From the very start of the year, we dove deep into the systematic racism that plagues society- how it serves to help certain groups and exploit others. We know that George Floyd has not been the only victim of this flawed system but thankfully, due to one brave bystander, the entire devastating situation was filmed.

I won’t write too much on this topic because I would like to hear your opinion on this matter. 20 sentences or more please and thank you 🙂

You can read more on this matter in the below articles:

https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/20/us/derek-chauvin-trial-george-floyd-deliberations/index.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/04/20/guilty-verdict-chauvin-trial/

Please respond to the questions below:

1. What is your opinion / reaction on Derek Chauvin’s guilty charge?
2. Do you think, to play devil’s advocate, that Derek Chauvin is receving too much of a backlash? That there were many others who have done what Chauvin has and gotten away with it – who continue to do what Chauvin has done and get away with it?
3. Moving forward, do you think that things will change for non-white communities? Do you think that attitudes towards multiculturalism and diversity will be positively affected because of Chauvin’s actions?

Wow! Ms. Pelland and I were blown away by each and every speech performed in class. They were a delight to listen to! Each and every one of you wrote and performed so well!!

Our finalists as voted communally were Tiya and Apollo. Listening to you both present, with excellent presentation skills and moving speeches. We were and are SO proud of you! As Mary says, we were like proud Mums watching you two, smiling ear to ear!!

Every year on March 8th people from around the world come together to pay tribute to a very special occasion: International Women’s Day. As we learned about in class, there are major reasons why this day should be acknowledged and respected but still a lot of work needs to be in order to achieve gender equality. This year’s International Women’s Day theme is choose to challenge. Thus, you will no doubt run into pictures with people taking pictures with their hand held high!

For this blog post, please conduct a quick research on the following:

1. A famous International Women’s Day or women/female empowerment quote and explain in 4-5 sentences why you chose it and why it interests you.
2.  Regarding the theme, Choose to Challenge, what is something that frustrates you about how girls/women are treated? It could be a common stereotype, treatment or double-standard that you perceive (or even face!). Roughly 5-7 sentences.
3. Here comes the sentimental part (kind of!). Write about a woman who you find inspiring. It could a famous woman in history, your Mum, Sister, BFF, or maybe even, Ms. Panesar :)? How does this woman make you feel? Why is she significant in your life. Roughly 10 sentences.

Last term we spoke extensively about systematic racism and its horrendous effects. Thankfully there are social movements like Black Lives Matter that expose and fight against racism, intolerance and prejudice (as we learned from Apollo, Tamara and Tiya’s AWESOME presentation). For a moment, I want you to pause and reflect on the images that come to mind when you saw the BLM marches. They peacefully protested the loss of an innocent black man yet some media outlets presented a completely different story.

This was the Capitol (the US federal government building) when the BLM protesters were nearby.

Yesterday, a protest occurred. But it was starkly different than what we saw in the summer. Trump heavily encouraged his supporters to fight against the counting of the electoral votes that will eventually confirm that Joe Biden won the election. So what ended up happening yesterday afternoon? Hundreds of Trump supporters pushed through barriers and fought with officers. Some of the officers were even called ‘traitors’ because they were allowing the vote to happen, ummm… even though they were doing their job? About an hour and a half later, the rioters pushed into the Capitol building and tried to break windows and doors to get in and stop the vote from occurring. 4 demonstrators lost their life. There were evacuations and guns drawn. So let’s return back to BLM images. Please browse through accredited news sites and images to compare and contrast the BLM and yesterdays riot.

Question: Do you see any similarities and/or differences between the Black Lives Demonstrations and the Senate in Washington. Please write 15-20 sentences about your thoughts, reactions and what you notice about the two ‘demonstrations.’

So, we just learned about Diwali – a popular festivity celebrated by Indian people around the world! We learned about 2 Hindu deities, Rama and Sita, and the demon Ravana who abducted Sita.

But it seems as though many people are not aware of Hindu Gods and Goddesses. Why do I say that? Well the notorious Cardi B has committed the ultimate blunder. Remember how I said that there are several Gods and Goddesses in the Hindu religion? Well there is a Goddess named Durga. She symbolises positive energy, especially a powerful feminine energy that is used to combat negative forces. (Meaning she is a powerful Goddess – a powerful woman who wields a lot of strength and valour.) She protects her devotees from evil and demons. Durga is the goddess in the two pictures below.

Now that we know a little about Durga, we can get back to Cardi B. Last week she modelled / advertised for Reebok shoes and clearly looked like… none other than Durga. This is also known as a little thing called Cultural Appropriation. What is cultural appropriation? Cultural appropriation is when a culture (or person/group) take another culture or religious elements / ‘thing’s,’ like: ideas, icons, symbols, artifacts, images, art, behaviour, music, styles, rituals, etc. are taken from a culture (and generally misused).

https://www.nme.com/en_asia/news/music/cardi-b-apologises-following-backlash-to-hindu-goddess-photoshoot-i-wasnt-trying-to-be-disrespectful-2815670

https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/celebs/a34656644/cardi-b-apology-cultural-appropriation-hindu-goddess-magazine-shoot/

Please answer the following questions below. Your post should be roughly 15-20 sentences.

1.So what do you think about what you saw?

2. Do you think that Cardi B is genuine in her apology or is it because she received so much backlash because of it? Who do you think is at fault for this- Reebok? Cardi ? The advertising teams?

3. How is this advertisement a form of cultural appropriation?

4. Given what has been happening in society today with BLM and other racist/prejudiced events being discussed, do you think that celebrities should pay more attention to what they put out in the world as they can be role models?

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AuRWFvKU5mjogQn-PBpwsg-1ssH-?e=mo79U1

A big thank you to those who helped out with the student vote! It couldn’t have happened without your help, and enthusiasm! Woo! Here are a few shots from the day!