label they tend to fulfill that label because they have no other identity to protect and therefore choose to live the label they have been given by society. Another term that is somewhat linked to stereotyping that influences people is prejudice. The author states that “prejudice provides many functions such as it allows people to avoid doubt and fear, prejudice gives people scapegoats to blame in times of trouble and it legitimizes discrimination because it apparently justifies one group’s dominance over another.”  When someone does something wrong these days, who would actually take the blame? No one likes to admit to their mistakes and therefore prejudice allows us to blame our problems, our mistakes on others so we do not have to accept responsibility. There has always been dominance among certain groups and prejudice helps with that because the “popular group” becomes the dominant group. I feel that prejudice and stereotyping are very much linked in that both of these concepts deal with assumptions and blaming people for our own actions so we cannot be held accountable for our actions. We do not like to admit that what we do sometimes is wrong.

Chapter 2: Social Reality Construction and Global Social Justice

Social Justice in Local and Global Contexts

Chapter 2: Social Reality Construction and Global Social Justice

Charles Quist-Adade

Paraphrase Reading Method

 

Summary:

In chapter 2 the author talks about Social Constructionism and it is based on the assumption that a lot of different people will make different meanings out of the same thing. For example, if someone asks you the time you would actually look at your watch to give the person the time but people in Ghana for instance they would look at the sun to see how far the day has come to an end. Another example is a person brushing their teeth in Canada would be seen as normal something that we can admit that we should do in our everyday lives. When it comes to going to a different country and you see a person from there doing the same thing but with a branch you would find it odd because it is not something that you would see every day but the idea of both individuals brushing their teeth would be the same regardless of what was used in the process. Social reality is seen as multidimensional and therefore means that reality has multiple meanings. Another issue that can be seen through the light of Social Constructionism is what people of society think as a good or bad. In many countries people think it is okay to kill their new born daughters as they think it will place a burden on their families in the near future, however, in Canada if something like this were to happen, the individual would face many consequences. Another example that the author talks about is the idea of polygyny and how it is accepted in some parts of the world and in other parts the idea is frowned upon. A passage from this chapter that I found particularly interesting was:

“Social Constructionism is based on the assumption that there is nothing natural or normal about the world we inhabit. Rather social reality is created by individuals to reflect certain interests in a world not necessarily of their making. Humans make meaning of messages they receive based on the reality of everyday existence. Another way to look at the social construction of reality is that there is nothing inherently good or bad. People assign moral meanings to social occurrences.”

This passage stood out to me because I agree with the idea of Social Constructionism and how it impacts people and the way they understand the same messages but with different meanings. We do not ask for this to happen but certain people around the world are taught differently than other people and therefore take different ideas in a different way. Social Construction of reality also shines a light on the fact that there are some things that are not accepted by a certain society whereas another society may fully believe in that aspect. Even though we may have these differences we still try to get along in society although injustice and discrimination gets in the way because of some of these differences.

 

 

Chapter 1: Key Concepts and Recurring themes

   Social Justice in Local and Global Contexts

               Chapter 1: Key Concepts and Recurring themes

                                                                Charles Quist-Adade

                                                                              Affective Reading Method

 

The main question is if Social Justice matters or not? Apparently it does.  If an individual is denied equal rights, or has lost the respect from others may lead the individual to fight for themselves causing wars and all sorts of injustice all over the world.  The reader is introduced to a variety of recurring themes.  One term introduced to the reader was “ethnocentrism.”  Ethnocentrism is based on the idea that “the view of things in which one’s own group is the center of everything, and all others are scaled and rated with reference to it.” Injustice is sometimes around that corner if individuals of society think this way. In fact “our way or the highway” thinking can lead to problems.  If the individual is not ready to accept the fact that there are other ways of doing things then people can treat other individuals with disrespect and can lead to many ways of injustice. Another theme that was talked about in this chapter that stood out is the Standpoint Theory. The term is stated as “we need to always be aware of how social, historical and cultural processes are constructing us, our thoughts are produced from someone’s standpoint.” Basically everything we learn or the way we think is structured based on other people’s ideas. I agree with this point because when we are born we know nothing. We grasp everything from what our parents teach us, our teachers and the people around us. There is always a reason why we think a particular way and these ways can shape how we think about justice and injustice in the world around us. Social Justice may impact some more than others and therefore we as individuals fight for what we think we deserve and what we think is right.