(UNDER)grievances

penelopehg:

“Surveying the vast literature of happiness research, they suggest: Buy experiences instead of things; buy many small pleasures instead of a few big ones; pay now for things you can look forward to and enjoy later”

— David Brooks, NYT, Aug. 29, 2011 (read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/30/opinion/brooks-the-haimish-line.html?src=me&ref=general)

To young Canadians: All my life I have worked to make things better. Hope and optimism have defined my political career, and I continue to be hopeful and optimistic about Canada. Young people have been a great source of inspiration for me. I have met and talked with so many of you about your dreams, your frustrations, and your ideas for change. More and more, you are engaging in politics because you want to change things for the better. Many of you have placed your trust in our party. As my time in political life draws to a close I want to share with you my belief in your power to change this country and this world. There are great challenges before you, from the overwhelming nature of climate change to the unfairness of an economy that excludes so many from our collective wealth, and the changes necessary to build a more inclusive and generous Canada. I believe in you. Your energy, your vision, your passion for justice are exactly what this country needs today. You need to be at the heart of our economy, our political life, and our plans for the present and the future.

—

- Excerpt from Jack Layton’s final message, which his wife Olivia Chow was to release in the event of his death. The rest of the message can be found here, in the Montreal Gazette.

Jack, I’m so truly sad right now that you’re gone. I really thought you would beat cancer again and come back the same fiery political hero. Canadian politics won’t be quite the same without you. You are a huge inspiration to us all, and your inspiration will continue to live through Olivia’s political work and the fight of the NDP. You will be missed, Jack. Rest in peace.

I’ve only seen the trailer for the movie and had the book recommended to me by my (*cough* WASP-y *cough*) aunt, but this Feministe post basically confirms all of my suspicions: “let’s tell a story that is kinda-sorta about race but more about how these nice black ladies helped white women Find Their Voice.”

jrobinson1989:

I have no right to dehumanize these people. I sit here with an expensive education that separated me from the poorer ‘less intelligent’ members of my community. I got my current well paid job on the back of a recommendation from someone with a degree from one of the most elitist universities in the world. I have no idea what it feels like to have no job prospects. I have no idea what it feels like to get my EMA cut. I have no idea what it feels like to  be stopped and searched because of the color of my skin.I have no idea what it feels like to be forgotten about by my own government. I have no right to call these people animals. I am part of the problem.

I totally agree… The rioters shouldn’t be dehumanized as a bunch of “scumbags” or “pricks”, which is what I’m seeing around Tumblr for the most part. While I do not think the violence and looting is in any way justified or productive, I don’t think we can dismiss the perpetrators as a bunch of misguided, exceptionalized youth. There are deeper issues here, issues of disenfranchisement, poverty, marginalization, racism, and classism. We need to look at the whole picture.

The Toronto Sun thinks that Rob Ford should:

1. outlaw panhandling,

2. introduce cyclist licensing, and

3. scrap the plastic bag tax

before the year is out. This is what the Sun thinks will improve Toronto because these are the issues most bothering Torontonians.

I STRONGLY disagree with any of these recommendations because:

1. Outlawing panhandling is not a way to “improve the quality of our streets” — it is criminalizing poverty, addiction, and homelessness. It casts a social class of people as degenerate and unwanted and fails to address the actual problem, which is inadequate social services to help people living on the streets.

2. The fact that freaking Giorgio Mammoliti thinks that licensing cyclists is a good idea doesn’t mean it actually is one. Mammoliti has very few of those. Licensing bicyclists would is impractical and unnecessary, and again misrepresents what the problem is: the tension created between cyclists and drivers due to the insufficient safe space awarded to cyclists on Toronto’s roads. If we want an extra source of revenue, why don’t we bring back the vehicle tax that Ford scrapped?

3. Speaking of scrapping taxes, is paying 5 cents for a plastic bag really the most pressing issue for Torontonians? Is that really getting people’s underwear in a bunch? A) It makes people think before using plastic bags unnecessarily, since they are bad for the environment and can easily be replaced by reusable bags, and B) IT’S FRIGGEN FIVE CENTS A BAG!!!

4. All of these issues are miniscule in comparison to the public and social services possibly on the cutting board for Toronto. Rob Ford can improve Toronto by continuing to fund the valuable community organizations that help the city’s most marginalized. The worth of our community shouldn’t be judged by minor “irritations” but by the welfare of our most needy residents.

Mini-skirt Mondays.

This is a really great Ms. Blog piece about the utter stupidity of the way prominent women have been treated in the news this month. The Michelle Obama burger “scandal” has been irking me for a while. The fact that the First Lady eating one fast food meal has prompted an internet storm of crap like this is downright pathetic and backwards, and completely misconstrues what a healthy lifestyle is.