Monthly Archives: March 2012

Mar 30 2012
Activism, Art, Artist Series, Culture, Music, Politics, Social Change

ARTIST SERIES – DEVIN ATHERTON

Welcome to the seventh day of Pass it to the Left’s ‘Artist Series!’ We have invited amazing artists and musicians to share their work with us, as well as their thoughts on their art, their music, social change, and community Enjoy!

by Devin Atherton

What role do you think that art and/or music play in social change movements?

I think they play a very valiant role, in social movements though they are only pieces of a larger Voltron. I’m the type of guy who’d like to believe that one song or glorious art instalment could inspire every citizen of the globe and raise us up to a new consciousness and have us basking in the warm UV-free rays of enlightenment. I’m an idealist that way. It’s a bit naive though to think art is that powerful. I mean I have friends my age who grew up in other countries who never even heard of the Beatles. THE BEATLES! I mean c’mon those guys are bigger than Jesus! So yeah, I think it plays a role as it carries a message and inspires or attracts and can attract someone to a cause. So I guess I’d think of art or music as the messenger to the masses that is a little less aggressive than the man with the megaphone and a lot more attractive and sexy than the politician at the press conference. I don’t know if art has enough sway to convert someone who’s already aligned politically to one side or the other, though I think really good stuff could knock someone off the fence.

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Mar 29 2012
Crime, Equality, Feminism, Health, Human Rights, Legal, Police and Security, Politics, Social Change, Violence Against Women, Women

Simone de Beauvoir Institute’s Take on Feminism and the Bedford Decision

Simone de Beauvoir Institute at Concordia University, via Sarah Allan

The Court of Appeal for Ontario recently ruled that two elements of Canada’s prostitution laws cause harm to women (Canada Attorney General v. Bedford, 2012 ONCA 186: http://www.ontariocourts.ca/decisions_index/new_releases.htm). Specifically, the Court argues that the bawdy house provisions and the living off the avails provisions of the Criminal Code violate the security of individuals who work in the sex trade and, as such, are unconstitutional. In more simple terms, the court argues that prostitution laws put women in the sex trade at risk of violence and that these laws violate the fundamental Charter rights of sex workers.

What the Ruling Means
The ruling removes barriers for women working in the sex trade that increase their vulnerability to violence and harm. It allows them to hire a driver or a bodyguard, for example, as a way to ensure their safety-practices that were previously criminalized (living off the avails provision). It enables women to work together out of the same apartment; this practice was criminalized under the bawdy house laws. The ruling means that women can work more safely and that they can work together.

Why We Support the Ruling as Feminists
The ruling begins with the explicit statement that the question at hand is not about morality, but is rather one of constitutionality (paragraph 9). As feminists, we support a legal framework in which complex social issues are disentangled from patriarchal moral norms. Historically, the idea that women should not wear pants in church, the implicit condemnation of women who chose to have a child outside of marriage, or the notion that women who dress sexy in some way invite sexual assault and rape are different examples of the ways the patriarchal moral order has framed how women’s actions, behaviours and dress have been considered, in society at large and in the legal arena. Full equality before the law for women is facilitated when ”morality” is excluded from legal considerations.

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Mar 28 2012
Activism, Community, Crime, Equality, Human Rights, Immigration, Local, Parliament, Politics, Racism, Refugees

Ever Been Called An “Extremist” for Hating Hate?

Last weekend, Don Davies, Immigration critic for the NDP and MP for Vancouver-Kingsway, attended an anti-racist community march and block party that No One Is Illegal-Vancouver (NOII) had organised after local neo-Nazis lit on fire and attacked several people of colour in Vancouver on Commercial Drive, a Vancouver neighbourhood otherwise infamous for its glut of organic grocery stores.

That afternoon, Davies tweeted about how much he had enjoyed the demonstration, for which he was promptly flame-warred by Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism. Yesterday, on the NDP’s new leadership’s first day in Parliament, Kenney and another Conservative MP, Devinder Shory, continued their ad hominem arguments by attacking Davies in Parliament for having been at the demonstration (including making demands that he apologise, evidently for being there at all). Reporter Karl Nerenberg provides a summary of that “debate.” The full transcript is available on Hansard.  Kenney also issued a press release on his personal website against NOII.

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Mar 26 2012
1 Comment
Activism, Community, Crime, Health, Human Rights, Legal, Parliament, Police and Security, Politics, Social Change, Violence Against Women

2 out of 3 Prostitution Laws Unconstitutional: A Partial Victory for Sex Workers

by Sarah Allan

Today, the Ontario Court of Appeal released its judgment in the matter of Canada (Attorney General) v. Bedford, which brought a constitutional challenge to the criminal laws that relate to prostitution. They struck down two of the three laws that were challenged, on the basis that they violated sex workers rights to take steps to ensure their own safety and security, and pretty much needlessly exposed them to increased levels of violence and harm. The five justices determined:

  • the law prohibiting brothels or ‘common bawdy houses’ was disproportionate and overbroad and should be struck down;
  • the law prohibiting ‘living off the avails of prostitution’ was overbroad, and should be read down to only apply where there are “circumstances of exploitation”;
  • the law prohbiting ‘communicating for the purposes of prostitution’ should be upheld, as they felt it served its purposes of combating street nuisance and harm to communities, in a way that outweighed other harms.
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Mar 21 2012
Communication, Community, Culture, Internet, Knowledge

Cultural Identity and Social Networking: Who are your friends?

by Jessica Linnay

Who’s on your Facebook friends list? Your boss? Your mom? How do you filter your Friday night party photos or scandalous summer statuses from them?

Services like Facebook, Twitter and Google+ have changed the way we socialize and in some respects and contrary to what you may believe to believe about them, have actually made us much more awkward with each other. Because the way we communicate on these sites is so unnatural when you think about it (there’s no backspace button IRL) compared to the way we process people face to face, we are actually changing ourselves physiologically as social beings.

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Mar 20 2012
Commons, Community, Culture, Education, Internet, Knowledge, Non-Profit, Statistics

Redefining Research: A Wikipedia Infographic

by Jen Rhee Via: Open-Site.org

After 244 years, the Encyclopedia Britannica has decided to halt the presses and go out of print. Facing the realities and the stiff competition from Wikipedia, the Encyclopedia Britannica will now focus primarily on their online services. But even then, it might be too late. Wikipedia has grown to be the number one source for students. In fact, many students will stop research and change topics if it’s not on Wikipedia.

Wikipedia provides a wealth of information with over 26 billion pages of content. Though the quality of Wikipedia has been questioned, the editors of Wikipedia, known as Wikipedians, are vigilant with ensuring the data in Wikipedia is current and accurate. Studies have even shown that Wikipedia is almost as accurate as the Encyclopedia Britannica. This infographic highlights how Wikipedia has revolutionized research and how it has become a reliable fountain of knowledge.

Wikipedia
Via: Open-Site.org

and

@jenicarhee

Share this graphic! Copy the code below into your website.

<a href=”http://open-site.org/wikipedia/”><img src=”http://opensite.s3.amazonaws.com/wikipedia.jpg&#8221; alt=”Wikipedia” width=”500″ border=”0″ /></a><br />Via: <a href=”http://open-site.org/”>Open-Site.org</a&gt;

http://open-site.org/wikipedia/

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Mar 16 2012
Art, Artist Series, Culture

Artist Series – Georgia Knowles

Welcome to the sixth day of Pass it to the Left’s ‘Artist Series!’ We have invited amazing artists and musicians to share their work with us, as well as their thoughts on their art, their music, social change, and community Enjoy!

What do you hope to achieve through your art? 
The one thing I really just want to achieve through my illustrations is to keep developing and expanding with it. To never stick with what I know or with what is ‘safe’ because to me, that’s not art. Even if I don’t make a living out of art and can still be able to create and enjoy the process, I’ll have achieved.
Why do you create art?
It sounds cliche to say, but I’ve always found a sense of escapism when illustrating. It can relax me or motivate me. To have the smallest idea of what I’m going to create and seeing it expand – I find that exciting.
What do you hope that viewers of your art take away from it?
As long as they come away from a piece and have an opinion on it, bad or good. I’m happy. I want my illustrations to provoke.
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Mar 14 2012
1 Comment
Activism, Civil LIberties, Colonialism, Colonization, Community, Crime, Equality, First Nations, Human Rights, Immigration, Local, Racism, Refugees, Social Change

MARCH 18: Community March Against Racism

by Fathima Cader

March 21, the International Day for the Elimination of Racism, marks the anniversary of the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre in South Africa, when police opened fire on hundreds of South Africans protesting against Apartheid’s passbook laws. Police killed 67 people and wounded 186.

This year, in light of the recent string of hate crimes committed by the white supremacist group ‘Blood and Honor’ on Commercial Drive in Vancouver, we encourage our families, friends, neighbours, and supporters to continue to counter racism. The violence perpetrated by ‘Blood and Honour’ members included unprovoked physical attacks on a Black man, a Latino man, and an Indigenous woman. The neo-Nazis, three of whom have been charged, also doused a Filipino man with gasoline and set him on fire as he napped on a bench on Commercial Drive. Last year, other members of this same group were charged in Edmonton for three hate crimes there. The group’s membership is active across Canada and the States.

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Mar 12 2012
Activism, Charity, Children, Community, Environment, Homelessness, International, Non-Profit, Photography, Youth

Project Somos – Building a Children’s Village in Guatemala

by Deanna Alexander

Project Somos is establishing a village for abandoned and orphaned children in Guatemala near the town of Tecpán.

  • The Village will have seven homes with Guatemalan Foster Mothers raising a household of children.
  • The family homes are being built using earthbag construction.
  • This eco-sustainable Village will use alternative power, and will have organic agriculture & orchards.
  • The Village is being designed in collaboration with Guatemalan architect, Cecilia Rodriguez.
  • Education, leadership and arts will be key focuses of The Children’s Village.
  • The Village will work hand in hand with the local Guatemalan community.

Project Somos volunteers

The first two homes each of which house one den-mother and seven children

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Mar 09 2012
Artist Series, Culture, Local, Music, Social Change, Spirituality

Artist Series – Daniela Jackson and Boundaries

Welcome to the fifth day of Pass it to the Left’s ‘Artist Series!’ We have invited amazing artists and musicians to share their work with us, as well as their thoughts on their art, their music, social change, community and Canada’s arts and music scene. Enjoy!

by Daniela Jackson

What role do you think that art and music play in social change movements? 

I think that music and art play important roles in social change movements. I don’t want to sound cliché, but I think it’s true that music touches many people emotionally, spiritually, and intellectually by offering a new perspective to life. By connecting people from different religions, cultures, and socio-economic status through the arts, the divide between individuals is taken down. To me, the power of music inspires people, often exposing them to images or words that change the way that they think and look at the world.

The ability to express oneself through art is a form of freedom and expression and can be executed and interpreted in so many ways as it offers a venue for people to get out their emotions, create awareness of an issue, or simply invent something that they think is beautiful, new, or creative. Art and music don’t necessarily have an immediate or direct impact on social change, but I think that the connections that they create between people, the common ground that is developed through the sharing and exchange of art and music between people of different backgrounds, is crucial in creating empathy and human connections to people who live a world away. And these connections are what trigger positive social change and movements on a global level.

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