What Are We Teaching Our Little Girls????

A couple of things jumped out at me this week online...I found them quite disturbing for a multitude of reasons and could probably type for days on the matter but instead find myself quite speechless at the moment. This is just outrageous and unacceptable in today's society...or any society, for that matter! As a female who has always relied on her intelligence and has always travelled in circles of other females who do the same, I am just floored. Appalled, disgusted, shocked, you name it. Wow. WHY would anyone want to propagate these negative, moronic messages? Don't girls have enough crap to face growing up as it is???

First, there was the JCPenney issue, which Emma Waverman writes about here (I spotted it on my MSN homepage a few days ago and had to have a peek), and then I noticed a friend of mine had posted this on facebook, which notified me of the Toddlers and Tiaras issue. I'm just thankful I'm not the only one who is upset about this...

Vancouver Riot

I have to say, I'm royally disgusted at the images I'm seeing on the tube and in other media today (see some National Post coverage here). I find it appalling that 'fans' would react in this manner. There are so many more important things that are being fought for in this world...but you are willing to put forth this much effort for no other reason than to cause senseless destruction after a hockey game and some booze????? It's worth trashing a city for no other reason than to trash it? I fail to see the rationale here. Unfortunately, this reflects not only on Vancouver and BC, but on the country as a whole in many eyes.  I'm sure I'm not the only Canadian who is feeling angry, disappointed and embarrassed at being misrepresented to the world today. Thanks for that, brainless testosterone overdosed Neanderthals. Really.

However, it hasn't all been negative. There have apparently been a lot of citizens volunteering their time and energy to help clean up the city...and apologizing to all on behalf of the morons who are responsible for this disgracefulness. Would that it were not necessary to begin with, but at least it's somewhat of a positive counter to what went down after the game...

The Revolutionary Wave

As I was sitting on my couch this afternoon watching Just For Laughs and reading about current developments in Libya (a somewhat ludicrous contrast, I know), it hit me anew how lucky I am to live in a country where relative safety, democracy and liberation are inherent to society. I know it was not always that way, but I'm pretty sure the situation also never exactly paralleled the one facing many Northern Africans and Middle Easterners recently. I have been blessed enough to be born in a time and place where these things were fought for and established before I came along. I am so thankful for that. At the same time, it is so mind blowing to live in a world where people are still fighting for those things. To hear about and watch their battle really puts a lot of things in perspective for me. I really hope they all succeed in rendering the changes they desire without too much bloodshed...

How Can This Happen?

I was browsing through news articles this morning (something I - shockingly - rarely do) and the headline "State had been warned about abused dead girl, injured boy found in truck" caught my attention. So I read the article. And it is very disturbing.

I don't understand how people could possess so much cruelty within them - and to inflict it upon children is even more despicable. I also don't understand how it is that these children, sadly, continue to slip through the cracks and suffer neglect and abuse for so long with no one the wiser - or with people being aware of it and no one doing anything to stop it, which is even worse. I can't believe that the people in a position to put an end to these children's misery failed to do their job and a little girl lost her life because of it.

Granted, there are two (or three, depending on how you look at it) sides to every story. There is the possibility that child welfare workers are overwhelmed with their workload or any number of other contributing factors that may make it more difficult to do their job efficiently. However, if that is the case, then obviously the root problems need to be addressed.

Tragedies and Miracles

I was browsing MSN.ca a little while ago and a couple of things piqued my interest...

The first was an article titled 10 Things That Aren't As Cheap As You Think. I followed the link to get to page 2, and ended up here. Most items on the list were not news to me, but the controversy surrounding coltan - a mineral used in cell phones and other technological items - I had previously been unaware of, so I moseyed over to War Resister's International from there (which I had also never heard of until today) and read about the No Blood In My Cell Phone campaign to check it out. This enlightening pit stop prompted me to investigate further. I found this documentary online soon afterwards, which is quite thought provoking. The impressions I got in the beginning of the documentary began to transform at about the halfway point, I think. Like all good documentaries, nothing is clear cut and there are no easy solutions (...well except maybe the fact that it is a problem that needs to be addressed and that a good way of doing that would perhaps be for companies to look at bypassing the majority of middlemen involved and find more direct and ethical routes to mining/collecting the coltan to lessen opportunities for exploitation by all the dishonest and/or desperate individuals and corporations the coltan is channeled through on it's journey from the mines to the production plants - themselves included if current practices continue) but the intricate web surrounding the issue is somewhat untangled for the viewer to ponder and perhaps to do something about. At the very least it will create increased awareness. The documentary mentions Nokia and Motorola a couple of times and their supposed positions on the use of coltan from the Congo. However, it has got me wondering about my beloved BlackBerry. Sigh...one more thing to feel guilty about... (Also of interest on this topic: http://Mvemba's video report on coltan's role in Congo's civil war , Appfrica Maps Coltan From Congo to Your Cell Phone and War, Murder, Rape... All for Your Cell Phone).

And now, on to the miracle...

which also stems from a tragedy...

Four weeks after the 7.0 quake that devastated Haiti comes this incredible report:
Doctors: Haitian may have survived 4 weeks in rubble . It seems a little far fetched and hard to believe (hence the title on CNN, I suppose), but, like the doctor in the video, who am I to argue? If it is real and not a publicity stunt or something (which would be in seriously bad taste), this man may be one of the luckiest to have ever graced our planet.

Is "Newfie" the Newest 'N' Word?

A few months ago, I read this post by Nadine at Missing The Rock. I left my "two cents worth" afterwards, but it got me thinking that perhaps I should elaborate a little on my own experience and add it to the conglomeration of writings on the subject already. I have hesitated to be a pot-stirrer and post on the subject, but it has recently come up again in my own personal life and so I thought it might be time to get this off my chest.

When I was growing up in Newfoundland, the term 'Newfie' was thrown around quite a bit and I never gave it any thought. I certainly never stopped to consider that it could be considered derogatory - I had never been exposed to anyone who had used it in such a way. It was simply a word we utilized to describe ourselves - a shortened form of 'Newfoundlander,' that contained all the same implicit imagery of home, the roots of our colourful culture, and the pride associated with being from our beautiful island, as found in the long version. It was a label applied to the shared aspects of our identity and that was all. As for 'Newfie' jokes, well, they were just harmless fun that mostly depicted our ingenuity or proved that we had a sense of humour and were simultaneously secure and humble enough to laugh at ourselves.

When I moved away, I bandied the word about with more pride than I had ever felt while living at home; I had never really embraced my Newfoundland roots until I left the island. In fact, being from "the Bay" was almost a source of embarrassment for a time when I was thrown into the mix with all the "Townies" at MUN. There was certainly some friction between our respective student communities at the university at times (then again there was also an issue with people from Mount Pearl as a separate entity as well, but that's a whole other ball game). I suspect this mutual slightly pejorative use of the terms "Bayman" and "Townie" varied largely between individuals and was not really an accurate reflection of the student population as a whole. However, I fast became aware that we "Baymen" were very much looked down upon by a faction of our fellow Islanders and learned to minimalize the more easily identifiable aspects of my accent to blend in and avoid being branded and scoffed at (a topic which I will talk more about at a later date). However, when I was with people from "out around the bay" I could let go of those self-imposed constraints and be free to let it all hang out and be who I was, so to speak. Of course, there were also those times when it was simply curious to find out that some of the words in regular rotation in my vocabulary were not in residence in those of my academic colleagues. I remember well the first time I said something that someone did not understand - it was my rude 18-year-old awakening that parts of my speech (aside from the obvious slang) were, in actuality, not standard English...but I digress...

Then, as I mentioned, came BC. Once I got over the initial culture shock I experienced after being displaced, I embraced my uniqueness and clung to my identity for all it was worth, feeling, at times, isolated and alone amongst a different breed of people altogether. It was then that I actually started to develop a fondness for "Newfie" music - which, ironically, I previously couldn't stand - because it brought me some comfort from home. For the most part, I was trying to learn about the new culture in which I found myself immersed and still didn't stop to think of any other connotations associated with "Newfie," proudly admitting to being one every chance I got. However, I did start to notice the scatter reaction from some when they learned where I was from that seemed a little less than flattering but without being blatantly obvious. Mostly, though, there were just a bunch of the typical humourous incidents when language barriers got in the way (luckily there were a couple of Nova Scotians in our midst who were pretty good at translating when the need arose) and were later laughed at by all parties involved....

...And then came a day when a young teenager quite seriously referred to me as a "goofy Newfie" (incidentally, there is a restaurant called the Goofie Newfie in Fergus, Ontario, which I am sure doesn't help matters for their local population of displaced Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who may take issue with the term). I was shocked. I mean, this kid clearly got that from an adult somewhere along the way, because I am pretty sure he hadn't been exposed to many Newfoundlanders in the area we were in, nor able to come up with that assessment or term on his own. I didn't let it bother me too much, because I knew him to be a very angry youth with deeper problems than I had ever known...but at the same time it made me a little uncomfortable to know that there were obviously those adults in the community who held those beliefs about us. Still, it was the "goofy" and the tone of voice in which it was delivered that made me take offence at all.

Fast forward to the following summer when we were visiting friends of ours in the Toronto area..We were out sightseeing one hot day and happened to stop and get some soft serve ice cream (the 'custard cones' of my youth) at an ice cream truck. The man who served us noticed that my friend was wearing a T-Shirt with a print of the map of the island portion of Newfoundland on it (isn't it funny how that image speaks to us and evokes such strong feelings?) and asked if that was, indeed, from where we hailed. At our satisfied confirmation, he proceeded to make digs and crack jokes about Newfoundlanders, asking how many drinks we had had already that day (it was before noon) as a parting shot as we walked away. I took it all in stride but, a little dumbfounded, turned to my friend and asked, "did he just say what I thought he said?" "Yes," she replied, shaking her head, "You wouldn't believe how much of that crap I have to put up with here."

Now, you may think I am a bit slow - and in retrospect, perhaps I was - but the meaning I associated with "Newfie" was so ingrained in me that it still did not fully occur to me that it was not necessarily a self-explanatory, complimentary thing to be called...that, contrary to being respected as hailing from a unique, colourful, and proud group of people by the world at large when they found out where I was born and raised, "Newfie" might actually be thrown at me as an insult. I mean, I'm not a completely oblivious individual, but I definitely came from a very sheltered upbringing and suffered from acute naivete for a good portion of my life. I just didn't really give credence to the fact that there might be that kind of inter-provincial prejudice in my country (I don't count a sense of competitiveness or light-hearted jabs as evidence of prejudice). I suppose that was utterly dumb of me, thinking back to the views some easterners have of westerners as well, but I didn't really take that seriously, having my own bias as an Atlantic Canadian. Having said that, there is not a widely known term applied to any of the other provinces' citizens to my knowledge (aside from the labels applied to French-speaking Canadians by some ignorants).

Anyway, flash forward again to last winter when I was searching for a place to get some down-home grub on the west coast. I figured I'd look in Vancouver would probably be the most likely spot and, as we were planning a trip there in the near future to see some extended family, it would be ideal to bring them with us. I did happen to find The Newfie Tap and Grill (which is, in fact, now called the Atlantic Trap and Gill and which I wouldn't necessarily recommend, as we were sadly disappointed. Their online menu is outdated and the food we had didn't much resemble east coast fare in presentation, quality or taste) but during my online travels I also stumbled upon a site where some Vancouverites were debating whether or not we like being called "Newfies" because some of us take offense to it. That was the first time I really fully opened my eyes, but, again, I was incredulous and stunned. What? There are Newfoundlanders who don't like being called "Newfies"? When did that happen? Why? Aren't they proud of where they are from? Geez...oversensitive much? That's just being silly!

There was also an article I read online - which I cannot find for the life of me right now - about some incidents in St. John's whereby someone had the nerve to spray paint "Stupid Newfies" in various locations, which I thought was absolutely awful. There is no arguing that something is meant to be pejorative when preceeded by a descriptor such as "stupid." Of course, the article sparked a huge debate and a long list of feedback comments from all over the country, some of which were quite interesting to read to garner the differing perspectives of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, ex-pats, and the rest of the country.

I have been in my current locale for over 3 years, and I have to say I am very aware of these things now. The prior incidents - few and far between, for the most part - have taken on new meaning for me: My first boss here, who has a great sense of humour and whom I still love dearly, crossed the line one day by making a dig about 'lazy Newfies,' which got my back up...when I was doing my first play here, another actor found it quite amusing to regale me with Newfie jokes galore (which really grated on my nerves)...and more recently, when the cable guy came to hook us up at our new apartment, he immediately went to the topic of Newfie jokes when he spied some tell-tale elements of our decor. I quickly stopped him before he could start by relating a joke I had just picked up a couple of days earlier from Steve at Oh Me Nerves. I think he got the point. We then ended up discussing the various forms of prejudice we had both witnessed over the years towards various segments of the population, and he pointed out that Newfie jokes are no more than your run of the mill fill in the blank jokes that can be used to poke fun at just about any group of people and I shared that there are jokes in circulation in Newfoundland that exchange the roles of Newfoundlanders and mainlanders as well.

Anyway, I have done my homework over the past year and discovered that what I once considered an innocent source of pride has very disturbing connotations for many, and that the debate still rages on, as evidenced here at Todd's blog, here on a facebook group, here at Squidoo, here and here at cbc.ca, as well as any number of other examples posted on the web. In fact, there are even definitions of the word Newfie at Wikipedia and Urban Dictionary.

As for myself, well, I have been increasingly careful about my usage of the term in the last couple of years and I can't un-see or un-hear all of those things since having opened my eyes. Taken from another Newfoundlander I don't have as much of a problem with it (and I guess this is the basis some have used to contend that "Newfie" is similar to the other N word in circulation, whereby it is acceptable from peers who share the same - for lack of a better word at the moment - classification, but not from outsiders). After all, we are all entitled to our own thoughts, feelings and opinions and I was once with them in my beliefs...However, I cringe when I see or hear it used in the presence of non-Newfoundlanders because I am aware of what some of them may read into it now and I do not take kindly to being looked upon as a laughingstock. I am now very attuned to people's reactions to me once they have learned of my home province and I have to say that they have been very mixed, indeed. So, are there those who are prejudiced against Newfoundlanders and Labradorians? Absolutely. Is all of that summed up in the use of the word "Newfie"? Probably not. But I hesitate to apply it anymore, nonetheless.

Out of Control: A Disturbing Documentary

Last night I watched Out of Control with Hana Gartner on The Fifth Estate at cbc.ca. It was deeply disturbing and thought provoking in such a way that I am still trying to organize and articulate my views on the problems brought to light in the story. By the look of the comment section, a lot of other viewers have also found themselves powerfully affected by the program.

A number of thoughts, questions and impressions entered my mind while watching the documentary. These mostly pertained to the importance of following protocol and the need to change and modify some of the protocols that are currently in place, the necessity of following through with consequences, the shifting of responsibility and blame, the lack of accountability, the ineffectiveness of certain aspects of the penal and social support systems, and the circumstances in which members of the most vulnerable and misunderstood segments of the population often find themselves. I try to look at all aspects of an issue, and I can honestly say that I still haven't figured out where I stand on some of these points, and suggestions for valid solutions continue to elude me.

I can understand that Canada's corrections workers are obligated to follow the procedures that have been put into place for them and that there must be consistency (and that many of them are tired and overworked due to shortages in certain areas and the crap they have to deal with day in and day out). I also understand the frustration that comes from knowing that some methods one is expected to use are clearly ineffectual and tend to place a huge demand on available resources, yet being caught up in a cycle and powerless to change what has been dictated down the chain of command from the top. Likewise, I can identify with the need to protect yourself and your livelihood by complying with the rules and regulations in the face of threatened disciplinary action.

What I find difficult to grasp is how the public image concerns of institutions and the need for individuals to safeguard their jobs somehow managed to surpass the importance of saving a life in this instance. I don't understand how someone could order others not to help a person who is clearly sick and how this particular situation escalated to that point. When the corrections officers were told not to enter Ashley Smith's cell unless she had stopped breathing, what meaning were they to infer from that? Does "not breathing" mean "passed out" or "dead"? And once that last act of self-strangulation had been put into play, did it really take that long to figure out that she wasn't breathing? Out of an audience of seven attending her death, I would assume at least one had adequate powers of observation to note the absence of breathing before it was too late. Or was it a case of mob mentality/ brotherly solidarity/peer pressure or whatever you would like to call it, with no one wanting to be the first to suggest or attempt going into Ashley's cell for fear of being attacked by the inmate once more or disciplined by the powers that be for disregarding orders?

From the outside looking in, it was clear from a very early point as this tale unfolded that the routines Ashley Smith and her guards fell into did nothing to discourage her behaviours or otherwise improve things. In addition, transferring her from one place to another did nothing to address her the problematic circumstances of her incarceration. If anything, it only served to exacerbate her behaviours and their consequences by teaching her that no one was equipped to deal with her and leaving her new captors to keep using the old methods to no avail.

I guess one can never truly comprehend a given situation unless they are forced to navigate it, but Hana Gartner and The Fifth Estate have certainly reminded us that Canada has some definite issues that need to be worked out...and that will take people much smarter than me to figure out. I only hope that the people who needed to get that wake up call - and anyone who is in a position to create change, really - have received the message loud and clear and plan to act to prevent history from being repeated.

Have any of you seen it? Any thoughts?