It's late but I'm not tired so I thought I'd have a short, little rant. (Probably not a very appealing way to start this post. My apologies.)
Lately, I've been having a lot of issues with the subject of "free speech". Free speech is the right to say whatever you want. And that's pretty cool. Without free speech, I wouldn't be able to write this post right now. ILOVEFREESPEECHYAYAYA. But just like with any other right that humans posess, there is a certain responsibility that comes along with it. And this is what I'd like to talk about right now.
A few people that I know reeeeally hurt my feelings with their take on free speech. These people, it seems to me, have forgotten their responsibilities when it comes to speaking their minds. I've seen a couple Facebook statuses speaking of a "utopian all-Caucasian Canada", the indecency of homosexuals and the roles that women "should" be playing in the bedroom and the kitchen. I even know of a person who thinks it's A-OK that she's a self-procclaimed facist. Woohoo, right? This is exactly what free speech is all about! Yeah!
No.
Not ever.
There is so much I could say about all of the things listed above, but I feel as though it isn't even worth my time. If you're reading this blog, you probably already understand my belief system and you are probably just as apalled by those hurtful comments as I am. But, if anyone out there reading this agrees with the views listed above and likes to spread hate and treat their fellow humans like dirt and all that fun stuff, I vow to personally build you a time machine so you can go back to the good ol' days and be Hitler's roomie.
It's things like this that I toss and turn over when I'm trying to sleep. How can people in this day and age, and in their right minds, think it's okay to say things like this? It scares the shit out of me. Yes, there's free speech. Yes, you should be able to say what you wish. But give me a break. This is downright disgusting. This is why we're not moving forward. This is why Mitt Romney is even an option. This is why the KKK still exists. This is why there's a Taliban. Hell, you might as well just spit in the faces of JFK, Martin Luther, Harriet Tubman, Gandhi, David Suzuki and every other good person in the universe.
So, here. This is me exercising my right to free speech in response to those who use theirs so fleetingly and, in doing so, completely disregard any other human being that ever existed: You are a human. I am a human. Your grandmother is a human. Your neighbor four doors down is a human. That girl who wears a hijab in your English class is a human. That boy who hides his true feelings about who he's attracted to in fear of being hated is a human. YOU are a human. So, please, for the love of Darwin, push your hate aside, remember your responsibilities and show some damn respect.
Monday 29 October 2012
Sunday 14 October 2012
The Definition of Activism: Malala Yousafzai.
On October 9, Malala Yousafzai, an activist for the rights of women and education, was shot in the head and neck by a Taliban soldier on her way home from school. She's fifteen-years old.
There's really nothing to say except that I'm absolutely amazed. I'm so amazed that someone so young can be so strong and ready to put her life on the line for something she believes in. I've talked about Greenpeace in the past and how all of the people on the Sea Shepherd are putting their lives in danger every day for something they believe in, and it's incredible! But these people are mostly middle-aged and they've had a lot of time to develop their ideas and prepare themselves for the consequences that may come as a result of their actions. And I definitely don't mean to belittle their actions by talking about their age. They're still doing amazing things and I will always commend them for that.
But, Malala. She's fifteen! I personally don't know any fifteen-year old that knows exactly what she believes in and puts her whole being into that purpose. I honestly don't know any fifteen-year old that believes in anything 100%. She's barely had the time to develop her beliefs (I know this because I've barely had any time to develop mine), she's just doing what she knows is right and I can't think of anything more incredible than that.I can't believe the bravery and courage it must take her every day to wake up, knowing full well that she could be attacked at any moment, and still standing tall with her head held high, fighting her cause with everything she is.
Malala is so strong and important and rebellious that the whole entirety of the Taliban can't handle her bravery. They were scared of this fifteen-year old girl. In their eyes, this little girl was winning and they had to eliminate her. She was winning! Can you believe that? She is so strong that she made the Taliban uncomfortable. Because of their fear, the Taliban has vowed that if she makes a recovery, they won't hesitate to kill her.
I'm ashamed of myself. I know I have a lot of time to develop my beliefs, go to school and make a change, but I feel like that's not an excuse. Maybe Malala acted so soon in her life simply because she thought she didn't have much time. Or maybe she just loved school more than anything and felt that the opportunity of education for children in her country was more important than her safety. Either way, I'm ashamed of the fact that I live in Canada, said by many to be the safest place on Earth, and I haven't done anything. I haven't sacrificed anything. I haven't exercised my rights to free speech the way I should be, I haven't written Stephen Harper a letter telling him how thoroughly I despise him, I haven't protested in front of the Legislative Building to let them know how much I disagree with the lack of transparency in our government, and the list goes on. I feel that I'm taking advantage of my situation. Like, I'm just sitting here, complaining about everything and not taking any action. And I'm ashamed.
I hate that it's taken something so drastic happening to someone so fragile for me to realize the action I need to take. Because of Malala, I vow to do more. I vow to do as much as I possibly can. I feel that I owe it to her to stand up for what I believe in.
This post may not seem very structured or anything, but the reason I wrote it was to simply say: Thank you, Malala for your unbelievable sacrifice. I've never been more in awe of someone than I am of you right now. You understand what it means to follow your dreams and do what you believe in. Thank you for speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves. Everyone should be more like you.
There's really nothing to say except that I'm absolutely amazed. I'm so amazed that someone so young can be so strong and ready to put her life on the line for something she believes in. I've talked about Greenpeace in the past and how all of the people on the Sea Shepherd are putting their lives in danger every day for something they believe in, and it's incredible! But these people are mostly middle-aged and they've had a lot of time to develop their ideas and prepare themselves for the consequences that may come as a result of their actions. And I definitely don't mean to belittle their actions by talking about their age. They're still doing amazing things and I will always commend them for that.
But, Malala. She's fifteen! I personally don't know any fifteen-year old that knows exactly what she believes in and puts her whole being into that purpose. I honestly don't know any fifteen-year old that believes in anything 100%. She's barely had the time to develop her beliefs (I know this because I've barely had any time to develop mine), she's just doing what she knows is right and I can't think of anything more incredible than that.I can't believe the bravery and courage it must take her every day to wake up, knowing full well that she could be attacked at any moment, and still standing tall with her head held high, fighting her cause with everything she is.
Malala is so strong and important and rebellious that the whole entirety of the Taliban can't handle her bravery. They were scared of this fifteen-year old girl. In their eyes, this little girl was winning and they had to eliminate her. She was winning! Can you believe that? She is so strong that she made the Taliban uncomfortable. Because of their fear, the Taliban has vowed that if she makes a recovery, they won't hesitate to kill her.
I'm ashamed of myself. I know I have a lot of time to develop my beliefs, go to school and make a change, but I feel like that's not an excuse. Maybe Malala acted so soon in her life simply because she thought she didn't have much time. Or maybe she just loved school more than anything and felt that the opportunity of education for children in her country was more important than her safety. Either way, I'm ashamed of the fact that I live in Canada, said by many to be the safest place on Earth, and I haven't done anything. I haven't sacrificed anything. I haven't exercised my rights to free speech the way I should be, I haven't written Stephen Harper a letter telling him how thoroughly I despise him, I haven't protested in front of the Legislative Building to let them know how much I disagree with the lack of transparency in our government, and the list goes on. I feel that I'm taking advantage of my situation. Like, I'm just sitting here, complaining about everything and not taking any action. And I'm ashamed.
I hate that it's taken something so drastic happening to someone so fragile for me to realize the action I need to take. Because of Malala, I vow to do more. I vow to do as much as I possibly can. I feel that I owe it to her to stand up for what I believe in.
This post may not seem very structured or anything, but the reason I wrote it was to simply say: Thank you, Malala for your unbelievable sacrifice. I've never been more in awe of someone than I am of you right now. You understand what it means to follow your dreams and do what you believe in. Thank you for speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves. Everyone should be more like you.
Sunday 7 October 2012
The Age-Old Question of the Chicken or the Egg.
I think existentialism is one of the most interesting philosophical ideas I've come across so far in my searches for intellectual enlightenment. The whole concept of absurdism is especially fascinating. I don't have a really good grasp on it yet, but from what I gather it's basically the idea that life has no meaning unless you give it meaning. This also includes the idea of the "absurd" being, generally, the part of life that you cannot control. Anything can happen to any person at any time and there's nothing that anyone can do about it so you might as well enjoy every little thing as much as you possibly can. Now, I really don't want to get murdered by the script of lurking critics who look for kids like me to make fun of. My understanding is really limited. Limited to the works of Albert Camus and Wikipedia, in fact. But you've gotta start somewhere, right?
I think I'm really interested in absurdism because I cannot handle not having a plan. It drives me absolutely crazy. The fact that there's a whole philosophy based on the fact that I can never have a plan and know full-well that it will work actually makes me insane. But that's a personal issue that I have to deal with and it is also not the reason I'm writing this post.
A big part of existentialism (from what I've gathered so far) is human nature; whether or not humans are inherently good or bad. And not only this, but whether or not they're good or bad from birth or if society has shaped their personalities along the way.
I've written this post simply to say that I cannot decide what I believe. I can't decide if I believe people are born a certain way or if they grow up acting the way they act because of their parents, teachers, financial situation, etc. I've written this post to say that the only thing I know for sure is that humans make lines.
Yep. Lines. This might seem completely irrelevant and maybe I'm just off my rocker because it's late or because I'm listening to Radio 2 at night, but here's what happened to me: My sister and I went to the premiere of a movie recently (always a mistake) and obviously, the bathroom was packed after it was over. And we were standing in a line. There were probably about twenty people in this line. There was no one forcing them to be in the line. No police, no government, no parents, no special bathroom authority. Just people. Willingly standing there. In a big ol' line.
I can say that I know for sure, 100%, that people eat with utensils because of social construct. My parents forcibly put that fork in my hand and I've been eating with it ever since. The same goes for using a toilet or brushing my hair. But what about standing in a line? Part of me feels that it could very well be another instance where because of external pressures, humans feel the need to be polite and wait their turns. But another part of me feels that it may be instinctual for people to need order to some degree, or that it may be instinctual to have a certain automatic respect for others. Needless to say, there will be those people who, without thinking, will shove their way to the front. But are these people acting that way because they grew up with a lack of authority? Or because they were born with a desire to be first?
My line analogy may be a little weak, but feel free to think about it in a way that makes the most sense to you. Some people drive huge, planet-choking trucks while others choose to ride bikes. Some people choose to live with the bare necessities while others choose to start billion-dollar TNCs. Why? What causes the differences between these people? Are the reasons for their decisions internal or external? Are they even aware of either of these options, internal or external, one or the other or both, being the driving force behind their actions? Are you aware of why you act the way you do? Am I? I don't know. But it sure gets them brain wheels turnin', don't it?
I think I'm really interested in absurdism because I cannot handle not having a plan. It drives me absolutely crazy. The fact that there's a whole philosophy based on the fact that I can never have a plan and know full-well that it will work actually makes me insane. But that's a personal issue that I have to deal with and it is also not the reason I'm writing this post.
A big part of existentialism (from what I've gathered so far) is human nature; whether or not humans are inherently good or bad. And not only this, but whether or not they're good or bad from birth or if society has shaped their personalities along the way.
I've written this post simply to say that I cannot decide what I believe. I can't decide if I believe people are born a certain way or if they grow up acting the way they act because of their parents, teachers, financial situation, etc. I've written this post to say that the only thing I know for sure is that humans make lines.
Yep. Lines. This might seem completely irrelevant and maybe I'm just off my rocker because it's late or because I'm listening to Radio 2 at night, but here's what happened to me: My sister and I went to the premiere of a movie recently (always a mistake) and obviously, the bathroom was packed after it was over. And we were standing in a line. There were probably about twenty people in this line. There was no one forcing them to be in the line. No police, no government, no parents, no special bathroom authority. Just people. Willingly standing there. In a big ol' line.
I can say that I know for sure, 100%, that people eat with utensils because of social construct. My parents forcibly put that fork in my hand and I've been eating with it ever since. The same goes for using a toilet or brushing my hair. But what about standing in a line? Part of me feels that it could very well be another instance where because of external pressures, humans feel the need to be polite and wait their turns. But another part of me feels that it may be instinctual for people to need order to some degree, or that it may be instinctual to have a certain automatic respect for others. Needless to say, there will be those people who, without thinking, will shove their way to the front. But are these people acting that way because they grew up with a lack of authority? Or because they were born with a desire to be first?
My line analogy may be a little weak, but feel free to think about it in a way that makes the most sense to you. Some people drive huge, planet-choking trucks while others choose to ride bikes. Some people choose to live with the bare necessities while others choose to start billion-dollar TNCs. Why? What causes the differences between these people? Are the reasons for their decisions internal or external? Are they even aware of either of these options, internal or external, one or the other or both, being the driving force behind their actions? Are you aware of why you act the way you do? Am I? I don't know. But it sure gets them brain wheels turnin', don't it?
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